I Know It's You Diana

                                                   I Know It's You Diana

                                                                   by

                                                                      Jay Agan

      Back in my shortwave listening heyday in the 70s, I'd often tune in to several commie stations (No, I'm not referring to NPR.) for my "nightly hate". Cold war radio at its finest. Radio Moscow, R. Berlin Int., R. Peking, etc. Broadcasters from Commieland, enlightening us as to the "truth" about what was wrong/right in the world & how everything could be made oh so hunky dory. If only we in the decadent west would just put everything into their hot little hands all would be well. Maybe I am writing about NPR.

      One of my "favorite" stations was Radio Havana Cuba.Transmitting from the island of Castrovania, 90 miles off Florida!

      It was from the "Land of Darkness" I would listen to Diana Strong, Arnie Coro, & others regale the world with programs such as "Viet Nam Fights Back", etc. A broadcaster I dearly loved to hate back then.

      Diana Strong, especially. Maybe it was that tone of voice or the manner in which she spoke. Whatever it was, I did NOT like her. As irritating as she was, I also found her compelling. Wierd. (Sorry Arnie, you don't do a thing for me.)

      Another facet of my radio hobby was "numbers stations". "Mysterious" transmissions on odd "off band" frequencies, straight AM, in the clear, consisting of male or female voices reading off 4 or 5 digit strings of numbers. I've heard them in English, Spanish, & German.

      There's been much speculation as to what these stations/transmissions were about. Some have thought them to be messages for covert operatives using code good only for their particular respective broadcasts. My guess is they're nothing more than transmitter/reception tests. Other speculation was as to where these signals were coming from. No doubt in my mind though. Mordor of course! That or NPR.

      One late night/early morning, I did know for certain where one transmission was coming from. I was stooging around between 9 & 10 Mhz when I heard the familiar "cadence" of a numbers station. Seemingly random number strings of 5 digits each in Spanish. A womans' voice. Not just any womans voice. It was the dulcet tones of Diana Strong!

      Was their "numbers lady" off for the night & Diana filling in? Who knows? In my years in the shortwave listening hobby, I hadn't heard her do that before or scince.

      But that night, I knew where & who it was coming from. It was you, Diana.

                                       Article copyright © 1-30-2011 Jay Agan

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Evangelion 2.0 I Can (Not) Get Into This or Is This Head Trip Necessary?




Creepy kid, Asuka and Mari from Evangelion 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance.
Photo credit: Studio Khara

 
                                    Evangelion 2.0 I Can (Not) Get Into This

                                                                  or

                                             Is This Head Trip Necessary?

                                                                  by

                                                                     Jay Agan

Disclaimer: The following is not a misinformed review of a show I did not watch. Rather it is a reasonably informed non-review of a franchise I have no intention of getting into.

      I'm pretty much turned off by the "giant robot" sub genre as there is so much of it out there. I know there are a few good ones but as "90% of everything is krap", one hardly knows where to look. One I was urged to look into is the Evangelion franchise. After some examination, I have decided not to.

      Where does one begin with this? First we have the TV anime from the 90s. Because of time/budget constraints (And the creators' personal problems.) the 26 ep series ended rather vaguely. Because of the "defects" in the last two episodes there have been 4+ supplementary movies of rehashing/reinvention, corrections, & retellings. Already it looks like it would be too much of an investment in time, money & energy. I'm sure I could figure it all out if I got in, but life is short.

      Now there's this Evangelion 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance flick out complete with a new character. Along with the previous reinventions this looks like another attempt to inject new life into a tired item. Time to drop it & move on.

      A turn off to many shows/movies for me is "deeply flawed characters" & the Evangelion series/flicks abound with them. Some more than deeply flawed. I understand, some are severely damaged psychologically &/or downright a------s. This is something pioneered by James Stewart & Randolph Scott in restarting their careers & should have ended after Clint Eastwood. Now it's everywhere. I like my "good guys" larger than life & above that moody, edgey, introspective garbage. Ya gotta be GOOD to fight the "good fight".

