#texture on that edited scan is insane

[wisteriaclaw]

for some reason i can not get a good photo of this accursed thing.... anyways...... here is data

i was gonna do a full screenshot study but the instant i started drawing data i realized i did not have it in me. so now he just gets to be floating sketches against a half-rendered background

[fayrinferno]

The Escaflowne Movie CD Dramas

Time to share some thoughts about the CD dramas I recently posted (one, two). There’s so many topics I will just make a few sections. This is insanely long and... just insane again. So I'm putting a cut right here.

First of all, this was such a different translation project than I’m used to! Meaning, it was spoken word instead of written and there was no official transcription. That is the difference between these two movie dramas and the series drama (Thought of Jeture). ToJ had the whole script in the booklet, so that would make the translation MUCH easier. The only thing we have for these are the summaries in the movie Newtype Artbook. Anyway, it was a fight but I’m pretty confident with this translation.

Speaking of booklets, sorry about the quality of the pictures/scans. For some reason, these booklets are really deteriorating, dunno if anyone who has the same CDs can confirm, but they are yellowing pretty badly and what is worse, in an irregular way where one page is totally different color from the other. I don’t think the environment I store it in is too bad, there’s not a problem with humidity or anything and most of the other materials are fine but ofc, I can’t speak for the previous owner. Or it’s simply a feature. The booklets are printed on some textured, off-white (possibly recycled?) paper in the first place, so they were never white, but then there’s the yellowing. I tried to fix it a bit in Photoshop but when it’s irregular AND in color, my editing skills come short. BTW, I had a similar problem when I scanned Escabible, I just gave up and made it B&W cause the print was originally green on pages that yellowed with time. Anyway, these cd drama booklets have sparse contents compared to some others (there are only the song lyrics and credits and some non-specific artwork), so I included the scans more or less informatively.

Finally, to the contents. This is definitely more complementary to the movie than the novel which takes some different paths. I believe this one was made so that it doesn’t contradict anything in the movie, although some things leave you guessing. We’ll get to them later. Which may be one of the reasons why it's kind of hard to be in the drama setting and not to feel like “this is just another Escaflowne AU” but realize it is an actual prequel/prologue to the movie. It has all the scenes that you would have in yet another Escaflowne retelling, such as:

sketch of Hitomi’s relationship with Yukari

Hitomi’s suddenly getting isekai’d and realizing it by observing Earth from Gaea

Hitomi meeting Van under dramatic circumstances (though I must say this is probably their most civil first encounter, there’s practically no fighting!)

meeting with other characters like Allen and Millerna (the Van and Allen fight is practically a copy of the movie fight… even bears resemblance to their first series encounter)

introduction to other characters like Folken, Dryden, and Dilandau

I get it, I get it. This was a case of amnesia in the end. But we are just more used to AUs in this fandom, haha. I also get you would want cameos to every character with a semblance of a fandom in a new franchise material. But I can’t shake the feeling they weren’t trying all that hard to tie things into the movie perfectly, although the cd drama is described as its prequel.

For clarity, I still consider the cd dramas and the movies the same universe and the things that happened in the drama as canon for the movie. There is also the movie novel, which I will publish in the future, but that one is another beast and I wouldn’t necessarily say things that are true there are some secret lore for the movie that was just never mentioned. It’s more up to the decision of the reader whether you accept them into your movie headcanon (because some of the novel lore contradicts the movie so how much can you believe the rest of it?) The multiverse is quite insane already but yes, this happens, with other titles as well.

BTW, it is neat they included Dornkirk’s seiyuu in the voice of Orm. This is a pretty mysterious character but he fulfills the role of the deus ex machina for the whole thing, never to be mentioned again in the actual movie. It is through him we learn more about Folken and Van, which would otherwise have to be spoken about by themselves in a voice drama/movie, and yeah, we all know the odds of that. Anyway, he is not human. He is not Dragon Clan, because that’s people like Van and Folken. And yet, he changes into a dragon. Is he actually a dragon god? One of the two who created Gaea? I guess not if it’s the two princes who decide the fate of Gaea instead of him. Perhaps he lost his power or there were lesser dragon gods? Or he’s not a dragon at all; it’s just sorcery of some sort. He says he’s just a sorcerer, after all. But he looks like a goblin. It took me a while to realize and you may not remember either, but the movie also has madoushi or sorcerers, except they don't look exactly human.

Rather, they resemble the series Ispano and their work with on Alseides confirms this. So now I believe this Orm could possibly be one of these guys (maybe before whatever it is that got done to them?) and he shows his true form to Hitomi. And when you think of it, much like Ispano, Orm acts as a sort of “insurance” against world destruction. The topics just keep recurring it seems.

Anyway, I just made some notes about these cd dramas and grouped them according to the topic.

Physical descriptions of the characters

If you introduce a character in an audio drama like this, you have to introduce them through the narrator’s voice, similarly to a book. That’s why Hitomi has to spend more time describing Orm’s shiny eyes, protruding teeth, etc. than she does with the known characters with a known design, who, all with the exception of Van, get just about one sentence. She spends some more time describing Van and although she observes how “beautiful the two look in their fight” (I had to make a note of that), she never spares a second thought to Allen, or any of the other handsome men she sees. No more love triangles, the soulmate game here is too strong! 

Anyway, in this material, Hitomi describes Van’s eyes twice with a word that literally means “see-through”. It felt odd but it is apparently a set expression, unless they tried to involve some double meaning. It’s apparently a synonym of clear/shiny/sparkly/pure/beautiful eyes… you can buy contact lenses that promise to do this for you in Japan lol. I translated the novel as well and there are more strange descriptions of his eyes in there, maybe that’s why it felt so significant. There is also a bit of a difference compared to the series materials, where they would just describe the color in a way you would describe a specific shade of blue or any other color. In any case, however literally or not they meant this, Van has pretty eyes, as we already knew. It was also funny when Millerna described him as cute and connected it to whether he would want to join Abaharaki. Like a cute face was a prerequisite or something lol. But she’s probably on about him being too tsun despite the face.

