From the Author:2023/Happy New Year, folks!
Originally published on: 2023-01-09, 01:50
Updated: 2023-01-17, 11:45
Shortcut: FTA:20230109
As I type starting at 7:38 Eastern tonight (canned bookends notwithstanding):
- This evening, plans for visiting Dominica as a family—to tend to my grandmother, who caught COVID last month—began to manifest. If we do go in the next several months...
- this will be my first Nature Island appearance in person since I left for the Bronx in June 2006;
- I'll benefit from my own entertainment on my SD card—the Adanson Jukebox, my ongoing Shimajiro archives, and some more in between;
- I'll try to find one or two locals who can help me with the first two volumes of Unspooled at minimum (provided the circumstances allow it);
- I'll snap a great deal of reference photos across the northeast (à la Walt Disney Animation Studios' "journeymen") for research/background-art purposes;
- and for the rest of the story, see the vaccination reminder at the end of this edition.
- We've already moved all we can—and must—to our brand-new USB. This coming overnight, not only will I resume Rogatia work on QGIS—I'll also reunite with SketchUp (the original, Google-maintained version) just to regain our learning curve en route to reviving the Sevton Manse. (Located in northern Elmshire; home to Diane's great-aunt, Valerie.) And after over half a decade's wait even!
- Speaking of Rogatia, non-local works from 1982 entered their public domain last Sunday. (Rogatia grants 40 years of copyright protection to said works, plus local material based on/featuring such; locally generated heritage is public-domain by default.)
- As for Unspooled, semantic/autocreation support is in the wings as we finally bring the Jukebox to life—complete with track form (rescued from the original Dixwell Dossier at Referata). Once Universal Omega gives the go-ahead...
- As for our 2023 Gamut: One soft-launch attraction on New Year's Day (The Sword in the Stone, 1963), first official nine last Monday/Tuesday; next 3+ up for grabs by the 22nd. (Obvious inaugural pick from last time: Ghostbusters II (1989).
As I drop back in this January 12, take a moment of silence not only for the now-late Lisa Marie Presley (daughter of Elvis), but also tornado-stricken Selma, Alabama (a long-enduring byword of the Civil Rights Movement).
Going into midnight, Friday the 13th (this definitely calls for a Tovasala definition for triskaidekaphobia):
- Kino Lorber's Panama City team (consisting of Sam, Alfred, the Dixwell parents and the relatives' friends, as well as the old Adanson and Autrison personnel from Dominica) will launch Series B of Reflections sometime in the next several weeks under a new, unified brand name (as they announced via a wiki newsletter yesterday evening. Yes, a newly-launched Miraheze wiki at that [since last mid-December]; blame Elon Musk).
- Meanwhile in the Bulwark, Mother Land—South Korea's first stop-motion feature since 1978—is slated for an October 2023 launch through WildBrain's nascent Matinée label. (As usual, no U.S. distribution deals yet; ditto with the Brazilian Perlimps, slated to join Heroland: A Shimajiro Adventure on the drive-in circuit this April as negotiations get finalised.)
For the morning shift (before I rest it off for babysitting):
- The $15.1 million lottery win that recently gave Luck, Wisconsin a whole new meaning. (Autoplay alert, at least on PC—thus bringing back a catchphrase from the Google+ days.)
- Two recent stateside air-travel holdups of note: Southwest's trip south during Christmas, and a bug in the system (read: "damaged database file") as reported by the FAA the morning before this edition went to press.
- From Wikimedia user "Explicit", a criticism on WP's source handling for non-Western subject matter (CC-BY-SA); I can relate to the likes of that as an animé fan (and veteran editor).
In particular, the English Wikipedia has an "ethnic cleansing" problem. Subjects from countries where English is not the native or official language and utilize a non-Latin script alphabet are especially susceptible. When citing references, English-language sources are not required, but a lack thereof is enough of a shortcoming for an article to be marked for deletion. Sources in the topic's native language are often ignored, even in cases where knowledgeable users provide them; falling under the scrutiny of the eyes of the wrong group of users can easily lead to the systematic removal of invaluable articles. Actively trying to save these articles is a daunting task to undertake, but the effort on those who commit to handle this issue to the best of their ability is desperately needed.
- One of these days, World-Northal (one of precious many long-gone U.S. indie distributors, based in New York during 1976–86) will suffice as an AFC ("Articles for Creation") topic. Until then, there's always the AVID listing, this August 2012 Blogger overview regarding its IMDb presence, and a comprehensive companion piece discussing its "Black Belt Theatre" showcase of martial arts movies. (World-Northal, alias WW Entertainment in TV syndication, started out modestly on the arthouse circuit.)
As seen on WP:DYK this January 16: There was The Forsyte Saga (1967)...and then there was The Forsyth, GA Saga (1987). (Forsyth County was so notorious for its lack of African-American residents [as a "sundown area"] post-1960s that thousands gathered on the local streets to speak out on the matter. The outcry was so huge, even Oprah took notice.)
