Discourse, Fandom, Methodology

[Post by Lelangir] warning: meta junk. Brother ghost has written us another post, and a reply we shall conjure. He writes: Stories have become primary methodology of education. It’s not that really different now. We have enormous variation in terms of media, but stories perform many of the same purposes: to educate the listener/reader/viewer in [...]

A Terrible Darkness

You should probably expect this from me every once in a while — that is, in this post I am going to trace some of the Gothic tropes in Shin Mazinger Z.  The Gothic is sort-of my thing — or it’s becoming so.  Seriously, though, it all makes sense.  Trust me.

A gentler Kyon

Is our pithy protagonist making a daring fashion statement here, in wearing pants that closely match those of his younger sister? Are man capris popular enough in Japan that the artists responsible for the above would’ve included them in Kyon’s wardrobe without giving it much thought? Or is this just visual evidence of Kyon’s slowly [...]

Adventures in Criticism: too many for a number!

Actually, it’s the seventh, but I figure now’s as good a time as any to stop numbering them and just admit they’re a (semi-)regular feature.  Woo! Anyhow, this time I’m doing an essay called “Coming to Terms” by Gary K. Wolfe.  It’s short, so hopefully I can get this entry done before the scourging weather [...]

All that to get to the title screen?

Evidently I have a penchant for ignoring this dusty corner of my internet empire (more of an inconsequential fiefdom, really, but hey, we have Samuel Delaney and Paul Kinkaid’s occasional attention) for month-long stretches. You can stop your despairing, however, as I’ve finally gotten far enough into Fate/stay night that it’s hooked me (and hooked [...]

“By silverfish imperatrix whose incorrupted eye…”

If you’re following at home, you’ll already know that I started Aria: the Animation.  And I just finished it.  I know there’s a bunch more of it, but I dunno when I’ll finish it — if I learned one thing (and I’d like to think I learned several, but still), it’s that I can’t really [...]