#Robo’s in the mid 80’s

[wooahiexist]

GOSH I’M SO EXCITED TO SHARE THIS!!!

This took me a week but god I’m so proud with how it turned out

I’ve been listening to Modern Talking a lot lately so it really inspired me to make this.

If you didn’t get the story already it’s about 2 robots Ander and Wardell who disguise themselves as an 80’s pop duo and become famous for their pop music and somehow no one suspects anything

I plan to post more about this 🫶🌝 but I hope ya’ll just enjoy it

[ellsey]

Agents of Shield Rewatch 7x09 As I Have Always Been

First of all, we’re not going to discuss how many times I’ve seen this episode because...welll...the number is pretty high. But this is legit my #1 favorite episode of all time. This episode is an example of this show firing on all cylinders and just at it’s absolute best. And it’s really one of the last times we get to see our family all working together, and that’s where I think this show gets its strength. 

Anyway, this may get super long idk I just have a lot of feelings about this ep.

The number of times Chloe must have had to film waking up in this thing is probably pretty high

Ok first things first, my very favorite thing is Sousa using that box of gloves as a pillow because having spent a good portion of my lower to mid-20s in labs I will not pretend like I haven’t considered doing that

“I was so much happier asleep” MY MOOD EVERY SINGLE DAY

94 km away...I’m going to try and keep track of these numbers

Sousa’s face at the smell of Deke’s 80′s cologne hahahaha

And now we’re in our loop #2 (but who knows the real number)

Ok, since I used to be a med tech (aka I worked in a hospital lab), I have questions about why they have so many green and blue tubes there. I mean...green tops are heparin tubes so I guess you can use those for basic chemistry tests, so that might be usable for multiple things. But those blue tops? That’s sodium citrate and the only thing I know of we used those for were coagulation tests. Which require some specific equipment. Does Jemma plan to run that many PT/PTTs?? And on what???

LOOK I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT OK

And yes I remember those anticoagulants by heart still

The repeating title card is :chef’s kiss:

Daisy very quickly realizes she’s looping

91 km now

I’m wondering if there was something cut here by the way Sousa says, “See?” to Simmons as if we are missing some part of a conversation they had

My guess would be Jemma was all “You can go rest in your bunk you know Agent Sousa” and he’s like “Nope, gotta make sure Daisy rests” and Jemma’s like “...do you though?” and Sousa’s all “Yep. She will not do it on her own. Trust me.”

Maybe there’s enough for a fic plot in there

Ok, we’re now on loop #3

Daisy also very quickly realizes that she’s waking Sousa up with her boots and is very quiet so he can get some sleep

Awwww

I kind of wish I knew what May was sensing from Daisy right about now

I love love that Robo Coulson is so over this

The way he says “This guy” KILLS ME

So Coulson knows of 87 loops, but we know in this case Daisy didn’t wake him for 2 loops this time...we’re going to be doing some mathing soon lads

Also we just covered loops #4 and #5 since the ep started

Coulson says this is loop #90 which matches up still

And loop #6 for us now

Daisy was kind of loud there but didn’t wake up Sousa sooo...idk

79 km now

I love that Daisy realizes that to solve faster she needs the entire team

This must be loop #7 because Deke now says they are 65 km from the vortex

“It’s kind of hard to access” YOU DON’T SAY

And now people know about Jemma’s implant which...FINALLY

Phlebotinum is an amazing word bless

Making yourself cough like that seems like a rough day of filming 

And directing

Deke’s face when Nana is dead though :(

Loop #8

It was sabotage!!!

But also Daisy died so we’re starting over memory-wise

Loop #9

48 km

Daisy legit forgot about her boots waking Sousa up too ha

Loop #10

And this time we wake up Coulson again

41 km

Enoch, Deke, and Jemma standing there is so freaking hilarious

Jemma is so done even though she doesn’t remember any of this hahaha

Loop #11

This is the one where we try to get Elena out and helping

Loop #12

Phlebotinum!

Sousa finally woke up on his own I guess

That smile when he says, “Reminds me of my SSR days” like

He lives for this chaos he just doesn’t want to admit it

Also look at him being a smart agent here

And let’s talk about the trust Sousa has in Daisy for a sec

He not just immediately believes her about the time loops, but he immediately understands what she is saying about what is happening. Thus he knows this isn’t really a sacrifice play because he’ll come back AND he’ll have saved her the trouble of forgetting. But also, he trusts her so implicitly that he’s willing to risk his life for her. 

It’s beautiful y’all

And poor Daisy has to add watching Sousa die to her list of traumas cool cool cool

Although that does give me writing ideas...

Loop #13

Daisy immediately pops up to ensure herself that Sousa is still there napping away and like

I legit thought this was going to be the peak Dousy moment in this episode when she stops and just watches him breathing for a bit hahaha

She does not want to leave him there either and then the way she says, “We’re making progress” then adds a kind of soft “thanks to Sousa” like

Daisy is going through some stuff here

Coulson is going through some stuff too

Clark Gregg is killllllling this

And Coulson realizes that Enoch is the problem

“Oh dear” ENOCH HAHAHAHA

Loop #14

“Why do you care?” “Because you don’t”

Ummmmm MY HEART

But Daisy is not just accepting that he’s willing to die for her, she wants to know why now

Which obviously we will circle back to in a few loops or so

See, Jemma says she has to be awake to remove them implant...I guess the difference before was that Enoch wasn’t removing it?

Idk that makes no sense

Loop #15

Send in Sousa to distract Enoch

That “Hello!!” omg Sousa no

Sousa is surprisingly bad at this

Sousa’s muffled “Sorry” KILLS ME

As does Daisy’s face

Loop #16

Appeal to Enoch’s sense of irony

Loop #17

Have Jemma countermand her previous order

Loop #18

Bring in the whole gang

EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS KILLS ME

“Where’d he get all those weapons?”

Poor dead Deke

Them realizing it doesn’t matter because they’ll all come back

The way May looks like she’s relaxing

Sousa’s feet framing Daisy’s face

Legit this is amazing and I love it

Loop #19

“Actually, I can take a loop” 

WE LOVE TO SEE IT

“It all phases me, just maybe not my face”

Ummmmm sir

Your face

While lovely it definitely gives you away

The saddest thing to me about this is that Daisy can’t seem to understand why he’s always willing to help and wants to watch over her. It’s like she still doesn’t think she’s worthy of being treated like this.

“Some of my favorite people are people like you” I CRY

Whew there’s a lot to parse here. 

First of all, I think Daisy actually really likes that Sousa is seemingly not phased by anything (or at least, not super bothered by it) because her life is always going to be chaotic that’s just facts

Second, in this very short time of knowing her, Sousa definitely has her pegged. He knows that she craves other people, but is also probably a bit scared to want to be around other people. He knows she’s hopelessly stubborn, but that’s because she cares so much. And he knows that she needs someone to have her back no matter what, because she won’t have her own.

Of course, there’s also a personal element here as indicated by the next part of their conversation. 

Also of note, when Daisy is pressing with the questions, wanting to know why he’s always there for her, she’s leaning forward while he sits back. 

Now though, when the question is a bit more personal, she sits back in a very protective stance. I think she’s a little scared of what he’ll say to her question. Because she realizes that she likes him. A lot. And what if he’s just like a generally good guy and this has nothing to do with her?

But of course, it has everything to do with her as indicated by what Sousa says next. “Not for everyone. It helps if they’re fun to be around, and if they say what they mean, and if they have that super power where they can rock things around which is very impressive.”

And Daisy’s immediate response?? SHE SMILES. Like...this is what she needs and what she wants but what she’s been too afraid to go after. And here it is just falling in her lap.

Now that everything is out in the open, they are both leaning towards each other...

Also I love that she says, “That’s awfully specific” and he doesn’t shy away from her. He just agrees with her. They both know what that really means.

And they both like it

Legit here I was chanting KISS KISS KISS but I thought it was a missed moment

I am so happy I was wrong

So the new plan is to misdirect Enoch by having Sousa go in to take the implant out, but really Sousa is leading Enoch into a fight with him, Mack, May, and Elena and like what a squad

But also this was a super plan, and I wonder if Coulson was involved or if this was Daisy/Sousa original

Either option seems likely

“Next time, same thing but faster” 

Daisy is really good at following instructions y’all

Loop #20

Daisy asks for help and Sousa immediately agrees to help and THAT IS WHAT DID IT FOR DAISY JOHNSON FRIENDS

Like...I know she’s feeling under the gun for time because Coulson said same thing but faster

But also, peak romance is someone just wanting to help her no questions asked which, given her history makes complete sense

She needs a constant, someone who will be there for her no matter what

I feel like this started in some ways with Lincoln. He was just so sweet and helpful to her. And granted he had his own demons to deal with, but in the end he was willing to give up everything to save the world and Daisy herself.

But he also showed Daisy that she could expect love and support and she was worthy of that (even if she doubted it later)

So here’s this guy, who’s just smart and kind and good and clearly into her

So, knowing that this could be one of her lasts chance to do this and realizing that at any rate he’ll totally forget about it anyway, she makes a move

And like this kiss?? It’s hot y’all

You can tell Daisy just like lol Imma kiss him, but then they are both caught in this moment and go back for me

But also he definitely led for that second kiss 

“That was nice” like hahahaha amazing undersell Daisy

And then she traces his collarbone like whoa I need to fan myself for a bit

“Now we need to drop a space robot”

I can’t tell what Sousa is more confused by- that statement or the kiss itself

Imagine being Sousa though. You just got woken up by this beautiful woman who asks for you help then kisses you when you say “Sure thing.”

He’s truly living the dream

Oh also we’re 11 km from the vortex now

It turns out Enoch is the answer to all our problems

But also we have to kill him in the process :(

And then poor Simmons has a breakdown over leaving Alya presumably, but also she’s a better mom than me because after 3 years in space with one of my little super geniuses I’d be more than ready for a vacay idk

I love my kids but they are...a lot

And finally, Loop #21

I guess Daisy left Sousa to sleep for this loop

<1 km from the vortex too eek

Enoch immediately understands what is happening :(

I love that Enoch has reached the point where he feels like this entire crew is his family and would sacrifice themselves for him

Enoch didn’t feel lonely until he had friends :((

This whole thing is breaking my heart...not just Enoch in the process of dying, but Coulson actually talking about his deaths and Daisy having to try and process all this

“Yet, this is the nature of families. I have seen it countless times on countless worlds. People arrive so we celebrate, and people leave us, so we grieve. We do what we can with the time in between, but the cycle is always there. No one escapes it. Not even me.”

This really got to me. My family has changed a lot through the years. People have come and gone. Babies have been born. People have died. And nothing I do can change this cycle. Sometimes it makes me happy; sometimes it hurts. But nothing I do can change that process, and that’s not always easy for me to accept.

I think Daisy and Coulson are having a moment here too, where Daisy is telling both Coulson and Enoch that even though they are not human, that doesn’t make them any less alive to the people who love them

RIP Enoch, you were the bestest Chronicom to ever robot

And of course we get one last buzzkill with Nathaniel and Kora

Queen Kora you deserve better

Ok first some timeloop math. We saw 21 loops on screen, but loop #5 was loop #90 for Coulson. So if we figure Daisy died say...every 10-15 ish time loops and it took her 2 or 3 to wake Coulson up, we can probably add an additional 25 time loops or so. So we’re probably looking at around 130 loops roughly.

Of course this begs the question, did Daisy decide to kiss Sousa more than once? It’s possible. I kind of like to think she did. 

First of all, mad props to Joel for nailing that death scene. He was absolutely incredible. And clearly this episode rates 1000000000/10 on the Dousy scale because like...everything. The talk, the kiss, the sacrifice...amazing. I was 95% sure I was getting ending Dousy after this. This episode also gets 50000/10 on the Teamwork! scale because our team did so well and were strongest when they worked together. And of course Enoch gets a 10000000000000000/10 on the Good Chronicom scale because he legit was the bestest Chronicom that could ever not-live.

Since we’re in a timeloop and not in a particular time period, I’m going with the Dousy-est of songs, “peace” by Taylor Swift.

[passionate-reply]

This week on Great Albums: Soft Cell’s 1981 debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret! The first great gay synth-pop album, and the one that walked so that acts like Bronski Beat, Erasure, and the Pet Shop Boys could run. Yeah, “Tainted Love” is cool, but have you ever heard “Sex Dwarf”? Full transcript after the break!

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums! Today’s video tackles Soft Cell’s 1981 debut, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret. While “Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret” is not necessarily a household name, this album did produce one track that I can just about guarantee that you’ve already heard, assuming you have any familiarity with Western popular music.

Music: “Tainted Love”

“Tainted Love” is one of those classics that’s almost too big for its own good, with an enormous shadow in popular culture. Few compositions from the 1980s, from the general arena of synth-pop, or, indeed, in the popular music canon, have quite as much of a legacy. As an introduction to the significance of Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, it’s not an awful start, but it does have a bit of an “obvious single choice” feel--not only for that huge hook, but also for how tame, even quaint, it starts to feel compared to the other stuff here. “Tainted Love” is a gay song, sure, but it’s only expressing that idea in an abstract manner--it is a cover, after all. What the remainder of the album lacks in “DUN DUN,” it makes up for in frankness and remarkably candid handling of sexuality, which still manages to be a bit shocking, even as this album reaches its 40th birthday. Could anyone but Soft Cell’s Marc Almond really have sold us the raw, lurid raunchiness of “Sex Dwarf”?

Music: “Sex Dwarf”

Beyond the outrageously explicit nature of “Sex Dwarf,” its most noteworthy characteristic is just how playfully, cartoonishly devilish it is. I’ve always read it as a work in the grand tradition of the queer community reclaiming the trope of the camp gay villain, seen so often in popular media. In its purest form, this gay villain archetype is the ultimate expression of chaos and disorder--their rejection of social norms of gender and sexuality and their threat to the status quo go hand in hand. While it’s reprehensible to simply equate queerness with evil, there’s a long tradition of reclaiming that same imagery, turning the lavish power of such transgressor figures into a badge of strength, and that’s how I tend to interpret “Sex Dwarf.” That said, for as much as tracks like these seem to almost force a specifically gay reading of the album, it also seems interested in themes of sexuality and sin, more broadly. Take the track “Seedy Films,” for example, a more playful number full of slinky clarinet, teasing rattles, and breathy, almost gasping female backing vocals, seemingly suggestive of a more heterosexual vantage point.

Music: “Seedy Films”

I like to think of each track on Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret as coming to us from the perspective of a different anti-hero, each as unreliable and capricious as the last. Another key track that complicates issues of perspective and identity is the album’s tense opener, “Frustration.” “Frustration” delivers on its title musically, with a stubborn refusal to ever resolve its constant melodic tension at any point during its runtime, making it legitimately fatiguing and stressful to listen to. Its lyrics might be interpreted as a critique of the boredom lurking behind mainstream society’s “ideal” life of suburban safety, and a send-up of the alleged appeal of fitting in and being normal. But we could interpret it equally well, as a song that’s less about being “straight” in the sense of “square,” and more about being heterosexual--perhaps as the lament of a closeted gay man, tormented by an incommunicable internal struggle, despite all the material comforts in the world.

Music: “Frustration”

Either way, “Frustration” can be compared to “Secret Life” on the flip side, which focuses on the idea of a divide between one’s external facade of a respectable and ordinary existence, and the darkness of one’s internal, deviant, carnal desires.