Another thing we discussed during editing was this “sign of the king” that was shown already at the time of Van’s birth… and wasn’t at the time of Folken’s. At first, I thought very simplistically that it may have something to do with the tattoos (or would they be markings then)? But that doesn’t seem to be the case and they are confirmed to be tattoos for the novel, although it doesn’t seem anyone else from the Dragon Clan would have them there. In the movie, on the contrary, young Dune and even Van’s mother are shown to have them as well, so the meaning of them could have been different. Back to the “sign of the king,” I returned to that part of the translation later and it seems it was something that the seers saw in their prophecies after all. Some symbol of the dragon king that was not specified. Sidenote, I pitied and blamed Dune’s mother at the same time. Poor guy.

This got all about Van again but I don’t think anyone else was given enough description to even discuss? It’s clearly obvious who Hitomi’s love interest is. I would say it makes it clearer than the movie itself, because it has these inner monologues and it’s pretty romantic already despite the two barely knowing each other. I would even say Van’s behavior is gentler than any other iteration (?) But when you think of it, the cd dramas are usually THE fanservice materials, aren’t they? So obviously, they would give most attention to the popular characters and ships… but let’s get to the more pragmatic stuff.

When do the Prologues take place?

The two prologues obviously happen before the movie but how long before that? Let’s check some placeholders and see what we can figure out.

“the winter of my sixteenth year” “not even a spring break yet” “soon, you’ll be a third year”

High school in Japan is three years with the school year starting in spring. So I believe this is happening at the end of Hitomi’s second year. Her age of 16 fits. In the movie materials, her age is described as 17, so somewhere between the two, she also has her birthday. Could it be in December, same as in the series? That would make the window for the drama very narrow, because it’s winter but not yet 9th of December. We can't probably take that date as a reference, anyway.

“is the way to the Mystic Moon closed now?” “yes, for now. But once the moon is full again…”

This is something Folken and Sora speak about in cd 1 when Van deflects Orm. But then it is Van who reaches out to Hitomi first before they can do as they plan. At the end of cd 2, Folken asks Sora to open the path again so I assume these conditions still apply. Then the movie may be one or several months after the events of the cd drama, since they need the full moon. Well, if the Moon works and time passes the same on both planets…

I believe this takes place in a range of one to few more months before the movie. Why? Folken asks Sora if the way to the Mystic Moon is closed. And Sora says, it is, "but once the Moon is full again..." Unclear which moon, but we could assume their moon, the one with the eye. Looks similar to our moon, and if it was the same, it would have been one month. But then, the movie is definitely not taking place in the winter, like this drama. So, when is it?

Let’s look at the placeholders from the movie directly. First thing we have is Hitomi’s watch, which says, SA 18th, 16:15:28. Normally, SA would stand for Saturday, the screen of her watch (or the information on it) even looks pretty similar to existing models of Casio Chronograph/Illuminator:

You may wonder why she would be at school on Saturday afternoon but it was normal at the time of the movie production, Japanese students only had Sundays off. They talk about some plans next day on the train right after the rooftop scene and Hitomi asks Yukari to give her a wake-up call in the morning, which would fit. You see them having a bit of fun and it doesn’t seem the next day yet, they are still in their uniforms. Later at the stairs (although it is not in the subs I had), Yukari says they will see each other at school tomorrow. But shouldn’t it be Sunday next day? Or is what we see already the next day, the thing they made plans for? But why not dress casually, then? And aren't they on the train to/in Tokyo already when they discuss this? I guess this theory is not too likely, then.

It’s actually baffling. Because the scenes also do not follow in a linear way; you see them on the train, there is a shot of Hitomi at the stadium already, then they walk around Harajuku/Omotesando, and back on the train where they are held-off because of an accident at Yoyogi. Yoyogi station is on Yamanote line, the circular line going around Tokyo. That station, Harajuku, Omotesando, Meiji Jingu, National Stadium… it’s all in the same wide area but maybe it’s a bit too much for walking, unless they had a lot of time. I mean it would take them almost two hours just to get to that athletics stadium if they left their school right after the roof scene at 4 pm (according to her jersey, the school is still in Kamakura). But they don’t even have their school bags, Yukari just has a small shopping/gift bag it seems. Did they put them in a coin locker on the station or something? In the novel, they just run away from school (or rather, from an angry teacher), so that would make sense with the bags if they at least had some money on them but it seems too late in the day to do that. But I guess it’s still the best explanation. The sun sets around 7 pm at that time of the year in Tokyo. But that still doesn’t explain why Yukari says “see you at school tomorrow” when it should be the weekend. If she meant cram school, guess she would say that and not school. Maybe there’s something I’m missing that puts it all together. Or they are doing this on purpose. EDIT: I just reread this for possible typos and it came to my mind that the plans Yukari and Hitomi have could be for Sunday AND at school. Yukari says, "you promised, remember?" which made me feel like she was worried Hitomi would just cancel but it may actually be something of a favor to Yukari? IDK, for example, helping her cleaning the club room or something? She DOES use "kureru" which means that she hopes Hitomi will do this "for her". That's a thought...

Anyway, I researched the watch a bit and if the display was really like a digital Casio Chronograph, we wouldn’t know the month from looking at the screen (some models have the full date but this type, only the day of the month). But what can we guess about the month from the movie itself? It's not full-blown spring, otherwise we would see at least one blooming sakura tree, I guarantee it. In similar vein, if it was the height of summer, there would be sound of cicadas (June to September). Late spring/early summer or early autumn is my best bet based on the greenery we see, plus Hitomi and Yukari wearing the summer uniforms (the school uniform would have a version for cold and hot days) and people wearing tshirts and summer dresses in Tokyo. Then it would be about half a year after the cd drama.

