ヒゲ&!

Back in the Saddle & New Anime Season

2009-10-06T21:35:00.003-05:00

It's been a while since I blogged, but lately I've felt the need to have an online presence again, specifically relating to my areas of interest: namely Japanese culture and Religion. So I've cleaned up the ol' blog, applied a new skin, and am now setting forth to be the blogger I've always wanted to be.

So in keeping with this theme, it's only right, I think to talk about the new anime season. Thus far, I've only seen two episodes of anything, and neither one was something to write home about ... despite the fact that that's kind of what I'm doing now.

Kampfer

What's the anime world without gender-bending, voluptuous schoolgirls, and a touch of yuri? Perhaps a little better off. In any case, Kampfer has it all: the guy who suddenly has a mysterious bracelet on his wrist which randomly changes him into a busty girl who can shoot fire; some as-yet-unexplained impetus for him and girls like him to fight; a love interest who is apparently a lesbian and only interested in the main character as a girl. Yeah ... if you can't figure out who the target audience is for this one, you're probably not smart enough to be browsing the internet anyways. It should go without saying that this show is going to have to do something AMAZING to keep me interested.

The Sacred Blacksmith

Medieval swordfighting your thing? Girls with formed-into-breasts armor more your style? Then look no further than The Sacred Blacksmith. Don't get me wrong, this one has the potential to be passingly interesting, but for the most part exudes quite the aura of "meh." Blah blah, girl knight who's never fought before, blah blah, magical katana-weilding blacksmith with an elven companion, blah blah, giant demonic monsters. Suffice to say the first episode didn't suck me in, but I'm still open to see where this one goes.

Honorable Mention: InuYasha - The Final Chapter

This one is out, but hasn't been fansubbed. Oh, it's been Viz-subbed, but not fansubbed. Depending on how this plays out, it could signify the beginning of the end of fansubbing. I haven't lost my faith yet in the fansubbing community, but InuYasha could be the dealbreaker.

That out of the way, the only way to describe this show is that it's InuYasha. Continued. No recap, no review. They just jump right in where they left off, except this time at a breakneck speed. If you liked InuYasha before (and fyi, I did), then you'll like these final chapters.

Book Recommendation: The Quest For Holiness

2009-03-09T21:26:00.003-05:00

So the thing about Seminary is that each of your classes require a HUGE and VAST amount of reading. Now if you're uber-study book guy, then no sweat. You can read and read and read and do it quickly enough so that you have time to get it all done AND still have what passes for a social life in Seminary.

But if you're like me and have video-gamed yourself into A.D.D. while in college, then the reading doesn't always get done. Usually, it's okay because you can learn what you need in class and still get a decent idea of what the book says with some skimming. But then there's the occasional book, that when you talk about it in class, you say to yourself, "I really wish I had the time to read that." Thank God for vicarage.

I've kept those books that I wanted to go back and read someday and brought them to Mobile in hopes that I would actually read some of them. And first and foremost on my list is "The Quest for Holiness" by a guy named Koberle. I've started working through the book, and while it's some pretty heavy reading (I'm working myself out of ADD through reading, but I'm not sure I was ready for something this heavy yet) it's really a GREAT book.

Koberle in this book describes all of man's efforts to achieve holiness, how they all fall short, and how God has taken matters into his own hands. Then, if I recall from class, he swings back around and shows how Sanctification is not synergism or anything like that, but is 100% God and 100% us. Fascinating stuff. I look forward to getting to those portions.

But already where I am in the book, Koberle's done some great stuff. If you've ever wanted to know how Christianity is different from every other religion in the world, then you should check out this book.

I'll try to remember to get back with full reaction once I finish.

Sometimes, Getting Caught Up Is A Bad Thing...

2009-03-05T19:37:00.002-06:00

Finished getting caught up with Toradora! today. Now I have to wait a week like everyone else until the next ep comes out. Drat!

What is it about high school love stories? Or, I suppose, Japanese high school love stories. I not much one for the American ones. But for some reason, the Japanese ones just suck me in.

Here I am, going about my business, watching a funny anime with quirky characters and WHAM! All of a sudden, it's a drama and I find that I actually CARE about what happens to these characters. This is PRECISELY the problem I've been having with Naruto lately.

In any case, I think in my initial reaction to the first few eps of Toradora!, I made mention of a couple of the main characters being two-dimensional. Well, that's no longer the case. Those characters have now been fleshed out pretty well, and, as I said, I find myself caring about the story.

But going back to my initial question: what is it about Japanese high school love stories? If you haven't noticed, the vast majority of anime/manga take place in high school. So what is it about those years? Is it the first time kids have real relationships? Is it because you have an excuse for people seeing and interacting with each other on a daily basis? Is it because it's a period of life with a definite end? I don't know. But for some reason, in anime/manga, they work pretty well. And when you have characters as in Toradora!, well, it gains the ability to suck in the random passerby.

So well done, Toradora! I now have another anime to follow. Keep up the good work.

My Thoughts on My New MBP

2009-03-04T22:22:00.004-06:00

So I've now had my MacBook Pro for a few weeks now, and I realized that I haven't really posted any reaction to it. I thought about doing a proper review ... but that sounds like it'd be too much work to do it properly. So I'll just give you a few thoughts on the good and the bad.

First of all, the trackpad is AMAZING! It really IS something that takes some getting used to. It took me a couple days. But once you get used to it, there is NO going back. The sheer ease of clicking anywhere, the multi-touch, all of it. Navigating the web is amazing with the two-fingered scroll. Reading manga is a dream because of the pinch-zoom-thing. And the best part about the multi-gestures is that it knows when you want to use them and when you don't. For instance, the bottom part of the track-pad is more "clickable" than the top. So when I want to drag a file, I can click on the bottom with one finger, and then drag with another finger, and it knows that's what I'm doing and doesn't try to scroll or zoom or whatever. Great stuff. Well done, Apple.

And of course I got it all souped up with the fastest proc (at the time) and all that, so I can do anything from video editing to watching HD anime, all while having Safari, Adium, Entourage, iTunes, and Vuze running in the background. Truly great stuff.

I also installed WindowsXP on it with BootCamp (I know, I feel properly dirty for doing so) so I could play Windows games (something I've been sorely missing). And I've installed Portal, HL2, and Supreme Commander thus far, and the MBP handles them all like a pro. Way better than my native Windows box I had previously. The graphics card in this thing can handle whatever the current gaming scene can throw at it.

