Air is Here! View some for Free!

Late April, I blogged that the anime series "Air" was going to be released here in the States.

A breath of fresh Air: Coming soon to USA!

It is now out!

(Amazon.com - Air TV vol. 1)

This weekend I will be running around to my anime sources trying to find the first volume.

I have already seen the very first episode on a DVD insert in this month's issue of Newtype USA.

Free Air Episode!

If you want to see what the fuss is about, act quick (before September 6th) and you can view the entire first episode of AIR over the Net from ADV films. It's 25 minutes long, so grab a beverage and some snacks.

I was really looking forward to seeing this anime series just from the reviews on the artwork; particularly the backgrounds.  However I was really blown away by the quality and detail.  I almost swooned!

It reminded me a lot of those done in the Onegai! (Please Teacher! / Please Twins!) anime series Lavie and I fell in love with. The colors in Air seem a bit more saturated, however (in a good way).

This is going to be a four-disk run so the cost should be reasonable (unlike those 7-10+ volume sets released for some titles!

Free Air Movie (2004)

If you are really a hard-core fan of Air, Animate.tv website is offering a streaming video of the 2004 Air movie (Japanese language only).  No word how long it will be available.

Part 1,  Part 2,  Part 3.

Requires Microsoft Windows, with Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player.  You will likely have to download and install an additional component (probably for DRM management).   Abandon Firefox all those who hope to tread there!

The streaming quality isn't nearly as good as the Air TV episode mentioned above, and if you don't understand Japanese, you might be quite confused, but it is still pretty to watch.

--via AnimeNewsNetwork

If you like what you see, ADV Films is going to release the movie in the States (dubbed) in late 2007.  So be patient a while longer.  Many fans thought this series would never see a State-side release at all.

Yes, I suppose some folks are clever and know where to find these things on torrents, but I personally don't look for and watch anime via torrents/etc.  I just buy the DVD's if I am interested.  I might watch some clips on YouTube if I can find them for a new series just to get a feel.  That's just my thing.

September Anime Shopping

Besides Air, I need to hunt down the Ah! My Goddess TV (2nd season) volumes and I think I am at least two or three episodes of Eureka Seven DVD's behind as well.

There have been some other series that looked good as well, but besides getting a box-set of Maburaho for Lavie a few months ago, I haven't really been picking up anime titles. 

Links some more:

Air (movie) - official Japanese webpage.

Air (TV) - official Japanese webpage.

Air TV - great review via bluemist anime blog

Air (anime) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (plot and spoilers)

The Air is looking very beautiful right now!

--Claus

Visually Speaking

CC attribution: Troy McCullough, flickr

It's been a while since I touched my toes in the realm of the photographic.

A few months ago was Lavie's birthday. She had been wanting a new digital camera for some time. Nothing fancy, just a nice and slim one she could stick in her purse and grab mostly candid family shots eating pizza, visiting, the hamster, etc.

After much looking we settled on a Kodak EasyShare C763. It is light, small and has a great-big LCD screen. It has a 7.1 MP capture device, a slew of "scene and color modes," and image stabilization.

Lavie really loves it. It fits her small hand nicely and is light enough to carry in her purse.

As an added bonus, it uses SD card media, so she can just pop out the memory stick and put it right into either laptop and grab the files and go. Although it came with special software and cables, we haven't found a reason to use either one yet.

I'm getting the chance to show her many of the image editing applications I have been collecting, although she is fairly comfortable in Photoshop.

So here are some links regarding the visual arts I've picked up this week

Contest Controversy

One of the tech-tip sites I RSS feed daily is Daily Cup of Tech.

Blogger Tim Fehlman does a great job pulling from a wide range of sources, providing fresh looks into daily tech integration with "real-life."

My favorite and most referred to posts are his suggestions on maximizing USB memory device uses; Have Your Lost USB Drive Ask For Help, USB Drive AutoRun.inf Tweaking, and DCoT Helps Find Lost Child.

Anyway...Tim had started a contest to create a new DCoT logo. Seems easy enough.

Except he seemed to have attracted some strong comments from a reader who felt that these logo-design contests were "damaging" to the graphic design industry. RE: No-Spec, and Design Contests

So back and forth they dialoged.

In the end, it seems a "no-harm/no-foul" was called, but the discussion was interesting.

Lavie really enjoys doing graphic art layouts and designs for her company, and they always go to her instead of a "professional" graphic design artist. Wonder if that is "unfair" as well?

With the proliferation of "prosumer" grade graphic editing software and easy-to use alternatives to the BIG traditional graphic arts photo-manipulation and vector design software, it is becoming easier and easier for "amateurs" to enter the world of graphic designers and deliver acceptable and enjoyable works for their businesses and own enjoyment.

As I have noted, I use the following open-source, freeware, shareware software for most all of my image needs: Inkscape (vectoring), Paint.NET (photomanipulation), ImageWalker (photomanipulation), Photoscape (photomanipulation), PhotoFiltre (photomanipulation) and FastStone Viewer (thumbnailing and quick editing). There are tons more.

I do see a distinction between slyly using a "contest" to generate submission product which will be used for business purposes (It's just not cricket) and creating a "contest" aimed at your community of fans and audience to generate work that will be community based, community created, and community enjoyed (It's freedom, baby, yeah!).

Shorpy

If you like history and photography you HAVE to check out this website at least once!

Shorpy.com is the 100-year-old photography blog that brings our ancestors back, at least to the desktop. The site is named after Shorpy Higginbotham, a boy who worked in an Alabama coal mine near the turn of the century.

The webmasters at Shorpy take the finest in historical photographs they find, and then do hi-res scans for your enjoyment.

The quality of the photography is unmatched. In a world of MegaPixels where many today think that only recently is the photographer able to capture the finest degrees of detail and effect, it is refreshing to know the old-timers were doing that same thing 50+ years ago, without Photoshop.

Sweet.

Just a few samples:

• Ola Baby: 1939

• 730 West Winnebago: 1936

• Lady in the Water: 1947

• California Here I Come: 1943

• Drink a Bite to Eat: 1938

Definitely added to my Photo Faves bookmark list.

Reminds me of the website Lost Films where webmaster greywater collects old cameras, and if he finds film in them, attempts to develop them. Quite a lot of interesting "lost" images.

Spotted via RetroThing

Japan Years: Japan Photo Blog

Mike and Nicki are a great couple living over in Japan with their young son Josh.

Their blog-posts are warm and endearing, but even more endearing are the photographs they are capturing "in the field." Even cooler is the fact that Mike knows the awesome photographer of Japan "Sushi Jeff" Laitila"! How cool is that?!!

They have a really great and extensive photo gallery link on their blog which is just spectacular.

I really loved the Bon Odori Season 2007 post (gallery link) which really captures the fun and energy of an annual neighborhood street festival in Japan. Lots of uninhibited pictures capturing the daily folks of Japan having fun, being people and enjoying the mix of culture, food and community that makes these places so vibrant and rich with color and excitement.

I think my favorite in the whole gallery is Girl In Yukata Eating Yakitori.

Her expression is classic pre-teen youthfulness. Dressed up in a traditional summer kimono, purse slung off forearm, one hand shoveling food into her mouth, the other clutching a box of the rest of her snacks. A crowd of the neighborhood adults and kids in more Western clothing slightly out of focus behind her milling about a fair-tent light by glowing lights strung on wires.

Beautifully classic.

Photowalking

I've always been a bit shy of taking up the camera. Not so much because of the technical nature of photography, but it seems that the best photographers who I admire get so close and personal to their subjects...almost intrusively. I'm a pretty shy person (no, really!) at heart and it is with great trepidation I aim a camera lens at another living person. Give me plants, landscapes, architecture, iconic images and I'm fine.

