Archive for the 'Contemplation' Category
To Weeaboo Or Not To Weeaboo
Over the past year or so, I’ve seen lots of comments about translation practices, mostly in regard to Japanese to English. Some people favor heavy localization, while others prefer to be so literal that they leave many words untranslated. In essence, I think both viewpoints get too extreme. Too much localization can result in loss, while being too literal can make things confusing. It’s all made me do a lot of thinking about my own translation practices, too. I think there’s a healthy middle ground, and that’s something I aim to show. (Whether or not I’ll succeed, who knows.)
Who Watches This Crap?
Before I get to the actual subject, let me just say that I’m not trying to sell you on anything or change your mind. I’m only trying to explain my own reasons and maybe clear up some misinformation. In other words, this is meant to be informative rather than persuasive. And I feel the need to give this little warning up front because the subject in question is one of the most polarizing forms of entertainment in existence. So much so that non-fans probably would have stopped reading by now, which would be unfortunate considering that’s my target audience in writing this.
Buffy Seasons Eight and Nine Thoughts
I was waiting to get every issue of the final arc so I could marathon the whole thing at once. But in typical me fashion, I forgot about it until the other day, when I got an email titled, “Buffy Season Nine #1 now available for pre-order.” I realized I needed to finish Season Eight so I could figure out what the story was with Season Nine. (IE, is Whedon involved, or is it gonna be bad fanfiction like Angel: Aftermath?)
And after the previous arc, I assumed I’d want to write some kind of ramble or review for issues #36-40. But I’m not going to do that. All I really have to say is, “Well, that was pretty good. They salvaged that craziness into something cool after all.” Instead, I’m going to talk about all these new (to me) franchise comic developments. There will be a few spoilers, in case you’re actually further behind than I am.
Dragon Ball Kai Sucks
It’s no secret that I adore the Dragon Ball manga. It’s one of my most prized possessions. I love it so much that I summarized each chapter on my site years ago, as my way of sharing its contents with the world. Curtis Hoffmann’s summaries were what inspired me to buy the manga in the first place, so I was sort of hoping to do the same for others. And I still love it enough that I’m gradually trying to clean up those summaries, along with a few other things that give me an excuse to re-read the series.
Over the years, I’ve also complained many times about the additions and alterations in its anime adaptations. Back in the day, people would get outright offended when I told them something was “filler” during in-universe arguments. But I still enjoy watching the anime, or at least most of it. Even if it isn’t my ideal version of the story, it still has wonderful acting and music, along with lots of pretty colors. And the crappy anime-original material still had its charm, even if it’s just ironic enjoyment in some cases. (Like seeing a lengthy flashback of Piccolo’s life story as Gokuu and Freeza duke it out on an exploding planet. That’s just amazing.)
Save the Internets
I frequently and publicly (Usenet, IRC, web forums) encourage others to support official products instead of pirating them. Some of the things I’ve said about it over the years have been really cold and elitist, and would likely make people think I worked for some kind of media company. (I don’t remember if I’ve ever actually been accused of such, but it’s very possible.) So one might expect that I’d be a fan of this new COICA bill.
But I have also never been a fan of censorship. And this bill reeks of potential censorship. Claims of piracy have been used to target political activists in Russia, after all. I’d like to think the US government wouldn’t do things like that, but if this bill gets passed, especially with such vague wording, what’s to stop them? It has very unsettling implications, and I’m not the only one who thinks it could crap all over the First Amendment.
Wikis Suck
Back in 2004, I was looking for sources to reference and cite for some articles I was writing. And I had trouble finding results that weren’t from Wikipedia, or a site that blatantly steals from Wikipedia. Wikis in general have polluted search engine results over the years, and it’s gotten difficult to find anything else.
I have sometimes complained about my hatred for all these wiki projects on IRC. So I thought perhaps I should articulate those thoughts on the web. It probably won’t stop me from complaining about it on IRC, though.
Extreme Hardcore Reunion Homecoming of One Night Justice
This month’s (and tonight’s) TNA pay-per-view, Hardcore Justice, is of course going to be an ECW reunion show. I have many thoughts about this matter, such as, “Will anyone besides WWE’s lawyers actually care enough to order it?”
Dixie’s Kongfidential Quest
I never did get to talk about the quick end to the new “Monday Night Wars,” but I don’t think I had much to say about it anyway. I still contend that TNA’s side did start off well, but quickly fell back into mediocrity and apparently lost the interest of most Monday night viewers. But the return to Thursdays was back in May, and I want to be more recent and relevant than that. In June, Dixie Carter (the TNA Wrestling president, not the recently deceased Designing Woman) began talking about some huge secret thing that would “change TNA on every level.” Not that I’m calling her a liar, but I have a hard time believing that any one thing or person is capable of swooping in and saving TNA anymore. Except maybe Paul Heyman, but apparently it’s bigger than him. What the hell could it be, then!?
(Also, I realize this is probably my worst headline yet, but that’s exactly why I had to use it.)
Monday Night Wars: Part Two and a Half
After the success of their January 4th show, TNA and Spike TV have decided to move Impact! to Mondays permanently, starting tonight. In the exact same 9-11 timeslot that WWE’s Raw runs in, no less. This effectively marks the return of the “Monday Night Wars,” or so the TNA side would have you believe. But I’m not sure it will be much of a battle for either side.