From the Author:2021/End-of-year report

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Originally published on: 2021-12-27, 23:02
Updated: 2022-07-29, 20:48
Shortcut: FTA:20211227

Salout reliruju, tauwtés!

One month and change has passed since our last go-round; the more of these we do, the shorter our recently chronic breaks will get. Well, seeing that we'll continue on Miraheze for the foreseeable future...

First things first: The latest goings-on in the Dixwell universe.

  • Happy to report we're finally moving ahead today with our next namespace, Story (ID 3042), if only to get in the opening draft extract from Unspooled #1 going. (I.E., the one with Alfred and Maurice.) Followed tomorrow by the last two in our current roadmap, Backstory (3044) and Family tree (3046). Now we should be on our way!
    • Speaking of namespaces, the Keyword system has been severely under-utilised on the surface, despite its months of heavy use across the Tovasala Dictionary's entries. At press time, only one such page (the "Caribbean" experiment from the earliest days of our relaunch) has come to pass—and that's been about it. Similar traction has affected the Parameters pages (powered by TemplateData). Two areas of our site we'll look into more by the New Year.
  • In commemoration of our new NS, here's our next fan portrait of Sam (by one "FirstConfidence0" at r/DrawForMe). (Sorry if our next one won't be forthcoming till next time!)
  • As far as Reflections is concerned: Kino Lorber, the current representatives for Adanson/Autrison/Briarwood/whatever the Nature Island team in the Panhandle nowadays goes under, has confirmed this morning that the compilers have taken their shots—enough for them to move ahead with a belated holiday greeting card en route to Volume 10 (production on which has been suspended via vaccination mandate until further notice). Which can only mean one thing: A brand-new "Docket" for the Adanson Jukebox, where future picks will be announced days/weeks/months in advance. (Tending to what transpired across nine volumes since August 2020—over 2,000 tunes all told—is already too much for this contributor at this point in time. There's a reason the Panhandle critters have voted for a soft reboot with "RFB", Reflections Series B/Season 2—which is where we'll pick things up in a couple of days. If it weren't for ByetHost and their trial-run limitations last northern fall—or even so, lack of commission offers/Patreon donations on my end...)
  • If anything else from the old Dixwell Dossier needs rescuing, then I'll be on the case. (On a related note, stay tuned for the Rogatia Encyclopedia imports on the Backstory side of things.)

In the real world, last (holiday) weekend:

  • Friday, December 24 (Christmas Eve): On their encouragement, I joined my sisters on a nighttime drive to see the Christmas lights—one that took me back to where we started out as Floridians from January 2017 till February 2019. From my JotterPad sketch, written while on the road (with two new bits placed in today):
    • 7:02: Left the door.
    • 7:03: Got in the car—no masks required. (Windows already up.)
    • 7:05: Left the house—for only the second and last time this year. (Back in late July, it was for my first drive-in trip for a screening of Marvel's Black Widow; alas, the less said about the stormy conditions that persisted then, the better. Black Widow was the most recent pick in an ultimately prolonged, seven-month! edition of my New Year's movie marathon, a tradition dating back to my days in the Brass City.)
    • After 7:05: Managed to get in two plays of Josh Groban's "Believe", theme from The Polar Express, amid my sisters' own choice of the Yuletide bouyon oeuvre of one Ruff and Ready from Dominica. (Ruff and Ready came and went between 1995 and ca. 2000; their cover of Afrobeat standard "Amio" ranks high on Autrison's most-wanted list.) I first approached "Believe" during two hours of Pandora-supplied downtime on a recent "night flight" of mine, and wondered why I had overlooked that track for so long. (I recall Express was one of the last things I watched on DVD rental back in Dominica—ca. late 2005—before I left for the Bronx.) Enough for me to program a Sunday Morning performance (the closest thing to an official music video) on last Thursday's edition.
    • ~7:27: Entered Brandon, our old neighbourhood.
    • 7:31: Passed by our old house—but who knows who took our place at 1507 Ledgestone?
    • 7:41: Left Brandon during our Christmas lights excursion.
    • 7:56-8:00: Returned to our new turf (at Dover Ridge).
    • 8:01: Got a photo taken in front of the tree at our door.
  • Saturday, December 25 (Christmas Day): Received my long-awaited TD Bank gift card (from none other than Santa) that morning—all I need to get started on that long-awaited scrobble cleanup. The same can't be immediately said for my other present—a brand-new charger cord whose box was empty when I opened it before noon. (The younger sister's reaction best summed up the issue: "This is so annoying.") Tried hunting it down in case of misplacement; nothing turned up. Got returned to Target the following morning—only to be replaced by one of the newer kind, incompatible with the device I'm preparing this on. Third time should be the charm—any moment after press time. (And let's hope it doesn't frail out by next Christmas...)

