1. One thing I would recommend to any fellow sufferers from depression or related problems is not to be ashamed to occasionally take off ‘psych days’ to try to recoup yourself, especially if your job is a source of strain and unhappiness (which, I may be cynical, but I think most jobs these days are). … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Psych Days, Recreation, ‘The Living Shadow’, and an Interesting Fact
Links
Kaiju Appreciations; Kiryu (Re-Upload)
I made an appreciation for Kiryu, the third incarnation of Mechagodzilla...wow, seven years ago. It got hit with a copyright claim that led to the audio being muted, and, to my shame, I've only just gotten around to re-uploading it (partly I didn't want to just do a re-upload when I was behind on new … Continue reading Kaiju Appreciations; Kiryu (Re-Upload)
Batman: Broken Promise
A friend put me onto this excellent fan-made 'Batman' film. The animation is a little limited, but the writing is top-notch. Batman's as much a detective as a martial-artist and ultra-skilled without being invincible. The villains are broken and mentally-ill, but all the more dangerous for that. And it's got a great visual style that's … Continue reading Batman: Broken Promise
Kaiju Appreciations; Zigra
My latest appreciation video is up at last. This was kind of a tricky one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFum3UHzhCY I haven't done a full survey, but at the moment I want to call Gamera vs. Zigra the worst kaiju film to come out of either Toho or Daiei (well, Gamera Supermonster might top it from being mostly just … Continue reading Kaiju Appreciations; Zigra
Viva el Imperio!
Cinco de Mayo from the Monarchical POV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrOiKn13r2g&ab_channel=TumblarHouse Apparently, Karl Marx called the effort to restore the Mexican Empire "One of the most monstrous enterprises in the annals of international history", so you know it had to have something going for it. In any case, it's one of the great 'might have beens' which, given … Continue reading Viva el Imperio!
Friday Flotsam: Generation Y and Then Some
1. I’ve often longed for a Professor Kingsfield-style class of fiction writing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx22TyCge7w&t=12s&ab_channel=TheIowaStateBarAssociation 2. At work today, someone brought up the African Shoebill: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93xRBQHPfWs&ab_channel=AnimalTales Add it to the list of things that ought to be too ridiculous to really exist. 3. Reading lately has included Generation Y: The New Lost Generation, a collection of essays … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Generation Y and Then Some
Low-Effort Blogging: Consoling Thoughts of St. Francis de Sales
Extra low-effort this time, as I haven't listened to all of these all the way through, only bits and pieces. But I trust enough in the great Saint, whom I take as one of my personal patrons, that I'm not afraid to offer his words sight unseen, though it's against my usual practice. (The narrator … Continue reading Low-Effort Blogging: Consoling Thoughts of St. Francis de Sales
Friday Flotsam: Oscars Slap at the Everyman, Core Values, and More
1. My latest post went up on The Everyman earlier this week, this one talking about the Oscars slap. I take it as another sign that the social framework is breaking down: For my own part, I think the incident raises some interesting points. First, let’s have no illusions about Will Smith’s personal life, which … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Oscars Slap at the Everyman, Core Values, and More
More ‘What’s My Line’
I'm afraid I was too busy to get to writing the post I intended today (that's 'busy' spelled according to the Slavic style, where the 'b', the 'u', and the 's' are rendered 'l' 'a' and 'z', respectively). So here are two especially funny episodes of What's My Line? as compensation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPu7OouWsBM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caB0dZUGcq0
Villain Knights and Going Medieval
I found this video on the subject of 'villain knights': Spanish peasants who were elevated to a lower knighthood during the Reconquista, essentially functioning as light cavalry on the frontier during the long reconquest of Spain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ue7cqIOW48Q I recommend watching the video, but the short version is that while the Spanish conquered new territories from … Continue reading Villain Knights and Going Medieval
Serpent's Den 