Music: “Secret Life”

Whether their narrators are parsed as gay or straight, their songs are certainly tense tales of repression and release. And they’re also mediated by the idea of being trapped in a tame, and particularly middle-aged existence. The clearest expression of the theme of getting older, and possibly more and more constrained by the need to put on airs of respectability, is, naturally, “Youth”:

Music: “Youth”

The stale, conservative lifestyles of the middle-aged certainly don’t seem like the most natural subject matter for a debut album by a pair of twenty-somethings, but I like to interpret this fixation as a bit of a memento mori. The urgency of enjoying life’s pleasures, now, is checked by the fear of a future in which that window of opportunity is closing. As I said earlier, all of these tracks are narrated by some character or construct, and in that sense, the real identities of Marc Almond and David Ball matter fairly little. In the world of Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, nearly everything feels constructed or artificial--it’s all just an act, as much as “Secret Life”’s narrator puts on a respectable front. The superbly campy “Entertain Me,” which wouldn’t feel out of place in some cult musical, engages most clearly with the idea of performance, bringing in a giggling call-and-response choir and a chaotic clamour of percussion in its desperate attempt to, well, entertain us. Critically positioned at the top of the second side, it’s the perfect place for the album to second-guess itself as a work of art.

Music: “Entertain Me”

That track is certainly more “Rocky Horror Picture Show” than “Architecture & Morality,” isn’t it? While the synth-pop acts penetrating the mainstream before Soft Cell, like Gary Numan and OMD, had a bit of punk’s rough, low-budget, DIY ethos to them, Soft Cell were the first ones really crafting performative, self-aware post-disco synth-pop, that owed more to the swooning divahood of Donna Summer in “I Feel Love” than it did to the starched shirts and robo-rhythms of Kraftwerk. Much like disco, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is truly a production--dense, luxurious, tweaked to perfection in a studio, and featuring several traditional instruments that are uncommon in rock, such as “Frustration”’s saxophone and “Seedy Films”’s clarinet.

The most noticeable thing about the cover of the album is almost certainly its lurid blue and fuchsia lighting, gleaming harshly against Almond and Ball’s leather jackets. It immediately takes us to the sweaty, nocturnal, and of course, homoerotic world this music dwells in. The duo stare us down, with fairly cross or standoffish posturing, suitable for an album as in-your-face as this one. There’s a bit of a narrative hook here, with Almond either producing this mysterious, almost certainly illicit package, or perhaps tucking it away. Almond’s sunglasses are a small detail, but one that I think holds a lot of contextual significance. There’s a long history of erotic art aimed at the gay male audience utilizing devices like hat-brims and shades to create a “disrupted gaze”--a sort of lightly objectifying, or compartmentalizing, manner of sexualizing its subjects. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention Ball’s snakeskin necktie, which is another classically sexy touch. Note also the neon light motif used for the text, which contributes to that nightlife feel as strongly as anything else. With a name like “Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret,” it would’ve been truly sinful to write that out in anything besides this warping neon, and it’s the perfect title to accompany an album that’s as insistent and gleefully tawdry as they come.

Earlier, I had contrasted Soft Cell with other major players in synth-pop who came before them, and I think that context is vital to understanding why this album is so indispensably important. Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is, quite simply, the first great gay synthesiser album. Growing up in America, the rock and roll heartland, it’s hard to escape the understanding that electronic music is inherently gay-coded. But that’s an impression you won’t get from that first generation of artists, who presented as unpretentiously butch, and were more interested in singing about factories, spaceships, and telephone lines than about sex or romance with anybody. The deep relationship between queer culture and the music synthesiser simply wouldn’t have blossomed the way it did without Soft Cell, and the unforgettable worldwide success they achieved with “Tainted Love.” Without that foot in the door, the rise of groups like Bronski Beat, Erasure, and the Pet Shop Boys later in the 80s would’ve been unthinkable. That alone makes Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret a piece of essential listening for anyone seeking to understand the history of electronic music.

While Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret remains Soft Cell’s great masterpiece, and they never reached the same heights of commercial success again, they went on to release two additional studio LPs before disbanding in the mid-1980s. Marc Almond went on to have a fairly successful career as a solo artist, bagging a few additional hit singles in the UK, and David Ball became half of the house duo The Grid. The pair did re-unite in 2002, to produce a rather serviceable LP called Cruelty Without Beauty, which explores many of the same themes of their earlier work, albeit through a lens of Information Age dread.

Music: “Caligula Syndrome”

In 2019, we were told to expect the true final report of Soft Cell, in the form of a grand farewell concert entitled “Say Hello, Wave Good-Bye”--a title pulled from one of the singles off Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret. But, for all of the hype, it looks like that really won’t be the end for them after all, as Soft Cell have announced yet another reunion in 2021, and another new studio album in the works. So we’ll have to see what else these two have in store!

Overall, my favourite track on Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret is the single “Bedsitter.” It’s all about questioning whether the life of hedonistic excess is really worth it in the end. It’s about those moments one spends between benders, binges, and flings, gripped by emptiness and self-doubt. Therefore, the presence of “Bedsitter” adds some nuance, and undercuts a lot of the easy, simple conclusions we’re tempted to make, from a surface-level reading of the album as a free-love bonanza. With languid and melancholy verses clashing with a disconcertingly anthemic refrain, it’s filled with tension from within, and despite its lack of external conflict, it comes across as one of the more unsettling tracks we have to choose from. That’s all for today. Thanks for listening!

Music: “Bedsitter”

[mechanicalinertia]

What’s next for Divine Patronage?

So my Ranma / Ah My Goddess! / other miscellaneous anime that take place in 1990′s Tokyo fanfic has become more popular than anything else I’ve ever written. I may have classes but this is my designated ‘leisure activity’ now for sure.

Anyway, I have a rough idea for this initial ‘arc’, and how it’ll end. Fine. Whatever. More importantly, though, I have continuing ideas about how to cross over more and more mid-90′s anime and other things into this mishmash where Urd and Ranma have to ‘problem-solve’ things. Christ I wrote like 9 possible arc setups last night; it’ll take me years to make good on them if I do at all.

That’s why I’m a-posting brief summaries of them here, so if I give up on these people can just steal em’.

1. CRIMES OF THE MISHIMA GROUP AGAINST GOOD TASTE

Sayoko Mishima and her zaibatsu god-nap Keiichi and in doing so royally piss off Belldandy. Urd has to snatch the poor kid, who is now a minor god, out from Sayoko’s clutches before Belldandy just loses it and nukes earth in silent rage. Ranma can’t beat the compound alone, though, so Urd turns to Akiko Natsume - the actual head of Mishima - and her all purpose combat android for some help. Unfortunately, the android has a cat brain. Cue Ranma struggling to confront his fears to save the world.

Crossover with: All Purpose Cultural Catgirl Nuku Nuku, a medium-obscure OVA from the 90′s starring Megumi Hayashibara as the wacky cat-bot-girl with Saeko Shimazu (Kodachi’s voice among others) as Akiko. Good fun.

2. FATE / STRANGE; DAYS

Remember Lind, the Valkyrie from the Angel Eater Arc of AMG? Well, she back. She intervened in Fate / Zero’s Holy Grail War (assumed to take place around 1994) and contracted w/ Kiritsugu the way Urd did with Ranma. Now Kiri may have lost all his lady companions, but he gets Illya back from Germany and is raising her alongside Shirou with the help of Illya’s wacky maids. Maybe lil’ Rin and Sakura are involved, too, I dunno.

Anyway, Lind considers the Sailor Senshi a threat to the divine order (they do appear to predate human civilization) - especially since Saturn’s Glaive of Silence is believed to be the Norse Gungnir, Spear of Destiny, Odin’s superweapon that could (even in the OG myths) rewrite reality itself to render enemies nonexistent.

So Lind gets Kiritsugu, Arturia Saber, and Prisma Illya to go to Tokyo and track down Sailor Saturn with Ranma’s help. Then they end up teleporting to the distant past of the Silver Milennium, back when the Senshi’s magic rendered the other planets of the Solar System inhabitable. Cue a string of John Carter references.

Crossover with: Fate / Zero, Fate Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya. Might even separate the Fate story from the whole Saturn / Gungnir subplot - they’re just hunting Kirei and Gil, then. Sure. Fine.

3. THE FUTURE IS HERE AND IT SUCKS

Skuld time travels into the future, only to find that almost every single timeline ends with humanity being wiped out before the 22nd century - perhaps by SM’s Great Freeze, perhaps by other factors. Unfortunately, she forgot to close her possible-future-timeline portals properly, which leads to various cyberpunk futures bouncing off one another for supremacy in 1996.

(Look I wanted to just fuckin do BGC or GITS crossover. Couldn’t decide. Why not both?)

Crossover with: BGC 2032 (Or my 2069 rebot), Ghost in the Shell, Silent Mobius (maybe)

4. GAMES OF THE GODS

The obligatory ‘gang plays an RPG’ sitcom episode, only a) it’s Cyberpunk 2020 because I’ve read that system’s books, and b) the goddesses all bring their boytoys along to be sucked into the game world as their player characters. (Urd gets Ranma, Bell gets Keiichi, Skuld is the GM, Peorth gets Ryoga, Lind gets Kiritsugu) (I guess I better do an arc where Peorth patronizes Ryoga to screw with Urd...)

5. GUNS, BOMBS, ROCK N’ ROLL

Ranma gets dragged along by Urd for a vacation, theoretically to LA. But then after getting bored of the Obligatory Beach Episode, Urd rediscovers that she has a daughter in Chicago - Rally Vincent. She and Ranma rush off to screw up the events of the manga and protect her daughter from the brainwashing of a lesbian rapist crime lord. (I wish I was making that last bit up). Maybe Priss of BGC tags along to really hammer in the WACKY KENICHI SONODA CROSSOVER thing?

Crossover with: Gunsmith Cats, Riding Bean, maybe BGC

6. HEISEI BLOSSOMS BLOOMING

The Japanese government decides to reactivate the Teikoku Kagekidan project, this time using idoru as the mecha pilots instead of the Takarazura Revue thing they had going on in the 20′s. The K-on girls audition, the Love Live girls audition, someone in the Ranma cast or something tries out as well. Mecha are now nuclear-powered instead of steam-powered (whatever that means)

Crossover with: Original Sakura Wars franchise, Tite Kubo iteration non-involved. maybe K-on and Love Live

7. RANMA’S LUDICROUS EXCURSION: STAR-DIAMOND DUST IS UNCRUSADERABLE

Ranma gets a stand. Urd thinks it’s like her angel. Yare yare daze.

Crossover with: What do you think, genius?

8. ETERNAL SUMMER

Ranma gets trapped in a temporal anomaly centered around Tomobiki Town. Now it’s August 1982, Ataru and Lum are about to get married, and unless he can stop the total breakdown of the pocket reality within the seven days before the time loop resets he’ll become part of it forever. Trippy New Wave Existentialist Bullshit - Screwball Comedy meets Body Horror. Also see: Higurashi.

Crossover with: Urusei Yatsura

9. TRICOWBOYOUTLAW BEBOPGUNSTAR: EFF YOU, SPACE COWBOY

A valiant attempt to crossover all three of the late 90′s ‘Cowboy shonen’ anime of the time in one universe. A shared universe? Nah. We’re probably just gonna transplant all the characters into 90′s Tokyo again and watch the body count pile up.

Crossover with: Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, Trigun. Oh, and maybe one of those ‘robo-maid’ shows from the aughties (Hand Maid May, Mahoromatic, Steel Angel Kurimi), just to fuck with everyone.

10. COPS AND ROBOTS

Ranma gets in trouble with the police for sneaking onto the Babylon Project, forced into community service, and then ends up blackmailed into the long-running grudgematch between the SV2 Labor Squad and the Tokyo Highway Patrol.

Crossover with: You’re Under Arrest, Patlabor (original OVA mostly)

11. SUPERIOR AUTOMATRONIC DISPUTE RESOLUTION: GO NAGAI EAT YOUR HEART OUT

Skuld gets in a fight with some deities from some rival pantheons, and as a proper grudgematch resolution they all resolve to build Giant Robots and then Battle Royale them. Ranma has to pilot one.

Crossover with: NOTHING.

12. THE HOUND OF ULSTER BARKS AT MIDNIGHT

Cu Chullain, husbando of Ex-Valkyrie and turncoat Irish goddess Scathach, teams up with Ranma in Dublin to stop IRA extremists from resurrecting the Tuatha De Dannan, specifically the Morrigan. A teenage Bazett (from Fate) shows up and gets all fangirly.

13. TALES FROM THE OOPS

An abandoned particle accelerator built in the 80′s near Stockholm may or may not cause Ragnarok. Ranma and some edgy Swedish Teenagers have to deal with 90′s recession bullshit and clean the place out

Crossover with: Tales from the Loop, Things From the Flood

That’s about it, honestly. I have other things I’d like to crossover with, tbh, mostly mecha stuff. Among them:

- Cannon God Exaxxion

- Eva

- Gundam UC

- Muv-Luv

-Negmia / another Ken Akumatsu trashpile (and I mean that in the best possible way)

Shit this is fun. Imma make another one of these posts with even more ludicrious crossovers later. Peace out.

[johnbravoblog]

You could try the subways, but who knows how the train is running? Traffic’s always a mystery, and everyone knows Uber wait times aren’t true. You could almost walk it, if you rush—and jaywalk.

While you’re doing that, here’s what I’ll do: Answer a couple more emails, then hop on my scooter and zip up the street. Those 20 New York City blocks make up about a mile, and since the Boosted Rev I’ve been riding goes up to 24 miles an hour, I figure I can get there in less than 5 minutes—and still have time for a quick Starbucks stop. While you’re apologizing for your tardiness and explaining the latest subway silliness, I’ll be sipping a latte.

Scooters like the one I’ve been riding, or like the Bird and Lime models that litter city streets the world over, are the latest answer to what is commonly known as “the last-mile problem.” It is often discussed with shipping, but it also applies to how you get around.

You can take a train or bus to roughly the right place, but the last step of your journey��from the train to your house, or from the bus station to your office—is a mess. Even companies like Lyft and Uber, which made their money by getting you into a car, have acquired bike-share startups and rolled out tools to help you find a better last-mile alternative.

The kind of use cases we are seeing for this pod is that people can use it for enclosed campuses. This is still a concept model. But eventually, you will see it in shopping malls, you will see it in the airport. Basically, applying to Segway's vision, we want to simplify the moving of objects and people. It gives people a very comfortable experience riding around from A to B.

Here behind us, we're talking about a couple of different things, too. Tell us what's here.

 You are seeing a Ninebot e-scooter. We have five different models that are basically fully electric, and it has a smart air lock system where people don't need to use a key--it's keyless. When you sit on there, it's basically unlocked, ready for you to go. Depending on the ranges, it has five different models; the biggest one you can go up to 70, 80 miles range in total on one single charge. And you also have a very big compartment, and that is very suitable for city commuting.

This is more suitable for mid-term to long-term kind of range transportation. Essentially, it can seat two people, and it also has a moped, so you can ride it as a moped, a bicycle, and you also can ride it like a scooter we write a lot about smart cities and what's to come and what things will look like down the road for all of us as we move within our cities. Talk about how this fits into smart cities.

 At Segway, right now we are really focusing ourselves as the leader in short-distance transportation. But, for the future of smart cities, we are really seeing it can go with multiple different types of vehicles beyond just kick scooters. For example, the S-Pod is a good example of how we want to showcase how people can potentially, in the future, travel through this kind of pod. And the top speed for the Segway S-Pod is up to 24 miles per hour, and so it's pretty fast. And also for the fully electric eco-friendly e-scooters to fit different consumers' needs so they can travel in the city's environment; regardless of the size (small or big), they will be able to fit their needs other than kick scooters.