The only thing that is sort of a negative with the thing would be the heat issue. It hasn't really overheated, but one must realize that the entire bottom of the laptop is the heatsink. The way it's designed to work (I had to think hard about this, since I couldn't readily find any fan outlets) is that air blows down out of the joint between the keyboard and the screen in such a way that it is supposed to hit whatever hard, flat surface the laptop is sitting on and then blow across the bottom of the laptop, cooling it down. Where this hits a snag, then, is when the laptop is ... on my lap. The air isn't directed properly, and if I'm doing anything processor-intensive, the bottom of the laptop heats up pretty quickly. In such cases, my flesh of my leg becomes the new heatsink. :-P

But overall, it is a REALLY nice laptop. Sturdy. Dependable. Fast. All the things you'd come to expect from a Mac. And as I said, once you learn the multi-touch trackpad, you'll be hard-pressed to go back to a normal trackpad. (My Pastor brought in his laptop for me to look at a problem it was having, and I tried to click the trackpad and was confused for a second when nothing happened. It just becomes that natural.) A recommended purchase for anyone looking for a powerhouse in a manageable and portable package.

On an unrelated note, I'm catching up on Toradora!, since I can watch HD anime with no hassle again. I'll post more about that when I get fully caught up ... maybe. And more on Naruto as the plot unfolds. Ja ne!

There's a Disturbance in the Force ...

2009-02-28T10:51:00.003-06:00

... as if millions of Naruto fans cried out in one voice: "WTF?!" And then were immediately engulfed in flame wars.

Seriously, Naruto manga 437 was HUGE. I won't spoil it here, but ... well, *I'm* still working through the roller coaster of emotions that was this chapter. And I'm not that emotional a person, at least when it comes to fictional characters.

So if you're a Naruto fan and AREN'T current with the manga, I'd highly recommend you get that way. Not sure whether you will admire Kishimoto-sensei for his brilliance or want to kill him after getting current (I'm not sure *I* know which to choose [but leaning toward the killing]), but you should definitely read it.

A New Project Undertaken

2009-02-23T19:49:00.003-06:00

So I got this crazy idea to make an AMV for each song in Dr. Horrible. Decided I'd make it into a project. So I did. Even created its own website: http://horribleamv.blogspot.com. If you're interested, check it out. I've already started working on my first AMV for this project, and as I get them done, I'll update on the Horrible AMV Project blog. Enjoy!

On another note ... sorry for not updating. Getting ready for Lent + a new MacBook Pro distracting me = falling behind on the blogging. I'll try to do better.

Kannagi - Sometimes, even gods forget who they are.

2009-01-26T16:52:00.002-06:00

So with the Who Scarf done and nothing else pressing, I finally got to do some much-needed anime catch-up today, starting with finishing off Kannagi.

The anime was 13 episodes, and was a fun one to watch, although in my opinion, the sexual jokes/themes were a bit TOO overdone. But overall, a good sort of harem/gag comedy.

***SPOILER WARNING***

What was especially interesting for me, though, was how the whole shinto god thing was done throughout the series. There were some fascinating themes presented in the midst of this lighthearted anime: local deities tied to the land, the necessity of praise for gods to function, etc. The most interesting, though, turned out to be the sort of "final conflict" which the series built to. All through the series, Jin has been curious as to Nagi's identity and her mission. Nagi has always brushed him off or avoided the questions, but one day, in episode 11, Jin puts his foot down and insists upon some answers. Is Nagi really a god? Why does she have to capture impurities? What would happen if she didn't? Why does she have to live at Jin's house? Nagi runs off in a fit. But over the course of the next episode or so, we find out a troubling truth: Nagi doesn't even know. She's got instincts and intuition, but she doesn't really know who she is. The resolution comes when Jin catches up to her and accepts her as she is. Jin says something to the effect that he doesn't really know who he is yet, so the two of them can figure out who they are together.

Interesting, no? Japan certainly has had and continues to have some issues with identity. Individuals attempt to derive their identity from the clubs they're in, the fashions they wear, the company they work at, the family they're a part of, etc. Young people especially seem to be searching for a source of identity, as can be seen with all the subcultures that have been cropping up lately: otaku, harajuku, goth loli, mamba, etc. Young people in Japan are searching for who they are. And even as a nation in the midst now of economic turmoil and with more and more culture being imported from the West, Japan as a nation seems to have lost its identity and is searching for it again. Emblematic of this would be Nagi, a Shinto god who's forgotten who she is. She *thinks* she's a god. She has the instincts and some powers, but no memories, no proof of her identity. She, like Japan, has somehow lost her identity.

What's the solution? Let's find our identity together. A positive, encouraging (if ultimately idealistic, and without Christ, futile) message to the youth of Japan found in the midst of a harem/gag comedy anime. Well done, Kannagi. Well done.

Doctor Who Scarf Milestone

2009-01-19T23:21:00.003-06:00

Today I finished the knitting of my Who Scarf!

... okay, did that sink in yet? I'll give you some more time ...

So w00t! The knitting on the Who Scarf is done! It feels amazing to have knitted a 8-10ft long scarf (which will eventually be stretched and tasseled to be more like 13ft). A major accomplishment, if I do say so myself.

Now, on to the finishing of the scarf. I've already started dealing with the ends of the yarn from where I changed colors. I've got to weave each of those strands into the main scarf. And after that, I've got to get a bit more yarn and make tassels for both of the ends. Then the final thing I'll do is actually block out the scarf so that it's stretched to its full length (a process which involves stretching, wetting, and letting it dry). So if all goes well, I'll have a fully-functional Tom Baker Doctor Who Scarf within a week or two.

It's been a long time coming ... but it's totally going to be worth it.

Dark Knight All Over Again

2009-01-15T22:22:00.003-06:00

Heard on the radio today that they're bringing Dark Knight back into the theaters. I thought it sounded like a really silly idea. I mean, the DVD/BD's already out. Are they THAT desperate to keep milking it for more money? But then I realized something else...

I would totally go see it again.

Tri-Movie Revue -or- The Meaninglessness of Life Without Christ

2009-01-06T21:23:00.002-06:00

Okay, to be fair, I'll be looking at two movies and an episode of Azumanga Daioh, but really, who's counting?

Looking back over my posts recently, I've talked a lot about my own musings (mostly complaints) but have shied away recently from any Japanese/Anime-related posts. But as I was watching an episode of Azumanga Daioh the other day, it reminded me of - it gave off the same vibes as - two movies which are really the same movie set in different cultures. The first was Kuuchuu Teien, hereafter referred to as "Hanging Garden." The second, likely more familiar to most of you, was American Beauty. What tied all of these together in my mind was the problem with which they dealt, the issue with which they struggled, the solution they were unable to find. Each of these three confronted head-on the meaning of life. Or perhaps more helpfully phrased, finding meaning in life. So I'd like to explore these three works, considering what each adds to the discussion.

Beware. Spoilers follow for all three.

