The fourth TV show: #77 Dinner For OneThere's a bunch of television traditions around the world, with plenty of Christmas specials and specific programming. The most common (outside of, it seems, English speaking countries) is the broadcast of Dinner For One, a roughly 18 minute long British sketch that was recorded for German television and spread around the globe - landing it the record for most repeated broadcast.Is it funny? Sure. The repetition doesn't get old and escalates nicely. The performances are good and the story is set up well. I could see myself watching it a second time at some point. But it doesn't seem like something I'd make a tradition out of (although I'm not one to stick to traditions anyway). Remarkable, I suppose, more for its view of theater and its longevity than its comedy value.
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The fifth book: #5 The Water Margin (Outlaws of the Marsh)Time for a pre-Christmas update, now work has ended and I won't have a commute to read during. Outlaws of the Marsh, as the translation I'm reading calls teh book, still has the feeling of a collection of tales, gathered and written so they link together - as far as I've read, the band of outlaws is forming, with different people joining in order, each with their story. It's not Arabian Nights-style individual tales, but I do get the feeling some things were merged.Another notable feature is the repetition of themes. It's expected in stories of this size, but there are some clear overlaps. The phrase "About this we will say no more" is used often, useful, I suppose, but not something that is needed in a tale like this (just don't mention it again). There are plenty of examples of drugged wine and people who can fight through their drunkenness. It's not as egregious as in earlier books, as if literature is outgrowing, but…
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The third TV show: #789 Breaking BadI was already watching Breaking Bad, based on the recommendations of a lot of friends and general buzz. Two seasons in, I've reached the minimum episode count, and I'm starting to see some of the developments. A lot more has already been written about the journey of the protagonist - moving from the likeable guy who needs the help to someone who is dragged deeper into the world of drug dealing - an exploration by the creators of a character who becomes less likeable as time goes on.It does so incredibly well, positioning character so that (while you understand their point of view) you see how they get to Walter and how it influences his decisions, encourages his secrets and pushes him on.It really is one of the best series made recently, deserving the praise it got. Accessible without talking down, setting up an interesting story centered around anti heroes. And with a large number of great actors, a cast that cannot be dismissed.
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The fifty-third song: Riot in Cell Block No. 9 - The RobinsFor the dark subject matter, this sounds pretty swingy and upbeat. It is about an actual riot (tommy guns and tear gas getting mentions), which adds an edge to the song. It seems like the prisoners don't seem to care. I'm not quite sure what to make of it, but it's good.The fifty-fourth song: Love For Sale - Billie HolidayAnother song written for a musical, it's Billie Holiday stealing the show by making it sound so much more real and raw. Talking about prostitution, the song slowly goes through, trying to draw the fictional customer in, but sounding sad enough that you feel sorry about the whole situation.The fifty-fifth song: The Wind - Nolan Strong & The DiablosA lullaby sang by almost-Michael Jackson sound-a-like Nolan Strong (but going higher), the other bandmates providing backup. It sounds lovely, slightly haunting, but puts you at ease from the song, the backup vocals feeling reassuring with an ethereal sound when…
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The ninth comic: #812 GenshikenGenshiken is never going to be a favourite of mine. i've read what we consider the minimum needed (and beyond that) and I do have to say I feel the original run, with the original cast, works better than the second group. It feels like it's moved more to fan service (wouldn't you want these girls near you?) without moving to many interesting things for the plot. There have been a few bits that seem like they could have been interesting, but the series avoids really dealing wtih anything while not trying to be that funny either. I realiase it's meant to be slice of life but, possibly because of the disconnect in life styles, the later parts don't have a life that actually makes it entertaining to read for me. It's decent, but not great.
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The ninth comic: #812 GenshikenTwo days into reading this, it only really started to grab me on the second day. Slice of life, unlike the other manga series we've read so far, the story is (I think) one with the lowest stakes that I've read so far. It's fine, though, chronicling the life of a group of otaku (geeks, sort of) in high school. I need to see how it's going to develop.
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The eighth comic: #468 V For VendettaAgain, a comic I've read before (we're getting through these soon), and one that has left a profound impression on me. While you can argue politics, the look at censorship and authoritarian rule in it is chilling, in my mind (possibly because of the visual side) more so than the well known 1984. On some level, it gets the message across in a better way than the film, focusing more on anarchy. It's chilling and, on some level, inspirational, not allowing people to get away with ruling with an iron fist, but standing up for things you believe in.
