March 20, 2008
The Melancholy of Ducks In Anime
-Ouran High School Host Club, ep07.
I forgot just how much fun Ouran is. Even though I've got new episodes of Clannad, ARIA, and Bamboo Blade to watch, and I somehow fell three weeks behind on Kimikiss, I guess I felt like something else.
On a whim, I brought up ep01 of Ouran... and wound up watching six more.
I don't usually marathon a show; three or four is my usual maximum at any one time. Kanon and Azumanga Daioh seem to be the only series that I can sit and watch the whole run of (though I did watch 10 episodes of Clannad when I was sick a couple of weeks ago, that was more because I was testing my new DVD player's reaction to a high-complexity dual-layer burned disc... or, rather, two of them), but if I didn't have to work in the morning, I might find that Ouran would join them.
Which is so strange, because the pointy-chin style of show usually doesn't interest me at all. But then, Ouran breaks a lot of rules in the first place, doesn't it?
-Ouran High School Host Club, ep07.
I forgot just how much fun Ouran is. Even though I've got new episodes of Clannad, ARIA, and Bamboo Blade to watch, and I somehow fell three weeks behind on Kimikiss, I guess I felt like something else.
On a whim, I brought up ep01 of Ouran... and wound up watching six more.
I don't usually marathon a show; three or four is my usual maximum at any one time. Kanon and Azumanga Daioh seem to be the only series that I can sit and watch the whole run of (though I did watch 10 episodes of Clannad when I was sick a couple of weeks ago, that was more because I was testing my new DVD player's reaction to a high-complexity dual-layer burned disc... or, rather, two of them), but if I didn't have to work in the morning, I might find that Ouran would join them.
Which is so strange, because the pointy-chin style of show usually doesn't interest me at all. But then, Ouran breaks a lot of rules in the first place, doesn't it?
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March 17, 2008
F1 on SPEED!: Malaysia!
UPDATE: All listed start times are confirmed to be correct; practice runs 90 minutes, quals two hours, the race (including pre-race) is 2.5 hours long.
It appears that someone at the FIA actually listened to the plaintive wails echoing throughout the world last year. As incredible at it may seem, in 2007 we went THREE WEEKS between the Aussie and the Malaysian GPs, waaaay too long for fans and teams alike, I'd wager. One week, though? Plenty long enough for us fans!
We start with Practice LIVE from 1am to 230am on the morning of Friday, March 21st. Maybe a little too early to watch as it happens, but what can you do when the action is happening on the other side of the planet?
Now, here's where it gets tricky. See, as I mentioned last week, speedtv.com recently revamped their entire website, including the tv schedule page. While most of the site works just fine, the schedule page is pretty much broken. So while the listed time for F1 Quals LIVE is 1am to 230am on Saturday, March 22nd, I'd be careful about setting your VCR for those times, exactly.
The same applies to the LIVE race times... it's listed at 130am to 4am, Sunday March 23rd, but again, the schedule actually claims it's the practice from Australia, too, so...
However, I think I'm on pretty secure ground when I state that the REPLAY of the race is from 1230pm to 3pm on Sunday, March 23rd. That's Easter Sunday, of course, so gather your family around the screen!
Finally, I can't NOT post this screenshot from the ITV coverage of the Aussie GP:
It appears that someone at the FIA actually listened to the plaintive wails echoing throughout the world last year. As incredible at it may seem, in 2007 we went THREE WEEKS between the Aussie and the Malaysian GPs, waaaay too long for fans and teams alike, I'd wager. One week, though? Plenty long enough for us fans!
We start with Practice LIVE from 1am to 230am on the morning of Friday, March 21st. Maybe a little too early to watch as it happens, but what can you do when the action is happening on the other side of the planet?
Now, here's where it gets tricky. See, as I mentioned last week, speedtv.com recently revamped their entire website, including the tv schedule page. While most of the site works just fine, the schedule page is pretty much broken. So while the listed time for F1 Quals LIVE is 1am to 230am on Saturday, March 22nd, I'd be careful about setting your VCR for those times, exactly.
The same applies to the LIVE race times... it's listed at 130am to 4am, Sunday March 23rd, but again, the schedule actually claims it's the practice from Australia, too, so...
However, I think I'm on pretty secure ground when I state that the REPLAY of the race is from 1230pm to 3pm on Sunday, March 23rd. That's Easter Sunday, of course, so gather your family around the screen!
Finally, I can't NOT post this screenshot from the ITV coverage of the Aussie GP:
Awkward... very, very awkward...
Okay, caption contest! Put yours in the comments!
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March 16, 2008
F1 UPDATE!: AUSTRALIA 2008!
