January 17, 2010
Yuno's Got A New Duck(s In Anime)!
Big news! Yuno's got a new duckie!
-Hidamari Sketch x Hoshimittsu, ep02
This makes three different duckies we've seen accompany her into the bath. I think we can actually begin to count her amongst the ranks of the collectors! And here's the thing: it's a new style of duckie, to boot:
Her previous duckies have a much larger open bill, painted eyes and more detail to the tailfeathers, like so:
-Hidamari Sketch x 365, ep05
...so it's pretty clear that she's gotten a new one. Or the animators drew it wrong. But I'm going with the first guess, because it fits my reality better!
And here's the neat part. If she DID get a new duckie, the other two are somewhere in her apartment, because Yuno's not the type who could throw away a duckie.
-Hidamari Sketch x Hoshimittsu, ep02
This makes three different duckies we've seen accompany her into the bath. I think we can actually begin to count her amongst the ranks of the collectors! And here's the thing: it's a new style of duckie, to boot:
Her previous duckies have a much larger open bill, painted eyes and more detail to the tailfeathers, like so:
-Hidamari Sketch x 365, ep05
...so it's pretty clear that she's gotten a new one. Or the animators drew it wrong. But I'm going with the first guess, because it fits my reality better!
And here's the neat part. If she DID get a new duckie, the other two are somewhere in her apartment, because Yuno's not the type who could throw away a duckie.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
11:19 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 142 words, total size 1 kb.
January 16, 2010
A Little Housekeeping
I'm currently working on the post for Ga-Rei Zero, Episode 03. It's a remarkably time-consuming process. I take roughly one screenshot per minute of running time per episode (25-30 screencaps per 24 minute show), plus variants for many of them. For example, let's look at this shot:
I actually had five different versions of this picture. The only differences were the positions of the "overhead lights" (she's actually standing underneath an overpass, and as cars went over, the lights moved. No, I don't understand how the highway bridge is see-through either, but it's a neat look).
Then, of course, I have to adjust the saturation, contrast, and size of each screencap as well. ZoomPlayer's snapshot feature is good, but the resulting pictures sometimes seem washed out; maybe it's just me, though. Then comes the uploading of each picture, and THEN I get to write a thousand words around them. Each writeup seems to take between three or four hours all told, not including the initial viewing of the episode.
In other business, there's little going on in the world of Formula 1 at the moment, but that'll be changing very soon. The first Preseason Test session is February 1st at Valencia, and many of the teams are rolling out their cars just ahead of that date. Ferrari, for example, will debut their car to the press on January 28th. Of course, I'll be doing a F1 Pr0n entry for each one!
Fortunately for my sanity, the motorsports season is just about to get underway. First there's the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction, which begins on the 19th. Legendary Announce Team member Bob Varsha is the head voice for SPEED's coverage, and it's great to see all those cool cars. Then we get the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona on January 30th. I love watching the 24-hour races, and the Daytona one is pretty much the unofficial start of the American motorsport year.
So, yeah, that's what is going on over here at The Pond at the moment. Only 54 more days until the first practice for the Grand Prix of Bahrain!
I actually had five different versions of this picture. The only differences were the positions of the "overhead lights" (she's actually standing underneath an overpass, and as cars went over, the lights moved. No, I don't understand how the highway bridge is see-through either, but it's a neat look).
Then, of course, I have to adjust the saturation, contrast, and size of each screencap as well. ZoomPlayer's snapshot feature is good, but the resulting pictures sometimes seem washed out; maybe it's just me, though. Then comes the uploading of each picture, and THEN I get to write a thousand words around them. Each writeup seems to take between three or four hours all told, not including the initial viewing of the episode.
In other business, there's little going on in the world of Formula 1 at the moment, but that'll be changing very soon. The first Preseason Test session is February 1st at Valencia, and many of the teams are rolling out their cars just ahead of that date. Ferrari, for example, will debut their car to the press on January 28th. Of course, I'll be doing a F1 Pr0n entry for each one!
Fortunately for my sanity, the motorsports season is just about to get underway. First there's the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction, which begins on the 19th. Legendary Announce Team member Bob Varsha is the head voice for SPEED's coverage, and it's great to see all those cool cars. Then we get the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona on January 30th. I love watching the 24-hour races, and the Daytona one is pretty much the unofficial start of the American motorsport year.
So, yeah, that's what is going on over here at The Pond at the moment. Only 54 more days until the first practice for the Grand Prix of Bahrain!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
10:42 PM
| Comments (9)
| Add Comment
Post contains 352 words, total size 2 kb.
January 14, 2010
Ga-Rei Zero, Episode 02
So Episode 01 of Ga-Rei Zero ended with every character we'd been introduced to, including the two apparent leads, turned into cold cuts at the hands sword of a schoolgirl dressed in a black seifuku. How can Episode 02 top that?
Well, first it pees all over the dismembered corpses of Our (fallen) Heroes by bringing the recently defeated (via Holy Water-based Aerial Bombing) Category B monster back to life, and putting the few remaining grunts in mortal peril because of it. As if their day wasn't going poorly enough! They're outclassed and outnumbered by one monster, and Our (fallen) Heroes' success turns to ashes to boot.
...and then the Category Cs come back, too. At this point, you just know the grunts are saying "F*ck you, Ga-Rei Zero, just f*ck you."
more...
So Episode 01 of Ga-Rei Zero ended with every character we'd been introduced to, including the two apparent leads, turned into cold cuts at the hands sword of a schoolgirl dressed in a black seifuku. How can Episode 02 top that?
Well, first it pees all over the dismembered corpses of Our (fallen) Heroes by bringing the recently defeated (via Holy Water-based Aerial Bombing) Category B monster back to life, and putting the few remaining grunts in mortal peril because of it. As if their day wasn't going poorly enough! They're outclassed and outnumbered by one monster, and Our (fallen) Heroes' success turns to ashes to boot.
...and then the Category Cs come back, too. At this point, you just know the grunts are saying "F*ck you, Ga-Rei Zero, just f*ck you."
more...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
10:54 PM
| Comments (7)
| Add Comment
Post contains 1020 words, total size 9 kb.
January 11, 2010
The Hawk and Big Mac
It's hard to think baseball in the middle of January, but over the past few days there's been two big news items to come from America's Game. It might be interesting to compare the individuals involved, Andre Dawson and Mark McGwire.
