Umamusume: Pretty Derby
Tonight on GeekNights, we review Umamusume: Pretty Derby. It's... OK. It has some problems. It's basically on one end of a horse-girl anime spectrum. In the news, Boston's nerd convention security problems (the primary reason we stopped performing at Anime Boston despite it being one of the best anime cons in America) continue, AnimeNYC is coming again this year, Bee and Puppycat is getting a second season co-produced by OLM, and Otaku Coin is something to avoid.
The GeekNights Community Forum is pretty great, and you should join it!
Containers
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about containers (like Docker). They're not the panacea for environment configuration/distribution some people make them out to be, but they have their uses and you should know about them.
In the news, after an aside about axe murder, we consider Microsoft's acquisition of GitHub, Yahoo messenger is going dark on July 17th, and Apple has deprecated OpenGL.
Indian Food
Tonight on GeekNights, we get ever-increasingly specific in our food-related show topics with some thoughts on Indian food. In the news, we've resolved some recent production pipeline issues, the weird business at the consulates continues, New York City needs New York State's permission to correct the spelling of the Verraz(z)ano Bridge in honor of Verrazzano.
Just Shapes and Beats
Tonight on GeekNights, we review a game we've been waiting for longer than you can imagine. Just Shapes and Beats. Rym got it on Switch, Scott got it on Steam. They're both fine. It's shapes and beats. It evokes the same brainfeel as Super Hexagon, but fully evolved.
In the news, Rym runs afoul of old people in bike lanes, Fallout 76 looks intriguing, and Mario Tennis Aces looks promising, but has unusable network play in its current state. We'll hopefully see you at both PAX Unplugged and PAX West!
Be sure to check out GeekNights Presents: Board Games and GeekNights Presents: Utena! We're also Judging Anime before it comes out!
Thank You Zenkaikon 2018!
Thank you for a great crowd and a great time at Zenkaikon 2018 in Lancaster PA! If you want to follow up from our panels, check out these notes!
Anime Openers from Around the World
This was the last time we'll ever do this one: it's finally retired. Thankfully, these aren't too hard to find yourself with a little searching. Protip: check out Disney Afternoon.
Underrated Anime you should see
Here is the list of underrated anime, as well as a similar panel we did on boardgames. Be sure to check out GeekNights Presents: Utena.
The Rage of the Quitter
If you missed the talk or want to see it again, there is video of us doing the same talk at PAX West. Be sure to also check out our older talk on how game mechanics affect their communities, and my two PAX Australia talks on Losing and Multiplayer Losing!
GeekNights Presents: Utena
Episode 16
Episode 16 of Revolutionary Girl Utena is another one of the "Nanami Episodes." Right in the middle of the deepening mystery of the Black Rose Saga, you (appear to) take a 90* swerve into Nanami-land. But, Nanami episodes are deceiving. They present an adolescence allegory parallel to Utena's, and important themes for the overall show are embedded within them.
Here, Nanami literally and figuratively turns into a cow. Moo. And also, we learn about the instrumentality (or lack thereof) of the oppressed in their own oppression.
Book Club - The Odyssey
Many people read The Odyssey in high school, but rarely does it truly resonate. It's read for class, it's read for analysis, but often its nuance, humor, and drama are lost in translation. If you've never read it, or read it but don't remember much, there is a truly novel translation recently available from Emily Wilson. To quote the Amazon page:
"In this fresh, authoritative version―the first English translation of The Odyssey by a woman―this stirring tale of shipwrecks, monsters, and magic comes alive in an entirely new way. Written in iambic pentameter verse and a vivid, contemporary idiom, this engrossing translation matches the number of lines in the Greek original, thus striding at Homer’s sprightly pace and singing with a voice that echoes Homer’s music.
Wilson’s Odyssey captures the beauty and enchantment of this ancient poem as well as the suspense and drama of its narrative. Its characters are unforgettable, from the cunning goddess Athena, whose interventions guide and protect the hero, to the awkward teenage son, Telemachus, who struggles to achieve adulthood and find his father; from the cautious, clever, and miserable Penelope, who somehow keeps clamoring suitors at bay during her husband’s long absence, to the “complicated” hero himself, a man of many disguises, many tricks, and many moods, who emerges in this translation as a more fully rounded human being than ever before."
