R.E. Silvera's Comments (27)

Congrats on the media coverage, Danny! Online games, hmm... If you like FPS games, try out Team Fortress 2. It's lots of fun and easy to pick up (much easier than something like Counterstrike). If you're not into shooty shooty games I recommend Guild Wars. It still has gorgeous graphics, even with older machines, and best of all? It's got most good things about MMOs but you don't have to pay monthly fees! It's also design with the casual player in mind: you don't have to grind for hours every day,... ( View formatted comment » )

For a long time I wanted to know what Gundam was, but it was impossible to find anything decent in specialist shops. I know, I know, Japan's most popular mech series never got to an anime-crazed South America (they aired Gundam Wing after I left). Sigh... So yeah, I watched some Gundam Wing and got myself some Gunpla, first Wing kits then the MG Zaku-II. I then discovered the Gundam 0079 manga by Kasuhisa Kondo.I started really getting into the deep sci-fi setting of the Universal Century. Soon after I watched the movie trilogy of... ( View formatted comment » )

In my native Argentina, taxis are *relatively* cheap, specially thanks to the almost 4-to-1 Peso-to-Euro exchange rate. Hence, a taxi ride through half the city may cost as little as five euro (and Buenos Aires is a huge city). Here in Ireland it's not so good. A regular taxi ride for people who live near-ish the city centre costs 8-10 Euro. Of course, it is artificially spiked if the taxi crosses a county line. This is patently absurd in the case of my parents for example: they live in Bray, a town on the border between County Du... ( View formatted comment » )

I always heard Tokyo was one of the most expensive cities in the world. Well, I got that beat. I live in the Republic of Ireland, and I seem to be paying more for rent than your average apartment listed at 140,000 Yen. That is around 870 Euro. I pay 900 euro a month for a tiny apartment I share with my girlfriend. It has a good location (15 minutes walk from the city centre), and it's in tip-top shape... but the kitchen isn't even separate from the living room, so small it is! Dublin is a rip-off anyway... b... ( View formatted comment » )

It's got a sharp sculpt and nice labels as usual, but... Katoki has barely redesigned it! It still looks a lot like the Ohkawara original, much like the Master Grade model. It's a bit conservative, I wish Katoki would just redesign it like he did with the Zaku-II (into the Zaku-II F2) and the Gouf (into the Gouf Custom). ( View formatted comment » )

The Dublin branch of Forbidden Planet used to carry the japanese Newtype, but nowadays they're happy just providing the American one, which I've never bothered much with. I think they carry some others, like that Newtype mag that is devoted to live action shows... I know the store you're talking about, in Piccadilly circus! I've been there lots of times. Last time was three years ago, I bought an issue of Shounen Ace which had an Evangelion calendar. ( View formatted comment » )

Here in Dublin, it's exactly the same. Most places ask you "Pay together or separate?" Some restaurants don't do that with larger parties, say more than 4 people or something. If they do, it's generally written somewhere visible on the menu. ( View formatted comment » )

Considering how commercial Gundam is, Mc Donald's is their perfect venue for product placement. Imagine this if you will: The Zaku burger, with green colouring (who wouldn't want to eat green buns huh!?!?!?!). Then, then... you have a limited edition spicy one in red, you guessed it, you call it Char Custom. The tagline for the CMs? "The Char Custom burger! It's three times spicier!" I'll get me coat. ( View formatted comment » )

A similar thing happens in Argentina, my home country, as shown in the film Nine Queens. The principle of the scam is the same as the Ore Ore: you trick an old person into thinking you're the grandchild/nephew and that you need money. The con requires two people. One will pretend to be the young relative, and will ring up a random flat in a building (by ring up I mean ring the intercom, these are easily accessible in most apartment buildings from outside the front door). They will say something like "Hi auntie/granma... ( View formatted comment » )

I am firmly against capital punishment, which is probably due to my education as well as the arguments I have heard for and against it. Pro-DP arguments seem to be based on Hammurabi-style morality and appeals to emotion, the former outdated, the latter a falacy. In secondary school, when I was 14, we had a Constitutional Law class, which has served me well (indeed, I think all secondary school should teach that subject early on). We had one two-hour class one day, about why the Death Penalty was not legal in Argentina (grante... ( View formatted comment » )

Law enforcement here in Ireland has its good side and its bad. The good side is that your run-of-the-mill Garda (the name for police here) is generally a neighbourly sort, who knows the people from around town and is quick to catch people obviously breaking the law. Much like British police for the most part, including their not carrying guns except for a special division. The bad bit is the fact that they can be very violent when pissed off, as well as instigating riots during peaceful demonstrations. Moreover, they've basically ... ( View formatted comment » )