Andre "The Hawk" Dawson started his major league career in 1976 as an outfielder for the Montreal Expos. He won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1977, and eight Gold Gloves for his defense (1980-1985, 1987-1988). He was what they called a "five-tool player," able to hit for average and power, had good speed, a cannon arm and played excellent defense in the field.
A testament to his offensive abilities is that he became only the third member of one of the most exclusive clubs in baseball, the 300-300 club, in 1991. At the time, only Willie Mays and Bobby Bonds had reached those numbers in home runs and steals (there are now six players with those numbers).
In 1987, Dawson won the NL MVP award, hitting 49 homers and driving in 137 runs. More amazing is that he won the award playing for a last place team, the 76-85 Chicago Cubs. He joined the Cubs in 1986, practically begging the team to give him a contract. This was the age of collusion, when the Major League teams had decided that they wouldn't sign other teams' free agents, no matter what. Dawson gave the Cubs a standard contract with his signature on it, but with the amount he was to be paid left blank. He then told the club to fill in the amount they were willing to pay. They offered him $500000 plus incentives worth an additional $750000 if he made the All-Star team, started in the All-Star game, or won the MVP. These numbers were well below what he should have been offered, but he still took it.
He had good reason to leave Montreal for Chicago: the field. The astroturf in Montreal's Olympic Stadium was easily the hardest in the Majors, being barely more than a plastic grass carpet laid directly on concrete. Over the 10 years he played there, his knees degenerated into putty from all the pounding they took. Much of his speed was lost after 1983, when he stole 25 bases. He never stole close to 20 again. He was always the first to the ballpark, and the last to leave, simply because he needed the extra time to get therapy on his knees just so he could play. While they didn't shorten his career, they certainly made it much more painful. He's actually had one of his knees replaced twice since his retirement, and the other will be replaced sometime soon, as it has no cartilage remaining.
He retired in 1996. In 2005, Ryne Sandburg, the Cubs' great second baseman, was inducted into the Hall of Fame. During his induction speech, Sandburg pushed for Dawson's enshrinement, saying "No player in baseball history worked harder, suffered more or did it better than Andre Dawson. He's the best I've ever seen. I watched him win an MVP for a last-place team in 1987 [with the Cubs], and it was the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen in baseball. He did it the right way, the natural way, and he did it in the field and on the bases and in every way, and I hope he will stand up here someday."
This past weekend, Andre Dawson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Mark "Big Mac" McGwire, hit 70 home runs in 1998, breaking the single season record previously held by Roger Maris. He hit 583 for his career. Today, he came out and admitted that he used cheated by steroids during his career, including that 1998 season.
Two more different people would be difficult to find.
Andre "The Hawk" Dawson started his major league career in 1976 as an outfielder for the Montreal Expos. He won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1977, and eight Gold Gloves for his defense (1980-1985, 1987-1988). He was what they called a "five-tool player," able to hit for average and power, had good speed, a cannon arm and played excellent defense in the field.
A testament to his offensive abilities is that he became only the third member of one of the most exclusive clubs in baseball, the 300-300 club, in 1991. At the time, only Willie Mays and Bobby Bonds had reached those numbers in home runs and steals (there are now six players with those numbers).
In 1987, Dawson won the NL MVP award, hitting 49 homers and driving in 137 runs. More amazing is that he won the award playing for a last place team, the 76-85 Chicago Cubs. He joined the Cubs in 1986, practically begging the team to give him a contract. This was the age of collusion, when the Major League teams had decided that they wouldn't sign other teams' free agents, no matter what. Dawson gave the Cubs a standard contract with his signature on it, but with the amount he was to be paid left blank. He then told the club to fill in the amount they were willing to pay. They offered him $500000 plus incentives worth an additional $750000 if he made the All-Star team, started in the All-Star game, or won the MVP. These numbers were well below what he should have been offered, but he still took it.
He had good reason to leave Montreal for Chicago: the field. The astroturf in Montreal's Olympic Stadium was easily the hardest in the Majors, being barely more than a plastic grass carpet laid directly on concrete. Over the 10 years he played there, his knees degenerated into putty from all the pounding they took. Much of his speed was lost after 1983, when he stole 25 bases. He never stole close to 20 again. He was always the first to the ballpark, and the last to leave, simply because he needed the extra time to get therapy on his knees just so he could play. While they didn't shorten his career, they certainly made it much more painful. He's actually had one of his knees replaced twice since his retirement, and the other will be replaced sometime soon, as it has no cartilage remaining.
He retired in 1996. In 2005, Ryne Sandburg, the Cubs' great second baseman, was inducted into the Hall of Fame. During his induction speech, Sandburg pushed for Dawson's enshrinement, saying "No player in baseball history worked harder, suffered more or did it better than Andre Dawson. He's the best I've ever seen. I watched him win an MVP for a last-place team in 1987 [with the Cubs], and it was the most unbelievable thing I've ever seen in baseball. He did it the right way, the natural way, and he did it in the field and on the bases and in every way, and I hope he will stand up here someday."
This past weekend, Andre Dawson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Mark "Big Mac" McGwire, hit 70 home runs in 1998, breaking the single season record previously held by Roger Maris. He hit 583 for his career. Today, he came out and admitted that he used cheated by steroids during his career, including that 1998 season.
Two more different people would be difficult to find.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
10:22 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 640 words, total size 4 kb.
January 10, 2010
Ducks In Anime: HidaSketch Is BACK!
I've been way too long without my fix of Yuno, Sae, Hiro and Miyako. And Yuno's ducks.
Yeah, that's usually the look I get when I say that...
Not the normal way to get into a tub...
It seems like they actually have a fairly decent budget this time around, too. It's crystal clear and the art is substantially improved (though you can't tell from the duckie scene).I so want this duckie for my flock.
Of course, the girls are just the same as they ever were; normal, with just a dash of off-kilter to give the show something to work with. in other words, exactly how they should be. Hidamari Sketch x Hoshimittsu, we'll be seeing a lot of each other in the coming months!Yeah, that's usually the look I get when I say that...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
11:24 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 133 words, total size 1 kb.
January 09, 2010
Ga-Rei Zero, Episode 01
Mami, who's the comms experts. They're all highly skilled in their individual talents, and they need to be. They're called out whenever a supernatural disaster is too much for the grunts of their organization to handle... which is what's occurring in episode 01.
The supernaturals are mostly invisible to normal people (even the grunts need technological help to see them), but the heroes can see them easily. The specters above are "Category C"-level, which is somewhere just above cannonfodder, but there's a lot of 'em in this attack. They almost overwhelm the grunts, but one squad holds the line and seems to end the disaster.
