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Number of Residents per Waffle House
Blessing the Apollo 11
For years, Wikipedia’s entry on Shinto has had a reference to purifying the Apollo 11, but at last they’ve cited a source for the claim. Check it out:
I had performed the ceremony of oharai in Cleveland and some Japanese who were present seemed happy that the the ritual had been performed. At Boston in the following year I again performed oharai and after the Congress I flew to New York and performed kigansai a prayer of purification for the peace of the world, the well-being of mankind and the success of the Apollo Mission to the Moon. I performed this in the interfaith Chapel inside the United Nations building in New York. The ceremony was broadcast nationwide and I felt that the profile of Shinto had been raised a little. However, what I did was not without its controversial side!
One interviewing reporter challenged me quite forcefully by asking what good a 2,000 year old Japanese norito (ceremonial address to the kami) would do for a rocket on its way to the moon. It was the age of science and technology, he stated. Was it really necessary to put on such a show? I was quite upset by his harsh words. I asked him what he meant. I pointed out that three brave men were flying to the moon for the purposes of peace and science. If the hearts and minds of these men were not united and pure, they could not succeed in their mission. Therefore there was nothing out of order in offering a proper prayer by a priest so that these men might leave the earth in a purified state. For over an hour I argued and debated with him and other reporters to show that a 2,000 year old norito does indeed have vitality as well as relevance because the nature of tsumi or impurity and wrong is a constant factor within human life.
I spoke of the atomic bomb as something that had destroyed illusions about human innocence and of how man needed to purified of the consequences of many of the things he makes. I spoke of Amatsumi (pollution from above) and Kunistumi (pollution from below) and tried to give examples from modern life. If water is not given to rice, for example, I argued, it will not grow and it becomes “polluted” and unusable. It is in effect killed. The blood that flows in the human body is a purifying agent, bearing fresh oxygen at the same time as removing impure matter from the body. I am sure not how much they were convinced, but after the discussion, they seemed to understand a little more of not only what I did in the ceremony of oharai but also why I did it.
Finally, someone makes a comic strip called ‘Astronaut Elementary’
Here’s a recent strip:
Finally, someone makes a comic strip completely summing up philosophy:
Bashô’s Frogger
This is without a doubt, the best use of a Java applet I have seen in my life.
Do Magic Tricks On Your Nintendo DS With Magic Taizen
This sounds pretty random but cool:
Two new commercials for the Nintendo DS title Magic Taizen have emerged and they show off some surprising gameplay. The game comes with an actual deck of cards that you use together with the game to perform magic tricks for anyone you might choose. These Japanese schoolgirls are really gullible or the software might actually be pretty good.
Be sure to watch the videos.
Starmen.net to translate Mother 3
In reaction to recent indications that Nintendo won’t be translating Mother 3, Starmen.net have decided to do it themselves. Of course, GameFAQs already has a pretty thorough translation text file available for those who are interested, but this should be significantly more engaging, since the translation will be integrated into a playable thing.
Mother 3 Soundtrack!
Drops 2006/11/2 by popular demand.
God Is Still Great!
Some say the takbir has even made its way off the planet. A widely circulated urban legend holds that a befuddled Neil Armstrong heard the words Allahu akbar and the call to prayer when he stepped onto the surface of the moon. He converted to Islam, the story goes, when he returned to Earth and discovered the source of the phrase. The myth of Armstrong’s conversion was so pervasive in the Muslim world that the U.S. State Department even issued a denial on the astronaut’s behalf.
DecoOrient
20s and 30s-style posters from the Far East. Beautiful.
Shigesato Itoi: Advertising, Tomatoes, and T-shirts
An English language interview with the creator of Mother3.
Mario the Hobo (mp3)
Mario the Hobo
too late to feel sorrow
too late to feel pain
he’s just an old hobo
asleep out in the rain
he’ll never cause trouble
so don’t have no fear
cus he’s just an old hobo
and he’ll soon be far away from here
Chorus:
He used to be a ramblin’ man, just like you
until he sank so low, there was nothin’ no one could do
his brother Luigi
ran off with his love
she wore a pink dress
and pearl white gloves
he gave her his heart
he gave her his soul
his brother betrayed him
and left him all alone
(chorus)
he was a war hero
known all through the land
he saved their fair kingdom
with his own bare hands
he killed a hundred koopas
with one turtle shell
and his brother betrayed him
ran off with his angel
(chorus)
Review of Unit Operations: An Approach to Videogame Criticism
I don’t entirely understand what this book is proposing, but it sounds like an interesting approach to criticism, of both games and literature. (And perhaps philosophy?)
The core of Bogost’s approach is a comparison between literary criticism and computation science from which arises the notion of unit operations as an approach to understanding the nature of meaning-making structures particularly within digital environments. Employing the logic of Comparative Literature, Bogost finds key features within each discourse that merge into a powerful metaphor for explicating video games through a kind of criticism that encompasses both the programmatic underpinnings of the game as well as the cultural and ideological units, all within the same critical gesture. Indeed, as Bogost develops the idea further, the logic of unit analysis has the ability to form the basis of a critical environment not only in which video game criticism can prosper but which also amounts to a reorientation of academic disciplinarily around the idea of fungible analytic products.
Jesus vs. the gods of science
I’m not sure I understand this essay, and it may just be metaphysical hogwash, but it seems intriguing, nevertheless.
