It'll Never Fly

This will undoubtedly bring back a flood of memories for some of you. I’m going to try and list as many of the first Japanese anime series and movies as possible that I can remember watching as a kid.

Astro Boy
What more can I say? It’s frickin’ Astro Boy, man. Soaring high in the sky… small, but only in size… you know, the whole deal. So far, up to that point in my life, all I had watched were cartoons like Spider-Man, The Mighty Hercules, Rocket Robin Hood, the Flintstones, Looney Tunes, and the Smurfs. All great shows in their own right, but either not known as masterpieces for their production value or not really pushing the envelope in terms of story. Keep in mind, I was only six or seven years old at that point. Production value and a story line weren’t exactly top priorities for a kid that age, but there was something refreshing and different about Astro Boy. You got a sense that everything was being animated and the they weren’t taking shortcuts. They used a real 3D perspective instead of an isometric one, and the closer a part of an object was to the “camera” the larger it was. Hell, it was just cool!

Actually, what I remember most about Astro Boy, and what is my fondest memory, are the two-part episodes entitled “The Greatest Robot in the World” where a giant robot, named Pluto, was created with the sole purpose of destroying all the other powerful robots in the world. I like that we got to see a handful of other really cool robots that were mostly all heroic and vigilant in nature. That’s something I’ve always admired. In Japanese culture, robots are generally seen as being good natured and designed to help humankind, whereas in western culture robots are usually portrayed as being evil monsters running amok, causing wanton destruction, and needing to be destroyed.

Dark Horse Comics started releasing the original manga in trade format back in 2002. There’s a compilation album from Japan that collects theme songs from the various TV shows involving Astro Boy, or rather, Tetsuwan Atomu. The theme didn’t change much from the 60′s one, albeit this one’s in English. There’s still a chorus of what sounds to be kids, but the 60′s intro sounds a little more like the intro for Howdy Doody. Also, a few years ago, I made a desktop picture that you can feel free to use (I’m a fan of the clean and minimalist look).

Robotech

I’ve already gone into quite a lot of detail with what I liked about Robotech in an earlier post. I’ll just reiterate that it was a very cool show. School let out at 3:30 and we all rushed home to catch Robotech start at 4:00. Every episode involved another space battle. People were getting killed all over the place. It truly was an epic story. Surprising, given it was based on three completely separate and unrelated japanese shows. Might be one of the reasons I like the new Battlestar Galactica so much.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz / Oz no Mahōtsukai

If I remember correctly, this used to air weekday mornings before school started, and came on after Teddy Ruxpin, or replaced it altogether. It was the first anime I can remember watching that had an ongoing plot from episode to episode (not unlike the aforementioned Teddy Ruxpin). I think I even faked being sick on a couple of occasions just so I wouldn’t miss the end of an episode. When I first started coming up with material for this post, I didn’t recall this show being an anime, or having anything to do with Japan whatsoever. The reason for that might be because, according to its Wikipedia entry, the English version which was dubbed by the Canadian production company, Cinar Films, apparently “attempted to completely occlude the show’s Japanese origins, going so far as to remove all Japanese names and studios from the credits.” Take that, Harmony Gold!

Robot Carnival

I don’t remember much of this one, but I think it’s the first feature length anime I’ve ever seen, and I saw it late at night on TV while I was doing home work for high school. I haven’t seen it since, either. All I can remember was thinking at the time that it was very weird and strange. I definitely need to check this one out again.

Speed Racer

I actually never saw Speed Racer until I was much older and in high school. By that point, I could distinguish between a western cartoon and a Japanese cartoon, but still hadn’t learnt the term “anime.” As I recall, the show was pretty hokey, but it had a kickin’ theme. Make sure to check out Sponge’s tribute version on the CD Saturday Morning Cartoons Greatest Hits, which also includes the awesome version of the Spider-Man theme by the Ramones.

Akira

I’ve talked about this one before, as well. It just gets better and better every time I watch it. It wasn’t my first exposure to anime, nor was it my first feature length anime, but it single-handedly kick-started my interest in anime that I’ve had ever since. It oozes with cool. It’s bathed in rich pools of coolness. It’s über-cool.

