tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-124157932024-03-19T05:39:55.650-07:00lainspottingotaku studies, science, technology, and (sub)cultureLawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-20210451343337469742019-04-28T15:52:00.001-07:002019-04-28T15:52:10.332-07:00Remembering the Grover Cleveland Elementary School Shooting (San Diego, CA - January, 1979)<div style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
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(<a href="https://www.facebook.com/lawrence.eng/posts/10161499432130621" target="_blank">Originally posted on Facebook - April 20th, 2019</a>)</div>
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(Posted here on April 28th, 2019, one day after the <a href="https://poway.org/" target="_blank">Poway</a> Synagogue Shooting)</div>
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It’s been 20 years since Columbine. Watching it unfold on television in 1999 (while I was a grad student studying biology) left a deep impact on my psyche.</div>
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It was a big reason I decided to shift the direction of my academic studies. As I wrote in my doctoral dissertation (in the field of Science and Technology Studies):</div>
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While I have been interested in subcultures since my youth, I did not decide to make them a primary focus of my studies until April 20th, 1999, the day of th<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-family: inherit;">e Columbine High School massacre.</span></blockquote>
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Yesterday, as I was driving, a song on one of my Spotify playlists started to play: “I Don’t Like Mondays” by The Boomtown Rats. That song, of course, references the Cleveland Elementary School shooting that took place in San Diego in 1979, one of the first high profile mass school shootings perpetrated by a minor. Two adults were killed; one policeman and 8 children were injured.</div>
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For years, ever since moving to San Diego, I’ve wanted to visit the school and see the memorial plaque.</div>
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Today, reminded by the song and the coverage of Columbine, I decided to make the trip to the San Carlos neighborhood of San Diego.</div>
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In recent years, the school site has been replaced by a housing development. The original monument was moved to a new location nearby. It’s now on the corner of the development, at the intersection of Lake Atlin Avenue and Lake Angela Drive.</div>
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Please take a moment to remember the two men whose lives were tragically lost as they tried to protect the students under their care: Principal Burton Wragg and Head Custodian Michael Suchar.</div>
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Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-87927587310809824562017-07-29T22:56:00.002-07:002019-12-18T17:13:54.052-08:00Robert Anton Wilson on Usenet (1995-2003)According to trusted <a href="http://www.rawilson.com/" target="_blank">Robert Anton Wilson</a> scholars (see "<a href="http://www.rawillumination.net/2016/09/robert-anton-wilsons-personal-tech.html" target="_blank">Robert Anton Wilson's personal tech ecosystem</a>"), he used to post on Usenet using the pseudonym "Mark Chan". Shared in commemoration of <a href="http://obsolete-press.com/uncategorized/july-23rd-is-robert-anton-wilson-day/" target="_blank">Robert Anton Wilson Day</a>, here is a list of links pointing to the various newsgroups he posted to. The linked pages contain direct links to his posts (sorted by year and month).<br />
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Due to Google Groups having a less than ideal search interface (which seems to change every few years), there may be additional unlisted groups where RAW posted. If you happen to find more, please let me know in the comments section.<br />
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I hope you enjoy reading RAW's unfiltered and unedited Usenet posts as much I did*. He must have had a certain amount of trickster-ish fun posting under an assumed name, especially in discussion threads about his own work. His four primary haunts are listed in <b>bold</b>.<br />
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newsgroup name</div>
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number of posts</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.atheism/XvWN3_6qnBAJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.atheism</a></div>
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7</div>
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<td><div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.alien.vampire.flonk.flonk.flonk/1qu52G2VBYEJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.alien.vampire.flonk.flonk.flonk</a></div>
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1</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.alien.research/bhrcGmVImpsJ" target="_blank">alt.alien.research</a></div>
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2</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.antichristnet/uRKNO59x8OMJ" target="_blank">alt.antichristnet</a></div>
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3</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.bible/bDYQjCiZxlcJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.bible</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.blasphemy/Fwmt_1-QIvQJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.blasphemy</a></div>
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2</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.chaos/AXYScpvB22EJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.chaos</a></div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.conspiracy/PBy82niYD18J" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank"><b>alt.conspiracy</b></a></div>
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<b>97</b></div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.conspiracy.jfk/gHCzvGKJlzYJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.conspiracy.jfk</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.cult-movies/erNLQFTm130J" target="_blank">alt.cult-movies</a></div>
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4</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.discordia/1qu52G2VBYEJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank"><b>alt.discordia</b></a></div>
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<b>41</b></div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.discordia.scc/mtHBPNdjxuoJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.discordia.scc</a></div>
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2</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.edgar/1qu52G2VBYEJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.edgar</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.fan.art-bell/9h3bB6S3X58J" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.fan.art-bell</a></div>
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3</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.fan.howard-stern/9h3bB6S3X58J" target="_blank">alt.fan.howard-stern</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.fan.madonna/uNRZaMt5TgsJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.fan.madonna</a></div>
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1</div>
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<span style="color: #0000ee; text-align: start; text-decoration-line: underline;"><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.fan.rawilson/klD5VuIUx5kJ" target="_blank"><b>alt.fan.rawilson</b></a></span></div>
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<b>55</b></div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.feminazis/inFZX-CBagMJ" target="_blank">alt.feminazis</a></div>
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1</div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.hemp.politics/SnRWjTh15xwJ" target="_blank">alt.hemp.politics</a></div>
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1</div>
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<td><div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.humor/a7smhnTwQ98J" target="_blank">alt.humor</a></div>
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1</div>
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<td><div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.illuminati/qcOaMkeyIWQJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.illuminati</a></div>
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5</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.law-enforcement/_ABCuyVew9oJ" target="_blank">alt.law-enforcement</a></div>
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1</div>
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<td><div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.law-enforcement.interpol/_ABCuyVew9oJ" target="_blank">alt.law-enforcement.interpol</a></div>
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<td><div style="text-align: center;">
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1</div>
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<td><div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.meaningless.shit/1qu52G2VBYEJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.meaningless.shit</a></div>
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</td>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.memetics/QO4lJmT1NSUJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.memetics</a></div>
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2</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.movies/KlJtQT0efqQJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.movies</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.non.sequitur/Vh_n3AyM_GIJ" target="_blank">alt.non.sequitur</a></div>
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2</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.politics/bDYQjCiZxlcJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.politics</a></div>
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6</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.politics.bush/ISsVarw7WGsJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.politics.bush</a></div>
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6</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.politics.clinton/JdNp_68w_O0J" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.politics.clinton</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.politics.libertarian/QzPGw9godHgJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.politics.libertarian</a></div>
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2</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.revisionism/QZmB1cq5SFoJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.revisionism</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.slack/fETzzAS2VXkJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank"><b>alt.slack</b></a></div>
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<b>50</b></div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.society.neutopia/AXYScpvB22EJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.society.neutopia</a></div>
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3</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.tastless.jokes/a7smhnTwQ98J" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.tasteless.jokes</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/alt.tv.x-files/kXGFj12UryMJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">alt.tv.x-files</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/can.politics/-5aiOMLAbpUJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">can.politics</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/comp.ai.philosophy/azTdgTS1wuYJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">comp.ai.philosophy</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/cruzio.general/ZqHyr9RrZhUJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">cruzio.general</a></div>
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2</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/misc.survivalism/LTnafam2i5EJ" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">misc.survivalism</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/rec.pets.dogs.misc/mtHBPNdjxuoJ" target="_blank">rec.pets.dogs.misc</a></div>
</div>
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1</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/sci.econ/-5aiOMLAbpUJ" target="_blank">sci.econ</a><span id="goog_239635079"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_239635080"></span></div>
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2</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/sci.skeptic/5UJj30ANWPcJ" target="_blank">sci.skeptic</a></div>
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3</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/soc.culture.asian.american/CFxQm2HVYCMJ" target="_blank">soc.culture.asian.american</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/soc.culture.jewish/CFxQm2HVYCMJ" target="_blank">soc.culture.jewish</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/soc.men/9h3bB6S3X58J" target="_blank">soc.men</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/talk.atheism/sd70EDqVFawJ" target="_blank">talk.atheism</a></div>
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1</div>
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<a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!activity/talk.politics.misc/JdNp_68w_O0J" style="text-align: start;" target="_blank">talk.politics.misc</a></div>
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5</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">* At the time of this writing, I haven't read every post. The views contained therein do not necessarily reflect the views of the author (me) ... but you never know.</span></div>
Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-61038178801379266352017-03-29T09:59:00.001-07:002017-03-29T13:44:52.870-07:00The States with the Most Anime Conventions<div class="tableauPlaceholder" id="viz1490582085852" style="position: relative;">
Have you ever wondered which states have the most anime conventions? Are there certain regions where otaku culture is highly concentrated? Which states have the most conventions serving the largest number of anime fans? Using data from <a href="http://animecons.com/" target="_blank">AnimeCons.com</a> and other public sources, I've made an attempt to answer those questions. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Disclaimer: This is an informal analysis, not a formal peer-reviewed study)</span><br />
<br />
To create the ranking, I simply used the list found here: <a href="http://animecons.com/events/state.shtml/202016016" target="_blank">Anime conventions in the USA in 2016</a><br />
<br />
I used 2016 since it's a full year's worth of recent data. I excluded conventions that were postponed or canceled. Washington DC, while not a state, is included on these lists.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWxnxAV97seeH2e9mGAc5BbByGXpVPE6_ZmhZQnoaufoCWSHUq9sD5U2LZuCjqrYyYXpAzI4htaPtqARa9EpPnXAbM9y4MhKRjrUGbOcEEWA7CMtgNvFchhieRg7J3I8wjeU4a/s1600/anime-cons-usa.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="1" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWxnxAV97seeH2e9mGAc5BbByGXpVPE6_ZmhZQnoaufoCWSHUq9sD5U2LZuCjqrYyYXpAzI4htaPtqARa9EpPnXAbM9y4MhKRjrUGbOcEEWA7CMtgNvFchhieRg7J3I8wjeU4a/s400/anime-cons-usa.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>The top 25 states, ranked by number of anime conventions</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjygRvDdjqg50B2Fttelr1L0Z0TPR6PCS6kFdvS1txEhMn_KJ2uV_d6EDmQogeYiDjO8jXUMhvJ9iUsozNn0T2suk1CX4omVBJtz5KXIeqXM9TnvdcRGzQKh0ux6iA_LWuRreDr/s1600/top25.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjygRvDdjqg50B2Fttelr1L0Z0TPR6PCS6kFdvS1txEhMn_KJ2uV_d6EDmQogeYiDjO8jXUMhvJ9iUsozNn0T2suk1CX4omVBJtz5KXIeqXM9TnvdcRGzQKh0ux6iA_LWuRreDr/s1600/top25.png" /></a></div>
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
California and Florida are the clear winners.</div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>The bottom 25 states (plus Washington DC) <span style="text-align: center;">ranked by number of anime conventions</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="text-align: center;"><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rdzY8I89yHPQFHkf5A0KqE64ZB2IWwCv7NPUSBlAksEX-dpgIKgMOjIyafgSrbmEig46MPGTVojADGbiSw4uqYU2U8u2V6GFr6CcpOGYrv5BIFTgDIlSRrrp4lT19hoALbud/s1600/bottom25.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5rdzY8I89yHPQFHkf5A0KqE64ZB2IWwCv7NPUSBlAksEX-dpgIKgMOjIyafgSrbmEig46MPGTVojADGbiSw4uqYU2U8u2V6GFr6CcpOGYrv5BIFTgDIlSRrrp4lT19hoALbud/s1600/bottom25.png" /></a></div>
<div>
<b style="text-align: center;"><br /></b></div>
<div>
Near the bottom of the list, you'll find several states with only 1 convention in 2016, but Wyoming isn't even on the list, the only state without an anime convention in 2016.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
