Living in SIN

HIATUS

2011-09-30T10:00:00.000+08:00

Either that, or I'm moving.

I haven't decided which.

This blog is ... dormant. If you want to read what I'm blogging about now (the life of an writer/reader/storyteller who's living in Singapore, same as always, although I'm focusing even more on the reading/writing bit), then head over to Necessary Fictions.

In addition, I'm not even in Singapore right now - from now till the 17th of October, I'm on vacation in Aussieland, although I'm making a stopover first to participate in Conflux 7.

Taxi Tactics

2011-09-20T18:21:00.001+08:00

In the morning in Singapore, people waving down taxis by the side of the road are a common sight. Taxis are commonplace, and affordable, especially compared to owning and operating a private car.

I worked this out at one point. Even taking ERP (electronic road pricing, where using certain roads attrracts a cost), booking fees and peak hour taxi rates into account, it costs me about $30 to get to and from work in a cab. That's $150 per week, since I work five days, and a year has 52 weeks, so it costs me $7,800 per year.

Cars in Singapore generally have a 10-year lifespan, after keeping them on the road can be a bit of a pain, so I suppose if I had a new car, I'd drive it to and from work for ten years. If I took a cab instead of buying this mythical new car, I'd spend $78,000.. Let me take a quick look through ST701's new car pricelists and see what I can buy with that ... hmm .... it doesn't look like I could buy anything. Okay, let's go with a 2011 Nissan March 1.2, with manual transmission, leather seats and 16-inch alloy rims. That would set me back $87,300.

See how much money I'm saving already? I haven't even thrown in the cost of fuel, road tax, parking, and other maintenance - car washes, accessories, servicing and so on - over the ten year period. On paper, or in theory, at least, taking the taxi is a more cost-effective option than buying a car. I assume that I'm not the only one who did the math, because the hidden additional cost of taking a taxi to work every day is that I have to find a taxi to take me to work every day.

Waiting for a cab in the morning alongside all the other people trying to get to work is highly educational - you learn that it's a dog eat dog world, and that people will blatantly steal a cab from right under your nose. This includes tactics like walking past me so that they're in front of me, running towards a cab that I've flagged down and jumping in, and stepping into the road to stop a taxi, even though it's clearly seen me and is slowing down for me. So far, I've managed to be gracious about the whole thing, because I don't want to turn into a horrible person even before I get to the office, but I'm afraid that one day, I'll snap.

My iPad is obsolete

2011-09-13T10:00:00.000+08:00

It's happening, slowly but surely.

I knew this day would come.

My iPad lacks some of the crucial features of the iPad 2, including front-facing and back-facing cameras. It's not as fast either, and for a while, the small differences between the two didn't bother me.

But now, apps have started appearing in the App Store that specifically work only on the iPad 2, rendering my iPad obsolete.

I shouldn't complain. I've had it for over a year now, and I've used it so so much that I can't really complain.

And I suppose I'm not missing out much (yet) because I can still do most of the things I used to ... except play Machinarium.

Actually, that's not what's gotten me upset. I was intensely jealous when I saw a friend using his iPad 2 to Skype - I would love to use it for that.

Then I saw this trailer for Smule's MadPad and I was really sad.

I know, I'm being dramatic. I probably have ~~years~~ months of use left in my iPad ... I'm hanging out for the iPad 3 and an iPhone 5, to be perfectly honest. But I'm sad that my iPad is slowly being phased out ...

Things to do with an iPad

2011-09-01T19:00:00.000+08:00

I've been using it to Skype call Cassie on the weekends, but last night, I used it to Skype call Craig and Wendy Fillingham while I was sitting in Old HongKong, using my MiFi. (It's not called that in Singapore, but that's what it is)

Not the best quality, mind you. And I don't have a camera, because I'm on an iPad 1, but it's still a really useful way to make free phone calls over wifi! (I'm sure this would be easier over 3G, but my iPad was a cheap option.

Actually, I get a lot of good use out of it, even though I haven't switched to the newer model. In fact, I'm using it to write this blog entry (thank you, Blogsy).