Azumanga Daioh 19

In this episode, Kurosawa Minamo (Nyamo), one of the teachers at the high school asks the big question: what is she doing with her life. Earlier in the series, we've had hints that within the last couple years she had a rather serious boyfriend, but the relationship ended badly, leaving Nyamo single (and providing her colleague Tanizaki Yukari plenty of material for comical blackmail). The episode then begins with Nyamo's mother calling, trying to subtly pressure her into an arranged marriage. Nyamo is hesitant, to which her mother responds that she's not going to be young forever. This gives Nyamo something to think about for the rest of the episode. Her situation is brought into stark contrast later in the episode when she and Yukari go to a restaurant to catch up with one of their old classmates. This classmate is now successfully climbing the corporate ladder and presents herself at all times like a proper businesswoman. In contrast, Nyamo and Yukari seem rather childish, still single with their teaching jobs. Their friend invites a couple of guys to join them for the purpose of setting the teacher pair up with some good matches. We never see the guys, but rather the next time we see the teachers, it's obvious that Yukari made some sort of rude remark that ruined such a set up. And although Nyamo complains to Yukari about it, it's evident that she is not too broken up about the ruined opportunity. By the end of the episode, the feeling seems to be "well, maybe I have to grow up, but not yet." (The plot following the high school girls, specifically Kagura, ends with the same sort of tone.)

And that's the answer which the episode gives to the question of meaning. It's plainly communicated that society expects each of the characters (all girls) to marry, have a family, and be mature adults. This is where meaning is supposed to lie. But none of the characters (teachers included) fit into this stereotype. Instead, each character in their own way rebels against such an idea. (Kagura even comments that she can't see herself in such a life.) But is that okay? Can meaning be found in life apart from the expectations of family and society? Is it just as meaningful to be a single high school P.E. teacher as it is to be a successful businesswoman? The characters don't see value in the status quo, but neither do they see value in rejecting it. And thus, they're stuck and must avoid the question altogether.

American Beauty

If you haven't seen this movie, go do so now. I'm not going to describe the plot, since it's a feature-length film. I really shouldn't have even done so for the Azumanga Daioh episode, but whatever. From now on, I'll assume you've seen this movie (same goes for Hanging Garden).

This movie is about the search for meaning in life for a group of people surrounding the family of the late Lester. Lester finds escape from his dead-end corporate job by extorting his business and living out his fantasies (no matter how childish or lecherous) with the money he gets. Everything he does after his enlightenment is to gratify himself. This is where he derives meaning.

His wife finds escape from her mediocre family in the success of her business and in the affair she's having with her biggest competitor. By day she's a powerful businesswoman who rules over all she sees, and by night she's completely dominated and submissive to "the King." Her meaning is found not in being a strong woman, but in giving that up to be dominated by a strong man.

The daughter finds escape from the social pressures of her sex-crazed cheerleader friend and her pervy father in a real relationship (including sex) with the new boy next door who truly understands her and treats her as beautiful. Her meaning is derived from her boyfriend's value of her.

The other characters are worth mentioning, too: the homophobic ex-military neighbor who fears his own homosexual urges. The sex-crazed attention-starved cheerleader who, despite her kiss-and-tell stories, is still a virgin.

And the new boy next door. Now the boy next door is interesting because the movie presents him as having the only real solution to the question of where to find meaning. He finds meaning in finding beauty in the simplest things of life. A leaf dancing in the wind is beautiful. His naked girlfriend is beautiful (once she drops all facades). His room, in fact, is FILLED with video tapes of things he thought were beautiful. His philosophy is to find beauty before life flutters away. And he is the only one still standing on his own at the end of the film.

Because Lester's self-indulgence leads to his own murder. The wife's affair leaves her abandoned and powerless. The daughter forsakes her family to be with her boyfriend (the one who "gets it"). The homophobe resorts to murder after his homosexual feelings for Lester are rejected. The cheerleader is unable to lose her innocence. Thus, the message of the move - the answer it comes up with to the question of meaning - is that you simply must find beauty in an otherwise brief and meaningless existence.

Hanging Garden

So now imagine American Beauty, but set in Japan with a Japanese family and the struggles for meaning common in Japan. Imagine the family where the father is a weak man who can't get any from his wife and thus resorts to several "s-friends." ("Sex friends" for those of you not familiar with Japanese terminology.) The daughter finds hope in a new mall being built near her house and the prospect of finding the right man to deflower her. She wants to have sex, but can't get any because none of the boys she knows are both strong enough to dominate her and weak enough to allow her to assert any freedom of her own. The son finds meaning in the virtual world, shutting himself off relationally from his family and the real world. Even when his smokin' hot tutor (who is also one of the father's s-friends) takes him to a "love hotel" (just what it sounds like), he's more interested in a room without windows than the sexy woman lying on the bed. The mother finds meaning in the success of her family. As long as her family is the picture of perfection, she has value and meaning as a mother and a housewife - no matter what sort of evil backstabbing plot she has to undertake to make it happen.

In this movie, the grandmother is the one who knows where to find meaning. She finds it in the relationships she has with her family. But even her foundation is shaken when her daughter's family begins to fall apart and when the relationships cannot thrive because of the pretenses which everyone must adopt to get along. When those pretenses are removed, everything blows up. Everyone's basis for meaning is shattered. The father's escapades are exposed. The daughter fails to bag a good man (and the mall development is cancelled). The son is forced to deal with the family's real-world issues. The grandmother's relationships are strained. The mother's family harmony is completely nonexistent.

Oddly enough, the movie ends on a positive note. The mother is "reborn" and begins to see her family not as a trophy for the perfect housewife, but as her family. And the family refocuses and begins to derive its value from their relationships with each other again. And there's hope that harmony will be restored.

But as I watched the end of this movie, in the back of my mind I knew: the problem's not solved. It will all happen again. Nothing has changed from the beginning of the movie. Rather, the equilibrium which existed before the movie started (indicated by the photos of the family having fun together at a theme park when the children were small) has been restored. They are no better off, and more than likely, it would all happen again.

What does this mean?

Each of these is an attempt to explore the question of from where or what meaning in life is derived. Azumanga ended up avoiding the problem. American Beauty promoted finding beauty in a meaningless life. Hanging Garden held on to the family as the basis of meaning. But none of these answers are satisfying. None of these answers will get you through the tough times. At some time or other, each of these answers will fail you.

Each of these pictures are a cry from their creators asking for meaning. They cry out, each in their own cultural context, wanting an answer. And then they present the best they can do. But the best they can do is not good enough. Meaning cannot be derived from anything in this life.

Except for Christ. Only in Christ is your meaning based on something that doesn't change. Only in Christ is your meaning based on something that won't let you down. Only in Christ does the Creator of the Universe Himself say to you, "You are my beloved child. That's all you ever will be. That's all you ever have to be." Only in Christ is your identity based on God's promise rather than man's performance. Only in Christ can one truly find a satisfying meaning to life.

