Man... if only MY Camry looked like this...

Who knows if it's fast? Who knows if it'll be any good? If those pics don't cause teams like Hendrick Motorsports or DEI to start sending hosannahs up to St. Fangio of the Church of Speed, nothing will.

That'd be an interesting look on their F1 cars, don'tcha think?

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Now THAT'S what I call racin'!

As opposed to racing, which is what they do in F1. A more genteel form of motorsports, if you will.

But, man, hoo-hah! What a race that was. I've always thought that NASCAR was crazy to have their "biggest race" first in the season, but every time Daytona goes off, I always have to stop and say "y'know, maybe they've got something there."

There's only one race like it in the world: the Indy 500. Nothing on the F1 calendar comes close to being what Daytona is to NASCAR, unless you s-t-r-e-t-c-h and say "Monte Carlo." First race of the Euro season, glitz and glamour, yadda yadda yadda...
...and I'd have to disagree. Again, I say it: there is no other race in the world (save for Indy) like the Daytona 500.

Indeed, there may not be any races that are more IMPORTANT, either. Jimmie Johnson can now say that he's won his league's biggest race. People who have won the Indy 500 can point to that win and say the same thing.

...but is there something similar in F1? I don't believe so. I'd suggest that being a CHAMPION in F1 is more important than having won any individual race, and it may be the biggest championship of all motorsports.

But shouldn't there be some sort of weight on having won the "(insert name) Grand Prix"? Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking Monte Carlo, or Monza, or Silverstone, or Spa. They just don't seem, individually, to be as BigMcLargeHuge as Daytona.

Actually, I take that back. I CAN think of one GP race that would fall into that category... if it was being run anymore: the old Nurburgring. God, what a track... somewhere online I found an 8 minute long video of a hotlap of the old track being driven by a BMW M3 GTR, and it's awe-inspiring. THAT would be a jewel in any driver's crown... if only Old Nurburgring was wide enough to handle two F1 cars. At times it barely looks wide enough to handle one streetcar.

I'd be interested in hearing what Flotsky, the Official Overseas Reader and Simon, the Official Race Correspondent from Bahrain, have to say about this... if you guys have any thoughts, please let us know in the comments!

Posted by: Wonderduck at 05:58 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Gather ye 'round, my loyal readers, for I, The Duck of Wonders, am going to spin a tale of wonder and delight. A tale of a place where the odd is normal, the weird is regular, and the ducks... ah, the ducks are truly revered as the gods they are.

I refer to a little place in Washington state called Archie McPhee's. In the Chicagoland area, there are places of joy and wonderment similar to McPhee's, places like Uncle Fun's, but they pale in comparison to the glory of the McPhee.

Where else can you find enough pirate swag to outfit your own ship, things that would make PETA blanche with fear, the sort of action figures that didn't exist when I was but a newly hatched duckling, and most importantly...

THE BIGGEST SELECTION OF DEVIL DUCKS ANYWHERE!!! All these fine feathered comrades, all in one place... my collection of rubber ducks (current count: 122) would be hollow without the multitude of devil ducks I've acquired (most recently, the terror of the bathtub, the Pirate Devil Duckie).

All hail The McPhee! Bringer of whimsy and mirth! Bring unto them your finest meats and cheeses!

(please note: While I freely admit that this is an entry into a contest that the fine folks at Archie McPhee's are holding, every word of this post is true... I have purchased many an item from them in the past, and intend to do so in the future. I do not give recommendations lightly, my friends, so heed my words: if you need bacon bandages, bobble-head nuns, or a set of tiki mugs, direct your browser to www.McPhee.com. You'll be glad you did... and tell 'em The Wonderduck sent'cha! No, it won't help in the contest, but they'll laugh confusedly.)

Posted by: Wonderduck at 12:12 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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So you take two American gamers and drop them in Japan. Throw in a few zombies, Rent-A-Zillas, Magical Girls, elite assassins from Sony and Sega, a member of the Tokyo Cataclysm Police, a l337 ninja, a prototype of the new Emotional Doll System... and Tohya, who nobody can really figure out yet.

