Initially, when I got promoted, it didn't really affect the amount of work I had. I was pretty well buried by a server upgrade project (still not completed!!!!) and nearly everyone else was involved with a major problem at a major customer site, involved with getting the next release of our latest product out the door, or both. So, I figured that I had time to ease into my new responsibilities. Well, we've pretty much wrapped up the product release (it officially went out on Monday) and the customer problem, while ongoing, has calmed down significantly. So, now we're working on rejiggering our entire support organization to match our new "alignment".

So, that's meant that I've had more work to do. A LOT more work than I've really ever had to deal with at any one time. That's not so bad. It makes my office time fly by. The bad part is that it makes my office time fly by! There isn't enough time in my work day to get it all done. I'm working on three or four different projects at the same time and they're all so different that I probably spend more time getting my brain reoriented to whatever requires my attention right then. My brain is fried and I don't want to think about work any more today.

In other news...

It's been a long time since I mentioned what I'd been watching recently. A quick list follows with some comments...

• Finished "Witch Hunter Robin".

Like I said before, "emo/angsty" but I still enjoyed it. See, it's not all about giant robots and big boobies.

• I had my own mini "Katsuhiro Ishii Film Festival" when I watchd "Funky Forest: The First Contact", "Taste of Tea", and "Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl".

All three were great movies in their own ways. "Funky Forest: The First Contact" was crazy! Seriously. At first I was worried that I wasn't going to like it. I couldn't figure out what the heck I was watching. It took me about the first two or three pieces before I really got into it. Awesome music in it, too. The song that plays during the night dancing scene on the beach, that was a great song.

• I saw "Tears of the Black Tiger".

It was like this crazy mish-mashed Thai western and romance movie in one. The story was pretty clichéd in many places, but the acting and the way the film was shot made up for it in spades. I especially liked the actor who played the local gang boss Fei. He had some awesome eyebrow action going on in a couple of scenes.

• I saw "Metalocalypse, Season 1".

A newer cartoon show that airs during [Adult Swim] about this mega-death metal band, Dethklok, that's a worldwide juggernaut. They're ranked as the "twelfth biggest economy in the world". They are deemed so dangerous that a cabal made up of secretive military, political, and religious leaders plots when to destroy them and how. Which comes as quite a shock when you learn that they're "morans". The show was created by Brendon Small ("Home Movies"). He also writes and performs all of the music with another musician. A live version of the band, featuring Small on guitar, has played shows too. But, you don't have to be a fan of metal to like the show. It's pretty violent. But it's also very hilarious. I ended up getting the soundtrack because I liked the music so much. MURDERFACE! MURDERFACE! MURDERFACE!

• I saw "Brotherhood of the Wolf".

This was that french movie from 2001 (!) that was like a french take on what a horror action flick would be like. I didn't get to see the complete end as my copy was corrupted for the last five minutes or so.

So, there.

DreamWorks to Make 3D Live-Action Ghost in the Shell

Variety reports that Universal and Sony also negotiated for the rights, which the Production I.G anime studio was pitching for the manga's original publisher Kodansha. What turned the dealmaking in DreamWorks' favor was co-founder Steven Spielberg's enthusiasm for the project. The entertainment trade newspaper quotes the acclaimed director and producer: "Ghost in the Shell is one of my favorite stories. It's a genre that has arrived, and we enthusiastically welcome it to DreamWorks."

I was immediately reminded of "A.i." That's not a good thing.

Lots I've been thinking about mentioning but, like real life, I have a hard time getting myself motivated to do any of it. Well, since I have a bit of quiet time (Shelly is out for dinner with the girls), I'll post something here.

What I've been watching as of late:

• Witch Hunter Robin (anime series)


I had watched about half of this when it aired on Cartoon Network about three or four years ago. But, I didn't see it in any order. So, I am watching it again via Netflix.

The series's plot summary via the page on Anime News Network (ANN) for this show (linked above):

Witches are individuals with special powers like ESP, telekinesis, mind control, etc. (not the typical hogwart and newt potions). Robin, a craft user, arrives from Italy to Japan to work for an organization named STN Japan Division (STN-J) as a replacement for one of STN-J's witch hunters who was recently killed. Unlike other divisions of STN, STN-J tries to capture the witches alive in order to learn why and how they became witches in the first place.

It's a smidge on the angsty/emo side of teen life but I felt a void of sorts not having seen the series in its entirety. So, here I am finally getting back to it. Looks like I should be getting the third volume tomorrow.


