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Looking For Quacks In The Pavement

Month: January 2016

  • Still Watching Anime: Snow White With The Red Hair

    Just because i deleted the unused anime blog and just because I spent most of the last three years barely using my CrunchyRoll account doesn’t mean that I’m not still an anime fan.

    For instance!

    Starting up this month is the second batch of episodes for a delightful fluffy gem of a fantasy-romance show called Snow White With The Red Hair.

    What’s it about, really? In short: A spunky redhead who wants to be an herbalist comes to the attention of a sleazy local prince who tries to force an indecent proposal on our heroine. She promptly cuts her hair and kites off through the forest toward a neighboring country. Along the way she runs into trouble and is saved by… the younger prince of that country. Sparks fly, adorableness commences, adventures are had, hearts and minds are won over, and so on.

    Let’s be clear: This is fluffy stuff. Sometimes it almost looks like it might get a smidgen dark, but that’s been averted every time so far. It’s just that kind of show. Bad things do happen but the show doesn’t make a grimdark deal about it.

    And you know what? I adore the show. It’s nice to get a relatively uncomplicated romance with two young, determined, smart, devoted people surrounded by similar smart and devoted mentors and minions. If Snow White can’t make you smile, you may need to consult your doctor about a heart replacement.

    You’ll find it on Funimation‘s streaming service, which runs you something like five bucks a month. Honestly I’d say it’s worth it to be able to watch Snow White and Arslan alone, never mind whatever else is in their streaming catalog.

  • It’s probably a bad idea

    I just had a terrible idea. I’m not even sure I can put together the elements I need in order to even attempt pulling it off. But the idea delights me so much that I’m going to damned well try to.

    And I think I won’t buy yet another domain name or build a whole separate website to do it, either. That’s right, I’m going to put this right where people may or may not be expecting to be seeing things already. Some of you may be amused by the result. Others will likely roll eyes skyward, possibly coupled with prayers for my immortal soul.

    Cue the maniacal, diabolical laughter.

  • Tin Machine, Tin Machine, Take Me Anywhere

    Monday morning, the news broke, Twitter was all “Starman” and “Space Oddity” and “Ziggy Stardust” quotes. Me? I went to work and immediately queued up both of the Tin Machine albums.

    In the late 1980s I was still figuring out what I really liked, musically. I’d immersed myself in pop radio and had started to branch out a bit. Right about then, David Bowie decided to be in a rock n roll band. By most accounts, it was a good idea. Whether or not people really liked the albums made by this band, the result was a revitalized Bowie who went on to do better, more interesting things than he’d been up to beforehand.

    But, you know what? Those two studio albums by Tin Machine are totally worth owning. I mean, it’s a rock band. Fronted by David effing Bowie. Both albums have some real gems, such as the first album’s “Prisoner of Love,” “Run,” and “I Can’t Read.” They made me like a Lennon song with their rendition of “Working Class Hero.” On the second album, “You Belong In Rock N Roll” and especially “Amlapura” are worth a listen.

    So, late 80s-early 90s Bowie is “my” Bowie. (Yes, I own Black Tie White Noise as well. I don’t love it, but I like a few songs on it pretty well.) I never grew into a super big fan of his, but he had a big part in shaping my tastes at a critical point, and he left behind some amazing music that I love still.

    Yeah, Mister Bowie, you belonged in rock n roll.

  • The Riveting Adventure Of The Grey Quaggan

    Kyla loves the Guild Wars 2 MMO game. I mean, I like it too, but she likes and plays the game far, far more than I do. Which is fine, it’s good to have something fun to do.

    In the game, one of the fantastical races are called Quaggans. They’re sort of little aquatic blobs with funny voices. Kyla bought herself a purple plush one to add to the stuffed-critter menagerie in the apartment.

    Guess who received a grey quaggan for Christmas?

    So, last weekend she took the Amtrak Cascades northward to visit folks for a post-Christmas kind of thing, leaving me alone. Well, alone if you don’t count the new grey quaggan, along with all the other stuffed what-have-yous.

    GreyQuagganBoardGameI took this as an opportunity to post a silly little photo series on Instagram, which I’ve replicated for posterity in this gallery. Enjoy, won’t you?

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