Other things I do:

Catch up with podcasts OTA using Downcast
Fighting the establishment as a pirate captain in Crimson
Watching all kinds of things on webcams with iSpy
Keep track of tasks with Wunderlist
Make notes that I can get to anywhere with SimpleNote
Educate myself with TED

The Conflux Banquet

2011-08-25T09:05:00.002+08:00

There's no doubt whatsoever that I'm looking forward to Conflux (and as a matter of fact, I'm already saving up to come back in 2013) - but I haven't yet talked about the high point of this year's con: the Banquet.

Those of you in the know have already heard about the legendary Conflux Banquets. Put together by food historian, Dr Gillian Pollack, they are authentic recreations of the food that was served at some historical period. 2009’s Banquet was Southern Gothic themed, and Dr Pollack was awarded a Ditmar last year at Aussiecon 4 aka WorldCon for her efforts.

She goes to ridiculous lengths to recreate the food of the period, adjusting for modern palates, and the result is an amazing meal. It helps that people also get into the mood of it, and come dressed up for it, and even stodgy old non-dresseruppers like me have a good time. This year's Conflux is particularly special, since Dr Pollack ~~and Nick Stathopoulos~~ have collaborated on a cookbook with recipes from the last few Banquets which will also make its appearance at the con.

(I should point out that Gillian is a friend, and is letting me stay with her for the duration of the Con, but that doesn't diminish her achievement in the least, and in fact I'm privy to how much work she puts into researching the recipes, testing them out, and getting the kitchen to produce a feast for Conflux members that is accurate and delicious.)

If you're coming to Conflux, and haven't booked your spot at the Banquet, book now - places go quickly, and this is a part of the con that you don't want to miss.

Do it - and you can thank me after.

Autotune is amazing

2011-08-17T20:10:00.002+08:00

I saw this on Reddit, and I just had to share.

First there was this person, right, who was sitting on a bus at 8am in Jersey City when this guy starts singing Katy Perry's California Girls, and so this person shoots a video:

And then he posted it to Reddit ... and then someone else took it, autotuned it, and added some instrumentals:

Amazing!

Read: Mistification by Kaaron Warren

2011-08-12T10:00:00.003+08:00

There are some books that I grab when I'm heading for the office, nothing too complex, too complicated, books that are easy to read on the bus, that can be consumed in short bursts.

And then there are those books that are so rich and full, like a cup of espresso. Those can overwhelm you if you consume them too quickly, so I keep them at home, and sip from them, small sips, either early in the morning when it's quiet and still and nothing is moving, or late at night when I'm comfortably cocooned in bed.

Kaaron Warren's latest, Mistification is the latter. I don't think the blurb does the book any justice, but the story is about Marvo, who starts the story, as a child, growing up, trapped in a single room with his grandmother, with nothing to entertain him or keep him company except a television with the sound permanently turned off. It turns out that Marvo is far more than he appears and when he's forced out into the big bad world against his will, Marvo has to come to terms with what he is, what he can do, and make his way in the world and try to find a way to be happy. Along the way, he collects stories, and which form the lens through which he views the world, and through which he comes to understand it.

But aside from the story (which I was intentionally cryptic about, sorry!), this is a beautiful book. Kaaron writes in a simple, unadorned style but the story that she tells still manages to have a quietly elegiac, lyrical beauty about it. It took me a while to read it, because it was so rich and powerful, but I also read it quickly because I wanted to know more and more. I don't know how to explain it - finishing the book left me with a bitter-sweet taste. I was happy that the story was over, but I didn't want it to end.

That's probably the best compliment that I could give this book - I'm not an academic or anything like that - I read this book, and it moved me, and I didn't want it to end.

I want to warn you all that I'm biased, because Kaaron Warren is a friend, but really, that has nothing to do with how good Mistification is - I'd have to recommend it, even if the author was a person I didn't know, or even someone I didn't like.

All set for Conflux

2011-08-08T18:00:00.000+08:00

I'm not 100% ready, but I have gotten my membership and booked a banquet ticket. (Have you got yours?)

I've also perused the programme (which is a bit strange) and am contemplating putting myself forward for a couple of panels. I'd really like to do a KARRON WARREN IS REALLY WEIRD panel, but she'd have to be on it and we'd talk about stuff. I don't know. I'll have to ask Karron if I see her online.