Saber Rider and the Star Sheriffs

Touched on this one already, too. Again, yadda yadda yadda… cool.

Samurai Pizza Cats

My first exposure to an anime whose main genre is comedy. Another great theme. I love the characters names: Speedy Cerviche (a play on the words “service” and “ceviche”), Polly Esther (an obvious play on “polyester”), and Guide Anchovy (well, OK, nothing really clever about that one).

Sailor Moon

Another one of those continuation plots. This one became enormously popular. It spawned all sorts of toys and sequels. It got so popular that I started to get embarrassed that I watched it. I’ll admit though, the story wasn’t the reason I watched it. I just started high school, hormones are raging, and here comes a cartoon with cute girls in short skirts. You do the math.

My first exposure to an anime with long, boring, repetitive, drawn-out transformation sequences. Where I come from, we call that “filler.” If I had to pick one, and only one, it would definitely be Sailor Mars. *Rrrreow*

Dragon Ball

I’m pretty sure this is the version I watched a few times. Based on the Wikipedia entry, it’s the only one whose timeline makes sense. Might explain why it felt like there were so few episodes, if they only did 13 of them. I didn’t watch Dragon Ball Zed when it came out. Bulma wasn’t cute anymore, and the little annoying monkey boy grew up into an an even more annoying monkey man. Yeah, I don’t really have anything good to say about this show’s later incarnations and sequels. It’s really just here for completeness.

Ranma 1/2

I first saw this in my second last year of high school. We had a girl from China staying with us while she went to school here, and she was always bringing home odd and interesting videos that would get passed around amongst the youths of our city’s Chinese community. One was this cartoon of a boy that would turn into a girl when splashed with cold water. I think it was only the one episode, and it was all in Japanese with Chinese subtitles, so I understood none of it and was relying on this girl herself to translate into English for me. I don’t remember any of her explanation, but I do remember the scene in the bathroom where the boy turned into a hot naked chick. In retrospect, I’m surprised I didn’t try harder to get the name of the show for future reference. It took me at least another ten years before I stumbled upon it again. I’ve since watched the complete series and the OVAs, and only have one movie left I think. It’s a lot like Three’s Company, only if Jack Tripper turned into a hot chick when splashed with cold water.

My Neighbour Totoro / Tonari no Totoro

If Akira is über-cool, then Totoro is über-lovable. My first Ghibli/Miyazaki anime. This was another one of those videos that my Chinese friend brought home one day. Not really a lot of explanation is required. Basically, it’s Harry and the Hendersons, except replace John Lithgow with a cartoon of a four year old Japanese girl. Oh, and instead of a station wagon, there’s a Nekobasu (Cat bus). It has a superb soundtrack, too.

That’s it!

Sometime, I’ll write a post about my all-time favourite anime shows. But seeing as I have no idea when I’ll get around to it, here’s a teaser:

Best. Soundtrack. Ever. The prize of my collection…

So who am I? I’m a geek.

Officially, my given name is Robert, but I prefer to go by Bob. I’m half Irish and half German, but 100% Canadian. I was born in, raised, and am currently living in Regina, the capital of Saskatchewan. Having been born on October 12th, 1976, means I am now in my 30′s, and I can’t wait to see what that brings.

I’m a software programmer by trade. Having a father in the industry, I’ve been around computers practically all my life. I love problem solving and designing algorithms, and I get off on making computers do my bidding. My favourite platforms of choice are Mac OS and Unix, which means I think Mac OS X is the best operating system in the world. But I know the world needs Windows, too. I’m currently employed by a large federal corporation here in town.

I love movies and rarely find anything bad to say about them. My favourite kinds of movies are comedies, sci-fi, fantasy, and action. I’m a sucker for romantic comedies, but I also love a good Hong Kong shoot ‘em up. I have more DVDs than I’ll ever be able to watch (and now an ever-increasing collection of Blu-rays), and that’s A-OK with me. Some of my favourites are 12 Monkeys, Bean, Office Space, Dutch, Hudson Hawk, Galaxy Quest, Groundhog Day, Swordsman, and Sneakers. My favourite actors include Bruce Willis, Stephen Chow, Jackie Chan, Bill Murray, and Rowan Atkinson.