In our final Nature Island Minute this year: Early this month—COVID-19 issues aside—history was made when Dominica's Douglas-Charles Airport received its first direct international flight (72-passenger AA3579) from Miami, a preview of what to expect by the time the newly-announced international airport opens. Sadly, a return trip back home—that way or otherwise—is off this site founder's cards for another several years yet. (And even then, not without my own shots, as I'll remind you again later.)

Next up, a trio of Shimajiro items:

  • Shimajiro, for those outside his native Japan, got his start in Benesse's Kodomo Challenge series in April 1988. (Back when they were called Fukutake Shoten; back when that program was audiotape-only; and three years before Mimi-Lynne the rabbit joined the tiger-cub mascot, Ramurin Makiba the girl lamb, and Torippi/Flappy the parrot.) Well after I jumped into Shimajiro in late September, I assumed (thanks to TV Tropes) that the gang had been direct-to-video first, then moved to television à la Barney the Dinosaur; that much I stated two months ago in my Reddit commentary. Weeks later, an Oricon retrospective proved otherwise, leading me to declare "further research pending" on Kodomo's VHS début. 2–3 weeks ago, this June 2020 tweet from one "8111Fhamtaro" filled that very hole in: Kodomo videos and DVDs have been issued concurrently with the animé series ever since January 1994. (That first volume was completed in December 1993, the same month the first two classic episodes [out of a whopping 726] aired on its co-producer, TV Setouchi.) Which leads us to...
  • Learningland, for all of 26 years the only attempt to bring Shimajiro and friends to America. (Released in 1994, a precious moment before Fukutake rebranded as Benesse.) The one-shot pilot, "Welcome to Learningland", featured English lyrics for the original Japanese theme "Shima Torando Island", and featured a couple of live-action segments hosted by a human woman à la Saban's Maple Town. Along with Honneamise, this was one of the last official dubs from L.A. Hero (prior to their merger with Manga Entertainment sometime after). Despite an official FBI warning and a sponsor message at the start of the tape, no distributor is credited onscreen.
  • Sadly, Learningland deeply drifted away into Goodwill-bargain-bin obscurity faster than you could say "tiger by the tail", and the Shimajiro gang missed their chance...that is, until early 2020, when Canadian-based WildBrain took on the license for an English-dubbed version of the 2012–present WOW! era in select territories. Still, I can't help but think of how well it would've fared in syndication, had a lucky mainstream executive chanced upon the tape and given it two 65-episode strips at the very least. (Thus potentially giving Sailor Moon, then the hot ticket in town for the industry's developing North American fandom, some well-needed counterprogramming—and the likes of PBS stalwarts Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood a good deal of competition. As parents in the West already know, that other E/I tiger-cub mascot—Daniel—originated in the Rogers canon.)
    In a forthcoming FTA, cast and crew information for Learningland, accompanied by a side-by-side comparison of the theme lyrics. For starters, here's an early 2010s message-board thread featuring the original JP lyrics (sorry, NSFW advertising!)—and until then, the hat tip at DeviantArt.com that led to my research.
  • Finally, a trio of RFM declension charts devoted to three of the characters—starting with you-know-whom himself. (Here, the name "Shimajiro" gains an acute over the "a" to represent the stress mark in its original Japanese. Tovasala had tons of acutes on its own native roots back when it was on Referata, all of which were thrown out as "diacritical baggage" by the time it retooled en route to Miraheze. Post-Bescherainaubré, this is the only time where á is officially attested.[1])
    Declension (1c i a)
    Case
    (Tuisèle)
    Singular only
    Forms
    Absolutive (abs) Subject Shimájiro
    Topic Shimájireuno
    Ergative (erg)

    Shimájiriebo
    Appositive (app)

    Shimájirgerijo
    Dative (dat)

    Shimájirado
    Partitive (part)

    Shimájiruneto
    Vocative (voc) Familiar Shimájirto
    Formal Shimájirusto
    Stems
    Relational
    Locative (loc)

    Shimájiromad-
    Genitive (gen) Inalienable Shimájirpuoz-
    Alienable Shimájirpuorz-
    Proprietive (prop) Inalienable Shimájiromzol-
    Alienable Shimájiromten-
    Associative
    Instrumental/Vialis (instr/via)

    Shimájirombemek-
    Utilitive (util)

    Shimájiromaurd-
    Comitative (com)

    Shimájiromaseb-
    Conjunctive (cnj)

    Shimájiromauvek-
    Spatial
    Originative (ogn)

    Shimájiromesil-
    Terminative (term) Temporal Shimájiromuskem-
    Spatial Shimájiromäffuind-
    Lative (lat)

    Shimájiromaup-
    Allative (all)