But here’s a crazy thing: Hitomi’s watch is shown once again on Gaea and it has SA 19th 17:05 on it. It is the next day compared to the roof scene where it's 18th but also it's still SA… This confused me so much I even checked the settei but I didn't learn much besides that it's her favorite watch and the pattern you see above the screen is an image of an angel that can be backlit in the dark and that she only checks the time once while on Gaea. The settei uses the time from the roof scene btw.

So does the SA stand for month after all? SA for sangatsu (March)? It doesn’t look like March in the scenes with Yukari, I mean, March is the graduation month, remember? Sakuras would be everywhere and they would wear jackets. Could it be then they simply forgot to change SA to SU? That would be the smoothest explanation in fact. Or is there some significance to this? Something something her watch has stopped like that time at the Tokyo Station when she was a child? Anyway, let’s recap the options, since, as usual with the franchise, there is a hole in each and every one of them:

If the roof is on Saturday 18th and the stadium are the same day, then next day we see her watch on Gaea and it’s “SA” 19th… then where did they leave their school bags and why is Yukari telling Hitomi she’ll meet her tomorrow at school if it should be a day off?

If the roof is on Saturday 18th and the stadium on Sunday 19th evening… then why are they wearing school uniforms on Sunday and why are they on a train to Tokyo on Saturday and why should her watch show the “SA” 19th 5 pm after she came to Gaea and slept for some time at the caravan?

If SA is not for Saturday but for the month of March and the roof scene could be any weekday… then why is her watch different from regular Japanese digital watches and why doesn’t it look at all like March outside?

And if SA is neither for Saturday nor sangatsu... then WHAT? I think it could be a subtle “Stop Asking” by the creators, lol.

Or, you know what, her watch did not take the interplanetary travel and the liquid in Escaflowne cockpit too well and broke. That’s my best explanation offer I guess (besides an animation error).

Why does Van not remember Hitomi in the movie if he has already met her?

I consider this the elephant in the room: okay, Hitomi went to Gaea before but Orm used his magic to bring her back and make her forget. But what about everyone else who met her, back on Gaea? Which would be Van, Allen, Millerna, Gaddes, Jajuka, Sora, and Folken? I believe some of their reactions in the movie, but especially Van’s in the beginning, confirm that they don’t remember that encounter.

But how can you erase someone from several people’s memories at once? Even if you erase the memory of her, her actions on Gaea leave some impact… Folken literally swears to bring her back again and he does in the movie. Moreover, in the cd drama, the location of Escaflowne is revealed to Folken through Hitomi’s ancient memories (as Sora spies on her telepathically). The first scene of the movie has Van stealing the armor from Black Dragon Clan’s ship. I believe this ties nicely to the “Escaflowne is discovered underneath Torushina” from the ending of the cd drama. Basically, some time has passed, and BDC dug out Escaflowne, now transporting it to Folken. Meanwhile, Folken is trying to summon Hitomi back because with her and Escaflowne, he apparently has all the ingredients for his plan.

When it comes to Abaharaki, apparently, the cd drama gives us a scene of their first meeting with Van. So, it has not been all that long that he was with the Abaharaki. But since he is with them in the movie, this event from the cd drama is also something that did not get reversed by Orm sending Hitomi back. It’s hard to wrap one’s head around. Allen, Millerna, and Gaddes come across Hitomi and Van because they were apparently in the vicinity and “saw a light”. This is all happening in a “holy land” that bears the name of Arzas, btw.

But if Van wasn’t summoning the Wing Goddess, why would he even go there? Why would Allen come check if there was no light from her arrival from Earth? Of course, the meeting of Van and Abaharaki might have happened anyway, by pure chance. After all, Merle in the movie says they “met on the battlefield”. For the Abaharaki, they “could not take a better look” at Hitomi before she was snatched away by Jajuka and they’ve never seen her again in the drama. So I guess their movie reactions would be plausible even if they did remember Hitomi’s first arrival in the cd drama. But Van is just a big question mark and either their meeting “never happened” or his memory got erased.

So Orm changed into a dragon and took Hitomi, her memories, and apparently Van’s memories away. Then what, was Van just left standing there, wondering what happened and why he even went out there? How about Merle, who went with him to rescue Hitomi? She would remember that the Wing Goddess was there, wouldn’t she? Even though she hasn’t seen her in the cd drama. This adds Merle to Allen, Millerna, Gaddes, and Mole, who form a group of characters who knew of the Wing Goddess coming to Gaea but wouldn’t know her face.

Then we have another group formed by Van, Folken, Sora, Jajuka, who had also seen her. Out of all these, Van is the only one who is confirmed to have forgotten. Others may as well remember everything, because they go retrieve Escaflowne and eventually Hitomi. Interesting. So I guess the first group may remember her arrival, they just don’t know how she looks. The second group, minus Van, could know everything. Van was apparently made to forget by some effect of Orm’s sorcery. Either he forgot her face or their whole encounter. That, or it never happened.

Another variation is, only Folken and Sora remember Hitomi. I guess that would make some sense, since Sora seems to be the one ‘in the know’ about everything, together with Orm, and to some extent, Folken. Then again, Van is a pretty strong magic user himself as we discover, so why would Folken and Sora be able resist Orm’s magic and not him?

I guess this could be explained by Orm’s final scene, where he sounds pretty mad at Van. Which is interesting. He’s not cross with Folken who wants to destroy the world, he’s angry with Van cause he is using Hitomi as a tool for his revenge which will just cause her more sorrow. So, does he in fact only seal her away from Van or erase only his memories? Because Van is not ready to lift Hitomi’s spirits and ease her loneliness? It seems Orm puts some hopes of saving the world into Van and is disappointed that he doesn’t realize what he needs to do. Then again, how would sealing Van away and leaving the path open for Folken help? Perhaps Orm meant to seal her away from both brothers but Sora overcame that magic? It’s frustrating that they just won’t.let.us.know.