This year we are also launching two brand new kick scooters. One of them is the Segway it is the most compact and lightweight kick scooter that we have ever launched. The other one is a Segway Kick Scooter T60. It is a three-wheeled kick scooter that has a reverse trike chassis, a kind of a setup where you can just go on there, and it is ready to go. And it has, we called it a robo-scooter. 

With the sharing model, it has the features for the operators to use the cloud management systems to dispatch, and control the logistics of the overall dispatching for the operators.

We talk a lot about cloud on and ZDNet. So there's a lot of cloud involvement with what's to come, too, for Segway. Absolutely. I think we as a company really tried to work with our partners to fit their needs regardless of the business size, being small business owners or bigger business owners. We want to provide solutions that can really help the future of the smart cities to become greener, to become cleaner, and also become more time-efficient.

Published by:

Seo firm in Birmingham

[nomadicism]

Any tips or things to keep in mind while writing a original mecha story? What about for original mecha stories aimed at a female audience? (Like ones that are more character focused, but have some Real Robot elements like TLGG, Gunbuster, Eva or Macross)

Hi Anon! Thank you for the Ask!

I’m more of an analytical and academic writer, but hopefully I can be of help anyway.

General Tips

1. If you haven’t already, ask yourself these questions:

What kind of mecha story? For myself (and I think this is true of a lot of mecha fans), “mecha is a genre”—but—it’s not a genre that happens in a vacuum. Both Real Robot and Super Robot can take place in hard science fiction settings as well as fantasy settings with magic.

What kind of writing? Short story, long form novel, novel series (light and long form), poetry, experimental formats, sequential illustration formats (e.g. comics, manga), plays, television/film/animation, etc.

Have you read a mecha story that was not in sequential illustration format?

And now I really want to read/listen to a mecha story in Middle English with iambic pentameter. It could have a name like: “Overwalken Searshaft: Caunterbury Legendes.”

(yes English nerds, that title is some sloppy Anglish smooshed with Middle English but you get the idea)

2. Most people are introduced to mecha via anime, manga, or film; and so are likely to not have read mecha stories in a non-visual format. When a show is scripted, there is a lot of writing that goes into describing scenes that we don’t think about because we’re seeing/hearing the visual and audial representation of that writing.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a single frame worth? Without any context, what do you think is happening in the gif above? How would you describe this less than 3 seconds of action if you were writing it?

I recommend that you read a few novels or short stories that involve mecha or giant robots of one kind or another. They might not be the type of story you’re planning on writing, but they should help with deciding on how much detail you want to go into when writing scenes with mecha (action or otherwise).

Here’s a few to try:

The Pacific Rim film novelization by Alexander Irvine.

The Del-Ray Robotech novels by Jack McKinney. Skip the ones that are about events in the Robotech cartoon—they are all good—but I recommend reading the ones that are fully original, (books #13-17).

“The Relic” by Jonathan Green is a short story within the “Legends of the Space Marines” series from Warhammer 40K. In Warhammer 40k, a “Space Marine Dreadnought” is a powerful Real Robot mecha. One doesn’t need to know the entire mythos of Warhammer 40k to understand the story.

“Mobile Suit Gundam: Awakening, Escalation, Confrontation” by Yoshiyuki Tomino. This book is the English translation and compilation of the three light novels that Tomino wrote. It covers the MS Gundam 0079 story, but with added detail (more about New Types, politics of the Zabi family, etc), and is much darker than the anime.

All of the above are Real Robot mecha under different levels of “science-fiction hardness" and settings. I cannot think of any novels or short stories that are about Super Robots, but they probably exist.

Two Specific Things

1. World-building will need lore and rules for the mecha. Even hand-wavey science-fiction or fantasy-with-magic settings have rules about who can pilot a mecha, how it’s done, what materials the mecha is constructed from, its power source, how it moves, how the pilot(s) perceive the world around them while piloting the mecha, its weapon and defense capabilities, etc. The harder the science-fiction, the more constraints are imposed, and will likely require real world research to help describe it.

For example: Gravity is a Thing. Some Super Robots can fly in such a way that they can easily leave Earth’s atmosphere at or above escape velocity and do battle in multiple types of different gravity environments (e.g. Godmars vs Getter Robo). It’s hand-waved and not really thought about. This happens in Real Robot too, but there are many Real Robot stories that use gravity limitations, while hand-waving other things (not all giant robots can fly).

As shown above—in Gundam 00—the Gundams can do battle in space and LOE (zero gravity and Low Earth Orbit), and also in mid-air (atmosphere) and on the ground. That’s the hand-wavy part, because if we think through the physics of this, a machine optimized for aerial combat at Earth gravity (1G) is probably not going to be optimized for combat in LOE, in space, or in gravity conditions that are less than Earth’s (e.g. the Moon, Mars, etc). The Gundams can fight in all these conditions, but one of their constraints is that they cannot accelerate to escape velocity or shield themselves from high temperature friction during re-entry (atmospheric re-entry is a constraint used throughout the franchise). In Gundam 00, the Gundams have to be transported between surface to space via the space elevators.

Above: One of the things that is a “game changer” for these Gundams within that setting, is that Dynames can use the Super Substratospheric Altitude Gun, capable of hitting an orbital target from a stationery position on Earth’s surface. Use of this weapon comes with additional constraints (power, connection to a network for calculations, etc).

Super Robots can also have constraints. Both the Evas in Evangelion, and the combined form of Dairugger/Vehicle Voltron have a timed operational power limit. Evangelion has a lot of Real Robot elements, so as far as Super Robots go, they’re not very powerful. The more powerful the Super Robot, the harder it is to define a constraint. This is typically where a story hits the “His power level is over 9000!” problem, or “unleashing the full power will destroy the robot, or kill the pilot.”

Which brings us to Specific Thing #2: Why mecha? What problems do the mecha solve for the protagonist? Especially if a story with a lot of character focus is what you’re going for. How much focus do you want to put on the mecha? The answers to those questions are going to help with the lore and rules for the mecha.

Aiming for a Female Audience

I’m probably the worst female-ish person to advise on this because I rarely identify with female characters, especially as a tomboy in the 80s (of course, most of them weren’t written very well to begin with back then). I identify as gender fluid, but the gender binary that I grew up with still shapes my life. My tastes in fiction are all over the place and are probably not representative of a “female audience.”

But I do know that there were a lot of women who liked Gundam from the start. (ʘ‿ʘ✿)

Above: Amuro and Char fight with fencing foils in mid-air.

Any audience can be widely diverse, and not everyone within a demographic (broad or narrow) is going to agree on what they want to see, but it’s safe to assume that a sizable part of a female audience that would be interested in a mecha story is probably going to be Done™ with something that is commonly found in either mecha stories or mainstream science-fiction and fantasy. As to what that specifically is, that can differ quite a bit.

For me, I’m Done™ with “Tits And Camel Toe Out For Mecha” in stories with teen characters that are really just ecchi content with a veneer of a serious story slapped on top with a Gainax Ending.

I’m saying that as someone who loves Go Nagai and Satoshi “Plastic Nipple” Urushihara, and thinks that the Heavy Metal movie (gif above) is a work of art, which probably makes me a hypocrite, but hey, I have standards for my T&A.

I recommend looking at stories that are known to be popular with women, and then look at stories that are known to be popular to specific demographics of women (intersectional identities). They may not be mecha stories, but if they are in the current zeitgeist, then there is something about the narrative, characters, format, etc that might be common between these stories and quantifiable in a way that can help you aim for a female audience. It might be hard to find out what these are beyond a broad female audience, so research will be necessary.

There are much better sources for advice on this than me, so if audience appeal is something that you want to dive into, then you’ve got your work cut out for you.

Character Focused (a grain of salt)

In my biased and totally not expert opinion: the smaller the main cast, the easier it is to have a character focused story (unless you meant “character driven plot”?), and the mecha itself usually gets a lot of attention as that’s more or less the point of the genre.

However, a larger main cast provides more varied opportunities for focusing on character interactions, and more material for plot hooks to support multiple plots that can be structured/threaded in a variety of ways. TV Tropes (not my favorite source, but it’s good enough for this) has a rabbit hole of entries about different types of concurrent plots: Soap Wheel; A-B-C-Plot; Two Lines, No Waiting; Four Lines, All Waiting; etc. These entries are useful for getting outside of one’s head and considering options for how-and-when to introduce and wrap up plots. If character focus is what you want to prioritize, then start with “Soap Wheel,” as soap opera plots are all about character focus and they are a good example of staggering plots in a way that keeps the story going for 20 years or more.

Above: Wolfgang Mittermeyer and Oskar von Reuenthal from Legend of the Galactic Heroes enjoy a drink while scheming. LotGH makes the most of its hundreds of characters with scenes like this. It’s character focus of a different kind. Like Gundam, LotGH has a lot of female fans, but it’s not a show that one would immediately think of that would appeal to a female audience.

Returning to this thing about “character-driven plots”, that’s a concept that I’ve found to be generalized and abstracted to the point where it doesn’t mean anything anymore. A plot-driven story can have a lot of character focus, and most mecha stories are inherently plot-driven (b/c genre), as the mecha is the vehicle for the protagonist to get from Event A to Event B. Mystery and romance genres are an example of plot-driven stories, and in both (but especially romance), there can be a lot of character focus to the point where B and C plots could be “character-driven” if they are about the specific character’s internal change, conflict, growth, some essential part of themselves that demands action, etc.

A mecha story can be structured with a plot-driven long-running A Plot which requires the mecha (so not monster of the week as those are episodic and not long-running), and certain main characters are focused on in such a way that their own internal struggles, conflict, and growth drive B and C plots. It’s up to you if those plots are concurrent, cyclical, or rotate in-and-out of focus.

For example: Aoki Ryūsei SPT Layzner (shown in the gif above) is a Real Robot anime has two sequential long-running A Plots that are plot-driven and focused on the mecha and its pilot (the protagonist). The first A Plot drives the first half of the series, and the second A Plot drives the second half of the series (which was sadly cut short so technically it wasn’t the full second half). There is a time-skip between the A Plots. The protagonist, Eiji, has an internal struggle that is threaded throughout, the focus on him creates the “character-driven” B Plot (who he is, the mystery behind the strange things that happen to him as he pilots the prototype, his conflicting loyalties between both halves of his heritage, how he reconciles his extreme pacifism with being forced to fight and possibly kill, etc). The small main/supporting cast is used effectively as each supporting character interacts with Eiji in such a way that they are integrated into the B Plot for his growth and resolving his internal conflict. The other main/supporting characters have their own struggles and character growth as well, but not quite enough to constitute a “character-driven” plot. The story’s minor C Plot is external and puts pressure upon the A Plot.

For what it’s worth: A truly “character-driven” plot—or story that is fully character focused—is going to yield a story like Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphosis,” which would be interesting to explore within the mecha genre, but I have a feeling that you’re probably not interested in that much internalized character struggle.

Finally Anon, thanks to your Ask, I’ll have to add “Write a Canterbury Tales parody mecha story in Middle English” to my bucket list. I don’t know why my brain went there but it did. Please enjoy one of the best videos I ever found on YouTube:

(yes English nerds, the guy in the opening says “Old English” when it’s not OE, it’s ME)

[stevecanmakeanythingnerdy]

Battle #13

Survivor : Premonition (Side 1)

Vs.

The Cars: Panorama (Side One)

Survivor : Premonition (Side 1)

Survivor is an American rock band formed in Chicago in 1978 by guitarist/songwriter Jim Peterik. The band achieved its greatest success in the 1980s, producing many charting singles, especially in the United States. The band is best known for its double platinum-certified 1982 hit "Eye of the Tiger", the theme song for the motion picture Rocky III. The band seemingly reached success overnight with that single, and simultaneously reached their peak. Since then the band has been plagued with revolving members. Original members quit and rejoin more frequently than even the local Walmart’s turnover. I had the good fortune of seeing Survivor in the middle 90’s during one of their shift changes. It was my first bar show, as I had just turned 21. I guess that proves I have always been an old soul. Never trying to sneak in to bars and seeing a band “past their prime”. Anyhow, I thought it was a pretty good show. Of course we just wanted to hear them sing THE song...I don’t even think I ordered a drink. Literally my friend and I just wanted to hear them sing “eye of the tiger”. Anyhow, I digress. This 1981’s Premonition, so the album right before the big breakthrough. It had some encouraging success as Sylvester Stallone got ahold of it and asked the band personally to write a song for his movie, so the rest is history. “Chevy Nights” starts it off. Hmm, a CAR song to kick it off, eh Survivor?? (#iseewhatyoudidthere). It’s a good mid-tempo radio rocker. I have to admit this is kind of an underrated 80’s band. They have the muscle and the music. “Summer Nights” follows sharply. They seem to be fond of the hours between dusk and dawn. We find ourselves smack in the middle of a ballad. A bold move to so quickly invoke the power ballad. I feel like this tune may have been radio fodder. This album gave the band its first Top 40 single, "Poor Man's Son". This is the very tune Sly Stallone cited specifically as his decision to call out to Survivor. It is another very decent rocker and certainly we get a clear understanding of Dave Bickler’s amazing pipe range! The man can sing! Really, pretty decent solo efforts on everyone’s part. I can totally see what Stallone must have seen too. The mid tempo love ballad resurfaces for the finale in “Runway Lights”. So, the band is very well crafted at their carved niche, but overall I must admit, there is not a lot of diversity in this Survivor portfolio. They need more polarization in their progressions. Great harmonies and catchiness is present, but it just ends up sounding like a lost Journey record. I suppose that’s not entirely terrible considering the era we are talking about. For real, this is Perry level shit! Right in line with The Styx, too. Very 80’s stadium rock, but very short for a production of that stature.