California and Florida are not huge surprises, since they are #1 and #3 in the US in terms of population; you'd expect a lot of events in those states. So, what happens we look at each state, ranked by anime cons <i>per capita</i>?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Ranking: States with the most anime cons per person</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuRrKuU2lw_zyL5tzU5jA5L8foAdclDEJpu_yuiFTTtO-D9miSjpry0AJMlBa0i1wisru4xb7se8m-95RzkoBDZ7bUewC55UfguFzdBA5rnaasSOPxGMzsU97ZKtHQ9Irk_N_/s1600/cons-per-person.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuRrKuU2lw_zyL5tzU5jA5L8foAdclDEJpu_yuiFTTtO-D9miSjpry0AJMlBa0i1wisru4xb7se8m-95RzkoBDZ7bUewC55UfguFzdBA5rnaasSOPxGMzsU97ZKtHQ9Irk_N_/s640/cons-per-person.png" width="500" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">[not pictured: Alaska (14) and Hawaii (46)]</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
The picture changes quite a bit, with South and North Dakota jumping to the top of the list, followed by Tennessee and Maine. Florida is still up there, but California with its much larger population lags significantly.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<b>Ranking: States with the most anime cons per square mile</b></div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0aAnhTrdkX8HAKbXc3vzdWGKKMbtzhNDdykKi3XOzL04L6-SEXAdLQF3pclXuGV0fs79ywckqowkwj7QMqM5UniQowP1lEReNHDK3t4eva75ubVYIXHZj0GMQth44aUFJWtkI/s1600/cons-per-sq-mi.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0aAnhTrdkX8HAKbXc3vzdWGKKMbtzhNDdykKi3XOzL04L6-SEXAdLQF3pclXuGV0fs79ywckqowkwj7QMqM5UniQowP1lEReNHDK3t4eva75ubVYIXHZj0GMQth44aUFJWtkI/s640/cons-per-sq-mi.png" width="500" /></a></div>
</div>
<b style="text-align: center;"><br /></b>
<br />
What if we look for states with the most conventions per square mile? Washington DC (not a state, but close enough) is at #1 followed by New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Maryland. Florida manages to stay pretty high at #5.<br />
<br />
This is all well and good, but the rankings presented thus far don't really answer one of our primary questions: <i><span style="color: #274e13;">Which states have the most conventions serving the largest number of anime fans?</span></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
In that case, it doesn't make sense to overemphasize <b>anime cons per capita</b> or <b>anime cons per square mile</b> in states which have very few people in it. We want to find out where there are a lot of cons serving a high volume of people. So, let's look at the same data above, but filter the lists by population.<br />
<br />
When you look at the states with the most anime cons, they are also the states with the most people, with two exceptions: Tennessee had 15 cons, but only 6.65 million people, compared to New York which had 14 cons and 19.7 million people. Michigan has 9.9 million people, but only had 6 anime cons in 2016.<br />
<br />
Here's what it looks like when we calculate state rankings for <b>anime cons per capita</b>, but only focusing on the top 10 states by population:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Populous states with the most anime conventions per capita</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjELCuF-Gv_tN7SGIb7l6mg9FFRgvaYMH5SnY0vg-1VZxmO6MnSD5CXZQkiCCLsdJ2FJ8qQm5o7Ll9rPWJSDkFL4sTOZ3RYidJ-I9oGee6zQ0BDqJ4gzmc5-pWg8am-HyKisb_H/s1600/cons-per-person10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjELCuF-Gv_tN7SGIb7l6mg9FFRgvaYMH5SnY0vg-1VZxmO6MnSD5CXZQkiCCLsdJ2FJ8qQm5o7Ll9rPWJSDkFL4sTOZ3RYidJ-I9oGee6zQ0BDqJ4gzmc5-pWg8am-HyKisb_H/s640/cons-per-person10.png" width="500" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Now, Florida is #1 and Ohio is #2. California and Texas, with 36 and 23 cons in 2016 respectively, are not in the top 5 due to their high populations. Florida cons are more spread out than Ohio cons, so there are more events in Florida with overlapping dates. When we only count events with unique dates (assuming no one is likely to attend two conventions in the same day), Ohio actually edges out Florida in this metric (anime cons per capita).<br />
<br />
We can apply the same population filter to our state rankings for <b>anime cons per square mile</b>:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Populous states with the most anime conventions per square mile</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_gfhdO9_0cPDcmeOUFdAae_B16I2p-X9Fd4ZlWf1NjzsBgKbbtorxfI9gpWXjZEDsNSGLbTd3-S6_9p3Op78FzIgqUc6wt6TeFO_7lTds-fJwlJpeGlA6H_VLZarlAtfvNWy/s1600/cons-per-sq-mi10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_gfhdO9_0cPDcmeOUFdAae_B16I2p-X9Fd4ZlWf1NjzsBgKbbtorxfI9gpWXjZEDsNSGLbTd3-S6_9p3Op78FzIgqUc6wt6TeFO_7lTds-fJwlJpeGlA6H_VLZarlAtfvNWy/s640/cons-per-sq-mi10.png" width="500" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Florida and Ohio come out on top again!<br />
<br />
<b>What does all this mean?</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
First of all, to interact with this data and apply your own filters, you can visit the dashboard I created:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://public.tableau.com/profile/lawrence.eng#!/vizhome/anime-con-analysis/Summary" target="_blank"><img border="1" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglL7S9NU1W-I0St2VZ4g9HzPTI3Mxzq9IUyTl5VMvJGEMMsHHfC75G4XJGZ4Q7S0wWvjnH4c3cTEa-3aDXNv49V5zOf_8Qj6zlH-OVRxU3UsdraTCzUtZ_FvxnXZ9PkayEVkvK/s320/dashboard.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<a href="https://public.tableau.com/profile/lawrence.eng#!/vizhome/anime-con-analysis/Summary" target="_blank">click here</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Secondly, we obviously need to talk about Florida and Ohio. That there are a lot of conventions in Florida is perhaps less surprising, given that Florida is the #2 tourist destination in the US after California. Ohio, on the other hand, is #12 on that <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-most-popular-us-states-for-tourism-2014-10" target="_blank">list</a>.<br />
<br />
Note: <i>It's not just anime conventions</i>. The same people who made <a href="http://animecons.com/" target="_blank">AnimeCons.com</a> also made <a href="http://fancons.com/" target="_blank">FanCons.com</a> . Using fan convention data in general, I created some visualizations to examine that. Based on the same type of analysis, Florida and Ohio come out on top there as well (across multiple flavors of fandom, not just anime).<br />
<br />
<b>Personal Perspective</b><br />
<br />
To date, I've been to 51 cons in 5 states (California, Maryland, Ohio, Georgia, and New York), but mostly in California where I live, and mostly repeat visits to the same few conventions.<br />
<br />
I've had the honor of being a repeat guest at <a href="http://www.animepunch.org/armageddicon/index.php" target="_blank">Anime Punch: Armageddicon</a> in Columbus, Ohio. I remember a staffer I spoke to telling me about all the conventions she went to in Ohio, either as an attendee or as con staff. It was hard to believe there were so many, but the data doesn't lie.<br />
<br />
I've never been to Florida, but I am acquainted with the folks from the <a href="http://www.awopodcast.com/" target="_blank">Anime World Order</a> podcast who are from there. I'll leave it to them (and others) to tell us about the particulars of anime fandom in that state.<br />
<br />
I do know that both states have old school anime cred, Florida being the birthplace of JACO - the Japanese Animation Club of Orlando - home of JACOsub, one of the earliest pieces of fansubbing software. Ohio is home to the venerable OSU anime club, formerly known as "Animate". Ohio State servers were the original home of the Anime Web Turnpike. Going back even further, it's where the Venice FTP anime-manga archive was first hosted.<br />
<br />
I've been to Ohio for Anime Punch 7 times, not enough to really get to know Ohio fans, but the scene there was unique and I really enjoyed it. It gave me a much stronger appreciation for small cons. I've been to Anime Expo, Otakon, and San Diego Comic-Con plenty of times, and they're great, but the energy and enthusiasm of a lot of small cons out there is something to be experienced, and Ohio has plenty of them. You might say: some people attend a few big cons as special events; others attend a lot of smaller cons as a lifestyle.<br />
<br />
Ohio has been called the nerdiest state (a badge of honor, in my opinion): <a href="http://www.newsnet5.com/news/state/states-of-shame-ohio-is-nerdiest-state" target="_blank">people in Ohio apparently visit libraries more often than people in other states</a>. Maybe there's a connection between reading/library-going and anime fandom, but that's another study for another day.<br />
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I have fond memories of con-going in Ohio. Someone invite me to Florida so I can get a measure of fandom in the Sunshine State!</div>
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<script type="text/javascript"> var divElement = document.getElementById('viz1490582085852'); var vizElement = divElement.getElementsByTagName('object')[0]; vizElement.style.width='100%';vizElement.style.height=(divElement.offsetWidth*0.75)+'px'; var scriptElement = document.createElement('script'); scriptElement.src = 'https://public.tableau.com/javascripts/api/viz_v1.js'; vizElement.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, vizElement); </script>Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com59tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-77145116411840511502016-08-13T01:34:00.000-07:002016-08-13T01:34:46.948-07:00Film Review: In search of 'The Lost Arcade'<div style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; font-size: 14px;">
I'm glad to see it's starting to get the attention it deserves (see <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/aug/12/the-lost-arcade-review-kurt-vincent-documentary" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/the-lost-arcade-review-1201835598/" target="_blank">here</a>), because <i>The Lost Arcade </i>(2015) is the best subculture documentary I've seen in a long time, and I've seen plenty (and even helped on <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0374933/" target="_blank">one</a>). It's the story of Chinatown Fair, the historic penny arcade turned video arcade in NYC Chinatown, how it closed down and then reopened (in quite a different form), and the community of people for whom it was a second home.
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The documentary's singular and intimate focus on one arcade, its historical significance, and (most importantly) the people who inhabited it, has so much to say about so much more than its title would suggest, but it does so in an understated way. Its tone is less instructive, and more reflective. Instead of being explicitly analytical, it's more atmospheric and empathetic.</div>
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The Lost Arcade paints a portrait of one very specific microcosm--primarily the players of one genre of video games in one arcade in New York City at one particular point in time. But this narrative resonates far beyond that time and space. It is a story that has played out the same way in other locales and in other circumstances, so that many of us, who have never visited Chinatown Fair but belong(ed) to our own transformed communities, know <i>exactly</i> what the documentary is talking about.</div>
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Years from now, dismissive critics might naively point to how dated the film is, how gaming and arcades and neighborhoods and cities have moved on, but they will have missed the point. Filmmakers Kurt Vincent and Irene Chin have documented something that will inform and inspire us for years to come.
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That's because it's more than a movie about a genre of video games, or video games in general, or one or even a thousand video arcades, or one particular subculture/community, or one particular neighborhood in one particular city. It's about <i>all</i> those things, and more.
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It's about subcultures in general: how they change, for good or ill, whether by choice or because of forces they can't control, and the consequences of those changes. The film shows us how home video game consoles and the Internet forever changed the way video game players interact with each other.
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It's also about what's happening in cities and neighborhoods across the country, about the devastating effects of gentrification--altering the urban landscape, and the displacement of local culture for the sake of profit.</div>
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Most of all, it's about the communities we build, the places we inhabit not because we <i>have</i> to be there, but because we <i>want</i> to be there. It's about Sam Palmer (the owner of Chinatown Fair) creating a vibrant space for people from all walks of life to interact, initially gathered by a shared interest in video gaming, and ultimately staying because they grew attached to the people they met there.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrQqTO3AY-4gSqkjAWDm0l1Nc57MKaDhidtCythGF3ndeqzGoqhjXhXgNjFswK9v11pr4oVwCkjl3Q0Kw-8-X3w-ELly3_3dZZJf-Byvvy0QGjb3CQ9dHo83T2_XdtTHmTnAQ/s1600/arcade-ppl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizrQqTO3AY-4gSqkjAWDm0l1Nc57MKaDhidtCythGF3ndeqzGoqhjXhXgNjFswK9v11pr4oVwCkjl3Q0Kw-8-X3w-ELly3_3dZZJf-Byvvy0QGjb3CQ9dHo83T2_XdtTHmTnAQ/s320/arcade-ppl.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's a celebration of those kinds of communities--the fact that they exist, the fact that we can create and be part of them. But the film is most poignant as a story of <i>loss</i>. Although Chinatown Fair was the last of its kind in Manhattan, the documentary is called The 'Lost' Arcade, not the 'Last' arcade.<br />
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For the players at Chinatown Fair, they really did lose their community. It was taken away and transformed (brutally, some would say). I watched the film in April when it played as part of the <a href="https://festival.sdaff.org/spring2016/films/lost-arcade/" target="_blank">San Diego Asian Film Festival Spring Showcase</a>. I still get choked up when I recall the scene featuring Akuma Hokura, one of Chinatown Fair's most important denizens, visiting the new incarnation of the arcade. The scene featuring arcade manager Henry Cen--struggling to come to terms with the way his vision for the arcade had been perverted--also hit me pretty hard.</div>
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Among those of us who belong(ed) to subcultures that have changed, some of us have felt that same sense of loss. It's a familiar story: we were part of something good, and while some things have changed for the better, we've also lost some important things along the way. More so than video gaming, the subculture/community <i>I</i> belonged to in the 90s and early 00s was anime fandom. I used to (but no longer) dream about anime conventions the way the opening narrator of The Lost Arcade dreamt about Chinatown Fair. We (the anime fan community in those years) were part of something special that only existed in that particular form for a relatively brief moment in time, and it might never come back.
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Don't get me wrong. It’s more than just bittersweet nostalgia or a knee jerk reaction to change. Things do evolve and improve, and change is not always bad, but the documentary shows us what happened to a community for whom change came knocking, not from their own efforts and desires, but from outside forces who didn't understand or care about them. Instead of just memorializing them, however, The Lost Arcade shows that community's beautiful and hopeful response.
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In the end, The Lost Arcade is a story of redemption in progress, a reminder that community is not just where we happen to find it; it is wherever we decide to <i>build</i> it. We can nurture and grow it when given the opportunity. It is a warning not to take those opportunities for granted. We have to seize them. We have so much to gain if we do, and so much to lose if we don't. We owe it to ourselves to make it more than just a dream.
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Official site: <a href="http://www.arcademovie.com/">http://www.arcademovie.com</a>
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<b>About the author
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I earned my PhD studying anime fandom in America. In my professional life, I build and nurture online communities for companies and their customers. I am not much of a video gamer, but grew up going to arcades in Southern California and South Korea in the 80s and 90s. I've never been to Chinatown Fair, but my dad went there as a kid after moving from China to NYC in the late 1940s.
