Naruto versus Bleach (anime)

I guess this is a topic you will either care deeply about or not know what I am talking about. "Bleach" (2004-2012) and "Naruto" (2002-2007 and 2007-2016) are long running anime series with characters with magic powers from various sources with a wide range of effects. They both feature teen main characters, Naruto and Ichigo for Bleach, who develop their powers through the show, with main focus of protecting their friends and family. This is a fairly consistent motivation, and neither initiate hostilities, but act in defence when provoked. In both series, there is an extensive group of team-mates and other characters.

• Music: Intro/Exit music are important for anime, and the themes change every season (sometimes even more often). I thought Bleach won out in terms of music, since it tended more towards Rock music (my taste) and Naruto to Pop and Country (not my taste). However, Naruto did have the intro song, "Hero's Come Back!!", which is really quite catchy, for the first season of the second part (Naruto Shippuden). I give Bleach the slight edge here.
• Side Characters: One of the strengths of both shows was the depth of interesting supporting characters. On one hand (Naruto): Jiraiya, Sasuke, Kakashe, on the other (Bleach): Urahara, Renji, Rukia. Goes way deeper on both sides. I'd have to call this a draw.
• Plot: Both anime had quite interesting plot arcs. Bleach, especially at the beginning, had a lot of false starts in terms of consistency and some characters that were brought on that never reappeared in a major way (i.e. Ganju). Naruto's creator had a clearer vision from the start for the consistency of his world and the characters in it. I give Naruto the slight edge here because of this difference. 
• Filler: Both anime were so successful that they did not go on hiatus when they reached the end of what was available in the Manga series. Rather, they continued with "side" stories invented by the anime writers. These so-called filler episodes ranged from painfully bad to just bad for both series. However, the filler at the end of the first Naruto series was especially bad. If you watch these shows, look up what episodes are filler and just skip them (google "Naruto no filler" for example). I guess I shouldn't judge either series based on its filler. 
• Endings: Bleach ended with a very poor plot arc. Naruto has just gone on and on with filler. I think they could still all be in a dream. I just can't be bothered to wait for the final episodes with the real ending. From movie spoilers I know Naruto ends up married to Hinata and she becomes a housewife. It's just sad all around. I call this category a draw.  
• Main Characters: This is the aspect of the shows where I decide for Bleach. Naruto is portrayed as a bit of a buffoon. He is socially awkward and not good at academics or strategic thinking. In the series, it is other characters that have to say he is charismatic - and we are supposed to believe it, even when he clearly is not. He goes off "training" for long periods of time and other, more interesting characters dominate the series for weeks. It is a relief. On the other hand, Ichigo is a smart kid with honest social skills. Bleach is the clear winner here. 

Basically because of this last category, I think Bleach was the better show. I do have to say that I (mostly) enjoyed them both. Remember to skip the filler!

Prog Rock: goes deeper than I thought, The Light by Spock's Beard is pretty good

I am a big fan of Progressive Rock, although where Prog Rock ends and Psychedelic, Space or Symphonic Rock begin is beyond my meagre understanding of music genre subtlety. I really like Yes, in fact they are my favourite band. In terms of things labelled as Prog Rock, there is a sharp drop-off to King Crimson and Genesis but I still like some of their tunes. Hawkwind is also on my radar, but mostly because of the involvement of writer Michael Moorcock rather than for their musical talent. As I have entered the realm of music streaming services, I have discovered the genre is deeper, lasted longer, and was developed in more countries than I knew. From Google Music, I found the bands Os Mutantes, Premiata Forneria Marconi, and Locanda Delle Fate with some great Prog Rock tracks. From iMusic, I just found the band, Spock's Beard. So, great name! The album, The Light, could end up being a favourite. It is available in iTunes, with the usual bonus track that no-one wanted. I suggest giving it a listen - and I don't get a commission - honest!

