This website is quite proudly a-political (as I am a moderate independent capable of seeing the virtues of a variety of party platforms, none of which match my own ideology), but this one caught my eye. File under “amusing politicos”:
Suddenly, indeed. I’m pretty sure even Gray Davis doesn’t like how Gray Davis runs things. Anyhow, I’m looking forward to next year’s recall as well, if this one goes through. Vote Coleman!
File under “Khadoran National Board of Tourism”
During your stay is the lovely but harsh lands of Khador, whether touring the scenic steppelands of our Khardic forefathers, riding the sleek, modern railroad system connecting our proud capital city Korsk to other hubs of industry, or visitng the ancient shrines and temples of both Morrow and Menoth, there are some things you will often be called upon to know.
Our land is a proud Monarchy, headed by Queen Ayn Vanar XI. Her bloodline draws back to the ancient pre-Orgoth horse-lords, and she is a fine example of Khadoran strength and austerity. Her house and army are strong, and she is admired and beloved by her people.
The weather in Khador has always been described as “harsh,” as our long winters freeze this part of Immoren for five months out of the year. Our farmers and craftsmen are known for their efficiency and strength, making due with relatively short growing seasons and the threats of the northern wilderness. Against these dangers the Winter Guard is ever-vigilant, patrolling our major settlements constantly.
By the law of our queen, all Khadoran men must serve no less than three years in the military, defending our motherland as need be. No woman who volunteers for such service is refused entry, and many of our most capable and fearsome officers are of the female persuasion. In times of need, every male that is of age may be called upon to assist the Winter Guard to keep the peace and defeat our enemies. Khadorans have always been a strong people, and visitors are advised to avoid arousing the locals’ tempers.
The Sword Faith of Morrow has found Khador to be quite receptive, and the Old Faith of Menoth remains strongly anchored amongst our culture. Ever respectful of our ancient tradtions, we honor Menoth the Lawgiver and Creator, all the while seeking self-betterment as Morrow would have us. In Khador moreso than anywhere else, the faiths of Menoth and Morrow cohabitate most harmoniously, each held firmly in the hearts of our people. Please note that the church heirarchy of Menoth here in the North do not recognize the Heirarch in Southern Cygnar, instead relying upon the older tradition of leadership by a number of Visgoths. The Church of Morrow in Khador, as with everywhere else, respects the authority of the Primarch and the Exordeum.
Our money is accepted throughout the Iron Kingdoms and is well known for its reliable purity, the artisanship of its design, and its economical proportions. Unlike the chincy Cygnaran Shields and Crowns, Khadoran currency has a reassuring heft to it that clatters nicely in the hand when making a purchase or trade.
The Horn is made of copper, and roughly equivalent to the Cygnaran Farthing.
The Hoof is cast in silver, and roughly equivalent to the Shield.
The Talon is of gold, worth the same as a Cygnaran Crown.
The Fang, ten times the weight of a Talon and also made from gold, is the rough equivalent of a Cygnaran Tower.
When visting Khador, you are advised to trade in foreign jink at the nearest tax collector’s office to ensure favorable exchange rates. Many loyal Khadoran shopkeepers and professionals will not accept inferior foreign moneys, or charge an exhorbitant fee for dirtying their hands with the stuff.
*update 04-14-2005: after the release of the IKWG, a revised version of this article was posted, at which time many of the horrible typos in this version were fixed, and some other information was corrected or expanded upon.
The title of the manga can be translated as “one against 1,000″ or interpreted as “the strength to overcome 1,000″ but the manga and anime for Ikki Tousen is really just a crossbreed between Street Fighter and Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms is a lengthy historical drama regarding the “warring states” period of Chinese history. This was a time when rival warlords (princes, kings, sovereigns, whatever) were nearly constantly at war with each other. It was during this time that the writings of Sun Tzu were created, and the wisdom of Lao Tzu and Kung Fu Tzu took root in Chinese culture. Street Fighter, of course, is a video game in which contestants pummel each other with a variety of flashy karate maneuvers for no apparent reason.
A manga re-enacting the RotTK incorporating lots of flashy martial arts would be great (the Dynasty Warriors series of video games has attempted this). Ikki Tousen, however, takes place in modern Japan. The characters all conveniently have the same names as the generals and advisors from RotTK, and apparently are to varying degrees reliving the events of the ancient story. The Japanese versions of the names, of course, and instead of kingdoms these people are gangs that run some high schools.
The martial arts action is amusing, the character development largely accomplished by means of ominous summaries from the RotTK (e.g. “Sonsaku Hakufu was a great general reputed to…”) from the narrator. The character design in the manga is pretty good, though a bit heavy on the ecchi (can Hakufu have a fight without her shirt being ripped open? Not during the first few installments). The director of the anime clearly felt that showing off girls’ underwear was the primary reason to convert this story, and he does quite a lot of it.
I recommend Ikki Tousen for a quick read when you’ve got nothing better to do, and a reasonably good waste of hard drive space if you feel inclined to download it. You’re not going to be seeing any innovative characters, the depth of the plot is only “potential” at this point, and the potential is scarce (as of Episode 8 of the anime, or Volume 2 Chapter 6 of the manga), and technical merit of the animation team is mediocre. Note that this is produced as a television series, so they were operating under airtime deadlines. Cut the poor schmucks some slack when judging this one.
Due to the “sinking” effect that is ever-so-common in Corvis, most construction projects on “bare ground” (often the rooftops of sunken structures) begins with the introduction of large steel posts, driven into the soft earth with the assistance of industrial steamjacks (the local masons have a longstanding relationship with the Steamworker’s Union).
Once the piledriving is completed, a two-foot layer of impermeable clay is laid down to seal off the future basement of the new structure. This basement is typically built above “ground level” and thoroughly sealed against water intrusion (even the Cygnaran Public Works Department’s massive pumps are no guarantee against flood damage, after all). Older structures used pitch for this purpose, but some of the high-end construction projects over the past 100 years or so have taken advantages of certain alchemical compounds developed originally for sealing water leaks in steamworks.
Over the centuries, this has resulted in an irregular pattern of impermeable strata at various depths throughout the city, and structures have sunk despite the best efforts of Cygnar’s best and brightest architects and engineers. As the canal system has been built, rebuilt, redirected, and repaired, there have been no less than twenty serviceable tunnels discovered that actually pass beneath the canals, with only minor leakage from above. Criminal elements such as the Gertens Family have made use of such tunnels for years now for use in evading the Watch for smuggling and kidnapping operations.
Entrances to known tunnels of this nature are under observation at all times by a group of operatives for the Crown for use by King Leto’s intelligence network. The Town Watch is officially unaware of their presence, though Captain Helstrom has made beneficial use of them on a number of occasions.
Johnny Cash passed away this morning.