Until this guy shows up. It's a "Category B", and it's WAAAAY over the paygrade of the grunts. Oh, and then the specters regenerate. The squad is mangled, but our heroes arrive just in time to save the day!
...first by laying down a protective circle of rune-embossed rubber...
...then by getting a little more in their phantom faces, making her cycle dance on their heads. While their efforts are quite impressive, and they don't seem to be in any danger, they're not really getting anything accomplished. Too many baddies, too few heroes. Until Kudou and Masaki arrive...
...flying a tilt-rotor airplane fire-tanker filled with spiritually-charged holy water! No more specters! Tah-dahhhhh! The Cat B is weakened by this run, and Tooru drops it with a boom headshot. But there's ANOTHER one. Our Heroes, guided by Mami, set a trap for it in Tokyo's water supply reservoir system. But how to get it there?
Oh. Right. Natsuki plays bait, the Cat B chases her like a big flaming armadillo, rolling like a ball at high speed down the Tokyo highways and byways. Eventually they get into the reservoir system, Tooru hits the monster with a sniper rifle, and Kudou and Masaki release the water, passing it through a spiritual filter to turn it into holy water and killing the creature.
Wet and tired, Our Heroes relax with nice hot coffee and witty repartee.
more...
Brought to you by Glico's Pocky!
I d/l'd this show from BakaBT during their recent freeleech event, knowing nothing about it except for two things: one, there are cute girls in it, and two, the series is a prequel to the manga Ga-Rei... which I have never read. So, in other words, I didn't know anything about it. But, hey, cute girls!Our Heroes.
So these individuals (L to R: Kudou, Tooru, Masaki and Natsuki) are part of a "special action" team, devoted to taking down supernatural forces that threaten Japan (and by extension, the entire world). They're aided in this task by...Mami, who's the comms experts. They're all highly skilled in their individual talents, and they need to be. They're called out whenever a supernatural disaster is too much for the grunts of their organization to handle... which is what's occurring in episode 01.
The supernaturals are mostly invisible to normal people (even the grunts need technological help to see them), but the heroes can see them easily. The specters above are "Category C"-level, which is somewhere just above cannonfodder, but there's a lot of 'em in this attack. They almost overwhelm the grunts, but one squad holds the line and seems to end the disaster.
Until this guy shows up. It's a "Category B", and it's WAAAAY over the paygrade of the grunts. Oh, and then the specters regenerate. The squad is mangled, but our heroes arrive just in time to save the day!
I wouldn't think that's a particularly stable firing platform.
Natsuki's a talented motorcyclist, and her tires are studded with spiritually-charged runes. Tooru is a sniper, firing rune-encrusted bullets. He's also good at striking a dramatic pose, no? He starts plinking away at the Cat B, and she goes to work on the specters......first by laying down a protective circle of rune-embossed rubber...
...then by getting a little more in their phantom faces, making her cycle dance on their heads. While their efforts are quite impressive, and they don't seem to be in any danger, they're not really getting anything accomplished. Too many baddies, too few heroes. Until Kudou and Masaki arrive...
...flying a tilt-rotor airplane fire-tanker filled with spiritually-charged holy water! No more specters! Tah-dahhhhh! The Cat B is weakened by this run, and Tooru drops it with a boom headshot. But there's ANOTHER one. Our Heroes, guided by Mami, set a trap for it in Tokyo's water supply reservoir system. But how to get it there?
Oh. Right. Natsuki plays bait, the Cat B chases her like a big flaming armadillo, rolling like a ball at high speed down the Tokyo highways and byways. Eventually they get into the reservoir system, Tooru hits the monster with a sniper rifle, and Kudou and Masaki release the water, passing it through a spiritual filter to turn it into holy water and killing the creature.
Wet and tired, Our Heroes relax with nice hot coffee and witty repartee.
more...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
12:06 AM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 808 words, total size 8 kb.
January 06, 2010
My Favorite Moments In Anime
A few posts back, I put up a youtube of Funky Cat Maybe! and mentioned that "it's one of my favorite anime things ever." Which got me to thinking... what are my favorite moments in my anime watching? Those scenes that immediately jump to mind when somebody asks "why do you like anime?" They aren't automatically from my favorite shows, though some are, but even a 'meh' show can have classic moments.
Below is my collection of those moments. They're in no particular order, except for the very last; that's my favorite. Click 'more' and let's take a look! Warning: there may be spoilers ahead!
more...
Below is my collection of those moments. They're in no particular order, except for the very last; that's my favorite. Click 'more' and let's take a look! Warning: there may be spoilers ahead!
more...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
11:45 PM
| Comments (5)
| Add Comment
Post contains 781 words, total size 7 kb.
January 05, 2010
Flavor Flav(io) Reinstated
Ex-Renault team principle Flavio Briatore, who was banned for life from F1 for his role in the Nelson Piquet Jr "CrashGate" scandal, is now un-banned.
Earlier today, the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris overturned the lifetime ban, agreeing with Briatore's claim that the FIA did not have legal grounds for the suspension. Which mystifies me, since both the FIA and F1 are private organizations; in theory, they should be able to make their own rules, right?
Furthermore, the court also awarded Briatore €15000 in damages. That's a far cry from the €1000000 he was asking for, but it's still a slap in the face of the FIA.
Along with Briatore, Pat Symonds, the former Renault chief of Engineering who was given a five-year suspension, was also cleared and awarded €5000. Symonds expressed his "eternal regret and shame" over his role in the scandal back when he left Renault. I guess this is some subset of "eternal" that I wasn't aware of.
Any bets on if either of them will be back in F1 within the next couple of years?
UPDATE: The FIA's response:
Earlier today, the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris overturned the lifetime ban, agreeing with Briatore's claim that the FIA did not have legal grounds for the suspension. Which mystifies me, since both the FIA and F1 are private organizations; in theory, they should be able to make their own rules, right?
Furthermore, the court also awarded Briatore €15000 in damages. That's a far cry from the €1000000 he was asking for, but it's still a slap in the face of the FIA.
Along with Briatore, Pat Symonds, the former Renault chief of Engineering who was given a five-year suspension, was also cleared and awarded €5000. Symonds expressed his "eternal regret and shame" over his role in the scandal back when he left Renault. I guess this is some subset of "eternal" that I wasn't aware of.
Any bets on if either of them will be back in F1 within the next couple of years?
