Train. Drone. Camera.
There are times when I find "drones", or what used to be called "R/C aircraft", to be incredibly tiresome.
This is not one of those times.
Neither is this.
I find it interesting that at no time does the drone fly directly over the train... maybe some sort of rule against it? Is the pilot afraid they'll shoot it down or something?
Now instead of a camera looking at a train, how about a camera looking FROM a train?
That's the Shonan Monorail, by the way. I have this feeling I've seen it in an anime somewhere... Railgun, maybe?
1
The Shonan Monorail is in Midori no Hibi, and I know I've seen it elsewhere. It's not like the Enoden which pops its head up three times a season (A Channel, Bunny Girl Senpai, Tari Tari, Hanayamata) but it gets around.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at May 29, 2019 02:27 AM (2yngH)
2
I don't remember it in Midori no Hibi, mainly because the concept pretty much drowns out content in my mind.
I don't remember the Enoden in A Channel or Tari Tari, but I never got too far into either before something bright and shiny came along and distracted me.
Posted by: Wonderduck at May 29, 2019 11:21 AM (EXhwA)
3
Can't remember the name offhand but it was in the series where the world had all kinds of "decency" regulations and you couldn't even say "poop" in public without censure, and the female lead was a "smut terrorist".
Posted by: Ed Hering at May 29, 2019 12:00 PM (/cXdK)
4
I found a nice guide to the Enoden in anime but haven't found one yet for the Shonen Monorail, even though it is literally just around the corner. (Which I didn't know until I looked just now.)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at May 30, 2019 05:47 AM (2yngH)
5
Getting pulled in by the monorail video nearly made me late getting out the door this morning. Mesmerizing!
Posted by: GreyDuck at May 31, 2019 07:21 AM (rKFiU)
6
There is a Pluto Tv channel called "Slow TV," which apparently consists of nothing but camera on front of train videos.
Unfortunately, the camera often shakes in a motion sickness sort of way. I think a larger TV might work better.
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at May 31, 2019 05:02 PM (sF8WE)
Motorsport Holiday!
That's right, it's Memorial Day weekend here in the US, and that means it's time for all auto racing fans to plop themselves down on the couch with the remote, a bag of chips, and just spend the entirety of your Sunday watching car races!
First off is Monaco, and we probably won't be seeing this view all that much. Monaco is dredging out tons of silt from near the Tunnel exit, so as to create a firm base for some land reclamation. It's supposed to be finished by 2022, at which point the run from the Tunnel will be much more dramatic, going between highrises and the like.
There will be a sense of sadness around Monaco this year though. Just this past Monday two-time Monaco winner and three-time World Driver's Championship winner Niki Lauda passed away at the age of 70. By now you know the story of his terrible fiery accident at the Nurburgring, how it severely burned his head and neck, and worst of all inhaling hot gases scorched his lungs. At one point comatose, he was given Last Rites. And then, because he was a bad-ass, Lauda came back six weeks later to race at Monza, because there was a championship to be won. He finished fourth. A reporter says that after the race, Lauda had to peel bloodsoaked bandages off his head. He went into the final race at Mt Fuji Circuit in Japan three points up on rival James Hunt. Due to terrible rains, he withdrew, stating it was too dangerous. He wound up losing the championship by one point. The courage it took to get back into the car only 40 days after nearly dying was immense... he has since said that he was absolutely terrified. In recent times, he'd been an adviser to Mercedes. He had a lung transplant last year, and was undergoing dialysis treatments of late when he died. I don't use the term "hero" very often, but we are not likely to see the level of heroic bravery it took for him to drive again. Fortunately, we are in a time where we most likely won't see similar circumstances arise.
Speaking of not seeing things, we won't be seeing Fernando Alonso in this year's Indy 500. The McLaren effort failed to give him a car able to qualify in the top 33, being bumped at the very last moment possible. I suppose if another team withdraws, he'd be allowed in, but... not likely to happen. I'll admit, that removes a lot of interest in the 500 for me, but what the hell, it's only once a year and it's THE biggest race in America. Right?
Then in the late afternoon/early evening, NASCAR brings us the Coca-Cola 600 from the Charlotte Motor Speedway. I have very little to say about this race; I haven't paid any attention to stock car racing this year at all. But it makes the three-race extravaganza complete, so it is not to be scoffed at.