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The seventh comic: #973 Masterpiece ComicsUnfortunately this feels like a comic we read a bit too early - one of the few cases where I can truly say that. Combining a comic (or comic style) with a famous work on literature - books and plays - it goes through the Bible, Dante's Inferno, Wuthering Heights and more, while using the stylings of, amongst others, Garfield, Batman (and other superhero cartoons) and Little Lulu. I got most of the references, but some are a bit too far removed to really always make sense.The stories aren't necessarily funny (unless the comics link into it) but the juxtaposition often adds to making it more amusing, and it's what makes reading these comics so special. A very good read.
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The sixth comic: #865 Scott Pilgrim's Special Little LifeForgot I'd read this somewhat recently!Scott Pilgrim is a lot of fun. The movie was faithful to it already, fitting in with the ideas rather than sticking closely to the comics, but the gaming angle works well even in the comics. It's over the top, but with such small stakes that it never really matters - not as much saving the world or anything like that. Amazing idea that worked out well.
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The fifth comic: #827 Death NoteDeath Note is good, really good. Possibly the best comic I've read so far. It had me not want to leave the train when I got to the end because I wanted to read a bit more. The story is engaging, building up a mystery - not as to the actual culprit, but how the plans of the protagonists work out, what they do and how they solve things. You're given just enough insight into their plans to know what's going on, without necessarily giving anything away.The ending is unavoidable, but the journey matters far more - how does a kid get to this point, why, and how does he fall in the end.I just wish it hadn't ended quite this early.
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The second TV Show: #597 Gilmore GirlsWe're a season into what is Peter's favourite show. A comedy taking up a full hour drama slot, it's not quite a dramedy, more a show that focuses on providing more character growth and ongoing development. It's funny and heartwarming, aided by the pop culture references I am glad I at least feel I get a lot of the time. At the same time, you're rooting for these characters and hoping they will do well. You can analyze everyone's behaviours and so much of it makes sense.Although we only finished the first season for the minimum blog length required, I'm pretty sure we're going to continue watching this. Six more seasons to go! (Just not on here)
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The fifth comic: #827 Death NoteA book and a half in, this is getting quite interesting. More of a thinker than the concept may have seemed to be - while also featuring shnigami, Death Note doesn't feature Bleach's battles - it poses some more quandaries - if you had the power over life and death, what would you do with it? Is it okay to kill all criminals that way, or even some of them?Nothing is really answered quite yet, even if I don't agree with our (nominal) protagonist that his course is the wisest. Then again, it isn't meant to be, and the thriller aspects of it are amazing so far.
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The fourth comic: #776 PersepolisSure, this is the second time I read this, but it was worth it. As a biography, the comic takes us through the life of Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian girl and woman growing up in Iran during its revolutions, stuck between a western life she's heard of and experienced and the traditional (conservative) Iranian lifestyles that keeps being enforced more and more strictly. It's engrossing, not in the least because she isn't ashamed of showing her own flaws. It's entertaining and educational at the same time, wrapping observations in nice vignettes that kept me reading. It feels like an important two volumes to read to understand the situation in Iran at the time, the simple graphics enhancing this even further by keeping everything simple and solemn, as well as evocative.