Throw amazing pencil art and a meandering storyline that takes you from the annual E3 expo to the recording studio for a bishoujo game, from an Anna Miller's diner to The Cave of Evil. Add a huge dose of excellent characterization, ranging from a 'loser fanboy' that's also an artist, to a retired Japanese Idol, a struggling voice actress (who's a dead-shot with a coffeepot), a few schoolgirls, and a space hamster named 'Boo.'

Put in the occasional sight gag and a huge dose of humor.

Mix well.

The result? The long-running webcomic named Megatokyo.

I'm hardly going to claim to be an expert on the series, which has run (as of Saturday, Feb 11th, 2006) for 819 strips, seeing that I've only really gotten into the thing over the past few months. I have read the whole series, and am quite willing to proclaim it worth the time and effort to do... with a dialup modem, no less.

At its heart, Megatokyo is the usual "stranger in a strange land" story, in a Japanese manga style. Woven around that core, there's also a romantic storyline, a technothriller/cyberpunk adventure, and quite a few others.

In fact, the large number of stories and characters are one of the main complaints often levied against Megatokyo. A n00b reader really can't just 'pick up the storyline', because it refers back to itself so often. It'd be like picking up book seven of a ten part series and expecting to understand the whole thing.

Which is why I started from the first entry and kept going, figuring I'd either love it and catch up to the current point (which I did, sometime in December), or I'd hate it and give up after a week or so (maybe 200 entries).

It's quite the read, with a very complex plot... or a very simple one, depending on how you look at it. The art ranges to passable at the beginning to awesome (currently). Indeed, the past few desktops I've had on my computer here at the Pond have been from Megatokyo.

It'll make you laugh, it'll make you think, it'll make you care about these characters... and what more can you really ask for from a storyteller?

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The arrival of a new commenter, named Tohya, in the post about the charming Funky Cat Maybe, has spurred me to finally write a piece about Megatokyo .

Also, some scribblings about an anime series titled Elfen Lied, one of the darkest TV shows I've ever seen... and I'm not limiting myself to just anime here, but all television. Yes, it's THAT dark.

Oh, and some F1 talk as well.

*phew* Looks like I might have some work ahead of me... in that 'not really work at all' sense, of course, but still.

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Thank you, Fukui-san, for that headline!

Yes, inventory is done for the year at the Duck U. Bookstore. I'm a happy duck, because now it's more or less smooth sailing until the end of the semester.

Inventory went well, but we had a few rocks & shoals to deal with... like a procedural change from last year that caught the inventory service unprepared and understaffed. Fortunately, they were able to call in another body at zero notice, so that helped.

Only real problem was that it started SO darn early... I was in the store at 730am, when I'm usually not even awake at that time!

Oh well. So it goes.

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It's Inventory Week at the Duck U. Bookstore. More than a little bit of stress involved, and not a whole lot of spare time to blog.

Just wanted y'all to know.

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I'm a Lamborghini Murcielago!

You're not subtle, but you don't want to be. Fast, loud, and dramatic, you want people to notice you, and then get out of the way. In a world full of sheep, you're a raging bull.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

...at least I'm yellow...

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I'm gonna wait 'til the midnight hour, that's when my love comes tumblin' down. I'm gonna wait 'til the midnight hour, when there's no one else around. I'm gonna take you girl and hold you, and do all the things I told you, in the midnight hour.

Yes I am, oh, yes, I am

I'm gonna wait 'til the stars come out, and see that twinkle in your eyes. I'm gonna wait 'til the midnight hour, that's when my love begins to shine. You're the only girl I know that really loves me so, in the midnight hour.

Oh, yeah, in the midnight hour.

RIP, Mr. Pickett.

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Still fighting the ick.

Ick losing, but still holding on.

Actually called in sick to work today. It's the first week of school for the spring term. Me being sick this week is like being sick on the day after thanksgiving for a normal retail store.

I feel guilty. But today, there was no point for me to even try to go in... even I realized that.

It seems I posted something on the BMW-Sauber rollout last night. I don't remember doing it. I was in the middle of my fever-cycling at the listed post time (720pm). I was feverish, but with chills and sweats at the same time... and either I was hallucinating or it was a vivid dream, but I swear my legs were made of wood.

