Saturday, August 31, 2013

Series 'of the Month'

'of the Month' is a new segment where I basically spotlight 'Something Awesome'. This will happen on the 1st of each month.

So what is 'Something Awesome'? Well 'Something Awesome' can range from Artists, Music, Movies, Games and anything else that is worth mentioning! If you know 'Something Awesome' that should be mentioned on my Blog, then just share it in the comments!

'SOMETHING AWESOME' THIS MONTH IS:

Mighty No. 9 MO Game Review

* Mighty No. 9 is an ALL-NEW JAPANESE SIDE-SCROLLING ACTION GAME that takes the BEST ASPECTS OF THE 8- AND 16-BIT ERA CLASSICS you know and love, and TRANSFORMS THEM WITH MODERN TECH, FRESH MECHANICS, AND FAN INPUT into something fresh and amazing!



* You play as Beck, the 9th in a line of powerful robots, and the only one not infected by a mysterious computer virus that has caused mechanized creatures the world over to go berserk. RUN, JUMP, BLAST, AND TRANSFORM your way through six stages (or more, via stretch goals) you can tackle in any order you choose, USING WEAPONS AND ABILITIES STOLEN FROM YOUR ENEMIES to take down your fellow Mighty Number robots and confront the final evil that threatens the planet!

[Visual Novel Review]: Fate/Stay Night

RATING - R18



DEVELOPER - Type-Moon

Carnival of Blood (1970) + Curse of the Headless Horseman (1972)

Leonard Kirtman (executive producer on ) directs this pair of sideshow shockers.CARNIVAL OF BLOOD tells the tale of a killer loose in Coney Island and CURSE OF THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN is about a western show that is the target of a um...headless horseman.Both feature amusement parks of some sort such as Astroland and Coney Island for CARNIVAL and a wild west show for CURSE.That is about the only thing they share besides a killer.The second feature on this Something Weird Video release is odd as hell.I enjoyed it but I don't think there is much appeal for CURSE OF THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN.



CARNIVAL OF BLOOD

Hello Monday!

You know that you're too busy when Mondays start to look restful. That's just wrong, that is!



The art booth-thing (my art booth at a city celebration, so it wasn't really a fair) went reasonably well. There were a few snags, of course. I think there have to be, really. In some ways, it's a relief to figure out what they are early on, because the rest should be smooth sailing once you have figured out the hidden catch! I know that sounds pessimistic, but it's totally true!

Friday, August 30, 2013

Berserk: Golden Age Arc II: The Battle for Doldrey (2013) Review

Berserk: Golden Age Arc II: The Battle for Doldrey -* * * 1/2



The second of a trilogy, this Japanese anime movie continues the story of the three mercenaries Guts, Giffith and Caska, as their band of warriors rises in the ranks while their relationships develop and complicate. It might not be totally necessary to see the first movie to enjoy this one, but I'd recommend it (it's a good movie). This sequel is better though; it's fuller and more complex. We start to understand the character's and their demons and emotions more completely, and therefore, we care more strongly. The movie looks stunning, with a mix of hand-drawn animation and CGI being much more seamless this time; movements are fluid and stylized and the atmosphere is absorbing because of the fine pacing and direction; the movie seems stronger and more confident than the first. The tone is still gothic and brutal, and the style is anime at its near harshest, with gratuitous blood and nudity at times, but it works in the content's favor (it's never ridiculous or silly; it's still, to a degree, classy). Scenes are emphasized, at times ghoulishly, with gratuitousness; there is one disturbing graphic sex scene that is a cinematic high-light, and it is both erotic and horrendous; it creates a nightmare for us in our minds, and yet it's very telling about the character's "character". There are other cinematic moments as well in this movie (there's one lovely ball-room set piece that's refreshingly charming), and they all help to give the movie more flavor and worth, but it still can't quite escape the feeling of being just a chapter in a series. There are no themes or arcs emphasized to give it a dramatic structure that would truly make it stand alone. When it ends, it ends.

Actionable Quotes

For years, my brother kept telling me I needed to watch a show called Firefly. I always responded, "Why would I want to watch a show with that name?" He finally sent me a copy. During the first two episodes I thought, "What the hell is this?" Next couple of episodes? I became completely submersed in its awesomeness. By the end of the first season, the characters had become family. I quickly attempted to order the second season, only to have my heart ripped from my chest while it was still beating, watching it shredded and gorged upon by the fiendish brutal hell-hounds also known as "studio executives."There was no second season. Because of the suits in charge, a whole mess of mistakes were made regarding marketing, air times and show content. Ratings that were hoped for weren't achieved, so it didn't even run its entirety on air. And yet, it was one of the most creatively original sci-fi shows ever filmed.



But fear not. The complete episodes (even those originally unaired) are available on Bluray. Also, there was enough of an outcry from fans for a full length feature film entitled Serenityto be made that helped give some closure.

Top Thirty Anime Villans

Last year I made a list of my . I have now decided to do a list of my Top Thirty Anime Villains: the villains from Japanese animation whom I consider the best of the best. Before it starts, I'll mention the villains who were in the running but couldn't make it on, and why.

THE CONTENDERS: Prince Sincline from "Go-Lion", who, unlike his US counterpart Prince Lotor the royal dolt, was one of the earliest examples of a compelling villain in anime. He didn't make it on because he was ultimately overshadowed by all the competition in my favor. Naraku and Sesshomaru from "InuYasha": they were both excellent villains at first but then Naraku refused to die and just kept getting less and less impressive, while Sesshomaru became a bland anti-hero. Obviously, neither of them could make the cut. Orochimaru from "Naruto": what's funny is that he's actually a fairly average villain rather than a great one. Gaara was a better villain than he was! He really comes off as nothing more than Ninja Voldemort. He was only in the running because damn if he doesn't somehow have one of the coolest theme musics ever given to an anime villain. It's far more epic than he deserved! Sosuke Aizen from "Bleach": I'm sure you all know why he didn't make the list. When he first outed himself as the villain, he was hailed as one of the best manga/anime villains in years for it. But that praise was too soon, for he devolved into a bland, nonsensically written Villain Sue afterwards, and is now seen as one of the worst villains out there. Shameful of you, Tite Kubo. Shameful. And last there's Ladd Russo from "Baccanno!" While I really enjoy the character and he's one of the best things about that series, he just comes off as a dumb thug and supporting bad guy rather than a major villain. This list is for BIG villains only. So without further delay, here we go through the list!