But I believe Van having no memory of their encounter could be why (besides the obvious resonance of their depressed souls) Folken is the one to bring Hitomi to Gaea in the movie. Van isn’t even trying to reach her anymore like he does in the cd drama, it seems he is 100% focused on obtaining Escaflowne. Which I guess was his mindset in the first place even as he, on his own volition, went out and whisked Hitomi away from Earth, which coincidentally made for a pretty romantic scene but you can still see he’s all about obtaining the armor. I mean it is logical, once he knows BDC has Escaflowne, it means everything to take it out of their hands. It is also sort of parallel to the series when he asks her pragmatically and logically to help him against Zaibach without considering her feelings.

But really, nothing like, “You’re the Wing Goddess? Few months back, I tried to summon you from the holy land of Arzas, using all the magic taught to me by the beast clan but you left me on Read?” Ahh yes that would be uncharacteristic to disclose by this particular character, I get it.

So what do you think? Did Orm make him forget or did he revert Hitomi’s whole first visit to Gaea?

“Ancient Gaea”

What is also pretty blurry is this whole “Wing Goddess lived on ancient Gaea and she met Van then… but she has forgotten.”

Okay, what do we know of this “ancient Gaea”? We know the Wing Goddess as well as “Van” in some form lived there and then. And they were ���alike” in some way. Orm calls them “twins” or “gemini” which I do get may sound problematic (I translated it as “two of the same kind” in the end) but I don’t think he means they are related. Also, “dragons” lived on this Gaea. I don’t know, as I listened to this part with the series soundtrack in the bg, I suddenly got the feeling like they talked about the series. Which makes not much sense of course. There is no proof of that. Movie Escaflowne is different, the series one didn’t destroy the world… it doesn’t work. But I still got a nostalgic feeling like that.

Then the last thing we know is Escaflowne actually destroyed some major city… I guess, likely in battle with the movie Alseides, they just laid ruin to this ancient Gaea civilization, whatever it was. In this battle it seems, Escaflowne could have been buried by rubble of what could have been the predecessor of Torushina, which itself could have been gradually built upon the ancient city ruins. That’s all we know. Anyway, I kinda hate when Sora teases like “could we bring back the ancient memories of the Wing Goddess?” Don’t give us hope if you’re never, ever gonna deliver, dammit. Maybe I should deliver in fic form haha (no I will not start another project).

Random thoughts after watching the movie after having translated the drama

Now that I think of it, the movie actively avoids any direct reference to the events of the cd drama. But after giving a proper attention to the CD drama, you see echoes of it in the movie, echoes of Hitomi remembering on some level after all. Like, when they are frolicking with Yukari, and she hears Sora’s song… she immediately understands someone is calling. It’s not “I hear a song nobody else seems to hear” anymore, it’s her immediately understanding that Yukari doesn’t hear it and that she’s being called.

BTW, what I humbly believe the movie subs/dubs could have done a little better was the scene with Yukari at the stadium. Hitomi tells Yukari she’s annoying for meddling in her life. She says “annoying” and “just disappear” repeatedly and there is this transition from when it seems like she’s really calling Yukari  “annoying” and muttering she should “go away” to when you understand that she is talking about herself. Hitomi is the “bad guy” and she’s the one who should “disappear”. If you use “fade away” it doesn’t click so much because you don’t tell another person to “fade away”.

Also, in cd 1, when Hitomi sees Van for the first time and the dragon fossil in the face of the mountain. I got this weird feeling it could be Van just before he takes off to kill everyone on the Black Dragon Ship and steal Escaflowne in the very first movie scene. Because yes, we see the mountain with the dragon fossil in that movie scene (presumably one of the twin gods Van prays to), he prays for the death of his enemies (that he does massacre in the movie opening scene), even the music is the same... because Bird song is the first part of First Vision, the OST for the first scene of the movie.

Or perhaps, for Hitomi's “first vision”, and it refers to this scene from the drama? Of course, nothing gets confirmed here either. Anyway, if she sees Van in real time, what would he be doing at the time she’s under Orm’s spell on the train? Well, apparently, he is aware of Orm’s actions, and with support of the elders from the wolf village, he is trying to intercept him. Which he does later, in the cave. But would his preparation for that be this? Wishing death upon his enemies with the sword drawn and then flying off… idk, it fits the movie scene better.

This post got really speculative so I’ll just stop here but I think I’ll make one or two other posts. One will just have the movie trivia without as much of my speculation. Another will be a bit critical because while I like Escaflowne in all its forms, I did get a bit frustrated here and I should let it out.

[cpaton-601-11]

Moodboard and Inspiration Analysis - DP1B

05.05.22

When I think about what I want to achieve, I think about how my interviewee mentioned how much she liked the weirdness, difference, and surrealism of the places she traveled to. I want to achieve a very weird sense of image-making in my publication, incorporating parts of the interview she mentioned and aspects that stood out the most for both her and myself.

Parts she liked the most or mentioned the most were places such as Israel, Egypt, Morocco and Rome. She mentioned how unpredictable and mysterious it was, and also how much of a culture shock it was to someone living in a more Western country, and how it 'assaulted your senses'.

I want my publication to also 'assault the senses' when viewing it, but not so much where it's unbearable to read. I will use a limited colour palette of about three colours - orange/yellow, light/mid blue, a deep blue near enough but not too similar to black, and maybe a white or beige for the background. Instead of a more abstract feel to the publication, I want to use objects for surrealism rather than two-dimensional lines.

When I think about surrealism and weirdness, I found myself coming back to the Miracle Musical and Tally Hall album covers, as well as their music in general. MM was created by a few members of Tally Hall, in which tells a story through each and every song from beginning to end about a man named Simon. It's a love story, but the person he's in love with is murdered, and he's put in court and pleads insanity, in which he actually goes insane from electric-shock therapy.