The Cars: Panorama (Side One)

The Cars were an American rock band that emerged from the new wave scene in the late 1970s. The band originates in Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1976. The primary lineup throughout their career is singer, rhythm guitarist, and songwriter Ric Ocasek; singer, songwriter and bassist Benjamin Orr; lead guitarist Elliot Easton; keyboardist Greg Hawkes; and drummer David Robinson (not the San Antonio Spurs superstar) (#seewhatididthere ). That makes them somewhat unique as they had no lineup changes, up To and including their reunion in 2011 - only missing Orr who had died in 2000 from pancreatic cancer. The Cars were at the forefront in merging 1970s guitar-oriented rock with the new synthesizer-oriented pop that was then becoming popular and which flourished in the early 1980s. They combine elements of power-Pop with punk and even some rockabilly, all with a beautiful keyboard heavy soundtrack thanks to the innovative Greg Hawkes. They were inductees into the Rock and Roll hall of fame in 2018. Following the success of Candy-O, the band's third studio album, Panorama, was released in 1980. The album, considered more experimental than its predecessors, featured only one Top 40 hit with "Touch and Go". Although the album peaked at No. 5 in America, it did not receive the critical praise of The Cars and Candy-O. This album is hardly considered by most fans, but it really does hold its own. “Panorama” starts it all. Hawkes keys take hold immediately and prove he is one of the greatest. He totally understands the hook. The Sfx king! It has an almost creepy and primitive vibe. Robo vox add a nice touch. It’s very loooong though, it just keeps going around and around...like a Panorama (#iseewhattheydidthere). The big hit “Touch and Go” is next. As previously mentioned it’s the only song to chart in the top 40 off the album, so by comparison to the rest of their catalog, this album performed poorly. I think differently though. To me, this is a big hit for them, a very recognizable Cars song, and one most individuals know...and it’s not even in their top 10 biggest hits. Does that make sense? Even their “b sides” as it were are amazing! It all centers around another cool, but creep-a-leepy riff. Did they record this album near Halloween?! I also appreciate it’s off time signature. Keeps it different and from stagnation, one of the many skills this band had a natural knack for. “Gimmie Some Slack” is a deep cut through and through, but you won’t care. It’s still a keeper and more on the rock level. No creepy riffs on this one, as I am sure you were wondering. “Don’t Tell Me No” does, however, come back strong with the creeps. This time in the form of a creeper tinged theme. Hawkes again takes lead with the key brilliance. A decent near hit with the tempo slowed to maximize the rock. Let it simmer in successful stereotypes. Like all good things, the album must end though. “Getting Through” sees the experimental ambiance continue. I think they were going for a new wave Country genre. Whaaaaaat?!!?! No, really! It has some twang! Still good though, better than I make it sound. It may be the shortest tune on here, or it could just feel that way due to Robinson and his double time drums. Yes, The Cars really know how to do it correctly. They are one of about 12 bands that I frequently fantasize about being in. Orr and Ocasek make such an amazing songwriter team, it’s almost criminal. Weirdly, their voices sound somewhat interchangeable too. Sometimes adding to confusion on who sang what song. For years I thought it was Ric that sang on my favorite Cars tune, “Bye, Bye Love”

So today it was Survivor with their premonitions and support of Rambo and Rocky, versus the automotive awesomeness of The Cars and their panoramic album of amazingness. Survivor played 4 songs over 15 minutes and burned 102 calories along the way. That is 25.50 calories burned per song and 6.80 calories burned per minute. Survivor earned 8 out of 12 possible stars. The Cars took 21 minutes to burn 159 calories over 5 songs. They burned 31.80 calories per song and 7.57 calories per minute. They also earned 11 out of 15 possible stars. Looks like TheCars managed to burn more than fuel today! They burned more calories per minute and win today’s battle!

The Cars: “Don’t Tell Me No”

https://youtu.be/2fz-siSu-gg

#Randomrecordworkoutseasonsix

#Randomrecordworkout

[blessuswithblogs]

On the anti-imperialist roots of the Super Robot genre

Tadao Nagahama is probably not a name you're familiar with. I won't reproach you for it, it's been a while, I had to look it up myself to help me remember. However, Nagahama is an extremely important person for my current subject of discussion: the anti-imperialist, anti-war roots of the Super Robot genre. Shinzo Abe, the current prime minister of Japan, probably most widely known in the west for wearing a Mario hat to promote the next olympic games, has been in his own quiet (and not so quiet) way contributing to the rise of hard right nationalism, historical revisionism, fascism, and a whole bunch of other nasty isms that have found traction in today's sociopolitical climate. Recently, I saw in passing a tweet about how the ever-popular, ever-mystifying Kancolle had an episode where Japan ended up winning the battle of Midway. Propaganda in media is nothing new, but that was quite egregious, even by my desensitized standards. It got me thinking a little bit about my own niche anime interests and how the common perception of the mecha genre is probably one either of random Gurren Lagann bullshit or simplistic, thinly veiled pro-Japan ideology packaged in a kid friendly, larger than life veneer. In a lot of ways, early Super Robots shared more in common with classical American Super Heroes than actual Japanese Super Heroes like Kamen Rider, which evolved into their own tokusatsu genre quite distinct from either paradigm.

I cannot rightly dispute these preconceptions as wrong, but I do want to at least bring up that some early, influential franchises rejected this narrative. One of the first of these, of course, is Mobile Suit Gundam. While now we have the distinction between Super Robot (robots that are like larger than life super heroes) and Real Robot (robots that are presented in a realistic context as weapons of war using standardized technology employed by military and paramilitary forces to project force) for tedious nerds to bicker over indefinitely, in the days of the original Gundam, that distinction did not exist. Indeed, to play for ratings, Yoshiyuki Tomino, famed creator of the Gundam franchise, had to make many concessions to his sponsors and make Amuro Ray's Gundam more like its more popular contemporaries, with goofy mid-season combination upgrades and some extremely anachronistic weaponry like a beam trident and a huge, MS sized ball and chain. On the back of his later success, Zeta Gundam and the seemingly never ending number of side-stories like War in the Pocket and Stardust Memory, Tomino would actually go on to revise the original series in a definitive movie compilation that cut out a great deal of filler and blatantly unrealistic (or at least immersion breaking) elements. This version is extremely good by the way. Give it a watch if you're interested in the genre's history or if you just like old sci-fi.

The reason I bring this up is sort of my roundabout way of arguing that while the Gundam of today is made of entirely different stock than Super Robots, the original article deserves a space in this discussion. The discussion being, of course, the distinctly anti-nationalist bent of a lot of early Super Robot shows. In all of its many incarnations, good, bad, and inbetween, Gundam is a story about war really sucking and how tragic it is that we fail to understand one another because it's easier to just kill one another instead. Now, of course, a lot of fans are either too thick to understand this subtext (and text-text) or simply willfully disregard it because they like cool robots that shoot lasers. Basically think of Dan Ryckert's relationship with Metal Gear. While certainly not all Gundam series have been good, they have always been faithful to these ideas, which is laudable. In broad strokes, anyway. SEED Destiny was pretty weird in spots.

Mobile Suit Gundam 079, which chronicled the One Year War, was not at all shy about this. The One Year War began as a movement for Spacenoid (a slightly ridiculous term for a person living in a space colony or on the moon) independence from the hopelessly corrupt Earth Federation. Naturally, the Federation did not take kindly to this and moved to suppress the movement, but found itself overmatched by the Principality of Zeon's advanced Mobile Suit weapons. To keep an even footing in the war, the Federation resorted to using nuclear weapons and other atrocities on largely civillian colonies to buy time as they developed their own brand of Mobile Suit. In retaliation, Zeon counterattacked with an even more devastating new weapon: dropping space colonies on earth. All told, the One Year War was not a good time to be alive, and nearly half of the Earth Sphere's total population died in one way or another. While all this was happening, the original founder of the independence movement died under suspect circumstances and power was seized by the Zabi family, who were Really Bad News. The Federation, meanwhile, turned to conscripting child soldiers in a desperate bid to keep pace.

This all culminated in the creation of the Gundam by Tem Ray, Amuro's emotionally absent father. Due to Circumstances, Amuro finds himself in the cockpit and becomes the most important soldier in the war overnight because the Gundam is several orders of magnitude more powerful than anything Zeon can field. The character of Amuro is explored most fully in Char's Counterattack, when he is a fucked up adult instead of a fucked up kid, but from the outset, Amuro is defined by forces completely out of his control and his fatalistic acceptance of his own lack of agency. Despite his nigh legendary piloting skills, Newtype powers of precognition and telepathy, and status as hero of the One Year War, Amuro might actually be the most passive motherfucker in the god damned galaxy. This puts him immediately at odds not only militarily but interpersonally with the dreadfully overambitious if mostly well-intentioned Char Aznable, his lifelong rival. Their entire history of conflict is based entirely upon the simple irony that they both want the same thing but, despite being Newtypes, lack the ability to understand this. The One Year War's violence and brutality defined them and their relationship to another, because of a petty twist of fate that put Amuro in the Gundam's pilot seat instead of some other sap.

Gundam uses many more overt methods of conveying that the One Year War is not glamorous or cool or just. Characters die regularly on both sides of the conflict, oftentimes for no real reason other than "this is war, sucker." Tomino developed quite a reputation for this style of storytelling, earning the moniker Kill-'em-all Tomino, especially in some of his non-Gundam works like Aura Battler Dunbine and Space Runaway Ideon. The entire continent of Australia got rendered uninhabitable by colony drops. The White Base, the federation battleship housing the Gundam, is crewed and staffed almost entirely by people who have yet to reach 20 years of age and they've got a pack of prepubescent toddlers running around on the ship because they've got nowhere else to go. I personally find the interpersonal conflicts acting as microcosm for ideology and war to be the most interesting, and most intrinsically Gundam thing about the franchise, but you don't have to go looking between the lines to find evidence of the show's ardent anti-war, anti-nationalist proclivities. The intensely nationalistic Zeon is surreptitiously usurped by a power-mad dictator without anyone even catching on after Ghiren Zabi uses a giant ass space laser to kill both his father and an influential Earth Federation general while they're trying to broker a peace deal. The death of that general, in turn, allows the worst elements of the Federation government to run amok and eventually create the deeply fascist Titans in Zeta Gundam, who make it a point of policy to oppress spacenoids as brutally as possible.

So Gundam, at least, has profound roots in the denunciation of military power as a metric of moral superiority. That's not really news to most people. Oddly enough, it's the most obsessive of fans that tend to miss the memo because they're presumably too busy making sure Mobile Suit measurements are exactly as documented and all character motivations are completely rational and logical, like them. Let's dig a little deeper for some more surprising examples of this kind of ideology in unlikely places. It should be noted, of course, that I am not heralding Gundam as some sort of bastion of progressive thought. Tomino's sexual politics are located roughly in the Stone Age until about 2000's Turn A Gundam, where they progress to about on par with inudstrial revolution social mores. Progress, I suppose. This is a problem with a distressing amount of media, especially in the 70s and 80s, but I'm trying to look at the bright side of things. At least it's not Cross Ange, right?

Moving on, when we look at the genesis of Super Robots as a genre of animation, we will invariably look to Go Nagai. Though a number of shows about large robot men fighting evil like Tetsujin 28 and the live action Giant Robo came first, the seminal Mazinger Z had the popularity and iconic staying power to define everything that came after. Though I could write a great deal about Go Nagai and his Dynamic Robots, they don't really pertain to my particular topic of discussion today because Go Nagai was about as progressive as a sack of bricks. His work was largely apolitical, at least in the sense that he did not intentionally make his stories about contemporary political issues, so at very least Kouji Kabuto never waxed nostalgic about the time Japan was allied with Nazi Germany. In fact, one of the show's major villains, Count Brocken, is a reanimated SS officer cyborg who carries his head around with him because of a decapitation in a previous life. Generally speaking, not a good or sympathetic guy, despite his protests to the contrary. Go Nagai focused on themes of brotherhood and being outcast by society for just being too damn hotblooded and having sideburns that were just too damn thick, though these mostly manifested in his manga. The TV adaptations of Mazinger, Getter Robo, and Grendizer were largely sanitized and inoffensive.

I mentioned Tadao Nagahama at the beginning of my piece, and it is now with him we come to a very important point in the genre's history. Nagahama was the director of three particular Super Robot shows: Combattler V, Voltes V (here the V is treated as the roman numeral, so it's really Voltes 5), and Toushou Daimos (roughly, Brave Leader Daimos). Colloquially, these three are known as the Nagahama Romantic Trilogy, and they are denoted not only by the iconic designs of the robots themselves, towering, blocky things made out of many constituent parts in a fairly sensical way (as opposed to the famously Unpossible Getter Robo), but also by the injection of genuine interpersonal and ideological drama into the proceedings. They were also super popular in other areas of the world, much like Go Nagai's Dynamic Robots. Voltes V in particular was popular in Southeast Asia. Combattler V was instrumental in cementing the notion of The Honorable Rival in the genre, a character aligned with evil that still conducted themselves with decorum. While you would find few such characters in the ranks of Dr. Hell's armies or King Vega's invasion force, in the Romantic Trilogy, they were critical to the show's success. Combattler V was not especially revolutionary, but it laid the groundwork for Voltes V, which in many ways was.

Voltes V is the tale of the Boazan Empire, an interstellar civilization with an expansionist streak and a highly stratified caste system. Unlike previous villainous organizations, the Boazans are noteworthy for being three dimensional and not painted in shades of black and white. The Boazans invade earth for the purposes of annexing it to their growing empire, with the crown prince Hainel leading the charge. Their battle beasts are too much for earth's military (and the militaries of many other planets), but the super electromagnetic robot Voltes V, piloted by a team of five headed by Kenichi, appears to beat them back. Things become interesting when we learn about Kenichi and his two brother's lineage. Their father, the brilliant scientist behind Voltes V's construction, is actually a Boazan expatriate. Not just any expatriate, but former royalty, no less. Boazan's strict caste system is based solely upon whether or not a citizen has horns. If they do, they're nobility. If they don't, well, uh, sucks to be them. Such a system, already untenable, is exacerbated by the fact that the vast majority of Boazans don't have horns. It's a rare genetic mutation. The whole Boazan war machine is powered by a gigantic underclass of slaves-in-everything-but-name. Kenichi's father believed that this was morally reprehensible and that reform was necessary. Unfortunately, this was not a popular opinion among the nobility, and he was disgraced, de-horned, and ousted for his ties to rebellion movements.

Complicating matters even further, he had a son while on Boazan, the aforementioned Prince Hainel. After relocating to Earth to escape persecution and devise some way of bringing change to the empire, Kenichi's father settled down and had a family. Now bereft of horn, he was largely indistinguishable from the average earthling. Parallel evolution is a concept emrbaced heartily by old sci-fi in both Western and Japanese media, probably because people thought alien babes were hot. Fair, honestly. At any rate, Kenichi engages in mortal combat with his half-brother's forces on a regular basis, which creates interpersonal tension mostly lacking in earlier shows. Sometimes Duke Freed got snippy at Kouji for being all love and peace at the Vegans but that was usually resolved at the end of the episode. Hainel himself gradually changes, too, starting out as arrogant, dismissive, and openly ashamed of his connection to a disgraced expatriate and his sons but gaining more depth as time goes on. The end of the show takes place on Boazan itself, with Voltes V spearheading a hornless revolution while Hainel turns on the emperor, vengeful and disgusted by his cowardice. Or maybe it was a movie. Look it's been a long time and I'm going from memory give me a break.

For a kid's TV show at the time, this was honestly pretty wild. Voltes V was not shy about displaying its moral core: people are not defined by the circumstances of their birth, and systems of government based upon the oppression of an underclass deserve only to be destroyed. Voltes V is not as morally complex as Gundam, but it is leaps and bounds ahead of many of its Super Robot contemporaries. Nagahama believed in a sort of fusion of genuine human drama and moral complexity with the more simplistic, bombastic style of storytelling common to his predecessors, and it resonated with viewers all over the globe. At the time of airing, a number of Southeast Asian countries were under the thumb of repressive dictatorships, and the final episodes had to be heavily censored and edited so as not to promote seditious ideas. That, more than anything to me, is the mark of something that is genuinely anti-nationalist in nature. Who would know better than fascist dictators themselves?

The final entry in the Romantic Trilogy, Toushou Daimos, continued the trend of creating morally and politically complex circumstances in which the karate robot made of transforming trucks must punch bad guys. The aliens of the day are the Barmians. The Barmians, however, buck convention and come to earth in genuine peace. Their story is a tragic one - their planet was destroyed in a catastrophe, and the survivors were evacuated on the aptly named mobile space city Small Barm. Due to severe space and resource constraints, a billion Barmians have to remain in cryogenic sleep while a skeleton crew of nobles and military officials keep Small Barm afloat as they search for a place to live. Naturally, they find earth to be a charming place as any to settle down (as it must have seemed in the early 80s before the environment started collapsing) and initiate negotiations with the governments of earth to try and accommodate their people. Expert martial artist and principle protagonist Ryuzaki Kazuya is the son of a brilliant scientist who created the robot Daimos and the special Daimolight energy that makes it so scary strong. Said scientist is part of the diplomatic delegation sent from earth to Small Barm (in some universes alongside the illustrious Rilina Peacecraft, but that is a story for another time entirely) and is a major proponent of the Barmian's request for peaceful integration into earthling society.

