Ghost in the Shell

[Vladimir]

Note: the following sketch contains somewhat partisan political content.  I had an alternate review planned and almost used it, but eventually I realized that I probably wouldn’t get a chance to state these views elsewhere… and furthermore, given the demographics, my audience probably shares them. If not, take solace in the fact that I don’t intend to make such sketches a habit.  I’m here to entertain, not to preach.

I'd also like to apologize for the delay... I was probably agonizing more over this than I should have.... 

(one fine day at the peace rally… the Demented Duo are sitting on bleachers outside a park bandshell… the crowd is starting to thin out)

CV: (finishing off his granola bar) Well… it turned out better than I ekthpected.  Good turnout, pwenty of people honking at uth during the march, and except for that one guy who thwowed down and called uth idiotth, it went pwetty well.  (looking up at the other guy)  Whattha matter?  I’ll admit it ith a wittle chiwwy.

V:  Nothing’s the matter… I guess I’m just tired.

CV: Point taken.  You can onwy withten to tho many thecond-wate “thpoken-word artithtth” thpouting third-rate whining about fwag-draped coffinth before the ennui thets in… gee, I never knew there were tho many wayth to whyme “Hawwiburton”…

V: It’s not that. It just makes me tired when I think about how much we’re doing… how much we have done… and we’ve gotten so little in return…

CV: And of course you’re thpeaking of your tireweth effortth to organize the worldwide wethithtanthe.  Tho how many teach-inth did you organize last week, Ben?  Or is it Jewwy?

V: (twitch) I was speaking collectively.  What I mean is this: two years.  Two frigging years we’ve been at this.  When it all started, we told them it was a mistake—we were going after the wrong people the wrong way for the wrong reasons.  They ignored us.  We tried to tell our families, friends, neighbors, co-workers, anyone—they told us to shut up and move to France. Hell, they gleefully re-elect the person responsible for all this, give him carte blanche. (bolts upright) What do we have to do—what else has to happen—how many d-mn years are we going to fight—in both senses of the term?  How many March eighteenths are we going to have to meet like this to shout into the void? (crumples back down into his seat)

CV:  You’re cold.  You’re cwanky.  And you haven’t eaten thinthe this morning.  (extends a small hand)  Come with me.  We’ll get the thuper-dewukthe kung pao pwatter at Shanghai Surprise.

V:  There are still a few speakers left.  You go on ahead, but I’m staying.

CV: I saw the guy who’th up next down an enti-ah bottle of Thunderbird behind the hedgeth.  And he’th packing an accordion.  An accordion. 

V: (a little harsher than necessary)  I’m staying!  I’m going to stay here as long as I can and I’m not going to pack it in just because it’s cold out here and everyone else is calling it a day!  (second-guesses himself) Sorry… that was a little uncalled for…

CV: But I underthtand.  (sits back down)  I’ll thtay too... maybe we’ll get to thee him puke. (light bulb)  Hey!  A puke-in!  We can have one of those next year!

V: Yeah… next year.

Message Edited by Vladimir on 03-21-2005 12:02 AM

[Vladimir]