Maybe I'm not really a duck, but a decoy?

I'm much better now than I was then, but that's not saying much. From the e-mail I exchanged with my boss, they were going to get another manager into my store to help out... I spent the day in bed, never even tried to call in and find out who.

I still don't feel good. I shoudn't even be thinking about working tomorrow. Dammit, I feel guilty about missing TODAY. But I'm sick! But I should be at work, it's my JOB!!! They don't pay me to be sick and miss the busiest time at the store!

...god, I hate this...

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Ever heard a duck cough? Ever heard a duck with a hacking damp cough? It's not a pretty sound.

"Qua-HACKHACKHACK-ughhhhhhhh..."

Fortunately, the Animal Doctor up the street took me under her wing (so to speak), and after doing the cold stethoscope (do they soak them in ice water?) to the back trick, said I might have a young case of bronchitis (or however that's spelled), and gave me a bottle of... um... Doxy-cycling High-plate.*

Antibiotic. Though it sounds like prostitutes on Schwinns juggling dishes.

And this is Rush week at the Duck U. Bookstore. What a rotten week for me to be sick. Last week? I could have called in sick. Next week? Called in sick. This week? I'm open-to-close through Friday.

C'mon, antibiotic! Rah rah rah! Go drug go, beat the ickyness!

(after the jump, what's that asterix for?) more...

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(looking around)

I really should dust this place... ever since everybody went away, it's not the same anymore.

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1 Some of us are around, just not quite awake yet this year. Happy new year mr Wonderduck

Posted by: flotsky at January 10, 2006 08:16 PM (6T2ID)

2 FLOTSKY!!! Aw, I'm gonna cry... *snif*

Happy Gnu Year to you, too!

Posted by: Wonderduck at January 11, 2006 05:13 PM (M7kiy)

3 I'm here, too--just been hibernating all winter--and wishing you and Flotsky a belated Happy New Year.

:-)

Posted by: Mallory at January 15, 2006 01:38 AM (y6n8O)

4 MALLORY! The whole gang's here!

Posted by: Wonderduck at January 16, 2006 04:37 AM (jnjCa)

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Yeah, I'm stealing a line from the best bad film ever, "They Live," starring Rowdy Roddy Piper.

I haven't written much recently. However, I Live.

Okay, yes, that's stretching the connection with the title, I admit that. It's the best I can do on short notice. I'm a little frazzled what with everything going on at the Duck U. Bookstore and all. Oh, I didn't mention that?

As you may be aware, I'm the assistant manager of the Duck U. Bookstore. Currently, I'm also the acting store manager, whilst the real store manager is on maternity leave. She's due back on January 29th.

Except she's not coming back: she resigned last Thursday. This was something of a surprise to me, as exactly seven days before that, she had told me that she WAS coming back.

Now, of course, I'm having my usual case of self-doubt: "will I be good enough?" "will I fail?" "will I even be given the job?!?!"

Did I mention that the new semester at Duck U. starts next week? I've been busy, doing two people's jobs (hers and mine) the main time a management TEAM needs to be workign together. I'll admit, one person is more efficient than a team, but two people get more done. I'm strained.

So that's been on my mind... and I've been watching "His & Her Circumstances,", so I haven't had a whole lot of spare time. Plus, I haven't had a whole bunch to write about anyways... the F1 Circus has been on break, after all.

So, sorry it's been so quiet. Next time, someone poke me!

Posted by: Wonderduck at 04:11 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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So... 2006.

So far, it looks a lot like 2005, just with Olympics.

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Because I'm completely out of things to write about regarding my usual topics, F1 and anime, I figured that tonight I'd blather on about two movies that I've seen in the past week. No, not in the theaters... that'd mean I had the foresight to actually schedule a couple of hours during normal operating hours, and when these films were released I was dealing with the health thing (that culminated with The Incident back in October). No, caught these on DVD, and... well, lets talk about 'em!