And the implications are pretty clear. The scary thing about these movies is that the characters contained within represent real people. Real people are even now trying to find meaning in all of the places explored in these pictures. And those people need Christ. America needs Christ. Japan needs Christ. So those of us who have Christ need to get our act together. We need to get out there and find these people without meaning. We need to take Christ to those who are perishing. Can't find any of those people? Well, here are three great places to get an idea of what they look like.

Wii Are Doing Well

2009-01-05T22:46:00.005-06:00

I tried to find Wii Fit today, but to no avail. The darn thing is sold out. I guess I won't be losing weight while playing video games for another week.

But while looking for Wii Fit, I noticed something else: there weren't any Wii's either. Here it is 2009 and there STILL aren't any Wii's in stores. The thing's been out since November 2006 and Nintendo still can't make enough to keep up with demand. Say what you will about the Wii and about its library of games, but the peoples love it. Perhaps it's the fact that it's innovative. Perhaps it's the fact that it's cheap(er). Perhaps it's the fact that it has Mario, Zelda, Metroid, and Smash Bros. Or perhaps it's the fact that there are like a million crappy kiddie minigame collections and parents just love to buy them for their kids.

I remember the good old days: the days when parents didn't buy their kids Nintendos. I was only given one console (a SNES, btw) by my parents, and it was because my sisters and I said one Christmas that we wanted to put together our "big gift" in order to get one console. The rest of my consoles (and they are numerous), I bought. From the used NES I got in 5th grade to the Wii I got at launch, I've bought them all.

Before Christmas, I went to Best Buy to get some Wiimotes so that I had an even 4, and in the Wii section I encountered some confused parents. They were apparently buying their child a Wii, several controllers, Mario Kart, extra Wii wheels, and classic controllers. Add all that up, you're looking at $400-500. That. Is. Ridiculous. (Especially in this economy) And on top of it, they didn't even know what they were doing. They had to ask me if extra Wiimotes came with protective jackets or whether they had to buy some extra. I guarantee that if I had said that they didn't come with jackets, they would've bought extras without a second thought. What the heck? (This phenomenon of parents blindly buying things for their kids and what it says about their investment in their child's leisure time should probably be explored in another post. But not now.)

So maybe this is why the Wii is doing well. It's sold itself to parents who have too much money to throw at their kids' free time. And now proper gamers like myself can't find Wii Fit to save our lives. Thanks a lot, rich, doting parents!

A Touch of Perspective

2009-01-01T23:39:00.003-06:00

Just goes to show how quickly things change. I was watching a Looney Tunes marathon today and got bent out of shape over a bit of censoring I noticed in one of the cartoons, and was all prepared to vent about it on my blog when my mom called and told me that the father of a good friend of mine had suddenly died in a freak accident at the gym. And suddenly my disgust at Looney Tunes censorship didn't seem so all-fire important anymore. Suddenly I had prayers to pray and people to contact so that they could pray. Suddenly one of my friends lost his dad.

Perspective for the evening:

Life is short. Give God your all. Give others God's all. Do it now!

On Knitting and the Church

2009-01-01T13:43:00.002-06:00

So looking back over my last few posts, I realize I've been very dismal in my outlook on this blog. Don't get me wrong, these posts have been genuine thoughts I've had, but I suppose I've only posted when my thoughts were, well, dismal. I assure you I'm not as without hope as my blog would lead you to believe. I've always got hope that God can change the situations and issues that I've complained about. After all, which is more powerful, God or culture? I submit it is the former.

In any case, this post is not dismal. It is actually something that's struck me over the past few months as I've been learning to knit. Okay, before you start doubting my manhood, I'm knitting a Doctor Who scarf. The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) always wore a looooooong scarf, and I thought it would be cool to have one. However, the internet failed me on this one and I decided it would be easier and cheaper to make my own scarf. This proved to be untrue, but as I'd already started on the thing, I'm going to see it through to its completion. So rather than doubting my manhood, be impressed at my nerdiness ... if that's any better.

Anyhow, as I've been knitting, it's really struck me just how ingenious knitting is. I mean here you take a strand of yarn, loop it around itself a few times, and you get fabric (in my case, a scarf). It's really amazing how taking something like yarn and organizing it into a structure changes its properties. All of a sudden, the yarn is stronger, stretchier, warmer, etc. You've not chemically changed the yarn, but just reorganized it. Amazing, really. Whoever came up with knitting, my hats off to them. Truly an under-appreciated genius.

And then I started thinking of how knitting is kind of what the Holy Spirit does in the church. (Yes, I'm hopelessly a Lutheran pastor [in training]. Deal with it.) One strand of yarn can be broken pretty easily by me pulling on it. But my scarf cannot. One strand of yarn isn't very stretchy, but my scarf is. One strand of yarn has very limited usage, but my scarf has a number of uses. In the same way, one Christian by himself is easy to break, unable to be stretched and has a limited number of uses. But when that Christian is woven into the Church by the Holy Spirit, there's no end to what can be done. For the Church is strong, flexible, and quite useful. I could go on with the analogy, but I think you get the point. Whoever came up with knitting: a freakin' genius! ;-)

とんずらこいて！

2008-12-30T23:30:00.005-06:00

So I caught up with one of my friends from high school today. And by "caught up" I mean that I saw that he had written an interesting note on Facebook, which then led to my Facebook stalking him to answer the age-old question: "whatever became of so-and-so?" Come to find out my friend who I hadn't talked to in years that graduated with me from a high school in rural(ish) Arkansas is now living somewhere in Northern Africa (Egypt maybe?) doing who knows what, but probably (knowing him) having to do with something religious and missional.

All of this caused me to think of my own life and where I am. At first, my thought was that my life isn't nearly as exciting as his and that I wish my own life were more exciting. But upon further reflection, I found that this was not really true. After all, life is as exciting as you make it and living in Mobile, AL as a vicar is nothing to sneeze at.

My subsequent thought, then, is the one that stuck with me and has caused this post: I'm so terribly American. The American stench pervades my language, my culture, my worldview, my life. Individualism is all I know, tolerance is my primary value, and self-centeredness is how I roll. And perhaps this thought is merely a culmination of the thoughts bubbling forth in my last few posts, but I am truly disgusted with myself in this respect.

I don't want to be American. I want to be Christian. (Not American Christian. This is a merging of American ideals and Christian teachings that is so mismatched and wonky that it really doesn't work. It's like Christians trying to believe in Evolution. The two just can't mix coherently.) I want to have a perspective that is not centered on America, but on Christ. I want to be able to think like God's child and not like his spoiled brat. I don't want to be American.