Monaco is at 8am Pond Central, Indy around 11am, and the 600 is at 5pm. That makes it look like there's a few hours between the end of the 500 and the beginning of the NASCAR race, but wait! Some bright spark at ABC noticed that gap, and decided that we'll be seeing the Monaco GP on tape-delay on the network beginning right about 2pm. One could literally go from 11am to roughly 9pm watching autoracing. For those of us who prefer NOT to wait, ESPN2 will have Monaco at the correct time.
So... I've got chips. I've got gatorade. There will probably be pizza. Lets race!
Posted by: Mauser at May 23, 2019 10:06 PM (Ix1l6)
4
"Nonplus" is one of those words that has two diametrically opposite usages.
1. To be made so surprised or confused that one has no idea how to react or think or feel. To be perplexed. (This is the original meaning.)
2. To not care, not be surprised, and not be confused when something disturbing occurs. To be cool and unperperplexed. (This is the mirror world definition.)
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at May 24, 2019 04:48 AM (sF8WE)
5
I bet that second usage came from people who didn't really know what the word meant and just guessed. People who use it that (i.e., wrong) way should be slapped with a trout.
Posted by: Rick C at May 24, 2019 08:25 AM (Iwkd4)
6
Rick, that's exactly what the online dictionary said. Well, not the Trout part.
Posted by: Mauser at May 24, 2019 06:44 PM (Ix1l6)
I Had No Idea...
Y'all remember The Art Of Noise, right? New Wave band, did that thing with Max Headroom, and that other thing with Tom Jones, and that other other thing with Duane Eddy, and the video with the kinda creepy little girl directing people to destroy various musical instruments in various entertaining ways? Right, that song was titled "Close (To The Edit)", and like a lot of Noise's stuff, it still holds up really well today.
But here's the thing: I always assumed that it was all electronic stuff and samples and drum machines. And maybe it was, but I only just learned that Trevor Horn produced the band... indeed, he was actually part of the band. And between him, Anne Dudley, and a Fairlight, there was actual, y'know, music. That could be played live. A stunning concept for what I thought was nothing but a studio band.
How did I discover this? Like most revelations, I discovered it accidentally, by stumbling over a 2004 Prince's Trust concert celebrating the career of Trevor Horn. His work with The Buggles, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Yes, Seal, ABC, and others all performed live... and then this:
Completely gobsmacked. I knew Horn played bass, but holy crepe on a stick, he does seem to be pretty damn good at it. Oh, and those drummers are doing some serious work.
And it was live. Who knew the Art of Noise was a real live boy?
1
I always get mixed up between Trevor Rabin and Trevor Horn, to my deep chagrin. To be fair to my feeble brain, they were both members and/or producers of the band Yes...
Dude's got CHOPS though. I should track down the full playlist for that show.
2As I've said in the past, I usually make it until the monkey shows up. Then I simply can't stop laughing.
I have it transliterated as "fnorky!", but I admit to maybe being wrong.
Posted by: Wonderduck at May 15, 2019 02:04 AM (EXhwA)
3
His patience was superhuman. Just... waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Just when you start to think "okay the moment has passed," bam, another brilliant bit. Then he goes back to waiting. Paul Harvey himself couldn't game a pregnant pause better.
Posted by: GreyDuck at May 15, 2019 07:43 AM (rKFiU)
Random Anime Picture #147: Starry Night With Beach
-Manaria Friends, Ep06
Every so often, a series will come down the pike that takes you by surprise, hits you on the back of the head with a sock filled with rocks, rifles through your pocket for spare change, then leaves you for dead on the sidewalk.
Manaria Friends is not that show.
Instead, what MF is is a gently believable series about two girls that have a thing for each other. As they go through their days at Wizarding U., we learn about them, the world they're in, the growth cycle of dragons, and how a piano stays in tune outdoors in the snow.
not appearing in this picture: snow
While there is magic thrown about in the show, which makes sense since it's set in a college for magic users, it's far from being the centerpoint. Upon reflection, there's only two or three episodes of this 10-episode series that require magic to continue the story... and one Lighting Designer that just pissed me right the hell off by using magic to provide the stage lighting, but that's neither here nor there.
Instead, our show is about Anne (right) and Grea (the other one). Anne is a princess of the kingdom of Manaria, where the show is set. She is a prodigy in the use of magic, seemingly more powerful than many (all?) of the teachers. The problem is, of course, that she's not overly trained in the use of that ability, meaning there tends to be a lot of overkill in her spellcasting. Grea, on the other hand, is a princess of the Dragonborn... okay, let's get this out of the way now:
...is a princess of the Dragonborn, which is what the kingdom of the dragons call themselves. She's actually half-dragon, half-human, a magic user of some skill, immense physical strength, and a cute tail, which is not something I ever expected to type.
