hazylium

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Used Books A Go Go Baby!

If you walk into a large chain bookstore like Borders or Kinokuniya or even Popular, you probably know exactly what book you want to buy. Or at the very least, you'll know what kind of book. Best-sellers, thrillers, fantasy, science fiction- everything's neatly arranged in rows to make your book purchasing decision as painless as possible. All very efficient, but not very exciting.

Used book stores offer a totally opposite experience. You never know what you'll find on their shelves, where everything's tossed together in a wonderfully dizzy disarray. Familiar authors and titles jump out at you, while unknown ones preen for your attention. At a used book store, book-browsing gains an aura of adventure.

Even in Singapore, where I have yet to find a real dedicated second hand book store, it's possible to find some real gems at stores that stock used books. I passed by such a shop today at Bras Basah. I hadn't any intention of buying a book since I was headed to the National Library, but I couldn't help glancing at the used book shelf (cunningly positioned outside the store) anyway.

To my surprise and delight, a pristine copy of China Miéville(my current favourite author)'s first novel (and the only one of his I haven't read), King Rat, was sitting on top of a stack of management books on the second highest shelf! To my even greater delight, the book was only selling for two dollars. My buying instinct having been aroused, I examined the other books on the shelves more closely on the off-chance that I might find another steal.

A nineteen year old copy of V.S. Naipaul's A House for Mr Biswas soon revealed itself- I'd always wanted to read the acclaimed author's works and this was the perfect opportunity. Finally, I found David Guterson's Snow Falling on Cedars buried behind a pile of self-help books (the second highest population on the shelf- behind business books!). I'd heard the movie adaptation was excellent, which no doubt reflected on the qualities of the novel itself.

So for the low price of five dollars, I found myself richer by three fine novels. You just can't find a better deal than that in Singapore!

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Holy cow, free music from Universal?!?

Colour me shocked. Stunned, even. A fledgling online music company by the name of SpiralFrog has announced that they're going to make Universal Music's entire North American music catalogue available for free downloading on their website. A test of the service is supposed to start in North America (USA + Canada) by the end of the year, with Britain and other European countries following next year.

Of course, all this free music isn't really free. Instead of spending money, you'll have to spend time to download these songs, and I don't just mean the download time. See, you'll have to watch or listen to ads on their website in order to download the songs and if you want to keep the songs, you'll just have to keep watching ads on the site regularly. As long as the service offers fast download speeds and little to no server downtime, I think people won't mind that too much.

A bigger problem is that SpiralFrog's music offerings will be encoded in Microsoft's WMA format, which isn't compatible with the iPod. Oho. That's a large segment of the digital-music market they're shutting out right there. Is SpiralFrog insane? With a name like that, you'd be tempted to think so, but it looks like they didn't have much of a choice. I'm sure they'd like to support iPod compatibility, but the iPod isn't compatible with any DRM systems but Apple's own FairPlay technology- which isn't and probably can't be used by anyone but Apple.

This leads to an interesting possibility: services like this (I'm sure more- including a yet-to-be-announced service from Kazaa- will be along the way soon) might just erode Apple's dominant position in the digital music market- but only if other hardware manufacturers can get their acts together and start offering compelling alternatives to the iPod. Microsoft's upcoming Zune doesn't count because apparently its only going to support it's own proprietary DRM encoding instead of Microsoft's existing technologies (unless they do an about-face following this news, or try to one-up SpiralFrog with their own free music service). Maybe it's time for Creative to shine?

Still, the big question for me now is simply this: When will we get services like this down here in Asia?

Sefer Festival 2006 @ Central Library

When I went to the Central Library at Victoria Street yesterday, I was surprised to find an unusually heightened level of security there. Policemen were conducting bag checks at the door leading into the Central Lending Library on the basement floor; there was even a metal detector installed there!

The reason for all these precationary measures was the Sefer Festival 2006, an Israeli book festival being held at the Central Library from the 24th to 31st of August. A librarian handed me a pamphlet as I walked in so I was able to see what it was all about and what I'd missed. It's actually quite an interesting festival, with a diverse range of books on display at the Central Lending Library! I was excited to see books by the Nobel-prize winning author S.Y. Agnon as well as a book titled 'Betzavta (Together) : Guide to teaching democracy through games', which raises the curiousity of the game designer in me.

I was told that a few of the books on display would make their way into the Library's collection, which is very cool indeed. It has often been said that literature is one of the cornerstones of Jewish culture- perhaps no other culture in the world has documented their experiences, problems and triumphs as thoroughly as they have. Through contemporary Israeli literature, I hope to find out more about the culture and lives of the citizens of this nation-state, which is sadly only known to most of us through news reports about the conflicts in which the country has long been embroiled.