I'd like to do an urban fantasy / paranormal romance panel, too, and maybe a panel on what to read when you've finished reading all of Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden novels. I'd tell you what to read after you've finished all of Pratchett, but Patrick Rothfuss beat me to it.

So, yes, I'm all set for Conflux. I have an air ticket, a place to stay, a couple of back-up places to stay if I decide to hang around Canberra a little longer, tickets to the 'con and the banquet and ... and ...

Yeah, so there's workshops on Friday that I might want to attend, although I was rather hoping to have a slow day on Friday since that's when I fly in. I do have to get around to putting together that list of panels and sending it in to the nice people at Conflux and seeing if they'll let me talk to, y'know, public people.

Maybe not all set.

But getting there!

Maybe I'm reading too much into it ...

2011-08-08T10:00:00.001+08:00

Who thought this name was a good idea?

My reputation precedes me ...

2011-08-05T20:00:00.003+08:00

According to some, during the Zombie Apocalypse, we'd all retreat into the safety of a walled retreat, or some kind of ultimate zombie forthress.

I would be stationed at the barricade, with a couple of snipers.

Anyone approaching the barricade would have to propertly enunciate a coherent, grammatically correct sentence ... otherwise I'd have you shot.

Other people would be busy contributing to the new post-apocalyptic society; planting vegetables, tending to livestock, cooking delicious meals, rebuilding cars, forging weapons, or recreating/rediscovering the lost sciences, whatever. But not me, oh, no.

My post-apocalypse job?

Door bitch.

Ate: Aston's at the airport

2011-08-04T10:00:00.000+08:00

That's the queue that faced me when I got to the new Aston's at Terminal 1 at Changi International Airport. A friend and I were planning to meet up for dinner, and he was in the mood for some Aston's and when I checked online I realised that there was a new outlet at the airport. Going there seemed like a good idea at the time.

Turns out that the upstairs food area in Terminal 1 has been revamped (so Popeye's is gone, replaced I suppose by the outlet in the basement of Terminal 3) and if you pop around the back you'll find an Aston's Specialities ... with it's attendant queue. It's ridiculous, really, but since I was early, I stood in the line, and by the time my friend turned up I was about to be seated. I was pretty happy that the queue moved so quickly, but I think I happened to arrive at the right time. The queue didn't move at all for about fifteen minutes, and then suddenly there was a mass exodus from the restaurant, and then a lot of people got seated at once.

The food was up to Aston's usual standards, by which I mean it was very good value for money, but nothing to shout about. The prime ribeye extra cut that I had was beautifully seared on the outside and pink and a little too bloody for my liking on the inside, but was delicious nonetheless. The gravy that accompanied it, though, was pedestrian. The side dishes (I chose the pasta salad and the potato salad) were good, too, and the helpings were generous. I'm not entirely sure why people wait for hours to get into Aston's, although I suppose getting a giant piece of meat and two sides for only $16.90 is a bit of an incentive.

What really made the evening (for me, if not for my friend) were the two large groups of teenagers (fourteen? fifteen?) sitting near us - one, a group of about ten girls with one boy, and another, a group of about ten boys with one girl. The girl group were dressed down in secondary school uniforms, so people had ditched their school shirts for more comfortable school t-shirts. The boy group were dressed in the fashion of teenagers trying to dress like adults, with mismatched shirts and pants and far too many layers and things rolled up or buttoned down when they should have been buttoned down or rolled up. But watching the groups interact was hilarious - the girls wanted a photo taken, so a couple of boys wandered over and chivalrously helped out. There were quite a number of photos that had to be taken, too: one serious one, one mucking-around one, one where everyone's making faces, one where people have moved around and swapped places.

After that, the boys brought out a giant cake for the one girl in their party, and when they sang happy birthday, the girls from the other group joined in - and then afterwards, the girls brought out a cupcake to celebrate someone's birthday and the boys joined in when they sang. It was hilarious - the singing was just fine, but would kind of taper off at the bit where you have to say the name of the person whose birthday it is, and then would come back twice as loudly for the finally "Happy Birthday to YOU!"

The service was also up to Aston's usual standards, which means that it was well-meaning but a bit slow. Still, any meal at Aston's is a pleasant enough experience, and the food sort of makes up for the no-frills nature of the beast. The outlet at the airport is a nice size, and a little bit more spacious than the other Aston's outlets I've been to, so if you're up that way, it might be worth dropping in for a meal ... as long as you don't mind the queue.