Ahhhhh, the first race of a season... always full of wonder and questions. Who'll be good, who's bad, who'll surprise and disappoint? Does the offseason testing mean anything, or is it all window-hanging? Let's find out, and get right to the updatin'!!!
*WELCOME BACK: If all the races were going to be like this, there'd be a lot more fans of Formula 1 out there. While the winner wasn't really ever in too much doubt, everything behind the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton was up in the air all day. This race, you saw some of the best driving you'll ever witness, as well as some of the worst, sometimes from the same person. The reliability of the cars came into question with 14 racers ending up on the side of the track due to accident or breakdown (there was also one driver DQ'd). To be fair, the air temps were hovering around 100oF. all day, and that's really tough on these cars, but still and all. Now, since it's the first race of the year, you can't really put too much stock in the overall results... but boy, was it fun.
*WHAT THE...?: Last season, Ferrari swept the Driver's and Constructor's Championships (with a little help from the FIA's exclusion of McLaren) in a solid display of how to do things in Formula 1. In this race, however, Ferrari looked more like Joe's Garage And Lube Racing. Massa running out of fuel, Kimi discovering that it's easy to pass when you don't hit the brakes (but hard to make the upcoming turn), then that it's good to have your tires on the track when you decelerate. Then there were the disorganized pit decisions that Ferrari made (why keep Kimi out on the track during a yellow when everybody in the park knew he'd have to pit in a couple of laps anyway?). Basically, Ferrari looked amateurish, and they were lucky to have earned a single point today... and it took a DQ ahead of them to get that. One imagines Ron Dennis is smirking tonight.
*DRIVER OF THE RACE: Lewis Hamilton, McLaren. A 10 second lead by lap 15, a 30 second lead late, he was only out of first place for 5 laps due to pit-lane rotations. While Kubica gave him a challenge at the start (you can't be any closer to each other without being naked), that only really lasted for two or three laps. After that, the only question was would Hamilton keep it on the track and would it hold together? The answer to both was yes, and Lewis ran away with it. His first stint was particularly impressive, setting and resetting Fast Lap on laps 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 17. That's domination.
*TEAM OF THE RACE: Williams. Nico Rosberg gets a podium, Kaz Nakajima in the points, and the only team other than McLaren to get both cars to the end of the race? Considering how miserable a season Williams had last year, it's good to see them have a good race for once. McLaren gets an honorable mention for their Win-5th, which is nice, but they've got to be kicking themselves for losing a great chance to steal a march on Ferrari.
*MOVE OF THE RACE: On lap 57 of 59, Heikki Kovelaineininnie was challenging Renault's HWMNBN for 4th place. Considering that HWMNBN drives a very wide car, and the antipathy he has toward McLaren, there's no chance that Heikki would have an easy pass, and it wasn't. But it WAS a clean, firm, and impressive move. That Heikki threw it away a half-lap later by pressing the pit-lane limiter on the front straightaway (allowing HWMNBN to blow past the suddenly slow McLaren) takes nothing away from the move.
*MOOOO-OOOOVE OF THE RACE: Celebrating the bovine lurking inside every F1 driver, the Mooooo-ooove is given to the driver or team that has the clumsiest moment of the race. This week, Timo Glock's Toyota slid a little too far out of a turn, got into the grass, and wallowed around in a more-or-less uncontrolled fashion. It should have been fine, if embarrassing, but this is Melbourne's Albert Park. When it's not being used for the Grand Prix, it's just an ordinary (if large) park/golf course/lake facility. Glock skittered across the grass, crossed a strip of asphalt, and hit a very tall lip back onto the grass. The result? Well... not good:
*DRIVER QUOTES OF THE RACE:
more...
*WELCOME BACK: If all the races were going to be like this, there'd be a lot more fans of Formula 1 out there. While the winner wasn't really ever in too much doubt, everything behind the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton was up in the air all day. This race, you saw some of the best driving you'll ever witness, as well as some of the worst, sometimes from the same person. The reliability of the cars came into question with 14 racers ending up on the side of the track due to accident or breakdown (there was also one driver DQ'd). To be fair, the air temps were hovering around 100oF. all day, and that's really tough on these cars, but still and all. Now, since it's the first race of the year, you can't really put too much stock in the overall results... but boy, was it fun.
*WHAT THE...?: Last season, Ferrari swept the Driver's and Constructor's Championships (with a little help from the FIA's exclusion of McLaren) in a solid display of how to do things in Formula 1. In this race, however, Ferrari looked more like Joe's Garage And Lube Racing. Massa running out of fuel, Kimi discovering that it's easy to pass when you don't hit the brakes (but hard to make the upcoming turn), then that it's good to have your tires on the track when you decelerate. Then there were the disorganized pit decisions that Ferrari made (why keep Kimi out on the track during a yellow when everybody in the park knew he'd have to pit in a couple of laps anyway?). Basically, Ferrari looked amateurish, and they were lucky to have earned a single point today... and it took a DQ ahead of them to get that. One imagines Ron Dennis is smirking tonight.