Everything about the album, title, and the cover itself is weird. The songs are a weird mix of sounds and backwards singing which all work stupendously together, and the title of the album Hawaii: Part II suggests that there was another prequel to the story that was never actually told. The album cover itself has used photomontage to show a landscape with objects and other things which don't necessarily belong there, like the huge fish in the background and the staircase by the sea. I really like the use of photomontage, and I intend to use either that or digital drawing for my publication images.

The Tally Hall cover is another example of another style I can use rather than photomontage: digital drawing, where I can draw and put together any object and thing that relates to the story in one combined mess will all the same colours and linework. I can't decide between either but I feel that in the end, I might just end up going for a digitally drawn style because I'm comfortable with it.

The designs made by Chris Ashworth were suggested for me to look into, and I really like how he uses a washed-up and taped-over texture in his typefaces. I was suggested to try working with analogue text, then to tape over them with cellotape and other types, then to scan them on a printer and edit them in Photoshop later on, so it looks as if the text have an analogue and more grainy look to them.

Another example of a designer I saw in class was that of David Carson. I really enjoyed the messiness of his collages and how he incorporated typeface and image.

[attract-mode-collective]

Just Another Late Night At The Game Center

And just another massive dose of game culture, as originally shared on the Attract Mode Twitter account, (most of) everything that was shared in the latter half of February. The first half was covered here.

Before I forget: the above is courtesy of erickimphotography.com.

Again, given how short Feb is supposed to be, I figured this post would be too... and it's not. So am wonder if going weekly might best going forward?

Anyhow, where did I leave off last time? Oh yeah; Valentine's Day. And here’s Amy Rose, from the day after, reminding us all that, as great as love can be, it also hurts (via sonicthehedgeblog)...

Check out this devastating big boot from Mario, one that would make the WWE's Undertaker or Kane proud (via suppermariobroth)...

You're no doubt familiar with Julie Bell's work, but are you aware of the close resemblance between her art & the artist herself? (via slbtumblng)...

Some nice, pixelated sukajans we have here (via kauzara)...

Look at these hipsters...

Look at these hipsters standing around, on a Brooklyn rooftop...

Look at these hipsters standing around, on a Brooklyn rooftop in leggings based upon the interactive menu for the Super Famicom's satellite modem peripheral. (via minusworld.co.uk)...

Am legit thinking of getting this shirt covered with quotes from people trying to figure out which Metal Gear character is gay (via kotaku.com)...

Am rather fond of Data Weave, which has more than a passing resemblance to the Eliss scarf that helped put the Attract Mode shop on the map (via prostheticknowledge)...

When you go to bed, don't forget to never use your Dreamcast as a pillow (nor should you ever place it on a bucket filled with leafy greens either, but you probably already knew that one; via posthumanwanderings)...

Not sure which SNK 40th Anniversary shirt I like more (via miki800.com)...

It's just Hidetaka Suehiro, playing... I think The Last Blade? Criminally underrated Neo Geo game btw (via nintendu)...

And the late, great Robin Williams playing Ground Zero Texas for the Sega CD (via celebgames)...

Plus the President of Turkey, circa 1990, playing Galaxy Force II for whatever reason (via historium)..

Pro-tip to any & all custom arcade cabinet sellers: if you're going to photograph someone playing a game on your thing, have said person actually play the thing (in this case, Robotron utilizes dual sticks and no buttons; via arcadephile)...

Today's recommended reading is a follow-up to another older post, one that's all about Willie Williams, who not only inspired Virtua Fighter's Jeffry McWild but also Tekken's Paul Phoenix (via lordmo)...

After seeing this gif of a young woman punching a dinosaur (or possibly a dragon) in the crotch, I may have to give Capcom Fighting Jam a second look (via kazucrash)...

Sticking with the subject of crotches for just one bit, everyone out there's familiar with PuLiRuLa, right? (via kazucrash)

Just a friendly reminder of how wacky commercials for the PlayStation 2 were back in the day (via kurhl)...

Back to the subject of dinosaurs... yet still sticking with fun under the sun (via sidestorygaiden)...

If I'm gonna share fan art of unofficial PlayStation 1 era mascots, then I have to pass along this rendering of Abe (via it8bit)...

Seen countless folk play music with a Game Boy or a NES... but a Dreamcast? @slowmagic is the very first, and with a Hello Kitty edition Dreamcast no less...

Does anyone know if these figures of Dorimukyasuko & friends were commercially produced or if they were just made for the Sega no Game wa Sekai Ichi~i~i~I ad that the image comes from? (via vgprintads)...

We've gotten snowfall here in NYC over the past few weeks, once during during sunset, but alas it wasn't nearly as pretty as this (via kirokazepixel)...

It's been ages since I've posted any Game Culture Snapshots, despite countless promises that I'd fix that. Well, until that finally happens, here just one, from IndieCade East 2018. Which was an epic bust, but hey, at least I finally got to play that Bill Viola game I first encountered at GDC 2008...

PLEASE tell me that GBA Video carts are the new hot means of distributing bootleg Hollywood flicks (via @katribou)...

This part from The Thing always reminded me of Asteroids on the Atari 7800 (via pixpunk)...

I posted this on Twitter, not realizing that I had shared it on the blog once before. But since I can’t find that original post, and since it's so damn nice, plus totally worth looking at again (via humanoidhistory)...

I also need to re-share that Tron movie poster cuz it's the first lead up to this Blade Runner-related spread from Joystik Magazine (via mendelpalace)...

As someone who fetishizes old video game magazines, I'm legit ashamed that I didn't know about Joystik sooner (via here & here)...

Please enjoy a healthy helping of scans from Lovely Sweet Dream, the dream journal that would become the basis of LSD for the PlayStation 1 (via here & here)...