Together they go through a semester? year? becoming more and more the focus of each other's life. While it's not all sweetness and light, it mostly is. Manaria Friends is the sort of show that puts a smile on your face while you enjoy two people that enjoy each other's company enjoying themselves. I'd put it in the same category as Flying Witch or Yuru Camp... it's just nice. And for what it is, it's remarkably well done.
1
Naturally, as a Granblue player, I was going to watch anyway. But I ended up enjoying the heck out of it - way better quality than I was expecting. Nothing much happens, but it's a very enjoyable nothing much.
A friend of mine is absolutely Grea-crazy - when the Manaria event hit in Granblue he farmed up 16 copies of her summon so he could fill a summon grid with Grea (this is neither a wise nor a sane thing to have done...) I'm not THAT into her but I'm still quite thankful for her 3-million-damage special attacks...
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at May 14, 2019 03:38 AM (v29Tn)
2
I remember trying and liking the first episode, I just forgot to add it to my watch queue. I'll remedy that oversight post-haste, thank you.
3
Is it bad that I spent a good 5 minutes of episode 2 wondering how Grea was lying flat on her back. And a good minute of every episode trying to figure out how her tail and skirt worked together?
Posted by: Really Bored at May 14, 2019 12:31 PM (MmkR/)
4
Heh; you should browse the fan-sites and see how much trouble artists have figuring out how Grea's tail works. Her anatomy is "challenging".
-j
Posted by: J Greely at May 15, 2019 01:58 AM (ZlYZd)
Oh Look... Spa!
In the past, during the various F1U!s for the Grand Prix of Belgium at Spa-Francopants, I've said that rain is always a possibility. That's just the way Spa do. This past weekend, the World Endurance Championship held the Six Hours of Spa, and the skies were quite nice to begin... but rain is always a possibility, right?
...I'm fairly sure I've never said SNOW was a possibility. Ye cats and little fishes.
Hey... LeMans is coming up, isn't it? Mid-June... hope it's gonna be on TV here, I can't find anything about who's broadcasting in the US.
1
The *rumor*, which I'm sure you've come across already, is that Le Mans will be on "Velocity" Network. Which I'm guessing is some car-enthusiast network that recently got bought by a different producer and got it's name change. Or not. I've never heard of it, anyway.
2
I'm actually familiar with that network - they show a lot of car auction shows that Dad likes, as well as a bunch of other auto-enthusiast shows. Mostly "let's restore these classic cars" type stuff with a little racing thrown in.
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at May 09, 2019 01:46 PM (v29Tn)
3
Yeah, Velocity has a couple of good shows. Sadly, Wheeler Dealers dropped Edd, who was the whole reason I watched. So I don't think I've tuned in for a while.
Posted by: Kathryn at May 09, 2019 05:17 PM (bhouN)
4
Yah, Velocity carried the race last year. I couldn't find it on my channel list though... which drove me to do some digging.
Turns out it's changed its name to MotorTrend, like the automotive website. Nobody knows if they'll be carrying Le Mans yet, but it seems to be assumed by fans of the WEC.
Posted by: Wonderduck at May 09, 2019 05:28 PM (EXhwA)
5
Oh. Well. I watch a lot of MotorTrend's stuff on YouTube. So maybe this is a good thing.
When Cover Songs Try Too Hard
Last night I found myself following a pointer gleaned from over at J's place into the darker recesses of Yootoob. I came hunting for the promise of a good cover song, made likely by the musician being Jonathan Coulton... y'know, the guy who wrote Portal's theme song? So into this den of iniquity I went, and I found an entire album, entitled Some Guys, of cover songs of '70s hits and ballads. I began listening... and I found myself confused.
That's not a cover song! Oh, it is of course... that's Coulton singing instead of Gerry Rafferty... but there's practically no difference between the two. Is that a cover, or is it a tribute, or just a knockoff? The entire album is like this, nigh-on note perfect copies of 40-year-old songs. And I have to ask: why bother? Don't get me wrong, it's a tour-de-force by Coulton. The performances are excellent, and if you didn't know better you'd swear you were listening to the originals.
And that's the problem, isn't it? If I wanted to listen to the original song, I'd just listen to the original, not Jonathan Coulton pretending to be Gerry Rafferty, no matter how good at it he is.
I'm long of the belief that a good cover song must have a healthy dollop of the covering band's flavor on top of the original. The best example of this that I can come up with off the top of my head is the song "Got The Time".