• Blood+ (anime series)



The series's plot summary from ANN:

Throughout the passage of time and the shifts in backgrounds, a particular war continues to leave its mark on history, extending its influence into the modern world. There are two major groups involved in the ensuing war. The first group consists of monsters known as Chiropterans who can change their appearances into that of human beings. They are actually immortals who feed on the blood of the living. The second group is an organisation known as the "Red Shield", formed to track down these monsters and exterminate them. Otonashi Saya is a high-school girl who lives a peaceful life with her family. The only problem is, she has no recollections of her life beyond that of the past year. However, her happy life will be destroyed by an event that will lead her to her destined fate.

This series is sort of related to the anime movie "Blood: The Last Vampire".

I am enjoying this one so far. I bought the "Blood+: Part One" box set from Amazon.com. Though, I received it for $80 and not the $100 it's currently selling for over there. (I wonder why the price went up?) It came with 6 discs (25 episodes), a nice box, and a t-shirt (which I haven't unpacked yet). It was either this or just the first volume on DVD. When it came down to a price per episode calculation, it was an easy decision.

The only downside is that I'll now have to wait that much longer to see the rest of the series (I've watched five of the six already). I'm not sure what the release schedule will be for this series so I may have to wait awhile for volume 7 to come out.


• Appleseed: Ex Machina (anime movie)


The sequel to the "Appleseed" movie from 2005. Again, the movie is entirely CG with a cell-shaded look to it. I thought the character models seemed better and worse compared to the previous movie. Better in that they didn't look as squared off as last time. Worse in that the characters seemed to move somewhat oddly. Most noticeable when they walked.

It was entertaining. Maybe because it was produced by John Woo, I saw a lot of homages and references to his movies. The action sequences were stunning to watch. The story was ... serviceable. I'll leave it at that.


• Hellsing Ultimate, vol. 3 (anime series)


Hmm... Another anime series having to do with vampires (or vampire-like creatures). Must be a running theme in this post. Completely unintended.

I was enjoying this alternate version of the "Hellsing" series. This one is apparently much closer to the manga it was adpated from than the prior series. Unfortunately, I don't know if I'll ever get to see the rest of this since the US distributor/publisher (Geneon Entertainment) went belly-up recently.

Entertaining story about a secret UK-based organization that's been charged (first by the royal family and now by the government) with fighting an ongoing war against vampires secretly. One of their main weapons is a vampire himself! They're also fighting against a rival organization backed by the Vatican. And, in the 3rd volume, the Nazis were brought into the story! Lord only knows where this will end. I fear I may never know...

Wedged in at the top of my Netflix queue is "Lust, Caution". I patiently wait for my chance to see Tony Leung's scrotum.

In order of whatever the hell I manage to remember...

Renaissance

An animated "future noir" French film. Entirely motion captured, CG'd and presented strictly in black and white, it's a movie about the search for a kidnapped woman. It's set in Paris, France in 2054. Definitely influenced by "Blade Runner" (the creators readily admit to it). The story was decent. It doesn't really bring anything new to the genre. But, I did definitely enjoy the animation. A trailer follows...



Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Volume 5


I hadn't seen any of these episodes since I no longer have access to a pay TV service. So, I went into this one with great anticipation. It is still pretty much the same m.o. But, if you're a fan already, you probably won't be disappointed. I wasn't. Entirely worth it for the "uncensored" (not sure how much was bleeped out when it was originally broadcast) episode called "Dickesode". I'll leave it up to you to figure what that might be about.

The Clash: Westway to the World


I finally got around to seeing this Don Letts directed documentary about The Clash in its entirety. I happened to catch the last 10 minutes or so of it when it originally aired on PBS a couple/few years ago. Entertaining to see early film footage of the band and to learn about how the guys found each other. In the end, I wished it had been a bit longer. But, maybe it was better left as it was.

One of the nice things was listening to them talk about the various albums that I've yet to hear completely. It finally convinced me that I should go out and get "Sandinista", "Black Market Clash", etc.

Hell Girl (Funimation)
Back on the anime train with this one. There is supposedly a website out there, HellCorrespondence.com, that will take revenge upon the person whose name you enter into the site. However, as payment, your own soul is promised to Hell upon your death. Mayumi can't take the torment of being bullied by a classmate and, out of desperation, visits this website and enters in the classmate's name. You'll have to watch the series to know what happens next.

I've only watched the first episode so far so I don't really know much else either. This one is still being released on DVD. I've only got the first two volumes' worth of episodes. So, I may be stuck for awhile.

About 6 weeks ago, "Grave of the Fireflies" arrived from Netflix.



A synopsis courtesy of the movie's page on Animenewsnetwork.com:

Plot Summary: On the final days of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his four-year-old sister Setsuko are orphaned after their mother is killed during an air-raid by American forces in Kobe, Japan. After having a falling-out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency funds and rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko must struggle to survive their hardships as well as those of their country, which is on the losing end of the war.

