Author: Don

Bleah

During the ’80’s, I quit listening to the radio entirely, focusing instead on building up my classical music library. This illustrates why. ((There was some great rock recorded during that decade: Steve Morse’s The Introduction, King Crimson’s Discipline, Steve Vai’s first two albums, Joe Satriani’s Surfing with the Alien, early Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, Djam Karet, Boiled in Lead, Adrian Belew, and more I’ll think of later. But most of these are primarily instrumental efforts, and it’s hard to write intelligently about music as music — too hard for Rolling Stone writers, who’d rather drivel on about politics, transgression and other nonsense than actually listen to the music they review.))

Apocalyptic silliness

I gather that the world is supposed to end Saturday, or The Rapture is going to happen, or something similarly absurd. Professor Mondo suggests a suitable activity for the day.

Update:

Q: If my computer crashes and my printer breaks and there is no email on account of the rapture, will I be able to get an extension on the paper?
A: Everyone in tech and IT departments is of Satan’s party, so the internet, your computer, and your printer should continue to work the way they always have: sporadically.

Here’s some appropriate reading (or listening) for Saturday.

Update II: Further suggestions for Saturday activities. But note:

By the way, did you know that, merely by reading this article and perhaps smiling at some of the suggestions in it, you have demonstrated your lack of faith and completely torpedoed any chance you had of being raptured? Sorry about that.

Update III: Question for discussion: “Isn’t the transhumanist “Singularity”–in which technology will advance at such an accelerated state it can’t be controlled, leading to human immortality–merely a materialist version of the Rapture?”

Update IV (Saturday): It’s after 6 p.m. here, as I sit listening to David Lindley while my nice little steak broils. If the world ended, I didn’t notice. There is a substantial new volcanic eruption in Iceland, but the word is that it’s not linked to the end of the world.

Final update (Sunday): The Rapture did happen, after all. The august Dr. Boli has the details.

Yesterday was just a dry run for the main event, scheduled for December 21, 2012, of course. It’s a Friday, so you can spend the night partying or marathoning RahXephon ((Or perhaps not. RahXephon starts well enough, but it gradually ceases to make sense as it goes on. Ultimately, it’s noteworthy for only three things: one, the opening song “Hemispheres,” composed by Yoko Kanno and sung by Maaya Sakamoto; two, episode 15, written, directed and animated by Mitsuo Iso, who would later create Dennou Coil; and three, the “rosebud” moment at the end of the last episode.)) without worrying about getting up early the next day if you’re so inclined, and if there is a next day.

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Meanwhile, the Czar of Muscovy answers the important questions about the movie Thor:

Is this a good movie for cats?
Cats are into more artistic films, particularly foreign films with plenty of subtitles. Unfortunately, there will not be much here to challenge a cat, who will likely become bored by mere dialogue.

Is this a good movie for logical positivists?
Very little of the movie relies on a priori constructs, which will appeal to empiracists; however, the inability of science to explain or comprehend Thor’s powers will likely divide those who support Popper falsifiabiliy, fueling the metaphysical argument from scientific statements of fact.

He does not address the question of catgirls and Thor, though.

Miscellany

A “zombie brand” is “a dead or dormant brand that have been revived or trotted out for second or third chances.” Anime has its share. I recently watched a soporific new Ah! My Goddess OVA, and I’m sure we haven’t seen the last Tenchi Muyo spinoff. What are other zombie anime?

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Yet another volcano in Kyushu is acting up. The Nakadake crater in the Aso caldera has been producing small plumes of ash and steam, and incandescence is visible on some webcams at night. Aso is the third volcano on the island to erupt this year. Shinmoedake/Kirishima put on quite a show back in January, and Sakura-jima has been puffing away since 1955. There are webcams here and here. Aso is currently tenth from the bottom in the box at right at the latter link. (Starting at the bottom and counting up by twos will give you a tour of some of the more active volcanoes in the south of Japan: Suwanose-jima, Satsuma-iwo-jima, Sakura-jima, Kirishima, Aso.)

