J A Dare

You got to remember folks, Macross is first and foremost made for a Japanese audience. AFAIK, spirituality/mysticism is deeply rooted in Japanese society and psyche. A year ago, I had the fortunate experience to spend New Years in Kyoto. I went to a shrine that eve with a group of Japanese friends I made there. It was an amazing experience, nothing like how Western societies celebrate it. Love, music, spirita, magic, it doesn't surprise me Kawamori has/is using these elements.

Sheesh...Hikaru hasn't changed a bit. After three years, he's still checking out Minmay's a$$ (ref. TV episode 1). And you got him staring like his Sempai too!

Nice Work!

Nope, I backpack independently without plans. The average backpacker age is mid-20s to mid-30s. I didn't start until I was 26. Sure, you hear about younger folks backpacking W. Europe, but traveling there is so easy. Anyways since we're getting off-topic, PM me if you want more info.

I wish the DVD comes with an alternate ending... hehehehe.

I think with the amount of effort they put in, they could have at least put in a 5-minute alt ending using CG or animation. hmmm...maybe for the 30th anniv edition?

So, I guess I'll start things off. Here is a new wallpaper I'm working on.

*eyes steer right of attached image*

That sure is a flashback theme you got there going.

Born in Korea, currently in Hotel California next door to AgentONE, UN Spacy, and other BA MWers.  Now, ask me where I have been.

damn dood what do you do for a living? that's a lot of traveling you do there.

Grad student with alot of free time over breaks.

Money? Well, I've sold my soul to Uncle Sam.

that's crazy, wish I did that when I was in college instead of drinking and hitting on girls...ok, no i don't but I wouldn't mind going backpacking now in my old age of 25... ...with some hot girls and Mr. Walker.

ummm...what makes you think you can't drink, hit on girls, AND travel? For example, my New Years was spent in Lima, Peru drinking the night away with Germans, Brits, Irish, and locals. During my month in Peru, got 2 marriage proposals and hooked up with a Korean-Brazilian backpacker girl. BTW, I'm 29.

Amen brother. At one point 2 years ago, I owed $11,000 and change in credit card bills. I only owe $2000 now 

Thanks freakin' amazing! (i.e. the repayment) You must have been living in a cave with no electricity, riding a bike to work, eating ramen noodles for those two years?

Born in Korea, currently in Hotel California next door to AgentONE, UN Spacy, and other BA MWers.  Now, ask me where I have been.

damn dood what do you do for a living? that's a lot of traveling you do there.

Grad student with alot of free time over breaks.

Money? Well, I've sold my soul to Uncle Sam.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig

Anyone have the bootlegs? Are they worth it? In general, if the subs are 50-75% accurate, I can take it. DLing isn't an option for me as I'm still on 56k dial-up.

OK...we have Asuka (Elisha Cuthbert, see above) and Rei (Yumi Egawa, see below). So, how do we get this live-action film rolling???

Oh. Got it. It's been waaaaay long since I last saw Conan. Not much repeatability for me.

Founds some quotes...

Subotai: "I worship the Four Winds. What gods to you pray to?"

Conan: "Crom. But I seldom pray to him. He doesn't listen."

Subotai: "Well what good is he, then?"

Conan: "Crom is strong in his mountain! When I die, I will go before him and he will ask me the riddle of steel! If I don't know the answer, he will cast me out of valhalla, laughing!"

Subotai: "Eh! It is as I have always said."

Conan: "Crom laughs at the Four Winds!"

Subotai: "My god is stronger. Your god lives underground. Mine is the everlasting sky, above him."

Conan: ....

Conan: "Crom. I've never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. I've never asked you for anything before, but now I ask you to grant me one wish. Grant me revenge! And if you will not...then to Hell with you!"

nice chimp... better than a red x. 

*LOL* At first I didn't know what you meant by that comment. Looks like the website doesn't allow external image linking. BTW, DA's female cast is choice!

I must have been gone, but who's CROM?

Minmay also wants to know too.

wow... 19? It looks like she still has 10 yrs of teen idol left in her...

She was great in Kill Bill though.

Inherited youthful genes I guess.

Dude, have you seen Mari Iijima (Minmay) these days? She's like 40 years old and can still easily pass as 20-something!

Eeewww... how old is she??? She looks way too young to be doing nudes. Gotta wash my eyes.

19. She was in Battle Royale (2001), which I have yet to see.

Apparently, she's been a teen idol in Japan for a long time.

Rei I'm have no idea who to cast.  The skin is a problem in retrospect, though that can be fixed with makeup or digitally reducing  her skin color to paler than usual.  Only actresses I can think of right now that might fit the bill are one of the Live Action Sailor Moon girls or the ball n' chain girl from Kill Bill (better choice).

You mean Chiaki Kuriyama...

hmmm...yes...she would be nice, looks the part too. IMHO, Rei with black hair would work. Better yet, have black hair with that dark blue shimmer effect when struck by light. Know what I mean?