      Which brings me to another gripe I have with this Evangelion phenomenon. It seems (In my eyes.) that the "good guys" not only act like the "bad guys" but actually are nothing more than another set of villians to begin with. Which brings me to:

                                         The Human Instrumentality Project

      I have absolutely NO sympathy for anyone (Albeit many unknowingly.) whose ultimate goal is to meld the human race (Including ME!) into a colossal puddle of sludge. I don't care about good intentions of relieving me (And everyone else.) of conflict, pain, & lonliness. I LIKE this "simian" construct I inhabit & the individuality that goes with it. I don't care to be "one with the glop"! Do the latter episodes of the series & parts of the movies show any of the general population being assimilated? If so, are they happy with this "arrangement" or does it come on without warning? I'm not a "rapture believer" but even if I were, this is something I'd be more than happy to be ..... Left Behind (Score one for Mr. LaHaye!).

      What the heck is this? Animes' "spiritual" equivalent to Obamacare? I mean ..... is this mandatory? Can I opt out? How many states have filed suit so far? Are Gendo & that creepy Ayanami kid going to implement this before the 2012 elections? Will the Supreme Court strip out the more onerous provisions before getting slurped up?

UCC coffee. Is LCL listed in the ingredients?

      As far as I'm concerned, Shinji, Asuka, NERV, & the rest of that sick bunch can go "save" someone else. Not interested. (If it's FLCL instead of LCL, I might consider it.) One can only hope they & the "angels" cancel each other out & leave the universe (And ME!) in peace.

      As I already have Gunbuster, I think I'll just spend my dough on Diebuster & complete that saga instead. Evangelion in any form? I'll pass.

                                              Article copyright © 1-27-2011 Jay Agan

addendum:

      I have recently bought (At Armageddicon 6) & viewed Evangelions 1.11 & 2.22 & have somewhat revised my opinion of the franchise. As these & the next two films will be the "definitive" version I will settle for that & pass on the previous works. I must say the artwork excellent & plot to be fast moving. Only real technical gripe is a little too much on the "quick cuts" in the action scenes. Why go to all that trouble "drawing" everything when you can't see anything long enough to appreciate it?

      As for my views on antiheros, they still stand. At least here we don't have one weekly episode after another of Shinji doing his Holden Caulfield/Woody Allen routine. Gendo seems genuinely sincere in his desire to "help" mankind which makes him all the more a menace. You can deal with a greedy thug, but a comitted dogooder/altruist? There's no limit to the damage such a "crusader" can do to any & everyone. In his case it's the total "destruction" of mankind & individuality into a single colossal mass of nonentity.

      I would have thought Lilith to be a lot prettier & a LOT smaller than "the thing in the basement."
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Drums In the Deep South, An Offbeat Little "Western"

Drums In the Deep South
Poster: RKO Radio Pictures

                             
                                Drums In the Deep South, An Off Beat Little "Western"

                                                                           by

                                                                              Jay Agan

      Not a western exactly. More of an "eastern". Drums In the Deep South (RKO 1951) is set in 1864 Georgia during The War for Southern Independence.

      James Craig leads a reduced artillery battery (four 12 pounders) on a mission to stall the Union advance. This is achieved by setting up positions on top of "Devils' Mountain" (Played by Wyomings' Devils' Tower.), a huge basalt pillar dominating the terrain over a vital rail line. The considerable elevation gives the guys in gray the advantage in range & the bluecoats end up bringing in larger naval guns to quell them. The interesting part is how the rebs get the cannon to the top. They do it through the cave system INSIDE the mountain. The union protagonist (Guy Madison), also familiar with the mountain & area about, devises a plan to blow the peak out from under.

      As with a lot of Hollywood flicks, the situation is complicated by a love triangle (A quadrangle if you count the lonely Union sargeant in.) It's not enough that Craig & Madison are in love with the same woman (Barbara Payton). Her farm also happens to be in the vicinity of the mountain & under occupation by the blue coats. It goes without saying she's loyal to the Southern cause & does what she can.

      I like this little movie in spite of the triangle slowing things down. It's at times eerie (cave scenes) & fantastic. Instead of epic up front heroics, we see a slightly grittier tale of move/countermove & intrigue.

