Humanity as a whole seems to have decided that traffic deaths are an inevitable consequence of modern city living (regardless of whether that's actually true or not). I don't think a handful of politicians deciding otherwise would move the needle much.

Actually, my first thought on seeing that shot was, "Reminds me of the first ep. of Lord of Mysteries." So the technique itself isn't that innovative, although applying it to a show intended for the Japanese domestic market might be, since Lord of Mysteries is a donghua.

Given that we're talking about traffic deaths, I'm not sure even that would be sufficient.

As with most other things, it depends on who or what you're trying to attract. If you're trying to attract cats, giving them a nice warm server to sleep on is always a plus.

In the unlikely event that they actually listen to her, that should lead to the party fragmenting itself into irrelevance quite nicely.

Arguable. Google has long since jumped the shark, but Yandex was never that great to begin with.

We abolished capital punishment a long time ago. Even for that.

I think they're implying a violent authoritarian crackdown on anyone who doesn't hew to the Trump Administration's party line. Probably around the time that Trump refuses to leave office after the next presidential election. As nightmares go, that one isn't quite as far-fatched as most of the world would like.

China is fine to let our country stay around while they invade their neighbours,

And the fact that China would get to us a decade or two after the US would (by which point we would be their neighbour) does not exactly inspire confidence in me.

They're both enemies, though. Just one's more subtle than the other.

He expects that his potential dates are as unintelligent and lazy as he is. Actually, if he's looking for someone who shares his "values", filtering out anyone smarter and more energetic might not be a bad strategy . . . 🤔

.hack//SIGN did not age well. It got some decently positive reviews when it first aired, but was just about unwatchable when I rewatched it ten years later. But yeah, the soundtrack (early Yuki Kajiura) was always the best part.

If most of the other people running did so on platforms that many of the citizens consider actively detrimental, or have personally pissed enough people off, I could easily see someone who's proclaimed he doesn't much care getting elected. (Hell, under those circumstances, I could see a pet rock getting elected.)

Instead of reasoned debate, Goldstein suggests Biblical law provides guidance for handling the threat allegedly posed by Lewis. Under the headline “Jewish law tells us how to deal with Avi Lewis,” Goldstein’s article recounts the story of God punishing the Biblical dissenter Korach, burning him and his followers alive, after Korach endangered the Jewish community.

And it is typical of these sorts of people that they think that they're God.

Aria was another early work in this area, but I don't know how much it influenced later shows because this is so not my genre.

I find I end up drawing blood with my handsaw more than any single other tool. Band-aid-class injuries, not serious ones. I'm a lot more attentive when using something electrical.

So far, I've dropped four series: Marronier (just too slow-paced), Dandivine (I can see what they're going for, but it didn't evoke the right kind of nostalgia for me), Laid-Off Cheat-Granting Mage (artwork style used for background characters was unappealing), and Horror Collector (the horror bits were just too clichéd).

Hanging by a thread: Firefly Wedding (we'll see what I think after I've watched the second episode), Suikoden (I have fond feelings for the game and want to see how they handle the adaptation, but was not overly impressed by the premiere).

Haven't watched yet: Dark Machine and the as-yet-unpremiered Fool Night.

Best surprise so far: Psyren—I won't claim it's brilliant, but as an action show to crash in front of and turn your brain off, the first couple of eps have worked.

I'm willing to give a bit of a pass on the grammar—someone may have learning disabilities or not be writing in their first language. And formatting a book is simple and mechanical enough that a piece of software might get it right. If you're relying on an LLM for actual plot, though, you're doing it wrong.

The site formerly known as Twitter would be more respectable these days if it were a porn site.

Would everyone who is surprised by this please raise your hand? . . . That's what I thought.