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Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-40470542938761777872016-07-31T17:00:00.000-07:002017-04-09T10:20:48.068-07:00Gainax Postmodernism - Evangelion, Space: 1999, and other thingsI started this post with the simple intent to share/comment on the two videos below. I ended up writing an(other) essay on Gainax. Oops! Click the videos to view. Scroll down if you want to read.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lBtLqR5Lo7M" width="420"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t-QSmNReDyI?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>
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<b>Getting to know Gainax</b><br />
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For over two decades now, fans have been talking about, picking apart, and generally obsessing over Neon Genesis Evangelion.<br />
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I am no expert on that particular show/franchise. I look to otaku like <a href="https://twitter.com/EvaMonkeyDotCom" target="_blank">Eva Monkey</a> ( <a href="http://www.evamonkey.com/">http://www.evamonkey.com</a> ) and the good folks at <a href="https://twitter.com/evageeks" target="_blank">Eva Geeks</a> ( <a href="http://www.evageeks.org/">http://www.evageeks.org</a> ) to keep me informed and educated on the vast world of Evangelion fandom and lore.<br />
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I am, however, very interested and decently aware of things related to old-school, pre-Evangelion Gainax. Over the years, I've had the opportunity to see, meet, and in rare cases interview a number of Gainax staff and collaborators, including but not limited to Toshio Okada, Hiroyuki Yamaga, Takami Akai, Yasuhiro Takeda, Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, Kazuya Tsurumaki, Hiroki Sato, and Toren Smith. In 1996, I got to see Hideaki Anno speak on two panels at Anime Expo--a general panel about his own work, and an <a href="http://www.cjas.org/~echen/articles/spring97/05_03b.html" target="_blank">Evangelion-only panel</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDq4efjsJNjL9yuCXuY-3dusGeaNewtCGyjiBkyrsc4-neMnHk5stS3z4uDHlQ3ugCId6zEhaQlZydTCZRx40JsMokfzuAx44ygXbRCk2KRxzjSqatxSTwJacCUUri0kHx5mc/s1600/gainaxstaff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="139" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZDq4efjsJNjL9yuCXuY-3dusGeaNewtCGyjiBkyrsc4-neMnHk5stS3z4uDHlQ3ugCId6zEhaQlZydTCZRx40JsMokfzuAx44ygXbRCk2KRxzjSqatxSTwJacCUUri0kHx5mc/s320/gainaxstaff.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>The Gainax sensibility - the role of references in postmodern storytelling</b><br />
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Anno, and all the folks mentioned above - they are otaku through and through. They were part of the first otaku generation and helped define the otaku ethic for the rest of us, not just via self-referential shows like <a href="http://www.animeigo.com/products/anime/otaku-no-video" target="_blank">Otaku no Video</a>, but in everything they produced. The way they see the world, especially visual media, and reflect it back us in their own work resonates with otaku of all stripes.<br />
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The Gainax creative sensibility might be described as postmodern*. Focusing on their earlier work, it is heavily and unapologetically referential, not as a cheap way to cash in on the goodwill of fans (of the works being referenced), but simply because the act of referencing was part of their creators' toolbox. Those creators, as fans themselves, liked what they saw and wanted to incorporate it, but differently and hopefully better, with a certain mix of reverence, nostalgia, and parody.<br />
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For the most part, the references they used are "hard", not really intended to be understood by the majority of the audience. "Too bad", Anno might say. That's because they are there to help tell the story, not because fans begged for (or creators promised any) fun "easter eggs". You don't need to be a fan of everything Anno, Okada, et al. enjoyed to be entertained by their works. But if there's any overlap, or you simply like looking for references, it does add an extra dimension to the enjoyment and appreciation. The stories work at the surface level, but they also offer a lot to those who like to dig (e.g. upon repeat viewings).<br />
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Here's an analogy to illustrate the point further. You don't need to be a fan of Flash Gordon or The Hidden Fortress to enjoy Star Wars, but it would probably change your experience of it. On the other hand, based on how they were written, the prequel trilogy almost <i>requires</i> a person to have seen Eps. 4 - 6.<br />
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<b>Hideaki Anno's visual culture influences</b><br />
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One day, someone (perhaps Anno himself) will catalog all the things that influenced his work. For now, we can only find <a href="http://wiki.evageeks.org/Tributes_to_Other_Fiction_in_Neon_Genesis_Evangelion" target="_blank">scattered clues</a> and guess if they are relevant. I will offer up a few random observations, obviously conjecture and potentially flat-out wrong, but hey...it's fun!<br />
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My friend <a href="https://twitter.com/colonydrop" target="_blank">Sean</a> at <a href="http://www.zimmerit.moe/secret-history-of-gainax/" target="_blank">Zimmerit</a> already covered Hiroyuki Yamaga's music video for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZBKrnIOy20" target="_blank">Fence of Defense - Data No.6</a>. It does include things that look like precursors to some visuals in Evangelion. <a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=48" target="_blank">Nadia</a> too, for that matter! But I'm surprised not to have seen much talk about the intro of Gerry Anderson's <b>Space: 1999</b>, referenced in both Evangelion and Otaku no Video. Anno's Gerry Anderson fandom is <a href="http://www.mangauk.com/post.php?p=hideaki-anno-interview" target="_blank">well-documented</a>.<br />
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Stylistically, the Space: 1999 intro feels so similar to the opening of Evangelion. View both videos and judge for yourself:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lBtLqR5Lo7M" width="420"></iframe> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/t-QSmNReDyI?rel=0" width="420"></iframe>
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A film Eva fans might want to check out is <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064177/" target="_blank">Colossus: The Forbin Project</a> (1970).<br />
An <a href="http://forum.evageeks.org/thread/9190/The-Dummy-Systems-Backwards-Message-MESSAGE-FOUND/">Evangelion fan noticed</a> a scene in which the audio played backwards comes from the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRq7Muf6CKg" target="_blank">final scene</a> of that film.<br />
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Based on that, it seems pretty likely that Anno has seen Colossus: The Forbin Project. Here's a scene from that movie that required nudity to be covered up:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgffc74mch3AGWYKbDFDVuYHr1FZ-mToEJPLAcBGfmsG6ZDa8T8DgCLYSPPYc_0x0NfbKrEuys5SMXw8t81buffDoVQpbfM_Y2Utq7l27UN595IexIk_wKkyFaTdgYlhAOow9pR/s1600/forbin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgffc74mch3AGWYKbDFDVuYHr1FZ-mToEJPLAcBGfmsG6ZDa8T8DgCLYSPPYc_0x0NfbKrEuys5SMXw8t81buffDoVQpbfM_Y2Utq7l27UN595IexIk_wKkyFaTdgYlhAOow9pR/s320/forbin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Sorry for the poor quality image, but that's a wine glass covering up the nude protagonist of the film. Obviously, that's similar to the scene familiar to all Eva fans below:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmiZfVRNEtzAmdwereT6G87bpYWfiqXOz8fnsU2i_U8tPtFwHlgKQ2mVJfV9Yu0kuADDSWTNt81xSFn5dkVUkUWG4_zGzPi8-VGkmwdDXFhjVwi1w7kfra1FwF0NQNStCmm1g/s1600/shinji-eva-yebisu.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEmiZfVRNEtzAmdwereT6G87bpYWfiqXOz8fnsU2i_U8tPtFwHlgKQ2mVJfV9Yu0kuADDSWTNt81xSFn5dkVUkUWG4_zGzPi8-VGkmwdDXFhjVwi1w7kfra1FwF0NQNStCmm1g/s320/shinji-eva-yebisu.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Clever censoring of this sort is not unique to Eva and Colossus: The Forbin Project (see <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SceneryCensor?from=Main.PeekABoo">http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SceneryCensor?from=Main.PeekABoo</a> ), but let's be serious. Anno did not rip off Austin Powers; he is far more likely to have seen and been influenced by Colossus: The Forbin Project (or not).<br />
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We could go on and on. I've been sitting on an Evangelion/Nadia/Illuminatus analysis for years. Who knows if I'll ever write that up! In the meantime, perhaps we should all check out Anno's latest work: <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4262980/" target="_blank">Godzilla Resurgence</a> (2016).<br />
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* My favorite film director, Sergio Leone, was dubbed by Jean Baudrillard as the first postmodernist film director. Leone, a fan of American westerns, transformed the genre by using the elements of Western mythology in new and subversive ways. On a side note, Anno himself proclaimed his love of westerns at AX96 and bragged that he probably knew more about them than anyone in the room. Perhaps one could argue that Macross was the first major postmodern anime; it wasn't created by Gainax, but it was creatively spearheaded by two of their own generation - Shoji Kawamori and Haruhiko Mikimoto - and Anno, Yamaga, and Akai got their professional start working on it.Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-38128631617590582052016-05-21T11:00:00.001-07:002016-05-21T11:00:48.083-07:00Tomorrowland Revisited<a href="http://takemetotomorrowland.com/" target="_blank">Disney's Tomorrowland</a> is just about 1 year old. It was almost certainly my favorite film of 2015. My son and I saw it in the theater 3 times. It was very polarizing (with exactly half of reviewers on <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tomorrowland_2015/" target="_blank">Rotten Tomatoes</a> giving it a thumbs up).<br />
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That 50% rating is misleading though. It doesn't mean most people found the movie to be 50% enjoyable. For quite awhile, I obsessively tracked people's reactions to the film, and it's clear to me that, while most people didn't bother to watch it, the ones who did either loved or hated it.<br />
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People's reactions to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tomorrowland?src=hash">#Tomorrowland</a> are as fascinating as the movie itself. Hats off to <a href="https://twitter.com/BradBirdA113">@BradBirdA113</a> for creating something so provocative.</div>
— Lawrence Eng (@Lawmune) <a href="https://twitter.com/Lawmune/status/603753522845253632">May 28, 2015</a></blockquote>
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My first tweet about the film was this:<br />
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What many critics miss about <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tomorrowland?src=hash">#Tomorrowland</a>: it's less about nostalgia for old visions of the future, and more about a revival of the spirit.</div>
— Lawrence Eng (@Lawmune) <a href="https://twitter.com/Lawmune/status/602528114208411648">May 24, 2015</a></blockquote>
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A few weeks ago, Sean Wilson on Flickering Myth wrote the following article:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2016/05/tomorrowland-or-the-curse-of-the-standalone-blockbuster/" target="_blank">Tomorrowland: or The Curse of the Standalone Blockbuster</a> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Sean Wilson re-evaluates the unfairly maligned Disney movie, and why its failure is an unfortunate reflection of the modern-day cinema industry…</i></span></blockquote>
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There's a lot in that article I don't agree with, but it was a good read nonetheless. On Tomorrowland Times (see below), I <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tomorrowlandtimes/posts/1141702755875120?comment_id=1145362132175849&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R0%22%7D" target="_blank">posted</a> the following reaction:<br />
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I finally got around to reading this. My brief thoughts:</blockquote>
<blockquote>
Even for those of us who liked the movie, it's so hard to get agreement on what the movie was about. Perhaps it's due to the faulty expectations created by the confusing marketing campaign. I *still* don't really know how the film should have been marketed.</blockquote>
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Anyhow, my perspective is that Tomorrowland is not about nostalgia or even utopianism; it's about progressivism </blockquote>
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The movie is not so much optimistic (as a whole) as it is *about* optimism--how it is lost, and why we need to work hard regain it instead of giving up.</blockquote>
Tomorrowland has spawned a small cult fandom. "Tomorrowland Times" (on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/tomorrowlandtimes/" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/TheTomorrowTime" target="_blank">Twitter</a>) is the place to go if you want to be part of it.<br />
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<br />Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-54449040495028021982015-01-04T14:21:00.002-08:002015-01-05T00:37:19.501-08:00In-Game Chat workaround - communicate with your friends for item trading in SimCity BuildIt<div style="orphans: 2; widows: 2;">
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Over the holidays, I started playing <a href="http://www.ea.com/simcity-buildit/" target="_blank">SimCity BuildIt</a> on iOS (which I wanted to try since I was a fan of the original SimCity back in the early 90s). Having "researched" the game for more hours than I care to admit and reading through its <a href="http://answers.ea.com/t5/SimCity-BuildIt/ct-p/SimCity_BuildIt" target="_blank">discussion forums</a>, I came up with the following guide to facilitate social gameplay (since the game's basic design certainly does <i>not</i> make it easy):</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-size: large;">In-Game Chat workaround - communicate with your friends about the items you need and have</span></span><br />
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<a href="http://www.lainspotting.com/2015/01/in-game-chat-workaround-communicate.html#summary">1. Quick Summary</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lainspotting.com/2015/01/in-game-chat-workaround-communicate.html#details">2. Details</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lainspotting.com/2015/01/in-game-chat-workaround-communicate.html#codes">3. Item Codes</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lainspotting.com/2015/01/in-game-chat-workaround-communicate.html#rationale">4. Rationale</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lainspotting.com/2015/01/in-game-chat-workaround-communicate.html#tips">5. Tips</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="summary"><b><span style="color: black;">1. Quick summary</span></b></a></div>
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Use your City Name as a method to communicate with your friends in-game to maximize item trading opportunities.<br />
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<b><a blue="" color:="" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="details"></a>2. Details</b><br />
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The City Name text area can hold 20 characters (numbers, letters, or symbols). You and your friends can use the City Name to communicate with each other using a code you've agree on.
For example, my City Name might be:<br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>hPl nMt cCh 14 0104</b></span></div>
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Which means:</div>
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I have <b><span style="color: blue;">Planks </span></b>for sale, need <b><span style="color: blue;">Measuring Tape</span>,</b> and am crafting <b style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">Chairs </span></b>as of <span style="color: blue;"><b>2pm</b> </span>on <b><span style="color: blue;">January 4th</span></b>.</div>
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-</div>
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Here is the schema (not including the brackets):</div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">h[**] n[**] c[**] tt mmdd</span></b></div>
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h = Have (things you have in your Trade Depot)</div>
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n = Need (things you want)</div>
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c = Crafting (things you have in your production queue, intended for sale)</div>
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** = item code (see below)</div>
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tt = time (e.g. 00 = midnight, 06 = 6am , 12 = noon , 18 = 6pm)</div>
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mm = month (e.g. 01 = January, 12 = December)</div>
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dd = day of the month (e.g. 01 = 1st, 31 = 31st)<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="codes"><b><span style="color: black;">3. Item codes</span></b></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkCcqMGWTpELGUThIlxmqXZYzFNWTWma6PFk0OkJyjTj4Js4Zm7iVHNC8VvNr0Ru1rjruupUIegNKOBsRSKr3_4FkoJo3oG3-pes2WdCOJWYWWFdI-T_UOw-RZlhnOE_DrJfzw/s1600/item-table.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkCcqMGWTpELGUThIlxmqXZYzFNWTWma6PFk0OkJyjTj4Js4Zm7iVHNC8VvNr0Ru1rjruupUIegNKOBsRSKr3_4FkoJo3oG3-pes2WdCOJWYWWFdI-T_UOw-RZlhnOE_DrJfzw/s1600/item-table.png" /></a></div>
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Crafted</div>
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Br = bricks (20 min)</div>
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Ch = chairs (20 min)</div>
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Ck = cooking utensils (45 min)</div>
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Ce = cement (50 min)</div>
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Fb = fruit and berries (90 min)</div>
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Fl = flour bags (30 min)</div>
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Gl = glue (60 min)</div>
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Gr = grass (30 min)</div>
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Mt = measuring tape (20 min)</div>
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Pl = planks (30 min)</div>
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Sh = shovels (30 min)</div>
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Tb = tables (30 min)</div>
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Tr = tree saplings (90 min)</div>
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Vg = vegetables (20 min)</div>
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Factory made</div>
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Cm = chemicals (120 min)</div>
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Mi = minerals (30 min)</div>
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Sd = seeds (20 min)</div>
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Ss = sugar and spices (240 min)</div>
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Tx = textiles (180 min)<br />
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="rationale"><b><span style="color: black;">4. Rationale</span></b></a></div>
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One of the most frustrating aspects of SimCity BuildIt is waiting around for items in order to upgrade homes. Using the Global Trade HQ in an attempt to find what you're looking for is even worse. Clicking on a listed item will typically show a store that is empty. Clicking on a displayed item will often result in "This item is no more available" (because demand is so high and supply is so low).</div>
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The much better alternative is to connect with a smaller set of friends (via Game Center or Facebook).</div>
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What the game lacks that many people have asked for is an in-game chat feature. Having that would allow you to coordinate with your friends by letting them know what you need, what you have for sale, etc. I recommend using your City Name as a form of in-game chat (until EA decides to add such a feature, if ever). Clicking on the Friends icon will display the city names and levels of all your friends. From there, you can browse people's codes, as described above.</div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="tips"><b><span style="color: black;">5. Tips</span></b></a></div>
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<ul>
<li>Including the time and date will allow your friends to know when you last updated your code, so they'll know how accurate your information is likely to be.</li>
<li>Don't go crazy with an overly huge friend list. While a larger friend list means you will have a better chance of finding what you're looking for, it also means that anything you advertise will disappear more quickly, which will lead to your friends becoming frustrated (possibly causing them to unfriend you on Game Center).</li>
<li>It's probably best if most people on your friend list are around the same level as you (+/- 6 levels), or else some friends will benefit way more than they contribute (unless you don't mind helping them out).</li>
<li>While you can trade items beyond what's listed above, I only listed items that require 20 minutes or more of wait time.</li>
<li>Even though some factory-made items take a long time to farm, it's generally better to trade crafted goods since those don't show up on the Global Trading HQ nearly as often.</li>
</ul>
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All of this is just an untested idea, so there may be kinks to work out (if it works at all). The item list above is based on what I know being at Level 18. More info is appreciated if you have it (including which item/level information).</div>
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If there's anyone ( level 12 or higher) who wants to try this with me, send me a Game Center friend request. My username is <b>Lawmune </b>.</div>
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Thanks!</div>
Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com85tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-37024150706353060532013-07-25T22:23:00.001-07:002013-07-25T22:23:39.465-07:00Close the World, Open the nExt - Ryutaro Nakamura (1955 - 2013)I learned with much sadness today that anime creator Ryutaro Nakamura, who directed both <b>Kino no Tabi</b> and <b>Serial Experiments Lain</b> (for which this blog is named), passed away due to pancreatic cancer.<br />
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Based on interactions I've had with <i>lain</i> fans over the years from all around the world, I know I'm not alone when I say his works works have played an important role in my life.