30: GANKUTSUOU (GANKUTSUOU: THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO) - This evil alien parasite is the living embodiment of hatred, spite, and the desire for vengeance. It's name translates to "master of the cave", signifying where Edmund Dantes discovered it, and it's been consuming his life and his being ever since. As the Count of Monte Cristo, Edmund does everything in the name of taking revenge on those who wronged him, and Gankutsuou feeds off of those vengeful feelings, in turn driving the Count to more insane and villainous behavior. It's a relationship where the evil entity thrives while the host suffers. Yet it's hard to shake off, because the wants of the host are too strong, and the alien is what fulfills them. It, combined with it's vampiric host, was a great villain.

Fitting Skirting, Edging And Repairing Gaps Around The French Doors

This weekend we had some DIY jobs to do to finish off a few weeks ago.



Where the floorboards were left open and uneven so THE FIRST JOB was to patch where the floorboards meet the new door way. THE SECOND JOB was to install skirting and quarter round on both corners of the door way to finish it off.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Andrew Lesnie: A Masterclass in Cinematography

Andrew Lesnie: Cinematographer

Babe, Temptation of a Monk, The Lord of the Rings

October 2, 2002

[Raw Anime] Cross Fight B-Daman eS (eS)

MAIN TITLE

Cross Fight B-Daman eS

OFFICIAL TITLE

Image Set: Manga Covers

I KNOW THEY SAY YOU SHOULDN'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER BUT WHEN IT COMES TO MANGA I SUPPOSE THAT'S ONLY HALF TRUE. I'M GOING INTO CAPTAIN OBVIOUS TERRITORY HERE, BUT YOU CAN REALLY TELL A LOT BY A MANGA COVER. ON A SLIGHTLY UNRELATED NOTE, WHEN IT COMES TO READING PREFERENCE, I WILL ALWAYS PICK PHYSICAL COPIES OVER READING ONLINE OR ON A TABLET. HOWEVER PHYSICAL COPIES AREN'T ALWAYS FEASIBLE WITH THEIR SLOW TRANSLATION AND RELEASE SCHEDULE SO THERE ARE A HANDFUL OF SERIES I CHOOSE TO READ ONLINE. EXCUSES FOR PIRACY ETC. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, NOTHING BEATS THE SMELL AND FEEL OF A BOOK. ANYWAY, BELOW ARE SOME OF MY FAVOURITE COVERS FROM MANGA, WITH SOME RATHER RANDOM THOUGHTS ON EACH SERIES...



GUNDAM THE ORIGIN - JAPANESE AIZOBAN

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Movie Review 22: The Worlds End

Willikomen, bienvenue, welcome!



Holy Mother-fathering Snitzel! Somehow Edgar wright has made yet another awesome movie. I've been saying over and over that this guy is by far my favorite Director in existence. He's made a total of 4 movies (plus a TV show I love too) and all of them are awesome. Scott pilgrim and Shaun of the Dead are my top 2 of all time and Hot Fuzz is just out of my Top 5 at number 6. And here comes world's end, Easily my favorite movie of the year, beating the awesome Los Ultimos Dios (the Last Days) and Pacific Rim for my top spot. Holy Wowzers!

New York's Stop and Frisk Mess, the Case and its Cause, Cost and Cure

NEW YORK, NY--This is all about balancing freedom and liberty with the needs of public safety and using propaganda to frighten Americans.Today millions of Americans really believe that the rights to keep and carry firearms and to be free from unreasonable searches will kill us all.



LET ME CHALLENGE ANYONE TO SHOW US WHERE, CONGRESS OR THE PRESIDENT HAS THE POWER TO EXCHANGE OUR FREEDOMS WITHIN THE BILL OF RIGHTS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY.Every despot,fascist anddespotic ruler that ever existed promised the population safety through freedom restrictions.

Exit, Schmexit

John Mauldin | Aug 27, 2013



In last week's Outside the Box, which included a paper from the San Francisco Federal Reserve on the EFFECTIVENESS OF QUANTITATIVE EASING, I wrote, "What [authors] C rdia and Ferrero are really saying is that the latest round of QE, massive as it has been, HAS NOT HAD ALL THAT MUCH EFFECT ON THE ECONOMY, and that other factors should be taken into account. I'm sure this thesis is somewhat controversial, and I look forward to seeing what QE proponents like David Zervos over at Jefferies have to say about it."

