Fry and Laurie on language

(This video appeared recently on Language Log)

Classic Games

My chance to be the first in the (immediate) family to be published is dashed. The professor of classic games beat me.

But - we'll soon get a chance soon to test whether the game guru's encyclopedic knowledge is built on a secure foundation of practical skill, or whether he is just an `armchair academic' of video games.

The challenger arrives in Texas in less than a week. Mwahaha.

Battle of Midway propaganda video

I came across this video by chance today. It's a propaganda film directed for the Navy by John Ford documenting the Battle of Midway, including actual footage of the battle.

ジパング (Zipang)

I just downloaded the first 26 episodes of the anime series Zipang from SUMO torrent. A friend brought me a bunch of the collected manga, volumes 18 to 29, from Japan. So I'm watching the anime to catch myself up to read the manga.

I've only watched the first episode, but it looks interesting so far. The premise is that a modern-day Japanese self-defense force naval ship is caught in a time warp that sends it back in time to the second World War. Fun stuff.

The rights to North American distribution are owned by Geneon, who are releasing the series on DVD. Check it out.

Car re-enabled

I changed my car battery today. How many man points does this earn me? I think at least five.

So now my car is running again. But it seems like someone's lawnmower launched a rock at the front window and gave it a good crack. Boo.

In other news, Shoichi and Yoko invited the first year students (and me) over for a very delicious dinner.



Yoko made about three dinners worth of food, including some excellent salmon kabobs, yakitori, nanbanduke style cod, and eggplant au gratin. Yum.

Just ten days til I head back to Texas. It's already hot here, so I imagine Texas is boiling by now.