As <a href="https://twitter.com/Lawmune/status/360623415939436544">I said tonight on Twitter</a>, I suspect that many <i>lain</i> and <i>Kino no Tabi</i> marathons are being held right now.<br />
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Here are the news stories announcing his passing. It's worthwhile to read the comments to get a sense of the impact he left:<br />
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<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2013-07-25/serial-experiments-lain-director-ryutaro-nakamura-passes-away">Serial Experiments Lain Director Ryutaro Nakamura Passes Away</a> (Anime News Network)</li>
<li><a href="http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2013/07/25/serial-experiments-lain-director-ryutaro-nakamura-passes-away">"Serial Experiments Lain" Director Ryutaro Nakamura Passes Away</a> (Crunchyroll)</li>
</ul>
Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-46781046539129500962013-06-23T09:23:00.001-07:002013-06-23T09:29:52.656-07:00Lawmune's Netspace turns 15Even though updates to <a href="http://www.cjas.org/~leng">my personal website</a> have slowed to less than a crawl, today marks the 15th anniversary of it being online. In June 1998, a month after I left college, I put up the site as a way to keep in touch with friends (this was before Facebook, MySpace, Orkut, etc.). It evolved into more than that and led to numerous opportunities for which I'm super grateful.<br />
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Tonight, I will take a moment to reflect on the World Wide Web and how it's changed in the last 15 years (for better and for worse), and maybe I'll fire up <a href="http://lynx.isc.org/">Lynx</a> just to make sure the site still looks good in a text-only browser, something I used to do regularly.Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-19365763709294524592012-06-02T11:00:00.000-07:002013-06-23T10:23:41.313-07:00Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected WorldIn a blog post last year (<a href="http://www.lainspotting.com/2011/08/pursuing-new-challenges.html">Pursuing new challenges</a>), I mentioned that a book would be coming out, featuring 2 chapters that I wrote ("Strategies of Engagement: Discovering, Defining, and Describing Otaku Culture in the United States" and "Anime and Manga Fandom as Networked Culture"). After years of putting it together, <b>Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected World</b> finally came out in late February.<br />
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If you're interested, it's available for purchase here:<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&nou=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=inpurofprethi-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=0300158645" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
<br>
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007SWMZLK/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=inpurofprethi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B007SWMZLK">(Kindle edition)</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=inpurofprethi-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B007SWMZLK" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></center>
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I met <a href="http://www.itofisher.com/mito/">Mimi Ito</a> (the primary editor of the book) several years ago, but I became aware of her work years before meeting her in person. At my very first 4S (Society for Social Studies of Science) conference in 2001, I saw her present on mobile phone culture in Japan, and at my second 4S conference in 2002, I gave my first academic presentation on otaku. Although Mimi wasn't there in 2002, her colleague presented her paper on Yu-Gi-Oh! otaku (which I attended). I met her co-editor, Daisuke Okabe, at FanimeCon in 2007. I haven't met Izumi Tsuji (another co-editor), but I hope to in the future. The cover art was done by the very talented <a href="http://www.ulisesfarinas.com/">ulises farinas</a>, who I hope to meet at Comic-Con this year.<br>
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Mimi wrote about the book <a href="http://www.itofisher.com/mito/weblog/2012/01/fandom_unbound_otaku_culture_i.html">on her blog</a> several months ago, and she gave a talk hosted by MIT's Comparative Media Studies program, which you can watch below:
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(<a href="http://ttv.mit.edu/videos/15563-fandom-unbound-otaku-culture-in-a-connected-world">direct link</a>)
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If you don't have time to watch that, here's a comprehensive summary by Ethan Zuckerman: <a href="http://www.ethanzuckerman.com/blog/2011/11/16/mimi-ito-on-otaku-culture-and-cultural-soft-power/">Mimi Ito on Otaku culture and cultural soft power</a><br>
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Later, in a follow-up post, I will revisit this talk to address some of the questions that were raised at the end.<br>
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Henry Jenkins conducted a three-part interview with the editors of the book, and my work was mentioned in that. See <b>Otaku Culture in a Connected World: An Interview with Mizuko Ito, Daisuke Okabe, and Izumi Tsuji</b> parts <a href="http://henryjenkins.org/2012/04/otaku_culture_in_a_connected_w.html">one</a>, <a href="http://henryjenkins.org/2012/04/otaku_culture_in_a_connected_w_1.html">two</a>, and <a href="http://henryjenkins.org/2012/04/otaku_culture_in_a_connected_w_2.html">three</a>.
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<hr>
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On a related note, Matt Alt interviewed fellow otaku scholar Patrick Galbraith to discuss Patrick's new book (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984457658/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=inpurofprethi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0984457658">Otaku Spaces</a>)<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=inpurofprethi-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0984457658" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />and his thoughts on otaku culture in Japan. It's well worth a read (and I was happy to see my work mentioned there as well).<br>
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<b>An Interview with Patrick W. Galbraith on Otaku Culture</b> parts <a href="http://neojaponisme.com/2012/05/22/an-interview-with-patrick-w-galbraith-on-otaku-culture-part-one/">one</a>, <a href="http://neojaponisme.com/2012/05/24/an-interview-with-patrick-w-galbraith-on-otaku-culture-part-two/">two</a>, and <a href="http://neojaponisme.com/2012/05/25/an-interview-with-patrick-w-galbraith-on-otaku-culture-part-three/">three</a>.
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By the way, if you want to show off your own otaku space(s), feel free to contribute to this Flickr group I launched in 2009: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/otaku-rooms/">Otaku Rooms</a>Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-38425822522400882382012-04-28T10:42:00.000-07:002012-04-28T11:40:59.696-07:00Unintentional Lain cosplay?Some of you may know that my wife, Carol (<a href="http://twitter.com/raphaela235">@raphaela235</a> on Twitter) is a style blogger. Since early last year, I've been helping Carol with her blog (<a href="http://www.inpursuitofprettythings.com/">In Pursuit of Pretty Things</a>), and she's really turned into a <i>real</i> blogger. Sure, I blog for work, but in terms of keeping up a personal blog, you probably know I haven't posted much these past few years (not counting my <a href="http://twitter.com/lawmune">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/lawrence.eng">Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://plus.google.com/109185300543753669001">Google+</a> activity). In any case, I'm not here to make excuses. I simply have something to share that's related to my wife and <i>serial experiments lain</i> (the reason this blog is called <i>lainspotting</i>).<br />
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Last April, Carol <a href="http://www.inpursuitofprettythings.com/2011/04/old-and-new-ootds.html">posted an OOTD</a> (outfit of the day) photo, something she routinely does on IPoPT. When I saw it, it seemed so familar. Here's the photo in question:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIjnyHQ5ieaWZXUGc3sbdwv1ws3ffo9SJkcqnhlaeEylM1Yb25O8aKH9NsKDuWa_l8P5hFnI9OCjrvSkhMY4VN17duEdaia0y-62vEDu_4IYN0839b_XeY3OWtECjVxtE5z6i/s1600/carol-lain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Carol Kim" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIjnyHQ5ieaWZXUGc3sbdwv1ws3ffo9SJkcqnhlaeEylM1Yb25O8aKH9NsKDuWa_l8P5hFnI9OCjrvSkhMY4VN17duEdaia0y-62vEDu_4IYN0839b_XeY3OWtECjVxtE5z6i/s1600/carol-lain.jpg" title="Carol Kim" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of Carol Kim</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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So, what do you think, <i>lain</i> fans? Does it remind you of anything?<br />
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Maybe it's a total stretch on my part, but here's what I immediately thought of:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd8dSoZaahQmQ-8Wmj2c_vRwLWWAjuSRHYt02zV-K6XGQ5WU2SJeIY5s0x3C4YY78SC73Ru6Z35G0_OmiuZAUeG7l1g2ZOGJ8Gxd_8FkPEAZMCBIBOj2Wnu6w20__yEfLZnLGY/s1600/omni4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Lain illustration" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd8dSoZaahQmQ-8Wmj2c_vRwLWWAjuSRHYt02zV-K6XGQ5WU2SJeIY5s0x3C4YY78SC73Ru6Z35G0_OmiuZAUeG7l1g2ZOGJ8Gxd_8FkPEAZMCBIBOj2Wnu6w20__yEfLZnLGY/s640/omni4.jpg" title="Lain" width="493" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Serial Experiments Lain, ©1998 Triangle Staff / Pioneer LDC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It's just a coincidence, of course, but I thought it was funny and weird enough to share. Carol isn't huge fan of <i>lain</i> like I am, and she's never cosplayed as an anime character before. It just goes to show, Lain will show up in your life if you simply allow yourself to spot her.Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-77411688131803028052011-08-07T12:24:00.003-07:002011-08-08T11:39:17.946-07:00On real names, opt-in networks, and the benefits of authenticationI was reading <a href="http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2011/08/04/real-names.html">Danah Boyd's response</a> to the Google+ real-name enforcement policy. I was going to put out a tweet or two, but it turned into something more than a couple of 140 character comments; you'll notice my statements getting longer and longer...<br />
<br />
So here are my thoughts on the matter:<br />
<br />
<b>I agree people shouldn't be <i>forced</i> to use their real names online, but why should we insist that <i>all</i> social sites accommodate them?<br />
<br />
How can Google's efforts to enforce real names on + be oppressive when they're providing a free service that people can use (or not use)?<br />
<br />
Not every site needs to have the same policy, and even within a site, authenticated vs. non-authenticated users can be given different privileges.</b><br />
<br />
Danah Boyd couches the issue of pseudonyms from the standpoint of user safety, but I believe her argument hinges on the assumption that people are forced to use Facebook and/or Google+ as opposed to some other competing social network. After all, there are plenty of places to express yourself online where your real name is not necessary; <b>the market (and the internet) can accommodate many competing solutions</b>.<br />
<br />
Right now, it's not always obvious why real name enforcement is more than just huge software corporations asserting their will just because they can (e.g. "it's authoritarianism plain and simple, and authoritarianism is bad!"). After all, we just want to get online and have fun and socialize inconsequentially, right. It's not like we're getting money out of the bank, right?<br />
<br />
For now, perhaps, but hopefully not forever. As our online interactions increasingly mean more in our daily lives (and carry over into the "real world"), and as what we do online becomes an important measure of our reputation and credibility (see <a href="http://klout.com/">Klout</a> and <a href="http://peerindex.net">Peerindex</a>, or even one's <a href="http://www.ebay.com">eBay</a> reputation score), then it makes sense that <b>we need <i>more</i> places online where authentication, trust, and accountability are required</b>. As someone who is online all day long, <b>I want more (not fewer) places where my words and actions on the internet have an impact on the rest of my life</b>.<br />
<br />
Formalized systems of online reputation are just starting to take off. I think it's safe to assume that Google is interested in that space (especially given that PageRank is all about website reputation). For those of us who want safe places where we can congregate and communicate anonymously (or using pseudonyms) online without people stalking us, those exist and nothing is (currently) stopping anyone from making more.<br />
<br />
I'm a fan of diversity and choices online, and being angry about a company's decision and choosing not to use their product is something I completely sympathize with, but that's <b>not</b> the same as saying a company's policy regarding a product--that is completely opt-in--is forcing people to be victimized. (For the record, I'm much more concerned about companies adopting initiatives that are <i>opt-out only</i>).Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-22859486384258501432011-08-06T18:26:00.003-07:002011-08-07T22:14:21.629-07:00Pursuing new challengesThis post is just an update on what I've been up to:<br />
<br />
First of all, I'm happy to report that I found a new full-time job! In May 2011, two months after <a href="http://www.lainspotting.com/2011/03/looking-back-and-moving-forward-things.html">my previous post</a>, I started as the Online Community Manager for <a href="http://www.service-now.com">ServiceNow</a>, a small but rapidly growing company here in San Diego. To quote our marketing material:<br />
<br />
<center><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQyKLmYNwMz5d9yk7pGifVTrPYn0Wji_rDtMh8wNgqqebxc5DziK4ODCfx9jkj_3Kjqlj7i1Q4zqKY2N77FPmzwk1j3om2DkRdI9Gd2KEvljtBKR3Vf2lafCrnS1HW9Pvm3HO8/s800/servicenow.gif" width=290 height=64 alt="ServiceNow" border=0 hspace=8 vspace=8></center><blockquote>ServiceNow is modern SaaS for IT service management. It is a new IT service desk application that just works. Visit <a href="http://www.service-now.com">www.service-now.com</a> for more info.</blockquote><br />
So far, it's been an outstanding place to work. Since our product is more for businesses as opposed to consumers, I don't plan to write about it very much here, but in my new role, I've been blogging regularly on the <a href="http://community.service-now.com/desk-community-manager">ServiceNow community</a>.<br />
<br />
In general terms, it feels really good to be doing full-time online community, user research, and user experience-related work again. I get to use so much of what I've learned over the years about fan communities, information technology, and how knowledge is shared and transferred (in both formal and informal settings). I also enjoy working in a proper office environment with a lot of people around, which is different from the small Opera office we had here in SD, and hugely different from all the months I spent working at home.<br />
<br />
As I mentioned in my previous post, I'll always be a fan of Opera (and I'm still doing part-time consulting work for Opera until my contract runs out). That said, I'm super excited about the challenges and opportunities I have at ServiceNow. Three months in, I know there's nowhere else I'd rather be!<br />
<br />
<h3>Otaku Studies revisited</h3><br />
Finding a new job, staying fit, and taking care of my kids has kept me more than occupied, but I did manage to do a couple of things related to anime and fandom. <a href="http://www.animepunch.org/">Anime Punch</a> invited me back as a guest yet again (which they've done every year since 2006).<br />
<br />
I also attended Anime Expo and had the honor of presenting the closing remarks at the convention's first ever <a href="http://www.anime-expo.org/programming/ax-anime-and-manga-studies-symposium/">Anime and Manga Studies Symposium</a>. My talk was entitled "Writing about otaku: Lessons from fandom, academia, and beyond". In the future and if there's demand, I might publish that here.<br />
<br />
Thanks to everyone who attended either con and came to see me speak! (and special thanks to Mikhail Koulikov for organizing the symposium and inviting me to participate)<br />
<br />
This summer, I also attended San Diego Comic-Con, which I've been going to for the last several years (though my first SDCC was in 1998). Anime con exhibit halls have gotten a bit repetitive (and therefore boring) for me over the years, so Comic-Con with its sheer size and variety lets me get my geek shopping fix. In future posts, I might share some of the stuff I picked up.<br />
<br />
Lastly, I'm involved in a new book coming out in early 2012 called <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fandom-Unbound-Otaku-Culture-Connected/dp/0300158645">Fandom Unbound: Otaku Culture in a Connected Age</a></i>. In that book, I have two chapters: "Strategies of Engagement: Discovering, Defining, and Describing Otaku Culture in the United States" and "Anime and Manga Fandom as Networked Culture". My contribution is adapted from my 2006 doctoral dissertation, but there's some new material as well.<br />
<br />