      A few laughable scenes mar it. Gun crew standing next to the muzzles as they fire (They can be just as deadly "offside".) . A long shot of the union position has a Union cannoneer carrying a humungous cannon ball all by himself, straight up with no strain.

      All in all, not a bad little movie. Best print I've found is on a Digiview dollar disc. Check it out.

                                          Article copyright © 1-25-2011 Jay Agan

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DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

I Felt Like Such a Stooge

Got this from motifake.com. Check 'em out!

                                                I Felt Like Such a Stooge

                                                                 by

                                                                    Jay Agan


     Autumn, 1989. Read in the Arts & Entertainment section of the Columbus Dispatch there was going to be a Three Stooges film fest at the Palace Theater. Eight episodes of low brow humor as only those three jerks could do. Had to see it & went.

     The Palace Theater isn't called THE PALACE THEATER for nothing. Located ground level of the Levesque Lincoln Tower in downtown Columbus, Ohio, it's ..... well ..... palatial. Very ornate & gaudy inside, a treat for the eyes. A baroque opulence you must be present to experience. A grand throwback to the time when going to the movies was an EVENT.

     A local celeb (Who I can't recall.) was there, but a real extra treat was a fellow who billed himself as "The Man Who Would Be Curly." Had the schtick down beautifully too.

     Can't remember most of the eps they flashed on the BIG screen (Those little screens at multiplexes just don't hack it.). Except for Disorder In the Court & Malice In the Palace, it was mostly a blur. Especially the last four. Here's why.

     After the fourth ep, intermission time. I decided to wander around the cavernous theater & take in the sights. I stumbled upon a fantastically ornate room & went in to admire the decor & furnishings. While there, I noticed a restroom at the far end. After a while, I decided to leave. As I left, two women went past me going in, looking at me quite strangely. Huh? Then it hit me.

     I quickly glanced up at the top & to the side of the ornate rooms' entrance.

                                                          WOMEN

     Dashing back to the auditorium, I whipped off my camoflauge field jacket, revealing my sweater. If the ladies were going to give a description, it wouldn't be about some mad voyeur in a bright red sweater.

I was really cursing myself: "Idiot! Pay attention jerkwad! I don't believe I ..... You dumb, stupid ..... This is something those three idiots would do! You moron! Stupid! Stupid! STUPID!!" A lot of other things too.

     I sat off to the right side of the theater slumped down, trying to look as much a part of the scenery as possible. My reasoning was they would be looking for someone leaving, & I was bound & determined to finish this viewing of the films. The rest of the presentation went off OK, me scanning the room every few minutes for wrathful ushers bent on rooting out "sick boy". Nothing happened.

     Leaving the theater, I didn't stop for souveniers or candy, putting on my field jacket when I was blocks away.

     Oooooooo! I was almost a victim o' soicumstance! Nyuk! Nyuk! Nyuk!

                                                Article copyright © 1-23-2011 Jay Agan

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DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

Hell and High Water, A Movie Wot Coulda Been Anime

                              
                                Hell and High Water, A Movie Wot Coulda Been Anime

                                                                        by

                                                                           Jay Agan

     Submarines seem to figure a lot in anime. What with Full Metal Panic, Tideline Blue, The Silent Service, Submarine 707R, Blue Submarine #6 & others, there's a whole "navy" of 'em. I often wonder about some movies wether or not they would have come off better as a "cartoon" than as live action. One of wich is Hell and High Water.

     Not that this isn't a bad film as it is. I have it & love it. It's just that if this film isn't what anime is about, then I don't know what is. Starting (Like Akira.) & ending in a big whopping atomic explosion, the plot & elements literally scream ANIME!



Richard Widmark & crew share a tense moment in Hell And High Water.
Twentieth Century Fox, 1954


     Richard Widmark stars as an off duty sub commander employed by a super secret "peace" organisation. The mission: Scout up north of Japan, monitoring any nuclear related activities. This "peace" organisation just happens to have an ex Imperial Japanese Navy sub on hand.