Sorry, but I still think the idea of a multi-billionaire sending his sports car into space just cuz he can to be kinda cringey, yet that doesn't mean I'd don't think this pixelated recreation is any less pleasant (via it8bit)...

I've never been to Beverly Hills, so I have no idea if this portrayal according to Super Chase: Criminal Termination is accurate or not; maybe it was when the game was produced? (via obscurevideogames)...

Meanwhile, closer to where I am (somewhat; am not all that far from Long Island) is Mario & Yoshi & the Book of Revelation (via greathaircut)...

Are you playing Mario? Or is Mario playing you? (via suppermariobroth)...

Game Boys. And Game Girls. Mostly Girls. (via contac)

Before anyone asks, no, I do not have a bigger/wallpaper appropriate-sized version of this super sexy image of a couple of Wiis (via klaus-laserdisc)...

I think I kinda need to do this to my PlayStation (via dreamcast.tokyo)...

... Which reminds of those fancy, souped up by audiophiles PSXs I mentioned a whiles ago...

I celebrated Cat Day in Japan by posting this fave official King of Fighters illustration (via videogamesdensetsu)....

... along with this Monster Hunter fan art (via kerriaitken)...

... plus this highlight of a fave WarioWare: Twisted micro game (via suppermariobroth)...

So yeah, Flash sucks, I get that, but as the platform fades away, so does the opportunity to play games like Fear Less! (via zombie-chaser)...

Thankfully, WORLD OF HORROR, "a love letter to the cosmic horror work of Junji Ito", is something that's much more accessible (for now at least)...

I don't know much about Dujanah, which has you assuming the role of a Muslim woman with grievances against a military force that's occupying her Islamic homeland, other than it looks extremely compelling...

Yet another game I need to check out is CONTINUUM, which is a shmup that combines time manipulation and Tetris? (via alpha-beta-gamer)...

It's a legit shame that Jetpack Squad has seemingly fallen off the map (via shmups)...

Another shmup that I really, really want to play (though it's starting to feel increasingly unlikely) is AEROBAT, which looks just as gorgeous (and insane) today as it did the first time I laid eye (via shmups)...

Yet another game that was never meant to be, and the only thing we have here is some incredible looking concept art; if it ended up happening & was any good, I wonder if I'd be a PC-FX owner? (via videogamesdensetsu)...

If a Tokyo Dark Souls was ever to happen, which artist's take do you prefer; this one (via visor-visual)...

... or this one? (via mendelpalace)

You know about celebrity roasts, right? Well, a comedy club in Long Island City had one for Mario, though I have no idea how it went; I had kung fu practice that night...

Me, when the coffee kicks in (via anthony10000000)...

I had no idea that Typing of the Space Harrier was even a thing (via posthumanwanderings)...

It's a bit unsettling how some of Dreamcast Magazine's advice on how to survive Y2K are still useful today, in particular their words of wisdom regarding Seaman (via posthumanwanderings)...

Megadora Man, a Tokusatsu-esque take on the Mega Drive, for Beep! Mega Drive; am assuming his foes are inspired by the Famicom and PC Engine (though am not totally sure which is which; via obscurevideogames)...

Question: how hard would it be for someone in the US to get the first three issues of Famitsu from the Japanese Kindle Store? (via miki800.com)

Been well over a decade since first laying eyes and I FINALLY know the identity of the artist behind a series of Mario illustrations that has long left me stupefied: his name is Ishihara Gōjin (via videogamesdensetsu)...

I woke up the other day with a sense of purpose, with the knowledge that I finally have a mission in life: to do whatever I can to make this dancing kid from Sega Splash Golf a viral sensation (via sonicthehedgeblog)...

Though speaking of morning, been feeling run down as of late, though it's my own damn fault for not having breakfast. Which is why I can't wait for my Persona 3 toaster has yet to arrive (via gasp-theenemy)...

Had no idea that MAME can also emulate those crappy, Tiger handheld games; naturally there's not much to look at, since none of the background is part of the game's code (via lanceboyles)...

Eggman has a sense of humor (via voidirium)...

Eggman also has aesthetics (via posthumanwanderings)...

When you mess with the textures in Wind Waker for the sole purpose of making Vaporwave Link (via pmpkn)...

Man, I really wish each and every mech in Tech Romancer actually had its own anime (via ultrace)...

Before Mappy was a video game, it was a physical game involving real deal robots (via namcomuseum)...

And I swear, one of these days, we'll make available online Zac Gorman's print from Comics Vs Games 2...

In my time I've encountered lots & lots of BMO fan art, so much that it has become increasingly difficult to take notice and be impressed, yet this one managed to do so regardless (via it8bit)...

Let's all take a moment to appreciate the instruction manual for Cubivore, shall we (via skincoats)...

Cubivore's Japanese box art is also very nice (via gaygamer)...

An important message for all parents out there, concerning Minecraft (via reddit.com)...

When you can't afford the licensing fees for Miami Vice, Ghostbusters, Barbarella, I think... and maybe Logan's Run? (via mendelpalace)...

Given how Platoon ended up as a NES game, the idea of the Terminator on a Tiger handheld isn't totally far-fetched (via rewind01)...

And finally, PUT THAT CONTROLLER DOWN, NOW! (via fuzzyghost)

[ntrending]

Microsoft Surface Book 2 review: sweet overkill for your stick figure drawings

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/microsoft-surface-book-2-review-sweet-overkill-for-your-stick-figure-drawings/

Microsoft Surface Book 2 review: sweet overkill for your stick figure drawings

I wrote the first draft of this Microsoft Surface Book 2 review with the Surface Pen in a program called OneNote. The vast majority of it is unreadable, mostly thanks to my terrible handwriting, which resembles the panicked scrawl of a fifth grader trying to finish homework he forgot to do before the teacher comes around to check it.

What is it?

