Psychommu Gaijin

Manga Publishing is Dying

2012-01-23T11:33:00.002-06:00

Holy Orion Slave Queen, Batman

2011-12-29T16:11:00.002-06:00

This.

Great oogly-moogly!

Explosions for the Win

2011-12-13T13:44:00.002-06:00

"At around the one minute mark it looks like they put Cobra Commander in a helmet with a mirrored visor, add to that Bruce Willis, The Rock, and some explosions, and there might be hope for this one." CapnAhab

Occupy Starbucks!

2011-11-23T16:38:00.003-06:00

Interesting read right here.

H/T Japan Probe.

Guess what's on my mind?

2011-11-09T18:34:00.000-06:00

Takako Minekawa: Telstar

2011-10-19T14:41:00.001-05:00

A bit of a Martin Denny vibe here...

Cool Story : )

2011-09-19T11:07:00.004-05:00

Beatles + Small Town America, U.S.A. = Great Success!

Gotta Have My Bowl

2011-09-17T22:58:00.000-05:00

R.I.P. Cliff Robertson

2011-09-13T19:11:00.003-05:00

This man made Uncle Ben, Charlie, and many other roles come to life. A real class act.

Bonus: Robertson could play real oddball characters as well, as evidenced by his work in the largely-forgotten Burt Reynolds classic "Malone"; Watch the trailer and you'll know why the film is largely-forgotten:

New Voltron toy?

2011-09-12T12:51:00.002-05:00

But of course!

And don't forget the retro "Shogun Warriors" branded neo jumbo machinder.

Still Falling

2011-09-11T05:05:00.000-05:00

Still Falling

Sixty-six years ago

2011-09-03T11:08:00.002-05:00

The Formal Surrender of Japan.

And recently, some have used the event as a signpost of the post war period and been misunderstood -- go figure...

Yeah, Baby!

2011-09-01T11:59:00.004-05:00

Look, folks! It's the "Austin Powers Edition" Gundam.

Ninja or Nutter?

2011-08-30T13:51:00.000-05:00

Maybe both?

"James-Younger Rye Ale"

2011-08-29T12:43:00.004-05:00

Quickie-review

Produced* to coincide with the annual "Defeat of Jesse James Days" celebration in Northfield, Minnesota. The locals still call it 'Jesse James Days' and it's quite the to-do in Northfield. While I can't make it to this year's event, I'm happy to have had the opportunity to sample this a little early.

"James-Younger 1876 Rye Ale" is basically a contemporary 'American Pale Ale' with the addition of chocolate rye as a specialty malt, and this grain in turn imparts a toasty "cocoa"-like character in addition to the traditional spiciness of rye. Likewise, there's some hop spiciness (and aromatics, and bitterness...) in this beer that place the beer more in line with a contemporary "American IPA" than a lower-strength (and "less-hoppy") pale ale, so in fact this beer is like a mash-up of three styles: Rye Ale, APA, and A-IPA. I've had my fair share of Rye ales in the past few years, and this one really holds its own: it's no Hop Rod Rye, but it is a nice change of pace for folks who've cut their teeth on the likes of Boulevard Pale Ale and Summit "EPA".

Kompai!

*Produced by Bank Beer Co.

"Actresses" vs. "Talent"

2011-08-18T15:31:00.008-05:00

Here's a solid rant from Andrew Price.

When it comes to Hollywood and the casting of actresses I probably agree with this guy on all counts, but what the heck do I know? Well, I know what I like in a film, and I don't see much of that sort of thing anymore. As if anyone here needed reminding, storytelling should be the top priority in crafting a film, and while digital/S/FX should be given consideration, it should remain a distant second to the story arc and plot. Doubtless some folks in Hollywood think of films these days more as marketing tools (product placement, Happy Meal tie-ins) or as a way to extend the copyright on an earlier property via licensing, franchise and serial film-making and re-makes, but that's not how the industry got to the point where there was a Golden Age.

Nowadays, the way films are made -and the way talent is cast- it's no wonder why both Box Office and Video sell-through receipts are diminishing.