I don’t watch anywhere near as much TV now as I did in the 80s as a kid. I still love to watch my early childhood cartoons like Rocket Robin Hood, Spider-Man, The Mighty Hercules, Dungeons and Dragons, Gummi Bears, M.A.S.K., and so on. The best series, past or present, is Doctor Who, and I love every British comedy that has ever been written. Except for The Mighty Boosh; that stuff’s just plain weird.

Canadian Football is my favourite sport, the Riders are my favourite team, and I don’t watch NFL. I’ll watch hockey as long as it’s the playoffs or the Olympics, but will just as easily turn it off or turn to something else. I refuse to watch golf, baseball, and basketball, but I’ll watch soccer or rugby as it’s something different. Nascar is not a sport.

I used to carry my entire music collection with me on my iPod, but have since moved to an iPhone, requiring me to be a little more selection. In some respects, that’s OK, as my musical taste seems to have frozen sometime in 2002. My tastes vary wildly, but there are some artists and bands I can always trust to deliver like They Might Be Giants, R.E.M., Chemical Brothers, and FatBoy Slim. I don’t know if I’ll like something until I hear it, so I have a lot of one hit wonders and chart toppers (unless it’s hip hop or from the last 7 or 8 years). I also have a lot of soundtracks and scores from movies, tv shows, and video games that I’ve enjoyed over the years. Generally, I don’t like easy listening or jazz unless, of course, I’ve heard it and liked it. To sum up in as few words as possible, I’d say anything that I can tap my feet to.

I’d love to travel, but have never done anything about it. I prefer more temperate locales, as I hate being hot and sweaty. The UK and Scandinavia are my dream vacation spots, but I could probably convince myself to go anywhere if I worked at it hard enough. My biggest obstacle is food, as I have zero imagination or courage when it comes to experimenting with food. To me, meat and potatoes is not a stereotype, but a way of life.

I collect comic books, but rarely ever read them. Much like my movies, it’s more about the collecting, categorizing, sorting, organizing, and recording in a database, that I enjoy than the actual spoils.

Genealogy is my favourite hobby, but I don’t hang out in graveyards like some kind of devil worshipper.

I hate small talk, and would prefer silence instead of it. This is because I don’t read the news, I don’t listen to the news, and I don’t watch the news. Politics don’t interest me in the slightest bit, but I still vote when I’m told, usually for whoever I hate the least (I had a fleeting romance with Canadian politics recently, but that was abruptly quashed on election day). I was raised Roman Catholic, and went to Catholic schools, but I don’t go to church, I don’t pray, and to me the Pope is just a nice old man. In short, I’m an agnostic, but I still like to think there is or was a higher power at some point, at that there is something for us to do after we die, whether or not it’s heaven, because life seems short enough as it is. Basically, I know right from wrong, and that’s all I feel I need. That’s my own opinion, I don’t try to force it on others, and I have no problems with people having their own beliefs and opinions. I just wish they wouldn’t try to push it on others, or judge people because they’re different.

Carl King wrote a pretty good piece on what he calls the 10 Myths About Introverts that I think explains a lot about me.

Did I miss anything? Questions? Comments? Drop me a line.

Go Riders!

Usually, when I have nothing to do, my mind begins to wander and I end up thinking about really strange things. For instance, given all the serial killers, axe murderers, and work mishaps there have been in the world during your lifetime, what amount of meat would you guess you’ve eaten, accidental or otherwise, that was human flesh (not counting your own)? Likewise, how much urine or fecal matter that was not your own do you think you’ve ingested over your lifetime (prisoners, fetishists, and those trapped in mines are not eligible)?

Can you believe I’ve never seen Soylent Green?