     With a mixed Asian/European crew, led by a couple of French Scientists, Widmark feverishly refurbishes the U-Boat. Then it's off on a wild ride to postpone World War 3. Great ending with everyone on deck with anything that can shoot to bring down a nuke laden bomber. Ka-stinking-BOOM!

                                                   Article copyright © Jay Agan

Another Wot Coulda Been Anime here.

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DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

Paths of Glory: A Comfort Film of Sorts



Adolphe Menjou & Kirk Douglas "discuss" honor & integrity in
Paths of Glory. Photo credit: United Artists/Bryna Productions

                                           
                                            Paths of Glory: A Comfort Film of Sorts

                                                                          by

                                                                             Jay Agan

     Sometime in 1967. Early Sunday Afternoon. I'm on leave from military school about to go back in a few hours. Really looking forward to it. NOT! It's after dinner & a war flick comes on. Paths of Glory with Kirk Douglas. Strange as it sounds, I hated military school but have always liked war films.
   
     The film got to me on a different level than most. It wasn't the "horrors of war" that hit me as it was the "krap rolls down hill" aspects.
   
     1916, western front, French lines: Col. Dax (Douglas) is saddled with the task of a near suicidal assault on "the anthill". An impregnable, fortified strongpoint in the German lines. Due to poor planning, unforeseen circumstances, & blunders from higher in the chain of command, a heavier toll than expected is taken & the attack fails.
   
     To cover up their stupidity & mistakes, the top brass has three innocent enlisted men (one previously decorated for bravery) tried & executed for "cowardice". Why? Somebody has to pay & it looks good. Setting an "example", it instills elan & "esprit d' corps", motivating one & all to excel. Nothing like your "leaders" having a knife at your back as positive reinforcement. It was krap like this that led to the mutinies in the French army in WWI.
    
      I don't at all claim to know what it's like to survive under such horrendous conditions. I've never been in battle. My experience is limited to chance encounters with would be muggers. (Ever notice how polite they get when they find you're armed?)

      At the time I viewed this film, I was getting a three year education in what the Russians refer to as "the vertical stroke". If punishment is to be exacted, it comes from the top down, & the one on the bottom feels the effects. Wether you deserve it or not is immaterial. The law of gravity is to be obeyed.
  
      As this military school was a Catholic establishment, you were to seek out pain as it was good for you anyway. Yeah, right. It wasn't much as military schools go. Run by nuns (Women? Maybe.), their Vatican I mentality certainly added a "dimension".
   
      The commandant was a cut rate commando hired on the cheap. I understood he was an ex-air force nco. He looked & sounded like Fred Flintstone with half the intelligence & none of the charm. Was always giving life lessons using sports anecdotes. As a geography teacher, it was his job to always be running down other countries & demeaning other cultures.
   
      I remember him saying he hoped Viet Nam would last long enough so we would make him proud. He extolled how wonderful it was to die for your country (He was still here. What was up with that?).

      During the Pueblo crisis, he expounded on how he would have handled the situation if he was in Buchers' shoes (something about fighting to the last). He himself saw lots of action. As an Air Force MP, he hassled a lot of drunks & shot a stray dog during his time as a small town policeman. The officer cadets, twice the children of hell he was, admired him.
   
      While the school was short on genius, it was long on collective guilt, bullying & bullkrap. Wether you were guilty of some infraction or not, if you were a part of the perps' unit or just happened to be in the area at the time, you got slammed. Why? Because they can.
 
      The philosophy was to promote unit cohesion, but you can only take it so far. When it's excessively implemented by those who demand an unearned respect. When it becomes a vehicle for sadists & fools to get their jollies. Then its validity goes out the window.
   
      I understand Paths of Glory was banned from U.S. military bases when it was released. Thought it would affect troop morale. No doubt the good commandant would have used it as a motivator. It certainly got to me that late 60s Sunday as I headed back to school.

                                                        Article copyright © Jay Agan

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DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

Boris n' Broadcasting

                                                                
                                                             Boris n' Broadcasting

                                                                           by

                                                                              Jay Agan

      I had been involved in AM & Shortwave DX (Recieving & logging what, how far, & how many stations I could get.) for a couple years. I had heard/read of TV DXing but had not given it much thought. I did end up dabbling in it (27 states & Cuba.) & the following is what got me started.

