Health 8-12-2012

Time to report in on how things are going. Other than having a nearly perpetual low level headache, the Lyme Disease symptoms have all but vanished. As I type, a gentle throb in the temples reminds me I did not get through the illness unscathed and this may be the new normal.

Today was a tough one due to waking up tired and aching due to the cold, damp weather. I managed to survive driving almost an hour each way (what a horrible detour) and teaching two Sunday school classes. The drive back was tougher and I found myself nodding off several times along the way. I do not advise driving through hairpin turns on a hill in this condition, by the way. So kids, do not try this at home!

Once home, I tried fending off the need to sleep by watching a movie, but kept nodding off on it – which is really bad since it was a subtitled one! The nap that followed was filled with dreams of rain and joint pain. Not exactly the escape I would prefer.

My face feels rubbery, which is usually a sign that I have gone way past my limits. Forget usually, it is always an indicator I have burned up all my energy.

Alright, I have done my duty in recording my health, time to post this.

Fractale Episode 5: Journey

The series slows down considerably to show some not so obvious character development and let comedy take center stage.  Phryne slowly opens up, while Clain discovers manual labor.  But where is Nessa? Fractal: Reiterated continues with HD screencaps and revised text.

One of these days I’ll try to make an animated GIF out of the opening sequence.  Fractal patterns have always fascinated me and I really like the opening credits. By this point, the opening theme had really grown on me as well.

At first Journey feels like a filler episode, albeit one with some good character moments. After all the madness in the prior episodes, the pacing mellows out and in some ways it is a slice of life story. Most of the story is about normality, but most telling is how alien that is to Clain.

The episode takes place on board the Granite’s fascinating airship, which is not named.  The sheer size of the thing is impressive and we get something of a tour of its insides throughout this installment of Fractale.  Being on the run from the Temple attack that happened in the prior episode, the rebels are carefully staying in the dead zones of Fractale’s failing coverage. For the moment, there is peace and an opportunity to see their daily lives more closely.

Romney Picks Ryan for VP

Hmm. Not a wonderful political choice and it appears that picking up voters or a specific state/region was not a factor. That makes it an unusual choice, much like when McCain picked Palin. But I think the reasoning is completely different here and has more to do with Mitt’s approach to governance.

To me, this is a sign that Romney will approach being President of the United States in the same manner that he approached business. He was looking for someone competent that would fit well with his economic plans. In other words, he really did look at the resumes of the potential vice presidents and hired the one he thought could do the job best. Unlike the pundits, I believe Mitt made the decision rather than having Ryan forced on him.

While I am not a big Paul Ryan fan due to suspicions about his late conversion on fiscal issues, I think the choice reflects well on Romney the man. How it reflects on Romney the candidate may be another issue entirely. I do not see Ryan being a greater aid to the campaign than Bobby Jindall, Marco Rubio, or Chris Christie. So I am watching to see if Ryan will win me over and also voters. If there were worries about the Tea Party voters not turning out, it would explain the choice – but they were a slam dunk to show up at the polls anyway.

The collective brain power of the team exceeds Obama and Biden by many gigawatts though. This is easily the smartest ticket run in my lifetime. That may may it difficult for them to connect with the voters, but since team Obama is devoted to running the dirtiest campaign since before the Civil War it is hard to tell if it will make a difference.

Will issues win this election? I would love to say they will, but the public has become very vulnerable to demagoguery so lying and making up attacks really do work. If issues were the motivator, the upcoming election would be a landslide for Romney regardless of his veep pick. Expect Medicare scare tactics and more Romney killed people libel and slander as a result.

So is it a game changer like so many are writing and saying? Not in my opinion. Excepting Portman, any of the other names bandied about would have had a bigger effect on the general election.

Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956) Review

While Gojira was a serious film about the horrors of nuclear tests, Godzilla, King of the Monsters turned the Japanese original into a mere monster movie of the type so common during the 1950s. It isn’t without its charms, however. The spectacle of the title monster trashing Tokyo is complete and the human suffering that causes is still there to elevate this slightly beyond a normal B-movie. UPDATED August 2012 with better screencaps and expanded snark, err… text.