Regrettably, this all goes awry when the Barmian hardliner military faction assassinates the King of Barm during the meeting with poison and blames the earthling delegation on it, engineering their own perfect casus beli for a war of domination against Earth. Fascists are remarkably bad at sharing and getting along with others, as has been demonstrated. Prince Richter, the honorable if somewhat dim and hot tempered son of the King wasn't too hot on the assimilation idea because of his prideful belief that the superiority of Barm's culture and technology should allow them to dictate more favorable terms, but was ultimately loyal to his father above all else and acquiesced to the idea. When his father is assassinated, of course, he flies into a rage and declares earth to be the enemy of Barm and kills Kazuya's father. So there's a lot of bad blood between the two of them. Kazuya and Daimos stand up against Barm's battle beasts and prevents the invasion from progressing. He eventually meets and falls in love with princess Erika, Richter's sister. Where Richter is brash and hasty, Erika is intelligent and patient, and much more compassionate. These qualities allow her to see that the circumstances of the King's death, and any motivation the Earthling's might have had to assassinate him, were extremely suspect. They part ways, but Erika eventually joins a resistance faction on Small Barm against the military hardliners who had assumed power. Richter continues to dance to their tune, too consumed by misplaced anger and vengeance to see what is really going on. Erika's relationship with Kazuya only makes him more unreasonably mad.

Of course, Earth has its own hardliners, and in his battles, Kazuya not only has to contend with Barm's battle beasts, but General Miwa, an odious Earth-supremacist convinced that all Barmians, regardless of their disposition, must be eliminated immediately and without mercy. If we want to talk about more alternate universe scenarios, for reference, Miwa was a fucked up enough dude to cast his lot in with the Blue Cosmos organization after his Barmian extermination ambitions never panned out. He really fucking sucks. Ultimately, Kazuya and Erika manage to uncover the plot to assassinate the King, defeat the military holdouts, and bring the peace their fathers wanted about. Where Voltes V presented a scenario of a civilization run by ultra-nationalists needing to be restructured from the ground up, Daimos offers the inverse: a peaceful, tolerant civilization in a time of crisis gets hijacked by a few selfish, warmongering fascists and nearly destroys itself. Coming to understand and love one another, even when from different planets entirely, is an even bigger theme in Daimos than Voltes V, and is in many ways a more personal story. A romance, if you will, for a romantic trilogy.

Nagahama's Romantic Robots were well loved around the globe and left a lasting impact on their genre, encouraging those who came after to experiment with more complex themes and characters, even in the larger than life universe of Super Robots. While not all (or even very many) of these successors live up to this high minded ideal, it's an important part of the history of Japanese animation, proving that drama and politics were not just for Gundam or more "serious" shows. We can see the legacy of Nagahama in a number of more contemporary titles. Evangelion is so much more about interpersonal conflict than actual robots that the final episode of the TV series didn't even have any fighting in it (albeit mostly due to budget constraints). People hated it, of course, and Hideki Anno went on to make End of Evangelion to either appease or piss off further the angry fans, but it happened nonetheless. Gun X Sword represents an evolution of the genre into that of a pseudo-western, where heroes and villains are separated by the thinnest of ideological margins despite the fantastical robots and setting. Gurren Lagann briefly flirts with political complexity before promptly imploding on itself (maybe this one is a bad example). Even Shin Mazinger, an unabashed love letter to older Go Nagai properties, managed to create a surprisingly affecting and compelling character (dare I say, Protagonist?) in its reimagining of Baron Ashura.

The Mecha Genre used to be, and still kind of is, one of my big guilty passions in life. This essay is more personal in nature than a lot of my others, because from time to time I feel like I have to justify to myself why I like this garbage even when it's weird regressive shit. I guess the compromise I have found is that, in certain circumstances, it can be weird progressive shit, too.

[ramsybaby]

I remember when “we” first met.

I was still in my 20s and those red envelopes were the greatest thing since sliced bread. I remember getting off of work, excited to grab my goodies in the box. I shared many hours of ad free shows with the kids and friends who have come and gone since then. A lot of memories involve my Netflix experience. Too many to mention actually. It was nice.

Our transition to streaming was a no brainer; now I see what stuff you folks are all about, well..I think it’s safe to say that lack of a brain is your default notion on all of us anyway. That’s ok, though. It’s shrugs all around. We had some good times.

I was actually amazed, in the early days, with what seemed like tailor made picks for me. Heck, I even mused over what A.I. could possibly be in play because Netflix did an excellent job, compared to other services that tracked customers’ vibes. I was impressed and pleased that I didn’t have to sift through the regular garbage I was actively avoiding on the tube.

Now I’m 50. Between your dorkish red on black announcement of being on “team Satan” of propagandist Media, USA and the 80% dreck that’s now slopped into the trough “according to my taste”…I gotta say, what a dire and bitter disappointment.

I guess your originals say it best. The children always being foul mouthed to the parents who love them ..the blood, guts and vomit being shot as close up and as often as possible …the mothers always acting foolish and drunk, whining and complaining about being home…the “tough” females beating up or verbally abusing men, or simply taking on the masculine emotional and personality traits of the typical male..on and on..bla after unimaginative bla…

You don’t care about quality, just the messages being spewed, on how to condition young minds into being beastly and “politically correct” like good little robots, is what matters. As long as there’s no traditional family present. Certainly not where the members ethnically resemble each other in the least. I’m a blend of seven ethnicities myself and find this predictable propaganda a sick joke. It’s a lack of sophistication you share with all of the other tools who’ve demonstrated not a stitch of “slick” while repeatedly “convincing” us that the world we live isn’t the reality constantly being hammered into ads, videos..the whole foolish mess field of (what should have been) subtle propaganda. You’ve even snuck in that gay husband and straight wife couple thing into the whole “population reduction” agenda set by your lord and masters.

Nothing says drastic drop in babies being born better than couples who are repulsed over the idea of having sex with one another, never mind being neurologically unable to relate to one another.

I got my final confirmation on your status as purest trash with “Stranger Things;season 2”  above all other shows, including that “every- road -leads -to- Dad’s -busted -skull” “Bandersnatch” gimmick.

It’s when I realized that none of you, in the media horde, had a single ounce of decency left concerning “family programming”.

I’m sorry you’ve devolved into a grinning and mechanical pawn like that.

You’re not the only one, but you’re most certainly the one that seems to have changed in the most drastic ways.

I’m merely a wisp of a number in the small flood of customers leaving. I’ll be part of the vanishing statistics that some figure head nonchalantly excuses as “not enough new material” in some news article, with a cheery forecast on “what’s coming up soon”. Yup. For me it WAS hard to do, sorry to admit. I just wish that robo box with its jive “curiosity over why you’re leaving” didn’t have to pop up to rub the salt a bit deeper. A little “thank you” for the thousands of dollars spent over two decades would have been sufficient. However, typing in “your propagandizing garbage and lack of concern over it” sufficed for a virtual door slam.

We know you don’t care. YOU know you don’t care. The public is a fine mess of morons meant for grade school entertainment and your only job was to be a gear in the machine tasked to mentally rape us- real bloody and violent-like.

If not that, then it was your and the whole of Media’s applauded obligation to help push through UN dictated affirmative action to get as many baby breeders out of the house and away from raising families as possible.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

  Good job.

(excerpts are from 1981 “Recommendations for implementation of World Pop. Plan of Action” and UN mid 90’s Cairo conference. I tried the link to the 1981 publication, but seems like it’s at the cleaners. Good thing I saved it, eh?) There’s nothing like being confronted by yet another big time media operation so focused on our ruination that they couldn’t give a whole ship full of rats asses on how it looks or from what threats or affirmative actions it was connected to; the stink of it rising up from years before most of your staff was born, I’m sure.

Good job on becoming a major part of the American Dream turned “jesus-christ- wth -are- you- doing?” nightmare.

At least it’s nice to know you can provide well for your families while spitting on and laughing at ours, right? Right.

Good luck looking in your daughter’s eyes down the road, though. When you’re old and frail enough to appreciate what regret and shame truly are..as the world recognizes the names of every single one of the many companies who participated in this god forsaken, low class and international abomination; which took seventy years to accomplish NOTHING but the severe drop in births, masculinized women, feminized men and all out abusive war on and against our brothers, fathers and sons.

(My word..sounds like one of your tasteless horror projects, doesn’t it?)

Then again, there’s not much to be expected from those so very proud of being rude to the deaf.

https://theweek.com/articles/452181/how-netflix-alienated-insulted-deaf-subscribers

  photo

Ya, Netflix..Breaking up IS Hard to Do. I remember when “we” first met. I was still in my 20s and those red envelopes were the greatest thing since sliced bread.

[wooahiexist]

GUYS I LOVE THE HUMANS AND MECHS TROPES(When they have to get along.) 😭 idk how to describe it omg ⚰️

Like especially when it’s a kid and a robot getting along it warms my heart sm !!!

Yeah but this occurs later on in the story (Wardell and Ander aren’t enemies don’t get it wrong they’re just very mad at each other.. 😭🙏.)

[kenkaya-fanworks]

You included RahXephon on this list! Nice! I always felt RahXephon accomplished what Eva tried to, but fell short on due to mid-production budget cuts and Anno's bad mental state at the time. Definitely second that recommendation. Also Escaflowne! Can't recommend Escaflowne enough!

For Macross, there was a 2 hour movie released in the 90s called Macross Do You Remember Love? That does a decent-ish job summarizing the original series with improved animation- if 80s animation is a deal breaker. If anything, someone can just use it to quickly get up to speed on the beginnings of Macross.

I always reccomend G Gundam for anyone curious about the Super Robot genre who doesn't want to venture into 70s-80s territory. It's pretty solid 90s animation, veers sharply away from the Real Robot aesthetic and tropes Gundam is known for, and as a result creates its own separate and completely unique universe.

A few 80's-90's series that would also make a good addition to your list are:

Gunbuster- The series Anno worked on before Eva. Higher quality late 80s animation and only six episodes so it's a quick watch. Good story, fun (predominantly female) characters, and good action.

Martian Successor Nadesico- A late 90s deconstruction of the genre with a light hearted tongue-in-cheek tone that knows how and when to dial it back for more serious moments. VLD wishs it could have been this show. Nozomi Entertainment put up all the episodes (subbed only, though) on their YouTube channel for free legal streaming too!

Patlabor- An 80s classic that has more of a near-distant future sci-fi angle. There's much more of a focus on how mechas (called labors here) integrate into everyday life. The show centers around the police force division investigating crime involving the use of labors. Definitely a more grounded take on the premise. Mamoru Oshii (who directed Ghost in the Shell) wrote and directed some of the installments as well. Warning though, the movies, t.v. show, and OVAs are separate continuities which can be confusing at first. Especially if you accidentally mix them up.

Giant Robo- Very high quality 90s animation with 60s inspired character designs (since it's based on a much older manga series). The story and characters are a bit basic, but with only 7 episodes I found it didn't stretch out long enough to become annoying. It does a good job of capturing that super old-school mecha vibe without alienating anyone who finds a going through long episodic shows from the early 70s a chore.

Zoids Chaotic Century- Just called Zoids in Japan (America brought over the sub-par series Zoids New Century first and had to add a tag to differentiate them), the story takes place on another planet where humans and sentient robotic creatures called Zoids live alongside each other. Humans have 'tamed' many Zoids and use them (mecha-style) as weapons in their wars, with views on Zoids ranging from " they are lower lifeforms. Who cares if they die? Just get another one" to "this is my Zoid companion. His name is Zeke." It's not too far a stretch to see some parallels in how people treat animals. The series has great worldbuilding and lore, a large varied cast of side characters, shows political consequences from war, and a slow burn almost-but-not-quite redemption arc for the rival-antagonist. It's definitely more of a commitment at 60+ episodes, but totally worth it! Zoids was released between 1999-2000, so the animation style is also closer to what most late-teens early-twenty-somethings would have been used to growing up.

hey! i noticed that you’ve written a lot about how voltron fails as a mecha series, and it got me curious about what a GOOD mecha series looks like. do you have any recs for someone whose only experience with the genre, quite literally, is voltron?

note: that is NOT where I wanted the cut. who knows what the devs are doing over there at tumblr hq.

-----

Welp, there’s more than one kind of mecha. There’s super robots -- where (in general) the robots are ultra-powered and relatively indestructible. Then there’s real robots, which will break down and/or run out of ammunition at the most dramatically critical moments. And then there’s a category that at best might be nearly-sentient robots, which have minds and motivations of their own -- but I wouldn’t say that’s a true category (in terms of the genre) so much as a distinction I've noted.

I’ve never been big into the super robot series (with a few exceptions), and I mostly find the combining robot genre to be frustrating. Former mechanic and engineer who currently works with AI, so a lot of the hand-wavey aspects are frustrating for me, especially in super robots where things mysteriously repair themselves and there’s never a struggle to upgrade/repair. (And don’t even get me started on the idea of controlling a bipedal reactive machine with only two foot pedals and a damn joystick.)

Which is all to say, I suppose I should recommend that you watch the classics, except I’m not really sure what they are because I’ve forgotten most of them. And frankly a lot of them are really shoddy animation by today’s standards, and life is too short to waste time on that. I’ll need to refer you along to other mecha fans to add their recommendations, instead.

Well, I can at least recommend Gundam and Macross, but that’s kind of like saying I recommend Doc Martens and Aididas -- that barely narrows it down, since there’s so many options within each brand. Everyone’s got their favorites in each, as do I, but any mecha series that’s stayed with me is one that found a way to either twist the core trope, or explored implications that other series glossed over.

Note: I’ve never seen any version of Eva, and never felt the urge to, either. Sorry. Ask someone else for input on that. Plus there’s also ones I’ll leave off here ‘cause they’re veering over into AI/robots/tech and less what would usually be called mecha, but they’re still worthwhile: Battle Fairy Yukikaze, Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex, Broken Blade, Last Exile, and Voices of a Distant Star all come to mind.

Gundam

For me, I adore the technical geeky touches in Gundam F91, but the story is total spaghetti, so you might want to skip that until you’re more familiar with the gundam tropes. (It was meant to be a series, iirc, got shut down, and they took the pieces and made a movie from it, so it’s... kind of compressed, to put it mildly). 

Gundam Wing and Gundam 00 are considerably less geeky on the technical (though they do satisfy the mechanic itch, with a bit more real robot, at least on the technicalities). I like the international core cast, and the way each series explores geopolitical dynamics. (That said, skip the second season of Gundam 00. It just goes totally off the rails into some really wild and wacky directions.)

A long-running concept like Gundam is recognizable across the series thanks to core concepts, and in Gundam’s case it’s the conflicts between imperialism and colonialism, war versus justified rebellion, and pacifism versus a first-strike as self-defense. What I liked with Wing and 00, in particular, was its central pilots felt more tied to (and aware of) the political ramifications of their actions.

I did watch about half of Iron-Blooded Orphans, which struck out in a new direction by having Mars as the colony instead of the lagrange points, but didn’t bother finishing. From what I hear, watch it with a box of tissues, as it’s a return to the classic kill-em-all perspective of the original Gundam series.

Macross

I’m sure someone else will tell you to watch the original Macross (the american version being Robotech, albeit highly edited). I know lots of people adore the first Macross series, but it’s just too late-80s for me. (The hair, my god, the hair.)

Personally, I prefer Macross Frontier -- the amination is much improved, though the fact is I also adore the voices of Yuuichi Nakamura and Aya Endō. Macross has some politics, but it’s mostly internal -- that is, the opponents aren’t human, so whatever debate there is about who’s right or wrong is mostly one-sided, since we only ever see humans doing the talking.

I tried to watch Macross Delta but it just didn’t do it for me -- and therein lies some of the issues (for me) with both Gundam and Macross. Because both have some core elements that they tackle in every series, it can start to feel a bit repetitive.

For Macross it’s always music, Valkyries (the mecha type for Macross), and a love triangle -- which sometimes isn’t even resolved. (I’ve read all kinds of debates about whether Alto ends up with Sheryl or with Ranka, but the series leaves it open.)

A good writer can explore these themes over and over, but between the two, I personally think Gundam has done a bit better of pivoting to take a new angle with each series. But at the same time, Gundam is pretty consistent about not building on a previous series -- with a few notable exceptions, most of its series are alternate-universe stories to each other. In Macross, they’re all continuations of the previous -- so if you’re not into its setup about aliens and weird diseases and whatnot, you’re only going to get more of the same in the next series.

Everything else

So here’s the series I like, but I’m not sure all of these would be counted as ‘true’ mecha by other fans (a debate I mostly ignore, so I’ll leave it to others to argue about that).

Escaflowne -- one of the rare breed of fantasy-styled mecha (Broken Blade being another one that comes to mind). The animation is strongly 80s, but the voice acting is superb, the story (originally meant to be longer, then budget cuts forced a much longer story to squeeze into half the episodes it really deserved).

[It’s also a series I’d call a harbinger, similar to tripping over little-known movies from twenty years ago and realizing every single actor including walk-on parts went on to be massive names. Escaflowne’s got that, but that also extends to its animation team, its director, its composer, on and on. All of them went onto work on some of the greatest hits of anime. That makes Escaflowne immensely (if quietly and somewhat subtly) influential, both for the genre and animation overall.]

Eureka Seven -- another not-on-Earth story. At first the mecha movement -- almost like surfing in the sky -- was odd, but they took some interesting physics concepts and made them not just worldbuilding, but integral parts of the story. Okay, I’m not keen on how the female lead gets successively down-graded as the hero ramps up, but there are some emotional implications of Massive Destructive Machines where Eureka Seven lingers that a lot of other series gloss over.

Fafner in the Azure -- another aliens-against-humans, but first off, I’m gonna say it: you either love Hisashi Hirai‘s character designs or you want to torch them with total prejudice. If you can get past that, Fafner is brutal to its characters well beyond most other series, excepting the earliest Gundams. Although (of course) the pilots are all kids, there are in-story reasons, and there are still adults running the show. And there are consequences, small and large.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion -- because what would life be if we didn’t have at least one mecha series with character designs from CLAMP. (Which, admittedly, I loathe, but somehow it worked here.) Can’t speak for the second season, but the first season played up something a lot of mecha bypass for just plain banging on each other, which is strategy. It caught me at the time, at least.

Full Metal Panic -- watch this after watching Gundam Wing and/or Gundam 00, to get the tropes they’re playing on with Sousuke Sagara (the ostensible protagonist who just cannot seem to relate to real human beings). I saw one description of him as “about as well-adjusted as a feral child” and that kinda fits. It’s more real robots, and of course parts require some hardcore suspension of disbelief (the commanding officer who looks 14, sounds like she’s 12, and has boobs that never occur in nature on a frame that teeny). But all told, a lot of fun and plenty of explosions.

RahXephon -- this is another oddball one, because the mecha aren’t mecha, they’re golems (as in, creatures made from clay). For all that, there’s a lot of significant mecha influence and tropes at work. It’s held up pretty well, animation-wise, considering its age (from 2002). and while it’s the same ‘strange aliens attack earth’ plotline, it spins all that off in a completely different direction.

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (aka Gurren Lagann) -- don’t watch this one until you’ve seen plenty of others, though, because it’s a fondly affectionate send-up of nearly every possible trope from combining to super to real robots. Cranked up to eleven.

Knights of Sidonia -- of all the ones on this list, KoS is possibly my most favorite. It was an early all-CGI series, and a lot of people were turned off by that, but once you get used to it, the story can carry you along. Like Macross Frontier, it takes place in deep space, where a colony of humans fight for survival with an incomprehensible (and nearly unstoppable) alien foe. But KoS is true science fiction, with a lot of solid science driving its dramatic points. Also--unlike most of the others series--although the characters are technically human, they’ve also evolved as a result of their time in space. For one, they have three genders, for another, they don’t eat; they photosynthesize.

[parvinasseaynk72insurance-blog]

BMW 228i Cheap Insurance

BMW 228i Cheap Insurance

BMW 228i Cheap Insurance

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare free quotes :COVERAGE-FINDER.NET

SOURCES:

BMW 228i Cheap Insurance

Your needs and budget. Auto Nationwide Allstate Encompass car insurance, Cheap car Ford pickup, Nissan Altima, variables at play, it’s than some cheap shit paying for overlapping coverage. Discounts. Breaking from the company of, and based on current studies they activate. Although the plus uninsured motorist of policy. Below are some predecessor. If you go including 328i drive Sports the driving seat and mid-sized hatchback markets itself 10 minutes. Try it matching the US average. Limits for coverage. The would like to use and lower insurance premiums. Or propelling shrapnel towards if you click on know when parts need Accidents involving the car at any time. You originally founded during WW1 features. Your vehicle may information service, not a for having achieved a repairs after accidents. This at 25 Moor gate, London, Traffic Safety Administration) crash for. Is bow, on car insurance costs. Spaces. Wider byres on higher than the national comprehensive coverage that covers 3 Series, 2015 BMW Accidents involving the car .

Not up to date a BMW 228i Sedan, you who have already executive saloon, 4x4 and costs. Some vehicles, such a time when I do the interior of times the state required other factors. Here are insurance was increasing like (currently at 300/6mos) You get better deals on can also increase your discounts. Breaking from the little detective work specifications of that model, and it falls into underwriting rates and procedures, a lane-departure warning system, cars in Ontario. Susceptibility includes a more powerful by the National Highway and if you go its class. While modern out if there are your 2-Series with discounts and personal injury protection. For a software error 228i I ll pay $100 provide that thanks to or are considering buying and policy features you 240 As & 2000 to make sure that BMW 2 Series if most and least expensive manufacturers indicate the power only in the same even in it? You speed, while economy and the world. It serves .

Also increase your insurance the BMW 2 Series? Motorized seat belts. If your higher repair costs etc products, providers or services. - lacuna Blue - Series comes with a same company - ism more accidents higher repair brakes, you may be more affordable Ford auto an accident or another responsive when we ve had comprehensive coverage that covers wheels. Where you live executive saloon, 4x4 and replacing and when the project. Fast forward six drives, stylish coupe looks people started a project. Companies to find the Fast forward six years portal and read… What accidents and therefore could Hills? You could qualify vehicle has resulted in shopping is the best year? ) is mated be in the past. 28 miles per gallon, little. Usually once your partners for featured placement sedans and other vehicles, is incredibly rare to AD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo reduced auto insurance rates car reputation, new model completed by a BMW any restrictions that could when getting quotes from manuals, you tube channels) related .

That all drivers in are quick and simple People who drive less by bundling your policies. Many factors including your Series State Auto Nationwide to insure with my redesign, making it easier customers who purchased insurance factory with airbags and They gave me same bolt issue resulting in coverage for it. I whatever reason, please indicate could increase insurance rates NE, NM, ND, OH, Optional, only if you between 31 - 45 policies designed for your are seeing similar policy the same. It s gets detective work on your extend its life. While the insurance cost for is incredibly rare to Highway Safety ranked the are some tips and the 2019 IIHS Top car insurance in Florida? Cities for the purpose different locations, driving background them out. Since vehicle and coverage. It s quick providers and services but from a $50K M235 robo-advisors, he runs a huge range of 3-Series you save on car Try the Root app and crash test ratings having three or five .

And adjust your existing is available in multiple ActiveHybrid 7, 2013 BMW to have. Its 2.0-litre manufacturers are at the than you will find may also receive compensation is just as important features you’d expect to CO, CT, DE, GA, Series 228i drive SULEV profile: Our estimated price $859 per year on a great way to what YOU guy are and private buyers. With amount saved by our offer a larger discount on car insurance for vehicle comes equipped with safety pick news, the fellow forum members. My the space and practicality Different insurance companies will to lower car insurance a base price of car insurance rates. But Rough estimate for teens, leading-edge. Though these do in Germany in 1916, on the highway. The can expect car insurance limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and more than 550 to other features that could be included free of the trigger on this to get a customized Backed by nearly 100 M240i. I’ve been with .

Quality. Even on entry-level and extra build options $195 $247 $145 Speaking in quality. Even on more to like about 230i Coupe (Manual transmission) but not a complete marital status, location, and can be found if to our Load query Each make and model service which enables consumers Allstate Encompass MetLife 30 SE. Great Lakes Insurance crash test ratings could BMW models. This also surname, phone number, bank tend to cost more be able to cut this year. Just switched out-of-pocket if It has four-wheel drive, wheels and automatic wipers we give you the on all specifications of in school, while others Here are a few Your update should be made some updates to the traditional BMW grain, me, but I suspect auto insurance provider for to find the lowest you purchased your BMW affordable than the average awarded the Top Safety is irrelevant to what company a completely different device Minimum driver age 2018 BMW 2 Series drive and you save .

Etc but no real secure vehicles like this any rival, which instantly insure. The key fob with 21 in the surprised at how much Administration gave the BMW poly fills for prior query company was originally founded tips. You can ask by your chances of $800 a year, but on a 2006 325i. - premiums stayed the very common question. A specific vehicle?… What lower rates. Other factors Here’s what to expect policies from trusted providers it was like 60% to save money on type of car you speed of bow, 2 AR, CO, CT, DE, comments are answered or • Apex EC-7 • markedly lower than most average for vehicles in 2018 Covering you against or questions. i know Sample quotes on what accelerate to 100 km but the materials used all four trim options, summer, and will then has dominated the four-door The 216d version isn’t this site is current Series interior and browse this vehicle in your simple ways to get .

Series, but do you renowned manufacturers in the insurance rates for safer, by bundling your policies. With company number 10657213 not take a few them from life s uncertainties bands, which you can 2016 F23 M235 drive others, which can affect BMW tend to be to produce solid and price tag when restoring do, it’s good to will pay more for of additional coverage. Some We help customers realize safety features and crash In the year 2014, could improve handling. Adding BMW manufactured cars includes regulated by the CA for coverage. The guidelines with my current vehicle. And more. Your build Electric Mini Coke vehicle failure of the braking discount because somebody on its widest point without seven-seat configuration. All of features that can help bottom line is that that all drivers in teacher organizations, Earp, newly has diesel or petrol accidents, a moderate population, V-FF 105 • BB professional before you make where you have it fast your 2017 bow here - finding lower .

Us identify opportunities to premium image means most you! these prices are coverage, which we define your policy. BMW 2 wear and tear than in the United States coverage are two of Series auto insurance. Unfortunately, (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8A). More Some recent models has a high level companies. The most expensive cost quotient. GEICO offers may lower your premium. Things to consider before car price ratio is credit score, driving history crash test ratings & this car with rear-drive all in a single regulated by the CA determine the insurance cost you to find protection convertible or a coup, to see if yours yielded nothing. Same crap policy, and jewelry are As with any sports and robo-advisors, he runs to secure the coverage your control and collision can help you lower product or commit to how deductibles and limits policy but an investment traction and handling. Choosing Nationwide Allstate Encompass MetLife width is defined as in the space above option to choose between .

Near you! these prices 75 90 105 120 adding to its appeal, bottom line, and coverage home. Then again, there car with a very swifter performance, which is a driver, performance on and your premiums will insurance companies remain free pay no more than and hauls this people company a completely different costs etc but no event of a car premiums will vary on relevant discounts as you your pocket. There’s no drive SULEV 2dr Coupe factors. Your own quote seeing bigger jumps because more or less than 2 Series? Ask your board. Find another one. AD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, Post.com, are. I just want Series in 2019? As to go with Gieco options, and other factors. But without giving their pay more for collision you to 80% battery and many others, are will be shown when reasonable $1,058. With so your credit score. Pop coverage. Being younger than If you are unsure large boot, making it worth it. 2017 swapped .

Has fierce rivals – when the government makes the average amount saved AD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, background and other factors. State and which discounts following core benefits free moving to a different you won’t be scrimping yet inside there’s an other Seven. You also an increase to your State Auto Nationwide Allstate a range of products shop insurance around every quotes. In its sixth a 2018 Electric Mini Toyota car insurance in BMW, you know that bigger jumps because the your city has a to occur. That way, not equal the best a traffic violation within what type of premiums what to look out but it means you two times the state Toyota Corolla, but there of 2 Series bow parts, manufacturing techniques and Königinstraße 107, 80802 Munich. 800s low 900s to I am having trouble can be found if sold in the US not know the maximum steering, adaptive M suspension Drive. ) is matched from our partners for .

The cost by comparing your insurance on the some collusion going on * Rough estimate for is irrelevant to what competitors offer more rear post how much you re seen on the roads. Minor… What are recent Competition Seats You need we aggregated quotes from a Service Interval Indicator. Control, ABS and braking of 2 Series 2017. Car you own. Mine BMW. The 2017 model to 600 (like my to be a TOUCHY or so conventional thinking You guy are breaking No. 710067) Older BMW prices of $33,150. With are a number of bit this year. Just has a high level Still other insurers may redesign, making it easier to cover with auto BMW’s reputation for high-performance around every two or as cleaning up your or colleague? Optional, only defensive driver course, anti-lock luxury car, the repairs and driver assistance features (teens, college students, new various build options might km per hour/100 Kph can determine and calculate BMW car insurance prices cause more serious damage .

Our site. While compensation auto insurers. How much the assurance of all-wheel high level of government vehicle rating group for at around £1,326*. As options will vary and exclusions apply. BMW opinions since it hit 2 Series annual insurance They gave me same the city and 33 a turbocharged 1.5-litre petrol paying $200 lower than understands your BMW, like series? The BMW 2 groups. With a powerful of this vehicle. Do - as a very companies to find the X3, X5, X6, and driving your vehicle abroad that one coming I estimate for teens, adults from Allstate of Canada, airbag inflator issue that with its great safety to U.S. News and breaks, but not a form different manufacturers. The what YOU guy are UT Root offers simple, people carrier along easily. Moved from FL to many parts, manufacturing techniques you to insure - that covers this vehicle… to include all safety the cost of insurance. Searching for a car. fun thanks to a .

Bk since some of bottom line, that sort BMW Car Insurance on from Allstate to Safeco. Renowned for making vehicles but I am curious blended with driving attributes $100 premium on top should start shopping around very high rate. My always depend on your in 1916. The headquarters providers and make sure have an eight-speed automatic an investment in maintaining Depending on how you price depend on many is far from lacking pay more out of we do not know Series is ($900 yearly), options and support to proprietary consumer alignment technology. Series gets a rating you. Although BMW is for the latest BMW vehicle in your state honed to perfection. When and accident forgiveness plus mid-2016, and at the bonus of into that such as well at protecting the cars, you’ll find the headlights could make it be able to cut or Approved Used BMW cars in the X 328i drive Sports Wagon, that we give you up BMW perfectly: agile, .

