I'm a big fan of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books. About half the books in my Kindle are from that series. But just now I ran into something I'd noted before, and I'd like to ask your opinion.
In Too Many Cooks we meet Marko Vukcic's ex-wife. And she
turns out to be one of the murderers, and at the end is arrested and put on trial, and though they don't say so, the implication is that she was convicted and executed.
In The Black Mountain Archie describes Marko as being a widower. So that's the question: if a man is divorced and his ex-wife then dies, does he count as a widower?
My initial reaction is "no". A widower is someone whose wife dies while he's still married to her. But that may not be the only answer. What do you think?
UPDATE: The dictionary says:
a man who has lost his spouse by death and has not remarried.
But he didn't lose his wife by death; he lost her by divorce.
In the story "Fourth of July Picnic" Archie says he attended one week of college and decided it was for the birds.
However, he's spent a couple of decades listening to Wolfe's table talk and sure he must have learned quite a lot from it.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at February 04, 2016 07:29 PM (+rSRq)
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Archie's a bit interesting. He's not terribly worldly or high minded but he's very good at what he does. Wolf is certainly a good influence on him. He's very much a blue collar Watson in attitude.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at February 04, 2016 11:24 PM (AaBUm)
Something I thought I'd never write: I'm starting to lose interest in the GATE anime.
My problem is that I've been reading (and rereading) the manga, so whenever I reach some point where they diverge, I'm jerked out of the story. Not just because it's different, but because the anime is worse. It's always been worse. And a lot of the changes have been unnecessary. I wonder if there is animosity between the mangaka and the team doing the anime?
For instance, they've changed the character art for a lot of characters, and I like the manga versions better. For instance, Countess Myui of Italica:
Sage Cato:
And Delilah:
I can't believe that the anime version of Delilah is any easier to draw or animate than the manga version would have been, with a bit of streamlining. Their reason for changing Cato is that in the anime he's a silly old man who only serves as comic relief, and the manga version is entirely too dignified. And I can't think of any reason at all for changing Myui besides Not Invented Here.
They're also abbreviating the story, too much IMHO. It's disjointed; they're leaving too much out and characterization and character motivation is suffering. They've done so much of that that the anime is close to being incoherent.
It feels like they're in a hurry. The next-ep preview suggests that
the dragon dies in the next episode. That's where I originally thought this series was going to end, and it's going to happen in the fifth ep.
The second season of Gate does lack a certain special 'something' that grabbed my attention in Season 1, but one point needs to be addressed:
I wonder if there is animosity between the mangaka and the team doing the anime?
I seriously doubt that because both the manga and the anime are based on the original light novel series - and it appears the art and character design in the anime are closer to the original light novels.
Having said that, the series is speeding along at an extraordinary clip, which creates all sorts of problems.
Posted by: cxt217 at January 29, 2016 04:59 PM (oEaXk)
I'm aware that the manga and the anime are both based on the novels.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at January 29, 2016 05:24 PM (+rSRq)
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My guess is that it hasn't been as successful as they had hoped, yet somebody there wants to tell as much story as possible since there won't be any season 3.
Posted by: Jaked at January 29, 2016 11:32 PM (LFYPk)
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From what I gather, the dragon arc was very popular for the manga readers (including me). I wonder if they thought they needed to speed through to get to this point.
The problem is the short cuts will hurt future arcs. How they handle the aftermath of the Dragon is very important and I am afraid they will scotch it up.
I agree: the show is suffering for it. I'm kind of regretting reading the manga. If I held out till after this season, I would have been pleasantly surprised.
Posted by: topmaker at January 30, 2016 12:49 AM (6stZH)
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I don't know if it has anything to do with it or not, because I don't know how the demographics break on this issue in Japan; but Delilah looks almost like she's wearing a costume in the anime, while in the manga it's pretty clear that she's actually covered in fur.
Posted by: Ben at January 30, 2016 06:35 AM (DRaH+)
To say that I'm not very conversant with "Dr. Who" canon is an understatement. The only Doctor I ever watched was #3 #4 (Tom Baker), and that was back in the 1970's.