*DRIVER OF THE RACE: Lewis Hamilton, McLaren. A 10 second lead by lap 15, a 30 second lead late, he was only out of first place for 5 laps due to pit-lane rotations. While Kubica gave him a challenge at the start (you can't be any closer to each other without being naked), that only really lasted for two or three laps. After that, the only question was would Hamilton keep it on the track and would it hold together? The answer to both was yes, and Lewis ran away with it. His first stint was particularly impressive, setting and resetting Fast Lap on laps 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15 and 17. That's domination.
*TEAM OF THE RACE: Williams. Nico Rosberg gets a podium, Kaz Nakajima in the points, and the only team other than McLaren to get both cars to the end of the race? Considering how miserable a season Williams had last year, it's good to see them have a good race for once. McLaren gets an honorable mention for their Win-5th, which is nice, but they've got to be kicking themselves for losing a great chance to steal a march on Ferrari.
*MOVE OF THE RACE: On lap 57 of 59, Heikki Kovelaineininnie was challenging Renault's HWMNBN for 4th place. Considering that HWMNBN drives a very wide car, and the antipathy he has toward McLaren, there's no chance that Heikki would have an easy pass, and it wasn't. But it WAS a clean, firm, and impressive move. That Heikki threw it away a half-lap later by pressing the pit-lane limiter on the front straightaway (allowing HWMNBN to blow past the suddenly slow McLaren) takes nothing away from the move.
*MOOOO-OOOOVE OF THE RACE: Celebrating the bovine lurking inside every F1 driver, the Mooooo-ooove is given to the driver or team that has the clumsiest moment of the race. This week, Timo Glock's Toyota slid a little too far out of a turn, got into the grass, and wallowed around in a more-or-less uncontrolled fashion. It should have been fine, if embarrassing, but this is Melbourne's Albert Park. When it's not being used for the Grand Prix, it's just an ordinary (if large) park/golf course/lake facility. Glock skittered across the grass, crossed a strip of asphalt, and hit a very tall lip back onto the grass. The result? Well... not good:
Avert your eyes, women and children...
Mental note: F1 cars are not meant to be dropped. It took Glock a long time to get out of the cockpit, undoubtably with a very sore back. Maybe his Mooooo-oooove will help sooth the pain.*DRIVER QUOTES OF THE RACE:
more...
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March 15, 2008
Beware The Ides Of March!
What, you thought I'd have guys in togas stabbing each other instead?
What, you thought I'd have guys in togas stabbing each other instead?
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March 14, 2008
All's Well: Toof Update.
First off, forgive any typographicasl errors that my be contained herein, but the vicodin is kcikin' my arse and I'm for bed as soon as this post is done.
The toof extraction went smoothly, took the usual amount of time, and has been accompanied by a remarkable small amount of pain. There's been some, of course, but the vicodin has ruthlessly stomped that into submission for me. It's making my fingers move not entirely as I will them, however, as well as making me extremely groggy. "DOn't operate power tools or heavy machinery" indeed.
I DID get to watch Aussie Quals, but I'll be rewatching it Saturday afternoon so I can actually comprehend what I was seeing (the vicodin was really overstepping it's boundaries). Again, I'm not sure if there'llbe a post on the quals session, or if it'll blend into the F1 UPDATE!.
Short version: Hamilton (McLaren) and Kubica (BMW) are the front row, Heikki (McLaren) is 3rd, Massa (Ferrari) is 4th. Raikkonen is SIXTEENTH after a mechanical failure on the circuit prevented him from makign the pitlane. He had made it to Q2, but because he couldn't coax his car back into the pit area after the failure, he wasn't allowed to continue (the failure having occurred on track by the definition of tte term. If he had managed to roll about 15 more feet, no problems other than the breakdown). Sebastian Vettel has given Toro Rosso their first Dry-weather Q3 ever. SeaBass didn't make it to Q2, which wasn't a suprise to me... first race, after all.
SuperAguri was 20 and 22, which is poor, but considering that they weren't even sure they'd be racing at all until about Tuesday, it's not bad at all.
Okay, The Duck is going to bed. Thaks, everybody!
The toof extraction went smoothly, took the usual amount of time, and has been accompanied by a remarkable small amount of pain. There's been some, of course, but the vicodin has ruthlessly stomped that into submission for me. It's making my fingers move not entirely as I will them, however, as well as making me extremely groggy. "DOn't operate power tools or heavy machinery" indeed.