Classic song by Joe Jackson in his "angry young man" phase, somewhere after punk but before new wave kicked in. He's long been my favorite musician, and this is easily one of my favorite of his tracks. Until I heard a cover of it.
By heavy metal band Anthrax.
Now it's still one of my favorite Joe Jackson songs, I just prefer this version. It's still the same song, just performed in Anthrax's inimitable style. It's no slavish copy, it's just a brilliant repurposing.
THAT's what I think a cover song should be like. Don't copy: adapt.
1
It's a strange line. If an act tries to copy a song, and fails, but doesn't suck *too* bad, then it's a cover song. If it's an EXACT copy, it's a concept. Possibly a tribute, in the right circumstances.
But also, if an act copies another act but using an intentional gimmick, that's ALSO a tribute. If the act changes the songs *too* much, or focuses on their gimmick more than the music, then they're a parody act.
2
Yeah, I found most of the album to be a little too on-the-nose, and wish he'd shone a bit of Coulton snark on the painfully earnest lyrics. Everybody's Talkin is the worst, IMHO, because he carefully imitates the annoying woh-woh sound that I'd successfully suppressed all memory of. New Kid In Town works best for me, because he makes it his own just a little.
-j
Posted by: J Greely at May 03, 2019 02:10 AM (ZlYZd)
3
Coulton just does not seem to grok what a cover is for. His project is more like using Photoshop to reproduce famous photographs. It's a marvelous accomplishment while also being unnecessary and not terribly enjoyable.
I'd not heard that Anthrax rendition of "Got The Time" before. Nice!
Posted by: GreyDuck at May 03, 2019 07:31 AM (rKFiU)
4
Disturbed exemplified how it's done with the Sound of Silence. This metal cover of Toto's Africa is also an amazing example. This guitar only cover of Purple Rain by John Petrucci has also featured on my playlist for some time. All of those are recognizably the original song, but also touched by the cover artist's style.
The first version of Little Wing I ever heard was by Sting. I didn't even know at the time that is was a cover of a Hendrix song, and it took me a while to wrap my head around the original.
Posted by: David at May 04, 2019 06:25 PM (JMkaQ)
5
Depeche Mode covered "Route 66." It is a good cover, but it also cracked me up the first time I heard it, last month. I could almost fete what the music video must have looked like.
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at May 05, 2019 10:55 PM (sF8WE)
6
Tell, not fete. Argh, predictive spelling must go!
I was wrong about the music video, though. I was sure there would be a red sportscar, whereas it turned out to be all about motorcycles.
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at May 05, 2019 11:02 PM (sF8WE)
Posted by: J Greely at May 06, 2019 02:54 PM (ZlYZd)
8
Along the lines of making a cover, but making it your own, I just ran across this:
Posted by: Mauser at May 10, 2019 05:45 AM (Ix1l6)
9
Y'know, I never liked that song... I've always found Stevie Nicks to be creepy as hell, and Fleetwood Mac has always seemed to be overrated (note: does not include The Chain... or at least part of it.).
But I like this version. Good catch, Mauser.
Posted by: Wonderduck at May 10, 2019 03:59 PM (EXhwA)
10
Bite your tongue. Well, a little bit, anyway. Agree on Fleetwood Mac being overrated, but Stevie Nicks is a persona that overshadowed a lot of good songs. Pretty sure she was intentionally creepy.
11
It came up in a FB thread, and I immediately thought of this post. One of the more music theory inclined participants noticed a very different chord progression that was more complex than the original. Totally flew over my head.
Posted by: Mauser at May 10, 2019 06:35 PM (Ix1l6)
51
It was a day much like any other Chicago day in 1968. A pale gray haze hung over the city, courtesy of the smog caused by millions of cars. The ivy on the Wrigley Field walls had yet to bloom and instead remained a dull brown. Kids were in school, grown-ups were at work, and the day continued much as any other day would continue.
Except that, in a hospital on Lake Shore Drive not far from the aforementioned home of the Cubs, a Wonderduck was presented to a confused and tentative world.
birthday candle!
My age 50 year... mmm... not so good. Here's hoping for a better 51.
Posted by: Ed Hering at April 23, 2019 12:49 PM (/cXdK)
2
It never ceases to amaze me that an engine burning huge amounts of kerosene and liquid oxygen, producing that massive flame and about 31k lbs of force, was used simply as a fuel pump for the actual rocket engine.
Oh, and happy birthday! Hopefully the next trip around the sun will be much better for you.
Posted by: David at April 23, 2019 03:42 PM (A/T0R)
3
Pixy: Happy birthday, Wonderduck!