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The fourty-fifth song: They Can't Take That Away From Me - Fred AstaireMoving further into movie songs, our initial worry was that we picked up the instrumental version - it certainly gives the movie time to set up the song itself. The song feels less swingy than later covers, but the sentiment is still there - the book calls it callback to a more romantic era, and it feels that way. It's sweet without being over the top, which is certainly what suits the mood.The fourty-sixth song: Dust My Broom - Elmore JamesBack to blues, this is agood song in the genre. It sounds good, seems to have decent lyrics going, and certainly feels like the innovation happening at the time... it's also not a song that I can say more notable things about, other than that this might have had our first electric guitar.The fourty-seventh song: Foi Deus - Amalia RodriguesSomething quite different, moving to a more operatic style in this Portugese fado (folk-like) song. It's not as melancholic as you'd expect…
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The first TV Show: #421 The SimpsonsThe first show to be watched is one that I'm mostly going in for because I've been watching it a lot for a while (as well as getting a lot of the lore through The Simpsons: Tapped Out mobile game). As a long running show (not the longest running cartoon - thanks Japan, a shame we won't get to see your animated work) it really has gone through its own ups and downs. Aside from having started on the most recent seasons (keeping up to date) my current watching has gotten me into season 7.This is still the high point of the series - where that ends is debatable, but I know it's coming up - but I'd argue that even the lower points (of which I've sampled a few while writing up) are still good, just not as good. One of the genius parts of the early shows are how they link together several different plotlines into one in a way that makes sense, while keeping them all enjoyable. This allows them to mix the ridiculous with the grounded in an episode - keeping…
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The third comic: #527 WatchmenOne of Alan Moore's major works, this is one of the comics I had read before. I'm not sure I quite appreciate how revolutionary it was, with retired or down on their luck superheroes, set up more realistically, seeming to be something we see more often. The commentary is clear in the work, not believing in the unambigiously good superhero, but the exploration of the different attitudes 'after the work ended' is as interesting. Not everyone is a good person anymore, and just as often the small bits are ignored in favour of the greater good. An amazing thing to have read.
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The second comic: #837 The Walking DeadBeen a while, huh? With Peter now catching up, I can properly start this project. I reached minimum required length today, so can 'officially' sign off on the Walking Dead, even if (as a continuing series) there's loads more to read.There are some of the same issues here as in Bleach, where complications get added to the story because it has to keep going. It doesn't feel as forced here, though, most developments come naturally and don't feel as unexpected - there's no sudden power up needed. Instead, the story takes time to explore aspects, sometimes in a gruesome manner.A worthwhile read in any case, psychologically as much as anything else.
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Coming Up: 1001 TV ShowsThat makes it close to the full set
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The fourth book: #4 Romance of the Three KingdomsSo that's that book done. I'm still a bit torn on it. The book is good enough, but it's partially a history book - where it's dry - and part storytelling, which doesn't always fit in quite as well with the general tone. Especially some of the supernatural occurences weren't as suitable, although there are also some other fables that could be true but feel a bit too true. The political view point - celebrating that of the winning army - also shines through, with several characters who have to be villains although they also feel to be admired.Still, an interesting insight into the history of the time, and how Chinese politics worked.
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The fourth book: #4 Romance of the Three KingdomsNot quite done yet, but a day or two away. I did want to make a brief observation about symbols. You probably know as well as I do about Chinese characters being pictographs, representing words, and how they are often made of combinations of symbols (such as 'forest' being three trees). This comes through in the stories - several times, written words or sentences are said to make little sense, until one of the smarter characters (including relative villain Cao Cao) points out that the actual meaning is that of the symbols making up the word. For example, 'horn' contains the symbol for knife, which is later interpreted to mean more. Interesting to see this used in context.
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The thirty-second song: White Christmas - Bing CrosbyThis is, of course, a famous song. I feel all later renditions are a bit faster, but the sentimentality really works with this version. It sets up Christmas as a more formal experience than we hear in more contemporary songs, but it suits the mood of the year and gets you in a slightly different version of that mood. Overdone, at times, perhaps, but this feels like a more of a classic Christmas song than most of the ones that followed.The thirty-third song: Good Rockin' Tonight - Roy BrownAnd back to the jazz from before. Rock hasn't quite hit yet, but the sound is there in the trumpets and this originally being performed before a boogie woogie pianist makes sense. We certainly are getting towards more danceable, swinging music and this really feels like a step for contemporary music evolution.The thirty-fourth song: Nature Boy - The Nat King Cole TrioThis is a fairy tale, a story told in song. Lovely vocals, it's the instruments…
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The fourth book: #4 Romance of the Three Kingdoms50% in (thanks to my wedding and honeymoon breaking the flow), this remains a historical text with fictional additions - unless supernatural beams of light are now a thing. An interesting read though, if a bit dry in places - lists that are barely more than "X beat Y".