And to achieve this, I must go. I've got to get out of here and be someplace different. Someplace where people don't think like me. Someplace where people are waiting to hear the Gospel proclaimed in their cultural context. I must go!

But instead, I'm jumping through hoops. I'm jumping through the hoop of Seminary. Then I'll have to jump through the LCMS World Mission hoop. Maybe somewhere in there I'll have to jump through the more graduate school and doctorate hoops. Even then, I'll have to jump through the which-churches-are-we-friends-with hoop, the funding hoop, and others. And while I'm jumping through hoops, my friends are already out there, making a difference. And that frustrates me to no end.

And so I sit here tonight frustrated. Frustrated that I'm hopelessly American. Frustrated that I'm not out there. Frustrated that I can't hardly see the end for the hoops.

So I pray that the Father would give me patience, that he will send me where I can proclaim his Word, that he will make me less American and more like Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

On Animal Crossing and Life, the Universe, and Everything

2008-11-30T22:48:00.002-06:00

So I've found myself rather engaged in the new Animal Crossing game for Wii. If you've read any reviews, you know that it's pretty much the DS game with a few new shinies, but I still find it fun. Such being the case, I've been thinking about the nature of its appeal and what the game says about life in general.

Okay ... before you give me that look for associating Animal Crossing with the meaning of life, hear me out. Animal Crossing, for any who don't know, is a Nintendo-developed life game. As in, a game in which you live life. The town in which you find yourself is filled with animal people to keep you company, and via WiFi, you can always go visit one of your friends in his/her town.

But playing AC makes you ask an important question: "What's the point?" No, I'm not talking in a "meaning of life" sense (yet) but more of a "goal of the game" sense. What is the goal of life in AC? In the end, the point is to get money so you can have a nice home, nice stuff, and a nice town. That's the point. That's what it all comes down to.

Now comes the transition from virtual to real. If that is the point of the game, what does that say about the game designer's view of real life? If the game is (loosely) based on real life, are the goals of the game seen as the same goals of real life? It scares me to think it, but I can only conclude that the game more or less reflects the outlook of the one who designed it. And that being the case, how sad is that? How sad is a life without purpose?

So then, is life without purpose? Or is the purpose of life simply to get as much stuff as you can? Is it to make your town a better place by planting trees and building bridges? As a Christian, I can answer these questions with a resounding "no," but at the same time, I know there are people who think along these lines. Perhaps money is not the ultimate goal, but rather it's relationships. Perhaps it's living according to a moral code. Perhaps it's notoriety. Whatever it is, ultimately it amounts to nothing, just as the bells (the currency) of Animal Crossing ultimately count for nothing.

But my musings didn't end there. I thought of the AC the game. Why is the ultimate goal to get money and make your town better? Because the game designer made it so. Since the game designer created the world of AC, he got to define the parameters for success, as well as set up the word to give opportunity to players for achieving success. AC is designed so that players driven to make money succeed at the game, while players who don't have that drive don't progress as well.

In this way, AC is more or less the same as the real world. For the real world, too, has a Creator. And as that Creator, he has defined the parameters for success: trusting in him, and consequently obeying his commands. And he has set up the world so that it presents opportunities for success. And so life has a purpose - faith in Christ - as outlined by the Creator.

And that is one thing that Christianity has to offer the rest of the world: purpose. We know the Designer. He's revealed how he's set everything up. Rather than trying to invent our own purpose, we follow the purpose around which the world was made.

Quite a lot to think about from a silly animal game from Nintendo.

Times, They Are A-Changin'

2008-11-22T10:45:00.002-06:00

Today (or I suppose yesterday) marks a huge shift in anime here in America. Dattebayo has announced that it will DROP Naruto Shippuuden, effective January 15th. (You can read the press release here.) The long-time-Naruto fansubbing group has decided to do this because Viz will be offering subbed versions of Shippuuden streamed for free on their website only a week after the show airs in Japan. Also, Crunchyroll will be offering streamed versions of Shippuuden for a small fee almost immediately after the airing in Japan. This is huge and marks a turning point in how anime is done here in America.

I have friends that have been into anime since the days of copied VHS fansubs, but I got into fansubbed anime right on the tail end of the last big shift: the shift to internet distribution with the advent of broadband. When I started downloading fansubs, the majority of internet connections were still not broadband, but the change was occurring rather rapidly. Within a few years, the change was complete - most people had broadband internet connections. With this shift, anime fansubs shifted, too. The primary mode of distribution became the internet. Quality shot up. When I began downloading fansubs, 320x240 was the typical resolution. With broadband, this went up to 640x480 and beyond. Distribution methods shifted from KaZaA and LimeWire to Bittorrent. Fansubs became quicker and of higher-quality with regards to translations and typesetting and karaokes for the OP and ED. Broadband refined the fansub to the point where many releases rivaled professional DVD quality.

But now the wheel has turned again. Fansubbed anime addressed the consumer demand for high quality subtitled episodes released mere hours after airing in Japan - all downloadable (or at least viewable) for free. And the anime industry has now responded. It began with a few peripheral series. I first noticed Hulu had streaming episodes of SquareEnix's new series Shikabane Hime Aka almost synchronous with its airing in Japan. The series seems to have been licensed in America nearly at the same time as in Japan. But this was a new series, not a well-established one with a rich history of fansubs. Now with Naruto, the mainstream is changing over as well. American distribution companies have learned to harness the same broadband that brought about high-quality fansubs in order to compete with those same fansubs.

What does this mean for the future of anime fans in America? For fansubs in general? Will the fansubbing community step aside or will they compete? What will the ability to only stream new releases mean for anime DVD sales? What will become of fans like myself who prefer to download a file and then watch it, rather than stream? I don't have the answers. I merely am pointing out that this is history in the making for the anime community. We are at a turning point, and it will be interesting to see how this will all turn out.

The Long-Awaited (Maybe) Anime Update!

2008-11-03T19:58:00.002-06:00

Yeah, I promised this two weeks ago, but never came through ... until today! Yesterday after church and most of today I had plenty of time to do some catch-up on new anime episodes. There are still a few series I haven't gotten to watch at all, and still others that I haven't had time to follow up on. BUT! I made some headway today. And now I'll report my findings:

Follow-up on Hyakko!

This one looked promising. It really did! The first episode had lots of fun character interaction and situation comedy. Taking four very different personalities and getting them lost in a huge school was brilliant. Why, oh why did they not stick to this for the next two episodes?! Episode 2 focuses on the group of four trying to find a club, but REALLY only focuses on Torako and Tatsuki - the strong personalities - facing off. The third episode keeps the focus on Torako and some new, strange characters, while keeping the other three of the original four on the periphery. Without the character-driven aspect, this show just doesn't have the same charm. I'll follow it for a few more episodes, but if it can't turn it around by then and recapture the fun of the first episode ... I don't know if even Hirano Aya can keep me coming back.

