Burrowowl

Every once in a great while, we are reminded that the World Wide Web can actually be of good use. Sure, we have C-SPAN providing coverage of the increasingly-irrelevant political conventions and amusing doodles, but do these really serve to improve the intellectual well-being of the public? Today I located a copy of Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal,” originally published in 1727 and still relevant today.

Therefore let no man talk to me of other expedients: Of taxing our absentees at five shillings a pound: Of using neither cloaths, nor houshold furniture, except what is of our own growth and manufacture: Of utterly rejecting the materials and instruments that promote foreign luxury: Of curing the expensiveness of pride, vanity, idleness, and gaming in our women: Of introducing a vein of parsimony, prudence and temperance: Of learning to love our country, wherein we differ even from Laplanders, and the inhabitants of Topinamboo: Of quitting our animosities and factions, nor acting any longer like the Jews, who were murdering one another at the very moment their city was taken: Of being a little cautious not to sell our country and consciences for nothing: Of teaching landlords to have at least one degree of mercy towards their tenants. Lastly, of putting a spirit of honesty, industry, and skill into our shop-keepers, who, if a resolution could now be taken to buy only our native goods, would immediately unite to cheat and exact upon us in the price, the measure, and the goodness, nor could ever yet be brought to make one fair proposal of just dealing, though often and earnestly invited to it.

As society rejects the adoption of conventional means to promote the well-being of the underclass — and thereby the stability and prosperity of the people as a whole — alternatives must be pursued.

Toei finally came out with the second episode of Interlude, and the kind folks at Triad were nice enough to provide free English versions to a western public that is starved for quality entertainment. I was first exposed to this title around the same time as Samurai Champloo, and had high expectations for both. I’m pleased to report that both haven’t let me down. Interlude continues to show the nature of the stange world that the protagonist has been catching glimpses of. He soon discovers that getting back out of the strange shadow-world may not be so easy.

I understand everything in this series will be wrapped up next episode, at least according to the fansubbers.

The fine folks at Sucker Punch are at it again. On September 14th, we can expect to see a sequel to the amazing Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racoonus. The original Sly Cooper game was slick as you please, with a highly stylizing cell-shaded Racoon hero slinky about, whacking things with his hook and jumping around all over the place. The controls, dialogue, level design, music, sound effects, and general ambience made for a tremendously enjoyable experience. I very much look forward to whatever the next one has in store. All the usual preview sites have been drooling all over it as is their wont, but if past Sly Cooper experience means anything, reviews aren’t necessary: just go buy the dang thing.

This happened a while ago, but CMX, a DC Comics imprint, announced at it has secured the distribution rights for an english translation of Tenjo Tenge. This prompted Fugu Tabetai — the erstwhile scanslator that brought us the entire first ten volumes of it through mangatranslation.com — to put a stop to his fan translation/editing/distribution effort. This past week we got the last scanslation from him for this title, an “extra features” piece that servers to summarize and clarify the plotline and character relationships. Go buy it from DC when they put it out. Fugu did a great job, but there really is no substitute to having a proper paper-and-ink copy for a good title like this.

Sometimes you come across a really good explanation for why something is the way it is in a given campaign setting. On the subject of flying machines in the Iron Kingdoms, we are given further evidence that the Privateer Press writers know what they’re doing:

This question comes up a lot. There are a few hot air balloons in the Iron Kingdoms, mostly as a toy for the very wealthy. You can only go up and down in them. They aren’t dirigible. When Vinter Raelthorne made his escape in a hot air balloon, he went into the Bloodstone Marches because that is where the wind took him. He certainly didn’t want to go there (but it worked out to his advantage when he did).

One out of game reason why there aren’t any aircraft in the IK is lighter-than-air dirigibles and sleek and aerodynamic aerostats go against the heavy, bulky, ironclad imagery that forms the core of the Iron Kingdoms setting. Another out of game reason is that it makes rapid transportation possible outside of preset travel routes. If you want to get from Caspia to Corvis in a hurry in the current setting, you take the train to Bainsmarket (passing through Steelwater Flats and Fharin and many other little towns on the way) and then cut through a pass in the Dragonspine Peaks (passing the Tomb of Lost Souls on the way) to the river and then take a boat down stream to Corvis. With an airplane, you would take off from Caspia and land in Corvis and totally avoid any interesting scenery or encounters. Airplanes pretty much negate geography.

An in-game reason for the lack of aircraft is that no one has developed any. No one wants to break the surly bonds of earth and touch the face of god when that god is Lord Toruk or one of his children. In the real world, we only have to worry about hitting a flock of geese or something. In the Iron Kingdoms, there are big flying monsters who will have the home field advantage. An early airplane would be completely out maneuvered and outclassed by any flying creature. And most flying monsters are predatory and would likely attack a flying intruder into their domain.