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The fourth book: #4 Romance of the Three KingdomsStarted this. Very much a history book with stories, it feels like it's jumping from event to event while trying to make them more dramatic. A tough read, but a bit easier to follow than the Tale of Genji - there are still a lot of characters, but they are easier to keep track of and have stronger, consistent (but perhaps slightly more flat) personalities
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The third book: #3 The Tale of GenjiAnd that's another big book finished. The Tale of Genji was pretty up and down for me. While interesting in places, it also dragged on from time to time with a lot of drama series style will they/won't they and a revolving door of love interests - made more confusing by the common lack of names, who was 'the girl' again?The shift in protagonist was interesting, but less compelling because you don't follow along with Genji's early rise - there is less of an understanding of the character. Even so, the difficulty with keeping up is that the book doesn't have the larger plots most stories have - there was less of a plan in what was written, and that makes it more difficult to keep track of it. Things just happen. It's realistic, but not as satisfying to read about.Still, even from the historical perspective this was interesting to see, figuring out more about Japanese court life, how these people interacted and what the proper conduct was... as well as…
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The third book: #3 The Tale of GenjiThis is a long book - I'm just over halfway through and it feels like it has taken ages to get this far. The book is fairly dense, with a lot of cultural reference you're just assumed to know - I have to keep checking.What's interesting is how, although Genji is the main character, he's not a hero. He cheats, has affairs, abandons his wives and isn't too happy with his children so far. It makes for a compelling story, but also an interesting indictment - you are meant to sympathise with the others, although as often they are inactive characters, unwilling to do more.
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The twenty-first song: Gloomy Sunday - Billie HolidayAnother piercing song from Billie Holiday. The lyrics about suicide are sad enough, the voice adds to it, and while there are some slight upbeat moments in the music - more from style than intended, the trumpets stand out - mostly the slow music drags on to enhance this feeling.The twenty-second song: Guantanamera - Joseito FernandezTitled 'She from Guantanemo', these days you'd expect the song be more like Billie Holiday's than this upbeat, Latin swinging song. Although the song is apparently often improvised, here the melody does enough, a hint of longing included in something that's generally there to be enjoyed.The twenty-third song: God Bless The Child - Billie HolidayOne of the few songs by Billie Holiday that she wrote herself, it's slightly happier than the ones we've heard before. There's still the slow voice that gets to you, but it's a conflict about money, not death, and it feels like there's some statement of…
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The third book: #3 The Tale of GenjiI really just started on the next book, or so it feels, The (roughly) 1100 page old Japanese story The Tale of Genji. A few chapters in, it's interesting - first of all, I spent a large part of my reading time googling terms, reading up on Japan's government of the time and other references. It's interesting though, with the different writing styles (almost completely avoiding names, as was the custom at the time). More thoughts later, but so far it's been an interesting read.
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The eleventh song: Mal Hombre - Lydia MendozaSong writing credit entirely to her apparently, based on lyrics found on a candy wrapper. Lydia Mendoza has a clear voice, which comes through even on the less than perfect recording. The sadness comes through the sound, the slightly upbeat sound that comes up from time to time interrupted frequently by the sadder sounds of the songs.The twelth song: Hula Girl - Sol HoopiiApparently the first 'world music craze', you can see where its popularity would have come from, even if it sounds cheesy now. The hula girls would have been remarkable anyway, but the upbeat, happy sounds help put you in a good mood and make this a song that's out there for the joy of it, rather than some greater artistic purpose (not saying it isn't there though). The thirteenth song: Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By) - The Carter FamilyAlthough this song doesn't sound as happy as our previous song, it is apparently more influential in starting country music…
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The second book: #2 The Tale of the Bamboo CutterAnd so we jump from Arabian fairy tales to Japanese. The version of this story that I read was from a larger collection of Japanese fairy tales (the book, I saw later, recommending a specific 1998 edition, but in this case for me the core story mattered).Reading some of these fairy tales has been pretty interesting in general. After Arabian Nights, these felt a bit less forward, a bit more controlled and less repetitve (but that's also because there's less of them). The tropes are still there - down to the room you shouldn't enter - but there's certainly more of a morality tale to it and less awkward crowd pleasers.The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is a good example of it, working as a morality tale with an interesting story. It follows plenty of the fairy tale lines - a magically found baby, gold and gems coming out of nowhere, and the good adoptive parents getting wealthy and having good luck. The second part, regarding the suitors, have…
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The first book: #1 The Arabian NightsAnd that's my first book complete. One of the big ones too - not the biggest, but the 1001 nights get long and obviously take some time to finish.There are times where the book is repetitive, with a bunch of recurring elements and word use, but the combinations were different enough that, most of the time, it was still engaging.A great start of the list... although I hope not all of them will take months.