I wonder if it tastes like Gilbert Grape…

I started off looking for a Grandpa Simpson quote, and stumbled upon a list of favourite quotes of Dr. Zoidberg from Futurama. Here’s one in particular, from the episode entitled “Fry and the Slurm Factory:”

Which, of course, got me thinking. Has “robot” always been pronounced “roh-baht” or was there a time, perhaps early on when it was still a new word, that people pronounced it “roh-biht?”

First, it might be prudent to learn a little bit about the word itself. The Online Etymology Dictionary states the word first appeared in a 1923 English translation of Czech playwright Karel Čapek‘s 1920 play entitled R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). It is translated from the Czech word robota, which literally means “forced labour” or “drudgery.” Although, Karel Čapek is credited with popularizing the term, he himself attributes his brother Josef with coining the term.

So now we know how old the word is, are there any recordings of people saying the word besides Billy West as Zoidberg? Well, we can go directly to the source. Isaac Asimov is, of course, famous for coining the term “robotics” and for his three laws of robotics which he introduced in his 1942 short story “Runaround.” His first robot story was “Robbie” which he wrote in 1939. How does Asimov himself pronounce “robot?” Well, in this 1987 interview with Don Swaim, he pronounces it just as Dr. Zoidberg does. According to Asimov’s biography on Wikipedia, he was born into a Jewish family and immigrated to the States when he was 3. His family spoke in both Yiddish and English, and he became proficient in both languages.

So then, it must come as no surprise that Asimov and Zoidberg would pronounce “robot” is the same fashion. Billy West has said in interviews that he based Zoidberg on Jewish vaudeville-ish comedians such as George Jessel (who can be heard here) and Lou Jacobi (you can hear audio clips of him here; not to be confused with Michael Vale who portrayed Fred the baker from the Dunkin’ Donuts commercials). So is it just people with a yiddish background that pronounce “robot” that way?

Here’s where I muddy the water a little. There was a comic strip that came out in 1934 called “Flash Gordon” that was created to compete with Buck Rogers at the time. A few years later, several serials were produced at Universal Studios starring Larry “Buster” Crabbe as Flash Gordon entitled “Flash Gordon” (1936), “Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars” (1938), and “Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe” (1940). It is this third serial that I’ll be interested in today. One of the main characters in the series is Dr. Zarkov, played by Irish actor Frank Shannon, who’s basically an all-round science genius and do-gooder that helps Flash with all the problems that can’t be solved with punching or fighting. Near the end of Chapter 3, Ming unleashes a swarm (or gaggle, or whatever) of mechanical men on our heroes. Pay close attention to Zarkov near the 19:00 mark:

I love that theme music. If you want to watch the serial in its entirety, all of the episodes are available on Google Video.

I had watched this serial years ago, and was the first time I had ever heard “robot” pronounced “roh-bit.” So on the off chance that Shannon was Jewish and not Irish-Catholic and spoke Yiddish, that might explain it.

In the end, I guess it doesn’t really prove anything.

To end on a lighter note: If you’re like me and a fan of 80′s cheese, you probably remember the 1980 movie simply titled Flash Gordon starring Max Von Sydow as Ming and beefcake Sam J. Jones as Flash Gordon. Jones has actually had a semi-successful career playing bit parts in film and TV. Even had a memorable (I’m told) role in the popular sci-fi series, Stargate SG-1, playing Aris Boch.

I think I saw this in the theatre with my dad and brother as part of a double feature with Batman, but it was so long ago I could be wrong. I didn’t know who Queen was either, but my dad had the soundtrack on LP and my brother and I played the $#!% out of that thing. It’s sad, I know, but it probably wasn’t until Wayne’s World that I really bothered checking into who this band called Queen was.

Robits are cool…

I was trying to find the pictures taken by the Art Bell guest I mentioned a few months ago, and came across this site that has photos of UFOs and aliens that are, get this, sorted by authenticity.

My favourite is the one pictured on the left. If I could, I’d make the caption “Intel Inside.” I mean, you can almost here the guy saying, in a comically perky British accent, “Hello!”

My other favourite is a little lower down from that picture, where the caption, which is the only thing we have to go on, reads, “Source and story unknown, but probably authentic.”

Priceless.