And in news from Nepal (quoth WP; CC-BY-SA):
Yeti Airlines Flight 691 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Kathmandu to Pokhara.... On 15 January 2023, the aircraft operating the route, an ATR 72 flown by Yeti Airlines, crashed while landing at Pokhara, killing all 72 people on board. It is the deadliest accident involving an ATR 72.
...According to an official at the Pokhara International Airport, air traffic control cleared the flight to land on runway 30 heading from east to west, but the captain requested the opposing runway 12 heading from west to east, minutes before the crash.[1] A Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal spokesperson said: "The weather was clear; according to preliminary information the cause of the crash is the technical issue of the plane."[2]
Once again, expressing condolences.
From here on out, some Shimajiro odds and ends from the feed in blue:
- Tiger and Bunny (Mimi-Lynne) on a sweet potato, anticipating the next phase of the Chinese zodiac...
- ...the mascot pupppets, then and now...
- ...along with the classic mid-1990s design...
- ...the mascot himself on a fast-food cup (helps that he appeared in a McDonald's recycling PSA last October)...
- ...an appearance in i-Challenge (the Korean version ofKodomo Challenge), where he is known as "Hobi"...
- ...a clip from one of the Chinese-produced CGI MVs...
- ...a screencap from the 2010s "Happy Jam Jam" video (to answer the OP's red circle, that's Nikki)...
- ...a stamp of approval; helps that his dad Shimataro is a postman (off-context guess)...
- ...and a shout-out to the recent end credits of WOW!. (Did you know Shimajiro-tachi have appeared in nine hour-long movies to date since early 2013?)
- A couple of comics follow below. If anyone knows exactly what's going on in the first one, then please remind me. (Remember the time mother Sakura got ill?)
- As for the latter: Voilà le tigre! (Via "maidona_writers" from the recent tweet coverage; at this writing, this is where the trail ends for French-language coverage and localisation of little Mr. Shimano's adventures, unofficial or otherwise.)
- And yes, the OED has a word for it: "amigurumi". (Word of the day for January 4.)
Sweet dreams, Shimajiro. (You deserve a lot more on the job.)
You too, Hannah. (Title card from the latest WOW! video, where she dreams of wild pandas. I say "wild" because there's already a civilised panda family in Challenge Island; need we mention the franchise occasionally skirts on the edge of Furry Confusion?)
All of which reminds me: Collection #2 of WOW!, comprising episodes #73–172 of the original Japanese run (bringing the overall Caribbean coverage up to 1,100), begins next Monday on Stride/ZHSR-DT 21.1 in Rogatia, and elsewhere in the islands through WildBrain. (Check listings for time and station.)
Along with two extras on January 17:
- This May 30, 2019 Mandarin article featuring three character posters for China's early version of Sky-Flying Ship, released the overmorrow afterward (but delayed in Japan for another two years due to COVID-19)—that's Lili the pink squirrel at the top;
- and thanks to recent Wiktionary research, a pun involving Nikki's name—Japanese にゃっきいの日記 (Nyakki no Nikki, or "Nikki's Diary"). Which is now starting to give the WildBrain/TJE localisation teams in the Bulwark a few ideas...
Leaving you with three unannounced extras via "CheetahJab's" tweet feed, after half past noon this Friday the 13th. (The name "CheetahJab" alone will ring a bell to veterans of the furry fandom's early Internet era, as will the JabArchives; all links in this ¶ contain NSFW content.)
Definitely not the next generation of The Magic School Bus. (From creator Ian Jones-Quartey's official account.)
And for the furs themselves, a busty vixen—as "cheesecake" as the likes of those will ever go on this feed. (Until such time as we implement spoilers—but let's hope Miraheze understands.)
Plus what commoners in the Dixwell universe call "Neferkitty". (Also the title of a 1987 one-single wonder by Two Big Boys, collected in the earliest Reflections volumes.)
Due to interference between MediaWiki:Edittools and the Form-namespace infrastructure as of late (T9882—reported to both Yaron Koren and Phabricator; further investigation/diagnosis pending), recent editions of FTA have been composed on the traditional MW editbox until further notice. Once this bug is resolved, I'll remind you right here.
And that wraps it up right here, folks; be there soon as I take care of the agenda and the maps, see about my side of an art trade, and try to get my PayPal credentials going—if only to cut as many ties with them as I can per my superior's insistence. Until next we meet, take care, stay safe/connected, keep exploring, tapal, see you in the bestsellers, we'll meet you back home...and watch your tails.
P.S. I'm finally getting my shots soon—a year late. See you after my mandatory rest.
Remembering Elizabeth II, Christine McVie, Kirstie Alley, Pele, Barbara Walters, and former Pope Benedict XVI; in solidarity with those affected by Ian and Nicole.
Until our next ten years...
(3848)
Characters (c) Benesse Corporation/Shimajiro; English version licensed by WildBrain.
References
- ^ "Pilot of crashed Nepal flight ‘asked to switch runway before landing’ at Pokhara" (January 16, 2023). The Independent. {{{publisher}}}. Retrieved on January 16, 2023.
- ^ "'Pokhara ATC cleared runway 30 for landing, but Yeti flight crew asked for runway 12'" (January 15, 2023). nepalminute.com. {{{publisher}}}. Retrieved on January 15, 2023.
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