However, the Doctor is a special guest star in the second and third parts of "Ensign Sue Must Die". A running joke in the third part ("Crisis of Infinite Sues") is that the Doctor keeps getting killed, and regenerates in another of his forms. Sometimes they don't last long.
This one, for instance, only lasted one frame.
The final form, at the end of the series, is the one I'm confused by:
Um... when was the Doctor a hot blonde? Is this canon?
Um... when was the Doctor a hot blonde? Is this canon?
The Doctor was portrayed by Joanna Lumley in a charity special (he was also portrayed in that by Rowan Atkisson and Rob Lowe...he had a bad day in that story). It's almost certainly not canon*, however the Mistress (Who came about when the Doctor's old nemesis, The Master regenerated as a woman) said in the last episode that the doctor had been a cute girl. Note that there is a 66.67% probability that this is a lie.
There has also been a bit of fanwank regarding the doctor regenerating as a woman, and that may be what this is referencing.
* I say almost because, well, it's time travel so....
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at September 29, 2015 05:00 PM (LImEF)
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Aside from the usual calls for the good Doctor to be played by a woman whenever it comes time for the BBC to cast a new actor into the role, and unless Romana (Who is actually more talented and skilled than the Doctor.) is experimenting with her regenerations to get a generation even hotter than the late Mary Tamm or Lalla Ward - I would guess that the good Doctor is in his/her 'Curse of the Fatal Death' (A charity special.) Joanna Lumley generation. Or maybe it is Iris Wildthyme pretending to be the Doctor
Posted by: cxt217 at September 29, 2015 05:06 PM (tG7TW)
he was also portrayed in that by Rowan Atkisson and Rob Lowe...he had a bad day in that story
Do you mean Hugh Grant? At least, when Grant is not being arrested for soliciting a lady of the night?
Posted by: cxt217 at September 29, 2015 05:09 PM (tG7TW)
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Being a Joanna Lumley fan, though not a Dr. fan, I can still say that is almost definitely the Joanna Lumley Dr. Who. Steven; if you do a Google search for 'Joanna Lumley dr. who' and check the images. Same outfit, hairstyle, etc.
Posted by: Ben at September 29, 2015 05:38 PM (DRaH+)
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Yeah, I think it was Hugh Grant....I haven't seen Curse of Fatal Death in, like, 15 years.
Posted by: The Brickmuppet at September 29, 2015 05:42 PM (LImEF)
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I much prefer the concept of a Rob Lowe-based Doctor over a Hugh Grant-based Doctor.
Come to think of it, how about a Jeremy Clarkson-based Doctor?
Posted by: Wonderduck at September 29, 2015 07:16 PM (a12rG)
Which is why the Sixth Doctor was not my favorite Doctor (Rather regrettable, since Colin Baker is a fine actor, was a Doctor Who fan before he was cast, and clearly deserved a better role than he got.).
Posted by: cxt217 at September 30, 2015 12:41 PM (y6GqJ)
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As seen at the end of "Day of the Doctor", under the current canon none of the Doctor's regenerations have been women. Even if you count the "Doctor Donna", I don't think "hot blonde" enters into it.
Posted by: Siergen at September 30, 2015 02:12 PM (De/yN)
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The Big Finish series goes a long way to redeeming the 6th Doctor. The 8th Doctor is also great.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at October 01, 2015 04:56 PM (PiXy!)
I really need to get back into Big Finish. I had been collecting quite a few from a few years ago, and they were a treat - especially for those Companions that tended to be unused, either in general or with a particular Doctor. Fifth Doctor and Nyssa, and Fifth Doctor and Peri, were my personal favorites.
It does sadden me a great deal at the companions that have passed away over the last few years. Nicholas Courtney was, to me, arguably a greater shock than when Elisabeth Sladen died.
Posted by: cxt217 at October 01, 2015 05:18 PM (y6GqJ)
There are a lot of flash games out there for girls, entire web sites dedicated to that function. A lot of the games are dress-ups.