There's something wrong with this picture

2011-08-03T10:00:00.001+08:00

Maybe I shouldn't buy no-frills/house-brand fizzy drink.

I've never had all the bubbles form one big bubble in the centre before.

Ate: Piao Xiang Mala Xiang Guo

2011-07-27T10:00:00.000+08:00

One of the highlights of the Rice Communications trip to Beijing, China in January was getting to eat mala xiangguo, which translates (I've been told) to Numbingly Spicy Fragrant Pot. This is basically a dish of mixed vegetables and meat and whatever you please, really, fried together with herbs and spices and a chilli-oil based sauce, together with dried Szechuan chillis and fried Szechuan peppercorns, and it is so very hot and spicy that if it wasn't for the fact that the peppercorns numb your lips and tongue, it would be inedible.

It's not easy to find in Singapore. The soupy version (called Mala Hotpot, or sometimes also Mala Fragrant Pot) is far more common, which consists of a pot of hot spicy soup in the middle of the table, into which everyone dips their choice of food, letting the hot soup cook the ingredients. Took a while to locate Piao Xiang, a stall in the Food Republic food court on the 5th floor of 313 @ Somerset. Headed over on Sunday afternoon to try it out, in an effort to recapture the experience of eating it in Beijing.

It's very simple - you select the food that you want from a chiller, from a selection that includes different kinds of meat, vegetables and seafood. All of them have prices listed, ranging from about three dollars per hundred grams to about six dollars. The assortment in the photograph cost about $17, and there's a $3 additional charge for the spicy Mala base. Then everything you choose is quickly cooked together with the base (including peppercorns and dried chillis) and served in a large bowl.

To my disappointment, it was nowhere near as good as what we had in Beijing, persumably because the ingredients weren't the same. There were no tiny bell-shaped dried Szechuan chillis, and I don't think the peppercorns were the right kind, either. The giant bowl we had in China had other odd herbs and spices that seemed absent from the version that I had in Singapore, and (as I read in another article) the entire dish had clearly been toned down to appeal more to the Singaporean palate. It was hot, but not hot enough, and lacked the distinctive taste of more authentic mala xiangguo.

Still, I won't deny that it was yummy, if a bit expensive, and I'm probably going to go back. It didn't do anything to abate my craving for the real thing, although I doubt that I can afford to fly to Beijing just to eat this dish.

Spotted on the bus

2011-07-26T10:00:00.001+08:00

Why is "passengers in wheelchairs" hyphenated?

Read: Carte Blanche by Jeffrey Deaver

2011-07-25T10:00:00.037+08:00

There's no way around it - this is a reboot. After the film franchise rebooted James Bond as Daniel Craig, the Fleming estate hired Jeffrey Deaver to do the same to the fictional super-spy within the pages of the latest novel, Carte Blanche. While some of the changes might be a little jarring (Bond is in his thirties, wears Oakleys, and has some very nifty apps on his mobile phone), by and large, this works very well.

Jeffrey Deaver writes a complex, multi-layered plot that is quite different from the straightforward movie plots of "Bond meets charming villain, Bond infiltrates operation, Bond gets shot at, Bond destroys superweapon". Instead, this is almost a mystery novel, as Bond moves through the book trying to figure out exactly what is going on. Of course, it all becomes clear at the end, but not until Bond has had to do a lot of legwork, a lot of brainwork, and risk his life several times in the process.

Carte Blanche revolves around some fragmentary intelligence that Bond's new employers (the Overseas Development Group) about something they call Incident Twenty - something's going to happen, something bad, and it will result in a loss of lives as well as some damage to British interests, which explains why Bond is involved. Bond uses every bit of spycraft at his command to investigate the goings-on, from a strange train derailment in Serbia to the (possibly) nefarious doings of one Severan Hydt, a prototypical Bond villain with overly-long yellowed nails and a fondness for death and decay. Makes sense, then, that Hydt is the CEO of a refuse-collection and recycling company called Green Way International. There is malice and mischief aplenty, both in London (where Bond's powers are curtailed since his legal ambit does not include activities in the United Kingdom) and abroad (where Bond is free to exercise the carte blanche of the title).