It originally showed up while I was in the middle of building and troubleshooting my new PC. So, I didn't have time to watch it then. But after all of that was done, I couldn't work up the nerve to watch it. (I'd been told that it could be a depressing movie to watch.) I finally watched it on Monday night.

It's originally from 1988, so the animation style looks somewhat dated. But, that doesn't matter as it has a compelling story to tell. Relatively short at 88 minutes, too. But, the story was touching and sad. I couldn't help imagining what would happen to our girls if for some horrible reason, Shelly and I were gone.

Needless to say, after watching this I was left in quite a funk.

So, to make up for it, I watched the first disc of "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, Vol. 3".

"Ha ha! Missionary!"

Sony Pictures Entertainment will be releasing "Paprika" on R1 DVD ($27) and R1 Blu-ray Disc ($39).

On the same date, Bandai Visual USA will be releasing a Blu-ray version of Mamoru Oshii's "Jin-Roh" ($80).

All info is courtesy of Anime News Network.

That'd be me. Mainly because I'm always thinking of things I want to talk about but I just never have the time to do it (usually while I'm at work) or the energy (later at night when I'm at home). I keep meaning to remedy this. I guess this will be the first of many tiny steps...

"Back to the grave with you!"

It's been awhile since I've written about what I've been watching lately. Since then, with regard to anime, I've watched all of Gungrave (link goes to ANN's Encyclopedia page for the series). The Netflix page for the entire series is here.

It was a so-so series. Not sure how to describe it. Maybe a cross between "The Godfather" (or "Goodfellas") and "The Re-Animator"? Or maybe not. I guess read the synopsis on the ANN page. It might make things clearer, or it might not. The Wikipedia page for it has a bit better description of the series.

"Madagascar"

Last night, I had some clothes to iron and because I didn't feel like watching anything else I have, I wound up watching Madagascar. The other reason I watched it was because it was given to Julie as a gift by someone and we wanted to see if it was suitable for her or not. I don't remember who gave it to us or for what occasion. But, it had been given to her at least a year or two ago and had not been watched by anyone in our house until I watched it last night. I ended up sitting down and watching this instead of watching it while doing my ironing. I had very little motivation to do much of anything which was proved by the fact that I only managed to get a few pairs of pants ironed.

I don't think I'm going to recommend this one to Shelly for Julie. I didn't find anything remotely entertaining about this movie. But, maybe it's just me. I have very little patience for movies like this, especially when I have no interest in seeing it in the first place. I should have Shelly watch it to see what she thinks.

In any case, I'm on a bit of an anime hiatus. Been watching other stuff instead, but that will be for another post.

Recently seen:


Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny: Let me first say that I am by no means a Jack Black or Tenacious D fan. However, this movie had me laughing pretty heartily throughout. I thought their satire of the stereotypical metal fan, music, and scene was pretty funny but definitely done from a fan's point of view. Ben Stiller makes a pretty funny cameo as do Dio, Tim Robbins, and Meat Loaf.


Demon Prince Enma (2-disc series): As far as I can recall, this may be one of the first anime series I've watched based on a review I'd read in Giant Robot magazine. (Perfect Blue might be the other one, though I can't recall anymore.) Mainly because most of the anime reviewed in their magazine doesn't generally appeal to me. Two discs, four episodes. Short series. But, I thought it was pretty entertaining. Fairly dark subject matter, though. Definitely some nudity and gory bits, too. It apparently comes with an MPAA "NR" rating, though, it's definitely not meant for anyone under 17.

Both titles are available via Netflix.

I am awaiting the arrival of my order of Ghost in the Shell - Solid State Society (Limited Edition) from Amazon.com. I pre-ordered it with "Super Saver" shipping. And, it looks like Amazon.com recently switch shipping companies for this option from UPS to the USPS. So, I'm not sure when I'll receive it. The page for my order shows a receipt date range of July 5th through July 29th (or something like that)! I'm hoping sooner rather than later, obviously.

Though, if I have to wait a bit, I can still watch the copy of The Host that I bought from the GR store.

Because "Paprika" is now getting wider theatrical distribution, I came across this interview with Kon over at the Washington Post.

As you may or may not recall, I saw it during the "Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival" in April.

I wonder if Kon has read any Haruki Murakami? I'd love to see what Kon could do with an animated adaptation of "Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World", "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle", "A Wild Sheep Chase", or "Kafka on the Shore"?

I've finished Noir. Well, I've finished as much of it as I could through Netflix. They're missing volume 4. But, dropping 3 or 4 episodes out of the series didn't ruin it. I was still able to figure out what was going on. In the end, it turned out to be an OK series. I don't know that I'd recommend it.