It might not be worth mentioning (for lack of my desire to explain it) but my significant other was well-indoctrinated with a feminist worldview while at college (a woman's college no less) and complains endlessly of the photographic interpolation of the "Phallic Male Gaze", whether it be in Print or Web Advertising, Television, or Film. Given this fact, her dislike of contemporary films should be self evident, and moreover I'd say that she has a point. Entire literary careers have been built via the extrapolation of this uniquely post-modern and Feminist point of view, including enough books to fill entire libraries. And while I do not 100% agree with said argument I understand the general gist and think that there's something to it -- judging by his piece, I reckon Andrew Price would also think so.

And now that I've gotten all schoolmarm-y and wrecked the flow of this highly-read blog, I will end this post with this thought: try to think clean thoughts while enjoying the digital fakery of "Supergirl" : )

Anyone seen the new cartoon?

2011-08-13T23:19:00.003-05:00

LOL

Where's the "Gum Robots"?

2011-08-11T11:13:00.002-05:00

Cool candy aisle in Japan. The eight year-old in me has some serious envy...

File Under: Holy Shit

2011-08-11T10:58:00.004-05:00

These are the sort of things that they never teach us about in "World History" class in high school, right here in the U.S.A.

Chinese Government Dismantles Memorial to Dead Japanese Civilians
Hattip: Japan Probe

"It's so cool!"

2011-08-09T11:48:00.000-05:00

H/T Japan Trends

Anime Crash-ed

2011-08-02T16:54:00.004-05:00

I've always wondered whatever happened to the East Coast retail and home video software outfit known as "Anime Crash". I only visited the shop a couple of times in Cambridge, and always wondered why it never took off as a retailer.

Doubtless, the times changed and brick and mortar retail along with the home video market are basically gutted from where they were in the mid-1990s, so this continuing series of blogs should be worth the wait.

It describes an insider's perspective on the so-called American 'Anime Industry'.

The Cleanest Race and the Hermit Kingdom

2011-08-02T16:45:00.003-05:00

Here is an interesting -nay, fascinating- presentation courtesy of C-Span.

P.S. That is not "Heino" giving the presentation, it is B.R. Myers.

"Communist Smurfs"

2011-07-29T12:44:00.002-05:00

Google it: Communist Smurfs. Too much, man. I'm in tears...

Thundercats: Bandai no Pramoderu

2011-07-28T22:42:00.002-05:00

Toys galore.

Studio Ghibli News

2011-07-28T15:49:00.003-05:00

New movies:http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

Kokuriko Zaka Kara -- the second film to be directed by Hayao Miyazaki's son:

Arriety -- based upon "The Borrowers":

Princess Mononoke: U.S. Distribution up in the air

H/T SlashFilm.

"Bootleg Anime"

2011-07-27T11:49:00.002-05:00

"Taking it to the next level". Plagiarism no doubt, and it has me yearning for simpler times and the cycled and recycled Hanna-Barberic cartoons of yore...

Hattip to Japan Probe.

Remake Ideas Off The Rails

2011-07-21T14:31:00.007-05:00

<--- Insert picture of "Family Truckster" here
"Vacation"

A beer targeted at . . . whom?

2011-07-20T14:23:00.007-05:00

"Animee".

P.S. The label makes this look like sparkling water or Fentimann's soda.

Buffet Music Goes Digital

2011-07-16T11:45:00.008-05:00

Thai Beat A Go-Go Vol. 1 & 2 Subliminal Sounds
Electric Cambodia Minky Records, Inc.

Listening to these discs gives me momentary flashbacks to the first time I heard 'Monster A Go-Go'. Naturally, I have only good things to say about the Thai Beat compilations after discovering the first one last year -- up to three volumes now! Granted, these sounds are definitely not for everyone, but they are for me. I can even go in for the Neil Diamond cover, and that's way under-par for my tastes.

Likewise, I'll offer no apology for referring to any of these selections as 'buffet music', for this is precisely the sort of stuff that made me fall in love with the whole ethos of Thai music of that glorious, psychotronic era. And trust me, I've picked up my fair share of "Thai Techno" cassettes from the mid-1990s onwards, and for the most part that stuff lacks the passion and creativity of the music you'll find here. There's at least one track on Volume One and perhaps the last half-dozen or so tracks on Volume Two where i really want to crank this one, even if it drives my significant other nuts! In fact, a couple of these tracks are pretty far out there -- the liner notes on Volume Two reads: "Warning: you will need some time to adjust to reality after listening to this one". This is specifically in reference to T. Zchien & the Johnny's "Let Your Life Be Free", and indeed I am now hunting for the EP from which this track was taken -- if the whole release is like this I might have to find a very comfortable room and just veg-out for an entire weekend with the blacklights blazin'.