So when I was reading Thomas Hawk's photo-blog website the other day, I picked up a new term that sounded interesting: Photowalking.

Brian Auer did a spectacular job putting together a "treatise" on photowalking: In Response To My First Photowalk… | Epic Edits Weblog

He defines it as being the act of walking with a camera to take pictures for fun...but kinda in an informal group-shoot environment.

It sounds like a great way for the "shy of lens" to have the group-support of others in approaching subjects and situations they might not be otherwise comfortable or inspired to go tackle on their own. Along with the bonus of getting some great tips and friendships out of the experience.

Trevor Carpenter's website Photowalking.org showcases the concept.

Maybe then I could gather up the courage to be brave of eye like Thomas Hawk, Mike and Nicki, Sushi Jeff, or John Watson.

Local Miscellaneous Image Info

The Houston Art Museum will be screening the anime movie Ghost in the Shell 2 at the end of August: Houston Art Museum to Screen Ghost in the Shell 2 - Anime News Network

Other great anime titles are also being presented so if you don't normally get the chance to see anime productions on the big screen, now is a great chance!

Productions are to coincide with MFAH exhibition RED HOT -- Asian Art Today.

NASA Human Space Flight - NASA is posting spectacular High-Res images from the current STS-118 shuttle Endeavour's mission. Most are currently pre-flight photos, with a few launch images and now some of the orbiter's underside captured for review of the heat-shield conditions.

STS-118 imagery

Always guaranteed to be out of this world!

--Claus

Azumanga Daioh Parody Video

Saw this short video over at the JapanSugoi blog. "The Wizard of Ozaka"

It involves Osaka and gang from Azumanga Daioh.

If you aren't an anime/manga fan, or adventure "quest" gamer you probably won't get all the references.

If you are...you will.

Full Japan Sugoi post with more info on the players.

Love the "ruby-slippers!"

--Claus

LinkFest: Hardware, Software, and Lifeware

It's a great thing that I have a three-day weekend to look forward to!

Lots of posts and topics to get off my chest.

Let's start things off today with a LinkFest.

Hardware

Zuse: Toast you can draw on - Are you yearning to incorporate some high-tech into your breakfast time? How about the Zuse toaster. The Zuse allows you to make "dot-matrix" printouts on your toast. Very clever. Imagine the ensuing excitement if all the diners in Boston suddenly started seeing Mooninites on their toast.

Solstice USB Flash Drive Duplicator - Now this could be cool AND useful. Imagine making a USB stick "image" full of your IT shop's needed enterprise software and utilities and then issuing one to all of your team members. Keeping them updated would be a real challenge. With a tool like this, one person could easily maintain a master USB drive image and keep it updated. Then periodically, everyone could drop off their issued USB drive, and the maintainer could easily and quickly update them all in bulk. Quite clever. Coming down the Solstice pipes...a 21 port USB duplicator!

Intel Unveils World's Thinnest Laptop, Almost Skinny as a RAZR - Sure. Product designs for laptops always look so cool and neat. But just how often do they ever see real mass-market production runs? I have to concede to the Intel/Ziba design teams that this one looks really cool. I'd love to have one like this to carry into the field. Just hope it is fairly durable as well.

More Intel Notebook:

• Intel’s Mobile Metro Notebook Unbelievably Thin - CyberNet News
• TechEBlog » (Video) Intel Metro Laptop (prototype)

Software

Office 2007: X = ZIP - Turns out that Microsoft's new Office Doc format (Office Open XML File Format) is just a zip file with XML and media files packaged up. Daily Cup of Tech's Tim Fehlman takes it apart at the link. Also, via Microsoft's MSDN site: Introducing the Office (2007) Open XML File Formats

Google Librarian Central: Found in Translation - Google announces an expansion of their language translation service. Before you could use Google Translate to translate blocks of text or even entire web-pages. Now, you can actually run searches for terms and and view results over entire webscapes in a non-native language, and have them returned in your native language! http://translate.google.com. Not yet perfect but going a long way to breaking down language barriers to content.

6 Great Free Alternatives to Quicken & MS Money - zen habits drops a list of some nice alternatives to the financial management tools of Quicken and Microsoft Money. I've used Quicken for a long time and like it enough to own a "basic" version. However, if you are really living on a budget and it extends to your software choices...consider looking into one of these tools. While not as fully featured, they might provide just enough muscle to pinch those penny's a bit tighter. Goodness knows with rising gas and food prices, every penny does need to be pinched a bit more.

Lifeware

zen habits | Achieving Goals and Simple Productivity through Daily Habits - This is quickly becoming one of my favorite sites to follow. It pairs nicely with another (non-related) site Lifehacker. Site blogger Leo does a fantastic job sharing his life-tips and lessons in balancing health, life, work and inner harmony. Take for example this recent post: How I Work 2 Jobs, Blog and Still Find Time for My Wife and 6 Kids. Heck. I have one wife, one kid, one blog and one job and I have a difficult time getting them all sync'ed.

No chanting zen monks here on zen habits. Just practical tips for effective living. I'm going to be adding his site to my blog-roll very soon.

Incredible LEGO Star Wars Space Port - via TechEBlog. Wow. I always thought the Millennium Falcon was the coolest ship in the whole Star Wars production.

JapanSugoi - Everything Cool about Japan - another "Guilty Japanese Pleasures" website. Goofy, edgy, and just wacky. Take for example this offering: Mosaic Show from Strapya. Guaranteed to hide your identity and change your voice for anonymous YouTube posts as you confess your secret office-love for a co-worker or expunge stress by reaming out your boss. They will NEVER catch on! I hear Washington has just ordered up several cases of them.

For mother's day, Alvis and I picked up a brick-set of Ai Yori Aoshi as Lavie's gift. She has been reading all the manga titles with fondness. The two seasons of this anime series came out back in 2002-2003 so this isn't a "new" title and I never could find all the single volumes at my different anime store suppliers...so I delayed purchase of the series as I didn't want to get stuck with "holes" in the collection.

It was great then, when both were released as a single "brick" set (though a thinpack would have been even better). So Lavie and I have been fueling our romantic side by watching this tender (and wacky) love story that is a twist on the tradition "harem" plot theme of many Japanese anime serials. There is just something about it that is tender and warm in the love story between Aoi and Kaoru that makes us want to cuddle and smooch. Got to love finding those things in today's world.

• Ai Yori Aoshi - Official website (English)
• Ai Yori Aoshi - Official Website (Japanese)
• Ai Yori Aoshi (TV) - Anime News Network
• Ai Yori Aoshi ~Enishi~ (TV)- Anime News Network
• Ai Yori Aoshi - Wikipedia

Time to go watch some races

• Indianapolis 500
• NASCAR Online

--Claus

Tomorrow's Links Today

Here are six quick links I picked up today,

15 Must-read Blogs for Blog Writers - Follow the best bloggers to be one of the best.

U.S. Navy to Create Manga to Explain Itself to Japan - I'm sure that will help clear things up...

Mozilla Gets Places Back in Firefox 3, Prepares for Tagging - Not fully implemented, kinda like a pre-Places preview. But it's the first start. Looks like tagging will be supported.

GMail Attachments Double to 20MB - Great! But who else but other GMail users can handle them?

Microsoft Office Security Tool Could Prevent Hacker Attacks - With a snappy acronym like "MOICE" who can't not be excited? Actually could be pretty cool in Enterprise environments.

Blackberry Wallpaper Generator - Now that I've finally figured out the proper way to holster my Blackberry (duh) this is a great way to add nice custom wallpapers! Just got to keep them "work appropriate."

--Claus

Lazy Day Linkpost

A WWII Rolex Story

Every now and then I come across some bit of historical trivia that amazes me.

