Because me, myself, I come and go

Excuse the bubbliness of this post, it's actually something I wrote some time ago, which doesn't really explain anything, since as bubbliness goes, it comes and goes, it comes and goes... karma...karma..karma..karma chameleon...

Anywho...

Welcome to the wonderful world of Rand! It's been a while since I've started out with a greeting so I thought I'd spit one out. Anyways when I'm depressed, apathetic, feeling empty or any combination of the three (there are differences between the three but the differences do not constitute a barrier, they are more like shades of being really screwed up) I can only watch certain TV shows. Simpsons always, and Scrubs usually. Other shows I tend to get tired of very quickly even if they are shows I love and I can see that they are high quality and that on normal occassions I would love to watch them.
I think why the Simpsons is so easy to watch is because it never gets too serious and because it is just completely hilarious. Also there's nostalgic value. Even that said, there are certain episodes I can't watch. Lisa's Rival for example I can't watch, probably because I don't like seeing Lisa suffering, even if the episode is pretty good (the most awesome gag is Bart getting Milhouse on the FBI's Most Wanted List and then tipping the FBI off and finally the Fugitive scene). But most of the episodes of the Simpsons have such non-stop crazy off the wall humor that it's very easy to watch, and very easy on the nerves.
Scrubs also has a lot of that crazy off the wall humor and maybe that's why it's easy to watch. But what's strange is that it is also a semi-dramatic show, and in most cases dramas are the first to go when my depression interferes with my tv watching. Scrubs involves death, character growth, etc., so it's strange that when my mind is in a state that usually wants to avoid anything actually pulling at the emotions it should choose Scrubs. But maybe its the fact when Scrubs pulls at you, it pulls at you in situations that it depicts as ordinary. Thus you don't have to dig into your heart for emotions you weren't prepared for and for extraordinary variants of those emotions, the ordinary sort of sadness is appropriate, the ordinary sort of self-reflection is alright. That said, there are still certain Scrubs episodes I can't watch, I haven't been able to get myself to watch My Own Personal Jesus even though it's an episode I'd really like to watch. (On the other hand this theory might be completely off or it might be a combination of this plus most of the sadness is not critical of the characters which allows me to feel that emotion without feeling the pull of sympathetic guilt, which may be what I'm really trying to avoid, maybe, I'm not sure, one can never truly stare into their head and completely understand it, Godel actually proved that.)
I write this for a couple reasons, first of all, this is what's in my head right now, secondly, this is one of those odd little things about how my mind works that I and hopefully some of you find fascinating, thirdly, I take my tv watching pretty seriously. Well, maybe not that seriously, I can enjoy it without analyzing it. But tv provokes me, it touches me, it keeps my mind active by pulling out emotions that were inactive, forcing me to think out jokes and dramatic situations, and sparking my imagination. To rebuke those who say tv kills imagination, I'd say my imagination is build up by tv. I'm able to access the ideas, words, and images of tv to build up my ideas, to use as inspiration. Many of jokes were inspired (although not necessarily copied) from the Simpsons. I only really thought of robotic life after watching transformers. My first ideas about mecha only came after watching Gundam Wing. My ideas about the fantasy epic really took off only after watching Record of Lodoss War. But my ideas did not stay derivitive copies of these tv shows, rather they evolved into other directions, sometimes making them untracable to their origin. On the shoulders of these giants my ideas stand. Some may argue books can play the same role, and they can, but tv provides images, which helps my imagination imagine images built on those of tv, that is not to say that books are worse, books force my mind to imagine my own images, on the other hand tv helps my mind imagine more complex images, and anyways, the worth of a story depends most importantly on the story not the medium.
Some would argue that it is best for the mind to be untainted by tv so it can imagine ideas completely original. I remember a story by Orson Scott Card called "Unaccompanied Sonata," it is an amazing story and everyone should read it. Among the many concepts it contained (although this was not the theme, but rather a background concept, and it didn't really recommend this so much as say this was how the world of this story worked) was the idea that a musician to be truely original had to be completely cut off from any music. When the musician of the story did hear music suddenly he started altering his music based on what he heard, making it in some way just a little derivative. Because of this he was cast out of music. The idea is intriguing, but I like the idea that just like science art can build upon itself. Yes, it is interesting to see fresh perspectives from those who haven't studied the art (and I use art in a broad way including tv, books, etc.), but those who have studied art can build on the past, learning from the flaws and successes to perfect the art. Yes, things will be a little derivative in some ways, but honestly, I'm not afraid of things being a little derivative, as long as it's done well. TV is just like any other art in the fact that it can offer ideas, words and images which can be used to build more stories and art. So I do watch tv with pride and appreciation, at its best it is art, and it is wonderful.
And on a more personal note, when I'm really depressed sometimes TV with the ideas it gives me helps push me out of my depression just like a book might or a painting might. On the other hand, tv does provide a distraction, which has cost me much time, but no blessing in this world is without its drawbacks. Yet I think tv is most definitely worth its drawbacks.
That's about all I want to say about that, so take it to your head, take it to your heart, and remember Rand rocks. Goodnight Folks!

And God Bless.

Working like a turkey

Because if you ever saw a wild turkey run across the road, you'd know they work pretty darn hard.

Anywho, I'm building up a new site for The Rand Show + doing lots of job-like work. So I've been busy. But also, I've been looking over old posts, and am starting to compile some best of stuff. Here's a run down of a bit of a random sampling of the best of the Rand Show. Be forwarned, it is pretty awesome and it's incomplete.

Rand Reviews

At home in the lonely hearts club, or my review of Cupid
It's Mightly Cold in Juno, or my review of Juno
28 days later, 28 weeks later, 28 years later and forever, or my review of 28 Days Later
But for a nail... 28 weeks after the fact, or my review of 28 Weeks Later
Sometimes you need to go where everyone has a gun, or my review of Arsenal
We love big dreams, right? or my review of the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzyimiya
The Inevitable Gravity of Destiny, or my review of Escaflowne
The temptation of wheat, or my review of Azumanga Diaoh
My American Dream: notes on Rushmore and The Great Gatsby

Rand vs. the Music

I wanted to be all you need: Notes on Here is Gone by the Goo Goo Dolls
Creep: Notes on Creep by Radiohead
Karaoke equals Awesome: Notes on Perfect Situation by Weezer
Space Oddity: Notes On Space Oddity by David Bowie
Here's to You Michael Jackson, Salute: Notes on the King of Pop
Putting the f-ing fun back into Rand F-ing Awesome McRanderson

Rand Writes

The Insidious Logic of Transfat
And the sole survivor watches us all, he's got the eye of the tiger
Me, Eddy, and that Oriental-Loooking Fellow
And What of the Oriental in America?
Just to start some contraversy
For some reason I can't explain, once you were gone it was never the same
Christ has Risen!
I follow he who has conquered death
Rand's Advanetures in Job Land
Happy St. Thomas' Day
For James

Cause TV ain't easy

People will tell you tv is for bums. And heck there are bums that watch tv, but then there are tv conousseurs who are anything but bums. And I, my good friends are in the latter category.

So here's a quick run down of some nice tv I've been mulling over in my head lately.

Season 19 Simpsons - The season's over now and the verdict is... pretty good. I was surprised by this season, it had some very nice episodes including a few that I might dare (and I do dare for I dare!!! For I AM RAND!!!), most notably "That 90's Show" and "The Debarted." That doesn't mean these season hasn't had it's fair share of meh episodes like "All About Lisa" or "Love Springfield Style" and this season has had a few out and out bad episodes like "Funeral for a Fiend." Yet what this season shows is that The Simpsons can still turn out good, ney, excellent half hours of tv. This isn't a return to the glory days when even when the Simpsons was bad it was great, nor is it even a return to the uneven 10-13 seasons, rather it is a new phase in Simpsons-dom, maybe one that's been building. And if it is not back to the past, it is still a good future, and I wait with great anticipation to see what will come of it.