The Dengue Fever-compiled compilation "Electric Cambodia" is very much an appropriate companion to Subliminal's Thai comps, especially considering the historical differences between the respective countries of origin. And the fact that Electric Cambodia can be purchased on vinyl makes my heart beat a little faster.

Cherry eBay 'bot of the moment

2011-07-15T15:20:00.003-05:00

Surprise surprise, it's a shiny Gundam from Clover!

I sometimes wonder if anyone ever played with these things...

R.I.P. Sherwood Shwartz

2011-07-12T13:50:00.002-05:00

File under: Gen X is Getting Old

"Please Save My Robots!"

2011-07-12T13:37:00.004-05:00

While my significant other doesn't "get" my robot fixation, I'd say it's instructive to realize that I grew up in an era in which black and white newsprint ads were more common than full-color print catalogs and Wish-books.

BGM: 25 Beach Music Classics

Mmm, kielbasa

2011-07-08T16:09:00.001-05:00

Moar.

"No bucks, no Buck Rogers"

2011-07-06T13:58:00.002-05:00

"The space cadets’ other hope, China, might pick up the baton. Certainly it claims it wishes, like President John Kennedy 50 years ago, to send people to the surface of the moon and return them safely to Earth. But the date for doing so seems elastic. There is none of Kennedy’s “by the end of the decade” bravura about the announcements from Beijing. Moreover, even if China succeeds in matching America’s distant triumph, it still faces the question, “what next?” The chances are that the Chinese government, like Richard Nixon’s in 1972, will say “job done” and pull the plug on the whole shebang."

More of this sobering line of thought here.

More Robot Love

2011-06-30T17:07:00.003-05:00

Kinda creepy, but probably cheaper than cat food in the long run:

"WarGames: Legacy"

2011-06-28T14:54:00.002-05:00

Kopfschmerzen

Organized Crime and Fukushima

2011-06-27T12:45:00.000-05:00

The most important thing is helping the weak. Duty and kindness are second. Then the third would be: don’t betray others.

– Matsuyama Shinichi, chairman of the Kyokuto-kai yakuza organisation, on what it means to be a yakuza member.

For the yakuza helping the relief effort, it’s partly about living up to the slogans they profess. It’s also about getting a stake in the reconstruction of Japan. Construction is big business.

– Tomohiko Suzuki, author of I’ve Met 1,200 Yakuza, investigative journalist and former editor of the yakuza fan magazine Jitsuwa Jidai Bull.

First emergency responders, The Yakuza.

Hat tip to Jake Adelstein

Dirty Cartoon Dilemma part two

2011-06-27T12:34:00.001-05:00

In other words, I would argue that reading manga as a white man is rather like driving an expensive sports car as a black man. You are always already a suspect in the eyes of law enforcement authority—not because the car or the comics in themselves are necessarily a problem per se, but because your possession of said items seems to indicate, to our prejudiced little minds, far more serious criminality involving the harm of real people. Do not think for a moment that these cases are only about comics and censorship.

Is Canada profiling White Guys Who Read Manga?

Hat tip to Daryl Surat

Oldschool Find of the Day...

2011-06-24T12:17:00.002-05:00

I check eBay out of sheer curiosity, and older collectibles like this vintage Nomura Analyzer from Day Old Antiques are pretty rare.

P.S. Anyone else waiting for a US-release of the live action Yamato DVD? ; )

Kiddie Kink for Korean Kars

2011-06-24T10:41:00.000-05:00

One side of ad: Mary Blair-type picture book fun. Other side: sex-dipped schoolgirl fantasy. Now you know why the suits in Advertising & Promotion make the big bux.

And people wonder why I got out of the advertising biz...

A return to shadow puppets?

2011-06-20T16:31:00.005-05:00

I'm not trying to be cute here, just wonderin' aloud.

We have fossil fuels ("clean" coal, petroleum, natural gas), unproven tidal and wind energy, unproven geothermal, and woefully inefficient photovoltaic solar. Until 500% efficient variations of the above-mentioned, green technologies are invented and implemented in a dirt-cheap manner (and there's no doubt that we need a cleaner way to generate electricity), I'm doubtful that Nuclear Power will be off the table altogether. Unless of course we somehow ween ourselves off electricity...