I DID get to watch Aussie Quals, but I'll be rewatching it Saturday afternoon so I can actually comprehend what I was seeing (the vicodin was really overstepping it's boundaries). Again, I'm not sure if there'llbe a post on the quals session, or if it'll blend into the F1 UPDATE!.
Short version: Hamilton (McLaren) and Kubica (BMW) are the front row, Heikki (McLaren) is 3rd, Massa (Ferrari) is 4th. Raikkonen is SIXTEENTH after a mechanical failure on the circuit prevented him from makign the pitlane. He had made it to Q2, but because he couldn't coax his car back into the pit area after the failure, he wasn't allowed to continue (the failure having occurred on track by the definition of tte term. If he had managed to roll about 15 more feet, no problems other than the breakdown). Sebastian Vettel has given Toro Rosso their first Dry-weather Q3 ever. SeaBass didn't make it to Q2, which wasn't a suprise to me... first race, after all.
SuperAguri was 20 and 22, which is poor, but considering that they weren't even sure they'd be racing at all until about Tuesday, it's not bad at all.
Okay, The Duck is going to bed. Thaks, everybody!
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March 13, 2008
F1 Practice: Australia 2008!
The F1 Circus has returned! Today was the first day of the Australian Grand Prix weekend, and the howl of engines at 19000 rpm echoed thru Albert Park, Melbourne once again.
As it was practice, we couldn't really learn anything of true substance, but there are a few conclusions we can draw from the day's activities:
1) Some Things Never Change. Ferrari and McLaren were, for the most part, fastest on track... just like last year. For example, Lewis Hamilton was the fastest in session 2, almost a full second ahead of everybody else. Expect to see the Big Two repeat their dominance this season.
2) Some Things DO Change. The fight in the midpack looks like it's going to be wild. Mark Webber's Red Bull was second quickest today, and while we can't be sure that it wasn't just a low fuel speed run, the fact that David Coulthard's Chin was fifth seems to indicate that it's no fluke. The Williams (by the way, it isn't dark blue... it's black!)looked solid, and Toyota looked like they'd be high-midpack too. Renault, though, blew chunks; HWMNBN could only muster 13th best. What a shame, huh? Surprise of the day, though, has to go to Giancarlo Fisichella and Force India... they managed 9th fastest (and the car looks even better than I originally thought).
3) The Race Is Gonna Be Ugly. The removal of traction control led to an incredible amount of skids, slides, twitches and spins. It might as well have been "2 Fast 2 Furious: Melbourne Drift" out there. Hamilton took one turn practically sideways, yet you never thought he was out of control... his opinion may vary, however. EVERYBODY went off at one time or another, with Jarno Trulli (and his all-new, still lousy, hairstyle) beaching his Toyota near the end of the session. The first couple of laps are going to be true adventures.
4) The Legendary Announce Team Is Already In Midseason Form. Who else would bring you the news that David Coulthard's Chin a) buys 40 pair of a particular Australian brand of underwear when he comes to Melbourne, and b) he wears size small. We were also informed that Flavio Briatore, team principal of Renault, is going to marry his girlfriend in about six months... "She's a lingerie model. Flavor Flav, however, is not."
Thanks for the clarification, guys.
This is gonna be fun.
As it was practice, we couldn't really learn anything of true substance, but there are a few conclusions we can draw from the day's activities:
1) Some Things Never Change. Ferrari and McLaren were, for the most part, fastest on track... just like last year. For example, Lewis Hamilton was the fastest in session 2, almost a full second ahead of everybody else. Expect to see the Big Two repeat their dominance this season.
2) Some Things DO Change. The fight in the midpack looks like it's going to be wild. Mark Webber's Red Bull was second quickest today, and while we can't be sure that it wasn't just a low fuel speed run, the fact that David Coulthard's Chin was fifth seems to indicate that it's no fluke. The Williams (by the way, it isn't dark blue... it's black!)looked solid, and Toyota looked like they'd be high-midpack too. Renault, though, blew chunks; HWMNBN could only muster 13th best. What a shame, huh? Surprise of the day, though, has to go to Giancarlo Fisichella and Force India... they managed 9th fastest (and the car looks even better than I originally thought).
3) The Race Is Gonna Be Ugly. The removal of traction control led to an incredible amount of skids, slides, twitches and spins. It might as well have been "2 Fast 2 Furious: Melbourne Drift" out there. Hamilton took one turn practically sideways, yet you never thought he was out of control... his opinion may vary, however. EVERYBODY went off at one time or another, with Jarno Trulli (and his all-new, still lousy, hairstyle) beaching his Toyota near the end of the session. The first couple of laps are going to be true adventures.
4) The Legendary Announce Team Is Already In Midseason Form. Who else would bring you the news that David Coulthard's Chin a) buys 40 pair of a particular Australian brand of underwear when he comes to Melbourne, and b) he wears size small. We were also informed that Flavio Briatore, team principal of Renault, is going to marry his girlfriend in about six months... "She's a lingerie model. Flavor Flav, however, is not."