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The first song: O Sole Mio - Enrico CarusoNew, additional challenge: Find out more about music through the 1001 songs list. I am not really a music expert, so this almost seems necessary.First, this song sounds old. It has all the imperfections you get in older recordings, apparently amplified by the recording process of the time.The song is familiar, with the voice being incredibly powerful - again, if it wasn't for the faults of the recording process putting limits on the sound, this would be giving me goosebumps. You can tell it was an impressive voice just from this.And it's a hundred years old. Wow.The second song: The St. Louis Blues - Bessie SmithThe sound issues are still there - emphasing the cornet more than it normally would. It muffles the voice slightly, especially for the type of song, Blues isn't a sound you hear much these days, and these feels melancholic. A good song to set a mood, it plays well, but maybe a bit dated. Lovely to fade away to, having it sink in slowly…
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The first book: #1 The Arabian NightsThe second comic: #837 The Walking DeadProgress on Arabian Nights is... present. There's plenty of variety in there, and the stories are interesting, but there's little to say - with nothing to link them, covering a few stories each day means there's not much to say about the whole. Plenty of sections become predictable anyway - while not formulaic, there are a bunch of standard lessons.So about two-thirds of the way through, I've taken a break for The Walking Dead. I have to catch up with Peter, who's read a bit ahead, so we can stay in touch. Aside from a nice change of pace (and literal change of direction compared to Bleach), it's a good story. I've started watching the tv series earlier and the differences are already apparent. Plenty of unexpected deaths and some interesting challenges coming up. It's still early days, but I'm looking forward to see what follows!
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The first comic: #788 Bleach500 and a bit chapters in, I think I've read enough. Partway through the 'final' arc, it gets samey. Higher powered villains, more of the good guys cut down (although more actual deaths) and more powerful beings showing up. The criticisms continue to stand and while the series attempts to humanize the bad guys, their motivations aren't explored enough to turn it around.Still, it's been a good run and the storylines were engaging. It would have been nice to have it be rebalanced, but still impressive enough. I'm looking forward to reading more manga of this type.
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The first comic: #788 BleachI've finished reading the first big arc, moving on to the second to get some impression of it. It's become a fun enough read that I wanted to go on anyway, but it shows how these longer arcs can be a problem when it ends (and especially when they don't really overlap). Without spoiling it, the power issue isn't as big a problem - the jumps don't need to be as big because of The Things That Happened.However, it's a bit of a downer. You have everything working together and after that there's nothing. About fourty chapters later, some of it came back, but it's sad and slow. Bleach embraces it, making it part of the character, but there's clearly a struggle to bring it back in.I'm close to the end now, at least as far as I can get. It's starting to feel like I'm getting to the point where a switch would be welcome though. Soon enough!
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The first book: #1 The Arabian Nights The first comic: #788 Bleach Bleach is back! Problems resolved 😀 Arabian Nights - still quite a bit to go, but the story changed tactics with a number of shorter stories, this time with more animal protagonists and feeling more like parables than the fairy stories from the start or the lengthier stories that came in later. It has actually been getting more entertaining this way - I think I prefer the shorter stories for my commute. Bleach - pretty good still. With the story ramping up to the final confrontation, it all feels more serious, but also like the protagonists are actually more powerful, the threats feel more realistic now. The fights also drag on a bit less as there's so much more to get to. It's all pretty fun really. Perhaps the break helped - it feels stronger.