This Sounds Good!

2011-06-16T11:48:00.002-05:00

and I'm not even Hawaiian!

In a word: Yuck!

2011-06-16T11:40:00.002-05:00

Reading about stuff like this makes me wonder why I open the web browser in the morning :/

Montez au ciel!

2011-06-15T03:26:00.000-05:00

Quelque chose est louche!

Just because you're paranoid . . .

2011-06-13T12:50:00.002-05:00

Doesn't mean they aren't truly after you!

H/T Japan Probe

The Anime Ambassador

2011-06-10T11:36:00.002-05:00

kyu kyu kyu by cicacocadou3
I always wondered what happened to Taro Aso.
I also wonder; is this a little bit like Bill Clinton hawking American Football?

Ramen is "Racist"? Please...

2011-06-04T10:19:00.002-05:00

From HuffPo via Japan Probe:

" As Japan’s most popular Chinese dish, shina soba symbolized the expanding Japanese empire, according to Katarzyna Joanna Cwiertka, author of Modern Japanese Cuisine: Food, Power, and National Identity. By the early 20th century, this empire included Korea, Taiwan, Manchuria, eastern Siberia, parts of China, and many South Pacific islands. Giddy totalitarianism spawned “a China boom” in Japan, Cwiertka asserts:

“Chinese-style decorations, costumes, and products were eagerly consumed by the Japanese public as they translated colonialism into a concrete experience. By physically interacting with China through the ingestion of Chinese food and drink, the Japanese masses were brought closer to the idea of empire.”

In other words, to eat shina soba in those years was to symbolically gobble up China itself. As China represented the empire’s biggest prize, a bowl of shina soba represented nothing less than world domination.

After Japan lost its empire in World War II, the word shina came under fire. Deplored by many as a symbol of imperialist aggression and Japanese wartime atrocities in China and beyond, shina was now seen as a horrific ethnic slur, embodying imperialist xenophobia: in other words, racist. Shina soba was briefly renamed chuka soba; chuka is a less politically incorrect Japanese term for “Chinese-style.” But in 1958, Nissin Foods introduced the first-ever packaged instant version of the dish. As its broth was chicken-flavored, the product was called Chikin Ramen. "

Too lazy to do the links right now, but methinks someone's got their head jammed into those books a little too tightly...

Weather - and Eye Candy

2011-06-03T10:51:00.002-05:00

Karate Robo Zaborgar

2011-06-02T09:26:00.004-05:00

To call the remake of Denjin Zaborgar "interesting" is putting it mildly, and "spoof" doesn't even come close. It certainly is faithful to the original in terms of characters. Noboru Iguchi took every mannerism and character attribute (even gestures) and amplified or exaggerated them. It's pretty obvious this guy has a background as a porn director even with his films....lots of boob weaponry. The action scenes with Zaborgar were pretty cool, as was the suit. The actions scenes with Daimon...well, they didn't change much from the original...pretty cheesy. The kept the music from the original.....great 70's toku soundtrack. Definitely worth a watch, even if just for the bizarreness.

"My Travels in Japan"

2011-05-26T16:19:00.003-05:00

I found this fellow's antique photo blog the other day and it is pretty sweet! Is his name really Abraham Lincoln? I dunno, but it makes me want to go find my old scrapbook . . .

Fook, Tha've Doon Eht

2011-05-26T15:17:00.000-05:00

Happy Threadsday, everyone!

Damn You Oshii!

2011-05-25T11:43:00.000-05:00

Mamoru Oshii does Cyborg 009!

¡Volver!

2011-05-19T23:33:00.000-05:00

For the terminally bored: new post at my blog.

Pass the Sushi Plate

2011-05-11T12:02:00.003-05:00

My mind boggles at a lot of the things I see lately, but I appreciate the ingenuity on display right here.

Osama Get Got

2011-05-02T22:14:00.000-05:00

Raped by hell pigs for all eternity LOL

Serious Childhood Flashback

2011-05-02T19:36:00.003-05:00

I was never quite sure whether I was imagining this show or if it was in fact real, but thanks to the magic of YouTube I can at least re-live what I *imagine* to have remembered from my sickly childhood.