The kind of stuff that you'd expect to learn about on The History or Discovery channel; but too unimportant even for notice there.

Vintage fansite Retro Thing posted an intriguing article Rolex Oyster P.O.W. Watch On Auction.

Who knew that during WWII, Swiss master timepiece maker Rolex actually was allowed to market Rolex timepieces directly to British officers in German POW camps during the war? What's more, the sales were extended under credit and the POW purchaser wasn't required to pay until the war reached its conclusion. The offer was only (with Clive Nutting as an exception) extended to British officers in that "...their word was their bond."

The material comes from an expansive and wondrous article by Alan Downing on the owner Nutting's story of capture, life as a WWII POW, and the general history of timepieces and POWs during WWII. It's a fascinating account made even more so by the wealth of detailed photographs and images that accompany the article.

POW Rolex Parts 1 & 2 - A “POW Rolex” Recalls the Great Escape - Via TimeZone.com

Amazing story of the role of technology under horrible circumstances.

Vista Kibbles

TechBlog maven Dwight Silverman has been hard at work taking down names and facts and investigating the truth of portable notebook battery life under the harsh and punishing Microsoft Vista demands of its Aero theme.

TechBlog: Vista, Aero, battery life . . . and Doom

TechBlog: Followup: More on Vista's Aero and battery life

In the end, Dwight leaves us with a few points of wisdom; that Vista's battery management options are very configurable, that battery life testing probably falls nicely into the realm of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, and that turning off the Aero theme may result in just a 1-4% increase in battery life.

If however, you really want to squeeze those last drops of juice from your Vista citrus, consider dropping into this post Instead of complaining, fix the Vista Battery problem. - Via monkey see, monkey build... blog.

I'm not sure it is "perfect" but it is a free-code solution to turn Windows Vista Aero off when running on battery.

Also of note, Ryan over at CyberNet News blog chimes in on the Vista/Aero/battery debate by pointing out the following information:

...but [Microsoft] planned ahead and implemented something to reduce the battery consumption in Vista. If you put your laptop into Power Saver [Balanced] mode (left-click on the battery icon in the System Tray), and then unplug the computer you’ll notice that Vista automatically disabled the transparency feature. All of the other Aero features still remain in tact, such as the Flip 3D and Taskbar previews, but some of the eye candy has been removed. It might not be much but this does indeed save battery power.

Good work gentlemen!. That's part of the fun to me of seeing a new OS rolled out. Everyone is enthusiastic about picking it apart. Kinda reminds me of taking apart the lawnmower and radio to see how they worked as a kid. Only (in theory) less expensive.

Greg Duncan shows us how to add the Speedfan Meter gadget to the Vista Sidebar.

Speedfan Vista Sidebar Gadget - Speedfan Meter

Clever.

Finally, ITsVista Tip 52 illustrates how to Map a Drive to an FTP site in Vista.

There are a handful of Mozilla FTP sites I keep an eye on for new nightly build releases so this is a handy tip.

Downloads

Paper Pilot is a fun Flash-based game that lets you pick from one of three paper airplane models, and do some adjustments. Then you can practice tossing it to see how far it goes. Nothing earth shattering but kinda relaxing and fun, anyway. -via download squad.

I've used the note taking software EverNote off and on for some time. Overall I really like and recommend it for folks looking for a freeware note-taking/managing application replacement for OneNote.

I learned about another polished freeware note-management program, SEO Note. It has tabbed note pages (nice), supports several note formats, allows embedded objects, has Blowfish encryption, supports tables, and can link to local files directly. It has some misses as well such as note tagging and reminder alarms.

It an alternative worth looking into for note management...and it's free.

A brief review of SEO Note exists over at freewaregenius.com.

FreeCommander - This freeware file manager is my absolute favorite Windows Explorer replacement. And it has been updated to version 2007.05. This version has gotten some polish applied and looks a bit sharper than previous versions.

If you are installing over an existing version, I'd recommend first making a copy of your fcStart.ini and freeCommander.ini files located in the program folder. Then after installation, close freeCommander and copy them back to preserve your custom settings.

Anime

Here are some interesting anime-related posts for the fans.

The Sci-Fi channel recently announced it would begin airing some anime titles.

One of the first movies it will show is no-less than Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society. (ANN announcement)

Air date is June 11th at 10 p.m CST. Get your TiVo's, DVR's, and VCR's ready!

Bandai won't be releasing the DVD until July 3rd so this will be a real treat.

DannyChoo has some great teaser screen capture shots for GITS: SSS.

He also mentions a new anime movie out in Japan: Tokikake. (more screen caps at the link)

It has an intriguing story line. I hope to see a US release some day.

The animation looks pretty nice as well.

Japanese Baby Hatches vs. Texas Baby Moses Law

Earlier this month, a hospital in Kumamoto, Japan opened up a "konotori no yurikago" (stork cradle) hatch with great controversy.

Calls flood Kumamoto hospital as it opens first baby hatch - via The Japan Times Online

The idea here is that instead of a parent abandoning their newborn in an unsafe environment, the baby can be placed in this "incubated" hatch at the hospital and left in the safe care of hospital staff. It has spurred debate again on whether this will lead to a flood of child-abandonment cases or saved lives. Police will still investigate and prosecute parents of children left in an abused or debilitated condition.

In the first test of the baby hatch and police response, it's first recipient was a 3 - 4 year old pre-schooler left by his father: Father leaves preschooler in baby hatch - via The Japan Times Online

Texas has an established law known as "Baby Moses Cases"

Link to Texas DFPS - Child Protective Services (CPS) Handbook Section on Baby Moses Case Policy.

To meet the criteria, the abandoned child must (basically) be 60 days old or younger, not been harmed, been delivered to a DEIC (designated emergency infant care) provider, and delivered with the express intent of the parent to not return.

Texas DEIC providers would be an EMS provider (say the fire department), a hospital, or a licensed DFPS child-placing agency that staffs a registered nurse or EMS provider.

For some additional policy background on this issue:

UPDATE: More States Decriminalize Safe Baby Abandonment - via Stateline.org

Statute-at-a-Glance: Infant Safe Haven Laws - via Child Welfare Information Gateway.

A child is a terrible thing to waste.

--Claus

Adult Swim and E7: Restored

Just got done expecting to be watching the first episode of Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C 2nd GIG airing on Adult Swim tonight.

Imagine my surprise to find instead it was the final episode of Eureka Seven again.

This time they clipped the front bit of the episode and aired the final post story wrap-up that was edited out of the previous airing.

Although the credits were rolling over it, it was enough to capture the final tender moments of the series.

Hooray for Adult Swim.

I'm glad they did this...even if I may now have to wait for next week to begin GIS:2G. (I've seen it already so I can wait.)

Hopefully this was a nice surprise to fans who didn't catch the ending via the original Japanese version and didn't know what the ruckus was about last week.

Nicely done,

--Claus

A breath of fresh Air: Coming soon to USA!

No I haven't seen any of the anime series/movie "Air" yet, but I have seen lots of images and a few mini-videos while they were still alive on YouTube and I have long since been captivated.

This is supposed to be a romantic "slice of life" drama with some supernatural twists themed anime series.

It is very popular among its fan base and the artwork is supposed to be pretty spectacular along with the soundtrack music.

Although Air held good fan support in Japan and a decent following by the few US fans who knew how to find it for viewing, many considered it too small a series to ever warrant a US distributor picking it up, doing the ADR work, and then offering it for sale in the US. I had long since given up hope, myself.

What is interesting is that Air began as a Japanese bishoujo game (warning, that Wikipedia link describes "adult" content) and managed to get spun out into what appears to be a lavishly illustrated and sweetly romantic anime series. Go figure.