First off was Sin City. A little background here; after I left grad school for... financial reasons, I eventually wound up working at the local comic/hobby shop. Back then, Frank Miller (who did the series that brought Batman up to his gritty self, The Dark Knight Returns) had a semi-regular, quasi-independent comic entitled "Sin City." It was a rough, violent story that harkened back to film noir and Mickey Spillaine novels... and it was done in black and white. Not like the daily funnies in your newspaper are black and white, but BLACK and WHITE. Oh, who am I to try and explain it? Go HERE for an example.

Anyway, why am I talking about the comic? Because for many, many years, Frank Miller refused to allow a movie adaptation of Sin City, because he believed it couldn't be done correctly. Enter Robert* Rodriguez, the director of the movie. He made a five-minute long short movie, brought it to Miller, and said "If you like it, we can make the feature film. If you don't, you've got something you can show your friends."

This five-minute short became the opening scene of the movie.

Hey, if Frank Miller likes the film, who am I to disagree? It's almost a perfect adaptation of the visual style Miller uses for his comics... or should I call them graphic novels (minor aside: I, for one, will always call them comics. I don't care if the cool thing is to spiffy 'em up and call 'em graphic novels)? The movie uses tiny, tiny amounts of color (a cigarette lighter's flame, a policecar's gumballs, a bed's silk sheets) to heighten the contrasting black-n-not-quite-white look of the rest of the film (go HERE to see an example of the film's visual style). If nothing else, Sin City should win an Oscar for cinematography.

Which is not to say that the rest of the movie is crepe. I'm happy to say that it's probably the best comic-book-to-film adaptation ever... and that's saying something, considering the rash of good comic adaptations we've had recently (Fantastic 4 and Hulk not withstanding). The acting ranges from acceptable (Jennifer Alba as Nancy, Devin Aoki as Miho... to be fair, Miho doesn't talk, so it's hard to know what she's thinking) to out-frickin'-standing (Mickey Rourke as Marv, easily the best performance of his career). I'm sure most actors would kill to have characters as fully fleshed as the ones handed to the cast of this film.

That's not always a good thing, as it means the actors didn't have a lot of 'wiggle room' to bring their own spin to the characters, but in this case they don't need it. Each character in Sin City already was a PERSON, not just words on a piece of paper, needing an actor to breathe life into them. Still, the cast could have peed this one right down their collective legs if they hadn't've worked at it. They didn't... and a minor classic was created.

Sin City is NOT for everybody. It's violent (though there's no red blood, there's no shortage of gore, trauma, torture, cannibalism, nudity, and the seamy side of life), brutal, and full of black humor. But, boy, whadda ride!

From Basin City, we go to... um... well... a quaint little house in the English countryside.

Arthur Dent wakes up, takes his morning tea, realizes that there's an army of bulldozers outside, lies down in front of them, a friend tells him the planet is about to be destroyed, fills him full of beer, and then the planet is destroyed. Roll title sequence.

Truth be told, I've been avoiding The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. See, I first read the book back in junior high... maybe 25 years ago, more or less. I grew up with the thing; a lot of my sense of the ridiculous came from Douglas Adams' novels (and Monty Python, and Fawlty Towers). I loved the radio adaptation of THGttG, heard here on NPR. I cringed at the BBC tv adaptation.

But as I got older, the book did not age with me. The humor nowadays falls somewhat flat as I read it... because I've lived with the book for TWENTY-FIVE-STINKIN'-YEARS. I've got whole passages of the thing memorized... not because I went out and memorized them intentionally, but because I've read them so many times!

So, of course I was avoiding the movie; how in god's name could they make something that would stack up to this legendary novel that so influenced the way I am these days? The answer?

They couldn't.

Which is not to say it's a bad movie. It's not; it's quite good, actually. It has some very funny bits, it's quite cleverly done in many spots, and is very faithful to the book. It just can't stand up to the force of 25 years of history that's facing it when it comes to me as a viewer.

An example: I'm not usually a nitpicker when it comes to movies. I didn't care a whit that The Lord of the Rings trilogy cut out some important characters (Tom Bombadil, to name one). I actually enjoyed the movies MORE because of that, to be honest... the LotR novels drag under the weight of the immense number of characters in my opinion.

