All posts by mhuffman

Anime, Otaku, Personal, Travel

犬を飼っています

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So earlier this year, my wife showed me that tickets to Hong Kong were less than $1,000/person round trip. This got me thinking that I wanted us to take a trip to Asia within the next few years… And with both of us being Disney fans, we talked about maybe doing Hong Kong or Tokyo or Shang-hi…

And with being a little disappointed in our trip to San Francisco, we talked about doing a LEGO event outside the US, maybe in Asia… There’s been a LEGO fan event in Japan I’ve been following via Facebook for awhile, and a new fan event in Korea. I’ve always been impressed with the LEGO builders in Hong Kong (HKLUG) since the 2008 Olympics, so that gives us a few possible dates for travel (after Golden Week, before the hottest time of the year) and possible people to try to meet up with…

I can almost read what’s written in hiragana!

I’ve been a bit of a Japanophile/Otaku. Wrote a high school thesis paper on the Japanese educational system. I took a Japanese culture class in college. Dropped out of a Japanese language class — too much on my plate at the time. Probably watch too much anime. So it’s no surprise that I’d like to go to Japan first.

With that in mind, I’ve been listening to a podcast about learning Japanese; I started with the 30 day challenge from 2 years ago… Each episode is about 4-5 minutes long, covering a variety of topics. After about the 4th or 5th episode, it reminded me of why I dropped out of the class; and reminded me of the horrors of taking 3 years of Spanish — with verb conjugation, vocabulary words, etc. It reminded me that some 20ish years ago, I meet with a tutor, a gentleman from Japan to learn Japanese for a brief time; and talks of making flash cards, and advice that I should get a Japanese girlfriend if I really wanted to learn Japanese… But this time, I ended up sticking with it with a new determination, continuing listening to the lessons, with a plan to go back over the 30 days once I learned hiragana/katakana and some kanji. I would try to soak in some of the context, with out stressing out over memorization… I think I’m up to episode 57, some 20ish episodes past the 30 day challenge.

Given that I tried this before the advent of podcasts and smart phones, I feel like I’m a little further along than I expected. I haven’t started with vocabulary words, or sentence construction, I’m just focusing on learning hiragana. I’ve found 3 apps that have been very useful, the first one teaches me how to draw the kana/symbol properly with the correct brush stroke order and say it, then it shows me a romanji version of the kana, and I have to pick out the correct kana from a list of 4. Finally, it shows me a blank screen to draw on, with the romanji version of the kana (and sound), and I’m to draw it with the correct brush strokes. Multiple times a day, I review what I learned, until I get it right — it’s a little frustrating when (especially with ‘ね’) where my brush strokes are slightly off. The 2nd app is just a simple quiz/flashcard app. It either shows me the romanji version of the kana, and I have to pick out the right now, or it says the kana or a word in Japanese, and I have to pick it out from a list. The final app is more of a speed quiz, same as the second app, but I can choose what kana I’ve learned and it will drill me on those only… the goal is to get 100% each time, in the 20ish seconds I get to pick the correct symbol… the 3rd app is a little more nerve-racking, but by not being able to adjust the guessing time, I’ve gotten quicker.

… I don’t know where this will take me. I’m hoping by a year or two of study, I might be able to read signs and maybe have a basic grasp of conversation — maybe end up being JLPT 4 with a stretch goal of JLPT 3.

Comics, Geek

The Green

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Once upon a time, I created a web-site called The Green dedicated to DC’s anti-superhero Swamp Thing. I had a few collaborator that sent me content. It talked about the comics, the animated series, the TV show, the movies, and the toys. I wanted to build a comic book database with pictures, summaries, synapses and reviews, but I was learning PHP at the time and was trying to figure out the best way to build it, while failing to add data to the DB. I still have all the image files somewhere and some old static pages…

With the advent of streaming services and the success of Marvel’s complex stories via the MCU, DC is trying to tap into the zeitgeist by producing Titans, Doom Patrol and now Swamp Thing. After there’s been a few episodes released, I’ll start watching it; in the mean time I’m avoiding reviews. I have mixed feelings about it… could be all horror, without Alan Moore’s poetic words in the background to help frame up each episode. Or could follow in the foot steps of it’s former series… which didn’t really appeal to me — felt more like a B-rated horror flick. And to be honest, I don’t think any of it will capture Alan Moore’s run on Swamp Thing… Or I could be wrong and smarter people than me are doing just that.