Well...times have changed! Air is on its way Stateside! Picked up the ADV of all folks.

I can't wait!

ADV Licenses Air TV, Movie - News announcement via Anime News Network.

The comment thread of this announcement is over 150 comments and still going! You can just feel the obvious excitement here.

Air (movie) - official Japanese webpage.

Air (TV) - official Japanese webpage.

Air TV - great review via bluemist anime blog

Air (anime) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (plot and spoilers)

See you in blue skies and fresh air...

--Claus

E7: What was that?

So tonight Adult Swim ended its run of Eureka Seven.

The series is over.

For most fans who haven't seen the Japanese run yet, it ended on an exciting and hopeful note. A slam of action and a breeze of romance.

Nice.

Except, unless I just totally fell asleep, it seems to me that they did some HEAVY editing at the end. Like left the whole last scene out.

At the end...right before the credits ran...there is the number 1 and some Japanese characters. Then the credits roll.

What I think that said was "1 year later."

From there a very important closing series of scenes and conversations continued to wrap the series up as a year has passed since Eureka and Renton returned to Earth.

If you did see the final episode in Japanese you know exactly what I am talking about.

If not, well...too bad. Apparently, Adult Swim felt they could muck around with as April's Fool joke and shift an E7 episode around but couldn't spring for the extra 5 or so minutes of air-time to show this last tender finale. (Or maybe it was a licensing issue...who knows...)

Too bad. I'm disappointed for you guys and gals. I saw the "real" ending and feel a bit ripped off now by Adult Swim...even if I don't really know if I can hold them to blame.

You will probably have to wait for the final DVD episode releases to see what you missed.

It would have been a sweet and perfect cap to the series for everyone.

Fortunately, we caught it on YouTube (before it was removed as banned content).

Renton's grandfather has the kids and they are eating together in a cafe. I believe he has adopted them. Dusk is descending and they rush out to someplace special. Over the cliffs they use some telescopes to look up at the moon that has been etched (by the light beam surrounded by hearts seen in the final episode) with Eureka and Renton's names in a big heart (like lovers would do in a tree) for all the world below to see. As the camera angle pans, you catch a distant motorbike and sidecar with Dominic and Anemone looking upward as well. And as the scene changes you catch two blinking lights...red and blue and as we zoom down towards the lights they are in a forest, and just before the final end, we come close enough to see that the lights are Renton and Eureka in silhouette facing each other holding hands.

At least that's how I remember it ending. Wikepedia has it as well.

Yeah, after all that action and destruction, it ends on a romantically sappy note.

We like it that way.

--Oh well, wait for the DVD's....

Eureka Seven....one of the best anime series in a long time.

Even if it had mecha in it.

--Claus

What a Figure!

Chasing Link Rabbits Again...

Last weekend I was chasing link-rabbits and somehow ended up on a new anime related website: Riuva : Research Institute for Unicultural Visual Arts handled by TJ Han.

I spent some time reading over his Eureka Seven post: Eureka seveN!! “Decent” Anime?? CHIGAUUUU!! Ultima Class Anime. Spoilers here. Very nice perspective.

TJ also had a very well written perspective on graphic artist and character designer Range Murata's work: People Focus: Range Murata and his Fancy Headgear

I really enjoy his Steampunk style ever since becoming acquainted with it in Last Exile where he worked as a primary designer.

When I was done I noticed a Figure Reviews link on his site so I checked into that one as well.

Imagine my surprised to find some really nice Last Exile figure photography among all the nice figure reviews!

Figure Review: Last Exile Grand Stream Set! WOAH LAST EXILE! WOAH!

Figure Review: Last Exile’s Alvis Salutes her Own Cuteness!

I was really impressed. My chances of snagging any of these are low-to-nil, but they are so fantastic to look at. I really like the Alvis figure!

I also found the HappySoda blog that has a number of anime/manga related posts, as well as some more great figure related content: pictures, figure photography tutorials, and a great Flickr Figure Gallery.

I'm not really a big "Ero" figure fan...although it has a big (no surprise) fan base. So any sites I come across must by and large pass the "it's-probably-OK-for-Alvis-to-click-to" test before I link.

Although there are never any guarantees an occasional figure may show up on one of these sites that I wouldn't be comfortable for Alvis to view. Also, while some figures are quite tame, they still might fall into the NSFW / LSFW categories.

I do try to keep this blog "family friendly."

Please & Thank You!

I dropped TJ Han a line asking him if he would allow me permission to occasionally feature some of his images over in my Fan Service side-column.

I had previously communicated with Danny Choo and received his written permission for image use, so I was hopeful TJ would be cool.

Imagine my delight when TJ responded that that was quite fine with him! (Thanks again!)

So image-using kids...please just respectfully ask content owners for permission before posting images...or just use Creative Commons (CC) licensed images with attribution.

Danny Choo has since began tagging all his images/photographs clearly with CC tags and I hope more photographers will do the same. It puts fair-usage rights right up front.

So I've made some minor changes to my Link list and added a Figures section with TJ's, Danny's and Happy Soda's blog site-links. Got a bit more "house-cleaning" to do there, but making progress.

Have fun looking!

--Claus

Ah! My Goddess - Season 2 Website Opens

Ah! My Goddess is one of the most sugary-sweet manga/anime tiles out there.

It is right up at the top of the most romantic anime series we own (though the Please Teacher! and Please Twins! series are still numbers one and two in our home).

Belldandy is (literally) an angel from above. Exuding kindness, charm, compassion, and beauty to all she encounters. Except to those who challenge the ones she loves.

And her crazy sisters Urd and Skuld give laughs-galore to Alvis.

We have completed our collection of Ah! My Goddess (TV) season one DVD titles, own the original OVA series (still the best), the Ah! My Goddess movie. We haven't sprung for the "Adventures of Mini-Goddess" chibi-style series...maybe when a thin-pack is available.

Now season two looks to kick off in an early May 2007 release.

Bring it on!

For now, go enjoy the Ah! My Goddess (Flights of Fancy) Season Two website from ADV Films.

--Claus

E7 - Burned and Extinguished

I'm only just now able to rationally talk about this

Cartoon Network's Adult Swim is broadcasting the American release of Eureka Seven.

I am deeply into the series.

The Setup

So, as it airs at midnight (Gulf-Coast Time) and the girls don't usually stay up that late I dutifully set the VCR (yes...no TiVo yet) last Saturday night to capture episode 47. There are 50 episodes in the on-air series. I even checked the on-line TV schedule to confirm...just in case there was a change in the broadcast series again.

This was going to be a big one according to episode 46's ending teaser.

And as my girls slept, I kept a sleepy eye out on the TV for the episode to roll.

Only I began at 11pm'sh and this crazy bad stuff was running, and not the regular anime programming.

No problem. It would be done soon.

The Switch

Only it wasn't. This crazy "stupid-head" cartoon feature continued to run, past E7's slot and it kept going. At 1AM I gave up, frustrated and ticked.

No new E7.

The Burn

So in the morning I checked the Cartoon Network Adult Swim schedule to see where I had gone wrong.

I didn't. But there was a double run of E7 episode 47 showing. But I was still ticked.

And the girls were disappointed.

Now we had to wait two whole weeks with no E7.

Just as it looked like Renton and Eureka would find Renton's lost sister!

Unacceptable!

The Plan

Some more intensive web-scouring turned up what had happened.

Turns out that Adult Swim had let loose a clever April Fools prank on their fans by running "Perfect Hair Forever" in their regular anime programming block.

To make it even funnier (more funny?) they ran-down the video quality to VHS grade signal, had periods of bad "VHS" tape tracking, added (bad) English subtitles that vaguely matched the audio dialog, and sometimes didn't even match at all.