• Plain Jane in the rain.  And now she’s gone—are we insane?
• Um… how’d this happen?  That’s never exactly explained.  I’m guessing the kidnappers had to manipulate the camera data and the cyberbrains of everyone in the vicinity.
• “Blindfold Ivan”, eh?  Didn’t they break up last week after the drummer wound up in rehab again?
• Meet Assemblyman Kanzaki.  No relation to Urumi.  Ain’t he a dreamboat, ladies?  But even now, all he can do is talk politics.
• So Kanzaki was actually protecting them because he was on the Northern Alliance’s dime?  Understandable that this would derail his career—some things just won’t whitewash, and mass kidnappings of young women is one of them.
• He may be embattled, but he still thinks he can talk down high-ranking government officials… especially when his precious career is at stake.
• Yes, she was listening in.  She’s always listening.  In fact, she knows what you’re thinking right now.  And to answer your question… no.
• You mean that last chick we ganked in Dotonburi was Kanzaki’s daughter?  Quick!  Throw her off a bridge or something!
• “I really don’t think they’ll risk shipping the good overseas alive; it’s too complicated.  They probably process them first.  Check out places that could break down large number of people.”  She makes it sound like a chop-shop operation, but it’s not entirely inappropriate.  Still… colder than your ex-wife’s heart.
• Wh.. wha?  Where am I?  Was there a party?  And is this some kind of fetish thing no one told me about?
• Whazzat supposed to be… Heidi’s evil pirate twin and her prosthetic moron?
• Could someone enlighten me re the “Asian miracle”?
• “Chop-work”?  What did I say about the chop-shop?
• Reiko’s thoughts: Wh… why are you all looking at me?  I had nothing to do with this!
• C’mon, you people knew this was going to get out in the wild sooner or later.  Information is free and no secret stays secret for long.  The bloggers are at the gates!
• “It is very newsworthy and interesting…but they always turn tragedy into entertainment.  That pi55es me off.”  You and me both, Ishikawa-kun.
• I, too, am tempted to talk of “karma” here, but considering that the person who stands to lose her life here is a total innocent?
• Also, note that now it’s Batou warning Togusa about letting his feelings cloud his judgment, instead of the other way around…
• Note the profiles given of the missing girls.  The one who snarled at Reiko earlier is probably the Naomi Murakami who vanished over her lunch break.
• The little troll and the money man are too distracted to notice, but the broad spots them out of her one good eye…
• Was that gunshot edited?  I don’t see why as it’s still obvious he got his guts blown out.
• The goon is easily plugged… but the boss-lady takes a shot to the chest and is still moving.
• So this is where all the dollies are kept.  None of them, however, have the presence of mind to warn him about Elle Driver coming up behind him.
• Togusa can hold his own in a brawl… but isn’t prepared for an opponent with something up her sleeve…
• The writers finally cave to Western standards and humor the gaijin with a nifty explosion.
• That’s what happens when you don’t secure your load.
• “That’s a hell of a thing to say… images of my family flashed before my eyes…” And Aunt Gertrude played a larger role than I ever imagined!
• "You were right there... how could you let this happen?" No one told them they were dealing with an old pro, that's all.
• Later on in the show, we see her name spelt “Cruzkowa”… but it’s pronounced her as “Kourzikova”.  That turns up in a websearch, so it is a legitimate Russian surname.  
• SVR here is a Russian intelligence agency which broke away from the KGB as it was in the process of being dismantled.  It remains separate and distinct from the FSB, which is heir to the KGB as Russia's primary state security organization.  But I'm still not sure how they differ, and there's been talk of merging the two orgs to consolidate Moscow's disorganized intel service.
• The only thing scarier than killer spies and black market organ traders is Aramaki with an idea.  Note than this is not the first time the old man has used a media feeding frenzy to flush out his quarry.  And it essentially forces Kanzaki to own up to his misdeeds and sacrifice that which he sought to preserve.  Howzat for karma?
• You can't blame Granny for staying out of the loop.  She's a very busy sociopath.
• "Bosyeltnov", BTW, does not turn up on the 'Net.  Notice that the announcer actually gets it right, calling her "Bosyeltnova".  But is "Cruzkowa" her real first name?  Can't be.
• The diplomats are stone-faced, but you know they're crapping their byelya over this.
• What, does she think taking Reiko with her and stashing her in Russia is going to make this go away?
• Predictably, there's no room at the inn.
• So Baba Yaga's gonna go down gambling.  It's actually a pity Batou showed up when she did... it would have been fun to watch the Major hand the old woman her own a$$.
• Aramaki and Kusanagi may feel sorry for her, the way she was thrown to the wolves like that, but I have no sympathy.  You pays your money, you takes your chances.
• "I must say it wouldn't do us any harm to have him in our debt."  Not unless you need your windshield cleaned.  'Cause that's all he's gonna be good for after the papers are finished with him. 