The process of getting a book into print is very long one, so my discussion of otaku in America refers to anime & manga fandom that has already changed quite a bit since the time I conducted my PhD research (and the industry has seen even more drastic changes). With that in mind, I like to think my work offers up an interesting snapshot and analysis of otaku culture within a particular context. I expect some people will disagree with my portrayal of otaku culture and what it all means, but I also hope others will be inspired by my vision of otaku (as an ideal to be achieved). When 2012 rolls around, I hope you'll order the book and let me know what you think!Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-79642786445361060922011-03-15T08:43:00.002-07:002011-03-15T08:47:52.885-07:00Looking back and moving forward. The things I learned while working for Opera.For the past four and a half years, <a href="http://www.opera.com/">Opera Software</a> has been at the center of my professional life. It's also been nearly a year since I stopped working for Opera full-time. In April 2010, I shifted from a full-time role at Opera to a part-time role (as an independent contractor/consultant), focusing on Opera's once-a-month <a href="http://www.opera.com/smw/">State of the Mobile Web</a> report.<br />
<br />
Over the last year, I've also been pursuing personal projects, helping my wife launch a successful <a href="http://www.inpursuitofprettythings.com/">style blog</a>, celebrating milestones like my daughter's first birthday and my son going to kindergarten, and getting fitter than I've ever been (which will be the topic of my next post).<br />
<br />
I've been plenty busy and moving forward. Eventually, my contract work with Opera will come to an end, and I'll be sad to leave, but I'm proud of what I achieved with the company and thankful for the lessons I learned. In this post, I thought I would reflect a bit upon my years at Opera and discuss what I learned.<br />
<br />
<h3>My first two years at Opera</h3><br />
Some of you already know <a href="http://www.lainspotting.com/2005/08/my-visit-to-opera.html">the story of how I got my job at Opera</a>. Long story short, I was supposed to be working on my <a href="http://www.cjas.org/~leng/research.htm">doctoral dissertation (on otaku culture in America)</a>, but I found myself procrastinating instead, thinking heavily about how certain browsers became popular while others did not (independent of technological superiority on one side or another).<br />
<br />
To address such questions, I wrote an article in early 2005--<a href="http://www.cjas.org/~leng/opera.htm">Better branding for Opera</a>—and shared it with the <a href="http://my.opera.com/">My Opera</a> user community. Shortly thereafter, I was contacted by Opera, and when I completed my degree in late 2006, I started to work for Opera (in San Diego, CA).<br />
<br />
I started my professional journey with Opera as a member of the Desktop Marketing team. I joined the company to help Opera understand its users better--especially in the United States--in order to improve how we communicated with them. As part of that task, I had the wonderful privilege of interacting with a lot of Opera users (and non-users) both online and in person. I got to meet people at conferences such as SXSW and numerous Barcamps, helped to create Opera's outreach program (<a href="http://my.opera.com/chooseopera/blog/">Choose Opera</a>), and wrote articles for My Opera, <a href="http://www.operawatch.com/">Opera Watch</a>, <a href="http://labs.opera.com/">Opera Labs</a>, and other Opera-related blogs.<br />
<br />
Learning what people cared about regarding the Web and the browsers they used was a lot of fun, and I really loved being a bridge between Opera (the company) and its vibrant user community. Even though I came from an academic background, I learned a lot about internet marketing and online community building. In 2008, however, I moved from Marketing to Consumer Product Management and Developer Relations (later the Products group) at Opera, and it's there that I really stepped up my research efforts.<br />
<br />
<h3>Product and user research at Opera</h3><br />
As I mentioned above, I didn't have a traditional marketing, business, HCI, or UX background. I was a social scientist, fresh from the world of academia where I used ethnography as the main tool to understand social phenomena (e.g. media fandom's use of technology). As part of the Marketing team, my initial concern at Opera was how to improve communication between the company and the users (and potential users), with the secondary task of compiling and making sense of user feedback.<br />
<br />
In 2008 however, user feedback became my primary concern when I moved onto Opera's Product Management team. Suddenly, it became my job to understand how people use and respond to the Opera browser itself (and not just the marketing). Based on my research, I made recommendations to the designers and engineers working on the product.<br />
<br />
This was both exciting and scary. I now had some say (albeit small) regarding the direction of a software product used by millions of people all over the world, and I had to make sure that everything I recommended was based on factual evidence and stayed in line with the ideals of the company, not just my own biases regarding what a browser should be.<br />
<br />
<h3>What I learned</h3><br />
Here are some of the guiding principles I followed and some of the lessons I learned in my role as a user researcher for Opera:<br />
<br />
<b>1. For a product with so many diverse users, making the right decision regarding who to study is absolutely critical.</b><br />
<br />
For many years, before I started working for the company, I was a die-hard fan of Opera--interacting regularly with other Opera fans and even Opera employees on the My Opera community. Like my fellow Opera fans, I had no shortage of things that I wished Opera could do, or things that I thought had to be changed. When I started to study Opera's user base (as a researcher), my first instinct was to look at the fan community I belonged to, but I also knew that I had to look much farther beyond that. After all, there is a larger world of Opera users who are not part of (or represented by) the fan community on My Opera, and an even larger population of non-Opera users who are completely different from the core community of Opera fans. <br />
<br />
<b>2. Browsers are used in many different ways by all kinds of people.</b><br />
<br />
It's important not to overgeneralize users. When researching users of a multi-faceted product like a web browser, it pays to be particular and precise. Specifics count.<br />
<br />
To be most effective, I needed to study users (and their behaviors ) across many different contexts. For example, I had to carefully decide who I would interview among all the different groups of people using the browser, and come up with recommendations that best served as many users and potential users as possible.<br />
<br />
Even when conducting survey research, I had to make sure that the results I compiled were organized properly and representative of the groups I was interested in (existing Opera users, new Opera users, users in different countries, non-users, users who were uninstalling the browser, mobile users, etc).<br />
<br />
<b>3. It's not a good idea to assume that users, even the technical ones, are very knowledgeable about your product.</b><br />
<br />
It's an understatement to say that Opera is "full-featured" (right out of the box, without having to download any extra extensions, widgets, etc.). For the most part, even "power users" are not completely well-versed in everything Opera can do. A person who knows how to use one advanced feature in Opera might be completely clueless regarding a different feature, even one that is considered "basic" by most people. In other words, almost all Opera users are like novices in one way or another. Even most "browser geeks" (like myself) are normal, everyday users most of the time, so it's not a bad idea to treat everyone as novices regarding most things in the browser.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Helping people learn about your product is difficult but worthwhile.</b><br />
<br />
When I first started using Opera, I liked the fact that it held all sorts of secrets for geeks like myself to uncover and share with everyone. Eventually, however, I started to care more about the browser as something that could immediately help more people overall, not just hardcore browser tinkerers.<br />
<br />
It's not that I wanted to see the browser simplified to the point that it contained nothing interesting to be discovered. Instead, I thought it was important that we should help all people who use Opera to learn about the things that make it unique. Instead of Opera being a browser strictly for "power users", I've come to believe that Opera should help out anyone who wants to become more effective at browsing the Web. In my mind, Opera should be the program for inquisitive (but not necessarily techie) people who enjoy exploring their technology and what it can do for them, beyond what they're used to.<br />
<br />
In that sense, Opera might be considered "the browser that makes you smarter". In my opinion, Opera is the one browser that has the biggest potential to show everyday people (who aren't already browser geeks) all the amazing things you can do with a browser that will help you save time, organize your data, search for information, and communicate with others.<br />
<br />
<b>5. Mechanisms to educate people about your product should be subtle, elegant, non-intrusive, relevant, and fun.</b><br />
<br />
There are many ways to help users understand your product, but not all of them are equally effective:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>You can rely solely on documentation provided to users (e.g. help files and tutorials), but many people don't like looking for or reading directions, and there's an unfortunate temptation to blame users for not reading the manual (or not searching forums and FAQs for previously answered questions).<br />
<br />
</li>
<li>You can have things like the notorious <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clippy">Clippy</a>, but that's the example everyone brings up when discussing intrusive help measures.<br />
<br />
</li>
<li>You can show "tips of the day" within your software, but there's no guarantee that any given tip will be relevant to the user who's reading it at the moment.<br />
</li>
</ul><br />
On the other hand, many agree that some of the best and most empowering products make sure that:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>users understand the consequences of their actions (e.g. using clear visual cues to show cause and effect).<br />
<br />
</li>
<li>users are presented with information in a contextual way, such that relevant information unfolds in front of them based upon their actions (as opposed to appearing arbitrarily).<br />
<br />
</li>
<li>users are not afraid of (or otherwise prevented from) exploring the product. Trying out the capabilities of something you own, whether a car or a browser, should be fun and exciting. That's only possible if users can play around with the product without fear of accidentally breaking something that they don't know how to fix.<br />
</li>
</ul><br />
<h3>Parting gifts and fond farewells</h3><br />
Although I haven't been part of the team working on Opera Desktop for over a year now, <a href="http://www.opera.com/press/releases/2010/12/16/">Opera 11 came out in December</a> (and <a href="http://www.opera.com/press/releases/2011/03/11/">Opera 11.10 beta debuts at SXSW</a> this week). I've been thrilled to see that some of the research I did made an impact on Opera 11 (and hopefully future versions of the browser).<br />
<br />
Specifically, I was involved in conducting research that informed Opera's decision to implement things like:<br />
<blockquote>a) third-party extensions<br />
<br />
b) a new way to manage and organize open tabs. (In my opinion, the specific implementation of that--which I had nothing to do with--is brilliant!)<br />
<br />
c) visual mouse gestures (see video below). Reflecting upon the principles discussed in point #5 above, I daydreamed the idea and wrote up the initial set of requirements for visual mouse gestures while sitting all alone in Opera's now-closed San Diego office (US operations are now based in San Mateo). As such, I feel a little proud and somewhat nostalgic every time I use that feature.</blockquote><br />
<center><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yxsx5-PGkwM?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></center><br />
<br />
With a renewed focus on usability and the overall user experience, along with a continued emphasis on pushing the envelope with cutting edge features, I think that Opera is evolving nicely. Before I was an Opera employee, I started as a fan of the browser, and when I finally hand in my keycard, I'll be leaving as an even bigger fan. If all goes well, I'll be using Opera until there's no more Web to browse.<br />
<br />
I hope you've found this retrospective interesting, or maybe even useful. When I was in grad school--studying anime fans to earn my degree in Science and Technology Studies--I never imagined I'd have the privilege of working in such an exciting industry.<br />
<br />
Post-Opera, I look forward to taking on fresh challenges and exploring new opportunities (either consulting or full-time), so if your company or small business is in need of user research insight, please don't hesitate to contact me. My CV can be found here (and my resume is available upon request): <a href="http://www.cjas.org/~leng/cv.htm">http://www.cjas.org/~leng/cv.htm</a><br />
<br />
Finally, I just want to thank all the amazing members of the My Opera community and other Opera fans I've had the chance to meet and interact with over the years. Together, we were always part of something bigger than ourselves, and I hope to see you again soon!<br />
<br />
PS: My heart goes out to my friends and colleagues in Japan, and anyone else affected by the tragedy.Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com191tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-78935530593438687782010-12-30T10:37:00.000-08:002010-12-30T10:37:26.154-08:00Patton Oswalt on how the Internet is producing weak otakuOn December 27th, Wired posted an article by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0652663/">Patton Oswalt</a> entitled: <a href="http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/12/ff_angrynerd_geekculture/all/1">Wake Up, Geek Culture. Time to Die</a>. I thought it was quite insightful, more than a little provocative, and definitely entertaining. He wrote:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>When everyone has easy access to their favorite diversions and every diversion comes with a rabbit hole’s worth of extra features and deleted scenes and hidden hacks to tumble down and never emerge from, then we’re all just adding to an ever-swelling, soon-to-erupt volcano of trivia, re-contextualized and forever rebooted. We’re on the brink of Etewaf: Everything That Ever Was—Available Forever.<br />
<br />
I know it sounds great, but there’s a danger:</blockquote><br />
<center><a href="http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/12/ff_angrynerd_geekculture/all/1" TARGET="top">Read the full article here</a></center><br />
<hr WIDTH="70%"><br />
Oswalt discussed a lot of topics that I care about, so I decided to share his article on <a href="http://twitter.com/Lawmune">Twitter</a>, Facebook, and now here.<br />
<br />
On Facebook, I wrote:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Patton Oswalt's essay on how the internet is making otaku culture weak. It mirrors what me and others (such as Toshio Okada) have been saying - the formation of otaku requires scarcity more than abundance. In my talks and papers, I talk about the otaku's information fetish, where true information = things that are unknown and unavailable. The problem described by Oswalt is what I talk about when I discuss "Otaku issues and challenges". I refer to it as "The Otaku's Dilemma".</blockquote><br />
This resulted in a nice little comment thread (shared below, with permission):<br />
<br />
<a href="http://twitter.com/comixologist">Mollie Dezern</a> wrote:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>I feel like there is a major flaw in this reasoning, and that is that with obsessive interest comes abundance. When I engage in searching for more of that thing, I am diligently hoping to increase exposure. I think what he is expressing is a sense of bitterness that people don't have to work to access the Old thing, and his infatuation with it makes him incapable of seeing that there is a new type of underground that is both away from but facilitated by the internet (for example: doujin collecting). I also don't think he wants to acknowledge that need-love, that is comprised of re-consuming and reconsidering the material, happens even in a supersaturated media environment. Just because there is always something new/now doesn't mean that everyone has transitioned to the new/now. Nerds are archivists, and we function despite the turmoil outside our archive.</blockquote><br />
In reponse, I said:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Thanks for the thoughtful response, Mollie!<br />
<br />
I know there's a lot to disagree with in Oswalt's essay, but I'm not sure it's because his reasoning is flawed. It's not so much that obsessive interest results in abundance, it's just that abundance is simply what we have (now, compared to before; this is a real qualitative difference due to things like the low cost of data storage and transmission).<br />
<br />
In terms of what he's longing for, it's a particular feeling. Yes, when we look for something, we hope to find a lot of whatever that thing is, but there's a different feeling associated with looking for and finding that which is uncommon versus that which can be attained with just two or three mouse clicks.<br />
<br />
Perhaps he is a little bitter that 'people these days have it too easy', but I don't think it's just jealousy. There's also an understanding that scarcity (even if it's "artifical") has real value in terms of people's happiness and desire for creativity.<br />
<br />
I agree with you that there are always going to be niches that are mostly unexplored or have not been co-opted by the internet. That's always been my approach to this problem--always look to the edges of mainstream experience (without falling off the cliff). However, the game has indeed changed. Even doujin collecting (and comic book collecting in general) means something different in this day and age of easily accessible scans (and legitimate digital distribution).<br />