This here's an ending singalong clip from "Wonderama", a syndicated kids show from God Knows When. At some point this show transmogrified into "Kids Are People Too", which was sort of a "Gong Show'-meets-'That's Incredible" for kids, as I recall.

Shit, I'm glad some of you people are older than me and might remember this stuff--posting this to Facebook would likely elicit blank stares...

Space Adventure Cobra Live Action

2011-05-02T10:12:00.000-05:00

What do you follow up a movie like Piranha 3D with? Terasawa Buichi's Cobra!

DC Comics, I Hate You

2011-04-28T15:11:00.000-05:00

DC Comics: Superman to Renounce U.S. Citizenship in Action Comics #900

My response

Parisian CheeseMuzak - from Japan

2011-04-27T11:10:00.003-05:00

I found a CD by Kunitaka Watanabe recently and thought I'd share his music with the group. Rather than the Cheese-tastic Parisiana of 'L'escargot Aventure' I've chosen to get this ABBA cover stuck in your heads, mainly because I have that same boxed set that's sitting behind him on the piano in this video >: )

More Fun With Coffee

2011-04-27T10:32:00.000-05:00

Giant robots and coffee in a can. What's not to like?

Hat tip to Mike Dent

Japanophile Music Geekery Uber Alles

2011-04-26T14:37:00.005-05:00

I'm still not sure if Kid 606 is actually from Caracas, but he is most certainly geekier than me. Check out the covers to some if his releases at Discogs.

P.S. I LOL very hard at "Songs About Fucking Steve Albini" :D

It's Millerite Time!

2011-04-25T23:38:00.000-05:00

Judgement Day is apparently scheduled for May 21. Full details in my latest blog post.

Coffee for REAL Men

2011-04-19T12:21:00.000-05:00

Ferget yer half-caf lattes. This should be coffee you could float a half dollar with. Or a spent rifle shell.

Japan Candy WTF

2011-04-18T13:26:00.000-05:00

TokyoPop's Bubble Bursts

2011-04-15T13:25:00.002-05:00

TokyoPOP has thrown in the towel.

TokyoPOP shuts down it U.S. operations on May 1st. Who's next?

Bonus round:
Can anybody name any artist who broke through with a TokyoPOP book? Or for that matter a TokyoPOP book that broke through? Because I'm drawing a blank. The books published by Dark Horse had more cultural relevance in my opinion.

G.I. Joe vs the Illuminati

2011-04-14T02:27:00.000-05:00

How the animated series G.I. Joe predicted today's Illuminati agenda

What's it called again?

2011-04-13T12:26:00.001-05:00

MUTEKING~!

50 Years of Man In Space

2011-04-12T23:50:00.000-05:00

Generation Kikaider Day!

2011-04-12T06:00:00.001-05:00

It's Generation Kikaider Day! Woot!

This wouldn't happen here...

2011-04-11T21:53:00.006-05:00

Japanese citizens turning in cash washing ashore after the tsunami.

Now, why can't I link any of the stories? @_@

EDIT: with an old school URL
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1375606/Japanese-citizens-turning-cash-tsunami-zone-peoples-life-savings-wash-up.html

Tekkaman

2011-04-11T11:32:00.007-05:00

A while back, I'd gotten my hands on some decent, English subbed (Malaysian DVDs, I believe) 宇宙の騎士テッカマン (Space Knight Tekkaman). I don't watch much anime, anymore, but I still have that hankering to watch some 70's and 80's stuff I'd never really gotten a chance to see. Finally sat down to watch them this last weekend...what a terrible, yet awesome show. Got to love it when the lead character is basically a bigot, and hates all "aliens", and the enemies have elite "Space Ninja". Plus, the hero crawls into the groin of a robot (Pegas) in order to become Tekkaman. Great stuff. On a side note, Spring and anime/anime con season always gets me a little wistful, thinking back to the old con days....I've tried to go to the local (Sakuracon), but without my PG peeps, these things have really passed me by.

Closing

Transformation

Craptastic Sub

A really kickass Italian cosplay

Mix-A-Lot, M.D.

2011-04-11T04:06:00.000-05:00

The greatest comment thread in the history of the Internet.