Scotland Loves Anime Reluctant to Screen 3rd Berserk Film

Anon the blog mentions that the Scotland Loves Anime festival is 'reluctant' to screen the third cinema film, (Berserkgon Jidai-Hen III: K rin). According to the article (which is mostly about the second Berserk film):Reportedly, Descent's content is so extreme that most Japanese cinemas showed a censored version of the film, and Scotland Loves Anime, where the first two films premiered, is reluctant to show it at all!According to the Loves Animation facebook , Scotland Loves Anime will announce the majority of its line-up on Friday. The event will run from October 11 to 13 in Glasgow and October 18 to 20 in Edinburgh. The festival previously held the U.K. premieres of the first two Berserk films. In 2012, it invited producer and character designer for a live Q&A in Edinburgh.In Japan, the Descent film opened in cinemas in two versions. An R18+ rated version played in late showings at Tokyo's Shinjuku Wald 9 and Osaka's Umeda Burg 7 theaters, while an edited, R15+ rated version in other cinemas. Japan's Film Classification and Rating Committee (Eirin) hadthe more explicit version a rating of R18+ for "extremely provocative sexual content." Japanese cinemas restrict R18+ films to viewers 18 years old or older.Before Descent, the last major anime film with an R18+ rating in Japan was the complete edition of in 2011.Disclaimer: The article on the Manga Entertainment blog was written by ANN's U.K. News Editor, Andrew Osmond. However, the specific comment about Scotland Loves Anime was inserted by the Manga blog's editor, who told ANN that the comment was approved by the festival.
Full Post

Happy kitties

I grow my own catnip. Or, rather, my cats' catnip. It's supposed to make a relaxing tea for humans, and I've tried it, but it doesn't do anything for me.



My tortie, Emma, likes her 'nip fresh, straight from the garden. Just crunch a leaf to release the oils, and she's happy. Of course, she also goes berserk over the dried stuff. I have to dry it outside, where she can't get to it, and then crumble it into a big glass jar. When I open the jar, Emma races to stick her head into it. She'd be even happier if she could climb inside and roll around in it.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Football Twitter Guide

Since I'm at that point where I can't get enough of football items, I figured I would go through all the people I follow on Twitter and offer some names of folks whose tweets I will be looking forward to reading throughout the season by group. I will amend/add names to this as the season goes. Please provide your own folks for these subjects. Also, if I forgot your name, don't be afraid to tell me and I'll use my discretion on recommending you!



FANTASY SPORTS:

Stay with me on this one...

One of the biggest arguments my mom (and other people) always give about giving up meat is, "well since the "caveman times" humans have been eatin' meat" (I imagine this with a hick's-southern accent). Use some logic here people. Cavemen and even people up until the early 20th century (and still today), have hunted their OWN meat. They have raised their OWN farm animals and slaughtered the animal that they raised. But nowadays, for most people in America, that is no longer the case. Why do people think it is okay to mass murder another species? I don't understand it. Why have people become so heartless? Why do people not care that another species is suffering? I think I know why. Because they've decided it's a hell of a lot easier to believe that a pig and a cow "don't have brains" and "don't recognize pain", than to make a big change in their life. Why would you think that? Is there any conclusive evidence out there that indicates that these animals don't have intelligence OR feel pain? Or, maybe you (like many people I know) genuinely DO NOT CARE that another species is suffering or feeling pain. Okay, well A. that is the most unloving, un-Christian, un-evolved, unintelligent way of thinking. B. just because you are smarter than other species doesn't mean you're entitled to TAKE ADVANTAGE of it, exploit it, and OWN it and C.It is your duty as the more intelligent species to protect the lesser species!



Imagine this: Just imagine if an alien species that was MUCH more intelligent and evolved than us came and started to colonize on earth. Imagine if they started using us puppets? Putting us in cages? What if they found us tasty??? Imagine concentrated camps of humans being herded into rooms to be destroyed by the thousands. Imagine they would pump the women and men full of hormones forcing them to reproduce baby after baby as fast as possible. Then as soon as the baby was born, it was taken from them because some of the aliens liked to eat human baby; but they call it something tasty like baby parmesan.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya #007: Einzbern, You're a Loose Cannon

Maid Madness is cuter than march madness, , and space madness but leaves you with a distinctly dirtier feeling than the other three. This episode of Fate/kaleid spends most of its first half soaking in the fetish of domestic servants in frills. But it is mostly just a needed break between dramatic events. After the three episodes of battle a bit of comedic refreshment is welcome considering how much this show is ostensibly comedic. But this being Fate/kaleid that also means awkward and skeevy fan service. Don't worry there is some real story at the end.



On a tangentially related note if you ever really needed a refresher on how Fate/kaleid characters are different from their Fate/Stay Night counterpoints the simplest reminder is oddly enough the of the . It has and meeting . Sadly the manga ends just before really started.

25 Movies We're All About This Fall

Paramount



The dog days of August are almost over, which means blockbusters are taking a backseat to all those lovely prestige pictures the studios trot out when the leaves change and Meryl Streep gets her thirst for gold like the Oscar vampire she is.

Monday, August 26, 2013

Drag queens and dogs

We've been in Putney today and are coming home in the most tremendous sunset. The sky has divided itself into banks of powder blue, pink and gleaming gold. A dark, smouldering, smoky cloud is creeping up from the horizon, soon to engulf the world.

We've been at Tobias and Mark's house all afternoon, for the first time in my life at an all-male party, which felt a little strange, I'll confess.

We sat in the garden, and I spent hours playing with three lovely dogs. One of them, an insane Jack Russell called Thomas, was particularly charming. He'd found himself a little stone, which he was guarding with his life. His precious toy was carelessly lobbed into the pond by a party-goer, and the poor thing stood pathetically at the side, staring into the murky water hoping against hope that it would somehow float to the surface. I then knew the definition of tragic, or thought I did until the poor little animal fell in and had to be fished out. Even after getting soaked, he still stared at the water.

Scales Ain't Shit

Okay.Here is a thing that has been occupying a bunch of my attention: the scale.



On August 1, I added a new warm-up progression to my lifting sessions, one that about doubled my volume--not the load, just the number of reps I perform at any load.

Day 15; Home James

FRIDAY 2ND AUGUST



It was strange pulling sailing into our home port early and not being woken by a sunrise through the cabin window at silly-o-clock in the morning. Moving back into lower latitudes almost feels like we've jumped into a different season.

What do they snip???