[scoobdog]

---

Vladimir wrote:

• Um… how’d this happen?  That’s never exactly explained.  I’m guessing the kidnappers had to manipulate the camera data and the cyberbrains of everyone in the vicinity.



---


No kidding. At least this isn't a big leap in logic since Laughing Man has set the precedent, but that is quite an impressive trick for a one-eyed eighty-year-old babushka masquerading as Lara Croft. That trick just begged of an explanation, but I suppose it would have taken up too much time...

[Vladimir]

---

scoobdog wrote:

No kidding. At least this isn't a big leap in logic since Laughing Man has set the precedent, but that is quite an impressive trick for a one-eyed eighty-year-old babushka masquerading as Lara Croft. That trick just begged of an explanation, but I suppose it would have taken up too much time...

---

People in the all-night computer lab are looking at me funny right now.  If only they were in on the joke.

[scoobdog]

Lol. Oh well, I guess it probably wouldn't be all that funny for them, anyway. Seriously, I would have loved to see how they pulled those kidnappings off; the camera is one thing, but getting that many people to "not see" the abduction all at once was an impressive feat for a hacker as skilled as LM, and LM may not even be one man.

[AhBeeDoi]

I am speculating that the Asian Miracle is the clean-up of radiation following the nuclear WWIII. The kidnapped girls are all young, all born after the Asian Miracle. This would be important for buyers of organs who don't want radiation contaminated or genetically altered parts. In the GitS world, I guessing that one of the reasons for the development of and wide acceptance of cybernetic implants and advanced prosthetics is due to its necessity in a post nuclear world.

I think there are hints and allusions to the environment, political and social ramifications of two world wars in the manga and also in the upcoming 2nd GIG. We don't get any detailed history lessons on the events occurring between now and 2032 so we have to fill in the holes with whatever make sense.

[AL429]

---

Vladimir wrote:

• Could someone enlighten me re the “Asian miracle”?

---

Actually AhBeeDoi is correct about the "Asian Miracle" or AKA "Japanese Miracle" thing.  In the Manga there are pages describing that and in the 2nd GIG series there will be episodes that will explain that in more details then the first series.

Without going to spoilers in to the 2nd GIG, I'll leave it at what AhbeeDoi stated as that's a pretty good explanation as to what that is for now.  Need less to say, in the first series most of the plot is really heavily related to the "Laughing Man" and the individual character backgrounds of the main characters, but in the 2nd GIG the world political back-story of the world of "Ghost in the Shell" becomes very important to the series' plot and that's where the creators of the series will get in to those details some more.

[Ede]

*nodding and listening to conversation*

[Vladimir]

(enter CV carrying, for no apparent reason, a nail gun in one hand and several uninflated balloons in the other)

CV:  Vwad sez he'th gonna have to check the manga for detailth on the "Miwacle"--which, in the intewetht of keeping thith thwead thpoiler-fwee, we won't divulge.

Altho, it'th not wikewy the big guy'll get to a computer on Thunday, tho you'll pwobabwy get the update Monday evening.  The day after Eathter.  (pauses, shuts eyes)  Candy.  (snaps back to reality, or his version of it) Where was I?  (looks at the objects in his hands)  Oh.  Wight.  I had pwanth for thethe.  You'll ekthcuthe me.

(walks off... ten seconds later, an unknown woman's horrified screaming is heard... followed by a barrage of profanity from V totally inappropriate for Good Friday... then CV racing back across the screen covered in what appears to be appears to be stage blood)

[Vladimir]

(enter a rather worn-out and disheveled V)

V: Hey, people.  Thanks for bearing with me through the late update. 

(CV races across the screen)

CV: The honeybeeth are wevolting!  The honeybeeth are wevolting!

V: I've been a bit busy...

CV: (zooming back again) Amtherdam, Bwutthelths, Cowogne, Dwethden!