The Sefer Festival also focuses on children's literature. If I'd known about the festival sooner, I would very much have wanted to go see one of the festival's events: 'Storytelling Secrets with Noga Algom,' which was held on the 26th and 27th of August. The event was a children's storytelling session; Noga Algom is said to be an accomplished writer and storyteller who conducts sessions for teachers, parents and children in Israel. I've come to be interested in traditional oral storytelling of late so I'd like to see such sessions to observe the methods and techniques of professional storytellers.

There's also an exhibition of children's books illustrations by Israeli artists, which sounds quite promising. I'll go back to the library tomorrow to take a look and snap a few photos. I hope the illustrations on exhibit are as lovely as this one by Ora Eitan (which was thoughtfully given out as a card at the library), created for an illustrated book version of Ella Fitzgerald's song "Tisket-a-Tasket."

State of Shounen Anime: 2006

Shounen anime used to constitute the bread-and-butter portion of my anime diet. While my tastes have shifted to anime with experimental animation and/or unusual and mature storytelling (FLAG, Kemonozume, Mushishi and Ayakashi are good examples from this year) I STILL enjoy a solid shounen-style anime every now and then. Here's what I've been watching lately:

Naruto was for a long time my favourite shounen anime. More than just a faithful translation of it's source manga, the show proved it's worth with excellent production values and beautiful animation. The highlight of the series was surely the climatic episode 133, where master animator Norio Matsumoto showed off his skills in a virtuoso fight sequence that is already considered by animation connoisseurs to be one of the greatest fight scenes in a shounen anime, ever. Sadly, the series dove from that high point into filler hell, where it's remained for the past year! I'll start watching Naruto again as soon as it resumes the manga storyline, but not an episode before.

Bleach started out pretty strong when it debuted in 2004, with an interesting premise, engaging characters and a nice mix of action and humour. However, the series suddenly switched gears in it's 2nd major storyline, which introduced a massive cast of superfluous supporting characters (beloved by fans because of their admittedly gorgeous character designs) and a plodding, overly-complex plotline designed to impress those who mistake complexity for depth. I stopped watching it after the 60th or so episode as it'd just become another example of everything I hate about mainstream anime.

Yakitate!! Japan, on the other hand, is an example of a great show that, despite hewing very closely to the standard shounen anime formula, managed to consistently be wonderfully entertaining. I took a break from watching it early this year as my sister, who I watched every episode with, went off on an overseas trip. She's back, but we haven't gotten around to catching up with the show just yet I was pretty surprised to find out recently that the series ended with it's 69th episode! I'm kind of disappointed- wacky, unique and fluffy-fun series like Yakitate!! Japan don't come around very often (or rather, they do but they're frequently not that good).

Eureka 7, which launched in 2005, was a surprisingly heartfelt show about growing up, young love, freedom, responsibility and giant surfboard-riding mecha. A weird combination, to say the least, but somehow the series (directed by Tomoki Kyoda of RahXephon fame) managed to make it work. I'd fallen way behind on my viewing and sure enough, the show seems to have ended! By all accounts, it was pretty good til the end. I can't wait to see what I've missed.

Noein is probably the most interesting new shounen anime I've seen this year. The first episode is all I've seen so far, but what I saw was really gorgeous! The animation was delicious, with loose, sketchy drawings (that probably made loads of regular anime fans recoil in horror) and beautiful movements. The fight scenes are truly a marvel. Disappointly, the second episode seemed to revert to a "normal" anime look, with detailed characters that lacked the free-flowing sense of movement that they had in the first, but Ben Ettinger (who has a keen eye for good animation and runs the very cool Anipages Daily blog) mentioned really great work done by the animators on later episodes so I'm really looking forward to seeing the rest of this series (which ended earlier this year).

I was really looking forward to Blood+ as I thought the movie it's based on was an excellent mood piece and relished the idea of it being fleshed out. However, the best part of the series turned out to be it's first ten minutes- a stylish extended introduction animated in a similar style to the original Blood movie. The rest of the show, which took the safe route with typical-looking character designs and animation, just alienated me. The storyline of the show turned out to be just as prosaic as it's look and by the 5th or 6th episode, I'd lost all interest.

If you're an anime fan, you'll have noticed that none of the above are anime from 2006! Disappointingly, none of the shounen anime released this year have been very good.

A friend of mine recommended Air Gear, citing it's similarity to SEGA's thoroughly hip Dreamcast classic Jet Set Radio (aka Jet Grind Radio). Unfortunately, the show tries it's darndest to ape JSR but fails completely. The music sucks, the animation is totally boring and the storyline and characters just grate (to my horror, there's even a loli character). BORING. 'Nuff sed.

I do have a couple shows on my to-watch list that might be cool:

XXXHOLic & Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle- I really liked the first volume of CLAMP's XXXHOLic manga and it's sister manga, Tsubasa Chronicle sounds pretty interesting too, so I figure I'll check both anime adaptations out.