UPDATE: The FIA's response:
The FIA notes the Decision of the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Paris in relation to Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds. The Court has rejected the claims for damages made by Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds and their claim for an annulment of the FIA's decision. In particular, the Court did not examine the facts and has not reversed the FIA's finding that both Briatore and Symonds conspired to cause an intentional crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
However, the Court did question the FIA's authority to impose bans upon Mr. Briatore and Mr. Symonds for procedural reasons and because they are not FIA licence holders and, according to the Court, are therefore not subject to any FIA rules. The FIA's ability to exclude those who intentionally put others' lives at risk has never before been put into doubt and the FIA is carefully considering its appeal options on this point. The Court’s decision is not enforceable until the FIA's appeal options have been exhausted. Until then, the World Motor Sport Council’s decision continues to apply.
In addition, the FIA intends to consider appropriate actions to ensure that no persons who would engage, or who have engaged, in such dangerous activities or acts of intentional cheating will be allowed to participate in Formula One in the future.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
08:52 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 405 words, total size 3 kb.
January 04, 2010
Hunting Ducks In Anime Requires Sharp Eyes
-To Heart, ep01
It was on screen for just a few seconds, but my eyes went directly to the lower-left corner...
-To Heart, ep01
It was on screen for just a few seconds, but my eyes went directly to the lower-left corner...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
11:57 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 28 words, total size 1 kb.
January 02, 2010
Funky Cat Maybe and Hajikero! Iincho
-Funky Cat Maybe, the promo for To Heart 2.
-Hajikero! Iincho, the "prequel" to FCM.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
07:30 PM
| Comments (2)
| Add Comment
Post contains 21 words, total size 1 kb.
Brickmuppet Will Be In His Bunk
I was never a big fan of Star Blazers, but this looks pretty darn cool. Brickmuppet, on the other hand, has just had his Wave Motion Gun go off in his shorts.
UPDATE:
(found here)
ANOTHER UPDATE:
Here's who's playing Nova in the movie:
more...
UPDATE:
(found here)
ANOTHER UPDATE:
Here's who's playing Nova in the movie:
more...
Posted by: Wonderduck at
11:03 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 50 words, total size 1 kb.
January 01, 2010
Sad Wonderduck In Snow
It's winter, and you know what that means to a Kyoto Animation fanboy, right?
It's Kanon '06 time again! Oh, sure, I could watch this show whenever I feel like, no question. But to truly feel right, it's gotta be watched during the cold and gray of wintertime.
Lucky for me, a couple of fansub groups have been 'subbing the recent Japanese Blu-Ray release of the show... and if there was one "killer app" that could force me to upgrade everything to BD, this show would be it. It's from a time before KyoAni went... um... cartoony with their faces. I mean, let's compare:
The picture on the left is from KyoAni's most recent show, K-On!. More specifically, it's the main character from K-On!, in the OP sequence, which is where you find the best animation. The picture on the right, however, is from Kanon '06, is of a tertiary character, and is from an unimportant scene in the first episode. Which looks better to you?
It's things like this that make KyoAni fans all stabby.
Anyway, Kanon '06. My second most favorite show. Blu-Ray. The final days of my vacation. Bliss.
Too bad my computer can't handle full BD resolution without choking...
Oh, and for all those people who say KyoAni can't do fanservice?
Okay, I admit, it's the last fanservicey shot KyoAni does ever... but still! I've always wondered just why they put this scene into Kanon '06, other than the obvious. Nothing like it ever occurs again in the show. I don't remember it being from the game, so it's not a shout-out. It's just... there.
Which is fine (more than fine!), but it's also kinda odd in context.
It's Kanon '06 time again! Oh, sure, I could watch this show whenever I feel like, no question. But to truly feel right, it's gotta be watched during the cold and gray of wintertime.
Lucky for me, a couple of fansub groups have been 'subbing the recent Japanese Blu-Ray release of the show... and if there was one "killer app" that could force me to upgrade everything to BD, this show would be it. It's from a time before KyoAni went... um... cartoony with their faces. I mean, let's compare:
The picture on the left is from KyoAni's most recent show, K-On!. More specifically, it's the main character from K-On!, in the OP sequence, which is where you find the best animation. The picture on the right, however, is from Kanon '06, is of a tertiary character, and is from an unimportant scene in the first episode. Which looks better to you?
It's things like this that make KyoAni fans all stabby.
Anyway, Kanon '06. My second most favorite show. Blu-Ray. The final days of my vacation. Bliss.
Too bad my computer can't handle full BD resolution without choking...
Oh, and for all those people who say KyoAni can't do fanservice?
Okay, I admit, it's the last fanservicey shot KyoAni does ever... but still! I've always wondered just why they put this scene into Kanon '06, other than the obvious. Nothing like it ever occurs again in the show. I don't remember it being from the game, so it's not a shout-out. It's just... there.
Which is fine (more than fine!), but it's also kinda odd in context.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
11:47 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 287 words, total size 2 kb.
December 31, 2009
Happy New Year To All!
So 2009 heads into the record books, and I, for one, am glad to see the back of it. The passing of Momzerduck made this the worst year ever, personally, and sure makes 2010 look bleak. Still, there were some good things that occurred in the past 365 days. Consider:
In Formula 1, the season started off with Honda kicking the bucket late in 2008. The pieces were picked up by Ross Brawn, however, so we had a full 20-car grid. However, something strange happened a week later, something that became the story of the year: nobody could touch the Brawns' pace at the final testing session. It seemed to be because of their twin-level diffuser, which four other teams protested (and were denied), but nobody really thought anything about it, really. A rookie team based on the bones of a bad team? Still, it was a nice story...
...and then Jensen Button took pole for the first race of the season, followed closely by his teammate Rubens Barrichello. Brawn won the Australian Grand Prix with a 1-2 finish to boot... in their first race ever. Button won the next race, in Malaysia, which became F1's first rain-shortened race since 1991. If that wasn't enough reason to declare it Bizarro Season, Red Bull took the next race with a 1-2 finish of their own. Throw in the fact that Ferrari at this point hadn't collected any points at all, and we knew we had the oddball of all oddballs on our hands.
The only thing that put a damper on the season as a whole was the horrible incident involving Felipe Massa and a spring off the rear of Barrichello's car. His season was over, and for a while it was thought his career as well. Michael "Slappy" Schumacher was named to replace Massa at the same time BMW announced they were withdrawing from F1 at the end of the year. Schumacher had suffered a neck injury in a motorcycle racing accident some months previously, however, and couldn't handle the physical aspect of driving, leading to his pulling out of the seat... which was then given to Luca Badoer. Badoer promptly peed the chance down the leg of his firesuit, recalling the legendary "Fast" Yuji Ide in the process.