Bottom Line: This show has lost its magic after the first episode. Whether it can get it back is anyone's guess.

Follow-up on Toradora!

This series surprised me. The first episode was looking pretty generic, but a catchy opening and a bit of character development has done wonders for this series. (I find that a catchy opening really helps a series. It can be the most mundane thing in the world, but a catchy opening will keep me interested at least long enough for the show itself to become interesting. And that's what's happened here.) In many ways, the show reminds me a bit of School Rumble (Horie Yui aside). Just like in Sukuran, the comedy is driven by main characters who can't manage to express their feelings and the awkward situations they end up finding themselves in. As in Sukuran, the love interests are pretty generic, but even that adds a bit of humor to the whole situation. The dynamic is different, though, since Taiga and Ryuuji are at the same time developing their own relationship, albeit not a romantic one. So far, nothing's been quite as over-the-top as Sukuran, but that's probably okay for this series.

Bottom line: This one's actually pretty funny thanks to interesting characters, good use of situational comedy, and, of course, a catchy opening. I'll be trying to keep on this one.

Follow-up on Casshern Sins:

So, I'll be honest. I didn't know when I started watching this that it was a remake of an older anime - that certainly explains the stylistic choices made in its production. From what I understand, though, the story is vastly different this time around: much much darker than the original. And I've got to say. It works. As each episode progresses, we learn a bit more about what it was that actually happened between Casshern and Luna to create the massive ruin that is plaguing all of robotkind. Also developing is Casshern's own understanding of himself and of the "sin" that he has committed. It is interesting that the story is told almost entirely from the perspective of a race of robots who we learn subjugated humanity. From the robot's perspective, this is the end of the world. But one wonders how the humans (other than the one rogue we've met) view the ruin. In any case, the show has already begun to confront the themes of dealing with death and sin, as well as the pain of having to live on in that sin while everyone else must suffer the consequences. It should go without saying that such themes are an excellent entry point for some Gospel proclamation. This show has potential to engage people and make them confront and deal with the emptiness of the real world reflected in this tale of fiction. Very, very exciting, this one. I'll be watching and following it closely, and depending on how it proceeds, perhaps even do a feature on its usefulness in understanding Japanese evangelism.

Bottom Line: This one doesn't pull any punches. The themes are engaged head-on. Death, dying, and guilt are all waiting to be dealt with. It should be fun to see how Casshern does so.

Follow-up on Kannagi:

Here was another one that kinda looked like it was heading one direction, but then chose a more interesting path. Certainly, the "attractive girl suddenly living in my house" aspect has not been dropped, but the focus has begun to shift. It has begun to shift towards a plot development deeply tied to a Shinto religious outlook. The problem can be summed up with the idea that: "gods are only gods when they are worshipped." To be honest, this statement alone deserves its own feature post, and likely will get one, but for now, suffice to say that this outlook seems that it will drive the rest of the series. Nagi, who, if you remember, is a god of the land who inhabited a sacred tree until it was cut down, is losing her divinity. Why? Because her tree has been cut down and no one remembers her any longer. Solution? Find a way for people to worship you. The method that has been mentioned (and likely will be tried, if the opening is any indication) is, ironically, to become an idol. A Shinto god ... becoming an idol. Brilliant! This intelligent idea, combined once again with some interesting characters (notice a theme here?) make this show look like it'll be an interesting one to watch. At the very least, the concepts surrounding the nature of divinity will keep me watching for a while.

Bottom Line: Good characters, a refreshing plot twist with a touch of irony, religious content, and a catchy OP make this one to follow this season.

Well, I'm afraid that's it for now. Not enough hours in the day to watch all the anime I need to be caught up, but oh well. What you gonna do.

Oh, and just a reminder, since tomorrow is election day here in America: GO VOTE!

A Short Update - More to Come Tomorrow

2008-11-02T21:13:00.003-06:00

So ... I haven't really posted in a while. This is not because I've not had time to post, but more due to the face that I haven't had much time to watch new anime. With my job, a computer failure, and keeping up with old anime, I just haven't had much time till today. So, I intend to give you the short version tonight, and then watch more and do the long version tomorrow. So here's the short version:

Casshern Sins: Apparently a remake - still quite interesting.

Toradora!: Catchy opening + 2nd episode = better than I expected for this show.

Hyakko: Less focus on characters and more on goofball situations = not as interesting as expected.

Detective Conan Movie 12: It's another Conan movie, and better than some, but a bit slower than it should've been. Still a good movie.

Look forward to the long version and more tomorrow!

Fall Anime Revue: Two Schools and an RPG

2008-10-09T21:05:00.006-05:00

So ... I don't really intend for this blog to be only about anime. Really! I intend to write about a whole RANGE of topics from religion to politics to culture to video games. However, it's just that time of year, and I do what I must because I can ... or is that someone else ... anyhow, on with the reviews!

Hyakko:

As I first began to watch this one, I was unsure to say the least. The only thing the opening titles sequence indicated was that it was about four high school girls. Not usually the sort of thing I'm into, the notable exception being the AMAZINGLY funny Azumanga Daioh. However, as I continued to watch, I began to feel that Hyakko might make exception number 2.

The premise of the first episode is actually pretty straightforward. Nonomura Ayumi (voiced by Hirano Aya, voice actress of Suzumiya Haruhi and Lucky Star fame) is living every high-schooler's worst nightmare. Not only does she not "fit in," but in-between classes she's managed to get lost in the halls of the expansive private school which she is attending. While trying to find her next class, she encounters and joins up with three other lost souls attempting to locate the classroom for their next class. Iizuka Tatsuki (the tall, proper and bossy member of the group), Kageyama Torako (the one who, literally, leaps before she looks), and Saotome Suzume (the quiet and intelligent one) join up with Ayumi to find their next class at all costs!

This may not sound promising, but let me assure you, this one has promise. It features the sort of every-day situations with not-everyday people humor also found in Azumanga. And already in the first episode, the chemistry (no, not romantic, but comedic) between the characters is spot on. The traits of each compliment those of the others, making for an interesting group of misfits. The animation style is refreshing as well, departing from the clean and uber-shiny animation you see in most anime these days to a style which seems at the same time older and stylized. It's not really like the animation of Revolutionary Girl Utena, but that's the style which is coming to mind. In any case, it's different, and in a good way.

Thematically, it looks as if the show is shaping up to be a slice-of-life comedy which still will explore some actual issues of identity, group-dynamics, and fitting in. Obviously I don't expect it to be an essay on the topic, but already in the first episode, such themes have been engaged, and I will be interested to see how they play out. In many ways, this show gives off the feelings of the live action film "Linda Linda Linda." Finally, I have to mention the music, and particularly the ending, sung, of course, by Hirano Aya. I'm a big fan of Hirano Aya's musical outings, and the ending sequence does not disappoint.