Deaver is a skilled plotter, who masterfully throws in twists and turns where you least expect them. Several times during the novel, things turn out not to be what they appear, and Deaver cleverly recasts past events in a new light, letting the reader reinterpret them in a new way. As a thriller, this was a good read, and as a Bond novel, even more so. While it's easy to see how Deaver has set Bond up to be a hero for a more modern age (even to the extent of having a slightly more sensitive approach to women), only the most hardcore Bond fans would quibble about the details. This reboot of the Bond franchise is exciting, and clever, and seems a decent enough addition to the Bond canon.

Sunny Day

2011-07-22T10:00:00.005+08:00

A bright sunny day, perfect for considering the nature of the world and my place in it.

(Actually, any day is a good day to work out your place in the world, now that I come to think about it.)

I suppose I am in a pensive mood because I know I'm turning forty soon (sooner than you think) and I want to evaluate my life and say that I'm an immense success or something. Only this isn't quite the life that I was planning, although since I haven't really planned it then I can't complain that it hasn't turned out quite as I planned.

My mother told me that I should never compare myself to other people, so I'm resisting the urge to do so. If I'm going to be optimistic, well, I can say that I am at a good enough place, although I have my share of problems, and I like to think that I'm well-loved and honestly, who can ask for more than that?

I've always been a fan of "fix it, instead of just complaining", so I should get around to fixing what's wrong with my life, and enjoying what's right. As of right now, I have finished all the draft entries that have been sitting in Blogger, so I can take a break and contemplate what to write about next.

Writing about eating

2011-07-21T10:00:00.001+08:00

I was reading A.A.Gill's Table Talk the other day, and it occured to me that I should be writing about eating. Not just about food, or about restaurants, or about the preparation of food, but about eating.

Write what you konw, they say - and I know how to eat. I also, as it happens, know a lot about food (not as much as a food historian, but more than some) and I'm not half-bad in the kitchen. But there are dozens of Singaporean food blogs, and I'm hard-pressed to think of what I could add to the conversation about Singaporean food.

I also don't think I can write about food the way Gill does - he's smart, and witty, and his writing is delightful, informative and occasionally ascerbic.

I think I'll just call that impulse "food for thought" and sit on it some more. I have just posted a restaurant review, and if something else comes along that tickles my fancy (or my tastebuds), well, you'll be the first to hear about it.

Pork Ribs at Tao's Restaurant, PoMo

2011-07-20T10:00:00.002+08:00

Had an early dinner at Tao's Restaurant in PoMo with a friend a couple of weekends ago. It was pretty good, if a little pricey.

The concept is that there's a fixed menu, from which you can choose your seven courses, and you pay a fixed price - and the staff is all engaging and warm (which can come across as nosey, depending on how sensitive you are). Lunch is a better deal than dinner, because dinner's the same as lunch, except for a serving of grilled mushrooms, for which you pay an additional $10.

It was pleasant enough, and the food's all sort of ... interactive. You have to pour the fish consomme out of a little tea pot into a tiny cup, for example, and the first course is basically toast, and have to scoop melted cheese on it from another dish. It's probaby fun for more than one person, and it was amusing enough for both of us, but I think it would all be a conversation point for a group. Solo diners, don't bother.

I'm not sure whether to recommend it or not. I mean, we had a good enough time, but there was something distinctly missing about the entire experience. Maybe the price put me off, I'm not sure.

I think I'll settle for recommending it for lunch, particularly if you have a large group that would enjoy an interactive dinner and an attentive staff.

Queues

2011-07-19T10:00:00.001+08:00

I know it seems unSingaporean, but I really don't like queues.

I don't mind waiting a little while for something, especially if I'm seated comfortably and can read a book, but I really don't like the idea of standing in line for twenty minutes or more to get a bit of food, or to get in the door of a popular club.

In other countries this wouldn't be a problem, but here in Singapore, if a place hasn't got a queue, it probably means that it isn't going to last very long - or else it's very expensive. Some places (like Louis Vuitton stores) actually limit the number of people in the store at once, in order to manufacture a queue. It makes it look like the store or restaurant or club is more desirable.