Anyway, more later…

UPDATE: Well, maybe not… Looks like the series might have been cancelled.

Comics, Geek

Doom Patrol

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The more I read Grant Morrison’s work, I find myself in a suspended state of discontent. I’ve read some of this Batman work, Animal Man, JSA, Filth, Supergods and found it to be ok… Some of it is hit-or-miss with me. And I think part of my problem is, I’ve compared his work too much to Alan Moore, since most critics tend compare one against the other… I’ve fallen into this trap too.

I’ve watched Happy! and found myself liking this dark, creepy, surreal world Morrison created (I haven’t started Season 2 yet). The translation from graphic novel to tv worked. Morrison’s worlds tend to be fucked up, no sugar coating, or no ultimate force of good — either you’re ignorant, or depraved. His heroes tend to be just as depraved as the villains, but at some point, some imaginary friend helps them in finding a moral compass and do what’s right… ish.

I’ve read reviews where they summarize Morrison to be a two-bit, shock-artist that lack substance… The latex fetish scenes just just reinforce this idea. But every once in awhile, Morrison has nuggets of good ideas.

When I started Doom Patrol, I suspected the show runners would source Morrison’s work for stories; and I didn’t know how I’d feel about that or how well it would translate to a tv series. And to be honest, it hasn’t disappointed. Similar to Happy!, the main characters suffer from past wrong-doings. The shock-value is there, but might be toned down (being a DC property).

I like the idea that the super-villain exists outside the 4th dimension in the “white space”. It allows for interesting (funny) commentary on the show and characters itself. The show plays on chance and happenstance in some interesting ways (similar to another show I’ve been following, Milo Murphy’s Law)…

Anime, Geek, Video Games

Pokémon GO (Update)

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So Pokémon Go just added the ability to add friends and allow for Pokémon trading… It’s been needed for a long time.  There are some Pokémon we realize that we’ll never be able to collect — we’d have to be world travelers and do lots of raid battles to catch legendary Pokémon.  What’s funny is that now I have enough Pokémon Go friends, but they’re scattered across the globe — meet through our interaction with the LEGO fan community.

The other exciting news is that Pokémon Go will interact with the new Pokémon Nintendo Switch game.  It sounds very limited and a little lame, but I know I’m not the target audience…

The wife and I started watching season 16 or Pokémon XY.  We about 2-3 generations of Pokémon ahead of PokéGo… so can’t wait until the game catches up to our viewing… to be honest, we’ve caught a few episodes of Pokémon Sun & Moon via Netflix in between bingeing on other shows…

Anime

Tokyo Godfathers

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I have a new favorite holiday movie — Tokyo Godfathers.  It’s a story Christmas in Tokyo, Japan, where three homeless friends: a young girl, a transvestite, and a middle-aged bum find an abandoned newborn.  Then they go on a journey to return the baby to her mother and all sorts of wacky/strange/fortunate events happen to the trio.  It was heart warming, despite the movie being about the more unfortunate in society.  It wasn’t your typical Anime — the artwork was very realistic, with only brief periods of exaggeration.  It’s very gritty, not your super polished magic-girl fluff.

If you haven’t checked it out, do so!

Anime, Geek, Video Games

Pokémon GO

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Pokemon-GO-Tech2-720-624x351A few days ago, I wanted to post my status on Facebook as “So my evening conversation with my wife has become, ‘which Pokémon have you caught today?’.”  Which is funny because it’s been so true…

I didn’t grow up on Pokémon.  As a matter of fact, I didn’t start watching it until after college — I caught it on Cartoon Network as I was getting ready for work in the mornings… Don’t know which season, or where in the story line I started… And I barely remember the episodes I caught.  I just remember that the show wasn’t bad, and I could see the appeal.

I’ve also never collected any of the cards.  And I’ve never played any of the Pokémon video games, although I’m playing Pokémon GO… I’ve even got my wife playing it.