Battlestar Galactica - Any quick rundown of the web can give you a dozen better reviews than what I got for Battlestar Galactica (for one such source (also a good source of reviews of Lost, which I haven't even really had a chance to mull over) is the always excellent What's Alan Watching. What I'd just like to say is I don't think Battlestar Galactica's ending is going to live up to the hype, but on the other hand it can't. The hype's been built up with style and flair that has been one of the most interesting things about the show. To put it more plainly, it's not just hype, it's a well-built structure of suspense integrated into the story. I can't imagine the story actually living up to that suspense mind you, especially given this up and down season, but even if it all comes crashing down, the ruins will still be amazing to gaze at. So yes, yes I will watch Battlestar Galactica come to an end, even if it cannot fulfill my dreams.

Big Bang Theory - Weird show. From the premise I'd just assume it was awful, but there's something charming about it. I suppose it's the fact that at its best the show is an homage to nerdage, which doesn't shy away from nerdage's problems, but finds humor in both the greatness and the flaws of nerditude. It doesn't seem to have gotten into a groove where it can be put into that class of greatness, but it does have its moments. On the other hand, it does have moments of pure condesension or mockery toward nerds which is just irritating, and then there are moments of pure sitcom-i-ness. But I'm hoping that the best in it might flesh out. Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

Coupling - That's where I'm getting the perhaps, perhaps, perhaps thing. I'm not going to say much about it, except that it's highly confusing when you try piecing together what's going on. But what's going on is never the important part for me, it's funny moments are just perfect combinations of wit and characterization that, heck, maybe it doesn't add up to anything, it's still nice to watch.

Now for my final bit of tv rumination (although not the actual final bit of rumination in my head, I just need to get on to other things), what the television viewing public really needs is Rand on tv.

You know you want it.

So anyways, take it to your head, take it to your heart and remember Rand rocks. Goodnight Folks!

Urge to kill rising...

Now that phrase comes not from my well-documented urge to kill... (just kidding, just kidding... please don't arrest me), but rather from the quite spectacularly awesome Treehouse of Horror Episode: Treehouse of Horror V (check the episode capsule here).

Still I like to think of myself as a media connaisseur, and the media world of late has not treated me especially well, although not especially badly either.

It feels a little bit strange moving from my usually heavy personal rantings, to this rather random media sampling reviewish type session, but SO BE IT!

Now, the #1 item on my media radar (which functions less as a radar than as a paperweight holding inside of it the secret to eternal youth) is Lost.

Ah, Lost, my on-again, off-again, tv-show lover. It's hard to hate Lost, no wait, it's easy. There are always sixteen different running plotlines which go from being overemphasized to forgotten, the flashback/flashforward structure is sometimes forced. The "mysteries" are sometimes without purpose except to yank the audience's chain. Many of the characters act in a bizarre, irrational fashion just as a story device.

Yet, it's also easy to love Lost. Even if sometimes convoluted, the plot twists are often surprising and serve to force the characters to act in a way more revealing of their personalities. That's the big point, Lost is at the end of the day, a series of character studies, and all the flashbacks and island weirdness serve to bring out, throw together and force into conflict the different aspects of different characters personalities. Sometimes this works better than other times. Sometimes the writers fail to bring out the full glory of the characters. But when things work... damn.

It's just awesome.

And perhaps, if everything holds together till the end of the show, which I'm not sure if it can (X-files for example, while building an amazingly complex and intriguing mythology for many seasons, fell apart in the last few years), might create an idea of the island which can serve as a character unto itself, with depths immense and complex, just like the show's characters at their best.

But if Lost can be pretty damn awesome, for most of season 3 and even a good chunk of season 2, it was pretty damn lame. But at the end of season 3 there was a solid rebounce, and now with season 4 we're seeing some pretty awesome episodes... until now. The first 3 episodes of season 3 were all grade A's, the 4th one's a C+ at best, but the season's not over yet, and so I'm still swinging for the fences and watching every episode.

If this is setting me up for a fall... well, you got to lose to love, and you got to love to lose, and so here I am a loser ready to love. Or something like that.

Anywho, sleep's a-calling, so take it to your head, take it to your heart and remember Rand rocks. Goodnight Folks!

The Melancholy of Haruhi Redux

(I previously had this post using my full name, but because of the whole companies searching for my name to check me out and then reacting badly to the medical/mental stuff here, I had to take it out. It sucks, it's not how things, but F-ing A-, that's the way the world is.)
(I love using my middle name to give a phrase a little bit more gravitas.
And a word such as melancholy has been overused so much, one must add a dash of gravitas to bring out its true essence.)

Because melancholy's a little bit more than that whiny-ness it's so often associated with, it's about a profound disconnect from the world and from that which gives people joy in life. Melancholy's not a fun place to be...

But it is sometimes a fun place to watch, at least in the case of the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. As I said in that review of the show, I can identify with her melancholy. She has the loneliness of anonymity. If you're just one out of millions of millions, why do you matter? Why do the people around you matter? Why should you bother with happiness? And the natural laws of population say that there are millions and millions of humans, and they're never that far away from you. It's natural to feel a melancholy, and even if it's masked by a manic lust for excitement driven by a desperation for a source of uniqueness, that melancholy, it's absolutely horrible.

And I said I could relate to Haruhi's feelings, and I can. But I have a reply to those feelings and so does the show. Since I'm going to talk about the latter as well as the former, prepare for spoilers.

Or to make it more clear Warning: Spoilers.

By the beginning of the show, Haruhi, in response to her melancholy has discarded all normal human relations, all normal human activities, and all normal human impulses, because she is determined to find the abnormal, and so she'll only bother to become interested with things which defy the normal world, such as aliens, esp-ers, and time-travelers.

Yet her approach at the beginning of the show is rather self-defeating, because instead of being guided towards the weird, she is isolated from even the normal. All that's left to do is sit bored and stare out the window. But Kyon, our intrepid, if foolishly impulsive, hero boldly begins to talk to her and mentions that those dissatisfied with the world are doomed, unless they're an extraordinary few who change the world.

So Haruhi is determined to become one of those few. So she organizes a club like none her school has seen before. Its mission is to seek out aliens, esp-ers, and time-travelers, and have fun with them!

That's certainly a response to the melancholy that possesses her. And it's a response that makes sense. Instead of waiting for the strange, go out and find it. Instead of resigning yourself to be normal in a normal world, make your world extraordinary and become extraordinary.

And that approach works... to an extend. I suppose I adopted that approach to a degree during my high school year, or even before. I wanted to seek adventure and get all my friends to help me. I even drew up the club papers for John Corp, which isn't too far away from the SOS Birgade. I had a dream of a personal army who would seek out the dangerous, the glorious, and the righteous, and would reform my school and would run businesses and would implement my revolutionary new ideas and would fight the drug culture and... yes I did dream of fighting the melancholy.

But there is a problem with that approach. The world is very hard to change. And when you do change it, the change is always small compared to the bigger changes the world inflicts on itself. To make matters worse, you can't always control the changes you make to the world. Perhaps I hold myself too harshly for this, but during freshman year I ran for Class Treasurer (actually originally I had planned to run for Class President but a pal of mine convinced me to run for Treasurer while he ran for President, ensuring that there was only one male in each category, so that while the female vote splintered, the male vote was concentrated... essentially we rigged the election... awesomely), and my approach was three-pronged. I gave an impassioned speech outlining my plans, my enthusiasm and my reasons for service. Then I did a rap and did a dance. Yep.

To add to things, several friends of mine had written J-O-H-N on their chests and took off their shirts. In short, I raised the bar on showmanship for the high school election.