What a busy morning we had yesterday with Karen and her Mum then Gregg and Claire all coming to see me, well sort of. They were really coming to see Robert and Susan and I was in charge of guarding my toys in the kitchen during their visit. I woofed a couple of times just to let them know that I was there in case that they had forgotten about me, and then banged my new bone on the laminate as it makes a big crashing noise so they must have heard that too. My job is to look gorgeous and see them off the premises when they have booked us, well that's what we say but I let them out anyway although they must be mad not to book us as they get to come back and see me again and again!!! Ever since the Adam incident when I got so excited and piddled which came out like a water spout and covered his trousers in wee, Robert has made sure that the clients are all on the other side of the wall just in case. I like meeting them over the wall as I am such a big boy that I can stand up and give them cuddles and still get kisses and pats across the gate too. There was one more person to come but I was getting a bit fed up so Robert took me a big walk down to the sea and left Susan at home to see Pauline herself, but that was alright as I am sure that Susan could manage without me.



We met Ollie on our walk, the windmill puppy, he is even bigger and he still does the windmill thing, but looks more like a giant spider now as his legs are so long and spindly. I saw Ollie through the window of his house the other day and wondered why he was stuck in, but his human explained to Robert that he had been to the vets for 'the snip' and had to let his stitches heal up. When Robert said ''ouch'' when'the snip' was mentioned I knew it couldn't be anything good and I was really pleased when he said that they were not going to do that to me. I tried to listen to see if there was anymore mention of this dreaded snip but Ollie was going berserk and battering me with his spidery legs so it was hard to hear everything but was said. On the way home Robert told me not to worry as Ollie was fine and was still Ollie, there was just a little bit less of him than before.I am sure that if it was important Robert and Susan would have told me about it before, so for now I am just going to try and stop imagining what they snip!!!!

Angelic Forecast from Volcano ~ August 5, 2013

Weekly Angelic Forecast from Volcano



STRAIGHT FROM THE CARNAL CHERUB HIMSELF...

Paying Respect to the Past, Moving On Into the Future

LIBRARIAN IN THE TARDIS, REVIEW 7.03



TITLE: Remembrance of the Daleks

Twenty Homers, Decent Cachet

Marlon Byrd joined the Mets' 20-home run club Monday. As exclusivity goes, it's an honor that falls somewhere between the and one of those Facebook groups that requires an invitation. It's not that incredible that you'd get in, but making it there probably says something about your interests and perhaps your capabilities.



Byrd was interested in proving he was still capable of playing in the major leagues in 2013. Just getting an invitation to camp from a team whose lead executive wondered if he had an outfield at all was a small victory for Byrd. He's certainly piled up the wins, for the Mets and for himself, ever since. With Byrd having done more as a slugger and a fielder than we would have dared dream, many among us have transitioned from wanting the soon-to-be 36-year-old wonder swapped for whatever he could bring back to mildly pining for retention of his services in 2014.

Angelic Forecast from Volcano ~ August 26, 2013

Phoenix by *brandrificus on deviantART



Weekly Angelic Forecast from Volcano

Monthly Payroll And How The Work Goes

Work is already an integral part of the life of a person. This is because it is the number one thing that supports the whole trade of needs and wants. Without it, then you will be another beggar who will be asking for alms in the middle of nowhere. So in every payroll you will need to check it according to the payroll Seattle.



It is beneficial for a person to earn money as soon as the turning of tassel took place. This is because the chapter of the student life already ended. Also, the new chapter has taken place that will test the persons ability to live by own self. To be the own master of the life that is given by the loving father who is just at the sky looking down on him.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Weekend in Violence 3 Stars: Browne, Sonnen and McDonald usher in the FOX Sports 1 era

This past weekend in Boston for the first of many UFC cards on America's new sports network, FOX Sports 1, the violence meter here atwent berserk.



Ovince St. Preux was more than happy to 'Volunteer' when called upon to dish out the ultraviolence on this historic night. Young Steven Scott Siler put away a former Zuffa champion in under a minute in between incredible performances from Diego Brandao and Conor McGregor respectively; the kind of performances that may have gotten them a spot on this list on any other night. The very same goes for Matt Brown, a man who is looking more and more "Immortal" with every performance. No one has looked better than Brown inside of the 170 lb division over the past two years. It's a fact. Let's not forget about Urijah Faber either. He's 3-0 during his 2013 campaign thus far, and knowing Urijah, I'm sure he has one more left in him before the year is out.

ARGO @#!& YOURSELF, AFFLECK HATERS

What's the problem with the fanboys? They've gone ballistic on the blogosphere since the announcement this week that Ben Affleck was cast as the Dark Knight in the upcoming BATMAN VS. SUPERMAN movie. Twitter has been positively inundated. My God, you'd think that he was Edward Snowden or Private Manning!

What is the problem? Ben Affleck is an extremely talented actor, writer, and director who has won two Oscars, including Best Picture for ARGO last year. (He's also married to Jennifer Garner, so maybe there's some jealousy involved here.) But there's no reason for such utter vitriol spewing all over the Web about him.

Now look, one could argue that Affleck maybe shouldn't play Batman as he's already rendered two superheroes on the big screen before. He played DAREDEVIL (2003) in the unfortunate adaptation of that beloved comic book series. And he kind of played Superman too, right, since he portrayed George Reeves in HOLLYWOODLAND (2006)? You'll remember that movie was based upon the life of the actor who so memorably played the Man of Steel on TV in the 1950's. But those are minor talking points for the fanboys. They just don't think Affleck has the chops. And they're going absolutely berserk, venting like it's the apocalypse.

Anime: Kenichi The Mightiest Disciple

KENICHI THE MIGHTIEST DISCIPLE - COLLECTION TWO (EPISODES 27-50) (15)4 Discs (Distributor: Manga Entertainment) Running time: 589 minutes approx.