Movie Review: The Nice Guys

I went to see The Nice Guys yesterday. It was an entertaining movie, well acted with a good story. The child actress was strong, and Russel Crowe played his role perfectly. Ryan Gosling had a bit too much slapstick in his role for my taste, and alcoholism is a button for me. So, overall reasonable but not a movie I would have gone to normally. But... nearby here in East Lansing is Studio C! in Okemos and this is a great theatre. You can pay extra for huge, reclining leather seats with food and bar service that comes to you in your seat. They usually have six movies playing at a time, but this suburban theatre is not in general playing movies that appeal to me (probably a good choice on their part) so I have to be a bit less picky about what I see. It was Captain America the first week I was here (pretty good) and nothing new last week I could pick. Looks like Alice through the Looking Glass next week...

East Lansing Art Festival

This weekend the East Lansing Art Festival http://www.elartfest.com/#intro is taking place. This is one of the highlights of my annual visits to East Lansing, and I went yesterday to look at what was there this year. There are two sides to the Fair: the South Side is more inexpensive "crafts" and the North side is more expensive "arts". The main street, Grand River, divides the two sides.

On the craft side, I picked up a couple of T-shirts. The one on the left is from Full Ark [sic] Tees. He had some great designs. Unfortunately, from the link above he does not seem to ship to Canada. The one of the right is from a nameless tie-dye stall. This group really has my tastes pegged, and the shirts are very cheap. There are other tie-dye stalls at the festival that are much more expensive with boring designs - I don't know why anyone goes to them.

Also on the South side there was a woodworker, Jerry Neikirk, that had some great work. The stitch puller and the ice cream scoop below are from him, and he had some wooden pens that I also thought about getting. The bowl below is the only thing I got from the North Side. It was from Autumn Aslakson. I had bought a bowl from her last year, similar design but different shape. I had hoped to get a coffee mug in this design, but did not like the shape of her mugs (please read this without putting extra meaning into that comment). I must be picky about mugs, because I didn't really see any at the festival that worked for me. I just picked up one at the local second hand store afterwards. 

If I had unlimited money and was setting up a household, I would get some serving dishes from Robin Kittleson and some of the metal art by Cherie Haney. Oooh, nice stuff. 

Google Music is not working for me

I was quite excited about the music streaming service, Google Music. I have been paying $10 a month for this service since last September, and enjoying their curated lists (radio stations) and taking some of the tracks from there that I liked the best and organizing them into playlists of my own. I was using the format of a dozen tracks per playlist (Brian's Google Dozen #X). I saw this as a viable route to maintaining and updating a purchased collection of digital music.

Building playlists is kind of a hobby with me. I spend some time selecting tracks that fit a musical genre, mood, or theme. Then I spend some more time with the play order of the tracks and last fixes to make it sound just the way I want. I don't have any particular musical talent or training, so I am not saying the results are good in any absolute sense, but they are things that end up exactly to my taste.

After all that effort, it was then a surprise when some of my Google Dozen playlists suddenly had only 11 songs, then 10. I am not sure if this was a system glitch, a change in licensing so that Google did not have rights to the song or the same version of the song, or that I crossed the US border. But this is a deal-breaker for me and I am no longer subscribing to Google Music.

I went back to Apple Music, which is Apple's monthly subscription streaming service. I had tried this before, but liked the Google Music interface much better. However, I don't think this is going to work for me either. It has the same kind of curated format as Google Music and you can move the collection into playlists. However, it has the regrettable feature that you cannot tell what music is your own (purchased, for ever) and what is only available to you through the service. This means, songs in playlists you make can disappear as the catalog of their service changes. I will try it for a month, but will probably have to go back to the old fashioned way of buying music I like.

Recipe: Endive and Tomato Salad with Kalamata Olives

I came up with this recipe myself, using some things that happened to be around the house at the time and needed to get used up. It has become a family favourite.

Start with 1 Belgian endive and one tablespoon of minced Kalamata olives per two medium tomatoes, with black pepper and olive oil. The thing that makes this work is the bitter, crunchy endive contrasting with the soft, sweet tomatoes - and the salty goodness of Kalamata olives makes everything taste better.

You can see that the olives I started with were sliced, which makes things easier. Getting them whole (squish them with the side of a large knife and you can remove the pits) is how I usually start. I give a measurement for the olives, but I never actually measure anything myself. Discard any sad outer leaves from the endive, slice in half lengthwise, remove the stem and slice crosswise in larger pieces. Slice the tomatoes in half, then quarters, then cut into bite sized pieces. I prefer roma tomatoes for this (and actually, for everything). 

Put it all in a bowl, add pepper and drizzle with olive oil then mix gently. Best eaten right away but tastes fine the next day, although the texture looses a bit. 

Recommendation: Quick Tea, Cardamon Chai

I picked up this instant Chai at Oriental Mart in East Lansing. This is my favourite place to shop for food since Goodrich's Shop Rite closed down (sadness). This is made in India, where I guess they know what they are doing with Chai. It is light, flavourful and sweet. I hope I can find it in Vancouver when I get back. 

Boy's Breakfast

Back home in Vancouver I go out every Sunday morning for breakfast with some buddies to the Edge Cafe. It is almost always only men, hence my nickname for it in the title. I have enjoyed it as a regular event to transition from one week to the next, and miss the camaraderie when I am out of town. I made my own breakfast this morning. Quite nice but I had to make it myself, will have to do the dishes afterwards, and there were no buddies to enjoy it with.

Sweet Lorraine's Mac n Cheez

Macaroni and cheese is a real comfort food (unless you are lactose intolerant, I guess). It was one of my favourite meals as a kid, although what my mother made back then was pretty boring compared to what you can do. My latest place to get it was "Sweet Lorraine's Mac n Cheez" in East Lansing. It is part of a small chain, local to Michigan.

I had their macaroni and cheese with bacon, tomatoes and spinach, and a garden salad. It was pretty good - I would go back there again, although I am set up to do my own cooking in the little apartment I have on campus now, so won't be eating out very much for the rest of the visit. The best macaroni and cheese I have ever had was at the Crow's Nest and Country Store outside of Tlell on Haida Gwaii. It is a bit out of the way. Of course the best should have been one I made myself (I do like my own cooking) but I just haven't hit the right note yet. 

Minecraft Regrowth Modpack

I have been playing the Regrowth modpack for Minecraft 1.7.10, available as a third party pack on the Feed the Beast launcher. It is a quest driven pack, with the aim to restore the world after it has been left devoid of plant, animal and villager life, and depleted of all mineral resources. It has the flavour of Agrarian Skies and Skyblock, in that you have to follow the quests to gain access to basic and then more advanced plants, trees, and other materials. This one does start you on solid ground, although it is a wasteland. It has Botania as one of the major mods, which I have come to enjoy quite a lot. It's crafting system works really well extended to quest driven progression, as well. One of the other major mods is Witchery, which I have never really been able to get in to. It seems like so much work with so many fiddly details and not much interesting comes out. I should work through to the end of the Witchery quests in this pack and see if anything changes my mind. The main tech mod is Mekanism, which I have never seen before. It is interesting, but pipes don't seem to always work as you would like, so in that sense Thermal Expansion is still my favourite for basic technology. I will end with a picture of my base tower, a variant on my current architectural design:

Back in exciting East Lansing, Michigan

I am back in East Lansing, visiting Keith Promislow at Michigan State University. It is pretty familiar as this is the fifth or sixth visit I have made here for a month in the Spring. I guess I visited Keith before that on shorter visits. I don't remember much from those visits and I know I didn't try and settle in.

I am here earlier than usual this year, so the geese on the river have younger offspring:

I am am here so early that the term had not quite ended, so I am in a temporary dorm room for a few days before the apartment I will be in for the rest of the visit opens up. That apartment is in a women's only (during the main terms) dorm and they realized at some point I just wouldn't fit in. So, I am in a glorified prison cell, with internet, a bar fridge and a microwave for a few more days. I am adaptable, so this is working out fine. I make sure to eat a big lunch out and have a few simple things in the bar fridge for other meals. The only "hardship" is not having coffee on my own first thing when I get up. 

I have rented a bike, taken out a membership at the local gym I go to when I am here, shopped for some gin and some cables to get connected to the internet in my cell, started something new with Keith and worked out a few things on a project I brought with me (that I am scheduled to speak about in a workshop coming up soon). So, settling in like it is a routine.