But in Hitchhiker's Guide, the spaceship "Heart of Gold" is described as looking like a "running shoe." In the movie, it's round. Nitpicky? You betcha. BUT IT'S NOT RIGHT.

*sigh* I don't mean to give the impression that I didn't like it. I did. The casting was perfect; Zooey Deschanel, as Tricia "Trillian" McMillan, captured exactly what I saw in my mind when I read the books. Mos Def as Ford Prefect was also an inspired bit of casting.

And I'll even go so far as to say that Martin Freeman, who played Arthur Dent, will replace the mental image I had of Arthur from now on. Finally, Alan Rickman's voice is spot-on for that of Marvin... even though I kept expecting Severus Snape to pop out at any moment.

I'll also point out four "sight gags" in the film that were obviously put there for us long-time fans. Two audio gags first: the theme music for the film is the same as that used for the radio play (imdb.com tells me that it's a tune called "The Journey of the Sorcerer" by The Eagles... that, I didn't know). Also, when Zaphod greets Ford on the Heart of Gold, he calls him "Ix," then corrects himself. Readers of the book know that Ix is Ford's childhood nickname.

Now, the two sight gags that I caught (I'm sure there are more). Most obvious was the appearance of the TV version of Marvin in the queue on the Vogon homeworld. Not so obvious was the car that Ford was attempting to shake hands with during the flashback scene... a Ford Prefect. (Please note: during the movie, Ford's last name is never mentioned. That's because us folks here in the US wouldn't get the joke: the Ford Prefect was only sold in the UK and Europe... see, he's an alien, and he thought the name "Ford Prefect" would let him blend in. To get the same effect here, he'd be named something like "Ford Escort.")

I'm not counting the many times I saw Douglas Adams' face appear as sight gags... nor the appearance of the original Arthur Dent as the 'voice of Magrathea'.

So, um... what I'm trying to say is that, yeah, I liked the movie... but I'm sure I would have LOVED it if I hadn't've read the book so many times.

Go see both movies.

(update: January 8th, 2006, 1019pm)
*for some reason the original version of this post had Director Rodriguez's first name as "Frank." This has been changed, and the website's continuity department has been sacked.

Posted by: Wonderduck at 09:12 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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It's Christmas Eve, and I'm off to my folks' place for the festivities... if something important occurs, I'll blog later, but who knows?

I'd like to thank my huge list of readers: Official First Reader Mallory, Official Overseas Reader Flotsky... and that's it. Thanks, guys, for sticking by the Pond during this year!

Mal, have a great Christmas Day! Flotsky, have a great Christmas Day and a Happy Boxing Day!

Talk to you soon!

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So the newest combatant to leave the field in the entertainment sales category is MediaPlay. It was announced a few days ago that all MediaPlay stores will be closed by mid-January, but not before the now-customary Christmastime "Going Out of Business, Everything On Sale, Get It NowNOWNOW!!!!" sale.

Twenty to forty percent off everything at the moment, but there ARE some nasty things going on, too. For example, a box set of the original Bubblegum Crisis anime series is $59.99. For the past 4 months, it's been $39.99. Oh, but it's 20% off, which means it is now... $48 (I'm rounding).

I can only assume the same thing is happening in other places in the store. Still, there are bargains to be had, and since I'm about the only BGC fan around here, I'm hoping that "20%-40% off" will become something nicer later.

I've always had a... strained relationship with MediaPlay. When it was announced that the Test Store would be opening in Duckford, there were no Borders, there were no Barnes & Nobles superstores... BestBuy really was the only "big box" store in the city. So for a while, MediaPlay was the place to go for books, and music/movies/software was a tossup between BestBuy and MediaPlay.

Eventually, Boarders and Barney & igNobles came to town, with larger selections of books; BestBuy's prices outstripped MediaCircus' for music and movies (though the Circus still had a larger selection of movies).

Oftentimes, the first to do something has a short-lived advantage, then watches as they get blown away by those who copy their idea, and that's exactly what happened to MediaCircus... except nobody did everything they did.