DISH > Blockbuster

2011-04-07T15:26:00.002-05:00

Dish Network is acquiring the assets of Blockbuster Video. Interesting. Only one active Blockbuster near me, the rest are gone or busy selling -- likewise, the big book stores are going bye-bye.

Interesting times.

Saint Seiya CGI WTF?

2011-04-07T09:43:00.001-05:00

Saint Seiya....IN 3-frikkin'-D.

What next? Samurai Troopers?

Meanwhile, in 1998...

2011-04-07T09:04:00.002-05:00

Takara Tomy Beer Hour

2011-04-07T08:21:00.000-05:00

Navarre: finis FUNI

2011-04-06T17:26:00.002-05:00

Navarre Corporation
Monday April 4, 2011, 5:54 pm EDT

Navarre Corporation today announced that it has sold FUNimation Entertainment for $24 million in an all cash transaction. Purchasers in the transaction are a group of entities that were newly formed by an investment group that includes Gen Fukunaga, FUNimation Entertainment's chief executive officer, as a minority stakeholder. In connection with the sale, the Company has entered into an agreement to act as FUNimation Entertainment's exclusive distributor in the United States on a continuing basis, and will also act as FUNimation Entertainment's logistics and fulfillment services provider.

MOAR

1. Gen Fukunaga sells FUNI to Navarre for $142 million in 2005
2. ???
3. Gen Fukunaga buys FUNI back from Navarre for $24 million in 2011
= ($118 million) PROFIT!

THAT'S SHOWBIZ, FOLKS!

New Thundercats Trailer

2011-04-06T14:02:00.000-05:00

"The Governator"

2011-04-04T23:46:00.001-05:00

Oy . . .

Porky's: Gone to Fast Food Heaven

2011-04-02T19:18:00.005-05:00

This won't mean much to folks who've never visited the "Twin Towns", but it's a bit of a bummer to me. It served as the focal point of a thriving 'car culture' for generations, and with Drive-In theaters long-gone, I wonder what's left for this culture and its people? Volts, LEAFs, Priuses and Light Rail have far less appeal, but perhaps there's a bright side that I'm somehow missing for all these trees.

I'll definitely miss all the colorful neon (the sign was fixed in recent years), and even the gaggle of on-lookers and slow-driving "Classic Cars!" Yet another sign of the passing of an era which by all accounts was greater than the ones I've somehow managed to live through.

Read more here; I'm gonna spin Neon Lights and kick my nostalgia...

"Tangled": Cool Read

2011-03-31T15:27:00.004-05:00

To be honest I wasn't interested in seeing Tangled until I read this article.

It's at the $1 theater right now, and can't be any worse than "Yogi Bear"...

Rome 2011

2011-03-25T04:53:00.001-05:00

I finally got around to posting my Rome photos. (I was in Rome 1-18 January 2011.) If you like street-level photography with almost no tourist content, give them a look. You can find them, plus other new stuff, on my Flickr page.

AKIRA FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

2011-03-23T07:58:00.001-05:00

How fucked up is that Akira live action remake? It's set in "rebuilt New Manhattan." Not even Neo-Manhattan. Also a cast of twentysomething white guys? Really? How does that make you feel?

KANEDA!!!

Hat tip to Darius Washington

Mars Needs Euthanasia

2011-03-18T03:16:00.000-05:00

Did anybody see Mars Needs Moms besides me? Sweet suffering Hayley Mills, what a disaster. Here's Zemeckis' formula for kid-movie success: first, make a movie for kids that's about a kid who's mom is abducted, sedated, and subjected to torturous experiments by aliens -- because, you know, kids are totally secure and could never be scared by the thought of their mother being kidnapped by monsters. Second, people the story with completely unlikeable characters -- a spoiled, asshole tweener "hero" whom you'll have an instant urge to slap stupid; the whining, nagging helicopter mom-slash-victim; a sweaty fat guy with Asperger's as a "good guy"; and a planet full of dirty, dangerous-looking Afro-Rastafarian Martians. Third, create a plot so convoluted and incomprehensible that Thomas fucking Pynchon couldn't figure it out. And finally, "animate" it using that creepy mo-cap process that makes every face look like that of a soulless, reanimated corpse (no pun intended). Put it all together and you get the biggest box office bomb in the history of movies. GG Disney!