      Not having cable, we had "over the air" chs 4 (WCLT later WCMH), 6 (WTVN later WSYX), 10 (WBNS), & 34 (WOSU), with a lot of "dead" spectrum space between. Every so often chs 8 (WJW, Cleveland), or 2 (WDTN, Dayton) would come in with a lot of "snow" (One Sunday I got a perfect viewing of The CBS Late Night Movies' airing The Black Scorpion on 8.). Never gave TV DX much thought in spite of the articles I read on it until I was bit by the bug in an interesting way.

      Flipping through the channels one late August afternoon in the early 70s, I saw ch 2 coming in semi snowy. I was about to continue when I recognized the voice & face of Boris Karloff, one of my favorite boogey men. Seems I came in on the tail end of an old Thriller episode from the early 60s. As the reception was almost viewable, I twiddled the fine tune & got it in slightly better.

      The show wound down & as it was the top of the hour, I thought I'd wait for WDTN to ID for the heck of it. Imagine my surprise when it IDed as ch2 KTWO from Casper, Wyoming. Here? In Ohio? WOW!

      It was from that I caught a mild case of the TV DX bug & had quite a bit of fun with it when I wasn't messing with AM or shortwave. (One of the high points was getting chs 2 & 3 out of Cuba within minutes of each other.)

      I always had fun with my radio hobbies but not until that day did I ever think Boris Karloff would have a hand in it. Thank you Mr. Monster.

                                                    Article copyright © Jay Agan

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DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

Those Girly Little Animes

                                                          
                                                           Those Girly Little Animes

                                                                            by

                                                                              Kevin Rood

                                                           
                                                            In the Land of La De Dah,

                                         Where nothing bad ..... ever ..... really ..... happens,

                                                                          Comes .....

                                                                SPARKLE VOMIT!

                                                                 So sickenly sweet!

                                                               So nauseatingly nice!

                                                       So ..... too ..... cute ..... to ..... live.

                            She'll have you hypoglycemic & bouncing off the walls in no time at all!

     So join Sparkle, with her school uniformed & irritatingly voiced friends, Darley, Delmer & Claude, as they have fun, swell, happy adventures in the Land of La De Dah.

                                   Give your heart (& guts) a tug. Take the whole family to see.....

                                                                   SPARKLE VOMIT!

                                                                        At this theater.

     "Pika! Pika!"

     "Oh, shut up!"

                                                         
                                                          Article copyright © Kevin Rood

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Totally Absurd

                                                                 Totally Absurd

                                                                           by

                                                                              Jay Agan

     Sometime in the early 80s: He was a resident of what was officially designated a "developmental center" (What it was they were developing I have NO idea.). An older man, with a nasty temper, he didn't "mix" well & could be quite violent. He was also blind.

     Every other Wednesday was "movie night" up the hill in the auditorium of the main building. In spite of his handicap he, along with the other residents, was required to attend. He always did NOT want to go & who could blame him?

     On questioning this absurdity, I was told it was to "develope his interactive & social skills". Uh ..... yeah. It was more because they couldn't spare a staff member to sit with him one on one in the cottage. They needed everyone to "ride herd".

     One Wednesday we got a double hit of this nonsensical charade. They were going to show a genuine classic. The Hunchback of Notre Dame starring Lon Chaney Sr. Yes. That one. The ..... 1923 ..... SILENT ..... film. And along with all the others, up the hill he went.

     As if that wasn't dumb enough, that particular 16mm print didn't even have a sound track with music. Instead they piped in WVLQ FM 96 (This was back when it was an "alternative" rock station.).

     Of course it goes without saying that this was not the first time I held the wisdom of the "higher ups" in doubt.

     Rest well old fellow. You're in a better place now.