Parsing the Microsoft hardware landscape can be tricky thanks to its frustratingly similar naming conventions, but the Surface Book 2 is the company’s flagship laptop. Unlike the confusingly name Surface Laptop, the Surface Book 2’s touchscreen display completely detaches from the keyboard so it can operate as a stand-alone, tablet-style device. That’s not to be confused with the regular Microsoft Surface Pro, which is a dedicated tablet to which you can attach a keyboard case.

Short version: It’s Microsoft’s flagship laptop with a detachable touchscreen that moonlights as a huge tablet.

A large chunk of the Surface Book’s hefty price tag depends upon the value of its detachable touchscreen display, and its utility as a practical tool for creative professionals. This is Microsoft’s shot across the bow of the MacBook Pro, which is having a moment of weakness after its most recent update skimped on the overall power level and put a lot of emphasis on a touch-sensitive control bar that seems woefully outmatched when compared to a fully touch-sensitive screen. After a week with the Surface Book 2, I’m impressed.

Note taking

Aside from the overall speed of the machine, the responsiveness of the Surface Pen experience has improved a lot. Oddly, Microsoft doesn’t ship a Surface Pen Platinum in the box in an effort to cut down the already-high retail price, but if you’re thinking about buying this laptop, you should just consider the addition of a Surface Pen an essential part of the purchase. The latency is low (both the Surface Pen and Apple Pencil hover around 20 milliseconds) and the increased sensitivity with more than 4,000 levels of pressure makes lines look more realistic.

The screen is still smooth glass, so there’s no nice paper texture feel while you’re writing, but drawing and writing with a Surface Pen is now at least as good as using an Apple Pencil on the iPad. I took notes on Magazine pages I was editing and no one sent them back to say they were unreadable and the ability to switch colors and tip-types on the fly proved extremely helpful.

Drawing

My sketching abilities are one step above those of a finger-painting gorilla, so a personal illustrator friend took it for a spin to draw some mythical dragons. His verdict was similar to my note-taking observations. The lack of lag makes the lines feel as though they’re under the pen instead of behind it, which is the goal for digital drawing. It’s not perfect, yet, and it may never be, thanks to hardware limitations, but it’s not impossible to forget you’re drawing on a computer, especially since palm rejection has gotten so good and you’re now less likely to accidentally pull up a menu or something with an errant touch.

Photo-editing

The first thing I opened in Photoshop was a small collection of 200MB TIFF scans of medium format black-and-white film. They choke computers as you zoom in to carefully clone out tiny bits of dust and debris, but the Surface Book 2 handled it just fine. It’s this kind of neurotically detailed work in which the touchscreen and pen really make the difference. Pinching to zoom in and out, and wielding the clone stamp tool freely with the pen, is much more efficient than endless clicking around with the mouse and keyboard, at least once you get used to the workflow.

The Surface Book 2 also excels as a presentation tool when you’re trying to show people pictures. I typically use an iPad Pro to show clients and editors my work, but that tablet seems relatively puny next to the massive 15-inch, 3240 x 2160 pixel screen of the Surface Book 2. That also means it has about the same pixel density as the iPad Pro, and more pixels per inch than the MacBook Pro.

It also still has a built-in memory card slot for dumping photos off of SD cards, which is one of the things I miss most in the current model MacBook Pro.

My thoughts are similar when it comes to video editing. I ran some 4K footage from a GoPro Hero6 through the latest version of Adobe Premiere and it handled the import, edit, and export without a hitch. It’s certainly no match for an industrial-grade desktop, but few laptops really are.

But, is it a good laptop?

When you’re not using the touch interface, the Surface Book 2 is solid, if slightly unremarkable. I installed and ran the super-popular team-based video game Overwatch with no problem, but it’s not going to compete with a dedicated gaming laptop in terms of pushing crazy resolution at insane framerates.

Its battery life is solid, easily covering a whole day of work in “recommended” battery mode unless you really start pushing hard with things like Photoshop—then it drains much faster. Microsoft claims 17-hours of battery during local video playback, or five hours if you’re using the screen as a stand alone device detached from the keyboard.

It has two USB 3 slots, as well as a USB-C port to replace the Mini DisplayPort connection in the previous model. Microsoft also snuck a single USB slot on the charging brick so you can power up an extra device when it’s plugged in.

The audio performance isn’t great, and the headphone jack is still awkwardly place at the top righthand corner of the screen if you’re using it like a laptop, but a pair of wireless headphones to connect via Bluetooth clears that problem up nicely.

Who should buy it?

It’s important to note that, despite its form-factor, buying the Surface Book 2 isn’t quite the same as buying, say, a laptop and an iPad. The detached Surface display is beautiful and impressive, but the battery only lasts roughly five hours, and it lacks some common tablet functionality like a native Kindle app. It doesn’t necessarily replace an iPad for every user. In fact, it doesn’t really claim to, but I’ve seen and heard that comparison a lot.

Also, an iPad can be subtle and inconspicuous, whereas this thing feels like a light up boogie board sometimes thanks to its size.

The Surface Book 2 is a fantastic laptop, and it reminds me of a smaller version of Microsoft’s massive touch-sensitive desktop, the Surface Studio. But, this is a lot of machine and, unless you’re considering a laptop in the range of a high-end MacBook Pro, it very well could be overkill for your needs.

Written By Stan Horaczek

[taniasinel]

YOUR OWN FIXER UPPER?!!

  Now that we are empty nesters, Mr. Slippersocksman and I have been toying with the idea of selling our house and downsizing.  After a lifetime of accumulating, I am wanting to sell, edit, and purge.   Or, maybe it’s just that I want to clean it all up and start fresh?

Although Ben & I say we want to move, after we start that BIG discussion, we each get very quiet, immersed in our own thoughts, dreading the Herculean task ahead.    Then, we say in unison – “maybe next year!!!”