Also Pixy: Wait, didn't I work out that allowing for the international date line, Wonderduck is exactly the same age as my brother... Crap. Well, at least I can take him out to lunch without a 17 hour plane flight.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at April 23, 2019 05:52 PM (2yngH)
When "Forward" Looks A Lot Like Taking A Nap
This evening, I headed into the loo here at Pond Central. There was nothing special about this, it was simply to pick up a pair of reading glasses I had left there... 2x mag, look a lot like protective eyewear (because they are... they were on sale!)... when suddenly, I vurped.
Yes, that sneaky combination of burp and vomit that comes out of nowhere and heralds... well, I don't rightly know what it heralds. Surely nothing good. Indeed, I spent the next half-hour or so feeling right miserable as my body did... things I don't want to discuss in any detail here. Because damn, ain't nobody need to know that.
So it was with some slight concern that I decided that I should just take a rest. After all, what if it all came back for round two? The results would have been catastrophic, considering the difficulty I have in getting out of my memory-foam mattress-topped bed. Remember the bit in... um... (looks it up to confirm) yes, Life, The Universe, And Everything? About how mattresses are actually friendly (if dim-witted) sentient creatures that are hunted, killed, dried out, and the bodies sent around the galaxy for people to sleep on? Yes, well, I can't help but wonder about that at times, because my memory-foam mattress does try very hard to keep me in it. I assume for digestive purposes.
But my choices were limited at this point: bed, or comfy chair which has its own problems. Bed it was, just for a few hours.
...
SIX HOURS LATER, I woke up. The hell...? Well, damn. And I feel right as rain, no illness bits going on at all. The human body is a wonderful thing, lemme tell ya... I just wish I understood what the hell is going on with mine sometimes. Well, anyway... I'm going to move the writeup to Tuesday night... nothing else going on, really... and THEN you'll know what's gotten me so het up recently. Stay tuned!
1
Either you got rid violently of whatever ailed you, or it was a germ with a short lifespan, or it was the effects from some kind of allergy or sinus pressure, or reflux, or....
Just glad you feel better. There is a lot of spring flu and colds this year.
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at April 24, 2019 07:19 AM (sF8WE)
Wow... Just... Wow.
I had intended to actually, y'know, write. About anime. Here. On my blog. I know, what a concept, right? It was going to be on Saturday, after I completed a great short series that charmed the socks off me.
Saturday afternoon, I laid down for a nap, around 5pm or so. Except for two hour-long stints around 2am and 9am, I slept until nearly 4pm Sunday. I don't know why, but my body decided "no activity for you, Mr Duck."
So you've got that to look forward to on Monday, I hope... a review of a lovely little anime that, while it may not appeal to everybody, should appeal to most of my readers.
The famous Cathredral at Notre Dame in Paris caught fire today. Within a relatively short time, the fire destroyed the roof, brought down the spire, and has gone on to consume everything within the stone walls.
Its very location, on a small island in the Seine river, made the blaze hard to fight. Getting equipment to it proved difficult, and fireboats in the river could not get close enough to reach all the burning area. The flames spread very quickly as well, limiting what the fire brigade could do.
There have been no deaths, and it's only been in the past few minutes that I've seen a report of a single serious injury to a firefighter. Nobody who was in the Cathedral was hurt, including the many many tourists. If there's anything good to take from this, it'd be that. But otherwise? It's all pretty rotten.
1
They got the artwork and relics out. So there's that.
This is a little more motivation for me to find a way to see the Hagia Sophia someday...
Posted by: Kathryn at April 15, 2019 05:47 PM (rWZ8Y)
2
Reports are that it's mainly the roof structure and spire that were lost, and one of the rose windows. The interior has suffered damage from fire, smoke, and water, but is in surprisingly good shape.
Much of the roof was previously rebuilt in the 19th century because the original roof was a wreck even then.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at April 15, 2019 06:42 PM (2yngH)
3
Notre Dame was also badly damaged during the French Revolution (when it lost its original spire) plus they've got a lot of pictures and precise laser measurements of the interior. This is certainly bad, but I think that a full and complete restoration is likely.