<br />
You're totally correct that re-consuming and re-consideration still happens, and I'm sure he knows it still happens, but I think there's truth to the idea that there's less of a need to do so (for many, but not all people). As someone who once watched Tron 8 times in 2 days, I find it hard to imagine doing something like that now (considering how much I own or have access to, including old school stuff, that I haven't had time to read/watch). It's not a purely either/or situation where people consume strictly for depth or strictly for breadth. The Otaku's Dilemma is about otaku optimizing their behavior to maximize their information intake.</blockquote><br />
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/SpamMusubi310">Mark Yoshimi</a> wrote:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>I think that Oswalt's article reflects the thoughts of a "bitter" geek. Essentially, many of us who could be considered "OG-Geeks", are simply getting older and we've found that many of the things we used to find solace in has now become commercial and mainstream. Our niche in society is no longer a clique. Everywhere you go now you see is Apple logos. Atari, Mario and NES are stamped on t-shirts galore. Now comic book heroes are all over Hollywood (note that they are played by good-looking, non-nerdy actors!). It's now chic to be geek! "Who you gonna call? Geek Squad!" I know when I was little it all started with Star Wars and an Atari 2600. It was only natural for an imagination like mine to move onto the early home computers ala Atari 8-bit. At that time, I was one of the only kids at my elementary school typing my essays. Teachers and other kids thought I was "strange" because I was able to do this and had such interests as hacking and downloading files from BBS's. I was in band and hung out with computer nerds in high school! Who would ever have thought that one of my childhood 8-bit heroes, Steve Jobs, could become one of the prolific icons of the 21st century. One that I now despise as being the root of all corporate evil?</blockquote><br />
I responded:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>Hey Mark,<br />
<br />
Thanks for your thoughts.<br />
<br />
I still think it's possible to be an "OG-geek", as you call it, without feeling bitter or indulging in nostalgia for its own sake. I've decided a long time ago (with Carol's help) not to look down on mainstream/commercial things. I've met people who think I'm unable or unwilling to enjoy popular entertainment--and they're sometimes disappointed when they see how common my tastes actually are ;)<br />
<br />
Of course, I still love niche subjects, and when they're co-opted (as so many good things are), the best recourse (IMO) is to move onto new things and/or use our knowledge (of previously-fringe subjects) that is now in high demand. So, maybe we can feel bittersweet instead of bitter, and hopeful (though possibly adrift) as we look for new challenges, unconventional diversions, and uncommon artifacts...until they invent replicators. ;)<br />
<br />
PS: Hooray for BBSes!</blockquote>Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-27220191387458440952010-12-17T15:38:00.010-08:002010-12-31T10:49:11.106-08:00My thoughts on Tron, Tron: Legacy, and what it all means to me(Note: the following article is pretty much spoiler-free regarding the plot of both Tron and Tron: Legacy; it's also really long...)<br />
<br />
Today is Tron: Legacy day. By now, a lot of people have seen the movie or are about to. Personally, I was very lucky to have seen it last weekend--at the Hollywood premiere--courtesy of a contest I won <a href="http://www.eset.com/tron">sponsored by ESET</a> (makers of the antivirus software I use).<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawmune/sets/72157625574191708/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBp1RIM3RZowIef3G3mQ0eviYOLlu-JSQ8rwEsYLvHUxyT_ugCXi2sr3SYDalXZGft5BN6lzmseRpjUvaKEMCpS-nTonKZg4sIbZLfmDUQHkrEguKmj0tyEer3o8Uwiy1_AEe2/s800/tron-premiere.jpg" ALT="Tron Legacy Hollywood premiere" BORDER=0 WIDTH=500 HEIGHT=375></a><br />
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Even had I not gone to the premiere (and after-party), which was awesome (see my wife's <a href="http://www.inpursuitofprettythings.com/2010/12/what-i-wore-tron-legacy-hollywood.html">blog post about the event</a> and my photos here: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawmune/sets/72157625574191708/">Tron: Legacy Hollywood premiere</a>), I surely would have gone to see Tron: Legacy as soon as humanly possible. It's a movie I waited for with eager anticipation ever since I heard about it at Comic-Con in 2008, and something I've been thinking about for decades, ever since I watched and fell in love with the original back in the 80s.<br />
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After watching Tron: Legacy, I was left with very mixed emotions, which I'll explain in more detail below. Even as I write this, I'm ambivalent, and I have a feeling that future viewings of the movie will continue to affect my opinions of it. Since Saturday, I haven't been able to stop thinking about Tron: Legacy and now I'd like to share my thoughts on it.<br />
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<h3>Tron's enduring role in my life</h3><br />
You see, Tron: Legacy isn't just this year's holiday blockbuster to me. That's because Tron (1982) isn't just a movie that briefly entertained me as a kid. Tron has been, and still is, one of <a href="http://www.lainspotting.com/2006/05/my-50-favorite-movies.html">my favorite movies of all time</a> (easily in my top 10). I didn't see it in the theater, but I watched it on television around 1984 or so, an experience I remember vividly (I was 8 years old). My friends and I discussed light cycles at school, and we thought <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq8e-jQ3xqA">Tron: Deadly Discs on Intellivision</a> (YouTube link) was the coolest game ever. My parents never let me buy a lot of toys, so I remember being very envious of my friends who had Tron action figures and light cycles. It wasn't just the effects that I liked; every aspect of the story appealed to me, and every scene sucked me in (even the ones a lot of people consider boring). As an idealistic kid, I was able to enjoy Tron as a fantasy/allegory, as opposed to a sci-fi film that requires a strong real-world premise (which you won't find in Tron if you mistakenly look for it).<br />
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When I discovered that my local public library had the VHS tape of Tron, I promptly checked it out. Over the two days I had the movie at home, I watched it a total of 8 times. To this day, I've never rewatched anything that many times in such a short time span.<br />
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During my first few weeks of college, I discovered and fully jumped into online fandom for the first time--interacting with fellow science fiction, fantasy, and anime fans. In one of my earliest Usenet posts ever (dated September 9th, 1994, on alt.cult-movies), <a href="http://groups.google.com/group/alt.cult-movies/msg/c6a8702e21f63a55?dmode=source">I wrote about Tron</a>:<br />
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<blockquote>I love this movie! I have the novelization and I like the <br />
Peoplemover ride at Disneyland only because it has a TRON sequence in it. <br />
Anyhow, I don't know anyone (other than myself) who liked the movie that <br />
much. Any idea where I can find a soundtrack for it? <br />
Lawrence</blockquote><br />
This was before the soundtrack was available on CD. Someone responded to my query and actually <em>mailed me</em> the actual soundtrack (on cassette) for free!<br />
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<center><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYtMTcLeHxBxoMKcSECvgGfTSrQwLckLOG89uYaDVbDK1mhHvm-A6pZ8vZKZgcNCp81JgxYidggq3MSL-BqKwy8AIlkGv421EyMyFIh915Uhyphenhyphend8IKiQhBW3QxNhYLeAXxwazb/s800/tron-novel.jpg" WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=179 ALT="Tron novelization" BORDER=0><br />
<br />
(I read this so much, it fell apart)</center><br />
Laserdisc collectors will fondly remember Ken Crane's LaserDisc SuperStore. It wasn't that far from where I lived, so one summer I went there and rented the Tron laserdisc (from Disney's Exclusive Archive Collection). Before the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005OCMR?ie=UTF8&tag=inpurofprethi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00005OCMR">20th anniversary edition of the Tron DVD</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=inpurofprethi-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00005OCMR" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> came out, the laserdisc set (which I now own) was the only way one could watch the special features explaining how Tron was made. After watching those special features, my appreciation of Tron went through the roof.<br />
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<center><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdKh52o-5IoQlCsJYg55iUBW94FvSRUtdqFG2XG2-KE7DY2YOO4v5YhAsKIs_Uo9XCg2OCoRbkniMmPLGsk9IugRDmyDxw9V7UkS06lW5rtpdNMwxroQcLsDHgY8rrpTMdeDa4/s800/tron-ld-front.jpg" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=227 ALT="Tron laserdisc - front" BORDER=0><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE9NrQIdG-XoXtILqbGygu4fys9lbV1_bbU6MmpoTu0iJG-zYXTA9ypbxVyfIRMrMkv7q6hg759drFIB2t7wt1_bIbp_pydVFXt6901VrafVCrtXduLzObypcb4qCJB4-PknZ5/s800/tron-ld-back.jpg" ALT="Tron laserdisc - back" WIDTH=250 HEIGHT=220 BORDER=0><br />
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(Tron on laserdisc)</center><br />
As a child of the 80s, I was primed to be influenced by Tron, and influence me it did. I'm not sure it's accurate to say that I got into computers and information technology because of Tron, but it certainly colored my technological worldview. Upon learning how Tron was made, I was inspired by the artists who created it and the scope of their accomplishment as storytellers and filmmakers. Sure, Tron didn't do well at the box office, but it also had to compete with E.T., which I <em>did</em> see in the theater and didn't like. (Ironically, Tron spawned successful video games, whereas the much-hated E.T. game is considered partly responsible for crippling the video game industry for years.)<br />
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<h3>Tron - an experimental art film disguised as a Disney children's movie</h3><br />
As far as I'm concerned, Tron was an incredible product of the 80s, not just far ahead of its time, but completely unique in its execution. That's why I was always skeptical and not very enthusiastic whenever someone spoke about a Tron sequel. What Tron accomplished could never be done again, I thought. After all, Tron was amazing, not <em>in spite of</em> the technological hurdles it had to overcome to tell its story, but <em>because of</em> those hurdles.<br />
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In creating Tron, a whole slew of tools and techniques had to be invented to tell the story the way they wanted it. Arguably, using today's technology, it ought to be fairly easy to recreate the look and feel of Tron, but to what end? To make the original Tron, Lisberger et al. used every last bit of technological know-how they could muster, and they strained their imagination to the breaking point to envision a completely artificial, but stunningly beautiful, world of programs that lived and breathed inside our computers.<br />
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In one of the laserdisc special features, one of the Tron staff said something to the effect of 'Art is defined by its limitations. The essence of a painting is its frame.' The greatest art is not what you can do with the largest canvas, the fanciest tools, or the biggest palette of colors; it's what you're able to accomplish with the what you have, accepting limitation as the mother of inspiration and true creativity. It's the reason why radio is not necessarily better than books, why television is not necessarily better than radio, why color is not necessarily better than black and white, and why photorealism is not necessarily better than illustration. The examples go on and on. Art needs to be judged in context; in context, what Tron achieved (artistically) was nothing short of amazing.<br />
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People routinely mention how Tron was so revolutionary in terms of its computer graphics (which it was), but they often forget that the overall look was achieved via a blend of CGI, traditional animation, live-action (70mm, black and white!), and one-of-a-kind lighting effects. Like its <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005V8J7?ie=UTF8&tag=inpurofprethi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00005V8J7">soundtrack by Wendy Carlos</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=inpurofprethi-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00005V8J7" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />, combining synthesizer and live orchestra music, Tron is a triumph of both digital and analog technologies, meshed with the artistic and design sensibilities of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0574927/">Syd Mead</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0320786/">Jean Giraud (Moebius)</a>, visionaries of the highest order.<br />
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<center><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8U5-5jlIC0xj0Gn7xyODFrd-iL64n4qcm8KsjgNOnsIint5QcKnbZgyEOc_-KzeD1_0yH7F9N-GN9VYPiKql8MJjtOf1SxOwjn4nB3Ppm14A58FUwHExrT2mIZJyEiwkoMjj/s800/moebius1.jpg" WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=341 ALT="Moebius Tron design" BORDER=0><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglnY_Fy84jkvtwvlDvYUf6u43NbNjdWw71A_1TUo5PUof94-MDDok3LZ84h_kke5ikWwJ1JVkVimpkC8FDH42stmHblI07rDK6-_iizhjNUOjOrSL0lad1LVMaxztGs5mx1vm_/s800/mead2.jpg" WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=277 BORDER=0 ALT="Syd Mead Tron design"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0FY1CgSet0-5Stbpc84TyEWjl3xjJWeIFfBLDNKCP8toMVj5wGYUeS5WXdE0pW6cFlBLYaNeHD1MYXQw_cunp27QgdUskRp5yI2SQkkzJeM3vr-Wd1nHmOzAaNbo8Azg7-_gw/s800/mead1.jpg" WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=246 ALT="Syd Mead Tron design" BORDER=0><br />
<br />
(Tron designs by Syd Mead and Moebius)</center><br />
So what does this all mean for Tron: Legacy? For me, at least, it meant that Tron: Legacy had a lot to live up to, and doing so was probably not going to be easy. Most of all, I was afraid that a sequel, if ill-conceived and/or poorly executed, would tarnish the legacy of the original. (That's based on my personal conception of the original, of course. I fully realize that most people don't view Tron the same way I do).<br />
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<h3>Prepping Tron for a new generation</h3><br />
As we got closer to the release of Tron: Legacy, more and more details regarding the film were revealed, preview clips were screened online and in theaters, and a ton of merchandise hit store shelves. The Disney marketing machine has been going all out, and I happily bought into the hype and anticipation. After all, if the images and video clips were any indication, the movie was clearly going to look and sound great. The basic story, as revealed in staff interviews and various story books, seemed like it would be entertaining, and the movie's stars and creators said all the right things when interviewed. It promised to draw in and impress new viewers while giving something back to the old-school fans like myself.<br />
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Now, I know that different people look for and appreciate different things in the movies they watch, and people with different personalities and expectations will react very differently to the same film. I find very little value in worrying about how other people judge the art I like, and I similarly don't claim any privileged perspective regarding such art. It's just how I feel, based on my own particular background and personality. I'm not a movie critic, and I don't want to be. What follows is strictly my opinion, and I encourage you to watch the movie for yourself because a) you might like it, b) you might find it interesting, and c) you'll likely be impressed by the spectacle of it on a big screen with theater-grade audio.<br />
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<h3>My general impression of the movie</h3><br />
All of that said, I was mildly satisfied with Tron: Legacy, which of course means that I wasn't satisfied nearly enough. I guessed that it wouldn't break into my top 10 movies, but I at least hoped it would become one of my favorite movies (which it sadly isn't). I'll still watch it again (in IMAX, since the El Capitan Theatre showed it in Real D), and I will definitely buy it on Blu-Ray, but it's not destined to affect me the same way the original one did, and I doubt it will affect my 5-year-old son in the long run either (though he might prove me wrong, and he definitely had fun watching it!). It was entertaining enough (despite its flaws), just not as groundbreaking or well-told as I wanted it to be.<br />
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I also find myself unable to predict how the general movie-going public is going to react to the film. It seems that professional reviewers (about half of them, so far) have been pretty harsh in their assessment. Normally, for certain kinds of movies (like Tron), I don't care about the opinions of mainstream reviewers. This time, however, I found myself agreeing with many of their main criticisms--that the movie looked and sounded great, but had a poor screenplay and suffered from lackluster directing in scenes that should have had dramatic weight, resulting in a treat for the eyes and ears but was not particularly soul-stirring.<br />