    Shimájiromäuvv-
    Inessive (ine)

    Shimájiromint-
    Illative (ill)

    Shimájiromïnvv-
    Exessive (exe)

    Shimájiromtug-
    Elative (ela)

    Shimájiromtüvv-
    Adessive (ade)

    Shimájiromiāk-
    Apudessive (apud)

    Shimájiromproxim-
    Altessive (alt)

    Shimájiromault-
    Subessive (sube)

    Shimájiromulem-
    Chronological
    Precursive (pcv)

    Shimájiromprev-
    Postcursive (pos)

    Shimájiromaprev-
    Quantitative
    Abessive (abe)

    Shimájiromond-
    Qualitative
    Propositive (pro)

    Shimájiromaubog-
    Oppositive (opp/anti)

    Shimájiromopoam-
    Contrastive (crs)

    Shimájirompotal-
    Essive (ess)

    Shimájiromnand-
    Translative (trsl)

    Shimájiromiz-
    Semblative/Formal (sembl/form)

    Shimájiromoid-
    Similative (simil)

    Shimájiromausik-
    Identical (idt)

    Shimájiromaibem-
    Comparative/Equative (cmpr/equ)

    Shimájiromkuem-
    Referential (ref)

    Shimájiromprin-
    Note: Not all case endings may apply to this root. As such, some or most forms shown above may be hypothetical.

    Next up, one for male snow-leopard cub Tamasaburo (from the WOW! era)–or as I like to say whenever the YouTube thumbnails and/or previews show his face, "Tama-sama, my boy!" (Testing out his chart at Special:ExpandTemplates—just for kicks, as usual—led to serious gender-focused debugging in the {{Declension/Shell}} infrastructure weeks ago.) If it weren't for that one scene in what WildBrain officially titles "Dr. Mimi-Lynne to the Rescue", the "Mimi-saburo" ship by this contributor would've never come to be. (An earlier Japanese episode, where the Challenge Island pupils put on a production of Cinderella, hinted at what lay ahead. Or was it a reminder after the fact?)

    Declension (1c i a)
    Case
    (Tuisèle)
    Singular only
    Forms
    Absolutive (abs) Subject Tamasaburo
    Topic Tamasabureuno
    Ergative (erg)

    Tamasaburiebo
    Appositive (app)

    Tamasaburgerijo
    Dative (dat)

    Tamasaburado
    Partitive (part)

    Tamasaburuneto
    Vocative (voc) Familiar Tamasaburto
    Formal Tamasaburusto
    Stems
    Relational
    Locative (loc)

    Tamasaburomad-
    Genitive (gen) Inalienable Tamasaburpuoz-
    Alienable Tamasaburpuorz-
    Proprietive (prop) Inalienable Tamasaburomzol-
    Alienable Tamasaburomten-
    Associative
    Instrumental/Vialis (instr/via)

    Tamasaburombemek-
    Utilitive (util)

    Tamasaburomaurd-
    Comitative (com)

    Tamasaburomaseb-
    Conjunctive (cnj)

    Tamasaburomauvek-
    Spatial
    Originative (ogn)

    Tamasaburomesil-
    Terminative (term) Temporal Tamasaburomuskem-
    Spatial Tamasaburomäffuind-
    Lative (lat)

    Tamasaburomaup-
    Allative (all)

    Tamasaburomäuvv-
    Inessive (ine)

    Tamasaburomint-
    Illative (ill)

    Tamasaburomïnvv-
    Exessive (exe)

    Tamasaburomtug-
    Elative (ela)

    Tamasaburomtüvv-
    Adessive (ade)

    Tamasaburomiāk-
    Apudessive (apud)

    Tamasaburomproxim-
    Altessive (alt)

    Tamasaburomault-
    Subessive (sube)

    Tamasaburomulem-
    Chronological
    Precursive (pcv)

    Tamasaburomprev-
    Postcursive (pos)

    Tamasaburomaprev-
    Quantitative
    Abessive (abe)

    Tamasaburomond-
    Qualitative
    Propositive (pro)

    Tamasaburomaubog-
    Oppositive (opp/anti)

    Tamasaburomopoam-
    Contrastive (crs)

    Tamasaburompotal-
    Essive (ess)

    Tamasaburomnand-
    Translative (trsl)

    Tamasaburomiz-
    Semblative/Formal (sembl/form)

    Tamasaburomoid-
    Similative (simil)

    Tamasaburomausik-
    Identical (idt)

    Tamasaburomaibem-
    Comparative/Equative (cmpr/equ)

    Tamasaburomkuem-
    Referential (ref)

    Tamasaburomprin-
    Note: Not all case endings may apply to this root. As such, some or most forms shown above may be hypothetical.