BTW, here are more pics of Chiaki. Note, I suggest you do not open up the link at work, as some of the pics are quite risque.

CROM Smiles at Macross Zero AND Macross 7

Except M7 Dynamite.  He LAUGHS at that.

CROM smiles at NOTHING M7.

Not even a slight glimpse of a grin?

Gubaba is sad.

Wow.  I didn't know the emotions were so strong on this show.  Sorry for starting the topic.

You shouldn't feel sorry. You should be enjoying this thread.

re: Macross Plus "magic"

"Magic", my ass.

There is NO "MAGIC" in Macross Plus.

Sharon was an Artificial Intelligence. Her normal functionality was enhanced with a rogue and dangerous man-made self-preservation system addition.

That's it. 

Calling that "magic" is extremely stupid.

I'll consider that an emotional response than an insult. Sorry, as a graduate student who studies AI/controls/mechatronics, everything that Sharon does (physical and psychological manipulation) cannot be explained, thus there is an element of "magic" if you will. But not "magic" in terms of voodoo mysticism, but rather in terms of unaccountable phenomenon. As I see it, combining the established AI-base system with the self preservation program and with all of Myung's mental past contributions ("anima spirita" or whatever you want to call it), Sharon manifested to more than just a sophisticated AI system. Whatever Kawamori & Co. were up to, they cloaked it under a blanket of technology. However, I do understand why people would rationalize it as all pure technology.

whats really funny is theres this guy named Diego and they call him "Chino" cause hes sort of got slanty eyes(yes i can say that. )  when i first met them they'd say, "boludo, blah-blah-blah, chino" and i know in spanish chino means chinese.  so i'd just start talking since i thought they were talking me!    it wasn't til weeks later i found out that diegos nickname was chino. 

heh...when I was down in Peru, the locals kept calling me "chino" (pronounced "chee-no", Spanish for Chinese as you mentioned). I'd tell them I'm not. Then they'd say "yapan"? Again, no. They'd scratch their heads in confusion. So finally, I'd tell them I'm Korean. But they're still confused. Obviously, they don't know what a Korean is. So I'd show them a little world map I carry around and point to Korea. They got the idea that Korea was close to China and Japan. But after all this, they'd say, "But you sound American!" So, just to confuse them even more, I'd start speaking German.

Born in Korea, currently in Hotel California next door to AgentONE, UN Spacy, and other BA MWers. Now, ask me where I have been.

Unlike in Macross where there's NO mention of "magic" or "anima spirita" until Macross 7, and now it's being further reinforced by Zero.  Thank you very much, but I prefer the tone and style Macross Plus (and to a lesser extent) SDF had for the universe.  Macross' pure tech story is one of the few things that really attracted me to it, and now that it's being changed I don't like it very much.

ummm...there was plenty of "magic" in M+, e.g. Sharon becoming sentient/conscious, controlling electrical cords to hang and strangle Myung, materializing in Dyson's cockpit, controlling the Ghost, and I'm sure there are other examples I can't remember at the moment. Just because it wasn't explicitly given a name in M+ doesn't mean it didn't exist. To be honest, the concept of a computer program having "anime spirita" is just as weird and convoluted than anything out there in the Macross universe. Nevertheless, that does not detract my liking of M+. I too love the tech aspect (no hint or mentioning of "anima spirita"). And when I'm in the mood for that, I watch the Macross Hory Trinity, SDF TV + DYRL? + FB2012.

review for GITS

http://www.japantimes.com/cgi-bin/getartic...f20040317a1.htm

Did anyone else catch this?

After a bizarre firefight with a rampaging gainoid -- who looks, in both her outward appearance and inner machinery, like an old-fashioned Japanese mechanical doll -- Bateau and Togusa visit Haraway (Yoshiko Sakakibara), a coroner who examines the dead, or rather disassembled, gainoid. A chain-smoking middle-aged woman (heartening somehow to see one of those in 2032), Haraway wonders out loud why the human race has made machines that so closely resemble human beings, until the distinction between the two is hopelessly confused.

The irony. Yoshiko Sakakibara was the voice actress to Sylia Stingray from orginal BGC. Check out the date too.

http://www.mahq.net/[/url]']Our intention is not to alienate the large number of visitors that routinely visited MAHQ.net. Instead, we hope you find our site of interest. For those who are interested in Japanese “mecha”, we have a wide variety of advanced medical devices, including a magnetic resonance imaging machine (MRI) with full specifications for your viewing pleasure! For those who like Japanese “anime”, our medical office includes a children’s play area complete with a selection of Pokemon, Hamtaro, and other popular Japanese cartoons.

What's that thing that is flying below the XB-70? seems to be one of those lifting bodies from NASA with a pair of engines.... interesting...the sides are similar to the QF-3000E Ghost

That's my guess.