Thanks for the clarification, guys.
This is gonna be fun.
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March 12, 2008
F1 Pr0n: Toyota Put One Over On Us!
F1 UPDATE! has discovered that Toyota was spoofing earlier when they rolled out their so-called "TF108." Jarno Trulli debuted their REAL car today in Melbourne, and we've got an almost-exclusive picture! Click below...
more...
more...
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O RLY?
Astro claims to have 'defined' Kyoto Animation over at his place.
Uh, okay, Astro, whatever you say...
...but I think there's some people who just might disagree with you...
...yep, all that's missing is the snow, all right...
...maybe, just maybe, his assessment is a leeeeeetle bit off, neh?
Uh, okay, Astro, whatever you say...
...but I think there's some people who just might disagree with you...
...yep, all that's missing is the snow, all right...
...maybe, just maybe, his assessment is a leeeeeetle bit off, neh?
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March 10, 2008
F1 on SPEED: Melbourne!
Oh, did it feel good to type that title just now!
The first race of the season is coming up on us like we're on the starting grid and the red lights are turning on, and we're back for our fourth year to tell you everything you need to know (and lots of stuff you don't).
And it all starts with this post... the excitement is palpable, the air is thick with anticipation, and we're simply padding this paragraph now, so lets right get to it!
This being Australia, everything is off-kilter for us here in the States. Our first taste of the new season starts Thursday, March 13th, with the second Friday Practice session, LIVE, from 10pm to 1130pm. There does not appear to be a replay scheduled, but be aware that the good folks at Speedtv.com have recently revamped their website and the online schedule is still a bit gorked. Still, it's F1, folks, you know you'll be watching it live...
Next on tap is Saturday Qualifying, on our TV sets LIVE on Friday, March 14th, from 10pm to 12midnight. They've tinkered with the format (again), so no more fuel burnoff runs during Q3... which means no more mad scrambles for the pit-out, probably... and that's a good thing in our books.
Saturday, March 15th, from 1030p to 11p, brings us Inside Grand Prix, still sponsored by Allianz and still featuring Mr. Snootyvoice and his superciliously dulcet tones. But then... then... it's time.
Time for the Legendary Announce Team's coverage of the Australian Grand Prix LIVE from Melbourne, from 11pm to 130am. There's a replay on Sunday, March 16th, from 1230p to 3pm, too, for those of you who can't make it for the live coverage, of course.
It's the beginning of the 2008 Formula 1 season... and we here at F1 UPDATE! will give you our usual outstanding coverage* until the final checkered flag drops. And it all begins now!
*Despite this, please keep visiting.
The first race of the season is coming up on us like we're on the starting grid and the red lights are turning on, and we're back for our fourth year to tell you everything you need to know (and lots of stuff you don't).
And it all starts with this post... the excitement is palpable, the air is thick with anticipation, and we're simply padding this paragraph now, so lets right get to it!
This being Australia, everything is off-kilter for us here in the States. Our first taste of the new season starts Thursday, March 13th, with the second Friday Practice session, LIVE, from 10pm to 1130pm. There does not appear to be a replay scheduled, but be aware that the good folks at Speedtv.com have recently revamped their website and the online schedule is still a bit gorked. Still, it's F1, folks, you know you'll be watching it live...
Next on tap is Saturday Qualifying, on our TV sets LIVE on Friday, March 14th, from 10pm to 12midnight. They've tinkered with the format (again), so no more fuel burnoff runs during Q3... which means no more mad scrambles for the pit-out, probably... and that's a good thing in our books.
Saturday, March 15th, from 1030p to 11p, brings us Inside Grand Prix, still sponsored by Allianz and still featuring Mr. Snootyvoice and his superciliously dulcet tones. But then... then... it's time.
Time for the Legendary Announce Team's coverage of the Australian Grand Prix LIVE from Melbourne, from 11pm to 130am. There's a replay on Sunday, March 16th, from 1230p to 3pm, too, for those of you who can't make it for the live coverage, of course.
It's the beginning of the 2008 Formula 1 season... and we here at F1 UPDATE! will give you our usual outstanding coverage* until the final checkered flag drops. And it all begins now!
*Despite this, please keep visiting.
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March 09, 2008
ARIA, Undines and Promotions.