Bottom Line: Is it Azumanga reborn? I don't know about that. But it IS mighty funny while still reserving the ability to (lightly) engage real Japanese social issues.

Episode Watched: HYAKKO Episode 1, Subbed by Himatsubushi

Kyou no Go no Ni:

Kyou no Go no Ni, or in English, Today's Fifth-grade Class 2, is another interesting slice-of-life school anime. Of course, not many school anime deal with fifth graders. Whether it's an awkward study session with a classmate or a powerball contest gone awry or forming a broom guitar band with your classmates, this show will remind you of that special time when life was fun, girls weren't gross anymore, and goofing off was a way of life.

I've not got much to say about this one. The animation's straightforward. The topic is fun. The writing is entertaining. Really, this is a nostalgic look back at being a kid, before you encountered "teen angst." It's just a fun show.

From a cultural perspective, this show obviously offers a bit of insight (albeit stylized and humorized) into what being a kid in Japan is like. Once again, the things put in the show which Japanese people take for granted prove to be the most insightful for a student of Japanese culture. For this reason, I'll be watching this one.

Bottom Line: It's fun to be a kid. It's entertaining to remember what it was like. This show helps you do just that.

Episode Watched: Kyou no Go no Ni Episode 1, Subbed by Chihiro

Tales of the Abyss:

If you didn't guess from the name, this one's based on an video game. An RPG to be precise. And if you didn't guess it from the name, you'll sure figure it out by the end of the first episode. It's got all the hallmarks of the "tutorial section" of your typical RPG. You wake up as the main character, who happens to be sheltered royalty with a boring royal life and who isn't allowed outside the palace. You meet your friends, your family, and it's all okay if you don't know them. After all, you DID loose all memories of your childhood in a traumatic incident several years ago. You begin to spar with your sword trainer, learning the battle system, when something goes wrong. An enemy attacks, you jump in, and suddenly some sort of hidden power within you hurls you and your attacker far, far away from the palace. Now in the wilderness, you are beset with wild magical beasts (read "random battles") which you must fight to get back the life you just lost.

Yeah ... without the battle system and the interaction, it doesn't really do it for me, either. It doesn't help, I suppose, that I never played the PS2 RPG, but I'm not really interested in this one. Looking right now like it's going to feature the overused, "crap, the world's going to blow up unless we set out on a 40-50 hour quest all over the world" storyline, but who knows? I may catch a few more episodes, but really, this one is not interesting me at all.

Bottom Line: It's an RPG made into an anime. If you want to play an RPG without interaction, get Xenosaga. If you're too cheap to buy it, watch this.

Episode Watched: Tales of the Abyss Episode 1, Subbed by Osu!

That's it for this installment. Hopefully I'll get in a post that's NOT about anime before I do the next set of reviews.

Fall Anime Revue: Casshern Sins, Kannagi, Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka

2008-10-05T22:45:00.006-05:00

A few new anime came out over the weekend. Here's my roundup review.

Casshern Sins:

Robotic existentialism. Well... sort of. Titular Casshern is a man in a suit who killed Luna. For some inexplicable reason, this sin has brought about the decay and ruin of the entire world. Fortunately not our world (at least, not in the first episode), but a world of robots. It's unclear whether Casshern is a robot or a human or some sort of cyborg, but what is clear is that he will kill anyone who comes after him ... even though he has no memory of his identity.

This looks interesting. Casshern's outfit and his fighting giant robots SEEMS like it would be right out of some sort of classic superhero children's anime, but the themes present in the anime are far from being for kids. Instead the tone is much darker. The world is going to ruin, and nothing can stop it. And it seems to be be Casshern's fault. How is he going to deal with questions of identity and purpose when everyone believes him to be the cause of the end of the world? Thematically, I think this has real potential. It helps, too, that the animation style is both clean and classic at the same time. The character design is like something from the era of G Gundam or even Gachaman, but done with modern and clean drawing styles. The backgrounds and music fit the theme, and both contribute to a sort of otherworldly feel.

Bottom Line: Already in the first episode, we've got issues of identity and humanity. Watch this one. It has potential.

Episode Watched: Casshern Sins Episode 1, Subbed by Shinsen-Subs

Kannagi:

And now for something completely different. I have to say the opening for this one prepped me for a show about an up-and-coming idol. The actual episode ... nothing like the opening. Mikuriya Jin is spiritually sensitive (if I had a nickel ...). As a kid, he saw a mysterious woman while playing near a sacred tree. Now he's in high school, and for his art project he carved an image of the woman he saw. But then the image comes to life. Turns out the sacred tree had been cut down, and the god who was inhabiting it now has entered into Jin's woodcarving - a woodcarving made from the sacred tree. Crazy, huh? Anyhow, the land god Nagi now inhabits the body of a high-school-aged attractive girl who must live with Jin so that he can help her to stop the "impurities" that are now cropping up without the tree's protection. A lot to swallow? Yeah, just a bit.

It's the usual setup. Guy living on his own suddenly has some strange girl appear, and for whatever reason, they have to live together. Pretty standard stuff (if only in real life, right?). That said, the first episode has been tastefully done. No panty shots or boob-grabbing. In fact, when there was an opportunity to show Nagi's pantsu in an action shot, a leaf was subtly but strategically placed. That's a good start, right? In a way, it reminds me of a sort of attempt at a shinto Ah My Goddess! ... sort of. Based on the opening, I suspect that's not where this is going, but here's to hoping. That said, I do hope that they keep these sort of shinto themes going. It'd be interesting in a sort of Spice and Wolf way if they keep weaving in those sorts of elements. Being a student of theology, I find those sorts of things, even in a show like this, terribly interesting. Maybe I'll do a post some time about the value in watching anime for religious insight.

Bottom Line: Maybe it's going somewhere new, and maybe it's rehashing old cliches. I'll be keeping track on this for at least a few weeks out of interest in how they handle shinto beliefs. I'll have a more definite verdict for you then.

Episode Watched: Kannagi Episode 1, Subbed by Ayako

Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka:

To be honest, I didn't even want to dignify this with a post. Every season, there's one or two shows where you just know that someone sat down and said, "What moe cliches can we chuck together to make a show that lonely guys will watch?" This one's got quite a few. The maid-like and polite younger sister, the mysterious rich transfer student, the tomboy girl, the stuck-up daughter of a prominent family, and if the opening's to be believed, an actual maid and a big-breasted secret agent who wears a rubber bodysuit unzipped down past her navel. Yeah, a lot of thought went into this one. (<-- Sarcasm ) The story's just about as uninspired. Girl harassed by jerks. Guy saves girl. Girl transfers into his school the next day. Everyone thinks they're going out. And by the end of the series, you know they will be. And if they don't go to an onsen sometime before the last episode, then I give up. (Not that I'll actually watch to find out, but still ...)