The game itself is pretty interesting.  And having downloaded a few of the first episodes of Pokémon, it stays true to the story line.  I did read an article saying that the game lacks the heart of the show — pfft, whatever.  It’s about beating your opponent and building your Pokémon army, friendships are secondary, dude!

So if I had to look ahead 5 years, I’d think Niantic would create a convention, and at the convention, hold live gaming tournaments.  Only people at the conventions could catch super-rare Pokémon and collect convention medals.  And then, and only then… after about 5 of these happening, will this fad die out.  Until then, Pikachu, I choose you!

Anime, Comics

What am I watching/reading?

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26620I’ve pretty much stopped watching traditional TV — I DVR a few shows like Gotham or The Muppets, but don’t feel the need to watch them immediately. I’m thinking Game of Thrones might be the only show I’m looking forward to… Or the 2nd season of Daredevil.  Mostly in the evenings, I’ve been watching Anime, like Dimension W, Assassination Classroom, Boku dake ga Inai Machi (ERASED), Musaigen no Phantom World, and Dagashi Kashi… I have to say, ERASED has been my favorite, followed by Dimension W.

I’ve got a few books that I should finish, but I’m not finding the motivation to.  I read the occasional graphic novel… My comic pull consists of Swamp Thing, Saga, Astrocity, James Bond, Sandman Overture, , and the occasional book by Alan Moore.

Geek

Mad Max: Fury Road

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Over the weekend, I watched Mad Max: Fury Road, but not before rewatching Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. 🙂 I had forgotten some bits and pieces about Thunderdome, but not that basic plot… after awhile, it felt like watching a movie from the 80’s… seemed slower paced, not as much computer CGI, etc.  Fury Road felt like the CGI was a little over the top, with some parts just going against the laws of physics.  Nevertheless, I did enjoy  the post-apocalyptic mythology.

Fury Road, hieroglyph edition
Fury Road, hieroglyph edition

I spotted an article on Boing Boing, called: “Fury Road, hieroglyph edition” And fell in love with the artwork.  It’s a good recap of the movie, you begin to understand what the images mean after seeing the movie.

I don’t know if it’s tongue-in-cheek, but Boing Boing had posted several articles on Fury Road since the movie first came out… from the flame throwing guitar, to the edible spray-on silver paint, to the strong feminist overtones… all in praise of the movie.  Personally, I thought the movie was good, but a little hard to swallow at times.

But I think it was the mythology I most enjoyed… from the devout fanatical devotion of the half-life War Boys, to the wanting to maintain genetic purity of the line, survival after hope is dead, the iconography of different tribes of survivors, iconography of the different war machines, the iconography of the chastity belts, etc.  There’s probably symbolism behind the 5 wifes that I’ve missed… I’m sure there’s more symbolism in this movie that I missed as compared to Thunderdome, that made Fury Road stand out more.

For the most part, Fury Road was predictable… even the bit about the “Green Place” — it was like learning that Captain Walker didn’t return all over again.  You knew it was coming.  Didn’t mean the movie wasn’t enjoyable… I think I enjoyed Fury Road more than Thunderdome, but if I had to grade it, it’s a solid: B-

Anime, Geek, Video Games

No Game No Life

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Finished another anime called No Game No Life.  I like it because it’s smartly written and there’s many layers to the story.  For instance, “__” or Blank is the names of urban legend characters in the video gaming world — they are undefeated. The two main characters in the story, the brother and sister team, Shiro and Sora, are those characters IRL.  However, if you combined their name in Japanese, if forms the word “Blank”.  The strength of the two main story characters comes from combining their talents, and their absolute trust in one-another.no-game-no-life

The story itself is set in an imaginary world, inhabited by 16 races and where conflict is resolved by games, and the set of 10 “gaming” rules that govern conflict resolution.  Shiro and Sora are forced into this world, where they set out to win against “Tet”, the god-like being that pull them into this new imaginary world.  And along the way, we learn about game theory, Japanese bathing culture, creepy brother/sister relationship (toned down for the TV show, I understand), and strength coming from weakness. For the few outlandish and “anime” moments it has, there’s a intelligence and well thought out strategies behind every game the main characters take on.  The only disappointment about the series, is that it’s too short and leave you wanting the story to continue.