Tokyo Tribe 2- Santa Inoue's manga Tokyo Tribe 2 (released in English as Tokyo Tribes by Tokyopop) has fast become one of my favourite manga with it's epic story about warring street tribes on the streets of an alternate Tokyo- one that's rife with crime and corruption. Santa takes his cue from the great Hollywood gangster movies by centering the story around two characters- Kai and Mera, ex-best friends, now members of rival gangs and embroiled in what's about to become the biggest gang war to ever go down in Tokyo. The anime is being produced by the always reliable Madhouse Studios and will be directed by Tatsuo Sato, who made the surreal and experimental Cat Soup, amongst other things. Pretty exciting!

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Korgoth of Barbaria

On the strength of it's pilot episode alone, I'm declaring Korgoth of Barbaria the best new American animated series of 2006. Yep, even better than The Amazing Screw-On Head, which was cool, but nowhere near THIS cool. Korgoth of Barbaria is an action-comedy that parodies Conan the Barbarian, Heavy Metal comics and well, the swords-and-sorcery genre of fantasy in general.

It's created by Aaron Springer, who storyboarded Spongebob Squarepants (and even wrote and directed some episodes), and the pilot episode's animation was directed by none other than Genndy Tartakovsky (the genius behind Dexter's Lab and Samurai Jack). With animation bigshots like that, you expect quality and Korgoth delivers in spades.

The show looks great, with unique character designs, excellent animation and surprisingly lovely painted backgrounds (done by Bill Wray, according to Cartoon Brew). It's also gust-bustingly funny, thanks to some killer dialogue (people will be quoting this stuff everywhere on the web by year-end), deft comic timing and the totally over-the-top heavy metal music used in the show. I can't wait for the show to debut in September (sadly, Cartoon Network Asia sucks SO MUCH that we don't even get Adult Swim in Singapore, but there's always Bittorrent!).

So check out the pilot episode on Youtube (part one, part two and part three) or download the torrent and know the awesomeness that is... KORGOTH!
*cue wailing guitars*

Note: I forgot to point out that Korgoth is, true to it's sword-and-sorcery roots, a really violent show- blood and limbs fly everywhere during fight scenes. Suffice to say, it ain't for the faint of heart. You've been warned.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Byebye, Mr Banana?

The succulent, yellow fruits pictured above will be familiar to you as bananas, AKA the world's most popular fruit. To be very specific, they are 'Cavendish' bananas- the variety of banana most commonly sold in the West (it's not too uncommon here in the East, either :P). Unfortunately, that may not be the case in a few years time- the 'Cavendish' is being ravaged by disease and production may drop to the point where it's impossible to satisfy global demand.

The varieties of banana commonly eaten by man are, sadly, quite susceptible to disease. The reason for this is a fact that I myself wasn't aware of til a few days ago: the domestic banana plant is a clone! Genetic engineering is hardly a new science- farmers, through their selective breeding, have been doing it since time immemorial. Our domestic plants and animals have all been changed significantly from their wild counterparts through human efforts. Likewise, the domestic banana has been selected for a trait that makes it's fruit edible to us- namely, a distinct lack of seeds.

I've always wondered why bananas have no seeds and how the heck the tree reproduces. Well, I've found my answer. New banana plants are commonly grown by planting young offshoots of an existing banana plant. The new plant, then, will be a genetic clone of the plant it was propogated from. It is this practice that has allowed the spread of identical-tasting banana plants from Southeast Asia to Africa and the Americas- ensuring that everyone gets to eat the same great-tasting and nutritious fruit.

On the flipside, this also means that there's precious little genetic variation amongst the domestic varieties of banana- hence their remarkable lack of resistance to disease. What affects one banana plant can and will affect all other banana plants of the same variety. History has proved this fact- a 'banana apocalypse' has already happened once. The 'Gros Michel' variety of banana was once the favoured variety sold in the Western world until it was hit by a fungus called Panama disease in the early part of the 20th century. By mid-century, the production had been crippled. After it was clear that there was no way to save the 'Gros Michel', the 'Cavendish'- resistant to Panama Disease- entered the picture as it's replacement.

Unfortunately for us, the wild fungi weren't as genetically-static as the bananas they attacked. In 1992, a new strain of Panama Disease (called Race 4) that could affect 'Cavendish' varieties was discovered. It has since wiped out many plantations in Southeast Asia. It seems certain now that 'Cavendish' will suffer the same fate as 'Gros Michel' before it. All isn't lost, however. This fascinating Popular Science article details efforts by two groups of people to create a new, resistant form of banana: farmers who are trying to create a replacement plant similar enough to 'Cavendish' that consumers won't notice (or rather, mind) the difference and bioengineers who are manipulating the plant's genes to create a hardier, disease-resistant form of 'Cavendish.' Both groups have their work cut out for them; particularly the farmers, as new banana hybrids are hard to grow.