Yet every year after that, it seemed like speeches became less and less about issues and more about jokes, till finally senior year a cabinet full of funny, good-natured, but lazy jokers were elected. Events went unorganized. Our school phonebook, once renown for its terrific art (including once a cover by me), was left with crude last minute scribblings. Our finances stagnated and our once grand senior trip plans had to be cut up (to a degree, exactly to what degree I can't remember, it was 4 years ago). In short competence had gone out of student government.

I think I blame myself too much for this, since a few years before I came to high school, a kid made an election speech focusing on a twinkie, and overall no one respected the student government. But I didn't help matters, at least in the respect of student council respectability. The changes we want to make are often very different than the changes we make.

That's not to say don't try to change the world. Heck, I'm still trying, I manage at any given time 4 or 5 side projects, most of which amount to nothing, but all of which aim to become part of something grand. Besides, the world has a lot that needs to be changed. War, hate, apathy. And we can fill the world with love and hope and faith and grandeur and dreams. Heck, I love big dreams, just like Haruhi.

But like I said, there are limits to her approach, which I think she finds as well in the show. Despite forming her club, she finds that she can't get enough members or attention. And although she herself is actually quite extraordinary with the ability to shape reality to her will, the changes she inflicts can often be quite destructive to those she cares about. In fact, by the end of the season she comes quite close to destroying the world.

Yet, if changing the world is a messy, unpredictable, and immensely slow process, a truly melancholy person can often find even in extraordinary times, things aren't extraordinary enough, despite all his or her trying.

And I've felt that too.

But the show and I can agree on two other replies. First is the reply of people. While Haruhi's club doesn't change the world, and while she never (at least so far, there's another season being produced and more books (the series is based on some books) being written) realized that she is in fact secretly surrounded by aliens, esp-ers, and time-travelers, she does acquire friends. And if friends don't make you truly extraordinary, it does allow you to feel extraordinary for moments, and it gives you relationships where each one is uniquely shaped. It's not everything, but sometimes good relationships are better than even an extraordinary world. That's the show's primary answer.

The show has a secondary answer it visits upon more briefly. If you can't become extraordinary everywhere and for all time, it is still possible to become extraordinary in certain moments and certain times. But it requires working through the ordinary. And thus something as simple as a fun band to play in on the side can become an opportunity for a moment of truly extraordinary thrill. Even if there's a lot of normal in this universe, if you look hard, you can find there's a lot of spots of extraordinary as well.

These are, as far as I can see, the show's answers to Haruhi's melancholy. To that I would add the thing that saved me more than anything else from my melancholy (not to say I'm entirely cured of it, but I can handle it, and I couldn't before, and besides, a little melancholy (mind you a little), isn't so bad).

God has always been there for me. Having His light shine down on me, having Him love me, having God, the most... that's something extraordinary. There's your unique. He will hold you close for your every moment, and to Him you are something absolutely precious.

What's more, understand that the world's in His hands gives you a different perspective. You don't need to save the world... I mean you can't really, the world's far too big for you, but not for God, and He's doing the best He can. Now the world's still got problems, and there are reasons for that (the need for free will, the need for individuality, the need for diversity, etc.), and there are mysteries involved as well. Yet even though you still might want to change the world, you don't need to worry about it not being made good enough, God's still out there, and if you trust Him, things will be all right in the end. That's not to say tears are something bad or wrong, but out there waiting is a joy so profound it defies all melancholy.

Yet even if you're not religious, perhaps you can find a taste of that profound joy in the taste of love. For God's spirit moves through love, and perhaps in a kind world, a hug, or... a kiss... one can find that a bit of that absolutely... extraordinary... presence and find that even melancholy can be defeated.

Although I doubt The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya will echo my religious thoughts, I do think it believes in the power of love, and maybe that will be enough to save Haruhi too from the depths of her melancholy.

Anywho, just to remind you guys, I gave the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya a 8/10 and I look forward to seeing the next season whenever it comes over to the English-speaking world.

So take it to your head, take it to your heart and remember Rand rocks. Goodnight Folks!

Quotes! Boats! And more of the Rand you love!

So it's been a while since I've done a quotes session. Too "a while," "too a while" indeed.

So then BRING ON THE QUOTES!!! (And now with boats too!)

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." - Churchill after the Battle of El Alameinin. (The battle that signaled the beginning of the defeat of the German North Africa campaign and the beginning of the end of the North Africa front in World War II)

"Every beginning contains the seeds of an end." - Rand

"I do believe in the power of stuff." - Saka, Avatar: The Last Airbender (Episode: Avatar Day)

"A mathematician, like a painter or a poet, is a maker of patterns. If his patterns are more permanent than theirs, it is because they are made with ideas." - G. H. Hardy (a pretty interesting early 20th c. mathematician, he was one of the most eloquent speakers on the art of abstract mathematics. Notably he wrote The Mathematician's Apology, explaining math as art, and especially the beauty of math that's absolutely useless. He is also notable for discovering our next quotee)

"An equation means nothing to me unless it expresses a thought of God." - Srinivasa Ramanujan (one of the great mathematicians of the early 20th century, largely self-taught (although his mother MIGHT have been versed in traditions of Indian mathematics) he stunned the world with revolutionary theorems in abstract fields of mathematics. Yet, to the probable chagrin of Hardy, he was a highly religious Hindu (Hardy, a well-known aethist/agnostic, said after Ramanujan's death that Ramanujan's religiosity was overstated, but based on other people's accounts, quotes like this, and most biographers, I imagine it's just a matter of the father-figure sad that his son-figure is less like him). He was brought to England by Hardy and while being highly productive, Ramanujan became ill and died soon after arriving there, leaving the world to wonder about what feats of math he could have accomplished had he lived a full life.)

And as promised here's a boat... of the stars!!!

"Beauty is truth's smile when she beholds her own face in a perfect mirror." -
Rabindranath Tagore (Definitely in my top 3 most absolutely awesome poets)

"Wild honey has the scent of freedom" - Anna Akhmatova (Definitely also in the three)

"But I have promises to keep,/ And miles to go before I sleep," - Robert Frost (And that would round off the three)

"Facts are many, but the truth is one." - Rabindranath Tagore

"“A journey was undertaken/ and it was not the destination/ but it was in good faith!” - Hajj, NHB

"Look our forefathers died for the pursuit of happiness, okay, not the sit around and wait of happiness. Now if you want you can go to the same bar, drink the same beer, talk to the same people every day or you can lick the liberty bell. You can grab life by the crack and lick the crap out of it." - Barney, How I Met Your Mother, Episode: The Taste of Liberty)

"Writing is like swallowing a precious gem, to get it out you need to sort through tons and tons of crap, but if you try hard you can get that precious gem." - Rand

"He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man." - Samuel Johnson

"Whenever the private sector introduces an innovation that makes the poor better off than they would have been without it, or that offers benefits or terms that no one else is prepared to offer them, someone—in the name of helping the poor—will call for curbing or abolishing it." - Thomas Woods, Woods's Law

"Never follow a hippie to a second location." - John Francis "Jack" Donaghy, 30 Rock, Episode: Rosemary's Baby

"Everyone specializes in what he is worst at." - Rothbard's Law

You know this guy, I love this guy, I really do

You know with TV shows have several multiple plot centers, especially when there's an ensemble cast of all-cool, all-awesome characters. But sometimes you're just in a mood for one plot center, and you're like, hmmm, how do I get through these lists of episode names to get to the plot center I want. And so I feel like that at times. And so I thought I might even things out for myself and for all other Cowboy Bebop fans out there:

So let me break down some plot centers, etc.:
(story-line are episodes having to do with the character's central personal back-story, semi-storyline are episodes that have some lasting significance or that reveal some minor back-story element, and then there's just non-storyline episodes)

Ensemble episodes: 2. Stray Dog Strut, 4. Gateway Shuffle, 7. Heavy Metal Queen, 11. Toys in the Attic, 14. Bohemian Rhapsody, 23. Brain Scratch

Jet-centric episodes:
Storyline: 10. Ganymede Elegy, 16. Black Dog Serenade
Semi-storyline: Boogie Woogie Feng Shui

Edward-centric episodes:
Storyline: 24. Hard Luck Woman
Semi-storyline: 9. Jamming with Edward
Non-storyline: 17. Mushroom Samba

Faye-centric episodes:
Storyline: 15. My Funny Valentine, 18. Speak Like A Child, 24. Hard Luck Woman
Semi-Storyline: 3. Honky-Tonk Woman, 12.,13. Jupiter Jazz (two parts)

Spike-centric episodes:
Storyline: 5. Ballad of Fallen Angels, 12,13. Jupiter Jazz (two parts), 25.,26. The Real Folk Blues
Semi-Storyline: 1. Asteroid Blues, 19. Wild Horses, The Movie - Knocking on Heaven's Door
Non-storyline: 6. Sympathy for the Devil, 8. Waltz for Venus, 20. Pierre Le Fou, 22. Cowboy Funk

Some might dispute my divisions, but in the end, those people aren't as cool as me.