Funny stuff guys.

Needless to say E7 fans were less than amused. Darkmoon over on Lux.Et.Umbra drafted a well-composed Open letter to Adult Swim...

Dear Adult Swim,

Great on the April's Fool's joke. Haha. Playing Perfect Hair Forever instead of the usual anime line-up. What's interesting is that you complain the whole year about your ratings, then you get some good shows that are not well advertised and you screw up by pissing off your fan base. It's also laughable that the boards are having troubles at the time of this post due to the heavy traffic from upset fans (either that, or the forums software can't scale very well).

(snip)

Great job.

In fact, the only bright-spot in the whole plan seemed to occur when I spotted that Adult Swim would begin a fresh run of Ghost in the Shell: 2ndGIG in May. (Which, IMHO is a way better run than the first season's SAC run.)

Getting Satisfaction

So what did I do?

I did some clever searching on a certain Well-Known Portal for video uploads and found episode 47 of Eureka Seven. (I'm not telling/linking to them for you...however, you shouldn't have any trouble at all finding them.)

And I watched it.

It was tiny, and it was subbed, but it was great.

And then I went on and watched Episodes 48, 49 and the stunning conclusion in episode 50.

Wow.

Then that night, the entire family piled into our bed and watched them all again together on Lavie's laptop.

Wow!

Call that fire extinguished.

The End

I won't provide any commentary about the "un-aired" episodes of E7.

We still are going to tape/watch the dubbed versions when their air on Adult Swim (hopefully no more pranks).

I am still (even more so now) committed to purchasing the E7 DVD's of which I already own five or six.

And Eureka Seven will now assume a honored place in the top of my favorite anime series.

Last night I rewatched all four final episodes again. They were that good.

Stupid Head Adult Swim.

Who's laughing now?

--Claus

Anime Excitement....

Eureka Seven...the Seventh Swell Grows

So as Eureka Seven winds closer and closer to it's dramatic (I hope) conclusion (open-ended, I am sure). I am left calculating just how many DVD volumes I'm looking at having to add to my growing collection. I am currently at five...but volume six is coming soon.

Now, do I spring for the standard DVD or the Special Edition Box Set, with manga and T-shirt? Probably the special edition, as the girls got me the first Special Edition and that collector's box only houses about 6 DVD cases. So if I don't then the rest of my E7 DVD's will be unboxed.

See how insidious the marketing is?

Clever. Or is it Evil?

Oh My Goodness! It's more Goddess!

Among the anime titles out entire family delights in together, near the top of the list is Ah! My Goddess.

While I still prefer the charm of the original DVD series run, it didn't stick too closely to the manga (according to Alvis).

The movie was very good, and the animation quality, top-shelf.

Last year, Ah! My Goddess began a new life in re-release under the (TV) series label.

The animation was great, the voicework was smooth and pleasing. The dubbing was OK. Kinda a bit campy, but entertaining.

Alvis says this is keeping much better pace with the manga series.

Lavie and Alvis got me two of the three DVD's for this series that I was missing for Christmas. I got the last one we needed for the first season's run last month by mail-order and it was great.

Now comes word that the second season of Ah! My Goddess! (TV) has been picked up and will soon be issued here in the States this May! Hooray!

This is always a dicey thing for an anime fan. The original runs are usually in Japan on TV. If you are clever or a hard-core fan (something I am not) you can find the episodes floating around on the Net. It's frustrating because as a mid-core fan, I read about new series and favorite old-ones in my Newtype magazine, and have to wait months/years to see if they will get picked up and released here on DVD in the States.

So we were overjoyed to learn that the graceful Belldandy and her crazy goddess sisters would be returning soon.

Joy!

What was that about?

One of the things about being an anime lover is that often, references are made to Japanese events, holidays, festivals or terms that just don't have any context here in the States.

What's an otaku to do?

Consult The Anime Encyclopædia, of course!

Hosted by the folks at the Anime Cafe, it is full of helpful word translations, character information, and anime factoids. Although it doesn't seem to have been updated in many years, it is still quite useful.

Would you like to try some Paprika?

While I was catching up on the graphic arts scene over at the Drawn! blog, they had a gushing post about a new anime feature coming soon called Paprika.

Check out the trailer over at Apple Quicktime.

It shows some amazing animation work.

This isn't your (now standard) Pixar'ish animated fare. Not by a longshot.

Does the illustration style look familiar? It should. It is done by Satoshi Kon, the same director and designer for the anime movies Perfect Blue, Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers, and the strangely fascinating anime series Paranoia Agent.

The opening theme song and montage for Paranoia Agent, (Yume no Shima Shinen Kouen)" by Susumu Hirasawa still haunts me. Catchy little bugger.

I hope they will have a Houston screen release.

I haven't been this excited about an anime movie release since Howl's Moving Castle.

And for the Shuttle Fans

Here's a little bit of anime fan service for you Small Form Factor pc admirers.

Akihabaranews.com : The new DECORE Manga Shuttle

Isn't it too cute? (more here)

Probably not a good idea to to haul it into the LAN frag-party, though. You'll no-doubt end up having to go head-to-head against the guy who has got that wicked Battlefield 2 case mod.

Yeah, that wouldn't be pretty.

--Claus

Pocky Goodness

Like most other people, I have my share of "bad-habits."

I can make quick, decisive decisions while at work, but can take several hours in a mall trying to decide which polo-shirt I want to buy.

I've been known to walk out of a mall after more than three hours, with Lavie not-so-silently muttering under her breath, without finding a single pair of jeans that I thought felt right.

I will go a week without eating lunch, so I can save the budget money to buy a new anime DVD.

I am compelled to toss out any leftovers more than two days old.

I don't go to bed without making sure all the dirty dishes have been loaded in the dishwasher.

I'd rather not wear my glasses in the house, rather than admit it is time to dust again.

But one of my hidden "bad-habits" is my Pocky.

Pocky. Those chocolate-covered, overpriced, demon-snack sticks loved by otaku. And if you believe the Pocky marketing blitz, is a really popular snack in Japan as well.

I have boxes stashed all over the house; in the study, in the living room, in the bedroom, at work, and in my car.

I can't go to the grocery store without buying at least two boxes, even if I have 10 unopened ones already.

I also have a Giant Pocky box the girls found for me one year.

Pocky are (generally) chocolate covered crisp-stick snacks. They are very thin and very good.

Please, Mizuho...Can I have some more?

I blame my addiction on Mizuho Kazami. Onegai (Please) Teacher was my first anime series to collect and fall in love with. It is sweet, tender, and deeply romantic. It was also how I managed to get Lavie hooked on anime with me.

In the series, Mizuho consumes vast quantities of Pochy. We soon learned that was a homage to Pocky snack-sticks and were both searching for boxes to see what the fuss was about.

Before we knew it we were hooked.

As our love of Pocky and anime expanded, we began to see it cropping up in cameos within other anime we watch; Eureka Seven (Precky), Please Teacher (Pochy), and Spirited Away (Pock). It's a fun game now. And we can't watch any Onegai Teacher episodes without a box or two nearby to munch on.

Pocky Picks

Pocky comes in a variety of flavors. The Pocky Gallery lists 30 types and flavors, some more hard to find than others. I'm looking to find the "Men's Pocky" flavor, as it is made with a darker chocolate than the standard Pocky which I usually get. Alvis prefers the strawberry flavored Pocky. Lavie likes the Almond-Crush Pocky best. I'd also like to try the Green Tea Mousse Pocky as well as I like green teas.

Glico's Pocky Chocolate Lineup page. (Japanese)

Which Flavor Pocky are you?