Renault wound up in the midst of scandal when Nelson Piquet Jr accused the team of forcing him to crash in the 2008 Singapore GP. They were found guilty and team principal Flavio Briatore was given a lifetime ban. Ever since, Renault has been making noises like they intend to quit the sport; it hasn't happened yet, though they sold a major stake in the team recently.
The Grand Prix of Belgium brought us the most Bizarro occurrence in a Bizarro season: Force India took pole! Even more incredibly, they finished the race in second, the team's first points-paying result, and their first podium. Giancarlo Fisichella promptly bailed on the team (in what ended up being my headline of the year) and took over Luca Badoer's place at Ferrari... where he was almost as slow.
The Japanese Grand Prix brought us the weirdest qualy session I've ever witnessed, with some repaving in the Degner Curve being the main culprit for the three red flags and multiple yellows. One of the red flags was for Timo Glock's accident, which knocked him out for the season with a fractured vertebra.
The penultimate race in Brazil essentially brought the Bizarro Season to an end in fitting form: Jenson Button clinched the Driver's Championship for Brawn, which also clinched the Constructor's Championship. Not too bad for a team that didn't exist a month before the season started. A few weeks after the season ended, so did BrawnGP: they were sold to Mercedes-Benz... who then signed Michael "Slappy" Schumacher to drive for them in 2010.
Three new teams were tabbed to join the F1 Circus in 2010 as well, including America's very own USF1. Toyota withdrew and was (essentially) replaced by Lotus, while Sauber took over BMW's old slot. All of this sets the stage for an incredible season in the new year!
On the Anime front, The Pond was a little... sparse this year. I didn't stop watching, far from it, but I didn't really write much about it. The world's first doujin anime, based on the Touhou series of games, was released with an incredible voice cast but lackluster animation. Kurokami's first episode promised great things, but the show quickly managed to disgust me with fetishistic levels of violence meted out against the main character. ADV Sentai Filmworks released Clannad on DVD, but I had a few complaints about the actual release. Please note that this wound up not stopping me from getting the rest of the series, or the followup Clannad ~After Story~ for that matter.
It's not exactly anime, but the visual novel Katawa Shoujo had a demo released. Many people were disgusted by the subject matter, but I liked the game quite a bit. But then, I found myself enjoying KissxSis, which has somewhat "iffy" subject matter as well. Unlike most of the rest of the anime blogosphere, I also liked the new Haruhi Suzumiya series. Finally, my long-hoped-for wish for a crossover between Formula 1 and anime came to light, in not one but two different series! There was even a F1 reference in the second Haruhi Suzumiya novel. I also met a fellow anime blogger for lunch one day.
Then there was my WWII musings. The Hosho got a post that was nearly as long as it was. I found myself fascinated with the Sangamon-class "Jeep" carriers, a nearly ignored type of ship. My best writings, though, of course were based on the Battle of Midway. The third in my "What If...?" series dealt with the issue of timing on that June 6th morning. Correcting the conventional wisdom regarding the Tone #4 scout plane actually earned me a mention in an issue of the Battle of Midway Roundtable, much to my surprise. I also turned my thoughts to dive bombing and why it worked so well, yet disappeared so quickly.
So, that about covers the year here at The Pond, but I can't end it without thanking Big Poppa Pixy for his hosting of this blog. I would be remiss if I didn't also thank you, dear readers, for coming back here every so often. You've made it all worthwhile, and you're helping me make it through the worst stretch I can imagine. Thank you.
Happy New Year, everybody!
So 2009 heads into the record books, and I, for one, am glad to see the back of it. The passing of Momzerduck made this the worst year ever, personally, and sure makes 2010 look bleak. Still, there were some good things that occurred in the past 365 days. Consider:
In Formula 1, the season started off with Honda kicking the bucket late in 2008. The pieces were picked up by Ross Brawn, however, so we had a full 20-car grid. However, something strange happened a week later, something that became the story of the year: nobody could touch the Brawns' pace at the final testing session. It seemed to be because of their twin-level diffuser, which four other teams protested (and were denied), but nobody really thought anything about it, really. A rookie team based on the bones of a bad team? Still, it was a nice story...
...and then Jensen Button took pole for the first race of the season, followed closely by his teammate Rubens Barrichello. Brawn won the Australian Grand Prix with a 1-2 finish to boot... in their first race ever. Button won the next race, in Malaysia, which became F1's first rain-shortened race since 1991. If that wasn't enough reason to declare it Bizarro Season, Red Bull took the next race with a 1-2 finish of their own. Throw in the fact that Ferrari at this point hadn't collected any points at all, and we knew we had the oddball of all oddballs on our hands.
The only thing that put a damper on the season as a whole was the horrible incident involving Felipe Massa and a spring off the rear of Barrichello's car. His season was over, and for a while it was thought his career as well. Michael "Slappy" Schumacher was named to replace Massa at the same time BMW announced they were withdrawing from F1 at the end of the year. Schumacher had suffered a neck injury in a motorcycle racing accident some months previously, however, and couldn't handle the physical aspect of driving, leading to his pulling out of the seat... which was then given to Luca Badoer. Badoer promptly peed the chance down the leg of his firesuit, recalling the legendary "Fast" Yuji Ide in the process.
Renault wound up in the midst of scandal when Nelson Piquet Jr accused the team of forcing him to crash in the 2008 Singapore GP. They were found guilty and team principal Flavio Briatore was given a lifetime ban. Ever since, Renault has been making noises like they intend to quit the sport; it hasn't happened yet, though they sold a major stake in the team recently.
The Grand Prix of Belgium brought us the most Bizarro occurrence in a Bizarro season: Force India took pole! Even more incredibly, they finished the race in second, the team's first points-paying result, and their first podium. Giancarlo Fisichella promptly bailed on the team (in what ended up being my headline of the year) and took over Luca Badoer's place at Ferrari... where he was almost as slow.
The Japanese Grand Prix brought us the weirdest qualy session I've ever witnessed, with some repaving in the Degner Curve being the main culprit for the three red flags and multiple yellows. One of the red flags was for Timo Glock's accident, which knocked him out for the season with a fractured vertebra.
The penultimate race in Brazil essentially brought the Bizarro Season to an end in fitting form: Jenson Button clinched the Driver's Championship for Brawn, which also clinched the Constructor's Championship. Not too bad for a team that didn't exist a month before the season started. A few weeks after the season ended, so did BrawnGP: they were sold to Mercedes-Benz... who then signed Michael "Slappy" Schumacher to drive for them in 2010.
