Commander McBride

Boso-what? What's that? If it's referring to the hacking up of vehicles like what's in that pic, then I think the spelling's a little off. Should be more like "Bozo-suko". No, Bosozoku. Street tribe. Well known as motorcycle gangs in Japan, Onizuka of GTO fame was a former Boso. They also build cars, as seen here, although this is a very extreme example. The majority of Boso cars exhibit less radical features. They're primarily older cars, pre-1990. They often have: -Bumper-mounted oil cooler -subway handhold on the rear towhook -one headlight covered -very low -small diameter, wide lip, old-school wheels, often with excessive tire stretch and negative camber -outrageous exhausts, coming out and up from the car as much as several feet -fender flares

I feel the same way. Batou and Togusa really make GITS for me. I can't get into the first movie, either. I think it's just that those two characters are really believable. The Major is an exagerrated, overpowered, superwoman, with little in the way of personality on top of it. Batou, and especially Togusa, seem like they could be real people. They actually act and talk as if they have emotions, or, at the very least, a sense of humor.

Man, those Bosozoku pictures are really getting around, aren't they?

I think the screws are a good idea. While they may make posing a bit more difficult, imagine how quickly it would droop and lose the ablilty to hold a pose any other way, considering how much weight there is to support.

Oh, so it is the guys from Toyfare. I've only seen the spots for the show, not the show itself, but ToyFare is exactly what I was reminded of.

Hey, can anyone tell me who did the OP and ED themes for the new series, and possibly where to get them? (legitimately or not....) Can't read Japanese....

Forget the Gundam, the 1/12 Zaku is much cooler. Nothing like a human-sized MS. I always wanted to play pranks with one by putting it in public situations and watching reactions. (Drinking coffee in a kissaten, waiting for a bus, etc)

No, actually, it allows you to cock the slide and chamber a round one-handed. An early walther or browning or something had a similar feature, in a WW1-era model.

They should add the subtitle "otaku everywhere crushed, hoped they had a chance with naru"

I recently "discovered" Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou (Record of a shopping trip to Yokohama). It's a manga, which has been running, serialized, for almost 12 years, in "Afternoon" magazine, has had four OAV episodes, and which seems to be quite obscure in the US. Oddly enough, I find it to be one of the best Manga I've ever read. It's a manga that's both incredibly vivid in its imagery and brilliant in its simplicity. The characters in it are just so incredibly likeable. The only comparison I can think of is Azumanga Daioh, in which simply watching the characters act is enjoyable. YKK is similar in that way. You're drawn into the lives of the characters, and simply looking at each panel is incredible. I don't think I've ever seen anything like YKK. I'd read it for the sole purpose of seeing the main character smile. Are there any other fans of YKK here on MW? It's a series that may not appeal to many of the fans of series like Macross, being entirely devoid of action, conflict, or even much of a plotline. But, somehow, it's brilliant. Scanslations of much of the manga can be found at ykk.misago.org.

I thought Ep. 2 was pretty good, too. I wonder if we'll see Silvia screamin "iku!!!!" at Apollo out of the mecha sometime in the series.....

Just got an MG Ball. Built, now gotta break into subassemblies and paint it.

Original series crew. While all the others were worrying about being PC and sensitive, and having personal issues, the TOS crew managed to just simply kick ass by exuding confidence and awesomeness. By the way, what's with the polls? Have I wandered into StarTrekWorld or something?

I have no intention of running it hard in the canyons, just crusing some. Plus, I'm actually a pretty good driver. My accidents all stem from letting my stupid friends push me into attempting stupid stuff. Not gonna happen again. By the way, Passats are the execption to the common rule. They've very well made, and reliable, and a great value for the features. I'm not talking under 5 anyway, more like 6-8.

Naw, still carless. I need to get a daily driver, thinking of a '99 Passat. In a while, though, I'm gonna pick up an AW11 (first gen) MR2, and take it to track, autocross, and a bit of canyon driving. A Miata is also a possibility, but I'd sorta like to try out Toyota and that 4AG everyone's always talking about.

vcdhelp.com is also quite good, and has a more managable interface, too. That's where I got my info.

I've said it before, I'll say it again. 4chan 4 t3h winz! But I miss Cracky-Chan....

Just watched the first ep, it's pretty good. I liked the mecha designs a lot, too. They look way too bright in the stills, but on screen, the colors are toned down considerably. I want the toys! Second ep D/L now.

Yeah, you enter a code in the menu and it pops up a box that allows you to set the region.

If anyone doesn't have a region free DVD player, now's the time to check out Fry's. They currently have the Terapin 2600DVD for $60, with a $20 mail-in rebate, making it only $40. It's a pretty decent player, too, it was able to play some region 1 discs that even my PS2 refused, as well as Region 2 Japanese DVDs. Only downside is a crappy remote. It says it's R1 only, but a simple code makes it all region. It's also Progressive Scan capable, for those with HDTVs. Just givin' the heads up to anyone interested. PM me for details about the unlock, if you need them.

I prefer MG to PG, personally. PGs are too big, too expensive, and too much work to build to do more than one or two, for me. I like to do some element of kitbashing, customizing, etc, when I do models, and PGs are just too expensive for me to feel comfortable doing that. Plus, for the price of a PG, I can have half a dozen MGs. Just picked up the ball, built it, gotta paint.

Some of us Americans, bizarrely enough, actually "get" British humor. I'm a big fan myself. I owe that to growing up around a lot of Brits / Scots.

350Z is ok. However, it's a very overweight car. Drop it to the 2800lb range, and you'd have one helluva car. As it stands, it's quite good for the current market, but doesn't really do it for me as a sports car. I'd take an S2000 over one, and I'm a sworn Nissan guy.

Haha, yeah, I agree. Nothing like seeing a string of explosions rapidly creating a swath of destruction across a site you hate!

Haha... best thing about that is that it acts as a proxy. Blow up sites that banned you!