So take it to your head take it to your heart and remember Rand rocks. Goodnight Folks!

At home in the lonely hearts club

So I'm doing a semi-review, semi-link-centered, semi-exposition, semi-introspection, and all of it's going to be awesome.

Take a deep breath.

To help you relax, here's as the title might suggest a link to Sergent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band as portrayed in Yellow Submarine. (By the way, while the song is pretty cool, I'm not overall a huge fan of that album, although I realize its merits)

So, under the unrelenting pressure of the TV writers strike (actually there have been moments of relention, due to various factors, but unrelenting sounds cool), mega-cool tv critic Alan Sepinwall has been taking a look at an old short-lived favorite (or at least fondly remembered) of his called Cupid (all of whose episodes can be found on youTube with a simple search (if you come up with more videos of music, such as the excellent though quite off-topic song and music video of Cupid's Chokehold by Gym Class Heroes, try searching for Cupid 1, since the episodes are broken into 5 pieces, as a general rule that's usually a good way to find broken up episodes on youTube). And obliged by my unrelenting loyalty to NJ's premier tv critic I have given it a shot.

I'm not going to do a real review because I haven't watched the whole series (currently I'm on ep. 9, out of however, I think only 15, although rumor has it that the series might be getting a do-over and being remade by the head writer) and my mind's still too sunk into the series to really have any sensibility to the review.

But some things to point out especially as they relate to that semi-introspection I've been hinting at.

First of all: The intro theme is pretty damn cool (the song's called "Human" by the Pretenders. At first, I wasn't crazy about it, it doesn't have that strong of a hook or an overwhelming energy, but it has a quiet intensity that grows on you. The nice little images of the intro also help with that.

So here's a link to Cupid's intro.

However, if what to see that quiet intensity really brought out in its intense sense (the Cupid intro more brings out the quiet, pleasant sense) check out the Pretenders video for the song which takes the intensity to a funny but really quite creepy place.

Also, notice the main line: "I'm only human on the inside." Where does the emphasis fall on that? If it's on the "human", the song is emphasizing her essential humanness, if it's only on "the inside" then there's the suggestion that on the outside she's something other than human, which the video also suggests. And if the song's having it both ways, then it's crazy, but heck, so are we all. After all, we're human on the inside.

But if I might return to that show Cupid. With reviews I usually have a lot of trouble explaining plots, not so much with Cupid, partially because the overall arches either were never finished or I didn't see them finish, but more so because this is an anthology show.

The focus is a couple of the week, either having problems or needing to be put together, and to help is Trevor Hale, who's convinced that he's actually Cupid, the Roman god of love, and he just might be (my view of the show is that it tends to say he is, but there's just a slight chance he might be otherwise...). Of course, if he's not Cupid, he's just delusional. And the spectacular feature of his delusion is that he's convinced he's been exiled to Earth as a mortal and needs to fix up 100 couples with true love before he can return to Olympus. To his fortune, he is placed under the care of a psychologist named Claire who sees his delusions as harmless and who runs a single therapy group. To his misfortune, Claire's views on love are very much different from his and often she works against his attempts to unite couples, although her actions often end up complementing his. Underneath it all is chemistry between Claire and Trevor, and to round out the cast is good old Champ, an actor and barkeep who's Trevor's roommate and acts in the everyman role.

Essentially its a fantasy-influenced romantic comedy with dramatic elements. If that doesn't sound that appealing, let me assure you that the comedy is very real and the dramatic elements often reach right to the core. Afterall, while it is melodramatic at times, it is melodramatic about the inherently melodramatic concept of love, which is truly beautiful none the less. But more than anything else, this show has charm to spare. I'm reminded of one of the posts my friend Howard did for me while I was away on vacation, Why I Watch the Tonight Show, and his conclusion is that its because of Jay's good-natured charm, well that's why I like Cupid. It's absolutely charming. And I guess that's because it's unashamedly about LOVE, in its both big and small, funny and dramatic, zany and serious forms, without taking itself too seriously or too lightly, and dancing away all the pretentiousness with mounts of utterly hilarious wit.

So for a preliminary review I'm giving it a 7 out of 10, because it is pretentious, it does get overdramatic, sometimes its storylines are silly or drawn out, sometimes its emotional arcs are rushed, but its got so much damn charm. (I think in the end you just have to label me a rank sentimentalist)

But I wanted to talk about this more because of its relation to the title of this post: The Lonely Hearts Club. And damn this show reminds me that I'm in that. If it wasn't so good, and heck, honestly if I was deeply involved with some other show (ie if Scrubs had produced a really nice season 6 and 7), I probably wouldn't watch it, because even when I'm laughing, even when I'm touched to the center of my being, it hurts. But maybe that's a good thing in the end. If you don't feel the hurt of love...

I have enough plans keep me busy forever. I have work. I have God. I don't need romance. But why then does a show like Cupid hurt? Just the wistfulness of could maybe be? In the end, no. Some don't need the dream of romance, but the reason why Cupid hurts is because I do. That's me. And so I need the pain, even if it is the bitter, bitter pain of loneliness, to keep that romantic part of me from decaying. Because I love romance with such a passion, to give it up...

Now you can't idolize romance, that's a sin. But to give up romance when it's such a central part of me, essentially because of fear, because despite the excuse of busy-ness, the real reason for avoiding romance is for me fear (especially given the questionable nature of some of my side projects), that's a sin. And as a good Christian, I must do God's will, not mine.

And besides, it's not that unlikely... it might be hard, but it's probably not that hard... it won't be perfect, but chances are it could be so good... maybe one fine day despite the tides of the past, there will be a woman who I can hold in my arms and love with total romance.

Perhaps that sounds sappy, perhaps that sounds foolish, perhaps there's a little crazy there too, but I'm only human on the inside, add emphasis where you choose.

Anyways, if you have something to drink (man, how I wish I had a glass of orange juice right now), let's raise a toast: To Love. And to God, the founder of the great feast of love, in all its many forms.

So take it to your head, take it to your HEART, and remember Rand rocks. Goodnight Folks!


Post-script: I have a special feature: reviews of certain Cupid episodes I found mega-awesome and certain Cupid episodes that have had a mega-awesome impact on me. It's also possible that some time later I might throw in a full review of Cupid, plus a review of episodes of less than highest caliber, and those that I simply haven't seen yet. But that's getting far too ahead of ourselves. For now though, check out the episode reviews I have now (I put them on a separate page since this is getting obscenely long) because they kick up the reviewerness up a notch, but they also kick up some of the introspection too, overall, they kick up the awesomeness up a notch (because of that very reason, I might do some ep. reviews of other shows I review too, maybe, if only I have the time...)

Because it was a funny episode, of our lives that is

Cupid's a pretty damn good show (as I have noted here). But that said it's a pretty uneven show. No episodes are really bad or unwatchable, but some are only so-so. But those episodes that are good, they're solid gold. And moreover, they've got so many nooks and crannies that they're worth talking about, whether just for a little bit (as I do) or for quite a bit (as the grand NJ TV guru Alan Sepinwall does). So talk I shall... for I AM RAND!!!