When MediaCircus came to Duckford, a lot of the independent booksellers and music stores (I still miss Appletree records...) closed down within a year. Now, ironically, MediaCircus was slowly being strangled by what were, essentially, larger versions of the independent specialty store. They couldn't compete with Boarders & Ignobles in selection; they couldn't fight BestBuy in price. But they were STILL the only place that carried books, movies, music AND software (including console-based games). The problem was simple: how often did you NEED all four at the same time?

...and then came the skewer that pierced the heart of MediaPlay here in Duckford. Oh, I don't mean to suggest that it was specifically aimed at MediaPlay, but it sure ended up that way. Anyway, the final straw was Best Buy moving right next door to Borders.

Suddenly if you needed books, movies, music AND software, you didn't need to go to MediaPlay, you went to BestBordersBuy. The two stores were about as far apart as a walk from one end of MediaPlay to the other, their prices and selection was better, and the staff of MediaPlay couldn't compete with the knowledge level of BestBordersBuy's.

Oddly, I wound up going to MediaCircus more and more often after that. Fewer customers = better shopping experience for me. Yeah, I might pay a couple bucks more for that movie or anime DVD, but not if I was careful, and I never had to wait in lines at the cash registers, nor have problems parking. That's worth a couple bucks in my book!

I guess what I'm saying is, if there's a MediaPlay near you, go pick over the carcass like the vulture you are! You can get some great deals, and I got about 4/5th of my Christmas shopping done there last night, for about 2/3rds the price.

...and some things for the Pond's anime list, too. Hey, I'm not gonna pass that up!

Posted by: Wonderduck at 02:36 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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You may remember me mentioning that I was wearing a portable EKG thingy last week. Well, this morning I got the results back.

I'm clean.

Oh, I still need to clean up my vile habits, but I'm working on that. But my ticker is tickin' over, sweet as a V10 runnin' at 19000 RPM.

Except not quite that quick. EVERYthing that can be measured regarding my heart is lower than it was, and THAT is the good news. BP 130/85, pulse of 84, even the EKG printout looked absolutely normal and regular... no unknown blips, beeps, spikes or poits.

Hey, I just realized: I now know what it feels like to be a F1 car, what with it's constant telemetry monitoring! Cool!

*chuckle*

Of course, it's not all ribbons & bows; after all, my heart DID act like a fratboy on a bender for a measurable length of time there, and that's gonna make me gunshy for a LONG while.

But as for now, I've been given my 37-year tune-up, lube and oil change, and I'm ready to leave the pits for the next couple dozen laps.

Or something like that.

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1 Yay, that is very, very good news

My niece was doing the exact same thing this week, she's a diabetic with a few problems, and she had had some blood pressure issues lately, so they wanted to check her out.

Glad you are doing good. I was worried they were going to fit you with a split wing or something for a moment.

Posted by: flotsky at December 15, 2005 08:58 PM (6T2ID)

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Once again, I've got more wires attached to me than a decent stereo system... the good thing is that THIS time, it's planned.

I've got something that is, to me, a medical miracle attached to my sweats. It's roughly the size of an old walkman (cassette-type), and the wires I mentioned run from the thing to six different sensors taped to my chest (and wow, that's gonna hurt tomorrow when they take 'em off).

It's a friggin' portable ECG machine with a 24-hour recording device built in. The cardiologist will take the recording of a day's worth of heart activity, study it to see how my ticker is... um... ticking, and sometime next week, I meet with him (or, hopefully, his assistant, Aneta), and he/she will tell me if things are all okay now over a month after The Incident. I hope.

Still, it has it's problems. It WEIGHS as much as the old-style walkman, complete with batteries, so it keeps trying to drag my pants down. Because of the wires, I can't actually tuck my shirt in. And, worst of all...

...I can't get the sensors or the device wet. No shower in the morning, in other words.

Ew. Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew. Ick.

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The Nature Boy, Ric Flair, is in some serious sheepdip now. No, I'm not talking about the assault charge from a week or so ago, I'm talking about something worse: THIS.

Short version? The Infernal Revenue Service wants $1,000,000 of his hide in back taxes. His wife is divorcing him, with charges of physical and mental violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and adultery.

We all knew his Stylin' and Profilin' persona was real, to a certain extent... now we know just how TRUE it really was.

Sad.

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