While the loss of the 'Cavendish' will certainly be a loss for banana-growing economies and fruit-lovers everywhere in the developed world, there is an even more pressing issue at hand. Bananas are a staple food in many parts of Africa and even though it is not the 'Cavendish' but other varieties that are commonly grown in many African countries, they too are under threat from the same diseases. The loss of the fruit would be no laughing matter for the millions of people who rely on it as a primary source of nutrition. Finding a solution to the banana's woes is thus a matter of utmost importance.

Friday, July 21, 2006

It's the 80's all over again- TMNT trailer!

Wow- movie studios are really milking 80s nostalgia for all it's worth. First Transformers (with it's very underwhelming teaser trailer) and now everyone's favourite pizza-eating amphibian ninjas get their own trailer for their upcoming big-screen comeback. Surprisingly, it looks really good!

Love their new look!

The upcoming CGI feature film (directed by Kevin Munroe, a veteran animator) is set after the first two live-action films, much like the recent Superman Returns. Another similarity with that movie is that both look to set new standards in depicting the way their title characters move by utilizing the wonders of computer animation. The flying scenes in Superman Returns were nigh-incredible and the acrobatic way the turtles run and jump across the rooftops of New York city is far above and beyond anything the first two movies, with actors clad in clunky full-body turtle suits, could offer.

With director Kevin Munroe saying that the tone of the film will hearken back to Eastman and Laird's original comics (by far the coolest version of the turtles), this movie looks to have quite a bit of potential. Colour me excited.

Bill Gates pledges $287 million to HIV/Aids research.

It was just last month that Warren Buffet announced he was giving away most of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. Now, Mr. Gates and his philantrophic endeavours make headlines again- this time for pledging a quarter of a billion dollars to HIV/Aids research, to be given over a period of five years to 16 scientific teams around the world. I think this qualifies as a ray of hope in what's become an increasingly dire health crisis, particularly in Africa. It's good to see Bill Gates applying his formidable intellect and business acumen to the business of helping people- and not with token measures either.

As this illuminating Guardian Society article about a recent trip he took to Africa shows, he really does want to save the world. The man looks at the big picture and puts his money where he thinks it'll make the most difference to the greatest number of people- and with more money than several countries put together, he's got a good shot at making the world a better place. It might not be too early to say that Bill Gates stands to be remembered as a philanthropist on the level of Carnegie.

Presenting the world's cutest cephalopod (and friends)!

That incongruously cute animal is a 'piglet squid,' a member of the genus Helicocranchia. The photo was submitted by Alan Kinnear for the BP Kongsberg Underwater Image Competition 2006, hosted by SERPENT- the Scientific & Environmental ROV Partnership using Existing Industrial Technology.

Now check out these guys!

This photo, of two Chimaera monstrosa and a Cidaris urchin, was submitted by a Kerry Howell of the University of Plymouth. Pretty neat. Check out the other contest entries to see some very unusual specimens of marine life. The microscopic/specimen images category features some breath-takingly gorgeous imagery.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Youtube serves a million videos a day!

According to this Reuters report, online video site Youtube's viewers are now watching 100 million videos daily. Wow. That's a whole lot of videos. They've definitely captured the market in online videos. Blog TechCrunch raises an interesting question- given their high bandwidth costs (over $1,000,000 a month in April this year- bound to be higher now), how is the service going to make money? Increased advertising would be the obvious solution- question is where will Youtube put the extra ads? Before or after videos? More banners? Well, I'm sure the company's savvy enough to figure something out. Today, they'll be toasting themselves on their fine achievement- beating out large industry players like Google (with their competing Google Video) service to create the household name in online video.

On a sidenote, it's very amusing to read some of the comments on TechCrunch where people try and pinpoint single magic factors that led to Youtube's popularity. Of course, there isn't one. Their success, like any sucess, is due to many factors, but the most important is one that TechCrunch nails with this statement:

"It just might be that YouTube is simple, easy, works well enough and people like it - there may be no more mystery than that."

Well said indeed. Others who want to succeed in the world of "Web 2.0" should make note of that.

hazylium

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Used Books A Go Go Baby!

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Holy cow, free music from Universal?!?

Sefer Festival 2006 @ Central Library

State of Shounen Anime: 2006

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Korgoth of Barbaria

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Byebye, Mr Banana?

Friday, July 21, 2006

It's the 80's all over again- TMNT trailer!

Bill Gates pledges $287 million to HIV/Aids research.

Presenting the world's cutest cephalopod (and friends)!

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Youtube serves a million videos a day!

About Me

Labels

Blog Archive

My Flickr

Site Admin