Once the frivolity of the opening filler episodes are out of the way, this second volume of this action comedy series charting the rise of Kenichi Shirahama from nobody to martial arts hero wastes little time in resuming his bitter and violent feud between the powerful Ragnarok group, home to the deadly Eight Fists. And with twenty four episodes to get through there is a lot of ground to cover.

Without wishing to spoil anything, the First Fist Odin and Kenichi have something of a history together dating right back to their junior days, but only one of them can remember that far back - and you can guess which one that would be. And to make this amnesia even worse, Miu, the F-Cup fighter who took Kenichi under her wing at her grandfather's dojo Ry zanpaku, is also a figure from Kenichi's past. How he could have forgotten her once the story is revealed makes one wonder at what point did the writers have the idea of connecting these characters by their pasts and at what point they would resolve it because this whole scenario reeks of throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks. Indeed, once the catalyst for the whole Ragnorak vs Ry zanpaku feud is finally revealed in the final episode, I fear feet may end up being put through TV screens in a display of violent objection for such a flimsy revelation.

Collector Cars At WAAAM

If you are into vintage collector cars and airplanes, one of the coolest museums on the planet is in Hood River, Oregon...the(WAAAM).



An enthusiast can have a field day! I don't know vintage autos as well as I should but I can sure appreciate them and, I love to photograph them. Ooh, Jay Leno and Clive Cussler would go berserk at this museum!

Japan's First Robot Astronaut Claims the Future is Now

Space. The final frontier. For humans as well as robots. Japan's humanoid robot known as Kirobo is the first talking robot astronaut and just recently began his journey into the great beyond. Representing the hope of a nation, the fate of the future rests on this 13 inch robot's little shoulders. Why is Kirobo being sent into space? Will he succeed in his mission? We can only hope.



KIROBO

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Replanting the Floo'ers

This week, on the 500th anniversary of Flodden--perhaps the most decisive and certainly the bloodiest defeat inflicted on us Scots by our southern cousins--the Coldstream Common Riding took a crowd of people and horses to the very field just over the Border where the event took place. Despite its antiquity, Flodden resurfaces in Scots culture much as the 'we wiz aye rubbish' recurs among the footsoldiers of the Tartan Army to explain away yet another glorious defeat.



The covered the event, relating that Dr Tony Pollard, of Glasgow University, had concluded the defeat was a result of the Scots infantry being incompetent with long 18ft pikes with which the King James IV had equipped them. While lack of training may have been a factor, it is crudely simplistic to explain it all away on that basis.

Looking Back.... and Foward #3

So this is what it feels like to be a failure. Two weeks! Two weeks is as far as I got before I completely dropped the ball with this little feature. This not my finest hour.



But, (there's always a "but" isn't there?) I have an excuse! Some of you may know that I've be grievously web-less recently, but I am still willing to take the blame. I'm sure that I could have figured out a way to make this work at least throughout June, which obviously didn't happen.

A few loose thoughts on Danganronpa

Spoilers on episode 4 and the ones prior to it.



Also, feel free to instigate a best girl discussion. You rarely get to see so much material worth talking about anywhere else.

2006: Welcome to the Next Level

Serdar Yegulalp, a tech journalist by day, is also the Site Guide for . He also runs his own science-fiction-and-fantasy imprint, , where he blogs about SF, movies, creativity, the complexities of self-publishing, the Sun Ra and Skinny Puppy back catalogs, and most everything else that catches his attention. He also occasionally sticks his neck out on Twitter (@).Back when I started curating , one of the first feature articles I put together was a four-parter which involved a number of anime at different "course levels." An anime that required no understanding of Japanese culture or Japan to begin with was a "100-level" anime. Another that was still easy to get into but would be best appreciated with a little foreknowledge was a "200-level" anime. A show pitched mainly for Japanese audiences, or which one wasn't likely to find accessible unless you were already steeped in the tropes and quirks of anime generally was a "300-level" anime. (I later refined the categories a little, but the basic concept remains intact.)



I now wonder if listing BLACK LAGOON as a 100-level anime was such a good idea.

Fate/Zero S2

FATE/ZERO 2ND SEASON



I must say, that this anime is quite ambitious in what it's trying to achieve. Multiple narratives of the characters who are involved in the Holygrail are shown and their interactions. In my opinion, it's done not terribly, but there definitely are some disjointed scenes especially Kiritsugu's backstory.

Little Bit Of Ireland

"We do not hate, we never curse,Nor spoke a foeman's wordAgainst a man in Ireland nursed,Howe'er we thought he erred.So start not, Irish-born man! If you're to Ireland true,We heed not race, nor creed, nor clan-We've hearts and hands for you."



This is the best poetic book I have ever read next to Beowulf!! So full of tales, lessons and lyrics, that I hope to one day memorize and recite. Why, I have every mind to turn some of the poems into real songs, that is, if I was advanced in music!

Anime Thoughts: Berserk Golden Age Arc II

See the review for the first Berserk movie . For the television anime series, please refer .



Let's just go ahead and get this out of the way: Berserk is a series that can be very unkind to its female characters. (And males! Equality!) Nowhere is this more obvious with ambiguously brown female warrior Casca. And nowhere is her particularly bad streak of luck more apparent than the volumes of manga that this particular movie covers. Casca lovers? This movie'll be a tough one for you.

Turns of Phrase II

(NOTE: I considered pushing this back and giving yesterday's post a few more days on the top, but that would be about as meaningful and helpful as that Kony 2012 bullshit. However, if you have the chance, please scroll down and take a look at the previous post. And now, on with you regularly scheduled ranting.)



Around this time last year I listed that are typically misspelled, misused, or generally abused. Never let it be said that I can't find things to nitpick! And since I haven't gotten any better about nitpicking since last year, here are three more which even very good authors have occasionally tripped on.

Anime Review

If you could be a demon or an angel... what would you choose?!