V: The kid went through his entire Easter basket in one day.

CV: (this time he's running through flinging scoops of lemon sherbet at random)  Sherbet for the world!  Sherbet for the worrrrrrrrld! 

V: Fortunately, I think I may have found the perfect solution.

(chainsaw revs up offscreen)

V: And just in time.  Come on out here, Al. (ALPHONSE ELRIC tentatively enters from stage left, sporting a pair of fuzzy pink bunny ears)

AL: Uh... are you sure I'm going to pass?  You really think the ears will be enough?

V: Kid, the chibi's more strung out than Courtney Love on a bender.  What his eyes don't see, his brain will fill in. (calling out)  Chibi!  Chibi Vla-di-miiir!  Someone here to see you!

CV: A shake for bweakfatht, a shake for wunch, and a thenthible dinner!  (sees the "Easter Bunny")  SQUEEEEEE!  EEEEAAAATHTERRR BUUUNNNYYY!  (pounces AL and his now on the metal boy's right shoulder)  Awwow me to intwoduthe mythelf.  I am the reincarnation of Thuzie Cweamcheethe... and I want to have your baby!

AL: o_O Uh... that's nice.

V: Now!

(AL takes off his helment and drops the deranged chibi inside... muffled scratching and banging)

V: Now we sit back and wait for the sugar crash.  I owe ya one, kiddo.

AL: Anything to help... but you did get what I asked for, right?

V: Indeed.  (hands AL a CD... Black Sabbath's "Master of Reality")

AL: Cool!  I've been looking for this one!

V: Right, right!  You go on and have a listen while I clean up this mess... 

(AL clanks off stage left, V grabs a broom out of nowhere and starts heading off... stops) What'd you expect him to like?  The kid's metal! (rimshot from who-knows-where, mercifully ending the scene)

Message Edited by Vladimir on 03-28-2005 08:25 PM

[Vladimir]

• Warehouses and libraries are vastly underrated as horror/suspense venues, don't you think?
• When people start blanking out and doing things on autopilot, you know who's to blame, right?  At long last, it's another "complex" episode... and an appropriately titled one as well!
• Pity this method of interrogation isn't available today.  Better for everyone concerned than shining a hothouse lamp on a guy for 26 hours.
• You may remember the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare as the one that LM hacked before using the rehab center's computers.  Y'know, of all the government agencies out there, one of the last ones you'd expect to pull something would be "Health, Labor, and Welfare".  It's just not sexy enough.
• Togusa makes a good argument here, but the trouble with LM is that he can manipulate data to the point you only suspect the data he wants you to suspect.  So he's got nothin'.
• Most husbands read the newspaper at the dinner table...
• Running a bath... that means... naked Togusa!!!  Oh wait... no.
• Recall that the first "Eureka" moment also took place in the vicinity of a bathtub.
• JUMP! JUMP! JUMP! JUMP!
• Of course they've been studying the Salinger angle... probably had every lit professor from here to Hokkaido working on it.  Yet they would have spotted LM's amendment to the passage straightaway... why wasn't anyone informed?
• Notice the shifting shadows caused by the clouds overhead... suggestive of the forthcoming shift in the investigation's approach.
• Perhaps it's this quote, immediately following the one the LM uses, that got Togusa thinking about analog sources.  (Scroll down to the Salinger section and read carefully.) 
• Togusa's thoughts: Show-off.
• Is it just me, or does that Ministry secretary look a lot like Mrs. Togusa around the face?
• On the surface, the argument for putting the Murai vaccine in cold storage is plausible... who's to say the miracle cure won't have hairy side effects down the line?  And yet, curiously, it's been forgotten; no one's been researching it.
• Interesting how Cupcake puts forth the Sunflower Society as the only possible culprit.
• Yes, I know historical exposition is boring, but it's important.  At least now you know what cyberbrain sclerosis is.  Of course, "specially designated" means VIPs, not the people who need it most, and the appeal to privacy is a blatant whitewash.  Notice how the lights go on at a key moment.  It's stellar environmental symbolism.
• Doi!  The logo!  No one noticed the logo?!?  And where have we encountered sunflowers before?
• Togusa in a suit again.  I'll try to keep the drooling to a dignified minimum.
• Finally, a convenient acronym... CS.
• What is that he's drinking and what's he putting in it?  Non-dairy creamer in cola?  Eeyuck!
• ".. so if you want to get people talking about it, I suppose you'd need some sort of a scandal, wouldn't you?"  I don't see why they don't pull this gambit for real; Section 9 has the skills and resources to pull it off.  Instead of letting LM pull their strings, why not create some mischief of their own?
• Uh oh.  Big truck full of armed goons.  And it's not our goons.  Note the Grateful Dead bears, who were last seen protesting something or other in the "Not Equal" ep.  What are they, anyway?
• The very person who lead the charge to clamp down on the Murai vaccine is about to put all his cards on the table.  As Stewie Griffin would say, "This is so good it just has to be fattening."
• "This time victory is ours..." Even if we did forget to pay the light bill... oh, crap!
• Er, last time I check, the Narc Squad was supposed to take down drug cartels, not NPOs with sunflower logos all over the windows.
• Hindsight's 20-20, but Togusa could have handled this a bit better.  Mistake #1: he should have taken the vaccine file and Fatty with him and just gotten the hell out of there. 
• Taking out your own guys for appearance's sake.  Can't say he's not thorough.  **bleep**wipe.
• AACK!!
• Mistake #2: Togusa should have anticipated a multi-pronged attack; Section 9 uses it all the time (remember the sting operation in ep 14?). 
• "Go search the corpse..." Sorry, all he's got on him is hot lead.
• Even with a submachine gun, Togusa's still outmatched...
• A daring, if desperate escape...
• "Aw, d-mn.  That was our own truck we just shot up."  The henchman they can lose, but the van's important.  They just had it detailed.
• And now the feeble planting of guns to make it look like a raid on a terrorist group.  Of course, any cursory ballistics investigation would give the lie to the ruse.
• So that's Imakurusu.  Note that he was the one heading up that panel in the flashback earlier.  Somehow, I think he's telling the truth when he says he never handed the file over to Sunflower.  Another hack-job? 
• "How could you leave your records on that list, you fool?!?"  Thanks for being so concerned about my health.
• And who's "the Chief" talking to? Could it be... yes, it's obvious... but who, really?
• Mistake #3: the mullet should have called for back-up, so the responding officers could document the crime scene and pick up his bleeding carcass, if nothing else.
• "Maybe I should have gone full cyborg too..."  I've been telling him that since the first ep.
• She senses something's wrong, somehow...
• Well, at least people are helping... kinda sorta not really...

Message Edited by Vladimir on 03-28-2005 08:24 PM

[GinaSzanboti]

The rationale for suppressing the vacine actually did bother me a little.  There are hundreds, if not thousands of drugs in use today for which the mode of action is unknown (check out the fine-print disclaimer page for almost any antidepressant, for example).   However, I suppose that given the fact that it's whatever year it is, maybe by then they will supress drugs that work just because they can't figure out why they do.  Or maybe cyberbrains tend to have more problems with unknown drug actions so they have to be more careful.  No, that doesn't work - if people are demented and dying of CS, side-effects would seem to be the least of their worries if that can be reversed.

Anyway, I can live with that little bit of cognitive dissonance.

"Warehouses and libraries are vastly underrated as horror/suspense venues, don't you think? "

You were being sarcastic, right?   Doesn't like every episode of Scooby and most other suspense series/movies take place in the old, abandoned warehouse?  And 3/4 of Buffy happened in the library.

Yeah, I had trouble believing how long it took Togusa to noticed the sunflower logo, too.  If someone as disconnected from this plotline as I am could spot it at first sight...

And I also was unclear about why T waited so long to call for backup, or for help after he was shot. 