Amazingly, I just heard that most of the stained glass survived.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at April 16, 2019 07:51 PM (xOgT9)
Formula 1 believes this weekend to be the 1000th official Grand Prix. And it is, if you take into account the 11 Indianapolis 500 that were considered as part of the calendar. If you don't, stop being a Eurosnob and realize the FIA disagrees with you. So China becomes the 1000th race, and I'm sure that wasn't intentional in the least. Here's the provisional grid for the 2019 Grand Prix of China:
Pos
Driver
Car
Q1
Q2
Q3
1
ValtteriBottas
Mercedes
1:32.658
1:31.728
1:31.547
2
LewisHamilton
Mercedes
1:33.115
1:31.637
1:31.570
3
SebastianVettel
Ferrari
1:33.557
1:32.232
1:31.848
4
Charles AMX-30
Ferrari
1:32.712
1:32.324
1:31.865
5
DH Verstappen
Red Bull Racing
1:33.274
1:32.369
1:32.089
6
PierreGhastly
Red Bull Racing
1:33.863
1:32.948
1:32.930
7
Smiley Ricciardo
Renault
1:33.709
1:33.214
1:32.958
8
NicoHulkenberg
Renault
1:33.644
1:32.968
1:32.962
9
DP Magnussen
Haas Ferrari
1:34.036
1:33.150
DNF
10
Lettuce Grosjean
Haas Ferrari
1:33.752
1:33.156
DNF
11
Torpedo Kvyat
Toro Rosso
1:33.783
1:33.236
12
SergioPerez
Racing Point
1:34.026
1:33.299
13
KimiRäikkönen
Alfa Romeo Racing
1:34.125
1:33.419
14
CarlosSainz
McLaren Renault
1:33.686
1:33.523
15
Lando Calrissian
McLaren Renault
1:34.148
1:33.967
16
Pleasant Stroll
Racing Point
1:34.292
17
GeorgeRussell
Williams Mercedes
1:35.253
18
Dumbass Kubica
Williams Mercedes
1:35.281
NC
Tony Snazzy
Alfa Romeo Racing
DNF
Sharp-eyed readers will notice that there's only 19 names listed. Good call! Mitch Albon managed to comprehensively destroy his Toro Rosso with only a couple minutes of Practice 3 remaining, and the team wasn't able to build up a new one for him in the couple of hours between then and Quals. While he didn't destroy his car, Alfa Romeo's Tony Snazzy had a serious power unit problem that the team couldn't repair in time to send him forth. What this means is that Williams avoided being on the last row for the first time this season!
You've also probably noticed that both Haas drivers DNF'd in Q3. That's because they got caught in a kerfluffle between Vettel and Verstappen right at the end of the session. The two "V" drivers were doing a "After you Alphonse, after you Gaston" routine, behaving in accordance to the the "unwritten rules" that state that drivers don't pass each other on track at in quals. After essentially blocking the track, Vettel decided that the Dutchman was going too slowly, charged past the Red Bull driver and raced around to the line in time to be able to take one more flying lap. Verstappen, for his part, has said that he had backed off to give himself room to the car ahead and Vettel prevented him from taking a final shot at pole. Meanwhile, both Haas drivers were blaming the "V" drivers for not being able to do their runs. The "good" news is that at most they'd likely be only able to move up a single spot on the grid. So probably no harm done. Verstappen would disagree, bitching that he could have improved on 5th.
So the race is tonight, at midnight here at The Pond... I'm unsure as to what the quality will be, there's been a lot of Mercedes running away so far. It's been a dusty track so far... apparently a huge cement plant is upwind of the complex... and that's made it a little hard on the tires so far. We shall see!
I don't know a darn thing about the show, except that the uncensored version is airing on the 11th. That right there may in fact tell me all I need to know about the series. It's only obvious that I'll be watching it, of course, if for no other reason that to see if there are more ducks.
I'm sure many people will read that and say, "Uh huh, more ducks, right." Longtime readers of The Pond, however, are nodding their heads, "more ducks. That's Wonderduck all right."
Anyway, the reason for the title? These two ducks (the other one is offscreen bottom... it's a pan shot) appear in the OP, maybe a little over a minute into the episode. I can't remember if there's been any other OPs with a duck appearing, so this might be the earliest a duck has appeared in an episode of anime ever. Or not. Either way, duckies!
1
I was going to jump and wave excitedly at this in your direction, but ya beat me to it. Go figure!
Posted by: GreyDuck at April 09, 2019 09:36 PM (rKFiU)
2
Ooh, ooh! Had an idea!
Do the ebook in a weekend challenge!
Pick out all your F1 blog column/essays, eliminate any ritual apologies. Create an index of all your nicknames to real names of drivers. Find some public domain art and Photoshop it to look painterly. Think of a cool title. Upload and publish it on Amazon KDP as an ebook (as well as Kobo, etc., if desired). Announce.
Put on your resume while collecting hobby income. (Change your tax strategy if it becomes serious income.)