Hello "meine freunde", which is another way of saying "my friends"!

Seiyuus

Today is the day of tsunderes. I'm sure there are many more awesome tsundere seiyuus, but today I'll be talking about the queen herself. Oh yeah, the male seiyuus today are rather seasoned veterans, so if you're a long time fan of anime and games (I really mean long time here), you'll know them for sure.



Marina Inoue

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya episode 5

I am alive folks!!!! One week later and I post woohoo!!!! I spent 3 wonderful and busy days doing things around Disney World and then it was back to work. One day the washing machine (at our house) broke which was disaster considering how many things we wore on the trip. So there went one day of blogging. Then you know..I needed to go grocery shopping and put said house back together. Then I got the bright idea to brush and clean Duffy in which I injured him and I spent the whole night being mopey panda. Poor Duffy. Worst wands ever. But now it is time to blog stuff folks. I got a list of episode I need to catch up on. XX I am going to have a very busy Sunday. For now her is Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya episode 5. I meant to blog this and have it up before the trip but we needed to do some shopping beforehand and POOF it was Friday. Spoilers for Saber being the most amazing character ever. Giving you some side eye folks. Episode Summary: After a brief recap because we are all fish Illya and Miyu look on in horror as Rin and Luvia are splatted on the ground by an unknown opponent. It's Saber but they never mention her name so you know....Illya and her full heart of love and friendship wants to rescue the girls with no plan. Miyu points out they are the only hope Rin and Luvia have so they better think this out. Illya suggests using the cards to power Miyu up. It is explained that the cards have a reboot time thus Lancer is out. Archer has been deemed useless, Rider isn't good with one target (?), and since they just caught Castor it would be dangerous to use her. After all those excuses are explained Miyu explains there are two bad options. Illya agrees that they both suck but they go with Miyu drawing the attacks while Illya drags the older girls away. Miyu takes off but has to limit her attacks because Saber is close to said girls. It doesn't matter anyway as all attacks are useless against Saber. It is later explained Saber has pure mana circling her thus...something. Miyu's attacks are pushed back on her plus Saber powers up and does her own attacks. Miyu isn't doing so hot and it doesn't help when Illya draws attention to herself. A lot of attention before she can even move to help Rin and Luvia. Illya is nearly blasted to bits even though Miyu tries getting the attention back on her. Despite Saber moving very slow Illya just sits there on the ground looking shocked that her arm is bleeding. Yes this is real (anime) life. Miyu gets more injured trying to protect Illya and concluded the girl is losing the will to fight. Ruby....please say something uplifting. Is that possible? Desperately trying to think of a plan...Rin and Luvia very slowly get up. They have matching wounds but that doesn't seem to slow them down as they insult each other until they reach a standing position. They pull out their guns....I mean gems and start blasting Saber. This get the attention off Illya and Miyu. Even with their gems it is clear Saber is the most powerful enemy ever and measures need to be taken before everything gets splattered. Ruby and Sapphire seem really against it but decide there is no choice. Rin and Luvia are looking pretty upset when Illya and Miyu.......dramatically throw wands that are able to fly towards the other two girls. Rin and Luvia transform into magical girls (cats?) under guest circumstances. Illya notes this whole thing is embarrassing while Luvia focuses on mostly magic attacks. Rin turns Ruby into a sword and does physical attacks. Rin and Luvia exchange insults the entire time they are battling. They try to find Saber's weaknesses. Miyu thinks they work well together while Illya is like pick me out a coffin. Finally Luvia's preparations are done and Saber steps on a magical land mine. She is pushed back and it is revealed while Rin was fighting (ungracefully) Luvia pulled a Castor and set a huge magical spell in the sky. Yay smirky faces. THE END! That is Tenchi blowing up after work. @@ I have to work 11 hours alone today (at the time this was written) to make up for the fact I am going out of town. Surely I shall die. Or not. I wrote the entire summary with only one customer coming in. Me thinks the mornings are much slower than the afternoon. I got shafted. Still hope it is a slow day all around. Wish I had brought my notebook. Stupid computer paper. :( Were you trying to attack me or something? So anyway...Saber is looking pretty bad ass. Or Ruby and Sapphire suck as magical wands. Please be detecting the danger better. I didn't think the girls were going to attack her this episode. I thought it would be more dodge and run. Of course I don't understand why they didn't just close the Mirror World. Perhaps it was not explained well but...they closed the world when they ran from Castor last time yes? So why not do it now? Make a huge circle and include all the girls? Saber was standing still for quite a while when the girls were discussing the plan. Bleh who needs logic. Time to sell more Saber figurines. And neither are that great woohoo! Illya and Miyu have been magical girls for 9 minutes but already work together well. Or compliment each other. Illya wants to use her passion to get out of situations while Miyu is the thinker. Together they make up a 20 year old girl with no change of winning YAY! So yes Illya calm it down and yes Miyu realize this is a bad situation which means it is a perfect time to panic. The wants need to help out more obviously. All I hear is blah blah bullshit. I was kinda rolling my eyes at the Cards though. I mean...I guess Lancer having to recharge makes sense. Or maybe more so Miyu since the mana comes from the user. But surely there was a way to make Archer less useless. Fire some spirit arrow. Rider would have been better than nothing. And hello Castor was pretty damn powerful. Who cares that you haven't used it yet. Use the secret weapon! All in all it sounded like a whole lot of excuses to make the girls more desperate than they had to be. Why are you walking?! Miyu seems to take the lead a lot. She is more powerful I suppose. But why the hell was Miyu in the sky and Illya RUNNING to the girls? I felt like Illya was running forever and getting nowhere fast. Fly girl fly. Or why don't you be the bait and Miyu does the rescuing? Bleh. Either way....Illya is special. Miyu was doing her best but when your opponent is that strong and you have been a magical girl for 10 minutes now...it ain't going to work out. Especially since Saber is tanked up. She has like 10 MapleStory Boosts on. Got a mana shield, strong attack, and can reflect attacks back on others. All that had technical wording but you know me. Now was Saber moving slow because she is slow or because Miyu was such an easy opponent she didn't need to move as fast? I am capable of feeling pain?! I was going to snark Illya for her meltdown over a scratch. But it's like 8 am (or was) and I am AT work so it's too early to snark. Plus wouldn't that be like snarking Sailor Moon? My homegirl Sailor Moon skinned her knee episode one and cried and cried. I mean Illya thinks this magical girl stuff is like an anime (haha). I guess experiencing real pain brought her back down to reality. Sorta like how teenagers think their invincible until someone or themselves gets seriously hurt doing something stupid. So...yeah. I hate getting stuck with needles. Cry on Illya. FOLLOW THE PLAN! You have to feel bad for Miyu though. She is like stick to the plan, follow the plan! I think she is okay with the numbers idea. Like well I might die but I can save three others doing it. Just that Illya hasn't gotten that memo yet and wants everyone to win and live! Live together to eat ice cream and chips. Illya is getting beat up all over the place but is trying hard. Saber is just way too strong. Should have waited your turn Saber, let the girls fight easier opponents to get their confidence up. How dare you not follow the rules! Look how fabulous we are.....mere seconds after almost death. Eventually Rin and Luvia pull themselves off the ground. Bickering of course. Just a power nap folks. Even though they looked pretty injured. Rin and Luvia were set to battle right away. I would have been like give me a second to locate the sky. I find that watching anime makes me think I wouldn't be good at anything...magic wise. XD But these girls got up and started throwing magical bombs all over the place. Like budget, what budget? We got an enemy to defeat. I like how Saber would just cock her head and look. Like more people who want to die? Sounds like fun to me. They are ALIVE. That is all that matters to the wands. Of course this was not enough. Despite Rin and Luvia being mages it isn't enough to counter the amazingness that is Saber and her never ending stream of merchandise. Again why wasn't running away an option? Since both Miyu and Illya were safe from attacks? That would be too easy? Thought so. Instead the younger girls looked on in awe and realization something else needed to be done. Again these wands have the unusefulness. It is time to release the secret weapon! SEE! They are super cute. Luvia and Rin look cute as magical girls. I don't know what everyone else is talking about. Haters to the left. Or the right. Wherever the ditch is. But yes guest hosts as magical girls animals. Too bad Saber can't show emotion in this form. :( Like WTF face, how many damn magical girls are there? Or there could have been some sweatdrops as Saber had to listen to all that chatter. Seriously folks. What the hell was that? How could Rin and Luvia even concentrate with all that nonsense going on? Back and forth. Like look at the enemy in front of you. I get that they have a love/hate relationship going on but this is slightly overkill. Rin attacking like this was surprising. I guess it doesn't matter what I think though. Despite all that chatter Rin and Luvia fought well together. I thought Rin would have more magical attacks though. I understand there was magic in it, just not...so flashy. I wouldn't go as far as Ruby though. Luvia had it pretty much covered in the sparkle department. With two equal opponents Saber wasn't as effective. Since that wasn't the plan with Illya and Miyu they failed. Don't be down on yourselves girls. You have been magical girls for 15 minutes now. You will get the hang of it by the hour mark....you know when the last car is caught and you have to give the wands back. We look amazing. So this will surely fail. The episode ends with Luvia revealing Rin and her sword antics were all a way to buy time. Magic circles in the sky! Looks like a lot of overkill. Given how confident Rind and Luiva look I predict the spell won't work, leaving Miyu and Illya to get them out of there as Saber is much too strong. Then Miyu and Illya will bond by promising to become stronger together. Rin and Luvia will blame each other and Berserker will be like why do me and Assassin get left out of everything MOG??!?!?!?!? Until next time....
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Berserk: The Golden Age Arc II