How DO you face the ordeal of packing up 25 years worth of…. junk?  Just the thought of emptying out the attic is terrifying enough! 

And then there’s “Fixer Upper.”  Each week we watch that hit HGTV show and say  – “We could live there and be very, very happy.”  But who really wants to move to Waco?

Whenever the talk is about moving, I head for the real estate listings to see what is out there for us to move into.  And then I get REALLY depressed and think maybe we should just stay put!! 

It was during one of those times that I spied this little Fixer Upper gem – and thought you would enjoy seeing it too! 

If you are looking for a Fixer Upper that is already fixed up – I have found it for you…

and if you are looking for a cottage in Galveston, I have found that too.

Look no further – your dreams have been answered.

The price is $270,000 – and, the furniture is INCLUDED for $270,000.  It’s a steal!

  The house was built in 1913, which means it has survived a handful of terrible hurricanes and it still stands!   This is what I love about the old houses in Galveston.  The new ones blow away, but the old ones are here for eternity!!

  All new plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and roof!   Two bedrooms, two baths.  1500 sq. ft.  $270,000.

The only drawback?  No garage.

But hey, there’s a wonderful front porch where you can sit outside all day and night and keep a close eye on your car!!

    Look how cute the front door and transom is!

  Original shiplap – thank you Joanna!   The front central hall divides the house in two.  On the right side are the two bedrooms, the living areas are on the left.

  The living room with the front bay window and shiplap walls.   I assume those antique-looking settees are included too.  It says – furniture included!   So cute!!!

  The living room opens to the dining room and kitchen – one large area.

  The kitchen/dining room is the focal point of the house – it’s fabulous with its subway tile walls!!!

  The view from the dining room back into the living room.

    Behind the kitchen is the laundry room.

  The  refrigerator is inset in the wall to give it a built in look.

  Waterfall counter.  Notice the brick detail.

  The back wall and backsplash is ceiling to floor subway tile!  Wood hood, open shelving, and sconces.   Soooo well done!!!

  Farm sink too!!!   The cabinets are black and the counters are white – great contrast.

  The bedrooms are across the center hall.

    The master bedroom is darling in black and white.  Love the chest and rug!

  The master bedroom has a double sink and a walk in shower.  Notice the transom window.  Black and white with wood accents.

  The second bathroom has a vintage tub.

  Accent brick wall and glass sconces in bath #2.

  The back yard is fully fenced.

  The back yard is so large for this sized house!!!!  Look how cute!!!   The  tree blocks the view of the door – but the laundry room/kitchen opens to the back yard. 

  The back yard has a pergola which is great to enjoy the ocean breezes!

  At night – it’s lit up.  All you need is a fire pit.

  OK – someone out there needs this house!  What a great vacation house or empty nest house!! 

Hurry, this one won’t last, I promise you.

HAR listing HERE.

  And while we are talking about beach houses, the new Coastal Living Magazine had a beautiful house that really made me stop to take a second look, something that doesn’t seem to happen all that much these days.

Designed by Jenny Keenan and Beau Clowney Architect on Sullivan’s Island off Charleston, the house is not a vacation place.   Instead, the owners have been living a chic NYC life for the past 20 years and they have moved to the beach, permanently.  How nice!!  So their house is more than just a summer pastel place.  Instead, it has an English Manor look mixed in with lots of antiques and layers of details.  It reminds me of summer houses that Southern Accents used to showcase a decade ago.  I just wish the photos were bigger and clearer.  Even scanning – all the screen shots look blurry for some reason.  I went searching on Instagram and Facebook for more – and I found a few behind the scene shots from the photoshoot.

  The photographer @jsavagegibson is caught in action.  I LOVE the center stairs with the single garage on each side.  That’s a great way to break up a front loading garage.

  Here is the entry – with an antique painted and gilt console mixed with porcelains and a mirror.  The floors in the front area are painted.  Past the entry is the dining room with wicker host chairs and de Gournay murals on the walls.

     From Instagram, above the entry console is this mirror which reflects the swimming  pool.

  The view past the dining room/entry leads into the living area with the center skirted table.

  From Instagram -  the dining room with its mix of chairs.

  A center table skirted.  Fabulous! 

  The living area – much dressier than a typical beach house.  I just wish there were more photos!!!!!  Loving blue and white ikat these days and loving masses of blue and white porcelains, everywhere.  Quadrille Ikat.

    From Instagram, the stairs to the first level have a runner that is actually painted on.

  The guest room on the first floor.  Can I move in, please?  Jasper fabric.  Another thing I am loving these days – round textured rugs like this.  LOVE!

  Another guest room.  Persepolis wallcovering by Quadrille Fabrics.

  To Shop This Look of this House - Click on photos.

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And I need a favor for a friend.  Monsieur Robert Smith, the antiquarian from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, is now in France, at his summer place.  His house is in the town of Uzes, in the southern region of the country.  It’s a very old town and recently they discovered just how old it really is!  During an evacuation, a mosaic floor from the year 50 BC was discovered, just two blocks from M. Smith’s house!!

Apparently it is a 1/2 acre site that dates from 50 BC to the 7th century and another section is from the Middle Ages.   The discovery is believed to be the lost Roman city of Ucetia, over 2000 years old.   It’s incredibly beautiful and I urge you to read this article about the site HERE.

The discovery includes a bakery and a house with large, earthenware dolia vases – which held alcoholic beverages!

Below are the two mosaic tiled floors discovered.   Amazing!!

  The problem is the city wants to build a dormitory over this historical site!  They want to move the mosaics and the walls to another site, which is just pure insanity.  There is now a petition to stop the moving of the site.  M. Smith is asking that if you are a lover of antiquities, to please sign the petition to keep the site intact.  To sign the petition, go HERE.

A huge thank you from M. Smith and me both!!!

from COTE DE TEXAS http://cotedetexas.blogspot.com/2017/04/your-own-fixer-upper.html