                                                         Article copyright © Jay Agan

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Long Ago, Not So Far Away

                                                         
                                                        Long Ago, Not So Far Away

                                                                            by

                                                                               Jay Agan
    
     Returning to Ohio from Jersey back in '88, I hoped to gain employment soon after arrival. Turned out no & I worked through temp agencies for awhile & not in my chosen field as a data systems operator. Three of these brief temp jobs were to exclusively help small businesses sort out their files.

     It's amazing, the number of people out there who can't alphabetize. You'd think with that song being so prevalent (You know. The one that rhymes with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?), most everyone could. Not so.

     A lot of folks can alphabetize only so far. Subsequent letters after the first in a name seem to confuse them. It's reasonable to think they could figure out Wallace comes before Ward or Lowe after Lawrence but they can't. So they throw all the Ws together, Ls in one place, etc. Makes for quite a mess. Shoot. A lot of 'em can't even spell their own names.

     There are other protocols for alphabetizing. If a book/album/movie title has A or The as the first word, you drop it & go the next. Example: The Brain From Planet Arous would be shelved right under B. A Man Called Horse would under M. Some folks don't get that (I just noticed. Neither does the Blogger labels indexer!).

     One mid 90s winter day, I was wandering around the Sawmill Rd. Media Play north of the I270 outerbelt, when I ran afoul of a Trek weenie who worked there. We're talking science fiction when, out of the blue, he decides to try out his mastery of Klingon on me. Out of disgust, I mention how some folks have too much time on their hands.

     He gets this frown on his face & decides not to talk to me anymore (Yay!), when a lady walks up to him with a question.

     "Young man, I seem to be having trouble finding A View To A Kill. Could you show me where it is?"

     I'll give Trek boy some credit. He did leap to his job. Unfortunately it was to the A section.
After a few seconds, I suggested they go to where the V titles were shelved. SHE found it rather quickly.

     Trek weenies .....

                                                       Article copyright © Jay Agan

Angel Beats Redux

Itsumo hitori aruiteta Furekaeru to minna ha tooku .....

                                                                 
                                                     Angel Beats Redux

                                                                    by

                                                                       Jay Agan

     This article is about what I'd like to see done with Angel Beats & is written from the perspective of one who has seen the series only. I'm an anime fan in that I like/watch these movies/series & that's it. I'm not into books, magazines, models/figurines, manga, nick nacks or any other off screen ephemera associated with anime. If there are any "holes" in this article this is why.

      I want to pretend episode 4.5 never happened. Yui supplies more than enough "energy" for the SSS. Surprisingly, TK wasn't all that hyper in comparison to the rest of the gang.

      Drop the Guild. Peripheral at best. Except for episode 2, the group isn't seen except for one or two individuals "in the back ground" so to speak.Yuri & Takeyama seem proficient with tech. Perhaps they could "procure" supplies (Though no where near as good as Kanade.). "Getting rid" of the guild could free up some time for another characters' back story.

      Essential backstories:

      Hinata- Main secondary protagonist. Need to know.

      TK- I actually like this character, mainly because he's underexposed (In an American production he'd not only be THE main character but would also be obnoxious, LOUD, & "just too kool". In short, a jerk.) What was he like when alive? One of the uncool kids at school? A fan of "all things American"? A frustrated rocker? It would be nice if he'd mutter a less "vague" phrase now & then (The mumbling father figure of Hanna Barberas' Hillbilly Bears show would say a "coherent" sentance every so often.)

      Shiina- Too much of a mystery girl. Is her skill as a "ninja" a reverse of having been picked- on/abused while living or inadequacey as a martial artist? Why the obsession with "cute" things? Did she have bad luck with pets?

      Naoi- Yes, we already know his backstory. But how did he get his expertise in hypnotism?

      Why no revolvers? All I saw were semi-autos (I never liked the trigger pulls on Berettas & schlocks ..... er Glocks. Too mushy out of the box.).

      Essential disappearances:

      Have the "rapture" of GiDeMo, along with Yusa, separate from the en-masse "catching away" in ep 12.

      TK, Shiina, Noda at least. The rest of the SSS "fighters" in a separate mass exodus?