I'm much more in favour of finding some secret, less-than-well-known place, like Papa Palheta's or Loysel's Toy (I don't feel bad mentioning them, because they're sort of open secrets - everyone who's hipster enough to want to go there has been there already). I'm lucky enough to work in an office on Duxton Road, near a couple of other quiet gems - cafes where you don't have to queue, where you can sit and read a book, where the service is warm and personal. I probably shouldn't mention them, but if you haven't already, you should check out Group Therapy or the PigeonHole, both on Duxton Road, and The Plain, on Craig Road. All three are well-worth the visit, for the quality of the service and the yumminess of the coffeee.

Oh, and for the distinct lack of a queue.

One difference between teenagers and adults

2011-07-13T10:00:00.001+08:00

Picture this: it's a group gathering - everyone's talking and laughing, maybe over some light refreshments, and then *someone* turns up wearing or using something unusual, maybe a funky belt-buckle, or carrying a fancy bag.

Teenagers: OMG, WHAT are you wearing? Ugh, so ugly!

Adults: OMG, that's amazing - where did you get it? It's so unusual!

Maybe at my age you realise that all of these things aren't really meant to be symbols of anything. I certainly don't need to police any efforts to break away from the group identity. I'm quite sure that I don't want to trample on anyone's individuality.

A friend of mine, G, wears a silver ring in the shape of short interlinked bones. Sounds a bit macabre, I know, but it's very interesting.

Another friend, S, likes what I call "armpit bags" - long clutch bags with short straps that sit on her shoulder so that the bag is basically in her armpit.

I myself have a collection of Threadless t-shirts with images or pithy sayings that appeal to me - the one pictured here was the very first one I got.

These objects have become personal trademarks - but impermanent ones that are subject to change at will, on a whim.

I think we all eventually get to the point where we like what we like, and that's all that it is.

Watched: Batman, Batman Returns, Batman and Robin, Batman Forever

2011-07-10T22:00:00.003+08:00

Warner TV was celebrating Superhero Summer, to celebrate the release of Green Lantern. Considering that I just watched Thor and X-Men: First Class, it does feel like his summer is a bit superhero-focused.

That accounts for the Batman marathon that ran on Warner TV one weekend. I wasn't quite ready to sit down and watch the first four Batman movies back to back, but I did record them on my HubStation, so slowly, over the last week or so, I've seen Batman, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman and Robin.

They're not bad films, but the franchise did get more bizarre and surreal the further along it went. Batman is pretty good, although Jack Nicholson's Joker isn't as menacing as Heath Ledger's. Batman Returns is my personal favourite, because of Michelle Pfeiffer's demented portrayal of Selina Kyle/Catwoman. I suspect the last two films in the franchise were going for a comic book feel, but really, all that neon and ultraviolet glowing does nothing but make them garish. There's too much going on in each one, and it's difficult to identify with the characters.

Still, they're entertaining enough if you're looking for shows where good guys beat up bad guys who come up with ever more complicated and bizarre plans to take over the world. (Jim Carrey's Riddler enslaves Gotham City with a giant green glowing blender, and Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mister Freeze turns an observatory into a giant freeze ray whose effects can only be undone by beaming sunlight from the other side of the world using a series of satellites.)

Arm yourself with a healthy dose of ridiculous belief, and then jump in with both feet. These four films (with the Superman movies) paved the way for the superhero movies that we enjoy now, and even though they're a little dated, and a bit shallow, are more than enough fun for an couple of hours' entertainment each.

Watched: Justice League - Crisis on Two Earths

2011-07-10T10:00:00.001+08:00

This was on with the Green Lantern animated movie as a bit of a double bill. This was even an even better show, with lots of action and quite a complex plot.

There are an infinite number of Earths, it turns out, each of them slightly different from the next. The action starts on one of them, an Earth where the super-powered people are the bad guys. Our hero, Lex Luthor, steals something from a secure installation with the help of The Jester (that world's equivalent of the Joker) and makes his escape. The Jester, unfortunately, sacrifices his life so that Luthor can get away.

What Luthor does next is to cross the space between world's to get to the world of the Justice League, so that he can beg them for their help to save his world. They agree (well, all of them except Batman) and off then go to basically fight themselves.