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To be honest, I've been surprised at how much goodwill the unreleased movie has been getting from a crowd that probably never even watched the original. Daft Punk-hysteria aside, my only explanation is that Tron: Legacy's futuristic aesthetic is appealing to a new generation that's really into technology. Perhaps the look and feel of Tron: Legacy is an affirmation of our gadget lust, serving as proof that we're demonstrating good taste (and good sense) when we buy products because they look nice and have sexy user interfaces. Anticipating Tron: Legacy, like browsing the Web at work, allowed us to escape into a virtual world where everything is cool, entertaining, and the problems we encounter can be solved by the application of more technology. (The actual movie tried to be a bit more complex than that, and some reviewers are already complaining about its pessimistic tone.)<br />
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<h3>Undeveloped potential</h3><br />
In any case, I was looking for more than aesthetic escapism, and I actually thought the film's concept was generally sound. They tried to tell a compelling story, and everything was in place for them to make a challenging, unconventional film that would inspire cult fandom as well as entertaining the masses. The themes they tackled sounded great on paper--father-son relationships, the perils of playing God, technology out of control, the roots of fascism, the importance of embracing uncertainty, etc. Unfortunately, the overall execution was lacking.<br />
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In terms of the storytelling, I feel as if the writers unintentionally made the film worse by including too many things that harkened back to the original Tron. In spending so much time making sure the continuity fit between the old and the new, less time was spent on characterization and meaningful drama. Also, making sure that the new movie had lines of dialogue (and whole scenes) that referenced the original meant fewer scenes that were truly innovative. I'm usually a fan of postmodern pastiche and homage, but all the little "easter eggs" referring to the original movie got boring after awhile. They felt like a cheap way to score some points with the core fans, but I felt pandered to instead of challenged. It's possible that the writers threw in a WarGames reference. If that's true, it's the one bit of homage that I really enjoyed because it was a true inside joke, instead of just being a recycled line from within the same franchise (I'm reminded, sadly, of the Star Wars prequels). I'm no expert on writing movies, but there must be better ways of pleasing old-school fans than simply repeating old material in a slightly different context.<br />
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<h3>Talkin' 'bout my generation (of storytellers)</h3><br />
I wonder if the age of the director (Joseph Kosinski, b. 1974) and the writers (Edward Kitsis, b. 1971 and Adam Horowitz, b. 1971) had anything to do with it. Those guys are part of my generation, kind of in the vague middle ground between Gen X and Gen Y, born sometime between 1970 and 1982 (for the sake of argument). I'm not really convinced that my generation has produced any great long-form storytellers. We seem to be good at producing commercials, trailers, music videos, YouTube clips, or maybe even TV episodes, but not necessarily feature films or novels. In learning how to please people with short attention spans and a need for instant gratification, are we losing our ability to tell longer and more complex stories that require patience to tell (and enjoy)?<br />
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It's not as if my generation is too young. Steven Lisberger, the creator of Tron (1982), was only 31 when it came out, George Lucas was 33 when Star Wars (1977) came out, James Cameron was 30 when Terminator (1984) came out, J.K Rowling published Harry Potter (1997) when she was 32, and John Lasseter was 38 when Toy Story (1995) came out. Of my generation, Christopher Nolan (b. 1970) and Stephenie Meyer (1973) are the only two really successful creators of long-form fiction I can think of, and I list them because of their popularity, not because I particularly like their works. But other than those two, who else is in the running to be the greatest storyteller born between 1970 and 1982?<br />
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<h3>Reasons to like Tron: Legacy</h3><br />
Story aside, there's no denying the visual splendor of the new film, and I really dig the updated designs, especially the vehicles. I don't at all regret buying the $40 <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1423131495?ie=UTF8&tag=inpurofprethi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1423131495">Tron: Legacy art book</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=inpurofprethi-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1423131495" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> and numerous toys for my son. As a veteran <a href="http://armagetronad.net/">Armagetron</a> addict, I love Kevin Flynn's retro light cycle they designed for the new movie. Unlike the original film, I don't know if any of the special effects in Tron: Legacy will be considered groundbreaking (there's been mixed reaction regarding the 'young Jeff Bridges' effect), but at least it's all nice to look at.<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5RvZtHgk0e3Xa1X99IPV1UXSZyUNmkSSCM2tk4Lhkr03PUuz9ukvIBOmfswvnL-cpWjd7MZtMMgW5xaP7qbQhX1UfppvryxmYS2-jvDfGrGyZq_RIl-XyvkPfNIUtl0cGelP/s800/flynn-cycle.jpg" ALT="Kevin Flynn's retro light cycle" BORDER=0 WIDTH=500 HEIGHT=300><br />
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<center>(Flynn's light cycle, source: <a href="http://www.slashfilm.com/26-new-photosconcept-art-from-tron-legacy/zz59932baa/">/Film</a>)<br />
</center><br />
In the Tron DVD special features, John Lasseter remarked that Pixar would not exist if not for Tron. Will we be able to say something similar about Tron: Legacy? It's hard to imagine, but who knows. In my opinion, the original Tron was greater than the sum of its parts, whereas Tron: Legacy isn't, but those individual parts (such as the epic <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037KMHRY?ie=UTF8&tag=inpurofprethi-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0037KMHRY">soundtrack by Daft Punk</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=inpurofprethi-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0037KMHRY" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />) are praiseworthy nonetheless.<br />
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<h3>"Like the man says, there's no problems, only solutions."</h3><br />
Tron: Legacy may be flawed, but it's still something I'm glad that I experienced, and I'm not averse to new (and better) stories being told in the universe it portrayed. Indeed, it seems like Disney is getting ready to tell those stories (via a <a href="http://screenrant.com/disney-avengers-cartoon-tron-cartoon-kofi-47301/">Tron cartoon</a>, for example) if there's a receptive audience. I hope they take their time and plan carefully if they decide to make Tron 3, however.<br />
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I was worried that Tron: Legacy would diminish how I feel about Tron, but that proved not to be the case. Some reviewers who are disappointed with the new film have been eager to point out their dislike of the original, as if that explains the new film's failings. For me, the new Tron (which was disappointing but far from awful) actually makes me appreciate the old one even more, which is a happy ending in my book.<br />
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<b><a NAME="update">Update (12/31/10):</a></b><br />
<br />
So, I finally had a chance to rewatch Tron: Legacy, and I have to say that I enjoyed it more the second time around (as expected). Instead of being constantly dismayed at what the movie could have been, I was able to spend more time appreciating it for what it was--looking for its strengths instead of its weaknesses.<br />
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There were still moments where I found myself shaking my head in disappointment or disbelief, but overall I was happier. In fact, I want to give Joseph Kosinski a little more credit that I did before, as I noticed a few neat storytelling tricks that I missed the first time.<br />
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And sure, I wanted Tron: Legacy to be more inspiring artistically, but I can forgive it for not surpassing the original film in that department. Perhaps the techie side of Tron: Legacy was oversold (the marketing certainly didn't focus on the storytelling), or maybe it's just going to be much harder to inspire the next generation of creative folk.<br />
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After all, it takes a lot more to dazzle us now, and the filmmakers were saddled with having to emphasize the past instead of pushing more toward the future. Or maybe I have it all wrong; maybe the special features on the Tron: Legacy Blu-Ray disc will blow me away (like I was blown away by the special features on the Tron laserdisc).<br />
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Unfortunately, I'm still less forgiving of Tron: Legacy's storytelling (e.g. its screenplay). I don't mean the story (plot, concepts, etc.), but the way it was told (pacing, structure, perspective, dialogue, and editing). All judgments of artistic achievement aside, I just wanted a well-told story. I actually look forward to seeing if the novelization and/or comic book adaptation does a better job.<br />
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As a final note, I do recommend seeing Tron: Legacy in an IMAX theater. Maybe it's just my imagination, but the IMAX picture and sound at my local theater seemed to be better than the picture and sound at the Hollywood premiere (which featured Disney Digital 3D).<br />
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<center><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFiSXg87Fqt_WhuN7b7nwTfWjn9D0Wibl7pRhCq4UDfdqpm40k4Wjz4W9QfAFcFhyphenhyphenu0nLzOVz2ZUX9Ukg9Re1dGXfADT12PWOL1LyHOSo5akNkRbEWyQSClK4vUnGaJtdQyEP/s800/tron-poster.jpg" WIDTH=500 HEIGHT=741 BORDER=0 ALT="Tron: Legacy poster"></center>Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-70426034516065769282010-12-11T01:24:00.002-08:002010-12-15T13:29:27.088-08:00Live and direct from the Tron: Legacy Hollywood premiereHi everyone, I'll share the full story and more detailed thoughts later, but long story short...I'm attending the Tron: Legacy Hollywood premiere!<br />
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I have to thank the awesome folks at <a href="http://www.eset.com">ESET</a> for this amazing opportunity. A week ago, I entered an online drawing (sponsored by ESET) for a chance to see Tron: Legacy's big premiere in Hollywood, at the El Capitan Theatre. The premiere is today, nearly a full week before the general release of the movie, and it looks like Disney pulled out all the stops to make this event amazing.<br />
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I'll definitely post a full report after the event, but if you want to see live updates, follow me on Twitter (where I'll likely be using Twitpic) and/or check out my Flickr gallery for photos.<br />
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<center><b><a HREF="http://twitter.com/Lawmune">@Lawmune on Twitter</A></b><br />
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<b><a HREF="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawmune/sets/72157625574191708/">Tron: Legacy Hollywood premiere</A></b><br />
(pictures from the event on Flickr)</center><br />
<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/lawmune/sets/72157625574191708/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBIorR5yNAStevXYXLad28HW5y7rWhvui_ZCuGCwSldPn2iTdYEoukh5t9pDGt10nIjeU0yFDRXWqeivcc0xmODBWwKpWcKWOnWWyq4prHhG1nPnbLiK4EAyU1exCNhPzTR93M/s400/tron-premiere-hollywood.jpg" BORDER=0 WIDTH=400 HEIGHT=300 ALT="Tron: Legacy Hollywood premiere"></a></center><br />
<hr WIDTH="50%"><br />
My wife Carol might also be tweeting about the event. Follow her here:<br />
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<center><b><a HREF="http://twitter.com/raphaela235">@raphaela235 on Twitter</A></b></center><br />
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Here is Carol's blog post containing her impressions and photos from the premiere and after-party: <a href="http://www.inpursuitofprettythings.com/2010/12/what-i-wore-tron-legacy-hollywood.html">What I Wore (Tron: Legacy Hollywood Premiere)</a><br />
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Here's her first post about the event: <a HREF="http://www.inpursuitofprettythings.com/2010/12/blue-carpet-outfit.html">Blue Carpet Outfit</A><br />
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A little while back, she blogged about <a href="http://www.inpursuitofprettythings.com/2010/11/tron-inspired-design.html">our visit to the Tron Pop-Up Shop in Culver City</a>.<br />
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Enjoy, and stay tuned!Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-50589684459136495062010-10-04T15:52:00.003-07:002010-11-16T08:42:02.844-08:00HobbyLink Japan (HLJ) to release an Opera-tan figureThose of you with long memories might recall the <a href="http://www.cjas.org/~leng/opera.htm">article</a> I wrote in 2005 which more-or-less got me my job at <a href="http://www.opera.com/">Opera Software</a>. In that article, among other things, I suggested the idea for <a href="http://www.cjas.org/~leng/opera.htm#update">Opera-tan</a>, and artist temp_h (aka <a href="http://my.opera.com/ma31/">ma31</a>) ran with the idea and illustrated the character (along with other artists who followed his lead).<br />
<br />
In late July, temp_h announced on his blog that <a href="http://my.opera.com/ma31/blog/2010/07/25/quick-announcement">HobbyLink Japan (HLJ) is planning to release an Opera-tan figure</a>.<br />
<br />
<center>Here's the flyer (in Japanese, with English translation below):<br />
<br />
<img alt="Opera-tan figure announcement" border="0" height="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUChx-NWAq3LF-b3si4IEyUnGtnLDQUZ9pKs-hNADmDsqhkr3h0MWRvq8hZ-seJfGFqGiTAJLY2sDKIMaGLYGQyf_4swQ2oCA9bkENgv1xXPGvqq9IcDshae60P84r3Lc6lmfg/s800/operatan-hlj.jpg" width="424" /></center><br />
<br />
Translation (by Lillian Olsen, published with permission from <a href="http://hlj.co.jp/">HLJ</a>):<br />
<br />
<blockquote>HobbyLink Japan Original Figure<br />
Opera-tan<br />
<br />
Who is Opera-tan? She's an anthropomorphized character for the web browser "Opera". Her international appeal lies in the high degree of detail and design perfection that rivals any anime or video game character. This is why HLJ has zeroed in on Opera-tan!! She's currently being realized in three dimensions as an original figure kit! Scheduled to go on sale next winter!!<br />
<br />
Original design: temp_h<br />
Model prototype design: Modeler-T<br />
Resin-based assembly kit<br />
Release date: Winter 2011<br />
Price: TBA</blockquote><br />
Additional info from <a href="http://my.opera.com/tanoue/blog/">tanoue</a> (an HLJ employee heavily involved in the project):<br />
<br />
<ul><li>The figure is a resin kit.<br />
</li>
<li>HLJ does not currently have plans to release it as a completed PVC figure.<br />
</li>
<li>The Opera-tan resin kit will be released at the next Wonder Festival (February 6th, 2011) and will be sold on the HLJ web site.<br />
</li>
<li>The sculptor is "Modeler-T".<br />
His Website is <a href="http://arakoma.cool.ne.jp/topics3/topics.cgi">http://arakoma.cool.ne.jp/topics3/topics.cgi</a> (contents possibly NSFW).<br />
The prototype will be completed by the end of this year.<br />
</li>
</ul><br />
Here's more information (in Japanese): <a href="http://hlj.co.jp/operatan-news">Opera-tan HLJ Original Figure</a><br />
<br />
Here's is HLJ's English-language page about the figure: <A HREF="https://secure.hlj.com/specials/operatan.html">Opera-Tan: HobbyLink Japan - Original Resin Kit</A>Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-37385480538791171612010-09-24T11:37:00.005-07:002010-09-24T12:28:48.181-07:00Bad UI makes my kid cryI was on a phone call last week when my 5-year-old son, Rowan (who is learning how to read), rushed into my home office. He was panicked and crying over a video game he had been playing--<a href="http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/qusAr1yYWSwy6mt8LwFo1z6kOISzKRrf">Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!</a>, a downloadable game for the Nintendo DS.<br />
<br />
As soon as I figured out he was crying over the game, I knew what happened--bad UI made my kid cry. When I first encountered the problem (detailed below), I thought it <i>might</i> be an issue, but I cautiously hoped for the best. Unfortunately, my optimism was defeated by poor user interface design (and a little bad luck).<br />
<br />
The problem is evident on the screen below:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV4CZUxGxcWRKRPN7q4nXWZVSGXWDJkLncleBBAxHZsJVBPoZXsyxEgfek8nXmrhE0RS9pxpM1KBorHc_qlIJtvS0x8c7cxFRFlD4Rbzh9-s2QsrKWbCP7Xg3LccHMSvzmMfWy/s800/screen-mario-minis.jpg" /></div><br />
<center>Do you see the problem?</center><br />
<br />
Why did anyone think it was a good idea to put the "ERASE DATA" button on the same screen as the button used to start the game ("Main Game")? Even worse, "ERASE DATA" is <i>right under</i> the start button, <i>in the same color</i>, making it really easy for someone to press it by accident if they aren't paying close attention.<br />
<br />
It probably would have been smarter to bury the "ERASE DATA" button in the options somewhere, one or two levels down. Keep in mind, this is a game that's suitable for little kids, even if they can't read yet. That said, I warned my son about the button, but he pushed it anyway by mistake. I suppose it was bound to happen eventually.<br />
<br />
After he pushed the button, he knew he did something wrong, and was faced with this screen:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKbGDSDfRoYoEdjAOu4ex8SvXV3kXOiXR4NcH_x1PhgORA-5DWBTQ7SOLtZNEPW_FayM8E-8-TZ4hrVINQREom3jlC3dU68Puu0JjSw_dH6TPz3gbZYFPY3F-eYBV3e71JXR1A/s1600/yes-no-mario-minis.jpg" /></div><br />
