Sometimes I put cigarettes out on the faces of small children.
(Sometimes I pretend to be a sociopath for fun.)
Sometimes I put cigarettes out on the faces of small children.
(Sometimes I pretend to be a sociopath for fun.)
[Ayu] Baccano! Eps. 1 - 13 (complete) - Bateszi recently explained why.
Dennou Coil (animesuki torrent list) - Excellent write-ups from Martin, Bateszi, Karura and Owen. It really is as good as these lot are saying.
Ghost Hound (animesuke torrent list - I recommend Genjo-Sub's releases) - New Production I.G./Shirow Masamune (remember how well GitS: SAC & 2nd GIG turned out) show, with lots of production staff from Serial Experiments Lain. I've written a few things on it that might be informative.
That's pretty cool in principle, but it lacks sexiness.
Another English teacher scenario with me, too.
Part of it was my own passion for the subject, true, but equally the subject allowed its teachers to indulge that all-important human touch that fosters love/respect. When you're dealing with a subject grounded in opinion and argument (as in, defending a position) then it's hard not to show sparks of personality that result in an admiring relationship, assuming they're likeable/just. The categorically bad English teachers were the ones that treated it like a science.
You're right about every lesson being a show, Scrivs. That's the only way to engage with jaded, lethargic kids... or at least awaken hidden passions within them. And it's why I'll never be cut out for teaching; I'm far too lazy and easy-going. That and kids are annoying little bastards.
I've always been stubborn when it comes to buying insurance for electronic goods. Mainly because I resent that I'll even need it, thinking the standard. "well it should be well-made enough to last" being a bit naive like that. After having Mac laptops for a few years now, however, I would recommend getting it at some point with AsceticMonk's suggestion being the most sensible.
It's a difficult barrier to overcome when you're buying something brand new, adding another couple of hundred to its price for what amounts to peace of mind, but Apple products are a pain in the backside to repair and you're likely to have at least one HDD failure in the laptop's life time (external backups are your best friend), so it all levels out whether you do or don't. At least if you have it from the start it removes most of the hassle.
publicenergy - We get pretty buggered with film releases, eh. I'm desperate for this and Margot at the Wedding, both of which aren't out until next year in the UK. Almost makes you want to find a torrent...
I'd have to say, being the inconspicuous (heh) fanboy I am, my favourite scene is in the second episode of FLCL when Mamini and Naota are on the bridge at night-time and Mamimi is smoking her infamous 'Never Knows Best' cigarette.
Apart from having atmosphere up the bum it proved that FLCL had more to offer than hysterical madness and jawesome fight scenes. If anything, those crazy moments, of which there are many in FLCL, offset the quiet scenes and made them all the more emotional.
I think the reason Mamimi is my favourite character from FLCL is because she's often at the focus of its sadder, more poignant parts. Most of her bits in the final episode are also major favourites of mine for that reason. Plus: nihilist depressive in a school uniform. Take that, irritating anime tropes.
It depends on the content of the blog, and the intention of the blogger. If you see your blog as a publishing platform, and write entries without audience participation in mind, then allowing no comments is fair enough.
Whenever I read a blog that has its comments turned off I wonder about the rationale behind doing so, and most of the time it makes sense. It's like the difference between making a statement and asking a question; the former isn't looking for feedback while the latter positively encourages it. You can apply this to comment enabled/disabled blogs.
Personally, I find the urge to respond to comment-disabled blogs much more than those who allow it, often looking for an email to write to to express my views. Maybe all these snooty bloggers who turn off comments are reverse-psycholog...ising us and know exactly what they're doing. Arseholes.
Increased quality; technique; consistency. The usual.
Really, I'm happy with my blog remaining to be a pressure-free platform to write about things that entertain me. My expectations for it only ever amount to things I expect of myself (to communicate clearly, express personality and suchlike). Issues like stats don't bother me so much these days.
Granted, it helps that I've been running my blog for a couple of years now and have a good connection with the community it's based in. Both these things provide no end of confidence and I can't recommend them enough to newer bloggers.
Following Andrew's tact, I'd say scampi and chips... but I have a thing for carrot cake, too. And that thing is my obsession with its deliciousnesses.
The promise of a new MacBook from my dad, only for him to decide he wants it for himself and that I can have his two-year-old PPC iMac instead.
I pretty much bust shapes at every given opportunity. It takes a song or two to shed inhibitions, but after that I'm a fairly serviceable dancer (even when sober). Obviously, post-social lubrication, I can dance like a mfer.
And I do it anywhere. A lot of the time I dance to wake up and de-zombify myself in the morning. It's pretty insufferable.
I was playing Animal Crossing: Wild World earlier, doing the usual maintenance, and started to wonder how many hours of my life I'd actually dedicated to its smack-like ways. There's no numerical value given in the game, but I've been playing it on and off for the past two years at least. I can't even begin to estimate the playtime I've clocked on it.
So, on which game have you racked up the most amount of hours played and why? MMOGs, while I appreciate their nature as vacuous black-holes of time, don't count here. Single player games only please.