Man, that sounds like it's really easy to get lost... I thought the system they use in Rome was bad, which is basically no system at all. Oh, houses are numbered, but the numbering can go something like this: 014, 015, 015b, 015c, 145, 047, 050 MAKES NO SENSE! The best system I've ever known is in my native Buenos Aires. Basically the city is largely arranged as a grid, with most blocks between streets being around 100 meters long on each side. Each street has a name, not a number (easier to remembe... ( View formatted comment » )

Man, that sounds like it's really easy to get lost... I thought the system they use in Rome was bad, which is basically no system at all. Oh, houses are numbered, but the numbering can go something like this: 014, 015, 015b, 015c, 145, 047, 050 MAKES NO SENSE! The best system I've ever known is in my native Buenos Aires. Basically the city is largely arranged as a grid, with most blocks between streets being around 100 meters long on each side. Each street has a name, not a number (easier to remembe... ( View formatted comment » )

Man, that sounds like it's really easy to get lost... I thought the system they use in Rome was bad, which is basically no system at all. Oh, houses are numbered, but the numbering can go something like this: 014, 015, 015b, 015c, 145, 047, 050 MAKES NO SENSE! The best system I've ever known is in my native Buenos Aires. Basically the city is largely arranged as a grid, with most blocks between streets being around 100 meters long on each side. Each street has a name, not a number (easier to remembe... ( View formatted comment » )

Man, that sounds like it's really easy to get lost... I thought the system they use in Rome was bad, which is basically no system at all. Oh, houses are numbered, but the numbering can go something like this: 014, 015, 015b, 015c, 145, 047, 050 MAKES NO SENSE! The best system I've ever known is in my native Buenos Aires. Basically the city is largely arranged as a grid, with most blocks between streets being around 100 meters long on each side. Each street has a name, not a number (easier to remembe... ( View formatted comment » )

Some of those look really nice, but I can't wait for the day when more Shojo characters get figures. I'm talking about CLAMP characters, but also the amazing designs from Utena, or Rose of Versailles (which got some awful barbie-like dolls... most of which European made). ( View formatted comment » )

Some of those look really nice, but I can't wait for the day when more Shojo characters get figures. I'm talking about CLAMP characters, but also the amazing designs from Utena, or Rose of Versailles (which got some awful barbie-like dolls... most of which European made). ( View formatted comment » )

Some of those look really nice, but I can't wait for the day when more Shojo characters get figures. I'm talking about CLAMP characters, but also the amazing designs from Utena, or Rose of Versailles (which got some awful barbie-like dolls... most of which European made). ( View formatted comment » )

Some of those look really nice, but I can't wait for the day when more Shojo characters get figures. I'm talking about CLAMP characters, but also the amazing designs from Utena, or Rose of Versailles (which got some awful barbie-like dolls... most of which European made). ( View formatted comment » )

I often heard this from others that have gone to Japan, regarding old houses (either battered ones or very traditional ones) in the middle of highly urbanised areas. Here in Dublin the situation is a bit different since the country is only undergoing urbanisation pretty much now, and only for the last 10 years or so with the big economic upturn. However, because of Dublin's nature as a tourist city, the government is extremely opposed to demolishing old buildings, even if these have little to no historical or cultural significance... ( View formatted comment » )

I often heard this from others that have gone to Japan, regarding old houses (either battered ones or very traditional ones) in the middle of highly urbanised areas. Here in Dublin the situation is a bit different since the country is only undergoing urbanisation pretty much now, and only for the last 10 years or so with the big economic upturn. However, because of Dublin's nature as a tourist city, the government is extremely opposed to demolishing old buildings, even if these have little to no historical or cultural significance... ( View formatted comment » )

I often heard this from others that have gone to Japan, regarding old houses (either battered ones or very traditional ones) in the middle of highly urbanised areas. Here in Dublin the situation is a bit different since the country is only undergoing urbanisation pretty much now, and only for the last 10 years or so with the big economic upturn. However, because of Dublin's nature as a tourist city, the government is extremely opposed to demolishing old buildings, even if these have little to no historical or cultural significance... ( View formatted comment » )

I often heard this from others that have gone to Japan, regarding old houses (either battered ones or very traditional ones) in the middle of highly urbanised areas. Here in Dublin the situation is a bit different since the country is only undergoing urbanisation pretty much now, and only for the last 10 years or so with the big economic upturn. However, because of Dublin's nature as a tourist city, the government is extremely opposed to demolishing old buildings, even if these have little to no historical or cultural significance... ( View formatted comment » )

First comment by moi! Aww... Anyways, that's a very interesting tidbit, Danny. You've made me curious about the subject. The hunt for a good english-language tome on Japanese sociology continues! At any rate, yeah, the situation here in Ireland regarding homelessness is quite bad, particularly in Dublin, where I live, which has a disproportionate amount of homeless people. A good part of it is that once someone becomes homeless here, they're castaways and almost considered unredeemable. Couple that with bureaucr... ( View formatted comment » )