The only reason I felt it reasonably necessary to post on this one was the fact that the guy plays an Xbox 360. Now this is very strange. I mean, he lives in Japan. They don't DO Xbox. Nintendo and Sony they love, but Microsoft's Xbox ... not so much. So you can imagine my shock and surprise when I saw him playing with a 360, power brick of doom and all. Just weird is all.

Bottom Line: Skip it. If you've seen one cliche moe show, you've seen them all. And this one didn't even have any fanservice in the first episode. Spend your valuable time elsewhere.

Episode Watched: Akane-iro ni Somaru Saka Episode 1, Subbed by Eclipse

Well, that's it for this time. As more shows come out, I'll let you know what I think. Later.

Fall Anime Season Begins! - ToraDora!

2008-10-02T22:38:00.007-05:00

So one of the things I intended to do from the start on this blog is talk about anime. Specifically how it relates to religion and culture ... but not strictly. Anyhow, the fall anime season is beginning, and so I bring you my initial reactions to the first show subbed and watched: とらドラ! (ToraDora!, for all you non-Japanese-reading types).

Beware. First episode spoilers follow:

The show so far seems to be a school-based love comedy. The main character Takasu Ryuuji is a guy with a mean-looking face. No, really. He's a normal guy which everyone just thinks is a delinquent because he looks mean. Of course, he's in love with some pink-haired girl with like 3 lines in the episode. Whatever. Enter the Palmtop Tiger. No, not the latest in Apple handheld technology, but the fiesty, violent, and short Aisaka Taiga (hence the nickname ... sound it out ... yeah, there ya go!). They get off to a bad start, but things are made worse when a seating mixup has Aisaka putting a love letter in the wrong bookbag - you guessed it, Takasu's. Long story short, the two end up revealing the identities of their secret loves, and then more or less blackmailing each other into helping to make their feelings known to the one they like.

**END SPOILERS**

It's certainly an interesting start, but so far nothing truly out of the ordinary in this one. Quirky guy ends up meeting quirky girl, and by their combined quirkiness, chaos and comedy ensue. There's certainly promise here, but there's also the potential for goofy-school-love-comedy mediocrity as well. Already overused cliche's have made their appearances: Takasu lives with his scantily-clad-knockout mom who sleeps late and drinks a lot. His housekeeping skills are also an element which is pretty commonplace. Don't get me wrong. There's still potential here for some good (and entertaining) character development/interaction. However, this show is going to have to do something special in the next few episodes to keep me interested. That being said, I'll go ahead and keep my eye on this one for the next few weeks, and let you know what the final verdict is.

Bottom Line: Has potential for either hilarity or mediocrity. Which course it will take, only time will tell.

Episode Watched: ToraDora! Episode 1, Subbed by gg

Happiness is...

2008-10-01T21:06:00.003-05:00

My mom had a Peanuts book called, I think, "Happiness is..." Each page featured a Peanuts character and something which equated to happiness for them. For example, under Linus was a caption that read something like, "Happiness is a warm security blanket." I believe the goal was to crack jokes in that dry-humor-kids-acting-like-adults-but-not-like-south-park manner that Peanuts has while giving the reader a warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

I had an entry to add to that book today.

Happiness is ... a new episode of ピタゴラスイッチ (Pitagora Suicchi/Pythagoras Switch) after a long day.

Yes, Pitagora Switch. The Japanese Sesame Street-type show to help kids learn, think, and read. It's an amazing show, really. All the Japanese is pretty basic, so even I, having had no formal Japanese language classes, can understand a lot of it. The show begins usually with a short vignette featuring two penguin children, a large old-man talking book, a mouse in a small car, and a dog that's actually a television. (If you're not interested by THAT sentence, I don't know WHAT it'll take.) The kids have a problem, the book explains a bit, the mouse helps out, and then the TV dog comes in to show a video clip which helps drive the point home. But this segment doesn't just teach kids the alphabet or to eat their veggies. No, it often teaches them critical thinking skills. For instance, the topic in the episode I watched today was how to figure things out about unseen things. I mean, whoah! The penguins had a hole in their beach ball, so the book showed them how to find the hole using a bucket of water, since they couldn't actually SEE the hole. Then the video showed other examples of how things can be deduced about objects even when you can't see any evidence. I mean! This is a KID'S show! For like preschoolers! Amazing!

Next up today was "Otousan Suicchi" or "Father Switch" where a kid makes a remote control for their father out of a shoebox and a straw, puts 5 buttons on it, and puts a hiragana character on each of those buttons. When they press the button, the father has to act out a word that starts with that character. For a language that has an "alphabet" of 40-some characters (arranged in rows of 5, btw), this is BRILLIANT. And it's something the viewers can do themselves and play with THEIR dads! Also brilliant.

Then they usually have a fun animation-style segment. This week was "Juppon Anime" or, roughly translated, "10-stick Cartoon." These are simple little animations which, I think, are just fun. One could probably argue that these segments teach some sort of spacial/shape recognition (the sticks combine to form other things, and similar things happen with the other segments here), but I think a large part of it is just a fun, cute animation section.

The last part again is amazing! It's either the "Algorithm March" or the "Algorithm Exercise." Either way, it's actually exercises that are meant to get kids watching this show in front of their televisions to get up and move around! You don't see Sesame Street do THAT.

But perhaps the best part from purely an entertainment perspective are the Rune Goldberg devices that go between the sketches. These devices (called "Pythagoras Switches" in Japan - hence the name of the show) are elaborate, intricate, and brilliantly executed. If you've never seen these in action, it is a sight to behold. And none of it is computer-generated. Someone actually took the time to set it up in real life - and that's just darn impressive.

All in all, the show runs about 15 mins without commercials, and is just fantastic for a Japanese preschooler or the beginner student of Japanese who wants to do a bit of listening practice and have good, clean fun while doing so.

"I Feel Like I Want to Blog..."

2008-09-28T22:36:00.002-05:00

Ah, the blog. An interesting medium for anyone who wishes to post their thoughts and feelings in the one place where no one will come to read them, the blog these days is the very paradigm of hiding a leaf in a forest. Nevertheless, I will attempt to make this an interesting talking leaf. Look forward to comments on religion, culture, language, and whatever other parts of life I feel like sharing. Because one day, I might actually have a reader. And for that day, I shall prepare the veritable banquet of current thought and insight. Be prepared, O Reader. This is going to be fun.