From the comprehensive booklet included in the 50th anniversary DVD release, we find how the American version came to be. Harold Ross and Richard Kay brought the film to America on the cheap to take advantage of the explosion in B-movies.  Described as “Hollywood bottom-feeders,” they had one problem with the movie – all the Japanese in it.  At the time, hatred of the Japanese was still strong ten years after World War II and a movie starring “Japs” couldn’t make money.

The solution was to shoot new material starring an American actor and splice it in.  About 20 minutes of the 80 minute movie would consist of the new scenes and insertions, heavily diluting the original story.  But that didn’t matter because audiences would be going to see the “King of Monsters” not the story. The result raked in $2 million and turned a tidy profit while making fans of Godzilla such as Gomer Pyle.

Now on to the review starring Raymond Burr and his pipe!

The Americanized version starts with the sound of explosive footfalls and the new title appears over the sea. In a jarring shift, the first scene of the movie is the devastated ruins of Tokyo in miniature.  A voice over narration by Raymond Burr begins while he makes his first appearance pinned under rubble.  After failing to free himself, he passes out.  Not an auspicious debut for the hero of the movie.

Gojira (Godzilla 1954) Review

In 1954, Gojira hit Japanese theaters and was a sensation that eventually spread world wide. For those who don’t know, Gojira is the original Japanese Godzilla movie that started the series. This first film is a serious movie, unlike nearly all the ones that followed. In 2004, Toho Studios decided to restore and remaster the epic for its 50th anniversary DVD release. So now that I have my hands on it, does it live up to its reputation as a classic? UPDATED:  August 2012 with expanded text and better screen captures.

As a kid, I grew up with the later Godzilla movies and it was not until I was a teenager that I saw the heavily recut American version of the film starring Raymond Burr. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise, being a darker and more serious story than I had expected. Once the Internet age dawned, I found out that it paled in comparison to the Japanese film it originated from, but there was no way to see it.

Years went by and then rumors of a New York City showing of the original movie for the 50th anniversary of Gojira got my attention. Hopes of a DVD release turned into reality thanks to ClassicMedia, but it ended up being out of my price range. Time went by and a sale at a Target in Indiana landed the very nice deluxe release in my hands. This review applies to it and to the discs in The Godzilla Collection also put out by the same folks.

The movie starts with a strident and bombastic theme by Akira Futabe that fits the tension that permeates the entire production. After the credits roll, an idyllic scene of a merchant ship’s crew relaxing on deck seems very serene.  A bright flash of light draws their attention to a strange glowing mass in the water. Another flash and the ship explodes into flames. The distress call of the Kingo Maru results in the Eiko Maru being sent to find it, whereupon it promptly sails into a glowing circle of water and explodes like the first ship.

1987 Looks at 2012

Twenty five years ago a group of science fiction authors were asked to predict where the world would be in 2012. Most of them were off and not by a little. Orson Scott Card got the closest, with Roger Zelazny next best. Isaac Asimov and Tim Powers were so far off as to be laughable.  Still, it is a fascinating glimpse at the difficulties of prognostication even from the most imaginative of us.

Bleach Ep. 17: Ichigo Dies!

Despair dominates the story when Ichigo finds out just how powerful Soul Reapers really are during a bloody battle over Rukia. Action filled, this episode marks a turning point in the storyline and sets up the next big arc.

In the previous episode, Ichigo found out that the zanpakutos are more than magic swords that can cut up spirits. They have names and special powers which the villainous Renji demonstrated in easily overpowering the substitute Soul Reaper during the opening recap. Brought to his knees trying to rescue Rukia, things look very bad indeed.

Clearly shocked, and in shock, the high school student is helpless as Renji prepares to finish him off. He is not the only one shaken, for Rukia is horrified to see him so badly injured. Desperate to provide him a chance to escape, she attacks the tattooed Soul Reaper and tries to restrain him despite her weak body.