<center>(You can't see it in the still image, but the red 'no/cancel' button flashes here.)</center><br />
<br />
In a panic, Rowan wasn't sure which button to press. A red button got him in trouble to begin with, so he thought it was the wrong choice, and it probably didn't help that it was flashing at him ominously. He pushed the less threatening (and non-flashing) green button, and all was lost. Hours of gameplay, wasted. Total crying meltdown...<br />
<br />
It might have been better if the 'no/cancel' button was bigger and pre-highlighted, and certainly not flashing red.<br />
<br />
On that note, the oft-pressed "Main Game" button should not have been red. Having the most frequently pressed button be red might make players less likely to see red as a warning.<br />
<br />
In my experience, Nintendo usually does a great job with usability and user experience. This time however, they dropped the ball. In any case, I helped my son complete all the levels we finished previously, so everything turned out okay, and he got a real life lesson on the consequences of bad design.<br />
<br />
With all of that said, <i>Minis March Again!</i> is a great game. I think it's actually quite educational, with lots of problem solving (remember "<a href="http://www.lemmingsuniverse.net/index.html">Lemmings</a>"?) and custom level building to stretch one's creativity. Just watch out for that "ERASE DATA" button, and you'll have lots of fun.<br />
<br />
*Special thanks to my Opera-colleague Thomas Ford for suggesting today's blog title.Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-37066160470329197882010-09-22T22:14:00.002-07:002010-09-29T08:16:26.127-07:00serial experiments lain - new merchandiseAlthough the television series is more than 10 years old, <i>serial experiments lain</i> remains a cult classic anime (and the inspiration behind this blog, hence "lainspotting"). It has been awhile since we've seen new <i>lain</i> merchandise (see the <a href="http://www.lainspotting.com/2006/04/new-lain-pvc-figure-announced.html">Lain figure</a> announced in 2006), but I was alerted to a new batch of cool <i>lain</i> goods that I'd love to get my hands on.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://schnuth.com/">Aaron Schnuth</a>, anime podcast pioneer and fellow <i>lain</i> fan, sent me an email with the relevant links to the goods sold on <a href="http://cospa.com/">cospa.com</a>:<br />
<br />
<center><img alt="Lain shirt" border="0" height="350" hspace="8" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijIy0oqlHurYz4_xglIETz5QwVXdgRDFJiRph1GDjhtxLEBvM5IRbEBxAfJpzGqKPnDqQC4ct08GF_pZm23TeC7zVcDc99L7gE00wXLEQrwhzKpgzAi6Tm1EP3wbiYibbL-2_C/s800/53882.jpg" vspace="8" width="400" /><br />
<br />
<img alt="Lain shirt" border="0" height="440" hspace="8" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_fl4SRGIlF6h5gON9NzqjNMHNm69bfgj0JkfXoMudYPTu9h27xBHOJ-P9M80amUJkzBk1vLcCPQel_36pO87V5FidcDddSFHWjBob_8gh6HhAiC1WIUuz8sivulu_hKIWpsaM/s800/53883.jpg" vspace="8" width="350" /></center><br />
<br />
1. <a href="http://www.cospa.com/detail/id/00000035908">Lain shirt - Close the world, Open the nExt.</a> (shown above)<br />
<br />
2. <a href="http://www.cospa.com/detail/id/00000035918">Lain shirt - Knights of the Eastern Calculus</a><br />
<br />
3. <a href="http://www.cospa.com/detail/id/00000035924">Lain cup - DJ</a><br />
<br />
4. <a href="http://www.cospa.com/detail/id/00000035923">Lain strap</a><br />
<br />
In my opinion, these are a big deal for any serious collector of <i>lain</i> merchandise. Maybe you've seen <i>lain</i> shirts here and there at various conventions, but official/licensed shirts are <a href="http://www.cjas.org/~leng/merch.htm">rare</a>.<br />
<br />
I'm not sure why these are being sold all-of-a-sudden, but it might be related to the <del>recent</del> imminent release of <i>serial experiments lain</i> on Blu-ray in Japan.Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-39539679815416200462010-09-06T23:15:00.001-07:002010-09-06T23:16:19.102-07:00lainspotting reborn : status and plans for the futureIs this blog dead, after so many months of not being updated? I wouldn't say so, but an explanation is certainly warranted.<br />
<br />
This post notwithstanding, I haven't updated <i>lainspotting</I> since February. What have I been up to?<br />
<br />
<hr WIDTH=50%><br />
First off, some of you have found me on Twitter: (<a href="http://twitter.com/lawmune">@Lawmune</a>). While Twitter isn't so good for long musings, I've found it quite enjoyable as a way to:<br />
<br />
1) share my immediate thoughts<br />
2) promote useful content/ideas that deserve attention<br />
3) be part of a larger conversation amongst my peers (in multiple areas of my life)<br />
<br />
So, if it looks like I gave up blogging, it's only because I took up microblogging (as some people call it these days).<br />
<br />
<hr WIDTH=50%><br />
Secondly, even though it's not obvious, I've actually been paying attention to this blog. Blogs are nice as a way to constantly share new content, but I've always considered archiving old content to be a really important endeavor. That's why most of my old website (first built in 1998) is still around in its original, old-school condition. Why take it down? I come from the old-fashioned school of thought that says: if it was worthwhile to put up in the first place, don't take it down just because it's old (which would also break people's links). Thus, that old article I wrote on <a href="http://www.cjas.org/~leng/grapple.htm">submission grappling</a> (though I haven't done it in ages) is still alive and kicking (and generating feedback in the form of reader emails).<br />
<br />
My blog, containing several articles that are still visited by people searching for obscure stuff (like the <a href="http://www.lainspotting.com/2006/03/seiko-frequency-watch-out-of-archives.html">Seiko Frequency Watch</a>) was facing technical obsolescence, so I needed to move it from the cjas.org domain to a domain of its own (lainspotting.com, where you are now). With the new domain, and new tools at my disposal, I do plan to blog more (for example, I plan to write more about the links I share on Twitter).<br />
<br />
<hr WIDTH=50%><br />
Finally, I've been working on several projects that haven't involved publishing on the Web, whether it's been for work (to pay the bills), print-related projects (trying to get my otaku studies work into a book or two), or simply tasks related to being a husband and the father of two kids. On that note, I've had the pleasure of helping my wife, Carol, with her own blog, <a href="http://www.inpursuitofprettythings.com">In Pursuit of Pretty Things</a>.<br />
<br />
Launching in February 2010, In Pursuit of Pretty Things (IPoPT) is all about fashion, shopping, and all kinds of stuff I'm no expert on and would never write about. The blog is the product of two authors--my wife Carol and her friend Kathryn. I'm kind of a third, silent team member. I've been managing a lot of the backend details--doing some SEO, link building, analytics work, etc.--and contributing feedback, ideas, strategies, and concepts. Meanwhile, Carol and Kathryn do all of the content-related legwork and actual writing. So far, it's been a huge success and a lot of fun. It's the first real online project I've done with my wife, and I hope we can collaborate on more such projects in the future.<br />
<br />
<hr WIDTH=50%><br />
In the meantime, <i>lainspotting</I> clearly needs more of my attention. Online promises are cheap, so I won't offer them, but I do have some articles in the pipeline relating to topics as diverse as:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>lessons learned from studying browser users/usability<br />
<li>the real meaning of otaku rooms<br />
<li>the current state of anime clubs<br />
<li>what it's like to read American comics versus manga<br />
<li>uncommon anime goods I've collected in the last few months<br />
<li>the difficulties of writing about otaku<br />
<li>a Wikipedia case study<br />
<li>the challenge of mobilizing fandom against censorship<br />
<li>rethinking conceptions of the Internet as a "frontier" when it comes to the future of intellectual property<br />
</UL><br />
Of course, the more feedback I get regarding the planned articles above, the more likely I am to actually publish them, so feel free to let me know (via blog comments or email) what you're interested in. I look forward to having some great discussions.Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-56898903858708577782010-02-07T23:44:00.012-08:002010-04-30T09:01:08.208-07:00The diminishing value of friend recommendations onlineI came across the following article (by Michael Bush) on Advertising Age:<br />
<blockquote><a HREF="http://adage.com/article?article_id=141972">In Age of Friending, Consumers Trust Their Friends Less<br />
<br />
Edelman Study Shows That Only 25% of People Find Peers Credible, Flying in Face of Social-Media Wisdom</A></BLOCKQUOTE>Here's my response, mostly in agreement:<br />
<br />
With an overabundance of people who believe (and are being led to believe by social media marketers) that their personal opinions matter greatly to everyone around them, it's no surprise that the signal-to-noise ratio surrounding personal recommendations has gotten lower. Not only do we have more friends than ever (because of social networking sites), a disproportionate number of them seem to think they are (or deserve to be) prominent influencers and tastemakers.<br />
<br />
In response, some people appear to be relying more on aggregrate recommendations, leveraging the so-called "wisdom of the crowd" to determine what they're likely to enjoy, whether it's movies (via <a HREF="http://www.rottentomatoes.com">rottentomatoes.com</A>), restaurants (via <a HREF="http://www.yelp.com">yelp.com</A>), or books (via <a HREF="http://www.amazon.com">amazon.com</A>). Such an approach, widely-adopted, has its own problematic consequences (to be discussed some other time).<br />
<br />
An alternative approach is to rely on select individuals for one's recommendations, people whose opinions you really value, even if you don't necessarily agree with all of them. For me, I rely on the person who knows me best--my wife Carol, and even she gets me wrong from time to time, or isn't necessarily interested in evaluating all the things that pique my curiosity. For what it's worth, I still trust recommendations offered by my friends--like around 10 of them, a much smaller subset of the 400 or so friends I have on Facebook (nothing personal, folks).<br CLEAR=RIGHT>Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-1986024224533279032009-07-05T12:05:00.004-07:002012-09-29T08:33:33.770-07:00Crimson Tide is a continuation of WarGames by other meansLast night, I (re)watched <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112740/">Crimson Tide</a> (1995) on Bravo. I only intended to watch part of it, but I was sucked in. I think I've seen the movie twice before, but for some reason it never occurred to me until last night that it shares a lot in common with <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086567/">WarGames</a> (1983), one of <a href="http://www.cjas.org/~leng/lainspotting/2006/05/my-50-favorite-movies.html">my top 10 favorite movies</a>.<br />
<br />
Both films, despite significant differences in how the stories were presented, dealt with issues including:<br />
<ul><br />
<li><b>Decision-making complexity (whether or not to launch nuclear weapons, based on possibly inaccurate information) during unusually stressful conditions.</b></li>
<li><b>The conflict between flexible human judgement versus strict adherence to protocol.</b></li>
<li><b>The futility of war in a nuclear era.</b></li>
</ul>
<br />
Watching the personal conflict (especially the discussion about Clausewitz, hence the title of this post) between Commander Hunter (Denzel Washington)--educated and "complicated"--versus Captain Ramsey (Gene Hackman)--simple, instinctive, and aggressively confident--reminded me of the 'Jocks versus Nerds' dichotomy humorously explained by John Hodgman in his address at the 2009 Radio and TV Correspondents' Dinner. See below for the whole video.<br />
<br />
<object height="364" width="445"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/yW7OPByRGDY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1"></param>
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param>
<param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param>
<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/yW7OPByRGDY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object><br />
<br />
Timothy Leary wrote about WarGames in an essay (see below) in which he described the film's protagonists as examples of self-directed cyberpunk heroes who followed a critical mantra: "Think for yourself; question authority" (TFYQA)--especially when the fate of humanity is on the line and the authority in question is based on rigid protocols and machine intelligence versus actual experience and human wisdom.<br />
<br />
The essence of WarGames is summed up when Professor Stephen Falken implores General Beringer: "You are listening to a machine! Do the world a favor and don't act like one."<br />
<br />
Sound advice in any era...<br />
<br />
<hr />
<br />
Related reading:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/life/the_spectator/2009/01/the_letter_of_last_resort.html">The Letter of Last Resort: The decision about nuclear apocalypse lying in a safe at the bottom of the sea</a><br />
<br />
Leary, Timothy. 1991. "The Cyberpunk: The individual as reality pilot." Pp. 529-539 in The Cybercultures Reader, edited by David Bell. London: Routledge.Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-3739262739726136192009-06-25T17:31:00.022-07:002010-08-09T23:00:41.053-07:00Fair Share, possibly the best iPhone tip calculator and bill splitter<img align="LEFT" alt="Fair Share iPhone tip calculator and bill splitter" border="0" height="152" hspace="13" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBHy9KZbRG11_H62UMF9UnY0N7Re95tBQymiEmBrDLO90WNOoWolllcc5eueAYSvpMYQp63sH37ZMD2JIHOhmMo2cxLeXuiGew5hIHPAexP_KnHI4SlIDiez-E5UmSzcN-adT4/s800/fairshare.jpg" vspace="8" width="101" />My long-time friend from college, Jerry Hsu, just released his first iPhone application. Now, I don't use an iPhone (and I philosophically prefer Web apps that are based on open standards and work across devices/browsers), but if you're going to make an iPhone app, it might as well be good, and Jerry's made a great one.<br />
<br />
It's called <b>Fair Share</b>, and here's what it does. When you dine out with your friends and it's time to pay the bill, Fair Share...<br />
<ul><li>Calculates the tip amount and bill, split fairly between every member of your party.<br />
<br />
</li>
<li>Provides an easy interface for entering different price amounts for the various items ordered and assigning them to specific members of your party.<br />
<br />
</li>
<li>Intelligently handles all kinds of ordering and payment situations.<br />
</li>
</ul>Although Fair Share is one of many iPhone tip calculators and bill splitters out there, Jerry has worked hard (and done a ton of research) to make his version the best. The thing I love most about Fair Share is that it really embodies a part of Jerry's personality. Back in the day, whenever our group of friends went out for a meal, Jerry (being the treasurer of our college anime club) would take on the task of making sure everyone contributed properly to the bill. Jerry is a fair guy, and Fair Share represents his personal philosophy as much as his technical skill and understanding of what people need in software. To see it in action, view the video below: <object height="364" width="445"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QX5bBt_a_Eg&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QX5bBt_a_Eg&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object> You can find the app on iTunes: <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=320281574&mt=8">Fair Share - Tip Calculator and Bill Splitter</a> Jerry also writes about Fair Share on his blog: <a href="http://yarbars.blogspot.com/search/label/fairshare">http://yarbars.blogspot.com/search/label/fairshare</a> I'm sure he'd love to hear your feedback!Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12415793.post-19121977889090930572009-06-16T00:24:00.003-07:002009-06-16T00:38:17.056-07:00Introducing Opera Unite<BR>Today is a really big day for <A HREF="http://www.opera.com">Opera</A>, and I'm proud that I have an opportunity to share it with people via an article I wrote for <A HREF="http://labs.opera.com/">Opera Labs</A>, the first in a short series to introduce our newest browser innovation--<B>Opera Unite</B>.<br /><br />Here's the intro:<br /><BLOCKQUOTE><B>Taking the Web into our own hands, one computer at a time</B><br /><br />My name is <A HREF="http://my.opera.com/lawmune">Lawrence Eng</A>, and as a Product Analyst for Opera Software, my job is to understand our users and what they need so we can serve them better. Today, I've been asked share my thoughts on Opera Unite, a new Opera technology that I'm extremely excited about. I've been an avid Opera user since 2001 and seen the numerous innovations Opera has introduced to dramatically improve the experience of Web browsing. Of all the new features we've introduced over the years, none of them have filled me with anticipation as much as Opera Unite--a radical first step we've taken to address what I call 'the Internet's unfulfilled promise', which is about our ability to connect with each other and participate meaningfully online.</BLOCKQUOTE><br />To read the entire article, please visit: <A HREF="http://labs.opera.com/news/2009/06/16/">Taking the Web into our own hands, one computer at a time</A><br /><br />After (or before) you've read the article, I hope you'll try Opera Unite for yourself by downloading an Opera Unite-enabled build of the browser. Visit <A HREF="http://unite.opera.com/">http://unite.opera.com/</A> for more info.<BR CLEAR=RIGHT>Lawmunehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04665582694142905655noreply@blogger.com2