It does not really have to be a weekend, but it is easy to get overly caught up in editing and other forms of book fiddling. Thus the old ebook in a weekend challenge.
Posted by: Suburbanbanshee at April 13, 2019 11:49 AM (sF8WE)
Hermit Run Ends At 22 Days
Against all odds, on Wednesday March 27th, for the first time since I was deemed surplus to requirements by my employers, I left Pond Central. I got into the Duckmobile, drove a few miles to my local AcceptableClips for my first haircut in over a full year. They took 10 inch lengths of hair off! Now every time the wind blows I shiver because there's airflow over my neck, and that hasn't happened in months.
But there must have been a reason for me to go out, right? Right. On Thursday, I had a job interview. Similar to what I was doing, except now I'd be creating the bills and sending them to the insurance companies. It went well enough, except I have no idea what the interviewer thought. Good poker face... I mean, if I interview someone, if I'm interested it would be pretty obvious. Here though, she could have thought I was the worst candidate ever and I'd have no idea.
More importantly though... I finally went back to the office to pick up my waiting packages. This was duly accomplished, but I had a very interesting conversation with my ex-direct supervisor, who we shall call "Betty" because that's not her name. Turns out Betty was being sent to Chennai, India by the company the next morning, for a month of training classes. No, not her being trained, but her training other people. Specificially, new hires on how to process claims from the same client I worked with. Three states' worth of claims were going to be permanently moved overseas for processing in India... and two of the states were quite large indeed. Suddenly, it becomes even less surprising that people were being let go. Betty also went on to say that it was "probably a good thing" that I was let go when I was... the whole building has a black cloud hanging over it, morale has totally cratered, ain't nobody happy. Betty was expecting a mass exodus soon, in fact. We talked for a few more minutes about her upcoming trip, she promised to e-mail, and I came home.
I'm still not fond of the outside, though.
Formula 1 race on Sunday, from Bahrain... the Ferrari of Charles AMX-30 is on pole, would you believe? More important, however, is that this video is so cool it's stupid-cool:
Talk more soon.
EDIT: ...and then I found this, which is perfect: y'know, hermit crabs?
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Ah, you beat The Great Outsourcing. Soon to be followed by The Great CYA, as processing quality drops like a stone and complaints pile up.
Fingers crossed on the interview. Good luck getting back in the game on the other side. Reminds me of the time the school district I worked for hired an auditor away from the state to have her clean up their books...
-j
Posted by: J Greely at March 31, 2019 09:46 AM (ZlYZd)
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Good luck on the job! (Normally I'd say "break a leg", but I don't want to take any chances.)
Posted by: Rick C at March 31, 2019 01:44 PM (Iwkd4)
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The first time I was let go by an employer, it was as part of a general 10% cut. My direct manager was quite clear that he was perfectly happy with my performance and hated to let me go, but he had to cut someone and I had the least amount of critical institutional knowledge. I wasn't even terribly surprised and already had my resume circulating, because there had been a previous cut a month before and everyone knew more were coming, and that it wouldn't be over with this round. It still hurt and took me a few weeks to get my head back in gear.
At least all the signs are that if you have to be on the market for a new job, now is a good time.
Posted by: David at March 31, 2019 02:07 PM (JMkaQ)
Posted by: Pixy Misa at March 31, 2019 09:08 PM (2yngH)
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Good luck! It certainly sounds like you have the expertise to handle the new job, so I hope you get it. You also have the advantage of getting there ahead of the competition when everyone else goes.
And you also know it's not so much you, but them.
Posted by: Mauser at March 31, 2019 09:50 PM (Ix1l6)
...I need a similar haircut. It's going to be like Lady Godiva getting a crew cut when I go. I think it's been about 9,10 months since my last. Maybe even a year. Aiee.
Posted by: Ed Hering at April 01, 2019 01:26 PM (/cXdK)
Well, Ghost is much too weird for me to explain them.
That's what I said in the blurb for the Pet Shop Boys' cover in the last post. I'd like to apologize for that, because some few hours has taught me quite a lot about the band from Sweden. You would do well to turn the volume up on this post, by the way.
Everybody knows what a concept album is, right? A bunch of songs devoted to the same thing telling a story as they go... The Who's Tommy, Pink Floyd's The Wall, Joe Jackson's Big World, Alan Parson's Project's Tales of Mystery and Imagination, Styx's Paradise Theatre, all examples of the concept album. Well, Ghost takes it one farther: they're a concept band! The concept is, however, that they're a Satanic cult led by their charismatic frontman. Said frontman has until only lately been appearing in skull makeup and church regalia. These days, he wears a Uncanny Valley facemask.