Here's one of the strangest I've encountered: "Pregnant Bride".
Just a few weeks before the happiest day of her life, that when she gives birth to her little bundle of joy, this mommy to be here is getting ready to enjoy the second best day of her life: her wedding day! She's relying on your skills for helping her look ravishing on this special day and for getting the wedding location a superb, dreamlike chic décor look, as well. Enjoy playing one of your future top favorite bride dress up games: Pregnant Bride!
You know, there was a time when this would have been a source of shame.
I would have been a noted pervert in my community 30 years ago.
As is, I'm just a noted eccentric...
Still, for the older folks (and I include myself, of course), it can be a bit shocking to realize how normalized something like "Pregnant Bride" really is. One of my pet hypothesis is that one of the most accurate representations of culture for the up-and-coming generation (i.e. recent young adults) is webcomics. And in webcomics, everyone has a baby with their loved one before getting married and more than half the cast is homosexual. I'm not saying, of course, that reflects reality; just what young people want to believe about the lives they lead.
Posted by: Ben at August 31, 2015 06:10 AM (S4UJw)
There was someone whose anime blog I used to follow, and then he got involved in dolfies big time and started posting pictures of his girl. Much too creepy for me; I don't go there anymore.
(I'm sure there are people, fans of USS Clueless, who feel the same way about Chizumatic, but in my case I'm doing it on purpose.)
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Smithy of Blue Blue Wave is like that. It's not a particularly insightful or hard-hitting anime blog, so you're not missing much if that was him. Also, dolfies ate Chris Fritz, which is a big loss. He had the decency to post them elsewhere, but he stopped blogging at The Pink Sylphide when he's gone into dolfies.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at August 31, 2015 09:34 PM (RqRa5)
It's from here. And it's the last frame of the first part of the trilogy:
We must identify all the Sues! Help me out!
I got most of them. The back row, left to right: a Jedi, a Sailor Scout, a Naruto-ninja, My Little Pony, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Supergirl. On the front row on the right is Marvel Avengers but I can't place the other three. Anyone got any ideas?
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To the left of Wolverine has to be a Ghostbuster. Far left--maybe Xena? Although that doesn't quite seem right.
Posted by: RickC at August 29, 2015 09:17 PM (FvJAK)
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Bottom row, second from the left, is suppose to be a character from Bleach, given the black and white outfit, and the Hollow mark which covers part of the face.
Posted by: cxt217 at August 29, 2015 09:24 PM (gbKL5)
So I'm thoroughly bored with all my PC games and decided to see what might be available for my Kindle Fire.
And what do you know, there are a scad of games which are "FREE!"
But every one I looked at includes a warning that they contain in-app opportunities to spend real money for power ups. Which is to say the game is prohibitively hard if you don't do that, right?
Forget it.
UPDATE: So maybe I should visit GOG again? Problem is, I've bought seven games from them and only ever play two of them.
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It depends on what your opinion of "prohibitively hard" is. Games like Clash of Clans and Boom Beach are perfectly fun to play without ever spending a dime, you just have to understand that you won't progress past a certain level (often weeks or even months into the game) without paying. If that doesn't bother you, play away. A lot of people lose interest long before they hit those walls.
Posted by: David at August 24, 2015 09:59 PM (+TPAa)
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I have a Cinderella Girls account that I play for free. Certainly, it is a handicap of sorts, but nothing insurmountable.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at August 24, 2015 10:02 PM (RqRa5)
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That said, life within the confines of Kindle was insufferable, because Amazon market contained zero games that I wanted (== navite Japanese games). I was very happy to move to a normal Android tablet where Google Play market is available. Later it turned out, however, that most of it was region-locked. I had to buy Kanon from anigema.jp. Those guys don't mind us kuso gaijins, as long as credit card works.
Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at August 24, 2015 10:06 PM (RqRa5)
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Usually it's not a matter of "prohibitively hard" as it is "getting good things is competitive with other players and you'll eventually need to pay to compete with other people who are paying". Good ones are designed to edge you ever closer to that without quite slapping you in the face with the "hey, dig out your credit card or go home" moment, while bad ones will make it clear almost instantly.