Today, by the way, is the 31st anniversary of the VEI 5 blast at the American Fujiyama.

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Here’s a different, practical approach to cosplay: superhero styles as everyday street wear. (Via Project Rooftop.)

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Hobbes and Bacon.

(Via Pixy.)

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Time travel is not merely impossible. In China, it’s illegal.

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Romance novel covers, improved.

Call for heroes

We’ve established through impeccable scientific means that Shinji Ikari is the most annoying character in anime and Light Yagami is the best villain. Current studies indicate that Lucy/Nyuu is probably the scariest girl. It’s time for a more inspirational poll. Who is the most heroic character in anime? Please post your nominations in a comment to this post. You can nominate more than one character, but don’t get carried away. Update: please mention the show the character is from; there’s a lot I haven’t seen, and I probably won’t recognize every name.

Note that “hero” and “jackass” are not mutually-exclusive terms. Few fictional characters exhibit such manly strength as Kamina, and fewer still are such damned fools.

Notes, mostly musical

One of the 19th-century piano virtuoso’s stocks in trade was the operatic paraphrase, in which he took themes from a popular opera and assembled a fantasia with them, often highly elaborate. The practice fell out of favor in the twentieth century. However, if you substitue anime for opera, it is alive and well in otakudom. Here is a piece using themes from Yuki Kajiura’s OST for Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica:

Here’s a novel treatment of a theme from Madoka:

(Via Anime Instrumentality.)

I wonder if might be possible to make an opera out of Madoka. Perhaps not; it would take considerable ingenuity to condense the story to two or three hours and still have it make sense, and there are no significant roles for adult male singers — you could cast Kyubey as a tenor, but he would be cuter and creepier as a boy soprano. While a clever designer can probably think of a way to present the witches, the events of the last episode are another matter entirely.

Nevertheless, if it could be done, and done well, it would potentially be overwhelming. The composer would not necessarily have to be Yuki Kajiura, though I would be curious to hear if she’s capable of something as complex as an opera.

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Not anime-related, but noteworthy: an arrangement of a Lady Gaga tune that bears listening:

(Via Darwin Catholic.)

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Susumu Hirasawa, guitarist and singer of P-Model and composer of soundtracks for Satoshi Kon, has made a number of his pieces available for free download. I particularly recommend “The Girl in Byakkoya,” the ending theme of Paprika.

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What is the greatest problem with the American legal system? Perhaps it’s that judges have lousy taste in music.

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A problem with Windows computers you might not be aware of:

Many problems with Windows computers can be traced to spiritual infestations. Windows is notoriously vulnerable to attacks from the other side, and spirits may take over your computer in an attempt to break their old Pac-Man records. They may be very disappointed if they cannot find Pac-Man installed on your computer, and may use up most of your processing power looking for it. The obvious solution is to install whatever vintage computer games your spiritual guests desire to play. Alternatively, you may wish to abandon Windows altogether in favor of a more secure operating system, such as an abacus.

Sicilian fireworks

Viewing hasn’t been good for Sakurajima and its neighbors lately, and with a tropical storm passing by, it isn’t likely to improve in the immediate future. However, visibility is considerably better in Sicily, where Mt. Etna is currently displaying “modest” but pretty Strombolian activity. There’s a good chance we might see some nice lava fountains tonight as the eruption intensifies. You can watch the show here.

Update: a couple more cameras with good views: here (camera #6) and here.

Update II: The show’s over for now. Here’s a video of the eruption.

Update III: Another video:

Sicilian fireworks

Etna is doing its thing again. Watch the show here.

We might see some nice lava fountains tonight. According to vulcanologist Boris Behncke about 40 minutes ago, “It’s still quite modest Strombolian activity as of now, and might still take a few hours to reach its culmination – however, the increase in volcanic tremor amplitude is accelerating.”

Update: The show’s over for now. Here’s a video of the eruption.

Update II: Here’s another video: