25 Sep 2007
Posted by Martin The issue of DNS transfers has reared its ugly head it seems, since the whole site appeared to suffer major downtime. Apologies for that - assuming the transfer to the new host goes ahead there should be no further problems. Unfortunately, because the process failed once I'm not confident it won't happen again. I am actually concerned that my previous domain name hosts supplied me with incorrect info so the spectacular and epic fail and its devastating results could repeat themselves.
In case you were unaware, an ad page and an expiration message replaced my beloved personal corner of the internet with not even a Nice Boat or similar to soften the blow. So, to you gits who refuse to relinquish the ownership of MY GODDAMNED INTERNET, this is the last word in the latest amusing blogosphere meme and you can burn in hell. With any luck it will end here and normal blogging will resume; the new version of Wordpress is out now so I really ought to get around to upgrading it.
It's turning out to be a rough week.
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19 Aug 2007
Posted by Martin *Actually I don't think I was hacked after all, but a broken database still makes Bad Things happen*
Yep, something very weird happened. After getting the new theme installed (I love the Freshy look but will contiue to mod it so this blog looks different from all the others), it looks like I was hacked or something. So...
If you know why the wp_options table had to be repaired, or why the pages became posts in the database, or why an install appeared to have happened when I wasn't even online at the time, please let me know. It all points to a Wordpress-targeting hacker bot of some sort (bearing in mind that human hackers like to leave witty messages and so on, I *think* it was a bot) - either that or it was a serious glitch on my server. I shall investigate further.
Since so many of us are using Wordpress right now, I ought to warn you that there could be a hacker who has decided to target people in the anime blogosphere. Seriously guys, the 'hacking is what happens to other people' mindset I had is naive and you'll kick yourself if you haven't made a backup.
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29 Jul 2007
Posted by Martin After much consideration I've decided to try a little experiment with Wordpress regarding the main part of the site. Up until now pretty much every review I've done outside of this blog is online in a 'standard' website format, consisting of self-coded pages. While I won't be deleting them any time soon, the self-coded submission pages are a headache to update and I've had to admit my noobishness in designing the site as a whole. Sooo...
The reviews (basically the centrepiece of CB.net from day one really) are now in the format of a Wordpress blog. There are still a few things to add, namely cover images, screen caps and so forth, but it's functioning and if I like it more than the current setup I'll move over the full series, OAV and movie reviews onto this blog to keep the anime content all together.
Feedback is appreciated (the current theme in use is the same as this blog's until I can decide on a new one)!
For comparison, here are the 'old' bits of the site and the bits that I'm considering replacing them with.
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24 Jun 2007
Posted by Martin [Tags: Makoto Shinkai]
Fans of Makoto Shinkai (i.e. those of you who share my obsession) will be overjoyed to hear that its Western licence has been picked up: by, unsurprisingly, ADV. Since they have Voices of a Distant Star and The Place Promised in our Early Days already this is pretty much a given but the official announcement is always nice when you're making a mental note of when to keep a lookout for the DVD. Unfortunately then I won't be following up the series in my fansub reviews but I'll post a DVD-related rave as and when, which to my mind is even better still.
In case you need reminding why I hold this young fellow in such high esteem, here are my reviews for Voices... and Place Promised...; my first impressions of 5cm suggest that it's going to be achingly beautiful in every sense. Good luck to Shinkai in his future endeavors, and thanks for giving us such personal and impressive pieces of art. You sir are a legend in the making.
In other news my laptop is still determined to stay dead so while the factory is working out what the devil is wrong with it, I'm still watching anime but with little opportunity to publish my thoughts on this here Wired. As soon as that situation changes I'll have my initial impressions of the old fan fave Bubblegum Crisis for your reading pleasure (it gets really good after ep #4 or so) as well as Last Exile, Texhnolyze and more Eureka Seven. Thanks for all the comments in my recent posts - they do get read and appreciated (once they're picked out from the hundred or so spam additions daily). I'm just coming to realise how internet-dependent I've become in recent months!
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18 Apr 2007
Posted by Martin [Tags: First Impressions and Retrospectives]
As much as I thought I couldn't be bothered with fansubs any more, I've been wowed by a small number of shows so I might as well list what I hope to blog on a regular basis in the coming weeks. There's also a DVD backlog on my shelf too so expect more of that in the coming weeks. On we go, then.
Darker than Black
The creative staff of Wolf's Rain is always a good sign, and a soundtrack penned by a certain Ms. Kanno is just the icing on the cake. The opening ep gave some interesting bits of info concerning 'Hell's Gate', 'contractors' and so on but it didn't reveal too much. It looks great, sounds great and impressed me right from the get-go. Top of the list for now.
Bokurano
A strange one, this. The first ep didn't really grab my attention, looking like an average day at the beach with a cast number that's a little too much to take in at first (there's fifteen of them, for crying out loud!). Mecha shows are few and far between these days but I suspect it's going to be a character-driven affair as much as anything. There are one or two moments that hint at something darker and more twisted, however. I'm intrigued.
Tengun Toppa Gurren Lagann
Dammit, I still haven't found a copy of the first ep of this that isn't a raw and my current attempt is supposed to finish downloading in just under TWELVE HOURS (tell me there isn't something wrong there, guys) so I can't comment on it yet. However, a cursory glance hints at a great art style and of course it's Gainax (therefore a 'must watch' in my book). It could be a disaster of course but some reputable sources suggest good things.
Other stuff
Well, my DVD reviews for Kino's Journey are at an end and the GitS: SAC Second Gig is almost there too. Coming up this weekend will be the Kino prequel movie, the rest of Gasaraki and I'll make a start on Texhnolyze and Last Exile. Needless to say I'll be following Eureka Seven, obviously.
Because the menu bar was getting a tad crowded I set up (through much painstaking effort, including coding nested lists in HTML by hand) an archive categories page for all of my finished series for 2006. They don't have 'series' categories assigned to them any more but the reviews are still very much there.
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30 Oct 2006
Posted by Martin There will be no more updates for a short while as I'm currently going through a house move. I could have my furniture moved, uni coursework finished and the internet re-installed in a matter of days but on the other hand it could take weeks - I just don't know. Thanks to everyone who's read and contributed to the blog so far and I hope I can add some interesting stuff soon!
/signing off
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04 Oct 2006
Posted by Martin [Tags: First Impressions and Retrospectives]
Firstly, judging by the trailers posted online, the upcoming season is set to be very busy indeed. Secondly, recent developments in my circumstances strongly suggest that I won't have nearly as much time to look at a TV/computer screen for nearly as long as I used to so chances are I won't get chance to watch half of what's interested me. Since 1). I'm feeling lazy tonight and 2).I need a list to refer back to later, here are my first tentative, ill-informed impressions on what trailers I've seen so far. Bear in mind that these are based purely on the trailers themselves so I'll no doubt change my mind on many of them later on.
Asatte no Houkou: Looks sweet enough but the moe quota could be too much for me to stomach.
Ayakashi Ayashi: An historical-looking effort, which could be a nice change. Reminds me to check out Otogi Zoshi on DVD asap.
Black Blood Brothers: Screams "Style over substance!" but I have to admit it does have style. The 80s guitar solo and vampiric overtones win bonus points in my book.
Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage: Tough guys! Tough gals! Guns! More guns! Why did I miss the first season? I won't be making the same mistake twice.
Busou Renkin: A bit too 'swords and sorcery' for my liking...the sakura blossoms don't bode well either. Still undecided.
Code Geass: It has mecha, which is a good sign. It has CLAMP's name in the opening titles. Possibly very good.
D.Gray Man: I concur with many others that this looks darned cool.
Death Note: Top of the list. I don't even need to look at the trailer - I already know this is going to be excellent.
Ghost Hunt: I prefer realism and science fiction over the supernatural - there probably won't be room for this in my viewing schedule.
Kanon Prelude: I'm not keen on the cutesy character designs but the slice of life genre often leaves me pleasantly surprised once I get into the story.
Katekyo Hitman Reborn!: Not my thing AT ALL. Sorry.
Kekkaishi: See above.
Negima: Doesn't look like my thing either, but I enjoyed the Love Hina manga. Possibly good.
Pumpkin Scissors: Dark, angsty, military. It's the one I'll be trying out first so watch this space.
Red Garden: Hard to say what the storyline will be but it certainly looks good. Then there's Gonzo's notoriously mixed track record to consider...cautiously optimistic.
Soukou no Strain: CGI looks a little overpowering but this was the studio that made Crest of the Stars iirc. I'll keep my eyes and ears open for how it turns out.
Super Robot Taisen OG ~Divine Wars~: More mecha! I might give it a shot sometime on that reason alone.
The Galaxy Railways 2nd Season: Since I never saw the first season I don't think it'll be worth my while. Visually though it looks pretty interesting.
Venus Versus Virus: Nice imagery but it looks a little to 'style over substance'-ish for my liking.
Yamato Nadeshiko Shichihenge: Could be good for a laugh. Possibly.
Summary
Since the Death Note manga is of such high quality, I'll be following Studio Madhouse's adaptation with great interest. Pumpkin Scissors has promise but I'll give it an episode or two before making up my mind. Same goes for Red Garden but my hopes are leaning more towards Ayakashi Ayashi and it's historical aesthetic. After what I've read of Black Lagoon, that looks like hell of a lot of fun but beyond these titles I'll have to leave it at that for the time being.
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30 Sep 2006
Posted by Martin [Tags: Wordpress]
It's going to take some more tweaking and suchlike but I've succeeded in moving the blog over to Wordpress. This means that the url and RSS feed have both moved so I apologise for any broken links that you've stumbled on while trying to read the stuff I'm blogging.
The reason for all this disruption is that, after using software that I coded myself, it proved to be easier to install Wordpress onto my server and use that instead. Every day I've logged on in order to delete numerous spambots' efforts in the comments section, as well as being continually frustrated with the limitations of my own coding skills. There were a number of features I wanted to add to the blog but the time and effort needed to work out how to do them and impliment them just isn't available to me any more. Since I knew every line of code in the old blog like the back of my hand, the transition to a more sophisticated system was quite a lot of hassle but I'm sure it will be better for me (and you!) in the long run.
Thanks for your patience!
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06 May 2006
Posted by Martin Now is a good time to shamelessly plug my new 'add comment' feature at the bottom of each entry. If you are one of the handful of people who visits here (you are a VERY small minority guys but I love you all the more for it) feel free to add your two pence/cents/woolongs worth because I have absolutely no idea what the fuss is about!
From what I've read on other blogs there's been a big discussion about how a lot of people are blogging the same 'popular' stuff and, what's worse, writing their posts in the form of mere summaries of the latest 'in' fansub episodes. As I understand it there is a backlash against over-enthusiatic attempts at boosting hits and making thinly-veiled attempts at getting coveted places in the big sites' links pages.
It got me thinking, it really did. In the short time that I've been running this blog I've been reviewing stuff that interests me. So I have the opening eps of Haruhi Suzumiya and Mushishi in my archives...that was because my friends recommended them to me and I reviewed them, neither knowing nor caring whether dozens of others were doing the same. From the outset I was talking to a small group of people I knew online and used their efforts as inspiration to do my own thing: do regularly updated reviews that allowed for more flexibility than CB.net's main reviews archive allowed, plus a periodic journal. The thought of gearing my blog towards popularity wasn't something that I really thought about before now and it probably never will be particularly important.
The problem is, the constant thought "Will this entry give my blog more hits?" might affect my choice on what I watch - that would defeat the object of the whole idea! I admit, some visitors have ben enticed in by googling for certain titles and it's great to think that they are interested enough in what I say to visit. My point is, I'll continue to blog these series whether I got one hit or a thousand because of them. I'm not particularly in touch with the wider anime blogging community nor am I the sort of guy who follows fashions.
So, what's going to change around here? Absolutely squat, that's what. I'm out-of-touch and proud of it, if my blog's 'in vogue' it will be through pure accident and as you read this now you are one of a select group that's in single figures. Later tonight I'll be blogging the third ep of Haruhi Suzumiya. Why? Because it's strange, funny and entertains me, not because every other bugger's doing the same.
Feedback very much welcomed. ^_^
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