Things I hate Vol. 00001: Shopping Malls

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It is difficult to comprehend the radical import of Dawn of the Dead without briefly considering the significance and history of its setting — the shopping mall. The dawn of the shopping mall age in the 1960s was met with widespread enthusiasm, and mass hysteria was even reported at several newly-opened malls (Morris 405). In recent decades, mall hysteria may be less common, but the shopping mall remains a cultural fascination in capitalist countries, while in cinema, malls have become a staple location for smart-ass American teen movies, like Amy Heckerling's Clueless (1995). It is easy to underestimate, therefore, the relative novelty, in 1978, of Romero's simple but inspired idea of setting Dawn of the Dead in a mall. According to Meaghan Morris, one of the most exciting and attractive aspects of the shopping mall is the contrast between its massive structural stability and the constantly shifting composition of its population (394).

Third Time's No Charm: The Problem Of Tenchi Muyo OVA 3

Third Time's No Charm: The Problem Of Tenchi Muyo OVA 3

(SPOILERS AHEAD, but don't worry, the third OVA is shit, so if its spoiled, it won't matter.)

Anime, you might say, is a passion of mine, and growing up, an OVA by the name of Tenchi Muyo! (or, "No Need For Tenchi!") aired on the little-known Turner cable television channel, Cartoon Network. It was on the now deceased Toonami block, airing in the afternoon/early evening hours. It had been advertized for a while. "Coming soon: Tenchi Muyo! Love stinks." All right, I thought. Looks good. Science fiction, comedy, maybe some romance. I'd seen a little of the first movie, dubbed, on the Sci-Fi Channel's Saturday morning anime block. I was wondering what it was really all about.

Fall 2008: Anime I'm Following

This season is all about three shows for me: Mobile Suit Gundam 00's second season, Casshern Sins, and Tytania.

Gundam 00's second season aired its first episode this past Saturday in Japan. Menclave and Shinsen are both subbing it. After the defeat of Celestial Being at the end of the first season and the forming of the Federation, our plucky Gundam-obsessed Arab hero, Setsuna F. Seiei disappeared, only to return to fight the Titans-like A-Laws. It seems like the there's also another group opposing the Federation, which Marina's former assistant Shirin is part of. Saji Crossroads, the put-upon loser from the first season is bullied by the A-Laws and put into a forced labor camp, only to be rescued by Setsuna, who is himself rescued by Vowels... er, Tieria Erde, in his new Gundam. Setsuna recieves his mandatory mid-show upgrade, the Gundam 00, and then goes to recruit Neil's twin brother Lyle to be the new Lockon Stratos.

Audio: English: The Greatest Anime Dubs

If you're an anime fan, chances are you have an opinion on English dubs. When I started out as a fan, I was only watching anime on American television, so everything was dubbed. When I began collecting anime, on VHS tapes, it was rare to come across one with Japanese audio and English subtitles, and you almost prized those for their rarity. Still, English dubs were mostly the only way to go, and you were glad to have them in those days, because after all, you didn't want things like words on the bottom of the screen to get in the way of your favorite Japanese cartoon.

schlocky mom

Now, call me a socialist elitist baby-killing God-hating liberal, if you will, or whatever the Republican voter base is calling anyone with sense these days, but I hardly think that being the governor of Alaska, a state that has people moving for independence from the United States (it's true, look up "Alaskan Indpendence Party") and shooting caribou qualifies you to be a step away from achieving highest political office in the nation. Yes, Barack Obama isn't exactly a long-time political player either, but he's done far more and is far better educated that a self-professed "hockey mom" with radical religious beliefs.

imgDump.info Updates

First off, my apologies if your accounts are missing in action. A clean copy of the DB was made a few weeks ago, edits were made against that copy, and was used for this version of the site. If you registered at the old site between then and now your account no longer exists. Please register again.

Awesome New Features:
- Adult Content behind approval button. Okay, probably not the best title for it. From now on you don't have to become a registered user in order to view adult content!
- New Ads. Maybe not the most awesome feature, but they help pay for the host.
- Thumbnails that show you the images before and after the one you're viewing.
- Nifty little news mod to help me pass around important notices.

Red, White, and You

Americans, here's a little heads up for you.

The American flag is a piece of cloth. It means very little. Stop saying, "They fought for the flag", stop praying to it, stop worshipping it, and stop plastering it everywhere. It's only a testament to the American corporate entity mindset.

American flag stickers do not make your car more patriotic. Owning American flags does not make you patriotic. Wearing an American flag pin does not make you patriotic. Having an American flag on your shirt is not patriotic. American flags on socks, keychains, windbreakers, or inked on your skin, are not signs of patriotism. They're a sign that you're owned. You've pasted the American corporate logo on you. You're an enormous retard.

Fullmetal Alchemist Season 2 Confirmed

Season 2 of Fullmetal Alchemist Is Announced

So, it looks like there'll be a FMA 2 series.

Wait, what? Fullmetal Alchemist is finished! Hell, they finished it twice! Second time, they really, really finished it! Edward and Alphonse are in our world, the gates are destroyed (presumably), WWII is on its way, the homonuculi are all gone, all is resolved. Sure, maybe not to everyone's tastes- I've read a lot of complaints at the direction that the series took in the last half or quarter and the movie being not quite as satisfying as the series. Personally, I like all of it. In fact, it's one of my favorite anime, and I even like it better than the manga on which its based, a rarity.

Arguing About Giant Robot Cartoons

I must have no life whatsoever. I need a girlfriend, or a job, or something. Because I just spent nearly an hour arguing about what is and what is not canon in Gundam's Universal Century timeline.

The Universal Century timeline, by the way, is the original "universe" in which Gundam takes part in. The original series and its direct sequels (Z, ZZ, CCA, F91, and V) take place here. Also, several side story OVAs (0080, 0083, 08th MS Team, and MS Igloo). Also, there are several video games, side story manga, and novelizations. However, Sunrise has claimed that "if it's filmed, it's canon".


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