Amazing. The sixth iteration of Endless 8 still did not end the loop.

UPDATE: You know what this reminds me of? It reminds me of Wish you were here by Pink Floyd.

Pink Floyd was a successful rock group in the 1960's and 1970's who built up a loyal fan following and were comfortable with the fans they had.

Then, for whatever reason, they released Dark Side of the Moon, which was a spectacular commercial success, selling something like 35 million copies. It attracted lots and lots of new fans to the group, and what I've heard is that the group members didn't like it. In fact, they hated it.

Wish you were here Dark Side of the Moon was intended for the old-school hard core fans, and it was intended to drive away the newbies. Or so I've heard. (And maybe also to reduce studio pressure. You can hear the bitterness in the lyrics of "Have a Cigar.")

I'm beginning to wonder if Endless 8 is deliberately intended to fuck over and to alienate all the fanbois that were created by the original series. Maybe KyoAni doesn't like the kind of attention it's been getting.

For instance, maybe they hated all the "Where's more Haruhi?" nagging from the fanbois while they were working on Lucky Star and Clannad.

So the answer is "HERE is your Haruhi. Stick it where the sun don't shine, and leave us the hell alone!"

UPDATE: Rats, I got the wrong name at one point. Fixed.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in linky at 05:44 PM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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John at AnimeNation thinks that KyoAni is mocking the fans. He doesn't use that word, but that's what it comes down to.

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Tim Blair does his own version of "Bachelor Chef", something called a "carpetbag steak". Given how I feel about shellfish (blech) seems even weirder than the stuff I create.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in linky at 10:32 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I think Ubu needs to turn off the computer and read a book.

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This collection of photos from Iran is really quite amazing.

Fifteen years ago it wouldn't have been possible. Fifteen years ago the people risking their lives with those cameras would have been using film. Fifteen years ago it would have taken days if not weeks for them to smuggle film out of such an area, get it developed, and get the pictures published (on paper). That's because fifteen years ago pictures were a physical medium. That's all changed. Now pictures are bits.

Now the cameras are digital, the smuggling is by satellite phone or internet, and publishing is on the web. In some cases the picture can be seen by thousands around the world within an hour of when it is taken.

The Iranian government reportedly is trying to prevent this, by shutting down the phone system and seriously limiting access to the internet, but unless they're willing to cut the internet entirely there's really no way to prevent the word from getting out.

I am always amused by poets, artists, musicians, playwrights who claim they're going to change the world. It's all blather, self-important presumption. Poetry and paintings don't change the world.

Digital cameras and the internet are changing the world, and it's scientists and engineers who did that, not poets or artists or musicians.

Twitter, a social networking site originally intended to let teenage girls communicate with each other, is turning into a political tool to allow activists to coordinate protests in real time. Some dweeb programmer did that.

And they're doing a lot of their tweets using cellular phones. I myself helped with that, a little anyway.

I have no idea what's going to happen in Iran. Not a clue. But I know that what's happening now wouldn't have been the same fifteen years ago.

UPDATE: I am growing increasingly appalled at the silence from the Obama administration. I think I understand it, of course.

It goes against the grain for Obama to endorse Ahmadinejad's victory, when it was so obviously fraudulent. But if Obama comes out and endorses the protesters, and they lose, then he fears it will poison any chance he might have of negotiating with the Ahmadinejad government after things calm down. So he's waiting until he sees how things begin to resolve there, and in the mean time he isn't even willing to condemn the Iranian security forces for using live ammunition to shoot protesters.

I understand that. But it still makes him and us look lily-livered and unprincipled.

I have an intuitive feel that there's also some deer-in-the-headlights going on. Obama's world view is being shaken: this wasn't supposed to be happening. When he got elected and went on his world apology tour, it was supposed to usher in a new era in international relations where everyone would unclench their fist and begin to negotiate in a spirit of comity. After Obama made his speech to the Muslims in Cairo, the whole region was supposed to calm down and be less confrontative. And somehow it isn't happening like that. It's like he doesn't really have any idea just how to cope with how things actually are happening now.

UPDATE: Obama speaks -- but he doesn't say anything.

President Barack Obama says it's up to Iran to determine its own leaders. But he also says he's troubled by the situation in Iran and that it would be wrong to stay silent.

Yes? And? (crickets as Obama stays silent)

UPDATE: Here's his precise words:

Obviously, all of us have been watching the news from Iran. And I want to start by being very clear that it is up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran’s leaders will be that we respect Iranian sovereignty and want to avoid the United States being the issue inside of Iran, which sometimes — the United States can be a handy political football, or discussions with the United States [can be]. Having said all that, I am deeply troubled by the violence I have been seeing on television. I think that the democratic process, free speech, the ability of people to peacefully dissent, all of those are universal values, and need to be respected. And whenever I see violence perpetrated on people who are peacefully dissenting, and whenever the American people see that, they are rightfully troubled.

Still sounds mealymouthed. What's with the passive voice? "...violence perpetrated on..." By whom?

And how about stop apologizing for America existing, OK?

UPDATE: Those of us who were adults in 1979 are having Carter flashbacks.

And that's the last thing I'm going to say on this thread. No more updates, OK?

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This guy has begun a series of character profiles which I've enjoyed reading. So far: Misaka Mikoto, Setsuna Sakurazaki, and Nagi-sama.

What I find most amusing is a summary score which gives a 1-10 rank on each of the following:

   Moe Factor
   Bishoujo Level
   Loli Power
   Yuri Grade
   Coolness
   Tsundere Rating

As you might imagine, Secchan has the highest yuri grade so far.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in linky at 04:11 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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The NYTimes writes about the new scourge: beavers! (Via)

Speaking of which...

I haven't noticed any sign of them for a while. They ate all the bark they could reach off the tree they downed, but that happened at least a month ago. There's another tree that someone started chewing on, but it hasn't gotten chewed any further in a long time. My suspicion is that the county did some more trapping.

UPDATE: Man, you think we're crazy? World Record for Most People Dressed Up At Smurfs set

2510 of them.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in linky at 09:49 AM | Comments (12) | Add Comment
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Don has posted the results of his "best anime babe poll".

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Don predicts some titles for the Summer 2010 season of anime.

That kind of satire is dangerous because it can fall victim to the "Network" effect. Network was a black comedy about the lengths to which the networks would go for ratings. And at the time, Paddy Chayevsky tried to be very outrageous, and to describe things happening which were completely off the wall.

What's terrifying about that movie is that if you watch it today, it doesn't seem farfetched at all. Life has imitated art, and Chayefsky's satire is looking more and more like prophecy.

Which is to say that as outrageous as Don's ideas are, I wouldn't want to bet that we won't see at least one of them.

(Especially because I have seen one of them, in a show that was produced more than ten years ago. I gave specifics in his comments.)

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John comes up with a gorgeous YouTube. I assume it's fan-drawn, but whoever did it is very talented.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in linky at 09:18 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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