VIZ Media beckons anime fans to join the battle-hardened mercenary, Guts, for a new action-packed anime feature film epic as it announces the debut of BERSERK: THE GOLDEN AGE ARC II- THE BATTLE FOR DOLDREY on DVD and Blu-ray. The new release, which is available now, is rated 'M' for Mature Audiences and carries a DVD MSRP of $19.98 U.S. / $24.98 CAN and a Blu-ray MSRP of $24.98 U.S. / $27.50 CAN.



Bonus features include a production art gallery, theatrical trailers, an "Aria" Live Concert conducted by BERSERK score composer Susumu Hirasawa, and an interview with BERSERK voice actors Aki Toyosaki and Minako Kotobuki.

Review of Trapped Under Ice by M.J. Schiller

Hey, it's Gabby again! Sorry for having disappeared on you all!!! Thank you for being patient and let's celebrate my return with a review of an amazing new book!



Trapped Under Ice by M.J. Schiller

TOUHOU HIJACK!

I was going to do another Kin'youbi Mosaic today, but then I realized that all I wanted to talk about was one thing, so have a side post on the insane Touhou series.Among the various non-anime/manga otaku-related things I follow is the Touhou series. This series of doujin danmaku (a.k.a. "there are too many bullets on the screen!") shoot-'em-up games is known for three things: the blistering difficult games with lots of fancy patterns, the large cast of girls based on youkai and other aspects of Japanese (and Western) mythology and the sheer amount of fan art produced for it, and some of the best video game music tracks ever created entirely by one person, plus the sheer extent to which said music gets remixed.