Blogthings has a number of silly/fun quizzes. Including one for Pocky: What Flavor Pocky Are You?

Lavie and I took the quiz (independently) and both came out as being "Green Tea" Pocky flavored folks.

You Are Green Tea Pocky

Your attitude: natural and zen Peaceful yet full of life. Deep and thoughtful. You're halfway to tantric bliss!

Tantric bliss?...hmmm. Who knew eating Pocky could be so good for you!

Alvis then took the quiz and (naturally) came back as "Strawberry" Pocky.

You Are Strawberry Pocky

Your attitude: fresh and sweet Comforting, yet quirky ... quietly hyper You always see both sides to everything

So, What Flavor Pocky Are You?

Pocky YouTube Videos

Like American beer commercials, Pocky commercials do a great job of being delightfully catchy in a short time span. I've found quite a view wonderfully fun Pocky commercials on YouTube.

Just be warned...that theme is kinda catchy!

• Pocky Kurogoma- My favorite. Melding a traditional Japanese feel to a modern pop beat. Kawaii!

• Pocky Girls - Yummmy. Gotta go eat me a box right now!
• More Pocky Girls Goodness! - I'm moving into my second box!

• Pocky - Dance Stripes - Get up and burn those calories! Yui Aragaki is so kawaii!

• Pocky Hypnotism - It worked for me....I'm now a slave!

• Nakama Yukie needs a Pocky - Cool, slick composed...oops!

• Mousse Pocky - Dark and sultry-smooth.

• Kiss Me, Pocky! - A young couple alone in their room..suddenly...the door opens!

• Kiss Me, Pocky, II - Will the couple's kiss be finally fulfilled?

• Pocky Rings up a Storm - Beware wet women ringing your doorbell.

• Pocky Wedding Bells - Wonder how those arranged marriages work out...

• Yui Aragaki - Pocky 101 - Pocky eating class in session! (Had to stick her in here again!)

• Yui Aragaki - Pocky 102 - Remedial Pocky eating class!

• Love and Pocky Hurts! - Don't mix love and Pocky, someone might get hurt!

• Rocky Pocky - What Rocky Balboa would eat if he ate Pocky.

• Pocky and the Undead! - Satomi Ishihara - Terror strikes!

• Morning Musume Pocky - Reminds me of a Target commercial for some reason.

• Morning Musume Pocky, II - Here we go again! If only Alvis had that much energy in the morning.

• Pocky DANCE DANCE - Longer, high energy ad featuring JPop group ORANGE RANGE.

• Pocky Decore - Wedding cake Pocky -- kinda makes me want to puke, it's so sweet (the ad).

• Pocky Super Ninja Style - Can eating Pocky make you a super-ninja? Maybe!

• Club Pocky - Short and vibrant. Like a teenager.

Glico's Pocky Commercial Messages webpage (Japanese).

The Dark-Side of Pocky

The Depths of Addiction: The Pocky Problem - a mockumentary of the pain and horror Pocky consumption can bring and its devastating consequences.

• Trailer
• Episode 1: "The Goods"
• Episode 2: "The Pocky Problem"
• Episode 3: "The Junkie"
• Episode 4: "The Underworld"
• Episode 5: "The Catgirl"
• Episode 6: "The Goods II"
• Episode 7: "The Otaku"
• Episode 8: "The Gateway"
• Episode 9: "The War"
• Episode 10: "The Impact"

Google Video and WMV format links here.

Pocky Idol Street

Just so ensure you leave with a sweet taste again:

Glico's Pocky Idol Street. -- It's not just the chocolate that makes Pocky so sweet!

Yui Aragaki's Pocky Note blog. (Did I mention how "kawaii" she is? Yes? Sorry!)

Pocky Girls blog

So go buy a box of Pocky.

Who knows, that might be Claus and Lavie you run into fighting over the last box on the shelf!

--Claus

Odd Views in Japan

Been sitting on these for a bit.

Anime-themed car-skins

I'm sure anyone who drives in Houston (or any other major metro area) has seen vehicles that have labels wrapped on their body. The ones around here are mostly ad-related and are on pizza delivery cars, etc. Beetles and scions seem to be popular canvases.

I always though it would be very cool (otaku geeky...but fun-cool) to get a wrap done of some fun anime-themes. But, then, who would do that?

While enjoying the models at dannychoo.com I caught a post of his and learned that there are some fans who do just that to their cars, and that there is a term for this art: Itasha. It basically refers to a car that was covered in anime stickers and decorations! Nice.

He has a pair of nice pics. on his site, but then links to Yoshimu-san's blog where there are a large number of additional pictures of all kinds and styles.

Purrrr!

Old with New

Living in Texas and the Gulf-Coast, most of the architecture is relatively modern. Even many of the "older" buildings still fit in well with their more recent neighbors. We don't have the physical historical presence here with our buildings that you find more in the North Eastern US or in Europe and Japan.

Q-Taro posted some pictures he took in a blog post: Old Japanese Houses

Apparently for all the growth and modernity we associate with Japan, there are still pockets of resistance. The contrast is striking and I can only wonder how the owner's feel. While probably not as out-of-place in the more rural areas of Japan, it really intrigues me when I see these homes buried in the middle of the lights and towering buildings.

He links to another blog where there are even more of these contrasts. Kai-Wai

While many Japanese websites don't play well with on-line translators, this one seems to, so if you want to get more info beyond the pictures, go visit via Google's Translation of the pages.

Some of my favorites:

Milk drop box

Wooden evacuation bridges

Green zinc house

Tank bucket

Enjoy.

--Claus

A Good Night for Tea and Anime

Yesterday the Valca family took some serious "down-time."

For most of the morning I relaxed by doing some blogging and light household chores. Lavie slept in, while Alvis watched pre-teen shows and coped with her stuffy head.

It was chilly and wet and kinda dreary.

We had to venture out to take the ladies to their hair-dresser appointments. We stopped by a bookstore in the mall, but nothing really struck our fancy.

Then we got soaked with a blustery downpour on our way out, and dropped into a local Mexican restaurant for a mid-day snack of frijoles a la charra and fajita nachos. Yum! Just the thing to warm up on. It was relaxing and nice and really fun sharing a grande-sized plate of nachos together.

Anime Overload

Back at the house we knocked out three episodes of Eureka Seven I had taped on the VCR but haven't watched yet....

Big revelations! Talho is preggers with Holland's child (yeah!), Renton's sister (Diane) was actually Holland's girlfriend (wow!) and then disappeared while continuing research started by her dead father, and Col. Dewey (boo!) is Holland's (yeah!) older brother and Talho was his ex-girlfriend! I'm still trying to digest it all. In an added moment of sweetness, Eureka decides she wants to make Renton happy and experiments with makeup for the first time--with disastrous results, until Talho saves the day. And Holland and Renton finally bond.

Then we moved on to watch the six remaining episodes of Oh My Goddess! (TV) that I have on DVD and wrapped up that series. It had quite a bit of action but the last DVD was filled with lots of tender, tear-jerking moments. It is such a sweet series at heart. I just can't wait for the second season to be released now! I believe TBS aired a second season of Oh My Goddess! (TV) in Japan in 2006, so hopefully we will see it over here on DVD release in the states this year.

Nothing like cuddling on the couch under a Megatokyo "sad girl in snow" blanket, watching anime and laughing and crying together. Family bonding at it's finest!

Still on tap--the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Ohki! series I've just completed collecting.

Once we were done, it was getting late and the girls were looking to bed.

Teatime with the Girls--Japanese Style

Lavie and I decided this would be the perfect time to actually attempt to use the Japanese tea-set she got at Christmas from Japanese Green Tea hibiki-an and I was up to do the brewing.