I'm currently on a WOW kick again. Won't last forever but it's some fun in the meantime. Next month has a couple of rhythm games... Persona 4 Dancing All Night and the Mirai DX vocaloid game.
And Paradox announced they were going to do a space-type sim with a Europa Universalis flavor. Oy. That's like sugared crack for me.
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at August 25, 2015 02:33 AM (qxzj1)
So maybe I should visit GOG again? Problem is, I've bought seven games from them and only ever play two of them.
I bought and played more games from GoG than seven or two, and last week, they answered (At least in part.) the single most desired item on my wish list, when they started rolling out the Classic AD&D games published by SSI. So there is hope for something at GoG.
I also got around to watching Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou and rather enjoyed the anime. However, the anime only covered just over a third of the light novel series it was based on, and reading the translation of the light novels left me conflicted.
Posted by: cxt217 at August 25, 2015 05:46 PM (gbKL5)
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Based on what I've heard from Ubu,
This is yet another series which started well and ended up squandering a good setup. From what Ubu has told me, we're better off not going past the point where the anime ended.
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I just looked through the "Adventure" listing of games on GOG and saw that they had The 7th Guest, The Dig, and The Labyrinth of TIme. I have fond memories of all those, so maybe I'll shell out $18 and get them all.
GoG has proven to be a treasure trove of titles that I wanted to see back in circulation - Darklands, Covert Action, Imperialism, the SSI-published AD&D games - and no download client to worry about. Even some of the classic games from Japan like Ys is appearing on GoG, which is even better.
Regarding Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou:
I read all 13 volumes of the light novel series, and the first 10 volumes were pretty good and would have worked well as an anime - but the last three were where the plot went into deus ex machina territory and made me want to put down the series. You know it is going to be bad when they kill off one of the two leading female characters in a very horrible fashion.
But at least we got this picture from Volume 2 of the light novels, which Wonderduck might find of interest. Sadly, I had to link the picture itself, rather than the page for it, due to the link not working properly.
Posted by: cxt217 at August 25, 2015 07:55 PM (gbKL5)
Posted by: J Greely at August 25, 2015 08:25 PM (ZlYZd)
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Credit where is due: the link I had in my post is actually part of the fan translation project for Ichiban Ushiro no Daimaou at Baka-Tsuki, which is a site that consolidates various fan translation project (Light novels that have been licensed for US release will obviously not appear there.). Among other things, you can see that Infinite Stratos going completely off the rails was not solely the responsibility of the anime studio...
Posted by: cxt217 at August 25, 2015 08:38 PM (gbKL5)
So I happened to get up a bit before 5 AM, and having nothing better to do and not being sleepy, I monitored the "live timing (spoiler)" section of the F1 website and watched the race.
I'm looking forward to Wonderduck's writeup of this one because it was a lot more interesting than most of the recent races. There was actual racing going on this time, including spectacular passes, and a lot of real competition. (A lot of that is because this is one of the best tracks used in F1.)
It probably was a lot of fun to really watch, instead of just looking at the leader board and reading a live-blog, like I was. And even that was fun.
UPDATE: I feel like writing more. Huge spoilers below the fold.
In this arc of Cross Time Cafe, there's a reference I don't get. Cross Time Cafe is a group comic where a number of characters from different web comics are all together in an alternate universe and do things which don't affect their main continuity.
Anyway, this arc has them trying to sell CTC to Disney, who expresses no direct interest, but does hit them with a C&D because of a "mischievous little blue alien", apparently Sam Starfall.
What Disney character would be similar to Sam Starfall? I don't have a clue.
And it's all the worse because he got really busy with work and it took five months for him to do about 8 strips before his reveal.
Start here. The girl with the black hair is Gilly, the "perky goth", who once upon a time was Matt's girl friend. Then she moved to London and for several years now she's only appeared once in a while. But as of this arc, she's apparently back again.
And today's verb is "to marry". Which has two meanings with radically different ramifications, and that's why Kovalic is evil.