(btw, I liked your anti-war post)

[AhBeeDoi]

I don't think Togusa knew much about the Sunflower Society prior to talking with the administrative functionary from the Minister of Health. They strike me as one of thousands of fringe lobbying group.

[GinaSzanboti]

---

AhBeeDoi wrote:
I don't think Togusa knew much about the Sunflower Society prior to talking with the administrative functionary from the Minister of Health. They strike me as one of thousands of fringe lobbying group.

---

Yeah, but still, just looking at the logo and you can see the connection.  Considering he was investigating the Sunflowers to see if there was a connection, you'd think he would have picked up on the similarities the moment he opened the website.

Message Edited by GinaSzanboti on 04-01-2005 05:47 PM

[R.I.P.zoidberg-fan]

He was probably distracted and didn't pay attention to the logo right away.

[scoobdog]

To play devil's advocate, the LM logo is somewhat basic and could be feasibly seen in a lot of logos that use variations of circles. It's actually the sunflower's expression that tips Togusa off and that isn't something he would see immidiately.

[AhBeeDoi]

Perhaps the Sunflower Society's logo is derivative of the Laughing Man logo, which is a counterculture icon.

[AL429]

I'm not going to try to spoil this question too much at this point, but all I can say is that the audience will find out eventually where the "Laughing Man Logo" eventually came from in a upcoming episode.  It'll be pretty clear when that scene in that upcoming future episode is shown.

As for the connection to the "Laughing Man" and the Sunflower Society, well you all will get more insight when tonight's episode airs.  Trust me, the whole "Laughing Man" Case is about to break open and every thing will be revealed soon enough.

[scoobdog]

Interesting. Well, GitS is thorough if not anything else. I suppose we can better discuss this when we know more.

[Vladimir]

NOTICE:  I very much appreciate all the insightful commentary you lot have put forth so far on the last episode and I'm looking forward to your thoughts on this one.  Unfortunately, MTAC took more out of me that I anticipated... the very least I could do was post the skit I developed for this week.  The review proper will come piping hot out of the oven tomorrow evening.  Thank you for bearing with us.

Also, what would you have me to do over the long hot summer waiting for the second season?  A send-up of "Samurai Champloo" or "Paranoid Agent"?  Right now, I'm thinking I'll work with the latter.

(at the annual regional anime convention, in the glorious chaos of the dealer room)

CV: (perched on V’s shoulder and pointing at everything) Ooh!  Wook over there!  They’ve got a wall thcwoll of Toji from NGE!  And “Gundam THEED” wefwigewator magnetth!  And… ee!  The watetht volume of “Gwavitation”!

V: Would you mind not screaming in my ear?  And keep your eye out for IY plush.  I overheard from that skinny chick dressed like Nuku-Nuku that they might have Sesshomaru.  Ah… nothing like the joy of blowing your hard-earned money on obscure cultural arcana.  (V is tapped on the shoulder by some girl dressed as Kite from the “.hack” franchise)

“KITE”: Dude, cool outfit.  So who are you supposed to be?

V: Uh…what do you mean?

“KITE”: Duh.  What character are you dressed as?

V: Erm… I’m not dressed like anyone.  This is just what I picked out of my closet.

“KITE”:  Rawrr.  Be that way, b-tch.

V: What was all that about?

CV: (chuckling) You watch enough anime, thooner or water you’ll thtart dwething like an anime character… whether you weawize it or not…  (behind him, a Miroku wannabe is pulling out a cellphone)

“MIROKU”: So there’s this guy in the dealer room and no one can figure out what show he’s from… long black hair, iridescent nail polish, black shirt with a faux fur vest, a derringer… and there’s a chibi doll that looks just like him on his shoulder… I dunno, some kind of demon or misshapen clone or something…

CV: I’ll mithshape him in a minute.  Thewiouthwy.  I’ll give him a wind tunnel in his head.  (brandishing his own derringer)

V: Er… it’s plastic?  And it only fires paintballs?  (soon, the Deranged Duo is approached by an Alucard lookalike wearing the wrong color coat, a five-foot tall Goku and the inevitably man-Faye)

“GOKU”: Awright, what gives?  Tell us who you’re supposed to be!