I used my little 4-pot coffee maker to heat up some hot water. Checking the temperature, it was at 180 degrees Fahrenheit. Close enough!

So after carefully reading the included guide on green-tea brewing several times, I was ready to begin. Ominously, a driving rain-storm began pounding the windows....

I measured out the fresh green tea leaves into the kyusu and then filled each of our cups with hot water from the carafe. Then I poured the water in them into the kyusu and let it brew the tea for about one and a half minutes.

Once done I poured a bit of tea into each teacup, alternating until the kyusu was empty and the cups were filled. This method spreads the brewed tea evenly in the cups and keeps the flavor even among the cups.

We enjoyed Lavie's Sencha Superior blend while we chatted, listened to the rain and ate fresh cherry's. I thought their sweetness nicely accompanied the flavor of the tea. Lavie needed a bit of sugar in her tea. She was quite surprised on how mild but clear the flavor of the Sencha blend was. The dried fresh tea-leaves are quite strong smelling. Nothing at all like the supermarket varieties of tea she is used to.

When we had emptied our cups, it was time for the "second pour." We repeated the process of filling the cups with the hot-water, then transferring them into the kyusu again. Less than two minutes later we were drinking our second cups. The flavor seemed a bit stronger as the leaves had had time to fully hydrate after the first pour.

One last time...we had a "third pour" Lavie passed, but Alvis took her cup instead. Wonderful flavor and a relaxing experience.

While I was cleaning up, I showed Lavie the hydrated tea-leaves in the kyusu before tossing them out. She and I both were surprised to find they were nicely shredded, and had a bright green color like defrosted frozen spinach. I nibbled at some and they had a very mild and pleasant taste.

I'm not a tea-connoisseur but it was very clear to me that this is some high-quality tea!

What a perfect ending to a fun family day.
--Claus

Eureka Seven - Anime with Edge

I have more anime DVD tiles that I would care to admit.

Obviously I like them all, or else I wouldn't have spend my lunch-money on them, but some just live on with me more than others....like Last Exile, or TenchiMuyo, the Onegai series (Teacher, Twins) , or Oh My Goddess!

They touch a nerve in me, the characters capture my heart and imagination, the ladies are pretty....you know....

I really wasn't expecting to get very excited when Eureka Seven burst onto the anime scene here in the States. It had two very big things going against it for me: Mecha and sky-surfing Mecha. WTF???

However, now that I am about 29ish episodes into the story (about 1/2-way done) I can't get enough. (I also have a Eureka Seven t-shirt, manga, and three DVD's so far). I'm hooked.

So just how did this edgy anime title knock me off my feet? Let's see....

Seven Reasons to like Eureka Seven

1. Renton and Eureka - These two kids are the entire reason the story is worth watching. In the very first episode a cold and distant Eureka crashes into Renton Thurston's unfulfilled and shy life. He is instantly smitten. In the end he follows Eureka and their lives and hearts will never be the same again. The slow development of their characters, filled with fears, warts and desires slowly matures (sometimes agonizingly) before our eyes. It's kinda like being back in Jr. High school all over again, but in a good way. Strip out all the other story-line plots and distractions and their story alone would be worth watching. Episode 26 was a defining moment in the relationship between these two. The anime-video mashup done by a fan (8GaugeBrett) posted above from YouTube does a really good job of capturing the moment.

2. Good / Evil / Gray - There are lots of clear good-guys and evil-guys. But there are even more gray-guys. Characters who seem quite nice and kind and motivated for good, but are on the evil-side. And the good guys have dark motivations that drive them to do some pretty mean-things. And then there are the supporting cast of citizens that are caught up in the drama. That mix of shades-of-gray makes for a deeper and more fascinating storyline--and mimics real-life much more closely.

3. Getting-Along Theme - This is a hidden theme that slowly swells through the episodes I've seen before. There seems to be a desire for the sentient creature that inhabits the entire planet to want to get along with the humans. And many humans want to live in harmony with the being/planet. Unfortunately, a powerful minority wants to destroy it forever. The members of Geckostate (good guys) just want to live in peace and sky-surf on their "ref-boards" but they have had to put their surfing desires aside to battle to save the world they love and enjoy. Their adult view mixes with the kids' youthful naivete and end the end they all are learning something.

4. Yeah, the Mecha - I have nothing against mecha. Really. Gigantic battle robots just aren't my thing. The mecha in E7 (aka. LFO's), while important to the story-line, often take a back-seat to the overall character developments and plot line. That was unexpected. And when the mecha are in battle-mode, the battles are often conducted much like surfers and dancers....it's much less guns-a-blazing-missiles-a-firing and more like lethal dancing. The mecha designs are much more organic than is first seen and the Nirvash (good mecha) is also growing and responding to the budding relationship of it's tandem operators, Renton and Eureka.

5. Mystery - This isn't your Scooby Doo. Yeah there are deserted cities, spooky underground mines littered with ghostly spirits, strange dreams, city destroying bizzaro creatures, etc.... What happened to Renton's sister and why did she go missing all those years ago. Who is the girl in the picture with Holland and why does his girlfriend Talho seem to feel so troubled about it? What did Renton's father do to make him such a hero--and give his life for? And what is up with Anemone? Will Dominic and Anemone "hook-up" like Eureka and Renton? Or not?

6. Animation Quality - The production levels on this series are quite high. The DVD's look sharp and well colored. The ADR work is top-shelf. All the design work and character styling is very nice. The production uses a mix of high-tech "haves" and contrasts them against a stark background of "have-not's" The city and country folk live pretty simply where most of the story takes place. It reminds me somehow of a post-WWII Europe just as the last of the guns have ended--except the landscape is almost reminiscent of a colored coral barrier reef. Yeah. Really.

7. Music - What an amazing soundtrack! I was fortunate to get a two-CD set with my collector's edition DVD box. If it was vinyl--it would have been worn through by now. The songs (in Japanese) are powerful, beat-driven works that soar and crash. And then "Himitsu Kichi" slips in, performed by the simple and strong-voiced Japanese female artist Kozue Takada, that just in the tone alone, brings me to tears (in a good way). In fact, almost every episode title refers to a real song from Japanese or foreign artists. Fascinating.

Where to watch Eureka Seven

If your interested--check it out. It runs on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim Friday Fix or Saturday late-nights on Adult Swim. Set your TiVo or VCR. Go get a DVD. Or, if you just really want to dip your feet into the Eureka Seven waters...go to YouTube and do a search for Eureka Seven (while you still can find them there). Like I said, my favorite one that captures just about everything the series is about is Eureka Seven Episode 26. You could do a YouTube search on that as well.

I'm still amazed (not really) how much anime (of all titles) is still available there.

Additional Links for Eureka Seven Fans:

• Eureka Seven - Bandai's (American DVD distributor) website. Heavy Flash. Great pics.
• PROJECT EUREKA - Official Japanese Production Website.
• [adult swim] | Eureka Seven - US cable episode schedule.
• [adult swim] | Shows - Eureka Seven - Fun video blog by US English ADR production crew.
• Eureka Seven - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - A overview of almost everything about E7.
• Characters of Eureka Seven - Wikipedia detail page
• Light Finding Operation - Wikipedia E7 mecha page.
• Plot Summary of Eureka Seven - Wikipedia entry. (Warning: Spoilers)
• List of Eureka Seven episodes - Wikipedia page.
• Eureka Seven - Quality E7 desktop wallpapers from Freddie's Wallpaper collection
• Eureka 7 (TV) - Anime News Network - All the voice actor and staff credits (Japanese/English),

Looks like I'm going to have to save more lunch-money for all those E7 DVD's still to come down the pipes!