The world of ARIA is a lush and expansive one, with three series worth of anime (ARIA the Animation, 13 episodes; ARIA the Natural, 26 episodes and one OVA, "Arietta", and ARIA the Origination, currently on ep8 of 13), and two separate manga (Aqua and Aria) to draw details from (please note that this post draws only from the anime)
The setting for ARIA is the city of Neo-Venezia, nearly a brick-for-brick copy of the Italian city of Venice (which has been abandoned, finally slipping under the water of the Adriatic sea; whether this is because of eco-disaster or natural subsidence of the city is unknown), located on what was called Mars, now Aqua after extensive terraforming. Like the original, Neo-Venezia is waterbound, with canals replacing streets. As one would expect, the gondolieri of Venice made the trek to Aqua as well. The profession underwent a sea change (pardon the pun) in Neo-Venezia, however.
Now called Undines, the gondolieri of Neo-Venezia are exclusively female. A mix of tour guide and limo driver, Undines might almost be considered the 'rock stars' of Neo-Venezia, with magazines devoted to them, and the best being known city-wide and beyond, with their fame seemingly reaching to 'Manhome', as Earth is now called.
The Undines are well-organized, with their own guild of sorts, the Gondolier's Association. The 'gondolier concession', if you will, is run by three companies: Orange Planet (the largest, whose uniforms are lined with yellow), Himeya (the oldest, red), and Aria Company (the company followed in the show, blue).
There may be at least two other companies in Neo-Venezia as well (whose uniform colors are green and purple, respectively), but other than a brief moment in one episode, they exist 'off-stage', if you will.
Given all this, there are a few things that have bothered me (slightly) about the world of the Undines:
more...
The setting for ARIA is the city of Neo-Venezia, nearly a brick-for-brick copy of the Italian city of Venice (which has been abandoned, finally slipping under the water of the Adriatic sea; whether this is because of eco-disaster or natural subsidence of the city is unknown), located on what was called Mars, now Aqua after extensive terraforming. Like the original, Neo-Venezia is waterbound, with canals replacing streets. As one would expect, the gondolieri of Venice made the trek to Aqua as well. The profession underwent a sea change (pardon the pun) in Neo-Venezia, however.
Now called Undines, the gondolieri of Neo-Venezia are exclusively female. A mix of tour guide and limo driver, Undines might almost be considered the 'rock stars' of Neo-Venezia, with magazines devoted to them, and the best being known city-wide and beyond, with their fame seemingly reaching to 'Manhome', as Earth is now called.
The Undines are well-organized, with their own guild of sorts, the Gondolier's Association. The 'gondolier concession', if you will, is run by three companies: Orange Planet (the largest, whose uniforms are lined with yellow), Himeya (the oldest, red), and Aria Company (the company followed in the show, blue).
There may be at least two other companies in Neo-Venezia as well (whose uniform colors are green and purple, respectively), but other than a brief moment in one episode, they exist 'off-stage', if you will.
Given all this, there are a few things that have bothered me (slightly) about the world of the Undines:
more...
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Random Anime Picture #13
That'll tide you over until I get the ARIA post I mentioned last week finished. That darn ick made it impossible to write clearly...
...then it's F1 time again!
Poor Alice... that was just mean.
-ARIA the Origination, ep08That'll tide you over until I get the ARIA post I mentioned last week finished. That darn ick made it impossible to write clearly...
...then it's F1 time again!
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Mee.Nu Problems
Earlier today, mee.nu, the domain for a good many blogs (including Chizumatic and Brickmuppet), was having problems being 'located', if you will, by the internet as a whole. If you tried to visit those sites, you received a message stating "this domain is registered and maintained by one of our customers".
Pixy Misa, the great guru of mee.nu (and the charter member of The Order of The Honorary Duck), got the problem resolved very quickly; impressive, since he's in Australia and the problem was occurring around 9am Pond Time.
Unfortunately, the problem seems to have returned. So if you've been having problems getting to any of those sites, that's what's going on. Don't panic, they'll be back soon.
(Pixy tells me that The Pond is maintained on one of the same servers as those carrying .mee.nu sites, but since I'm a carryover from the .mu.nu days, I'm not affected.)
Pixy Misa, the great guru of mee.nu (and the charter member of The Order of The Honorary Duck), got the problem resolved very quickly; impressive, since he's in Australia and the problem was occurring around 9am Pond Time.
Unfortunately, the problem seems to have returned. So if you've been having problems getting to any of those sites, that's what's going on. Don't panic, they'll be back soon.
(Pixy tells me that The Pond is maintained on one of the same servers as those carrying .mee.nu sites, but since I'm a carryover from the .mu.nu days, I'm not affected.)
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March 07, 2008
F1 Pr0n: Williams FW30!
T3h 3\/1L!
more...
Looks aren't everything, but the new Williams charger, the FW30, has an aura of menace and nasty around it. It's been a while (Minardi '05) since we've had a black and white car on the grid, it's kinda nice to see.
On second thought, maybe Williams doesn't want to invite comparisons to Minardi...