But for reasons of time, and perhaps even interest, I'm only going to hit the upper-crust of the episodes I've seen. It's a mixed bag of funny, dramatic, relateability, and straight-to-the-heart (usually obvious, but still valuable) truths about love. Even if the truth hurts sometimes. Even if just thinking about romance for a man lonely in that department is painful. But if an episode can conjure up such an emotional response, that's a testament to its quality (isn't it?).

Because of that a couple of the best episodes hurt enough that I can wax poetic (or perhaps pathetic (but how can the mighty and glorious Rand be pathetic?)) about them, especially since they were a bit close to home. But let me first highlight just some generally very good episodes (I'm planning to go back and do this with a lot of the other shows I've reviewed):

Ep. 3: Heaven, He's in Heaven (you can get the start here, I'll leave you smart internet-pioneers to find your way to the rest of the episode) (And here's the comments of Mr. Sepinwall on the episode (including input from the show's creator Rob Thomas))
- Touching episode about death, loss, and growing old - and about your husband spontaneously bursting out into song and dance in the middle of the day (and he's surprisingly good at it too). Hilarious and moving. That's Cupid.

Ep. 5: First Loves (start's here) (Mr. Sepinwall's comments)
- The central concept is cliche, but Cupid's about love, so the show's unabashed by cliches, or if abashed, it still runs gleefully into them. And there's plenty of glee here. And some soft played romance (with a nice twist ending). And then there's some more weighty drama in the background. Perhaps most important in the episode is it shows all the characters being themselves in a softly spectacular way, and if you love those characters, then the episode's just gold.

Ep. 6: Meat Market (start's here) (Mr. Sepinwall's comments)
-Dude, for Halloween the guys dressed up as the village people. And one of them thought there was a milkman in the group. And one of them thought they weren't gay. Dude. This is a fun, fun, funnity fun episode, with little gems of small drama because the fun just demands you love the characters. That's Cupid (once more).

Ep. 8: Heart of the Matter (start's here) (Mr. Sepinwall's comments)
-This episode is a tricky beast. It brings in a new character who's got some real comedic chops. It puts up a real solid barrier to the romance. And then it hits you with a surprise that neither you or the characters really know how to deal with. Does the episode hit some sour notes? A little. The introduced character slips into Trevor's life a little too easily and with too few questions (usually characters friendly with Trevor take some getting used to his whole Roman god thing). But the balance of so many different emotions. It's like a house of cards, except the house is holding. Have you ever looked at a house of cards? Imagine if despite all the gravity and balance issues it held. That's this episode, and that's Cupid at its best.

So those are some generally good episodes. Now let me touch on some episodes that have a particular sense for me:

Ep. 2: The Linguist (full links: 1/5, 2/5, 3/5, 4/5, 5/5) (Mr. Sepinwall's commentary as well) (well, I've got spoilers everywhere, but there's especially a lot of spoilers coming up about these episodes).
- This episode speaks to me for a couple reasons. First of all, the male of the week is a virgin. I actually don't like how this is played in the episode, since it's treated as a freak thing, which I don't think anyone outside of Hollywood would actually consider it (I mean its funny to talk about the 40-year old virgin when it's apparent that the whole thing is pure laughs, but here, while the show laughs at how other people react to a 35 (around that)-year old virgin, it also laughs at him, and that pisses me off a little). When I first saw that I basically felt I probably wouldn't like it. But even from the beginning there were a few elements of gorgeous charm.

First of all, the male was a linguist, and while linguistics isn't quite my field, it is still pretty cool. Secondly, it was dealing mostly w/ the university crowd, which I've grown up with (P-town all the way!!!). Thirdly, it had an interesting angle on how Claire might try to get to the root of Trevor's "delusions."

But then I thought about the reason why the man was a virgin. He had dedicated his life to his work. Sex, but more importantly romance, was a distraction and more importantly it sucked out his energy. But now his interest in work is fading, and he's still alone, and he's never really gotten the hang of the connections necessary for dating. Now I'm still highly interested in my work, but that could, without too much of a stretch be me in fifteen years or so.

And yet there is someone he has feelings for. And there's a secret he's hiding, one he doesn't really need to hide, but one which has defined him. But he lets that go for the woman he loves, and in helping her he revives his own interest in teaching linguistics. But through just tangles of circumstance, and more importantly tangles of prejudice, he starts to lose her. Yet with a bit of help from Cupid, well, he sheds his secret, and shows just how good a linguistics teacher he is, and then... well they were born to run. (funny thing, it's explicitly a quote from Bruce Springstein but they don't use his song at the end, probably because they can't afford it)

So let me give one more episode that struck me like The Thunderbolt:
Ep. 9: The End of Eros
-Again here's an episode that I started out disliking. The set-up was too cliche, a show about love and then there's a psychologist who doubts love. And I think (although my cultural time-line isn't perfect) this came out at a certain time when there were a lot of movies and such that dealt with people giving up on love (Down with Love, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Wedding Planner, etc.). But the male lead again struck me as interesting. He was an academic, in this case a cosmologist (ultra-cool field), he was petrifyingly nervous around women, but when he relaxed, say after he decided romance wasn't a concern, he was decently funny and decently happy and he had work and all that.

This could actually be me today, sometimes. Sometimes I just seem to give up on love. But love strikes him without his wanting. And moreover, it again uncovers a connection between his professional and personal love. Yet he resists.

Redeeming how pretentious anti-love is: Drunk Cupid. Drunk Cupid + Romance distracted Claire = male lead's not getting the help he needs. But Claire remembers about children, and she rallies Cupid's fundamental by nature belief in love, and they form a genius plan. Except, Cupid, wounded by events, scared to fail, wants to blow it all off at the last moment, except Claire says no! And they argue, all the while the plan seems to be falling to pieces. But then they bump into a button and a switch and a ... and all the plans they speculated on come up without them, even better than they planned, and then the planetarium lights up, and then it plays:

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

Beautiful. Maybe it makes me believe in love.

Maybe this whole show does. But if it does then what? Really, do I throw myself out there? Well, what if I do? What will that require in terms of school and projects and plans? It's so late in my college career and it's in such a critical part of my life and... And what about all of that and that and that and that?

I don't believe that everybody needs somebody. Some people will be more about friendships than romances, and some, from choice or circumstances, will be tied just barely to humanity, and while they need to hold on to those ties, they might not need romance.

And I don't really need romance. It's a Christian Creed that God's love is all you need. But it's not a sin to want romance. And I've always dreamed of it. And it's always inspired me. And... and... I believe in romantic love. And I believe in me and romantic love. And it's hard to imagine me giving up on it, without the surrender being at the root being about fear. And if that's the case... I think I can't really give up on love without giving up on a part of myself that's an essential part of who I am.

Cupid at its best is about that. That those who at their hearts are romantics cannot give up on romance without betraying a part of themselves; however if they keep chasing that romance, they might just be able to raise their soul a bit higher to a very special place. But you got to keep trying, even if it's damn hard. Ask and you shall receive, but you need to ask! It's an old lesson. But God bless Cupid for telling it to us again.

Now before I start whining like a little shojo baby (see Piro in Megatokyo), I think I need to wrap things up. If I have time, some time, I might go over the episodes I didn't get to and some of the episodes that were less than full outstanding level or didn't really hit the connection with me.

But until then, keep on chasing that green light, even if it's very far away.

So take it to your head, take it to your heart and remember Rand rocks. Goodnight Folks!

Ah, for breath of fire

So as I said before I'm a fan of the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzuyama. Now the show, even though it's chaotic chronology-wise (although as I pointed out in my review, there's a method to that madness), roughly fit a full story arc. However, there was enough left over and enough left open, and simply enough immensity of fun to invite a second season and so I am eagarly awaiting for that second season to come to translation.