Three new teams were tabbed to join the F1 Circus in 2010 as well, including America's very own USF1. Toyota withdrew and was (essentially) replaced by Lotus, while Sauber took over BMW's old slot. All of this sets the stage for an incredible season in the new year!
On the Anime front, The Pond was a little... sparse this year. I didn't stop watching, far from it, but I didn't really write much about it. The world's first doujin anime, based on the Touhou series of games, was released with an incredible voice cast but lackluster animation. Kurokami's first episode promised great things, but the show quickly managed to disgust me with fetishistic levels of violence meted out against the main character. ADV Sentai Filmworks released Clannad on DVD, but I had a few complaints about the actual release. Please note that this wound up not stopping me from getting the rest of the series, or the followup Clannad ~After Story~ for that matter.
It's not exactly anime, but the visual novel Katawa Shoujo had a demo released. Many people were disgusted by the subject matter, but I liked the game quite a bit. But then, I found myself enjoying KissxSis, which has somewhat "iffy" subject matter as well. Unlike most of the rest of the anime blogosphere, I also liked the new Haruhi Suzumiya series. Finally, my long-hoped-for wish for a crossover between Formula 1 and anime came to light, in not one but two different series! There was even a F1 reference in the second Haruhi Suzumiya novel. I also met a fellow anime blogger for lunch one day.
Then there was my WWII musings. The Hosho got a post that was nearly as long as it was. I found myself fascinated with the Sangamon-class "Jeep" carriers, a nearly ignored type of ship. My best writings, though, of course were based on the Battle of Midway. The third in my "What If...?" series dealt with the issue of timing on that June 6th morning. Correcting the conventional wisdom regarding the Tone #4 scout plane actually earned me a mention in an issue of the Battle of Midway Roundtable, much to my surprise. I also turned my thoughts to dive bombing and why it worked so well, yet disappeared so quickly.
So, that about covers the year here at The Pond, but I can't end it without thanking Big Poppa Pixy for his hosting of this blog. I would be remiss if I didn't also thank you, dear readers, for coming back here every so often. You've made it all worthwhile, and you're helping me make it through the worst stretch I can imagine. Thank you.
Happy New Year, everybody!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
10:03 PM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 1095 words, total size 10 kb.
December 30, 2009
The Flock Has A Sad Today
Twenty-two years ago, Christine Christopher and Ian Knight of Ringwood, England, rescued a small, injured duckling that had been abandoned by its mother as the runt of the litter. They named it Edward, a name that turned out to be a poor choice when the duck began laying eggs.
Renaming the duck Edwina, the two nursed the little duckette to full health then returned it to the lake where they had first encountered it.
Edwina followed them back home, where she became fond of tea and toast.
For two decades, Edwina lived with the couple. This past July, the British Trust for Ornithology claimed she was the oldest known wild mallard in the U.K.
"She hadn't been well over Christmas. Her legs were a bit wobbly, and she wasn't her normal self. We were planning to take her to the vet."
This past Monday, Edwina was found dead in her duckrun at the age of 22. She was buried in the family garden with an ornamental duck placed on top of her final resting place as a memorial.
The Pond sends its condolences and thanks to the Knights for their care of Edwina.
Twenty-two years ago, Christine Christopher and Ian Knight of Ringwood, England, rescued a small, injured duckling that had been abandoned by its mother as the runt of the litter. They named it Edward, a name that turned out to be a poor choice when the duck began laying eggs.Renaming the duck Edwina, the two nursed the little duckette to full health then returned it to the lake where they had first encountered it.
Edwina followed them back home, where she became fond of tea and toast.
For two decades, Edwina lived with the couple. This past July, the British Trust for Ornithology claimed she was the oldest known wild mallard in the U.K.
"She hadn't been well over Christmas. Her legs were a bit wobbly, and she wasn't her normal self. We were planning to take her to the vet."
This past Monday, Edwina was found dead in her duckrun at the age of 22. She was buried in the family garden with an ornamental duck placed on top of her final resting place as a memorial.
The Pond sends its condolences and thanks to the Knights for their care of Edwina.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
05:03 PM
| Comments (4)
| Add Comment
Post contains 199 words, total size 1 kb.
December 29, 2009
Some F1 News and Reactions
As you remember, Michael "Slappy" Schumacher has returned to F1 as a driver for the new Mercedes team. His contract is for three years at a reported £7million per, after which he'll become a spokesman and consultant for Mercedes-Benz. Sounds a lot like his old setup for Ferrari, actually. The Daimler Executive Council, directors of Mercedes' parent company, is grumbling about the cost of the contract, saying that the laid-off workstaff can't understand the whole thing and thinks that Mercedes should, instead, pull out of F1. That won't happen, but they have a point... after all, Honda, Toyota and BMW thought that way.
Luca di Montezemelo, Ferrari head honcho, is putting a brave face on Slappy's leaving, saying that it's good for F1, and if something is good for F1 then it's good for Ferrari. Inside, though, you've gotta think that he's seething. Throw in the fact that Slappy will be teaming again with Ross Brawn, the combination that led to five Championships for Ferrari, and di Montezemelo must be wondering where the luster behind the red cars has gone. I think it disappeared when Lucky Luca unceremoniously shoved Slappy out the door back in 2006. Schumi didn't want to go, but Ferrari wanted Massa and Raikkonen instead... and forced arguably the best driver in F1 history to retire.
Of course, if Slappy is back, of course there have to be rumors that lil' brother Ralf will be returning to F1 as well, this time with Toro Rosso. I think I speak for all F1 fans worldwide when I say "No. Please, no. Just... no."
2010 is going to be a very interesting season, just chock full of built-in storylines. For example, Britain (McLaren, Button, Hamilton) vs Germany (Mercedes, Rosberg, Schumacher), McLaren vs Ferrari vs Mercedes, Hamilton (2008 Driver Champion) vs Button (2009 Driver Champion) on the same team, four new teams on the grid (or five if you include Sauber coming back), Alonso vs Massa at Ferrari... and that's just off the top of my head.
Speaking of new teams, there are visible signs of life at USF1! They (finally) activated their website, which you can see here, but more importantly there's a video on it that shows (amongst other things) substantial progress on the building of the actual chassis... and a good idea of what the car will actually look like. On the wall in one shot of the video, there's a CAD print of a F1 racer:
...which doesn't actually mean anything, you're saying to yourself. To which I'd say, I agree entirely. Except for the extended sequence that's shown a few moments later, as the team makes the monocoque and the nose of the car out of foam, plastic molds, and then finally carbon fiber. Here's a screenshot from that:
Please note that the verticals lean backwards, just like they do in the CAD drawing. Carbon fiber isn't cheap, it's not likely that a new startup like USF1 would be making noses just to fark with us.