On second thought, maybe Williams doesn't want to invite comparisons to Minardi...
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March 05, 2008
The Ick Is Back... d*mm*t.
It isn't a flu (did you know they've got a test for that now? They stick a q-tip up your nose then do something with it and then they know if you've got the flu... miracles never cease!), it's not pneumonia, it's not whooping crane cough, it's not a toomah, which means it's probably a virus. And that, ladies and gentlemen (and my regular readers) means...
...there's nothing they can do for me, except try to keep the cough from expelling my lungs from my chest and out my mouth. Whee.
That Aria post I was talking about is still in the works; it'll get up eventually. For now, though, I'm going to bed.
Sick Yuno FTW x2!
Remember a couple of weeks ago when I had a cough? It's back. The difference now, though, is that I know what it ISN'T:It isn't a flu (did you know they've got a test for that now? They stick a q-tip up your nose then do something with it and then they know if you've got the flu... miracles never cease!), it's not pneumonia, it's not whooping crane cough, it's not a toomah, which means it's probably a virus. And that, ladies and gentlemen (and my regular readers) means...
...there's nothing they can do for me, except try to keep the cough from expelling my lungs from my chest and out my mouth. Whee.
That Aria post I was talking about is still in the works; it'll get up eventually. For now, though, I'm going to bed.
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March 04, 2008
Gary Gygax Has Failed His Saving Throw.
Gary Gygax, the creator of Dungeons & Dragons, and one of the founders of TSR Games (and the Dungeon Hobby Shop), passed away today.
I can't even begin to tell you how many hours I spent in Vaucaunson's Duck's basement, playing D&D with the group (John, The Other John, Paul, David, Jeff, and The Other Jeff)... many, many, many nights worth, that's for sure. Lord only knows how many cans o' coke met their ends at our hands, or how many dice rolled across the table (and we never reached 4th level, either...).
I suspect that many of my readers have similar stories; the guy was a legend in the years before computer gaming took over, and has only grown in stature since, even after being shoved out of the game by TSR going under and being acquired by Wizards of the Coast.
Vauc, I remember he tried to hire Dr John once upon a time... any thoughts for the crowd?
UPDATE: Order Of The Stick pays tribute and does it right.
I can't even begin to tell you how many hours I spent in Vaucaunson's Duck's basement, playing D&D with the group (John, The Other John, Paul, David, Jeff, and The Other Jeff)... many, many, many nights worth, that's for sure. Lord only knows how many cans o' coke met their ends at our hands, or how many dice rolled across the table (and we never reached 4th level, either...).
I suspect that many of my readers have similar stories; the guy was a legend in the years before computer gaming took over, and has only grown in stature since, even after being shoved out of the game by TSR going under and being acquired by Wizards of the Coast.
Vauc, I remember he tried to hire Dr John once upon a time... any thoughts for the crowd?
UPDATE: Order Of The Stick pays tribute and does it right.
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Random Anime Picture #12
How many fetishes can YOU find in this picture?
God bless the Japanese...
-Yotsunoha, ep01How many fetishes can YOU find in this picture?
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March 02, 2008
Random Anime Pictures #11
-Spice + Wolf, ep08
"Hey, I've got a great idea for a show."
"Okay, tell me."
"Medieval economics. We'll follow a guy in a cart around as he goes from town to town trading pepper for apples, and then for wheat. It'll be great!"
"..."
"Whaddya think?"
"ARE YOU INSANE?"
"Huh?"
"Medieval economics? There's no way people would watch that!"
"B-b-b-but... why not?"
"Not enough girls!"
"Mmm... how about we give him a wolf goddess disguised as a teen girl as a partner?"
"NOW you're talking!"
You wouldn't think there'd be any chance that a show like Spice + Wolf would be interesting, but it is. Unfortunately, it's interesting because of Horo (the abovementioned wolf goddess), not because of the main premise (medieval trading) or storyline. Horo's feisty, clever, witty, and her ears and tail are cute (as she'll tell you at any time)... and she's practically the only reason to watch the show. I'm not sure I've ever seen a series that's so dominated by a character. There's one episode where she's not on screen until the final thirty seconds, and it's really bad. I mean, REALLY bad: "two guys sitting in a room, talking" bad.
I can't recommend Spice + Wolf, but there are a lot of worse shows out there... and please note that I'm watching it to the bitter end. Maybe we'll figure out why Horo the wolf goddess looks more like a fox than a wolf...
-Spice + Wolf, ep08
"Hey, I've got a great idea for a show."
"Okay, tell me."
"Medieval economics. We'll follow a guy in a cart around as he goes from town to town trading pepper for apples, and then for wheat. It'll be great!"
"..."
"Whaddya think?"
"ARE YOU INSANE?"
"Huh?"