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The first book: #1 The Arabian NightsFinally, over 140 nights in, the king asked for a story - a breakthrough in any other point. And a nice breather, as the tale of Kana-ma-kana was going on for quite a while. it's probably the longest so far and that made it more difficult to keep track of through the reading sessions I've had.The nights as a framing device have been interesting as well. Although early on they have some story content, about twenty nights in each night starts with the exact same phrasing, just a different number for the night. It's clear these would just have been the breaks for the storytellers, separating them. Not even always in obvious places - rather than cliffhangers, there are several places where they interrupt the action for no real reason other than length - especially where there are just treatises on asceticism. Even so, as we move between longer stories - and, I believe, different sources of tales - the length differs, and the first 40 or so nights are…
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The first book: #1 The Arabian NightsTaking a break from Bleach because of various issues, we're hoping coverage will resume soon.The first book on the list is of its time. Some lessons learned are that wives enjoy sleeping with slaves and that you shouldn't trust ifrit. And maidens can detect if your shape has been changed. Wonderful so far.Genuinely good stories though, even if the stories-within-stories get difficult to keep up with.
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The two hundred twenty-second movie: Il Vangelo Secondo MatteoYeah, I watched plenty of these before and have been tracking them.I know enough of my biblical history to understand a lot of what was going on. That unfortunately was the downside as well. While the familiar bits were nice in places, a lot of it dragged on - in part because you knew what'd happen, in part because, well, religious text doesn't necessarily make for interesting happening.Enriching, sure, but not enthralling, we got distracted during this.
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The first comic: #788 BleachWhat's with the constant reliance on honour? Several times now, I've seen characters fight on their own, with others either waiting in the wings or intentionally holding off. They get beaten up, either win in the end or have someone else step in. I get that sometimes, the others are beaten up, but even so any distraction should often help, surely? Flanking and all that.It's a bit annoying, as it makes some of the battles (and Bleach has a lot of them) frustrating. They can drag on a bit anyway - breaking up the story - but it feels padded when it so much feels like they're intentionally holding off.Three quarters of the way through, now to an extended flashback. Joy!
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Back from Slovenia
Friday to Tuesday at Lake Bled.Most amazing sights (most beautiful place I've ever been), great walks (even if my feet are regretting it now and my knees keep hurting) and a wonderful time overall.And yes, I read some more Bleach during my downtime
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The first comic: #788 BleachI'm not sure how far to go with spoilers here. We've spent quite some time in the spirit world now, looking to rescue Rukia.The size of the cast has increased with it, introducing loads of captains, vice captains and other shinigami in the area.Still pretty engaging though, even if it's a bit slow at times. It feels like I've been here forever.
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The first comic: #788 BleachStakes are raised, we actually see more of the shinigami world and taking it out of the immediate surroundings. It's what I've been waiting for for a while - hoping to see more of the bigger world. Looking forward to see that continue.
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The first comic: #788 BleachFurther in, the story feels like it's starting to kick off. Ichigo's main goal is clear, more people are being involved in hollow hunting.I'm a tenth of the way through the goal Peter set. I'll see how it goes.
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The first comic: #788 BleachJust realised something: first episode, family dies, high stakes. Second, oh, they are suddenly alive. Cop out because they liked writing for them?
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The first comic: #788 BleachTwo volumes on, thanks to a start on my commute, Kurosaki-san is learning what it means to be a shinigami.With this being the first comic, there isn't much to compare against (although I've read some, so I feel I can make some judgements). The story is appealing so far. Even a few volumes in, it feels like the story is only barely starting, not going anywhere yet. Compelling, but slow. Tomorrow has more time though, that should help.One other thing that stands out is how Japanese it is. Yeah, it's manga and it's set there, but the translation clearly goes for it and assumes you know quite a bit already. Interesting to experience now, at least.
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The first comic: #788 BleachStarted on the first volume - something to do while my laptop was becoming responsive. Chosen based on Peter's recommendation - he has read it, said I should as the first manga, so here we are. It'll take a while. Strong start though, became quite compelling early on with an intriguing world that so far has only really been hinted at. Lots of spirits around.On a reading front, I had to train myself to read it the proper way - right-to-left. The first few pages were more difficult to comprehend without that realisation.More later, I hope!
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Coming up:1001 Comics you must read before you die1001 Books you must read before you dieBrief comments only as I get them in. Considering others if I'm up for it. It's not full Before I Kick material, but seeing what I get to.
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Simple blog, quick posts. While Pong and Beyond is a lot of fun, I've got some vague ideas for projects where I don't necessarily want to write much - just leave a comment with some notes and some evidence that I've done them.