I think we now know what the USF1 car is gonna look like. Now if only we had a rolling chassis to drool over...
Finally, one piece of good news to report! SPEED officially announced that they've re-upped their contract with Formula One Management, meaning that they'll continue to be the network to cover F1 for the foreseeable future. The Legendary Announce Team will be back, as well.
Luca di Montezemelo, Ferrari head honcho, is putting a brave face on Slappy's leaving, saying that it's good for F1, and if something is good for F1 then it's good for Ferrari. Inside, though, you've gotta think that he's seething. Throw in the fact that Slappy will be teaming again with Ross Brawn, the combination that led to five Championships for Ferrari, and di Montezemelo must be wondering where the luster behind the red cars has gone. I think it disappeared when Lucky Luca unceremoniously shoved Slappy out the door back in 2006. Schumi didn't want to go, but Ferrari wanted Massa and Raikkonen instead... and forced arguably the best driver in F1 history to retire.
Of course, if Slappy is back, of course there have to be rumors that lil' brother Ralf will be returning to F1 as well, this time with Toro Rosso. I think I speak for all F1 fans worldwide when I say "No. Please, no. Just... no."
2010 is going to be a very interesting season, just chock full of built-in storylines. For example, Britain (McLaren, Button, Hamilton) vs Germany (Mercedes, Rosberg, Schumacher), McLaren vs Ferrari vs Mercedes, Hamilton (2008 Driver Champion) vs Button (2009 Driver Champion) on the same team, four new teams on the grid (or five if you include Sauber coming back), Alonso vs Massa at Ferrari... and that's just off the top of my head.
Speaking of new teams, there are visible signs of life at USF1! They (finally) activated their website, which you can see here, but more importantly there's a video on it that shows (amongst other things) substantial progress on the building of the actual chassis... and a good idea of what the car will actually look like. On the wall in one shot of the video, there's a CAD print of a F1 racer:
...which doesn't actually mean anything, you're saying to yourself. To which I'd say, I agree entirely. Except for the extended sequence that's shown a few moments later, as the team makes the monocoque and the nose of the car out of foam, plastic molds, and then finally carbon fiber. Here's a screenshot from that:
Please note that the verticals lean backwards, just like they do in the CAD drawing. Carbon fiber isn't cheap, it's not likely that a new startup like USF1 would be making noses just to fark with us.
I think we now know what the USF1 car is gonna look like. Now if only we had a rolling chassis to drool over...
Finally, one piece of good news to report! SPEED officially announced that they've re-upped their contract with Formula One Management, meaning that they'll continue to be the network to cover F1 for the foreseeable future. The Legendary Announce Team will be back, as well.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
01:13 PM
| Comments (4)
| Add Comment
Post contains 574 words, total size 4 kb.
December 28, 2009
Bears Beat Vikings In OT
...and the NFC road to the Super Bowl now has to go through New Orleans.
Say "thank you", Ubu!
Say "thank you", Ubu!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
11:11 PM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 24 words, total size 1 kb.
December 27, 2009
The "Win A Book From Wonderduck" Contest!
Last year around this time, I stumbled upon and purchased a copy of A Dawn Like Thunder by Robert Mrazek. This book, an oral history of Torpedo Squadron 8 off the USS Hornet, amongst others, may have been the best piece of military history to come out in 2008. Certainly it was the best that I read! I liked it so much, I reviewed it here, only the second book review I've ever done here on The Pond. Well, my uncle JoeDuck gave me a copy of the trade-paperback version of A Dawn Like Thunder for Christmas! A fantastic gift indeed, but I surely don't need two copies of the book... but here's YOUR chance to Win A Book From Wonderduck!
I'm looking forward to this!
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that I'll handle the shipping, so no fear that way. As long you've got a location that FedEx ships to, that is. US residents only, I'm afraid, as I can't handle the cost of shipping this to, say, Australia. Sorry, Pixy.
The book in question. Duck not included.
Tell me why I should send you a copy of this book for your library! You can write it on your blog if you have one (just include a link to the post here), or you can write it here if you don't. Feel free to accompany the post with charts, graphs, pictures, bribes, ducks, whatever you think it'll take to win the contest! As long as it's legal. One entry per person. Do not taunt happy fun ball. Entries must be in by 1159pm (Pond Time) on January 2nd, 2010. I will be the sole judge of this contest and my decision is final. Other than that, there are no rules! Go wild! I'm looking forward to this!
UPDATE: I forgot to mention that I'll handle the shipping, so no fear that way. As long you've got a location that FedEx ships to, that is. US residents only, I'm afraid, as I can't handle the cost of shipping this to, say, Australia. Sorry, Pixy.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
09:39 PM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 300 words, total size 2 kb.
December 25, 2009
The Twelfth Day of Duckmas 2009
We wish you a Merry Duckmas
We wish you a Merry Duckmas
We wish you a Merry Duckmas
And a quacky New Year!
Good tidings we bring to you and your flock
Good tidings for Duckmas
And a quacky New Year!
Oh bring us some tasty rye bread
Oh bring us some tasty rye bread
Oh bring us some tasty rye bread
So we can nibble all year!
For The Pond's readers we have just one wish
Please have a Merry Duckmas
And for the rye bread, we don't need us a dish!
We wish you a Merry Duckmas
We wish you a Merry Duckmas
We wish you a Merry Duckmas
And a quacky New Year!
We wish you a Merry Duckmas
We wish you a Merry Duckmas
We wish you a Merry Duckmas
And a quacky New Year!
Good tidings we bring to you and your flock
Good tidings for Duckmas
And a quacky New Year!
Oh bring us some tasty rye bread
Oh bring us some tasty rye bread
Oh bring us some tasty rye bread
So we can nibble all year!
For The Pond's readers we have just one wish
Please have a Merry Duckmas
And for the rye bread, we don't need us a dish!
We wish you a Merry Duckmas
We wish you a Merry Duckmas
We wish you a Merry Duckmas
And a quacky New Year!
Posted by: Wonderduck at
12:53 AM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 122 words, total size 1 kb.
December 24, 2009
Eleventh Day of Duckmas 2009
Gotta have cookies and milk for Santa, and who better than the gingerbread duckies to get them ready?
