The Boy and the Heron In World War II Japan, a boy is guided by an annoying heron into a mysterious alternate reality, to find his father’s new wife and aunt. The heron wasn’t really annoying, except in the first few scenes, where he’s lightly terrorizing and gangstalking Mahito and taking dumps on his windowsill. … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 44
The Secret of Kells In an isolated monastery in medieval Ireland, and orphan helps prepare for a barbarian Viking invasion, alongside a legendary script illuminator and a mysterious forest fairy. An animated film for children that isn’t from Hollywood, Disney, Netflix, or Studio Ghibli…though it was distributed by GKIDS Films. At first I thought it … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 37
Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV Nyx Ulric and the Kingsglaive, the special forces of King Regis, protect the kingdom of Lucis and its crown city, Insomnia, from the attacks and deceptions Emperor Iedolas Aldercapt and his military empire, Niflheim. That’s too many unusual proper names for a one-sentence summary, but whatever, because the movie was damn … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 32
Cowboy Bebop (2021) Let’s get this out of the way, first: this was bad, to no one’s surprise, but I gave it the ol’ three-episode college try. The original 1998 series was storytelling perfection and accepted as such by a wide margin of viewers and critics, so any kind of reboot is not only unnecessary, … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 28
Fist of the North Star Post-apocalyptic 80’s kung fu, with a really dated English dub; Full movie here, with a protagonist so badass, he walks through a building as it falls on top of him, and tables randomly explode when he’s ready to fight. There probably wouldn’t have been JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure if this wasn’t … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movies and Series Reviews, Part 20
The Secret of NIMH Leading with the best, again! But not just the best of the batch, but the best of all time. Don Bluth’s all-hand-drawn masterpiece about a widowed field mouse, her sick son, and her discovery of super smart rats who figured out how to use (steal) electricity, and their Amulet of Concentrated … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movie and Series Reviews, Part 17
The story below is a work of fiction. He went on a date. It was illegal in 40 states, maybe theirs. She texted if he wanted her to wear a mask but he forgot to reply. She wore a headscarf but no not for religious reasons. Her family was from the Maghreb but she looked … Story: Quarantine II
The story below is a work of fiction. Top link in my news story feed was a travel blogger having to file for unemployment because of COVID-19. Imagine being an “influencer.” Calling yourself that. What to put on the census, what do you tell people at parties. Practice saying it in front of the mirror … Story: Quarantine
An anime-only special post! Cowboy Bebop Leading with the absolute best! There’s a reason this is rated 8.9 on IMDB, 8.9 on TV.com, 100% and 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, 4.9 on Google, etc. A haphazard crew of bounty hunters try to make it in life and space. They’re not terribly great at their job, they … Sci-fi and Fantasy Movie and Series Reviews, Part 7
Spoilers ahoy…though this post will be totally uninteresting if you haven’t seen the series already. The Netflix series Lost Song has literal cycles of civilization as its overarching practical plot element. The cycles of destruction and rebirth of the series’ Earth-like planet feature repeating timelines—with repeating people, events, places—that only have a mild range of … Lost Song’s Timelines Explained (Maybe)
It’s the calculation problem. Always has, always will be: By arbitrarily changing existing markets for internet service, regulators risk corrupting the fragile preconditions necessary for firms and consumers to calculate rationally, and the incentives necessary to lure investment and risk-laden innovative enterprises. The result could be excess demand in the market for internet service if … Net Neutrality Is Still Retarded
Due to screen fatigue…at least in the United Kingdom: “I wouldn’t say that the ebook dream is over but people are clearly making decisions on when they want to spend time with their screens,” says Stephen Lotinga, chief exeutive of the Publishers Association, which published its annual yearbook on Thursday. “There is generally a sense … Ebook Sales Trend Downward
I can hear my heartbeat in my left ear. A heart can go at any time, and you’re gone. If you’re lucky, you expired on the sofa and your corpse can binge watch the next eight seasons of the Gilmore Girls Netflix revival. Spoiler: Rory will have a few dozen more babies out of wedlock … I Don’t Know What This Is
While doing research for Pale Blue Scratch, on ballet and dancing in general, I came upon this video while following rabbit trails on Google. It’s the intro for a series I had watched a few years ago on Netflix, before one of their anime purges. I have no reason for posting it, other than I … Dancing Mechas
I normally pay no attention to legislative news because, as Michael Corleone said, politics and crime are the same thing. Inordinately fixating on the schemes of social deviants does not reside in the realm of the sane. But since the issue of net neutrality has some personal impact as a software engineer, I have some … Net Neutrality is a Bad Idea