Goodbye, little digital magpies

I’ll be brief.

As of tonight this site is going to be effectively shuttered. Later this week, any and all traffic linking to our content will be redirected to our new self-hosted domain: http://altairandvega.net.

We began in the summer of 2011. That really does feel like a lifetime ago. We’ve grown and changed, evolved and moved on, and we have a new space to play in.

Update your links, bookmarks, rss feeds, and come on over!

The Untold Story of Altair & Vega | Discourse over Distance

Twelve Days: A Partridge in a Pear Tree

Or: I do use Raspberyl as my avatar, after all

If you are reading this I rather presume you won’t be doing so on the day it is published. If you are, I can only assume it a well deserved break from all the food, wine, and plotting to violently evict the invading relatives. Anyway, I shall be quick as the Queen will be on shortly and we mustn’t miss the Queen.

Twelve Days: Two Turtle Doves

Or: A Hat, Coat, and Dark Glasses Required

Film festivals either exude glamour and celebrity status, or are humble little affairs designed to promote some little niche genre or medium. Edinburgh holds a celebrated film festival every year, and as I now live just above the city, I thought I might as well take advantage of that aspect of the city’s culture.

I do not mean to suggest I attended the Edinburgh International Film Festival, only that I decided to attend a film festival that happened to be held in Edinburgh. Though, I admit the ambiguity has been delightfully useful in real life conversation.

Twelve Days: Three French Hens

Or: Frequent Shopper Points are Dangerous

Adorning the cover of Manga Time Kirara’s November 2013 edition is the eponymous leading lady of Shoulder-a-Coffin Kuro. She is portrayed holding a spyglass in what appears to be a clock tower. The magazine also includes, amongst other lesser-known series, a chapter of Yuyushiki. A chapter in which the motherly Yoriko Matsumoto features prominently, and the purple-haired Yukari performs quite the impressive Shaft Head Tilt™.

In the Occident, Kuro is published by Yen Press with three volumes released at time of writing. Satoko Kiyuduki, author and artist to Kuro, has published four volumes in total. The fourth includes stunning pieces of art, and appears to take a more involved look at Kuro’s past and curse. I’ve probably been spoilt; likely not by much, however, as I can’t read or speak Japanese beyond asking where the wine section is.

Twelve Days: Four Colly Birds

Or: Where did all these CDs come from?

I am led to believe The Idolmaster was originally an arcade game. It is now an absurdly large franchise comprising all manner of (likely expensive) things. I do not profess to be an expert, or even well acquainted, with much of it. I did watch the 2011 anime adaptation earlier this year, however. I enjoyed it an awful lot, much to my own surprise.

Twelve Days: Five Gold Rings

Or: Ion Cannon Do Not Work in Hyperspace

This should have been about Girls und Panzer, but then Space Battleship Yamato 2199 came and blew it out of the water.

Space Battleship Yamato 2199 is a space opera of grand proportions. A remake of Leiji Matsumoto’s 1974 series Space Battleship Yamato, it follows the eponymous ship on a desperate voyage across three galaxies to save our beseiged planet.

Twelve Days: Six Geese-a-Laying

Or: Of Grey Wolves and Golden Fairies

Outside of comedy, my father is quite content to simply watch a series or film once and never revisit it. In drama you know plot’s end. In science fiction you know how the shining empire falls to the rag-tag band of heroes. In a murder mystery you know whodunnit and why. Yet with comedy, the jokes may be appreciated once more.

To an extent, I agree. Yet, at the same time, I stand apart from this sentiment. A drama may be appreciated again for the characters, for the plot itself, despite knowing how it reaches its end. Science fiction may be enjoyed for its grand scale, its characters, and its battles. Equally, a good murder mystery may be appreciated for its chess pieces, and by seeing all the clues one missed the first time fall into place.

Twelve Days: Seven Swans-a-Swimming

Or: Dancing Ducks and Clever Corvids

Once upon a time, there was a man who died. The man tried to keep spinning a story even after his death, but the story just wouldn’t move along. The man lost patience and called a duck into the story.

Or so narrates the narrator of Princess Tutu at the beginning of its final episode. As a series, it is a bit of an oddity in terms of both presentation and plot. I do not intend to suggest it bad, however, in fact, to my mind, it’s fairly brilliant.

Twelve Days: Eight Maids-a-Milking

Or: On Queerats and Monarchy

From the New World is the commonly known name of Dvořák’s ninth symphony. It is also the name of a novel by Yusuke Kishi. The anime adaptation of the latter aired between September of last year and March of this. Yes, it did use Dvořák’s ninth.

Twelve Days: Nine Ladies Dancing

Or: The End of the Second Era

At the end of the first era, we bore witness to the exiting of Arisawa. Arisawa is a third year whom we meet by coincidence when revising for her university entrance exams late one night. We see her again once said exams are taken and passed. The third time is at her graduation. She is seen off with a congratulations and a high-five. Arisawa’s exit is confident and forward-facing.

The second era ends with the exiting of Sae and Hiro. This exit is neither as confident, nor as forward-facing. There are tears, there is uncertainty, there is melancholy.