I'm also interested in checking out some of the Haruhi extra features scattered all over the net due to the immense cultiveness of the Haruhi-fandom (which as this post shows I can only claim peripheral involvement in). So when I found on DC++, that there was a new item belonging to the Haruhi Suzumiya franchise on the file sharing hub (the item being called Suzumiya Haruhi no Gekisou, which I'm not going to even pretend to know), I jumped on it despite the 2GB download.

But then I found it was all Japanese. As I found out from a review of the product (found here), it is essentially a recording of a concert/fan convention centering on the voice actors for the series. Even though I generally shy away from such things my passion for Haruhi is enough that I might have watched it end to end... if it were in English. Here's where the line is drawn between me and hardcore anime fans. Hardcore anime fans will watch anime even if it's not in English. They will learn Japanese solely for the purpose of understanding Japanese. Heck some learn Japanese only from animes (giving them a action/sex-pun centered vocabulary, as Geniksen, a manga (which I have not read) and anime (which I have seen much of and which sould be findable on youTube) about Otaku (the truly hard-core anime/manga/cosplay/sci-fi-fantasy model building/etc. fans), scewers in one of it's characters). Basically they love the media so much, and the culture associated with it, that they're willing to sit through incomprehensible yammering just to get the taste of it.

I have to admire that devotion. Me, I dunno. I could see myself watching something in pure Japanese if it showed a plot point I missed before, but I'd have to fast forward it so I could watch it in as little time possible. Even if an anime was especially pretty, it would be hard for me to imagine just watching it with no dubs or subtitles. You loose so much nuance that way, and some anime I watch would be complete cliches without that nuance (probably His and Her Circumstances, which is why I haven't watched the Japanese episodes on the web, despite being desperate to watch the rest of the series, having only watched half (although given the reputation of the second half, that might be a good thing, but that's another story for another day)). But to wade through another language that is several thousand miles from anything you understand, just to get a little more about a story you love. That's beautiful.

For the most part, at least. There are those who obsess to the point of idol-worship. It's a terrible approach to what might be a fantastic piece of media but in the end is not the center of life. But that happens in most subcultures as well as mainstream culture (more commonly with the idol that seems to top the historical list, money!). I find myself often enchanted though by the straight-forward passion of true otaku. It's amazing how worked up they can get talking about a series, and how much effort they put into celebrating it. Me, I like a lot of anime, I love a few, but that passion... oh well. At least I can watch it as a friendly observer of the subculture. That seems to be my place for most subcultures, but it's not too bad of a place to be, even if it does get a little lonely at times, but once again that is a story for another day.

So take it to your head, take it to your heart, and remember Rand rocks. Goodnight Folks!

The Very Long Night of Londo Mollari

Babylon 5 fans know what I'm talking about. I always loved that episode, and that title is just pretty awesome, even if is highly specific to Babylon 5. Awesome show, and one of the few American shows that truly earns the title of an epic (although the title epic is pretty contestible, some say only poems can be epics, and some say that epics must fulfill a number of conventions, but I'd say an epic is a matter of scope and focus, and given the intergalactic, many years scope and wide ranging focus I think it qualifies).

Ah, the epic, it has been one of my long dreams to write epic stories. Now I've got a long poem that might qualify with a little alteration but I dunno about that, it's kind of more personal in focus than epic. It's humorous too but I'm not sure if that necessarily disqualifies it from epicness. It's still awesome of course. Now probably my focus for an epic would be probably a book or book series or movie or movie series or tv series. Now containing a full epic in a book is kind of difficult. Epics are rambling creatures, containing wide-ranging perspectives and giant events over long periods of time. Space operas often approximate epics, but usually their focus is too narrow or sometimes just plain unfocused, and they lack the heroic sense of an epic. There are exceptions though. And of course there are fantasy epics, but usually though fantasy epics and even sci-fi epics go over several books and movies. TV I think has pretty awesome potential really to create epics, the long period of a tv shows with short pieces and the possibility of mini-arches and side stories I think has a lot of potential that's unexplored really.

So that's one of the reasons I'd like to do some tv writing. And for all you tv producers out there, you can probably give me some money and such, it would be pretty awesome you know and pretty awesome for everyone because you know I'm awesome and such.

I AM RAND!!!!

Etc.,etc.,etc.

So that's all for now, anyways, take it to your head, take it to your heart and remember Rand rocks. Goodnight Folks!

It's been a long November

It has been a long month. And I've established that over my sessions throughout the month. As to the why of the why it has been a long month, I could probably put out a good session on that, but I'd rather mix things up a little with a little mixing and a little upping and a little mixity upity up.

So I like gum. It's good stuff really. It preserves the experience of eating for a long time, and that's really nice.

I also like eating, it's also good stuff. I like to think it's a somewhat artistic experience. I mean the crafting of good food is artistic, but appreciating the food I think is also artistic. When you appreciate art you are forced to take an artistic outlook and such. So it's all good stuff.

So with that in mind, let's throw on some awesome artistic appreciation stuff like a couple of shows I'm watching now:

1. How I Met Your Mother

Really nice show, it's a sitcom but it goes beyond the sitcom conventions. The central conceit that it is a guy telling his kids how he met their mother gives the show a little bit of direction although sometimes it leads the show to go rather semi-lame lesson-oriented.

2. House

Nice, nice show really, most of the time. House is a jackass, but he's a miserable jackass. That's the thing about jackasses, if they're always right, the show's an endorsement of jackasstery, but if the jackass gets proven wrong every now and then then it's okay. And House manages to balance that. Plus you got some nice character interplay, and so nice joke cracking. And as a medical procedural show, well, I've heard they get some of the med stuff wrong every now and then, but the show keeps things suspenseful and they play around with the formula every now and then. But in the end it is a formula show though. And after a while, it gets kind of hard to stick with that. House is one of those shows that's great to watch every now and then and often awesome to watch when it's rising up or falling during a storyline arch, but once it hits the long stretch of the season, when the formula really shines out, the episodes become a little interchangable, and not something you want to over-do. So that's about that.

TV meets IV: result: Destruction of the World!!!

Or not. I dunno. I've gotten tired of Wikipedia's politics in regards to television and tv episodes. It makes no sense to have tiny Scrubs episode pages while not having pages for Cowboy Bebop or Samurai Champloo episodes, a policy which results in gigantic lists for listing all the info related to the episode and leaves out the various references, etc. I've also found TV.com somewhat annoying to use. What I am getting excited about is The TV IV, it's an open wiki that's easy to edit, unlike TV.com (although it lacks TV.com's forums which can be kind of nice), and it is focused on tv allowing for all sorts of episode pages unlike Wikipedia. To be fair, as a whole TV IV is underdeveloped, but given its looser rules I think with some effort it can be a better, more user and editor friendly resource in regards to TV, than Wikipedia or TV.com (although again given the forums capacity, I might still visit TV.com).

Once more, check out http://tviv.org for TV IV a TV wiki that's cool and such.

Or don't check it out.

It's not that terribly important but I thought I'd tell you guys what's what.

Because I care.

Long and weary my road has been

It's best not to compare problems. There are many, many, many people worse off in the world than me. But I haven't had it easy, and it's doubtful I'll have it easy in the future.

But that's okay. I can handle this. And I have the help of good friends, good family, and the Good Lord always watching over me. I occasionally have encountered the comment, why would a being of infinite power give personal attention to a random guy? Well, random people become full, lovable individuals when you know them, and God knows us all very well. Furthermore, if you have infinite power, that means you have infinite power to watch over people and help them out, then why wouldn't a being of infinite power give personal attention to each and every human being.

But enough of that I suppose.