I haven't done too much with the games themselves (I've played some of the 8th game, Imperishable Night, but still can't do anything higher than Easy), so there I mostly just watch gameplay videos on YouTube of people far better than I am. Take, for example, the following person clearing the 12th game, Undefined Fantastic Object, on the hardest difficulty level, like a boss:

Watson and Holmes comic series

MEET THE WATSON AND HOLMES TEAM: Karl Bollers - comic book writer(Wolverine, X-Men, Emma Frost)Rick Leonardi - comic book artist(Cloak & Dagger, Spider-Man, Vigilante, Star Wars)Paul Mendoza - comic book colorist(Morpheus Fine Art, Aliens: Berserker for Dark Horse)Justin Gabrie - senior editor(Marvel/DC's Punisher DC's Batman: Deadly Knights)Zack Rosenberg - asst. editor(Marvel, Penguin Books, Cartoon Network)Brandon Perlow - publisher (visual film effects artist for X-Men 1-2, Apocolypto)



SYNOPSIS:WATSONHolmes is a local P.I. who takes unusual cases. When one of them ends up in Watson's emergency room, the unlikely duo strike up a partnership to find a missing girl. Watson & Holmes bump heads along the way as they enter a labyrinth of drugs, guns, gangs and a conspiracy that goes higher and deeper than they could have imagined....

Review for Masters of Umbra

Original title: Master of Umbra

Asin: B00D4E8UWE

Language: English

Interview with Poppet, author of the Valhalla Series

Here is my interview with the author of Master of Umbra. Please support her with her Valhalla series. She has really good reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.



AW: Please tell us a bit about yourself and back ground?

Friday, August 23, 2013

Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan), episode 19.

This was one of those "one step at a time" episodes. Sure it made some progress. But so little that you can describe it in two sentences. "They caught the titan. And yes, Eren need a purpose when he transforms, which changes nothing".



The flashback was cool though. And look at that face, aren't it cute?

ACF 2002: BERSERK: THE GOLDEN AGE ARC II

BERSERK: THE GOLDEN AGE ARC (c) KENTAROU MIURA (STUDIO GAGA) HAKUSENSHA/BERSERK FILM PARTNERS



VIZ MEDIA ANNOUNCES THE NORTH AMERICANDVD AND BLU-RAY RELEASE OFBERSERK: THE GOLDEN AGE ARC II - THE BATTLE FOR DOLDREY

Another goof-up, another ambush

CRPF continues to make silly mistakes, leading to a loss of 14 lives, including four innocent villagers, in Latehar, Jharkhand | January 16 2013 http://www.governancenow.com/views/columns/another-goof-another-ambush

There is no end to the blunders that the central reserve police force (CRPF) commits in its anti-Maoists operations. Less than seven months after its men went berserk and killed 19 people in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, most of whom turned out to be innocent villagers, it has again landed itself in a mess. This time in Jharkhand's Latehar district.

The facts of this encounter make a chilling reading. A local CRPF commander leads more than 300 personnel (two companies of CRPF and one company of Jaguar, a force specifically trained and raised for anti-Maoist operations by the Jharkhand government) to an area-domination exercise in Latehar's Katiya forests in December. The exercise goes uneventful for over a month and then they get wind of a contingent of the Maoists and decide to launch a direct attack on January 7. While most of the security personnel move towards a village, Amwatikar, a small group climbs up a nearby hill to provide them a security cover. While this band is climbing up the hill, the Maoists waiting for it at the top of the hill unleashes a volley of fire, killing 10 jawans (nine from CRPF and one from Jaguars).

Anime Thoughts: Berserk Golden Age Arc III

See the review for the first Berserk movie . Second movie . For the television anime series, please refer .



So here we are; the final installment of the Berserk movie trilogy. The previous movie ended with the departure of Guts. Driven by Griffith's words of what "true friendship" really is, he went on a journey of soul-searching in order to become a man truly capable of being Griffith's equal

5 + Sport Network Television CNTV launched by the Chinese, is a specialty dominated the Olympic vid

Lei Feng Lab: London Olympics mobile application inventory | Lei Feng network

London 2012 Results (London 2012 Olympic moscot miltzen Games schedule) can provide users with the latest news about the London Olympics, schedule and results moscot miltzen of the competition, including the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, the user can view the results of the competition, real-time updates, calendar schedule, gold charts, athletes information, etc., you can also specify the countries of concern, view the latest news of interest to the user to grasp the national award information. London 2012: Join In iOS / Android moscot miltzen Price: Free

London 2012 Join In (London 2012 spectators Guide) provides all of the activities and competitions participation in the information, including detailed information on the Torch Relay, London maps, race schedule, stadium seating chart, as well as London local celebrations, the user can View the latest news and information, and to share. Olympic information in your browser, you can browse by time, or browse by sport can always browse the latest sports moscot miltzen information, and then through mobile maps quickly find events venue. This application can also be said to be a smaller version of the London travel guide application, which contains booking information and all the information you want to know London.

Top Ten Space Cartoons

I don't know what it is about cartoons set in outer space that just sent me into a tizzy of energy between the ages of 8 and, oh, I don't know, now. I'm sure it stems from my lifelong love of Star Wars, but anything Space Opera-related is going to get at least a few watches out of me. Here, I've compiled a list of my favorite action cartoons set in space. I'm leaving off The Clone Wars because obviously that's awesome, and I'm also leaving off Futurama because it changes genre so much. Everything else is up for grabs, so here we go!



10. MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM

Liebster Award

I was nominated by the awesomefor the Liebster award! Which is basically an award that is passed around by bloggers with fewer than 200 followers nominating other bloggers. That way they all get to connect with other bloggers and find out about new and exciting blogs!

Thank you so muchfor nominating for me! :D

11 FACTS ABOUT ME:

Good Samaritan Again Blamed After Helping Fallen Elderly

Ms. Wang at the bus stop where the elderly person had fallen, describing to this reporter what happened at the time.



The following was the second most popular microblog post on China's leading microblogging platform Sina Weibo yesterday, with over 40k comments at time of translation