I also finished Basilisk. I would definitely recommend this one. Especially, as I said before, if you liked "Ninja Scroll" (the movie).

I watched Afro Samurai. This first season (or whatever) was short. 5 episodes. Like I said, it was short. But, it was pretty entertaining. The story takes place in some alternate universe Japan that's still in the feudal era, but contains some technological advancements (lasers, mobile phones). It stars the voice talents of Samuel L. Jackson and Ron Perlman. The RZA did the soundtrack for it. There's even background artwork by Shepard Fairey. A word of warning, it is violent and can be gory at times. Plus, there's the language. It definitely earned its TV-MA rating.

I'm still waiting for the next installment of "Ergo Proxy".

In the meantime, I've been rewatching Samurai Champloo and Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior arrived from Netflix today.

I'm definitely looking forward to watching "Ong Bak".

"Paprika" was awesome. I want to see it again! I managed to meet up with Kathie from the GR boards too. So, that was cool. The turnout was great. The theater wasn't sold out but it was pretty close to it.

I only had two very minro complaints:

1. The image seemed "soft" to me. I'm not sure if it was because this particular print that we saw is getting worn or what. Maybe I've gotten too accustomed to seeing most of my anime off DVDs.


2. I think they could have used a better color for the subtitles. It was a really light yellow or pretty darned close to white. It made it difficult to see during some scenes.

See it!

I've been cleared to attend the screening of Satoshi Kon's latest feature length film, Paprika, at the 2007 Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival this Friday night!

You can see the trailer here.

I never thought I'd have the chance to see this on the big screen, I guess I was wrong. I am very, very excited.

My wife asked if I was going to go with anyone and I said no. I don't know if any of my friends would really enjoy this kind of movie. But, honestly, I'd rather see this by myself so I don't have to worry if the person I'm with is enjoying it at all.

Yay!

Well, it's already Monday again. My weekend was uneventful aside from the nearly foot of snow we got between Saturday and Sunday.

I spent two hours feeding the snowblower on Sunday morning. I had to occasionally do some shoveling because the snowblower I have is underpowered and too small for the amount of snow that got left at the end of the driveway and walks by the city's snowplows. So, I would smash the wall of snow into smaller pieces that the snowblower could handle. Move all that stuff. Rinse and repeat. I am surprisingly not sore from all of that effort. The snowblower helps even though I was cursing it at times. Honestly, I wish the thing would just die so I have an excuse to replace it. Instead, it continues to run and I'm left putting up with some minor annoyances while using it. I also get to keep the $500 or so I would end up spending on a new one, too.

After I finished all that up, I went and met up with a couple friends for lunch at The Bulldog Restaurant. Thanks to Shelly for letting me go and do that! The food was good (I had the Tillamook Cheddar and Bacon burger). I had two pints of Bell's Hopslam (one was free). The beer was excellent as are quite a few of the beers from Bell's (their Two Hearted Ale is one of my favorites). It was also 10% alcohol by volume. That's a boozy beer!

Rushed home from the restaurant so I could play outside with Julie in the new snow. I have had very little chance this winter to do this. Mainly because it was too cold or because there wasn't any snow. So, it was fun to play outside with Julie. You can see some pictures of what the girls did before I got home here.

Remember those two pints of Hopslam I mentioned earlier? Made me almost useless for the rest of the night. I ended up spending my evening watching volume 2 of Basilisk. Which I highly recommend if you like samurai/ninja anime like Ninja Scroll. Rated TV-MA, though, so not for the kids.

Now, back to work! Ugh!

I received my copy of the FLCL: Ultimate Edition set.



Unlike the description page, I received two silicone bracelets (one red and one black). Now, I just have to get a replacement booklet. I've e-mailed AnimeGamersUSA about it.

Nicely packaged. It was preordered. The original release date was for the end of November and then it got pushed back to end of December. I think it would have arrived yesterday if not for the observance of the passing of Gerald Ford.

Can't wait to watch this one over again!

I finally got to see "Fullmetal Alchemist The Movie: Conqueror of Shambala". It pretty much picks up right where the TV series ended and goes from there. If you enjoyed the Fullmetal Alchemist series, you'll find it worthwhile to watch this movie.

Shelly got the first disc of a BBC miniseries called "Neverwhere" from Netflix recently. It was written by Neil Gaiman. Apparently, there's also a novelized (is that a word?) version of this that came out after the miniseries. It was an interesting watch. The production values are a bit on the low end. But, from comments about the series on the IMDB page for it, the BBC didn't spend a lot of money on production. Also, the series was originally shot on video with a plan to convert it to film but apparently that got scrapped and it was left on video. Of course, now that I've gotten sucked in, I'll have to watch the rest of it.