MAN-FAYE: I hereby invoke the authority of my 2200 posts on the Adult Swim messageboards—all in one week—to compel you to full disclosure and bring peace to the dealer room!

“ALUCARD”:  Uh… yeah!  What he said!

V: (deciding to have a bit of fun with the noobs) What, you can’t tell?  You honestly have never heard of the serial bomber Kain Kilkenny from “Kabukicho Nights” and his demonic clone Kain-chan? And you call yourselves anime experts.

“GOKU”: Um… yah, I knew who he was all along.  I just wanted to make sure.  The shoes are all wrong though.  I’ve, like, seen all one hundred or so episodes.

MAN-FAYE: Hmph.  Well, yours truly recognizes those shoes as the ones Ken…

V: Kain.

MAN-FAYE: (correcting himself) …right, the ones that Kain wore in the OAV, which you’ve obviously never seen, Ralph.

“GOKU”: Dude!  I told you not to call me that in here!  I’m Goku, remember… Duane?

“ALUCARD”: Erk… I think I just swallowed one of my fangs...

(V and CV walk off as the three losers are distracted)

CV: I’ve never heard of “Kookie-koo Nighth”.  Ith that who we’re dwethed ath?

V: Hhh.  I made it up, you dink.  Now let’s get over to the yaoi artbook table before they’re out of smut.

Message Edited by Vladimir on 04-03-2005 10:10 PM

[scoobdog]

Man, I want to go to an anime convention with you two...

...but only if I don't have to see Man-Faye. (Why does that dude keep popping up?)

[AhBeeDoi]

---

scoobdog wrote:
Man, I want to go to an anime convention with you two...

...but only if I don't have to see Man-Faye. (Why does that dude keep popping up?)

---

'Cause he's hott.

[MeggieMay]

So are you going to post a full con report? If so, please post a link to it so I can go read it (I haven't a clue where con reports would be posted at this board to begin with)

[Vladimir]

Frankly, there’s not much to tell about the convention aside from what’s on site.  Robert DeJ-sus’s artwork really impressed me, however…

CV: Uh… people are thtawing at you… and not in the good way.  They’re wooking at you the thame way thothe people did when you walked into that kosher dewi and ordered a ham-on-wye.

V: That was you.  Anyway, I do owe you a complete explanation…

To begin with, I was so bushed from Saturday that I opted to set my VCR to record the repeat of the show.  Unfortunately, my VCR didn’t account for Daylight Savings Time as planned, so it only recorded the first few minutes.  So I didn’t have the actual show to refer to.  And the reviews at DAM, while thorough enough, don’t account for everything.

Sunday I still wasn’t feeling up to sorts (I may have picked up something or other).  I gave you a skit, but no review.  Monday brought chaos and strangeness of its own—I noticed my driver’s license was inexplicably missing.  I had to figure out where the DMV was, gather my documents, and hitch a ride out there before it closed, which predictably left me in no mood to piece together what I remembered from the episode and make a review out of it.  You wouldn’t have appreciated the result anyway, as it would have been noticeably lacking in detail.

Thursday night I’ll take my notes, and I promise you’ll get the review Friday evening.  Cross my heart and hope to be trapped in an elevator with Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley.  And there is absolutely no reason why the next one should be delayed.  In the meantime, feel free to discuss the episode... which was first class, in my opinion.

Again, I’m really sorry about this, and I appreciate your patience thus far.

[GinaSzanboti]

Cross my heart and hope to be trapped in an elevator with Gerry Adams and Ian Paisley.

You certainly have creative visions of Hell, don't you... 

Really loved the con report.  And since I'm so behind on this thread anyway, you know I don't mind waiting at all.  It's the quality that counts!