This movie isn't just bad -- it's literally so bad it's scary. The characters' horrible, dead-eyed faces, the scenes of the kid's unconscious mom being brain-drained by aliens, the aforementioned sweaty fat guy with Asperger's -- it's pure nightmare fuel. My normally-unflappable four-year-old boy held my hand in a death-grip of terror the entire time we were in front of the screen; after about twenty minutes, I asked him if he wanted to leave, and he was more than ready. "Too scary, Papa." Yeah, that's what I like to hear after spending $26 on tickets and popcorn! GG Zemeckis!

Showbiz is so effed. Hollywood (etc.) is full of hyper-talented, hyper-creative types who could make the world happy with their films and so forth, yet who toil away for years in go-nowhere jobs on the cubicle floors until they give up on the dream. Meanwhile, two floors up on the Executive Level, there are other people who are getting paid fortunes to make big decisions, yet who are completely incompetent to make those decisions. And yet they get paid anyway! Think about it: the Mouse dropped a cool hundred and fifty million bucks on this sinker. That's one hundred and fifty million buckadingdongs. It'll earn back maybe -- maybe! -- a tenth of that. Yet some guy in a suit who makes more in a year than I'll net in my entire lifetime signed off on it -- and they'll keep paying him that fortune even though he was wrong, wrong, wrong.

Now you tell me there's any justice in this world.

Oh, well, at least they shuttered Zemeckis' "animation" studio for good. Thanks for wasting my money and scaring my kid shitless, Disney! WTG!

Fukushima explained in a way that really speaks to me.

2011-03-17T10:42:00.000-05:00

Disney Kids Gone Wild

2011-03-16T16:14:00.006-05:00

First Britney Spears and then... all the rest, so it should come as no surprise that it'd happen to Vanessa Hudgens as well.

My significant other absolutely loves Disney, but we've yet to see the pop-fest that is the High School Musical series. Thanks to these not-so-squeaky clean pics I have no doubt that we'll give them a wide berth.

P.S. For those of you who had to Google Hudgens' name, she played Tintin in Jonathan Frakes' very mediocre re-visioning of Thunderbirds.

Survivor

2011-03-15T09:00:00.003-05:00

Cat Survives Tsunami On A Wall.

Fry channels Jones

2011-03-14T23:19:00.003-05:00

ABC was/is pretty lightweight stuff by any standard, exactly the sort of stuff I needed all this weekend. Something to relieve the overwhelming feeling of helplessness...
[DVC]

Unbelievable

2011-03-13T06:42:00.000-05:00

Japan 9.0: Aerial views of affected areas before and after tsunami.

9.0

2011-03-11T23:16:00.001-06:00

By now you all know the story. The video has to be seen to be believed. Sendai looks like a G--d---- nuclear bomb hit it -- unbelievable devastation. Our family and friends in Japan are all accounted for and safe, thank God, but as a survivor of a major earthquake myself (Northridge '94, 6.6) I can guarantee you they are scared. (Our Yuki is here in the USA, in Orlando, so she's safe.)

For continuous live steaming video, open NHK in a window and let it run. The shibō/fumei counter inset into the video image is bone-chilling, like Hell's scoreboard. As you monitor, keep an ear open for the phrase genshiryoko hatsuden-sho [原子力発電所, "nuclear power plant"]. They lost coolant pressure at the big plant near Sendai today. I'm a former nuclear power worker, and let me tell you that's a sphincter-clenchingly scary situation. For a reactor that big (1100 MW) to lose all coolant pressure to the core is a nightmare scenario. Fortunately it's an BWR (boiling water) type reactor, so even if the core runs dry it can't melt down Chernobyl-style; without water in the core to thermalize (slow down) the neutron flux from the rods, the reaction stops (steam being more or less neutron-transparent, stopping criticality in the core).

Unfortunately, if coolant flow stops, whatever is left in the reactor core is going to flash to hot steam at high pressure (about 500°F @ 1100 PSI) and it's gotta go somewhere. I guarantee you that they will vent the core to secondary containment (the reactor building and control areas, basically) to save the core and pipes from rupturing, and that building isn't airtight; some radioactive steam will get out (if it hasn't already). Result: the control room and everybody and everything in it are going to end up being contaminated.

And they are going to have to dump the steam in the containment building sooner or later Radioactive steam on top of the Hiroshima-level destruction... not pretty.