I've been watching a lot of tv shows that deal with the future. The Office (not obvious connection, but it was the episode The Job which revolved around promotion and a common question asked was where do you see yourself in 10 years), Chuck and Reaper (both dealing with nerds having trouble growing up), and How I Met Your Mother (which is narrated from the future and also involves growing up issues). To boot all of this I also watched the finale of Samurai Champloo which involved some tough choosing on what to do with the futures of the main characters. So basically future on the mind really(as you might have guessed from the examples I've been talking about, this is more personal future than sci-fi future, which is awesome as well, mind you.), so I'm thinking a little about me and my future.

Where do I see myself in ten years?

Where indeed? Mongolia maybe? Well, to make it short, a fairly prominent writer, with probably a novel written, and several short stories published and a regular journalist gig. Traveling would be cool, I'm not planning to move too far away from family (although since I have family on both coasts that's not too much of a problem) immediately, but as the future moves on I'd probably want to be more mobile. It would be cool having connections, and it might be cool to have some of my side projects come to fruition. I envision this webpost being fairly well frequented in ten years for example, but maybe also my Knights of Mars plan will be implemented (it's a faternal order thing, except without the fater part, I'll elaborate on it later). As to a girl...

It has actually taken me a long time to get to a place in my life where I actually envision a nice future for myself. For several years after suicidal impulses started really showing up, it was hard for me to envision myself not dead after ten years. But now I'm a little bit more confident. A little bit. But as to a girl...

I'm still shaky in that department. I dunno, when I look at myself in ten years, it would be nice if I was married. But it's not essential. My father often asks me in regards to my career plans, well don't you want to have a family? Yeah, I would like it, but I dunno, I'm not sure if that's essential. Of course, this could just be me fleeing my feelings of insecurity about women. It could be a lot of things.

I know right now, having a girlfriend would help me a good deal, probably. But 10 years down the line, having a wife... It was always something I used to fantasize about, the feelings of a strong committed relationship, and I still do fantasize about those feelings, but I also fantasize about being a political power broker. Is having a wife a secondary fantasy to me being a writer?

I'm actually unsure. Again, maybe it's just because being a writer seems more plausible to me right now than being a husband. I'm really unsure, but that's a matter of matter.

Long and weary my road has been, and it's likely to stay that way.

We love big dreams, right? or my review of the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

I'm Rand the great and glorious, so come on, of course I love big dreams! But I got to say I love the Haruhi Suzumiya's SOS Brigade as well. Even if they don't match the biggest dreams of all.

Kyon is an ordinary high schooler who has just overcome his middle school obsession with the supernatural. Unfortunately he happens to be placed in the same class as Haruhi, who's obsession is still alive and well to the point of her scorning all activities outside the supernatural. Haruhi also unfortunately sits behind Kyon and Kyon has the unfortunate habit of talking to her. This eventually leads him to attempting to talk Haruhi out of her fixation in one of the stupidest let's be normal speeches I've ever heard. His main point is the majority of people learn to be satisfied in the world, and only a small minority stay dissatisfied and they change the world. Of course this backfires and prompts her to change her world by forming a club to seek out aliens, time-travelers and esper (ESP-ers). Of course, she makes Kyon her first member.

She steals the room of the Literary club as well as its sole member. She "voluntarily arrests" a beautiful second year student, because all good supernatural stories have some sex appeal. And she invites in a mysterious transfer student. Of course, these are in order, an alien, a time-traveler and an esper. If this all seems a bit too convenient, well, that's because Haruhi's real power is that she can alter reality to suit her whims. As well as to suit sometimes her terrible melancholy.

I can sympathize with Haruhi, I always wanted to start a club to find the extraordinary, I came close to it in high school with John Corp (a name that sounds awfully close to Spreading Excitement All Over the World with the Haruhi Suzumiya Brigade). And I was also infected by that most terrible of melancholies, the melancholy of having extraordinary desires in an ordinary world.

Perhaps that's why I can relate to Haruhi, even if she is sometimes a cruel character (an amazon reviewer was quite disturbed by this). But her cruelty makes sense in a way, it does not stem from a cruel personality, even if she treats people poorly at times she doesn't actually purposefully mean any harm, but rather it comes from an infinite sense of energy and purpose (even if that purpose is perpetually scatterbrained (a charming feature, although sometimes it goes a bit too far and creates some akward transitions in the middle of episodes). And the energy is in the end infectious. It calls to the audience and it's hard not to respond. It also serves to bend the fabric of the show, creating a bizarre episode order (although the general idea, which is to spit up the central arc of exposition over the entire season without using the traditional bit by bit along side event of the week method is pretty ingenious). The extremeness of the characters personalities also seem to fit with this. In the end the entire series projects an intense excitement, as well as the titular melancholy.

In its quieter moments, the show conveys the desperate longing for something extraordinary in the ordinary world. This too is conveyed in the fabric of the show, as the bursts of intense supernatural activities are interspliced with scenes of the characters facing intense boredom (although the viewer is rarely shown this long enough to actually provoke boredom in himself). The fact that Haruhi is always cheated out of the real strangeness of her life by the determined efforts of those around her, adds to a certain pity for her, as her life is defined by that tension between being surrounded by the mundane and wishing passionately for the supernatural. The central arc approaches this tension with the necessary seriousness, but without ever losing its sense of humor. That made me however, sympathize with Haruhi even more, and it almost made me wish that she (unconsciously) destroyed the world to get a taste of her extraordinary.

I can't say I haven't had similar desires, a bit not that extreme. A wish for something disastrous to happen so that I might have a chance to become a hero. A wish for the entire world to be revealed as a fraud. A wish that I could stumble through the looking glass into a world of magic and never look back. I think we all feel that way sometimes, although it is usually manifested in simply a desire to run away to some different place where something so strange that it's almost supernatural might happen. But in the end we rarely run away, because there are too many people we care about, and too many people they care about, and too little solid out there to be worth risking all those relationships. And in the end, we never really want to destroy the world, because all the people we love are here.

At times it reaches slow spots, at times it jumps from topic to topic too fast even for an avid viewer, at times it is too bizarre even for me (the elaboration of the identities of the aliens, time-travelers, and ESP-ers are completely and utterly insane and make my head hurt), but there is so much energy to this anime, so much sincere effort, and characters that while at times cruel, are immensely charming in their exaggerated insanity. And it conveys so much love for supernatural mysteries that seem just right around the corner that it's hard not to become infected by it. And then it's hard not to be struck by the lack of supernatural mysteries, and then it's easy to relate to the melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.

All told, this anime gets an 8/10. So far at least, I hear they're coming out with a new season, which it's hard to imagine will be anything other than awesome.

So take it to your head, take it to your heart and remember Rand rocks. Goodnight Folks!

The inevitable gravity of Destiny or my review of Escaflowne

That's a beautiful phrase. The Gravity of Destiny. Escaflowne isn't your typical anime, oh wait it is, or well, the truth is somewhere in between. In a way it picks and chooses between anime conventions from all genres of the field, and throws in some European mythology and then it... Well, it ends up beautiful. Just like that phrase. It's a beautiful anime, exquisitely crafted from odds and ends scattered throughout the world. European-style kingdoms, steam-punk elements, mecha, dragons, and the strange techno-mysticism that draws everything together. It is an immensely complex beast.

The story starts with girl lifted from her own world planted in another. She has some pretty impressive odd-ball powers, and she gets involved in war and love pentangles that boggle the mind. Giant robots fight, and one in particular has special powers, and she and the prince that controls it end up fleeing from the evil forces searching for a means to end the war. This show has often been cited as a blurring of the lines between shojo and shonen, that is girl's manga/anime and guy's manga/anime (I think the technical terms shojo and shonen are only supposed to be used for manga but they are commonly used for anime as well), and to some degree it carries the faults of both. It has the gushing emotionals and pointless romantic trysts of a shojo and the convoluted plot of a shonen. But then again it has the strengths of both as well. It has the emotional depth and character development of a shojo, and the ambition and action of a shonen. It's two defining characteristics are probably its emotion and ambition and both come together to something at times confusing, at times frustrating, but still beautiful.