      Again, I realize there other media connected with this series & thus some of the same or different info would be there. My main interest in my movie hobby are on the films themselves, with anime being a comparitively small part of it.
                                                     
                                                          Article copyright © Jay Agan

Previous Angel Beats article: Not A Haruhi Clone here.

Previous Angel Beats article: Angel Beats 4.5 here.

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DISCLAIMER: All images used on this blog are strictly copyrights of their owners. I do not claim credit/ownership for any images used here in my blog unless stated otherwise. If I have offended anyone by posting any images on my blog, please contact me via email and I will remove specified image(s) ASAP.

VHS Vignette

                                                                  VHS Vignette

                                                                          by

                                                                            Jay Agan

     I remember Media Play. Back in the heyday of VHS tapes, it was THE place in central Ohio to go for movies. The three branch stores in Columbus had a fantastic selection of flicks as well as books & CDs. If they hadn't closed down a few years back one could only imagine what they would be like now.

     One day, in my late 30s, I'm rooting around the bargain rack of the west end store when a fit of "depression" hit me. I was not the success I wanted to be & the prospects of romance seemed quite dim.

     I'm thinking, "here I am in my thirties, not even married, blah, blah, blah. Geez. I'm such a loser, etc."

     I dwelt on this for a few minutes, the melancholy making me feel lower by the second. Just as I was about to "down" myself for the umpteenth time, a young couple walked by.

     She: "We always get what you wanna watch! We never get anything I like!"

     He: "All right ----it! We'll get something you wanna watch!"

     The two continued past in sullen silence, not even looking at one another.

     I stopped feeling down on myself for quite some time after.

                                                  Article copyright © Jay Agan

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Angel Beats Episode 4.5



"Oh Yuzuru! This really sucks! Everyone's acting like a
buncha Yuis on habanero sauce!" "Yeah, babe. I know."
Credit: P. A. Works, Aniplex.

 
                                                          Oh Geez!

                                                               by

                                                                 Jay Agan

     Have just seen the Angel Beats OVA (episode 4.5), & wish I hadn't. I guess I'll start with the premise.

     Scheming to get face to face with GOD (Insert lightning flashes & peals of thunder.), Yuri cooks up a plan (Operation High Tension Syndrome) wherin everyone pretends to be fired up/enthused over school activities for a period of 12 hours. Of course, since they're faking it, & thus not finding "fulfillment", none of the gang will vanish "in the twinkling of an eye" (Take THAT, Hal Lindsey!). This is to confuse Angel/Kanade into thinking something isn't quite right in the "matrix" & she'll run to the Supreme Being and report. Yuri & co. are to follow her and finally confront the "Uncaused First Cause". If the operation is unsuccessful, everyone (Except Yuri) is to go on a seven day waterless fast!

     This is kind of like the dog who chases cars. What's he gonna do with it if he ever catches one? I'm no theologian but I think God's a little bigger than a Buick & I'm including the 1960s/70s "Deuce & a Quarter" in that estimation. Details ..... details .....

     Did I say the gang was to be fired up? More like exploding! To anyone who wanted to see other members of the SSS be more like Yui (An irritatingly hyperactive, though lovable, moron.) here's your chance. Hyper they are (And LOUD!) but minus Yuis' endearing charm. Never before, have I seen so many characters be so obnoxious & annoying at one time. They make the Three Stooges look like paragons of reserve & civility. Classes & halls are disrupted with gang members personality traits amplified beyond max tolerance levels. It's the invasion of the uber-Yuis with Angel & Otanashi vainly being characters for the viewer to identify with. The only thing more irritating is the omni present, beeping "high tension meter" in the lower left corner of the picture. Oh yes, Yui is "worse" than her usual self. Something I originally thought impossible.

     I hope this isn't IT for the OVA. And I hope any further chapters don't get this extreme. I really like this series & any attempts to "pad" it out like this, could only hurt. I would not introduce newcomers to anime (Or this show.) with this ep.
                                                           
                                         Article copyright © Jay Agan

For exact plot details, go to LuRas' Anime Blog here.
                                                 
Previous Angel Beats article: Not A Haruhi Clone here.

Angel Beats article: Angel Beats Redux here.

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