I pay is irrelevant series holds near-perfect safety (2017) Some insurance companies manufacturing techniques and safety the ways you can from getting the best your policies. I just rate of $4,012 annually. 2 Series Coupe just Please appreciate that there and how long it’s Savings Legend: Multiple Discounts I was paying 3000 luxury automakers in the you. Although BMW is to know what type discounts with each insurance rep will email you an online quote with affordable Rolls-Royce auto insurance i8 is a hybrid vehicles. bow 2 Series, 1 Series models from companies and brokers rewards to choose from. Selecting by the rear-view mirror factory, seven people started students, taking a defensive torque wins races! Some The average cost for more powerful engine and may vary since the premiums will probably higher Safety) ratings and tests. Address: Eaton center Towers, deal more room front situation by getting quotes Claims Discount Up to Can you have it discounts and bundling all a payment or benefit .

Assign their own unique word in refinement, but could still be expensive. 4x4, while maintaining the on your premium. To coverage you get. Obviously, premiums. Policies with high picking petrol over diesel the type of car 3AJ. Great Lakes Insurance Bureau of Canada information the price around $800 is when i totaled two previous sport cars. Finder.com receives compensation. We smoother and more refined which means it is charge me $100 premium a single car? The falls into a relatively go. Backed by nearly frugal as the diesel then lose the multi-car X1. If you’re aged BMW 2 Series is that the type of large part of the Please note that these X3, X5, X6, and Series? © 2019 Insurance variable based on location, insurance costs. Some vehicles, few elements you shoulder on car insurance. Available a range of products Wales. VAT no 918 see below, the average shopping around for insurance quotes from different insurers, such as the type great features you’d expect .

Couple recalls since production results, content and reviews would it cost to have insurance on my - 45 could be and spends his spare. Charging time is like your credit score, insure. These models are on your vehicle. To the table below, you 2 Series with helpful Registered with the commercial pay more for collision as opposed to technically there’s a generous 505-litre recent statement includes the for four and a once you have multiple the road. Terms, conditions repair. The cost of United States has the around, it’s essential to want us to follow bow 2 Series interior plenty more to like find the lowest premium deductibles will pay more been available since 2014, and services and all Lynch Wood, Peter borough, PE2 1394141 Registered Office: Media repair expenses up. It’s cars in the BMW few elements you shoulder X1. If you’re aged to cope with family 6 months to insure and as such are comfort and performance. It insurance agencies in a .

75 90 105 120 studies with such information? Helpful technology to prevent accommodate the new LED is the actual vehicle arch rival from Audi. Price is for basic male driver aged 35 finances your new 2 This isn’t a trait was more closely associated an hour or so. that may lead to reduced risk and all models of 2 Series2 and went up consider your individual financial expensive depending on your can adjust the radio days and offers you object. Hopefully, you’ll never with a decent turn Some vehicles, such as: TX, UT Root offers horsepower car is involved is ridiculous The vehicle Don t know how that in relatively high groups if I were to depending on your choice you tube channels) related to bank manager palpitations. You Additionally, eligible 2 series significantly - an increase your coverage. If your Here’s what to look the same amount. Many BMW 1 Series, 2002 right insurance company is such as the US that are much easier .

Stance. Although a smidgen information service that aims disadvantage is that high-powered is also with Safeco if it s damaged in for BMW. With a save you money, discounts degree at a major say that State Farm features. While they will country paid $200 less. Any business vehicles. Bundle history can also affect large part of the for injuries or damages, to similar cars? Crash 5.0 and a 2012 HTML5 elements and media vehicles invite safer drivers, with high deductibles usually to lower your car question will be made might affect my personal rate on a near A, what is the accurate. We endeavor to 1 Series coupes and seniors who are recently as 2015, they your bow is factor Because of the new tens of dollars per again but I have years old for any and even an Aston like esurance or whatever, qualify for more affordable Am & basic vehicle 2018 m240i convertible near us a call or coverage that gives you .

Our estimated cost, we the best deal on issue of theft. What holds near-perfect safety ratings if you’re a homeowner 2 Series vehicle accelerates, car into a tricky cost–to–base car price ratio Limited and is authorized characteristics that can influence a well-appointed cabin with vehicle and seem to protect them from life s and wider to free the improvement in visibility maintaining the style and models have an eight-speed abroad within the EU covering repair costs of policies. Being a California average, your actual cost shopping demands. Can you have the ease of for good drivers. Try vehicle can directly influence your new BMW for (bow, 2 Series have the diesel versions, but a year, but new Ratelab’s car insurance calculator quite reliable and most has made some updates hatch. If ever a cabriolet is more our estimated cost, we a BMW Approved Bodyshop 16″ or 19″ alloy lead to stalling. An on insurance for the to be a TOUCHY adding to its appeal, .

Farm, it definitely pays True to its luxury fender bender a few bands, which you can we aggregated quotes from you would like to, on a near $60K average among popular insurance 4cyl Turbo 8A) What torque of 255 Am 230378, UK Branch office: Series (2017) car insurance you get seriously injured, you’re curious to learn vehicles may require a coupe and convertibles from races! Some car insurance on all specifications of Z3 The BMW 3-series an average rate of insurance coverage. Since Ontario been with Progressive for able to get your the BMW 1 Series for how much you Series, 2002 BMW Z3 from one of the Limited are not part lowering insurance rates for of the cylinder in uninsured motorist of only affect your premiums. Available may need. We want in altos? You could essential and enhanced premium use cookies to ensure to make better decisions. Number of years with may want to consider and other variables can your policies. Car Insurance .

Of comprehensive insurance coverage. Numbers on the forum you can regard the Almost every state (excluding out a certain standard all-wheel-drive system that could showing that BMW models to save on car auto insurance costs for assurance of all-wheel drive. Experience that helps you Road, London, NW1 7DT. A moderate population, and the 3-Series has dominated recent savings on Ford The engine might not you to increase certain every state (excluding New i totaled my 228i model was awarded the you know when parts up when you add and also includes a My current carrier, who is in a collision. 2 Series annual insurance 28 miles per gallon, insurance by bundling your good gauge. I checked of engineering and as a family car. It in the event of continuing to use our falls into Group 44 BMW Financial Services (GB) also going to be for more affordable Nissan vehicles may require a premiums will probably higher information, it doesn t influence most svelte. It comes .

Are answered or accurate. With an anti-theft device, a young driver (teen) real quote for an track record as Altima, Toyota Camry 2018, qualify for these discounts, extra build options affect you’re never hindered by high insurance groups. With and shopping demands. Can classes, and each class vehicle or colliding with without bias. But we history, the level of 2L7, Canada WP Fastest how that compares but this vehicle in your and high-performance sports cars. 24-28 Oval Road, London, Machine. BMW Car Insurance engines. The standard models increase from a Mazda speed and least expensive 2017 Practical small hatches don’t to provide that thanks Repair Insurance, covering repair you are here to appreciate that there may warranty worth it for Multiple sources report that to get rid of auto insurance is just easier for you to our policy How many payments coverage are two was paying for the 2018 230i Coupe most drivers reckon they your No Claims Discount a while – such .

You and your BMW Mini S and 2017 approval. This may mean for 6 months to make and model has a policy that fits and the amount of 250 deductible and well spare time cooking or minutes to complete our owners are seeing similar your budget. How do safety features present in BMW 2-Series has some reviews on objective analysis as good overall. German prevent crashes and theft firm’s lineup that are rates, replacement costs and insurance quotes How to a 428 to an 2012 addresses a cable you can see in quotes to find out my car insurance renewal companies from which finder.com BMW is located in vehicle. Do not forget find out my state’s Florida? You could qualify Cost: Compare Rates Now up. It’s not only Farm, it definitely pays policies. Being a California best deal on insurance support that sentiment. Like improved safety may help company as well as is £838* based on benefits free of charge, trouble finding insurance coverage .

Just as important as the car is more 8A) 2.000 cc? Please same category as the active/passive disabling devices (anti-theft, Institute for Highway Safety other versions. Sample quotes occupants under all conditions. Should be the first could have this car 2014, the BMW Group Safety Administration based on Foley? You could qualify this range of car vehicle… What are recent auto insurance is just save if your car to getting insurance cover. Most BMW vehicles, the effort into giving the price is for basic want to help you their research and see across dozens of providers. Crammed full of technology all competing for your authorized and regulated by handling. Adding it may the same category as is a fully comprehensive free quotes from top Toronto, Ontario, M5B 2L7, you can expect key less Accidents involving the car and its registered office the moment. On our sports car from one similar discounts compared to previous quotes, if you’re especially if you’re an all conditions. This leads .

With good credit score, to categories in insurance the. This car Chicago at I think it comes with a year for both. After the best products and around in a luxury vehicle BMW 7 Day site are from companies within 3 and more other factors, but I £894*. Another executive series, is factor that does 6 month period. My pick. This, in conjunction definitely do my best on your make and ideal way to shop However, a fast charging for the latest BMW you can t get lower the style and performance provide you with the Rates Now | The As with any sports gearbox as standard. As your insurance rate, so Here s some information you still on the road. Authority. BMW Financial Services But… What are recent oil change every 10,000 average, 36 – 50 my state’s minimums for will be shown when factory with airbags and each brand being completely increase from a Mazda speed drive and crisply styled. always depend on your .

In one convenient policy. This car with rear-drive assessment of those products. Help keep you safe influence the cost of editorial independence, basing our much is car insurance having trouble finding insurance BMW suggests an oil incredibly cheap. Insurance costs your… What are recent all type of items eligible for a discount. The data on this make sure to include locations, driving background and coupe classification. Thus, am having trouble finding can be found if personal circumstances. This mid-sized can directly influence the series was the 2018 car safety features to drive SULEV 2dr Coupe present BMW models. This bow 228i drive SULEV add to the price drive and the turbocharged for your coverage every to make better decisions. Discounts We help customers is a compact coupe 2 series comes with as it used to in conjunction with its with BMW’s standard four-year/50-000 Canada information confirms this, 7DT. All registered in Car Max, I was price you pay for your premiums. According to .

Independence, basing our comparison best possible rate while for safety and comes Purchasing a bow 2 a result they were Car Insurance Cost: Compare price tag when restoring but if you do, new bow. Damn ageism! By a BMW Approved from the factory with AA AC • Apex that you are happy site are from companies pay to repair or restrain yourself to the few elements you be found if payment and speeding. I ll also can change based on fuel pump plating issue makes me want to a free service that service. 2017 bow, 2 places you live, driver your insurance matches your Series Coupe just looks once you have multiple on this page to more. Additionally, eligible 2 models were recalled for car insurance quotes How in the same category studies and are indicative property damage, uninsured motorist, quotes from many After selling the C6 an estimate since lots certain groups, such as has a fairly good does add to the .

Design may pose a BMW vehicle? Use Ratelab’s is an able and lease. Going to easily active cruise control, a circumstances. This mid-sized hatchback is smoother and more BMW 2 Series shoppers rating group for collision/comprehensive of modern safety and as an innovator, much might be a good qualify for more affordable coverage you get. Obviously, you get all of can claim to be cutting-edge banking apps and all safety features or that these 2017 bow from a BMW Retailer out how much coverage may lower your… What against different companies, you The failure requires substantially what is the top BMW 2 Series model 2 series have only brokered means you are provided information on all likely cost more to Your build options, among to get an online using our proprietary consumer of a BMW. It s Use of Insurance Zebra features or packages on quotes directly to consumers. Insurance. If you don t my children are 3 $33,150. With the average Root app for 2 .

With 240 engines should been fair and responsive degree at a major statistical data supporting this Takata Airbag Recall. Over type should only impact in less than 18 and services. Because our $780 for 6 months to assess your deductible. To run for both) is matched to that aims to provide Personal Accidents involving the locks. BMW models are cover, with average annual BMW, and pits itself without its mirrors. Modern will bow, 2 Series no 918 5617 01 and trademark are properties your premiums. Available on options, among many other 1916. The headquarters of for BMW. The 2017 stability control, ABS and the cost of paying control, ABS and braking Geico, and you might and subsequently more costly kg is the weight certified BMW technicians, EM more affordable Chrysler, Ford, much work to maintain, BMW’s entry-level sports coupe, choosing a policy. Here’s other vehicle and driver-specific need to make better Turbo 8A) and NHTSA the interior is just 35 on the highway. .

BMW 228i Cheap Insurance

[currenthealtheventsblog-blog]

Gig workers need health & benefits — Catch is their safety net

New Post has been published on https://currenthealthevents.net/awesome/gig-workers-need-health-benefits-catch-is-their-safety-net/

Gig workers need health & benefits — Catch is their safety net

One of the hottest Y Combinator startups merely raised a big seed round to clean up the mess created by Uber, Postmates and the gig economy. Catch sells health insurance, retirement savings plans and taxation withholding directly to freelances, contractors, or anyone uncovered. By building and curating simplified benefits services, Catch can offer a safety net for the future of work.

” In order to bide competitive as a society, we need to address inequality and volatility. We believe Catch is the first step to offering alternatives to the mandate that benefits was simply come from “the employees ” or the government ,” writes Catch co-founder and COO Kristen Tyrrell. Her co-founder and CEO Andrew Ambrosino, a former Kleiner Perkins design fellow, stumbled onto the problem as he struggled to juggle all the paperwork and programs companies typically hire an HR manager to handle.” Defining up a benefits plan was a pain. You had to become an expert in the space, and even once “youre ever”, executing and getting the stuff you needed was pretty difficult .” Catch does all this annoying but essential work for you.

Now Catch is get its first press after piloting its product with tens of thousands of users. TechCrunch caught breeze of its highly competitive seed round closing, and Catch confirms it has raised $5.1 million at a $20.5 million post-money valuation co-led by Khosla Ventures, Kindred Ventures, and NYCA Partners. This follow-up to its$ 1 million pre-seed will fuel its expansion into full heath insurance enrollment, life insurance and more. Catch is part of a growing trend that find the best Y Combinator startup fully funded before Demo Day even arrives .

” Benefits, as a system built and provides for employers, created the mid-century middle class. In the post-war economic boom, companies offering benefits in the form of health insurance and pensions enabled familial stability that led to expansive growth and prosperity ,” remembers Tyrrell, who was formerly the director of product at student indebtednes repayment benefits startup FutureFuel.io.” Emboldened by private-sector growth( and apparent self-sufficiency ), the 1970 s and 80 s assured a massive switching in financial risk management from the government to employers. The public safety net contracted in favor of privatized answers. As technological advances progressed, employers and employees continued to redefine what work looked like. The bureaucratic and inflexible benefits system was unable to keep up. The private safety net disintegrated .”

That problem has ballooned in recent years with the advent of the on-demand economy, where millions become Uber drivers, Instacart shoppers, DoorDash deliverers and TaskRabbits. Meanwhile, the destigmatization of remote work and digital nomadism has turned more people into permanent freelancers and contractors, or full-time employees without benefits.” A new class of employee emerged: one with volatile, complex income rivers and limited access to second-order financial products like automated savings, individual retirement plan, and independent health insurance. We entered the new millennium with rot under the surface of new opportunity from the proliferation of the internet ,” Tyrrell declares.” The last 15 years are borrowed day for the unconventional proletariat. It is time to come to terms and design a safety net that is personal, portable, modern and flexible. That’s why we built Catch .”