The metaphor of Jesus walking on the water is the venue of belief of those who want to believe we are more than earthbound; the resurrection is the belief that we are not finite. We die, or are reborn. Choose your metaphor. Hell may be the place of little imagination, or none; where the limits of science become our own limits, with or without the historical Jesus.
After 50 years as a cash-only business, Waffle House company restaurants now accept Visa and Mastercard (pdf)
Disgraaaaaaace.
But convenient, I guess. —BoxCarl
Euphorica
New album from BD. Drops April 2. You don’t have to Pshychic to guess that I am Euphorica about New Rock from my favorite Vapour Athletes. … Um, also, A Long Life Story of Miss Cro-magnon Woman.
—Curl
/Earthbound: For the love of the game
This is hot. Some kids make tribute videos of Earthbound versus their hometown. Link via 4CR.
The Making of Mario 64
Via Press the Buttons: though Miyamoto Shrine resides in the land of infrequent updates, here’s a chance to read about the birth of a classic. Way to go Carl Johnson, but I thought you were a Grand Theft Character…
Why Can’t Anyone Tell I’m Wearing This Business Suit Ironically?
I have been saying this for years.
The Best Games Make No Sense
Press the Buttons reports on the new “Blue Skies in Game Campaign.”
Games need BLUE SKIES! Games need BRIGHT YELLOW SUNS! Games need RED AND BLUE THINGS in them! We want to play in a HAPPY PRETEND LAND, not a shit version of an American slum full of mixed-race gangsters wearing licensed sportswear! We want to COLLECT BANANAS FROM MAGIC CASTLES not earn respect from fictional gang leaders! We want to stun enemies with BOUNCE ATTACKS, not shoot them in unrealistic and shoddy drive-bys!
You know what? They’re right. The best video games of all time make no fucking sense. A spiked fire-breathing turtle kidnaps a mushroom princess and only a plumber from Brooklyn that can grow a raccoon tail can rescue her.
I agree with the sentiment, but noted in my review that Super Mario Bros. isn’t that crazy. … Well, I mean compared to Super Mario Bros. 3.
- (Bonus links: Mario soup and 2600 code deconstructed.)
Mother 3 (Earthbound 2) is a go.
Creator Shigesato Itoi announced on his website Hobo Nichi that Mother 3 will be released next season. Starmen.net comes through with a translation. There’s even an official site teaser up. Hot!
Review of Moondust
Clive Thompson reviews a book about the lives of the Apollo astronauts. Of course, you know where to go for the real story, but it’s interesting nevertheless.
Moon Walker: How Neil Armstrong brought the space program down to earth.
Thomas Mallon of the New Yorker reflects on the life of Neil Armstrong and the meaning of his journey.
Hobo std. font
Font lust is a peculiar emotion.
What is Earthbound?
This is hot.
Fire And Motion
Joel Spolsky talks about the intense difficulty of starting work. He’s talking about software, but it’s true about writing, too.
Many of my days go like this: (1) get into work (2) check email, read the web, etc. (3) decide that I might as well have lunch before getting to work (4) get back from lunch (5) check email, read the web, etc. (6) finally decide that I’ve got to get started (7) check email, read the web, etc. (8) decide again that I really have to get started (9) launch the damn editor and (10) write code nonstop until I don’t realize that it’s already 7:30 pm.
Arial, Mon Amour, and Other Font Passions
I’m a total font nerd. Too poor to buy them though. Anyhow, let’s all agree to ban “Comic Sans MS.”
Dome Improvement:
Pop quiz: Why are IQ test scores rising around the globe? (Hint: Stop reading the great authors and start playing Grand Theft Auto.)
—Corey
Drunk Monk: Amy Goldwasser attends a Kung Fu birthday party.
This is an account of quite possible the most awesome event in the world, evar.
Watching TV Makes You Smarter
Steven Johnson argues that television has actually become more complex in recent years, as trendy dramas like “24″ and “The Sopranos” weave together complex story lines in which plots overlap and interact, while narratives are clouded with a haze of uncertainty.
Bible Porn: The joys of exposing minors to the Good Book’s nasty bits.
The author recalls his experience a counselor (or anti-counselor?) at a Bible camp. He tries to impart a more nuanced and sophisticated understanding of Christianity in his charges, but in the end, wonders if he isn’t as guilty of seeing the kids as a means rather than an end as those running the camp.
I attended [the camp] in 1984, but because my mom had gone and gotten me saved seven years before, all I could do was get “recommitted.” And I had already been recommitted 19 times. So during the altar calls, while gospel music played softly and the speaker asked people to cast off their sins, come on down and accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior, I sat and felt guilty for feeling nothing at all.
Dreams of Empire
Tony Judt takes a realistic look at the shape and direction of the American empire, and how both the left and the right get it wrong.
Napoleon Bonaparte’s proclamation upon occupying Alexandria in 1798:
Oh Egyptians…I have not come to you except for the purpose of restoring your rights from the hands of the oppressors.
Glad to be Asexual
Is being asexual just as valid as being straight/gay/bi? This article talks about a silently growing group of people who simply are not interested on sex.
The amazing degree of variation in the experiences of asexual people suggests that the underlying causes of their lack of sexual attraction are very different. Some asexuals might simply have extremely low sex drives in spite of an innate orientation towards males or females. Other asexuals might form a fourth category of sexual orientation in addition to the hetero-, homo- and bi-sexual ones, namely people who are attracted to neither gender, even if they have normal sex drives.