For me, apart from AC:WW, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance comes in next with 120 hours logged by its finish. God knows why, though; I never remember being completely consumed by it
Tyme:
That's a pretty impressive article; great for procrastinating while [not] doing essays. It also helped me reassess my problems with the game, although the problems it mentions that correspond with my own didn't ruin the thorough enjoyment I got from playing.
The demo comparisons did rile me a little, though. I remember being so excited by the particular video it cites, but (as BioWare probably hoped) I completely forgot about what I saw when it came to playing the finished product. Individual squad commands and direct squad control were two of the biggest things I cried out for while playing.
I genuinely hope, now they have the world/engine/fundamentals created, the sequels will flesh out and refine the experience enough to fulfil the massive potential Mass Effect has. Then the reviews can finally avoid using "It's amazing, but . . ." and wax lyrical without any objective obligations.
So Bioware's newest has been out for a week(ish) and undeniably proved that Westerners can crack out epic, sprawling RPGs as good as the Japanese... but what about everything else?
For me, it basically amounts to 'the combat is flawed almost to the point of being a nonissue, and everything else (bar a few graphical scuffs) is immersive, compulsive brilliance'.
Never in a game have I sat down and listened to all the encyclopaedic information about the setting/technology/etc. Perhaps because it’s never been read for me, but still; most of it is genuinely interesting and contributes to the broader experience.
I just pray to god they sort of the battle system/squad AI for the sequels (it’s going to be a trilogy apparently). So much about this game is fantastic, but weak fundamentals like the broken battle system immediately undermine any urge to evangelise (hence the topic).
Thoughts?
estarla:
Pauley Harvey? Polly Jean Harvey :P White Chalk, her latest album, is amazing nonetheless. I'm envious you got to see her in such a small venue!
Otherwise, Animal Collective/Panda Bear's solo stuff (which I prefer a little to the most recent AC album); Semifinalists; Camera Obscura and My Bloody Valentine because they're reforming/touring next year and I have a ticket to see them. YAS.
Oh, and for those who are into M.I.A., check out Santogold. Completely addicted to her MySpace at the moment; a legitimate release keeps to come out ASAP before I overdose.
Ditto on PBF and Dinosaur Comics, but mainly Achewood. Surprised no one mentioned that one.
Labyrinth or The NeverEnding Story. <3 80s fantasy films. Especially ones with Bowie in them. Or Falkor.
Votes for most of the games mentioned, though only Orange Box and Bioshock have genuine appeal to me as I'm a bit of an arm-chair (*touches nose*) FPS gamer. And Assassin's Creed, obviously, but that goes without saying.
Like Heliophage says, Mass Effect might appeal to you, too. It's technically an RPG, but the battle system looks to be very much a tactical shooter and aesthetically it has quite a Halo-like vibe. Bioware, the devs, are generally masterful with their storytelling, too, so it promises to be a beautiful combination of the two. It's certainly my biggest Want of the year.
I don't have Leopard yet, so Quicksilver is still my key method of launching apps and doing minor jobs. There's apparently a lot to be done with Quicksilver that I never took the time to understand-- the amount of time to acquire plugins and learn how to use them seemed like a waste when I knew exactly how to do the same things in other ways.
It's still an excellent program, though. Probably my most used third-party app after Firefox and Mercury. OS X seems to be undermining its necessity these days, but I still have affection for it in the same way you might for a worn-out chair that’s apart of the scenery.
Just finished Blue Dragon (which I recently reviewed - o ya for the plug) and replaying Psychonauts due to the BC on the 360 and it being completely awesome.
Still, I'll be clearing the decks for the imminent release of Mass Effect and Mario Galaxy. God I love the pre-Christmas release schedule.
The main purpose of my blog is to be a platform for the practise of writing, as well as a means of articulating otherwise unconscious thought on subjects of interest (in this case, anime). I love getting responses and having dialogue with people that read my entries, but I think I'd post regardless of comment activity.
Kamigoroshi makes a good point about building relationships with frequent commenters. I value that highly, but ultimately it comes about as a pleasant bonus rather than being the main impetus. There's a good chance your content might seem contrived and needlessly populous if you focus purely on getting lots of comments; it feels much better to attract people based on what you actually want to say rather than what's popular and appealing
FLCL is always a recommendation, though it doesn't really fall within the shonen confines you mentioned. Last Exile is solid with lots of action and depth if you choose to look that far. The two Ghost in the Shell TV series (Sand Alone Complex and 2ndGIG) also offer lots substance and sophistication, as well as amazing production values. I can only recommend more seinen stuff as that's what I know and love. The aforementioned shows are worth a look even if you prefer Naruto-like series. They might broaden your horizons a bit.
» First Anime you ever watched? ... Last Reply: 7 months ago by ldragon.
Do films count? Because my brother exposed me to countless Manga VHS releases (including Overfiend, urghh).
As for TV anime, Gundam Wing and Dragonball Z I think. Luckily I saw Evangelion and Cowboy Bebop shortly after and the rest is history.