Didn't make the satanism rumors go away, which is probably exactly what Ghost wants. The more I think about it, the more I believe them to be more performance art than musical band... though considering their formidable skills, I'd not say that to their faces. These Followers of the Morning Star can friggin' rock.
Yes, that's right, that's a Grammy Award they've got there. They won the 2016 award for Best Metal Performance for their song Cirice.
Nowadays the Grammys aren't worth much of a much, but for people of a certain age... ahem... that remember what they used to be, there's still a cachet to owning one. And while that's a helluva music video they've got there, Ghost seems to be a better live act. Here's a live version of Cirice, for example.
Across the board the band's official videos are... inventive. To the point that sometimes they take away from the actual music... the video for Rats! is so goofballish that the song (which isn't one of their best, it must be said) just gets swamped. At other times, the video will actually explain the song (see Cirice, for example). Often enough, fortunately, the band'll leave things open to interpretation, forcing you to actually listen. Square Hammer appears to be freemasonry, clever since how many people actually KNOW what a Mason is/was anymore?
In a lot of ways, there's nothing new with Ghost. They're absolutely metal, taking cues from all over the map: Kiss and Metallica are references mentioned in interviews (and there's a kickass cover of Enter Sandman played in front of the King of Sweden, too... turns out Hetfield's a fan!). They don't seem to be just the usual headbanging heavy riffers... there's a serious amount of songwriting and musical talent here. I'm tempted to say that this is "Metal For The Thinking Man", except they'd probably make fun of me for being pretentious. But come on, read the lyrics to what I think is their best song, He Is:
If you didn't know better, this is Christian Rock. At least, it is to start. It sort of heads south (if you know what I mean) along the way to the end. Even then though, you really have to be thinking about what the lyrics are saying to catch it. The reference to the story of the burning bush speaking to Moses is really sneaky... when Moses asks for proof that he's truly speaking to God, the reply is "I am who I am." So "he is" is second... or is it third?... person referencing here. Circles within circles.
I find online reaction videos to Ghost to be hilarious. Either people love them, or they're confused as hell... that reaction is usually from self-described christians. These guys love the song, but despise the message, except then they don't like the song, but they do, and... and... and... they're right though, Mere Christianity is a wonderful book.
Go out, give 'em a listen, you might be surprised. Or you might hate them. Either response is perfectly valid, and I'd understand either one. Or don't think about it and just bang your head vigorously. That works too.
Two For GreyDuck, One For Everybody, And One For Nobody
GD, I heard these two and immediately thought of you. It's up to you if you think that's a good thing or not.
Apparently Covenant isn't new... I see album dates of 2000, 2001, so on and so forth, so perhaps you're familiar with them already. But some good stuff there.
Oh look, it's a weird cover of a Pet Shop Boys tune. Well, Ghost is much too weird for me to explain them, but their original music is very heavy indeed.
I think by definition if you're a member of the Pond Scum, you get some level of enjoyment out of bagpipes. This song has appeared on The Pond before, back in Saturday Night Tunage V where it was performed by the Victoria Police Pipe Band as opposed to the Red Hot Chili Pipers. I just realized something, and it terrifies me: in the blurb for the song in SNTV, I mention that I first heard the song "nine years ago." I wrote that in 2011. Eeurgh.
So Formula 1 knocks on the door of the Chemical Brothers and says "we like your stuff. Or, really, our grandkids like your stuff. Do a song for us." And the Chemical Brothers said "we like dogs." The rest, as they say, is history. This is an awful, awful tune. However, as a riff dispenser it's top-notch, and I fully expect to be seeing F1 commercials and broadcasts using snippets from the track as backing music. Other than that? Well, the "Powered by NEEEEUM" on the car made me laugh. If you don't get why, say it out loud while watching a F1 car drive past.
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The "NEEEUM" bit is the only redeeming part of that video, yeGODS that "song" is awful.
On the upside, that "Hellbound Train" performance was SUPERB. *cues it up again*
On the gripping hand, I had to NOPE out of the PSB cover. The singing just put me off.
On the, er, fourth wheel... Covenant is one of those VNV-adjacent acts I haven't gotten 'round to yet. I liked this tune well enough, maybe it's time to go digging.
Posted by: GreyDuck at March 23, 2019 10:35 AM (rKFiU)
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No way that dog could ever win F1. At best he could come in second. Dogs only CHASE cars....
As for the song, I don't laika it....
Posted by: Mauser at March 23, 2019 06:58 PM (Ix1l6)