--Claus

Somewhat Au(most) Naturale, Technically Speaking

I seem to have a web-surfing issue associated directly with my blogging.

It works kind-of like this:

I have a collection of RSS feeds of websites I follow. As I surf, if something looks good, I make a bookmark of the page in a "To Blog" folder I keep on my Firefox toolbar.

Generally I try to get a post done pretty fast, but sometimes they "simmer" for awhile as they don't really seem to merit a post on their own.

As I collect more of these, I might see a loose theme developing. For a few items in there...I've had them for almost a year...slowly cooking them until I can find the right words to reflect on them.

At other times, I will experience a particular problem, or will get a post subject idea, do research, collect the links, then post a more expanded-subject post.

On Friday, my "To Blog" bookmark folder was almost empty.

Then a perfect storm of surfing and inspiration hit to expand the folder to over ninety (90) bookmarked items at last count.

So here is a loose theme on some of them dealing with nature (for the most part)--time to empty 'em out.

AutoblogGreen - Nice blog on environmental issues related to the auto industry. I've been on the record about wanting to one day purchase a "green" vehicle. A hybrid would be nice, although I'm not certain what the overall cost-of-ownership savings would end up being. I've heard amounts ranging from net-losses to $1000+ yearly. I'm not sure, but if it makes me feel like I'm doing my part to help the world... Right now the hardest thing to overcome would be the higher initial cost of purchase for a comparative diesel or gasoline powered model.

Ford Airsteam concept: a shiny hydrogen-powered PHEV funmobile - via AutoblogGreen. I have only the fondest memories of my grandparent's Airstream travel trailer. They went through several, progressively larger and nicer models over their years. I can still close my eyes and see Grandpa on a ladder toiling to clean and wax the shiny aluminum surface and Grandma fussing at him for getting to dirty. So when I saw this Ford van concept...I can only imagine that Grandpa would have thought it the neatest thing had he still been with us. I bet he would be one of the first in line to try and buy one if it ever came to market. He would have loved having a matching Airstream truck and trailer!

In a blog entry last fall ( Where is Brave Shakespeare? ) I pondered aloud my grief and concern over the status of Animal Planet's Meerkat Manor's heroic Shakespeare. It never was resolved. Doing some web-searching, I found that quite a few folks were concerned as well.

Eventually I came across a well-developed thread at a website devoted to the British edition's narrator, Bill Nightly: More Meerkat Manor . What I discovered buried there was surprising discussion regarding the production of the series, how it is edited for television, and how the Cambridge University research program on the Meerkat's works. It is much larger than the show lets on.

Like this comment:

hi, i just got this from the people who actually film the meerkats check it out
Dear Jordan,
Tim Clutton-Brock passed your e-mail about Tosca and Shakespeare on to me. Shakespeare recovered from the snake bite but then left Whiskers during the filming of meerkat manor 1 (male meerkats leave their group when they are adult and look for groups of their own). We don’t know what happened to him, as he left the study site, but it quite likely that he is now dominant in a group of his own somewhere. As for Tosca, she is still a subordinate females in whiskers.
I hope that answers your questions!
Best wishes
Sarah

or this comment that is actually a post from a LA Times article on the popular program:

Reached by telephone at Discovery Communications’ Maryland headquarters, executive producer Mick Kaczorowski said he understands viewers’ frustrations, but no one really knows Shakespeare’s fate. “It’s more honest to say we don’t know what happened,” he said. “We didn’t find a body. We don’t know the way it ended. He disappeared. We presume he’s dead.”

Finally, one of the fans got a response to a letter she wrote about the whole subject of Shakespeare to Tom Flower--the Field Project Manager for the Kalahari Meerkat Project.

With regards to Shakespeare’s story, he was bitten by a snake and did fully recover to become one of the best helpers in the group, in fact it was more spectacular than was conveyed in ‘Meerkat Manor’. But we just do not know what his ultimate fate was, meerkats are often killed defending pup’s, Shakespeare was a babysitter the day before and Lazuli were in the area. However it is equally possible that he was killed by a predator, dispersed to another group, or was killed by another group whilst trying to join them, we just weren’t there on that particular day. This is unfortunate, but we cant know everything about each meerkat. The film producers were stuck and probably drew inspiration from an incident at two other groups in the population of over 250 meerkats, where a meerkat was killed defending pups successfully.

So what is learned on the portrayal and fate of our heroic meerkat Shakespeare?

That the series producers have a bunch-load of film, that they do add a dramatic "story-line" element to the show, that when needed, and they will draw inspiration from other "natural" events in the meerkats' lives to fill in blanks. As for Shakespeare...he actually appears to have been seen babysitting the burrow one day when observed...and the next time they checked he was gone. So they decided to present a dramatic (possible) conclusion for him based on events observed at other meerkat groups encountered.

(Sighs) So if you can't trust what you see on Animal Planet...what can to trust on TV now days.....

Did you see the article Dog-fur coats make comeback at J.C. Penney that the Houston Chronicle ran the other day?

This brought a very strong WTF???!!! moment when I saw the headline so I had to read up more on these "raccoon dogs" I had never heard of before.

Turns out, the Raccoon Dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) while scientifically a full member of the canidae family of animals...are a little bit lower down the development chain than loyal Fluffy who brings in your paper or shreds your shoes. Raccoon Dog - The Wikipedia. They are native to Asia and parts of Europe and used for fur in China. They also are the only member of the canine family to got into a form of hibernation during the winder months.

Turns out there is a sub-species of Racoon Dogs in Japan...known locally as tanuki.

So imagine my surprise when reading this article that I find that the fun (but not enough to buy) Studio Ghibli anime film house's movie "Pom Poko" were not raccoons as suggested in the American issuance, but really tanuki--Racoon Dogs. Now the film makes more sense! It was a great pro-environmental film that Alvis and I both thoroughly enjoyed--but it has some "strange" elements and overall doesn't really capture my heart like "Whisper of the Heart", "My Neighbor Totoro", or "Kiki's Delivery Service".

How about that...Racoon Dogs...I never really knew they existed.

Check the labels on your faux-fur clothes...kiddos.

According to Allen Stern over at CenterNetworks...the true (2-year) cost of an Apple iPhone works out to about $2000. Ouch. The commenter's have jumped in and done and audit of his calculations and come up with some alternatives. However, while I was very enthusiastic about the technology and wiz-bang coolness of it, the added plan features required to use it chilled me down quite a bit.

And this guy reports he got a cease-and-desist request from Apple when he began offering a free iPod'ish theme for Windows Mobile users. Apple Forces Website to Pull Windows Mobile iPhone Skin -via CyberNet Technology news. Get the skin from that link while you can...if you are interested.

And Slashdot posted a report that challenges Cisco's claim to ownership of that trademarked name....bet lots of lawyers on both sides are wetting their pants over this fight.

Think your blog is kinda drab? Wish you could add some snazzy Google plugins like an AJAX Websearch box, maybe a Google Maps API, or even a Video search? Google is offering cut-and-paste HTML code for their popular AJAX Search wizards. See their main Google AJAX Search API page for details. And bookmark the Google Code Home page as well. Neat stuff there.

All you Gmail users out there probably have more than a few email that include attachments. Lifehacker helps you manage them in their wonderful tutorial: Ask Lifehacker: Keep track of attachments in Gmail?

Finally, The Firefox Extension Guru's Blog posted Upcoming Releases/Milestones Jan/Feb ‘07

For all you Mozilla fans...here is what is (tentatively) coming down The Pipes.

• January 29th - Firefox 3 (Gran Paradiso) Alpha 2
• January 31st - Thunderbird 2 Beta 2
• February 2 - Firefox 1.5.0.10 and 2.0.0.2

Now where did I put my bucket?

--Claus