Trivia that matter
A recent discovery: GOLEM: Journal of Religion and Monsters.
It mostly concerns Western horrors, but there is an article on “The Religious Functions of Pokemon” here (scroll down a bit).
I wonder what the contributers would make of Mononoke, or Mushishi.
(Via Eve Tushnet.)
Celebrating well-groomed, cuddly predators …
Schoenberg’s Opus 11, performed by cats.
… and the 88 counties of Ohio. ((“… this little application is not at all idiot-proofed, so my apologies if you are an idiot.”))
(Via Frëd, Lynn and Charles G. Hill.)
All the pictures from Anime Festival Wichita are up now.
Update: here they are in video form:
[flv width=”480″ height=”340″]http://tancos.net/flv/wp-content/uploads/afw slideshow.flv[/flv]
The music is from the Oh! Edo Rocket OST.
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Is there anything that doesn’t come in a Hello Kitty version?
(Via Dustbury.)
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Large green ducks. There’s more rice paddy art here and here.
Vicipaedia needs otaku who can write decent Latin. The anime and manga pages are pathetic. (I had several years of Latin, but that was a long time ago in a different century, and it would take more time than I can spare to regain competence.)
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Another entry for the “ducks in anime” file:
From Negima Ala Alba OAD #2 (not recommended).
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I discovered that the software used to animate Hatsune Miku is freeware, available here. It’s surprisingly capable. Here’s Miku dancing Maurice Bejart’s choreography; compare it to the final minutes of this. ((I recommend skpping the first six minutes unless you are a Bejart fanatic.)) Unfortunately, like Miku herself, it’s not for Macs.
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More random nonsense:
An animated stereogram. It works, too. There are more here. (Via Cartoon Brew.)
“Not only does it save time, but it’s really stupid, too.” More poem generators here.
Can’t find anything you like on the radio? Set a few parameters and generate your own music.
I did not need to see this:
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See if these play for you:
Click on the icon in the lower-right corner of the players to turn off the on-screen comments.
(Via Wonderduck)
Update: Here’s a higher-quality version, via J. Greely, who also has romanized the lyrics so you can sing along and translated them (they’re not what Ian Gillan sang).
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I’m going to be away from the computer for a few days. Things will be even quieter here than usual.
Made with Wordle.
I probably won’t install this WordPress plugin, but it’s worth noting.
Shamus Young is the most dangerous sort of guy, with lots of ideas and the time and energy to implement them. He first came to my attention several years ago with The Lemon. Later there was The DM of the Rings. Currently he is one of the parties responsible for Chainmail Bikini. His most recent effort is a WordPress plugin, “Wavatars,” which I’ve installed here. If you leave a comment, your name will be accompanied by an eighty-pixel-square avatar determined by your email address. (If you have a Gravatar, as I do, that’s what you will see instead.) On a weblog like mine where comments are infrequent, these are just a cute novelty, but on sites where comment threads get lengthy, these could be useful for keeping the various writers straight.
If you like the idea but want something a little more macabre for your own site, consider MonsterID. (Via Aziz.)
Congratulations to the LLamas, who turn five today.
Congratulations also to Angus and Sarah.
Final Fantasy A+ (Via Shamus).
One way to handle a telemarketer (Via Ken the Brickmuppet).
I found a website that makes Flash jigsaw puzzles from pictures on your computer. There’s one made from one of my photos below the fold.
Update: A memory from my days in the SCA that I’d like to forget.
Continue reading “Pre-holiday miscellany”
Inside the Basilica Cardinale, with the light of two suns shining through the windows. Curiously, outside the front door of the church it’s raining.
I spent recent lunch hours investigating how much of a Catholic presence there is in Second Life. There’s not a lot. A search for “Catholic” places yields only ten results, some of which I’m staying far away from. ((Here‘s what turns up when you search for “jesuit” places (warning: offensive). (The Society of Jesus may be well-intentioned, though.) )) A search for “Catholic” groups finds twenty-eight, some of which are not the least bit religious. Some do appear to be sincere, though, and one or two might be worth joining if I had more time, e.g., The Catholic Tolkien. Still, I’m more than a little leery of such organizations as Fr. Simoni’s “Second Life Catholic Church,” whose charter advertises Mass, Confession and sloppy proofreading.
During my investigations, I took numerous snapshots. Here’s a selection.