That straightforward beginning leads into a story with some very interesting plot twists and a surprise ending that I wasn't quite expecting. The Earth-2 analogues of the Justice League are different from the ones we know in interesting ways, like Owlman's exactly like Batman only he's a complete nihilist, and SuperWoman is exactly like Wonder Woman except that she's a super-powered psychopath with no morals and a ridiculous sex drive.

I understand that this is a riff on an existing JLA storyline, and if I was a cleverer or more hard-working man, I'd go look it up. But I'm not, and chances are if you were interested you'd already know about it, so I'm going to save myself the trouble. If you haven't had the chance to watch it yet, I suggest that you do.

It's not perfect, but it's one of the best portrayals of the Justice League I've ever seen. (The tv series that this is based on is very good, too.)

Watched: Green Lantern: First Flight

2011-07-09T22:00:00.000+08:00

Had the chance to watch Green Lantern: First Flight when it aired on HBO. It's a DC animated movie and it's actually quite good. (I think it's better than the movie, to be honest.)

It's very similar to the movie - the opening, especially, when Hal Jordan gets the ring. But it has a much clearer focus. The action shifts to Oa very early on, and from then on, we get a very clear idea of the kind of intergalactic police force that Jordan is now a member of. His ethics come bumping up against Sinestro's very early on, and after a while, it's clear that something's not quite right with the purple Green Lantern.

The mystery unveils itself slowly over the course of the cartoon, and of course, it ends with a fabulous final battle on Oa itself.

What makes this so much fun to watch is that the clear focus, particularly of the story. This is meant for kids, and it doesn't try to be more than it is, a fun little adventure. Simple-minded adults like myself, or fans of Green Lantern, will also enjoy it.

Watched: Buso Renkin

2011-07-09T10:00:00.000+08:00

I have a terrible soft spot for anime, particularly the sort where there is a lot of fighting, and everyone has their own strange and wonderful weapons and powers, and the fighting isn't just about whose weapon is stronger and faster, but sometimes about using the properties of particular weapons in weird ways to counteract other people's weapons.

This might explain why I enjoy watching Bleach.

It definitely explains why I loved watching Buso Renkin so very much, a show that revolves around the idea that the main way to improve mankind will involve giving human beings bigger and better powers, or weapons. The show revolves around "buso renkin" (literally "arms alchemy") a branch of alchemy that resulted in the invention of kakugane, a metal that, when activated by a human combat instinct, turns into a weapon of some sort. The Alchemic Warriors have some, and so do their enemies, the Homunculus, and there's a lot of fighting.

Our hero, Kazuki Muto, gets killed by a homunculus, and saved by an Alchemic Warrior who puts a kakugane into his chest which restores him back to life. He also gets a nifty spear weapon called Sunlight Heart, which can fire blasts of energy and do all manner of nifty things. He joins the Alchemic Warriors (well, he kinda doesn't have a choice) and gets caught up in the war between them and the LXE (the League of Extraordinary Elect, the Homunculus baddies).

Eventually, along comes a third force (Victor) and there is even more fighting. I would tell you the plot, but it is both convoluted and ultimately unimportant. It does, however, allow for a lot of the characters to fight one another, while displaying their impressive (and distinct) weapons. Oh, there's some personal tragedy here and there, and lots of wacky/eccentric characters with their own weird and wonderful problems, but really, I'm just watching for the fights.

It's shows like this that make me glad that I have Animax. (It's a cable tv channel.)

Watched: Bleach ep 64-91 (The Bounts)

2011-07-08T22:00:00.001+08:00

No need to bore you with a summary of this particular Bleach story arc, which has Ichigo and his comrades going up against the Bounts, extraordinarily powerful creatures who have power to stand up even to the Soul Reapers, and who fight with the aid of sentient, magically-powered Dolls that each have their own powers and attacks.

It's actually a lot like the previous story arc, with lots of fighting, lots of fancy-schmancy attacks, and a bittersweet ending that leaves the hero and his friends thinking.

I understand that this anime-only storyline was written so that Tite Kubo would have the time to write more stories. It has depth, and twists galore, and was lots of fun to watch - especially since I like fighting sequences and people with nifty powers and lots of grandstanding from all and sundry.

Good stuff, if you're a fan of Bleach, and it does provide some insights into the series regulars, particularly Renji.