It's plot twists often seem pointless. It takes you from one end of it's amazingly in-depth imaginary world only to throw you to the other end with nothing really accomplished. But every episode, even those that don't get anywhere draws your emotions, engages the eyes, and thrills the mind. There's always action, always something happening, always emotional growth even if it doesn't actually go anywhere, it still gives enough to the episode to make it a treat to watch. The quality of the episodes excuses the scattered plot.

Often the emotions presented seem trivial or repetitive or childish, but blown completely out of proportion. Sometimes I just wanted to slap the characters upside the head to try to get some sense into them. But then there were the moments where the emotions presented were so genuine, so universal, but so personal, that they just took my breath away. At times the show travels through an emotional landscape which includes the terrors of war and their drain on the soul, the desire to end conflict and the means it takes to do so, the sorrow of loss, the depth of love, and all these emotions and ideas are presented maturely but with enough excitement and action accompanying them to prevent them from being dry. But what makes the show frustrating is that both over-blown emotions, and perfectly genuine emotions are both stuffed into every episode, but the latter exceeds the former enough that the experience grips your heart. In the end, the execution excuses the melodrama.

Overall, Escaflowne is a monument to execution. That is not to say it is simply a formula executed, rather it is the execution of a story crammed full of ideas and emotions almost to the breaking point, but one which does not fit any precise formula or genre. Because of that it carries with it flaws from every avenue of storytelling but also virtues from every corner of the universe of imaginative fiction. That alone would not a good show make, but it then shows execution that pushes the ability of anime to the limit, which makes all the flaws excusable, and the final product a legend.

And that is the Vision of Escaflowne, and it receives an 9/10.

So that's my review of Escaflowne, so anyways, take it to your head, take it to your heart and remember Rand rocks. Goodnight Folks!

Shottie your brain

I'm liking Riding Shotgun. It's got great music, nice visuals, a good atmosphere, and that sense of being part of something new but something that could be good. I like this idea of iManga. It's low-stress on Video cards so that it can be watched casually and produced low budget. Yet visually it's appealing. However, the bounty hunter setting is a bit cliche, even if it is part of the reason the atmosphere is good. The main character is also pretty cliche, the jaded bounty hunter, and I really haven't seen much depth with the characters yet. The main character isn't greatly likable either. The female lead seems better but I haven't got a good hold of her and I'm sort of reserving judgement until I have her full backstory. But anyways, I am liking the product as a whole. Given that these episodes are maybe a minute or two long, perhaps designed for cell-phones, and there's only 4 so far, I can't really give a judgement on it yet, but I will give it a SHOULD WATCH rating.

Here's ep. 1 + links to the other episodes:

Riding Shotgun iManga Episode 1



Riding Shotgun iManga Episode 2

Riding Shotgun iManga Episode 3

Riding Shotgun iManga Episode 4

Anime for the lazy May

Except it's July so it's not lazy May. But anyways even though Youtube has annoyingly been removing a lot of it's tv shows (ah, I can't blame them, lawsuits and all, but I'll elaborate my position on this sort of stuff later). Yet there still are some tv shows if you look for them. At least with old anime shows, like Video Girl Ai and Ranma 1/2 and some episodes of Azumanga Daioh (which isn't really old which might explain how some of the episodes have been removed).

The road to somewhere not interesting or my Traveler review

I've never seen the Fugative but I know it is considered a classic tv show and that it has spawned a little genre of its own, the man on the run from the law, accused of a crime he didn't commit. To be honest, not only have I not see the Fugative but I've seen little of this genre in general. That isn't to say I wouldn't like to see it, but there has never been a show or movie in that genre which I've found intriguing enough and available enough to prompt me to go out of my way to watch.

Until now (dun, dun, dun, cue ominous music). Traveler definely fit the latter available part of the equation. It was right after some other show I was watching, Scrubs perhaps, or something similiar of the like. It didn't really fit the intriguing part but still I was in a generous mood and so I said to my brothers let's give the whole thing a try.

The whole thing starts with old college budies doing minorly mischievious stuff and then getting framed for blowing up a building. One of the buddies has disappeared and appears to be the framer (and his name is gasp, Will TRAVELER), the other two our framees and decide that they must clear their names. Of course they can't turn themselves in and let the legal process sort itself out. Of course they can't simply hire top notch private detectives to sort things out. Of course they have to go head to head with the FBI, and of course they get to out wit them. The rest of the show and the next episode has enough of courses to fill the page but I'm not going to bother with them. This is a show I've never seen, this is a genre I'm not well-versed in, but it seems so familiar. I think it's because pieces of the framed guy genre have leaked into popular culture. Just the most cliche and obvious pieces of the genre, though, nothing more in-depth, none of the more specialized conventions. I guess it is those pieces I am seeing in Traveler and amazingly, very little else. It is as if you asked a man on the street, ok, I want you to make up the plot of a generic framed guy tv show.

Sometimes though the characters in a tv show can redeem even a completely cliche plot. Here, not so much. The main characters are so incredibly bland they seem like caricatures of yuppies instead of real people. All the stock characters are here, there is the tough-talking FBI agent who's always second guessed by her superiors. There is the mysterious helpful man who gets the guys out of trouble. There is the loving fiancee who for some reason can't go along for the adventure, but hangs in the background pining and being questioned by one of the mean government agents. There don't seem to be any nuances to the characters and in none of them are the classic attributes of these stock characters raised to an extreme that might make them interesting. I couldn't care less about them unless I started to really think about them like I do now and now I care even less about them and I want them all to disappear and never be heard of again.

Sometimes even the most cliched of cliches can be elevated by superb execution but no, no, that is not here. The camera work is nothing special. The dialogue is mediocre. I can't see any significant production value to the show. It is adequately made, poorly thought up, with little content and little style.

I think some people might be attracted to the show because they like the framed guy genre and they like it so much and have seen so little of it lately that they are willing to forgive the flaws of any show that belongs to the genre as long as it can make it into the air and perhaps bring the framed guy genre back into the mainstream. But these fans should be warned of what a show like Traveler can do to its genre. It can become such a failure that its stain spreads to other developing pilots killing its more legitimate brethern. For the sake of the framed guy genre, Traveler should die.

The only redeeming quality I can find in it is the whole its so bad its good quality. It takes the cliches so seriously and so clichedly that it's like a parody of its genre. But such a parody has only limited appeal. Because it never relents in its march of cliches that after watching it and saying hey this is so cliche is funny for an hour one has to say man this is so cliche I want to burn my television. Now Traveler has become that threat that my brothers use when they want to watch something. Hey if you don't like this show we can always watch Traveler.

And then we all laugh at the insanity of the thought.

Overall, I can't see this getting more than a 3 out of 10, but that's largely because I haven't paid enough attention to bad tv to properly calibrate my scores below 5.

So anyways, take it to your head, take it to your heart, and remember Rand rocks. Goodnight Folks!

OVA won't you play

As any anime fan knows OVAs (only for video releases, basically straight to video tv shows) tend to beat regular tv shows in quality. I always wondered why we didn't have them in the US. Now in fact we are actually starting to see some with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Futurama planning straight to video releases. But in Japan you have shows that have never had any precedent on regular tv released on video, and that is still unlikely to happen. I understand now why though. Most OVAs are released piecemeal, one episode at a time, afterall it's difficult to invest a lot of money unless you know the project is going to go well, and the production time on a full OVA series is often immense. In Japan, where people I think are more comfortable with buying mass quantities of videos and DVDs, that might work, but in the US most people are going to see buying a single episode of a show they haven't seen a bit of a rip. I know I would. On the other hand there are some non-mainstream niches where OVA stuff does well, where mainstream TV doesn't usually go. But I suppose we'll never have a OVA market as rich and diverse as Japan as long as the US is full of cheap-skates like me.