Gotta have cookies and milk for Santa, and who better than the gingerbread duckies to get them ready?
Posted by: Wonderduck at
09:15 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 23 words, total size 1 kb.
Home Again, Home Again
I've made it back from Albuquerque. I've been home for about an hour or so... about 10 hours after Ph.Duck and I left Uncle JoeDuck's place. Read that again: 10 hours!
We got to the Albuquerque International Sunport at 1145am Mountain time for a 1pm flight. Breezed through security while giving the screener a good laugh when he saw the World Market holiday rubber duckies in my carry-on, went right to our gate... and saw that the flight had been delayed until 2pm. Weather at O'Hare was piss-poor and getting worse.
Oh, great. JUST peachy.
Still, we did board at 2pm and did take off at about 215pm, so American Eagle got that part right. A rather bumpy climb to altitude later (it was actually snowing in Albuquerque today), and we were on our way. It was on the descent to O'Hare, however, that the flight took an ugly turn. As soon as we left cruising altitude, we were in the clouds, and we wouldn't escape them until a minute or so before we landed. That, my friends, was not pleasant... not in the least.
Turned out that we had some exciting crosswinds across the runway. It's rather disconcerting to feel the plane heel from port to starboard and back a few times when you're about to touch down, lemme tell ya. We touched down fairly hard, the pilot slammed on the brakes immediately, reversed the engines, threw out the anchor, and even dragged his feet to get us to stop. Slipping and sliding, but eventually we did stop. Then we starting taxiing to our gate... and went right by it. One nice scenic tour of the O'Hare "back lots" later, we approached our gate again... and again, went right by it. WTF??? The Captain then gets on the intercom and says, essentially, that American Airlines couldn't get their act together and there were a few extra jets blocking the gate. Oh joy.
So again, around we went. About halfway through this third circuit, I look out the window and see a BIG PLANE!!! RIGHT THERE!!! MOVING FAST!!! Our pilot slammed on the brakes, the BIG PLANE!!!, a Continental Airlines widebody, slammed on the brakes, and disaster was avoided... but not by enough to suit me, everybody on the right side of the plane, and our collective bladders. Meanwhile, the head flight attendant is chatting on her cellphone and snapping her gum. Oi.
At 7pm Central time (about 2 hours late), we deplaned into chaos. While Ph.Duck went in search of the loo, I found myself chatting to a pilot. According to him, O'Hare had been screwed up all day. Seems flights are scheduled so tightly at the world's busiest (or second busiest, depending on how you measure it) airport that one little problem causes a cascading series of backups and delays... and the weather had been causing havoc. Depending on when you were looking outside, it had been raining, snowing, sleeting, freezing rain, ice storming, rain of frogs, meteorites, hail of fire, you name it. Again, according to this pilot, at one point there were four hour delays on some flights east.
Bladders emptied, Ph.Duck and I went off to catch the bus back to Duckford. When it finally showed up, 20 minutes late, the driver told us that the roads were "sheer ice" and it might take two hours to get home. Well, it didn't... it only took 100 minutes, instead of the hour it usually takes. The roads in Duckford were... well, wet and sloppy. I suspect by sometime on Xmas Eve, they'll be ice rinks. At 1045pm, I walked through the door of Pond Central exhausted, tired, and hungry... and home.
There's no place like it.
We got to the Albuquerque International Sunport at 1145am Mountain time for a 1pm flight. Breezed through security while giving the screener a good laugh when he saw the World Market holiday rubber duckies in my carry-on, went right to our gate... and saw that the flight had been delayed until 2pm. Weather at O'Hare was piss-poor and getting worse.
Oh, great. JUST peachy.
Still, we did board at 2pm and did take off at about 215pm, so American Eagle got that part right. A rather bumpy climb to altitude later (it was actually snowing in Albuquerque today), and we were on our way. It was on the descent to O'Hare, however, that the flight took an ugly turn. As soon as we left cruising altitude, we were in the clouds, and we wouldn't escape them until a minute or so before we landed. That, my friends, was not pleasant... not in the least.
Turned out that we had some exciting crosswinds across the runway. It's rather disconcerting to feel the plane heel from port to starboard and back a few times when you're about to touch down, lemme tell ya. We touched down fairly hard, the pilot slammed on the brakes immediately, reversed the engines, threw out the anchor, and even dragged his feet to get us to stop. Slipping and sliding, but eventually we did stop. Then we starting taxiing to our gate... and went right by it. One nice scenic tour of the O'Hare "back lots" later, we approached our gate again... and again, went right by it. WTF??? The Captain then gets on the intercom and says, essentially, that American Airlines couldn't get their act together and there were a few extra jets blocking the gate. Oh joy.
So again, around we went. About halfway through this third circuit, I look out the window and see a BIG PLANE!!! RIGHT THERE!!! MOVING FAST!!! Our pilot slammed on the brakes, the BIG PLANE!!!, a Continental Airlines widebody, slammed on the brakes, and disaster was avoided... but not by enough to suit me, everybody on the right side of the plane, and our collective bladders. Meanwhile, the head flight attendant is chatting on her cellphone and snapping her gum. Oi.
At 7pm Central time (about 2 hours late), we deplaned into chaos. While Ph.Duck went in search of the loo, I found myself chatting to a pilot. According to him, O'Hare had been screwed up all day. Seems flights are scheduled so tightly at the world's busiest (or second busiest, depending on how you measure it) airport that one little problem causes a cascading series of backups and delays... and the weather had been causing havoc. Depending on when you were looking outside, it had been raining, snowing, sleeting, freezing rain, ice storming, rain of frogs, meteorites, hail of fire, you name it. Again, according to this pilot, at one point there were four hour delays on some flights east.
Bladders emptied, Ph.Duck and I went off to catch the bus back to Duckford. When it finally showed up, 20 minutes late, the driver told us that the roads were "sheer ice" and it might take two hours to get home. Well, it didn't... it only took 100 minutes, instead of the hour it usually takes. The roads in Duckford were... well, wet and sloppy. I suspect by sometime on Xmas Eve, they'll be ice rinks. At 1045pm, I walked through the door of Pond Central exhausted, tired, and hungry... and home.
There's no place like it.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
12:31 AM
| Comments (8)
| Add Comment
Post contains 624 words, total size 4 kb.
119kb generated in CPU 0.0882, elapsed 0.1926 seconds.
63 queries taking 0.1636 seconds, 374 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
63 queries taking 0.1636 seconds, 374 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