"Medieval economics? There's no way people would watch that!"
"B-b-b-but... why not?"
"Not enough girls!"
"Mmm... how about we give him a wolf goddess disguised as a teen girl as a partner?"
"NOW you're talking!"
You wouldn't think there'd be any chance that a show like Spice + Wolf would be interesting, but it is. Unfortunately, it's interesting because of Horo (the abovementioned wolf goddess), not because of the main premise (medieval trading) or storyline. Horo's feisty, clever, witty, and her ears and tail are cute (as she'll tell you at any time)... and she's practically the only reason to watch the show. I'm not sure I've ever seen a series that's so dominated by a character. There's one episode where she's not on screen until the final thirty seconds, and it's really bad. I mean, REALLY bad: "two guys sitting in a room, talking" bad.
I can't recommend Spice + Wolf, but there are a lot of worse shows out there... and please note that I'm watching it to the bitter end. Maybe we'll figure out why Horo the wolf goddess looks more like a fox than a wolf...
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Random Anime Picture #10
I'm currently working on a post about an aspect of the ARIA world that's bothered me for a while. It's not a problem with the show at all, but one of those things that's like the socket of a recently-pulled tooth... you can't help but poke at it with your tongue. With any luck, it should be up on Sunday.
I love this shot...
-ARIA the Origination, ep06I'm currently working on a post about an aspect of the ARIA world that's bothered me for a while. It's not a problem with the show at all, but one of those things that's like the socket of a recently-pulled tooth... you can't help but poke at it with your tongue. With any luck, it should be up on Sunday.
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March 01, 2008
One Last "...Angel" Post.
I almost wish I hadn't checked this.
The VCAs have a new feature this year, showing where each nominee ranked in the voting in each category.
"...Angel" was the best of the non-finalists in the "Best First Video" category.
UPDATE: No it wasn't, at least not because of this list. It's in alphabetical order by video name; of course, I was looking at the name of the creator instead. Thanks to Andrew F. for pointing that out. Guess I just wanted it to be true so much that I just didn't research it enough.
SO close, OH so close... congrats to OneLastKiss123, though. Really good video, there.
The VCAs have a new feature this year, showing where each nominee ranked in the voting in each category.
"...Angel" was the best of the non-finalists in the "Best First Video" category.
UPDATE: No it wasn't, at least not because of this list. It's in alphabetical order by video name; of course, I was looking at the name of the creator instead. Thanks to Andrew F. for pointing that out. Guess I just wanted it to be true so much that I just didn't research it enough.
SO close, OH so close... congrats to OneLastKiss123, though. Really good video, there.
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February 29, 2008
Anime Night: We Like Pie
So The Librarian had a work-related event this evening that wouldn't place her at The Pond until 830p... a little late for us to follow our usual routine. Instead, we decided that we'd do dinner instead.
Well, more correctly, I'D do dinner. She did pie. Specifically, a slice of pie, then an appetizer, then another slice of pie. For the record, I had a slice of pie as well.
Plate wreck!!!
And a good time was had by all us. Anime came up for about five minutes ("Gunslinger Girl? Henrietta? Violin case upside the head? How could you not remember that? It was only last Friday!"), the rest of the time was spent being seventeen years old again.
Did you know that KC (of KC and the Sunshine Band) had a brother that invented fried chicken? They called him KFC (I should be congratulated for not spewing pie over The Librarian after that... and for not attempting to scoop her brains out with a spoon).
Yeah, we can be like that once in a while. In this case, it lasted about three hours; it ended with a game of tic-tac-toe in the parking lot (see, it was snowing, and we were the last people out, so we had this really clean flat space...) and brushing snow off our cars (and doing everything we could to dump the snow on the other's car).
So NOIR is on hold until next week, but we had more fun than a barrel of superballs anyway. It ain't always about anime, folks... just most of the time.
(thanks to DbD for the picture... I flat-out stole it.)
Well, more correctly, I'D do dinner. She did pie. Specifically, a slice of pie, then an appetizer, then another slice of pie. For the record, I had a slice of pie as well.
Plate wreck!!!
Did you know that KC (of KC and the Sunshine Band) had a brother that invented fried chicken? They called him KFC (I should be congratulated for not spewing pie over The Librarian after that... and for not attempting to scoop her brains out with a spoon).
Yeah, we can be like that once in a while. In this case, it lasted about three hours; it ended with a game of tic-tac-toe in the parking lot (see, it was snowing, and we were the last people out, so we had this really clean flat space...) and brushing snow off our cars (and doing everything we could to dump the snow on the other's car).
So NOIR is on hold until next week, but we had more fun than a barrel of superballs anyway. It ain't always about anime, folks... just most of the time.
(thanks to DbD for the picture... I flat-out stole it.)
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