    For the final chart, this 35-year-old fan officially confirmed his crush for Tamako-sensei, a middle-aged feline artist introduced in the 2008–10 series Hakken Taiken Daisuki, very early this morning (while looking through Google Image results for "Shimajiro and Korasho"; Korasho is a magical red "bag bunny" who appears in some of Benesse's other educational materials). Since Tovasala already has a four-gender system in place, a consonant and the obligatory Feminine a have to be placed after this import. (This rule deeply affects Yoko, a Japanese woman's name shared by Lennon's wife and Timothy's best friend, which has to be rendered as Yokona. Otherwise, native speakers will assume they're referring to a boy instead! I'm already getting ahead of myself here.)
    Testing out her own chart led to a patch for Masculine/Feminine Originative forms, hours before press time.

    Declension (1b i)
    Case
    (Tuisèle)
    Singular only
    Forms
    Absolutive (abs) Subject Tamako-senseila
    Topic Tamako-senseileuna
    Ergative (erg)

    Tamako-senseilieba
    Appositive (app)

    Tamako-senseilerija
    Dative (dat)

    Tamako-senseilada
    Partitive (part)

    Tamako-senseiluneta
    Vocative (voc) Familiar Tamako-senseilta
    Formal Tamako-senseilusta
    Stems
    Relational
    Locative (loc)

    Tamako-senseilamad-
    Genitive (gen) Inalienable Tamako-senseilpuaz-
    Alienable Tamako-senseilpuarz-
    Proprietive (prop) Inalienable Tamako-senseilamzol-
    Alienable Tamako-senseilamten-
    Associative
    Instrumental/Vialis (instr/via)

    Tamako-senseilambemek-
    Utilitive (util)

    Tamako-senseilamaurd-
    Comitative (com)

    Tamako-senseilamaseb-
    Conjunctive (cnj)

    Tamako-senseilamauvek-
    Spatial
    Originative (ogn)

    Tamako-senseilamesil-
    Terminative (term) Temporal Tamako-senseilamuskem-
    Spatial Tamako-senseilamäffuind-
    Lative (lat)

    Tamako-senseilamaup-
    Allative (all)

    Tamako-senseilamäuvv-
    Inessive (ine)

    Tamako-senseilamint-
    Illative (ill)

    Tamako-senseilamïnvv-
    Exessive (exe)

    Tamako-senseilamtug-
    Elative (ela)

    Tamako-senseilamtüvv-
    Adessive (ade)

    Tamako-senseilamiāk-
    Apudessive (apud)

    Tamako-senseilamproxim-
    Altessive (alt)

    Tamako-senseilamault-
    Subessive (sube)

    Tamako-senseilamulem-
    Chronological
    Precursive (pcv)

    Tamako-senseilamprev-
    Postcursive (pos)

    Tamako-senseilamaprev-
    Quantitative
    Abessive (abe)

    Tamako-senseilamond-
    Qualitative
    Propositive (pro)

    Tamako-senseilamaubog-
    Oppositive (opp/anti)

    Tamako-senseilamopoam-
    Contrastive (crs)

    Tamako-senseilampotal-
    Essive (ess)

    Tamako-senseilamnand-
    Translative (trsl)

    Tamako-senseilamiz-
    Semblative/Formal (sembl/form)

    Tamako-senseilamoid-
    Similative (simil)

    Tamako-senseilamausik-
    Identical (idt)

    Tamako-senseilamaibem-
    Comparative/Equative (cmpr/equ)

    Tamako-senseilamkuem-
    Referential (ref)

    Tamako-senseilamprin-
    Note: Not all case endings may apply to this root. As such, some or most forms shown above may be hypothetical.

And sorry if SimpleTooltip led to pretty weird formatting towards the end of this post's original version—to the point where I was forced to use <ul><li> as a workaround in revision #2 (7/1/2022). (Developer Simon "Fannon" Heimler hasn't been on Wikimedia since 2017; let's hope another attends to the problem at hand.)

As we wind down here, I'll remind you once again that those first several FTAs will be forgoing Page Forms as well as keywords—but at least Yaron Koren (formerly of Referata) got to a crucial bug fix for Special:CreateForm (thanks to my upstream MW.org and MH Phabricator filings as of late).

Finally, take note, readers: I am getting vaccinated soon, meaning I'll have to step down from Miraheze duties for a while as I recuperate from the fever that comes along with it.

Well, that's it for 2021—perhaps for good, or maybe we can deal with one more extra before Times Square. Until then, take care, stay connected, keep exploring, benparl, see you in the bestsellers, we'll meet you back home...and watch your tails.

For now, this is your Once and Future Captain speaking. All the best...and so long...

Routhwick (talk)

(3470)

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Tags: NamespacesUnspooledChristmasDominicaTovasalaShimajiro