Give money to relief organizations if you can. Otherwise, please pray for the folks in Japan who are hurting tonight. There's really nothing else to do.

Not coming to Anime Network this fall

2011-03-09T17:38:00.003-06:00

"Little Gaza and the Seven Sparrows of Sorrow"

I wonder if they'll get Kasim's Grendaizer, too . . .

My Cup of Tea

2011-03-07T14:30:00.004-06:00

I am a tea novice, but this is a Japanese style and brand that I like*, and I recently found this very same 90-count package for $4.99 at Cub Foods -- whoo hoo!

*The mild flavor of Genmai pairs well with a wide variety of cuisine. Of course, it also makes me think of sushi and a certain Korean buffet . . .

GAAAAAH!

2011-03-04T10:02:00.003-06:00

More coverage of the Telenoid / Elfoid. These people are nuts...

"Brewery Death"

2011-03-03T13:58:00.002-06:00

Interesting article at Slate.

I've never been to Germany, but by the time I get there I wonder how many of the original regional breweries will be left . . .

Electric Rolls-Royce

2011-03-03T13:41:00.004-06:00

Worth watching this video just to hear the accent of the Austrian guy...

Spam of the Month! Noiseless in the Oblivion

2011-03-03T13:07:00.000-06:00

Our comment policy here at Psychommu Gaijin has always been to encourage comments. And as we've used and abused pen names to print anything and everything without fear we extend that freedom to anybody who sent us angry screeds and hate mail. If you wanted to remain anonymous you could. We've let anybody comment anonymously to the PG blog, something you can't do on Facebook. Instead of encouraging debate, we mostly get spam. So, every couple of days I clean out the spam filters, and today I found this gem:

"Oh my god!!! This is so exceedingly incredibly amazing. Couldn't thought that something as riveting as this was noiseless in the oblivion. Your in smithereens of ascend is good astounding. buy v__gr_ pills Congo dude!!!" - Posted by Anonymous.

"Good astounding," indeed.

Get yer fresh, hot Remakes!

2011-03-03T13:02:00.004-06:00

Robocop and Blade Runner.

Yo, Hollywood! Buy a clue -- the ideas emanating from your immediate zipcode suck, and there's talent coming up in the world with fresh takes on alien/monster/robot invasion flicks, along with some of the best (and low-budget at that) execution.

Bankroll a few of these and you might be able to get your profitability back. Until then, there's a reason why BluRay and DVD sales are tanking.

Sheesh.

2011 Movie Previews... yawn

2011-03-01T16:49:00.005-06:00

Not that I'm looking forward to anything, but...

Real Steel. Hollywood rips off ideas from Anime yet again! Sunrise and the author of Prawres Sanshiro should sue~!

Thoughts on some other upcoming flickers:

blacktino
Sensitive types like my S.O. might find it a little racy for PG-13, but it otherwise looks like a somewhat endearing film with hip, Indie cache.

Certified Copy
A foreign film (but in the English language) with chick flick written all-over it. This year's "Bread and Tulips".

Monsters
Released last year, good luck finding this in your local Stadium-style theater. Looks smarter-than-average for a low-budget SF/monster invasion flick, of which there have been a lot of bigger-budget stinkers lately (Skyline, Battle: L.A., and the upcoming "Super 8" from the overly-praised crew of Bad Robot studio.)

Prom
A.k.a. "Disney's Prom". This one looks funny and rather harmless, but we know what Disney's like these days, so it'll probably suck big-time.

100 Yen Trailer

2011-02-26T13:04:00.004-06:00

It's kinda cool to know that arcade culture is still happenin' in Japan -- not so much over here in the U.S. of A!

100 YEN: The Japanese Arcade Experience from Strata Studios on Vimeo.

H/T Laughing Squid

P.S. Look for the "Great Gatsby NES game", a real bonus time-waster : )

"What do I do?"

2011-02-25T11:07:00.003-06:00

"I find that whole process alienating, since I have no idea what I am getting, or what to do with it. Do I use the kimchi as a condiment? What did they do to those sprouts? What do I do with this food?"

You've gotta be kidding me, right? At the risk of sullying my reputation as a Gentleman (but throwin' down with my Dobbsian street cred):

YOU EAT THE HELL OUTTA 'EM!

Here's the entry at City Pages.