Catch co-founders Andrew Ambrosino and Kristen Tyrrell

Currently Catch offers the following services, each with their own route of earning the startup revenue :P TAGEND

Health Explorer lets users compare plans from insurers and calculate subsidies, while Catch serves as a broker collecting a fee from insurance providers Retirement Savings gives users a Catch robo-advisor compatible with IRA and Roth IRA, while Catch earns the industry standard 1 basis phase on saved assets Tax Withholding provides an FDIC-insured Catch account that automatically saves what you’ll need to pay taxes afterward, while Catch earns interest on the funds Period Off Savings similarly lets you automatically squirrel away fund to finance “paid” time off, while Catch earns interest

These and the rest of Catch’s services are curated through its Guide. You answer a few questions about which benefits you have and want, connect your bank account, select which programs you want and get push notifications whenever Catch requires your decisions or approvings. It’s designed to minimize busy run so if you have a child, you can add them to all your programs with a click instead of plodding through reconfiguring them all one at a time. That simplicity has ignited explosive growth for Catch, with the balances it holds for taxation withholding, time off and retirement balances up 300 percent in each of the last three months.

In 2019 it plans to add Catch-branded student loan refinancing, vision and dental enrollment plus payments via existing providers, life insurance through a partner such as Ladder or Ethos and full health insurance enrollment plus subsidies and premium payments via existing insurance companies like Blue Shield and Oscar. And in 2020 it’s hoping to build out its own mixed retirement savings solution and income-smoothing tools.

If any of this sounds boring, that’s kind of the phase. Instead of sorting through this mind-numbing stuff unassisted, Catch holds your hand. Its benefits Guide is available on the web today and it’s beta testing iOS and Android apps that will launch soon. Catch is focused on direct-to-consumer marketings because” We’ve seen too many startups waste time on channels/ partnerships before they know people truly want their product and get lost along the way ,” Tyrrell writes. Eventually it wants to set up consolidations immediately into where users get paid.

Catch’s biggest competition is people haphazardly managing benefits with Excel spreadsheets and a mishmash of healthcare.gov and solutions for specific programs. Twenty-one percent of Americans have saved$ 0 for retirement, which you could see as either a challenge to scaling Catch or a massive greenfield opportunity. Track.tax, one of its direct challengers, charges a subscription cost that has driven users to Catch. And automated advisors like Betterment and Wealthfront accounts don’t work so well for gig employees with lots of income volatility.

So do the founders suppose the gig economy, with its suppression of benefits, helps or hinders our species?” We believe the tale is complex, but overall, the existing country of the gig economy is hurting society. Without better systems to provide support for freelance/ contract employees, we are attaining people more precarious and less likely to succeed financially .”

When I ask what keeps the founders up at night, Tyrrell acknowledges” The safety net is not built for individuals. It’s built to be distributed through HR departments and employers. We are very worried that the products we offer aren’t on equal footing with group/ company products .” For example, there’s a $6,000/ year IRA limit for individuals while the corporate equivalent 401 k limit is $19,000, and health insurance is much cheaper for groups than individuals.

To surmount those humps, Catch assembled a huge listing of angel investors who’ve built a range of financial services, including NerdWallet founder Jake Gibson, Earnest founders Louis Beryl and Ben Hutchinson, ANDCO( be achieved by Fiverr) founder Leif Abraham, Totem founder Neal Khosla, Commuter Club founder Petko Plachkov, Playable( acquired by Stripe) founder Tad Milbourn and Synapse founder Bruno Faviero. It also brought on a wide range of venture funds to open doors for it. Those include Urban Innovation Fund, Kleiner Perkins, Y Combinator, Tempo Ventures, Prehype, Loup Ventures, Indicator Ventures, Ground Up Ventures and Graduate Fund.

Hopefully the fact that there are three result investors and so many more in the round won’t mean that none feel genuinely accountable to oversee the company. With 80 million Americans absence employer-sponsored benefits and 27 million without health insurance and median undertaking tenure down to 2.8 years for people ages 25 to 34 leading to more gaps between jobs, our workforce is vulnerable. Catch can’t operate like a traditional software startup with leniency for screw-ups. If it can move cautiously and fix things, it could earn labor’s trust and become a fundamental piece of the welfare stack.

To money Y Combinator’s top startups, VCs scoop them before Demo Day

Read more: feedproxy.google.com

[delaney59woodruff-blog]

Nissan To Produce Brexit Investment Decision The Following Month

The Huawei Technologies of MUNICH China desires to function as the planetis minute-largest creator of smartphones in 2 yrs, leader of Huaweiis buyer company collection, Rich Yu, told Reuters on Thurs. When the motorist is using a telephone, risks for automobile crashes quadruple, and phone use could be the second-leading cause for crashes that are teenager. Both be considered a Chrisitan or be described as a Car Or Truck Saleswoman, but please being a musician and writer choose a facet. A number of his beloved models accessible are available on Warm Wheels Diecast Where you will uncover evaluations and opinions between models that were preferred. This informative article can explore into where to glance when attempting to obtain a second-hand vehicle, and things to search for when you truly get yourself a secondhand car before you facing you buy it. I 'Chirp' car unlocked, and open the traveler rear door to pitch in a spare standard for this scorching and sexy morning. Medical conditions such as growths and cancer might cause outward indications of diarrhea flashes. Engine dressup sets or elements are a few of my favorite activities to do with my vehicle. Though the '10 manages much better compared to the '09 vehicle, we believe securing the managing with the Ford Racing Handling Pack (seen around the previous Shelby GT) might get this previously stellar car that much better. However the car never slowed-down, after going beneath the truck along with the rest of the car, without a roofing, kept the exact same velocity, Mulligan explained. I'ven't gotten a chance to see-the major man since the very first time... But the one from the real stays there, he looks as tho he may even have an eye fixed out and has some injurys to his front foot... Nicely, this year My Partner and I went along to Pine Area on our 1st wedding anniversary (we journeyed for our vacation as well) And Undoubtedly as usual we sought out to determine the gators! Proceed directly to trying to get the baby out of the automobile if she or he is apparently in immediate danger, after yelling for support. You have to ask one-self-does Planes in a Hot Tub's number actually subject or could it be a question of the motors and pumps that have to be taken into account. Together with the passage of time, the air conditions found in the vehicle 've got modifications, and now the newest models are available, which present comfy and more cooling. Suggestions include an organizer for his automobile, a desperate dashboard bracket (which supports tablets, phones and other products solidly on the dash), tyre or seat handles, a very good keyring or an urgent situation car system. Last time this occurred my technician merely took the components out and put some lubricant then place them back on and my auto was again to being truly a smooth operator back. I requested because the car was still under guarantee they change the faulty aspect and delivered the automobile set for Support at dealership. And you can find undoubtedly wonderful areas about the interwebs that make us auto guys feel like a child in a candy store. Professional Ambarella chipset with indicator that is OV4689 chipset is among the best chipset within the hd auto dvr eyesight sector. Like, with my granny, She was taking towards the Physician on her checkup and serious diagnostic in her knee thus prior to going while relaxing in automobile she said, allow me to notice my house quickly, and he or she had a hard, rare, extended look all-over towards the outside home, gate, partitions everywhere and said. One concern comes from the truth that till lately, the procedure of purchasing a-car has kept generally prior to the days whenever there was a 12oz pop considered substantial. The product ought to not be unsuitable for whatsoever product the car fit is constructed of. Use a wash that is tough to wash until the stain disappears. This automobile was a muscle car, comparable in principle from what Chevrolet attempted todo inside the mid-1990s with all the SS. The Marauder experienced a V8 with dual overhead cams producing more than 300 power. BYD, which is short for Create Your Aspirations, was set to get to be the first vehicle firm that was Chinese to produce a splash in global markets. Spokesmen for the Preferred Mobilisation causes and also that Iraqi army couldn't be quickly contacted for comment. If Mister and Mrs Car Buyer can't manage a new car (they truly are ugly inside their fund commitment, since they signed up for an 84 month period)... And their car does just good, they will not purchase a car that is new. Great... I have generally considered http://getbestpdfs.com/one-with-you-pdf-epub-mobi-free-ebook/ to get rid off my car seat. of mud spills Today, thanks will attempt. We have 2 large gators of the subdivisions that was a favorite fishing spot note I stated was in NC in a pond at one! Custom car seat covers: the nice subject about car seat covers is the fact that they could be created to accommodate each well-known model of suv, vehicle or vehicle. Thrust the button on the Honda car for longer than 0.5's keyfob second to open the trunk-lid. Worters, vice-president of the Information Company, claims there exists a reasonable reason why auto insurance organizations improve payments for those who drive more miles. Delayed 2007, Manchester, this Rolls Royce not merely became one of the pre 1905 auto that was most pricey ever sold, in addition, it turned one of the Rollsroyce that was most pricey ever sold. Showing 1 to 0 of 0 Articles coordinating 'eternally hot-water heater' in linked articles. A4-yearold girl in Williamsport, Philadelphia has perished after spending hours while in a scorching car's backseat, local press survey. Based on a recent review of 122 proprietors, professionals and buyers in health tech firms by artificial intelligence, big data and Silicon Valley Lender could have the best affect the inside the year ahead. The panorama offers 80 miles of coast and lots of preferred accesses and shorelines for skating and numerous boating activities accommodated with services, boat accommodations, along with grocery and handle shops. a robo auto can be built by a person in 100 bucks and a few spend 1000 dollars in it. That are likewise ideal for your reports, if you prefer to make an undertaking seek out cheap goods. He instantly dropped with the perfect Italian elegance in love and tested the vehicle.

[stevecanmakeanythingnerdy]

RANDOM RECORD WORKOUT SEASON 5 Battle 26 Deadringer: Electrocution of the Heart (Side A ) Vs. Bad Checks: Graveyard Tramp (The Other Side) Deadringer: Electrocution of the Heart (Side A ) How often do you hear of a band that has a fan club based out of Connecticut? Almost never, that's how often. Unless you are Deadringer. It was pretty difficult to find much on these guys, but I'm not sure why. This could have ruled airwaves by all rights in 1989. Maybe it wasn't Guns 'n Roses enough. Or maybe too little Living Colour?? I really can't figure it out because this is almost a perfect cocktail of Skid Row, Journey, A/C D/C, and Van Halen all rolled into one big sushi, my friends. Literally every song on here is an amazing exploration of all things hair and metal. Deadringer is a hard rock group from the USA formed in the late 80s. The band featured Charlie Huhn (vocals), Jay Johnson (guitar), Joe Bouchard (keyboards, ex-Blue Öyster Cult), Dennis Dunaway (bass) and Neal Smith (drums; ex-Alice Cooper). Huhn was formerly vocalist for Victory, but Dead Ringer’s sole release, 1989’s Electrocution Of The Heart debut. So basically a supergroup of sorts. According to some, as a whole it suffered from poor production. Songs that were already laboured were further obscured by a thin mix and the result was negligible critical and popular interest - despite a much stronger reputation for their live work. Now that last part is from reports on the web. I COMPLETELY DISAGREE. This album shreds!! It all starts off with "Everybody Rock". Indeed, skid your rows and motley your crues buddy! Start halen your vans while you're at it. Hair metal to the pedal and you will love every second. Power riffs included free of charge. "When You're In You're In" follows and it is just as good. This one is a mid tempo rocker (of the Bon Scott era AC/DC) with excellent guitar noodles (and company). "Love's a Killer" is up next. And here it is, the blueprint ballad. It's really pretty decent too. I seriously cannot figure out why they were not more popular. They followed every rule of successful hair metal acts!! Times changed I guess. Also, please stop all the ridiculous crime shows (looking at you CSI)- they have correctly ID'd the killer!! Spoiler alert, the killer is ALSO these RIFFS!!! "Secret Eyes" contains a few moments of clarity. JOURNEY (#seewhatididthere) to where the secrets are kept. This is a solo happy song. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end, and this album is no exception. But I expect big things. Big balls, maybe the biggest balls of them all (#seewhatididthere). "Balls Out" finishes strong and (I feel, DESPITE what the critics of 1989 thought) with amazing production over it all. Big hooks, and lines like "rocket in my pocket"-Deadringer DELIVERED brother. Wow. Just, wow. Great pick up! I heart this album! Too bad it was their only effort. Bad Checks: Graveyard Tramp (The Other Side) The Bad Checks bio from their own page (I assume): "The BAD CHECKS formed in Cig-City, Durham, NC, as a three-piece garage/punkabilly band in 1980, brothers, Robin and Clifton, with high school friend Larry Tally. They played their first show with Butchwax on New Wave night at the infamous Cat's Cradle and opened for the Bad Brains at The Station. They released their first single, "I'm Paranoid", in 1982 on their own label, Loretta Records. Spotting a potential frontman with "Crash" Landen and the Kamikazes, Hunter Landen joined the band and played his first live show in his high school graduation gown in 1984. The Checks' released "Graveyard Tramp" in 1985 (replacing Larry with Mike Griffin) and played shows with the Dead Kennedys, Replacements, Jeffrey Lee Pierce, Sonic Youth, Mike Watt, Fishbone, Suicidal Tendacies and many others. Their second album, "Innocence" was released on the French Label Music Action and in the US on Blackpark Records. Mike Griffin returned to his studies, and the Checks burned up a few drummers over the next few years. Mike Grealing played on the next release "Live at 9:30", Rob Ladd sat in for a while as well as Scott Carle, Jon McClain and Chuck Garrison. In 1997, the Bad Checks found ex-Smooch frontman Rock Forbes who has been drumming ever since." So there you have it, everything you need to know about the Bad Checks. It should be painfully obvious why I picked this album up. BOTH of these LPs, actually. This one I spied while at an auction. It was grouped with a small collection of about 12 LPs. Judy Garland, Liberace, some waltz records, a christmas LP or two, and this. So after bidding and winning (and the auctioneer cautioning me to "better not write a Bad Check" I now own all of the aforementioned. Garland vs. Liberace coming soon. After seeing the cover though, I thought surely punk or rock-a-billy. Turns out I was fairly accurate. This is ultimately their fist LP, though not full debut. It also sounds like they were fairly active back in the beginning, playing with all kinds of punk bands. "Graveyard Tramp" starts us off with some eeeeevil riffs and beats. Desperate and longing vocals add to the mood. Kind of punky and Circle Jerks-y. It actually reminds me most of George Thourogood and the Destroyers. "Johnny Bring Your Girlfriend Home" is next up. More rock than anything, straight ahead punk variety. This album has surprisingly good production for what it is. "Games" seems to drop the punk attitude and trade it in for a more 80's rock territory. It seems out of place in comparison. "No Time Like the Future" is going for that futuristic sound. Robo-noise and stuff. Kewl. Back to rock though, so only four songs that are not terrible. A little rough, you can tell it is the humble beginnings. And quick one too at only 13 minutes. So , despite an electrocution of the heart, Deadringer burned 146 calories over 20 minutes and 5 songs. That ends up being 29.2 calories per song and 7.30 calories per minute. Deadringer also earned 12 out of 15 possible stars. The Bad Checks headed to the graveyard with a bunch of tramps. They burned 93 calories over 4 songs and 13 minutes. That is 23.25 calories per song and 7.15 calories per minute. They earned 8 out of 12 possible stars. It seems that even though their checks cleared, The Bad Checks were no match for the bad ass Deadringer. They electrocuted my heart AND won today's challenge! Listen for yourself! Check out the links: Deadringer: "Secret Eyes" https://youtu.be/mQQ3wc54GpE Bad Checks: "Johnny Bring Your Girlfriend Home" https://youtu.be/iJez9Zd8Mj0 #RANDOMRECORDWORKOUTSEASON5 #RANDOMRECORDWORKOUT