/* *************************************************************************** ** *************************************************************************** ** The Non-Sequitur Express ** Published at random intervals by Phillip Thorne ** Volume 3, Issue 6: Thursday, 28 June 2001 ** http://nsx.underbase.org/ ** ** The problem with social experiments -- ** is that no one wants to be in the control group. ** *************************************************************************** ** ************************************************************************ */ OBSERVATIONS & C: Lobsters, technokitsch, songbirds, SOP spy, feedback. ERRATA & O+A+A: The algebra of knots. CON REVIEW: Katsucon 007 cosplay. TECHNOLOGY: Sony WEGA KV-27FV16 TV doesn't daisy-chain RF. plus Legalese, acknowledgements and opt-in/out instructions. http://nsx.underbase.org/ - back issues http://nsx.underbase.org/index_plus.htm - synopses, reviews, analyses, etc. http://nsx.underbase.org/tv/ - Philadelphia TV listings http://www.underbase.org/ - additional databases /* *************************************************************************** ** OBSERVATIONS & COGITATIONS ** "...stick a lobster on my head" ** Technokitsch: why? ** How do songbirds gauge distances? ** SOP when killing traitor-spies ** How to respond to NSX ** ************************************************************************ */ In a recent ep of the Sci Fi Channel original series "Farscape", suspicious planetary officials employ a specially-trained four-legged crustacean as a lie detector; it grasps the back of the interrogee's skull, with a fifth appendage scanning across the forehead; like a reverse "facehugger" from the "Alien" films. The human character Crichton (Ben Browder) is forced to undergo this creature's scrutiny once, and later voluntarily dons it as a ploy. On that second occasion, he recites the ditty, "cross my heart, slap me dead; stick a lobster on my head." In a related incident, there is an ep of the sitcom "Third Rock from the Sun" in which Dick (John Lithgow) becomes a militant vegetarian and is taken by his girlfriend to a seafood restaurant. He becomes agitated while eating his salad and leaps up to free the live lobsters from their death-row imprisonment; he pulls them from their tank, sets them on the floor, and urges them to flee, flee! They twitch their antennas and swimmerets. "You'll have to run faster than that," he chides. *** TCHOTCHKES (pronouncd "chotch keys") are those logo-emblazoned promotional toys handed out at trade fairs; TECHNOKITSCH (with a similar pile of Yiddish consonants) are typically larger items, which combine some usually-useful technological function with faddish exterior design. For instance, a telephone handset has a natural form that follows its function: that it extend from the ear to the lips, and can be held by the hand; the base must accomodate the handset and controls (rotary or keypad). So why do there exist telephones shaped like Mickey Mouse, or a duck decoy, or a football? Unlike the ornate designs of the early twentieth century (or the iMac(tm)-inspired translucent jellybeans of recent years), they don't fit into any conceivable decorating scheme; and sometimes the ergonomics of the device suffer. Similarly, what's the point of a TV remote control shaped as a "Star Trek" phaser, or the starship _Enterprise_? And isn't the notion of a coffee mug shaped like the head of a Disney character or "Star Wars" alien, the skull scooped out, a bit -- macabre? These aren't /objets d'art/; they barely achieve the aesthetic level of handicrafts (or even the definition, since they're mass-produced). We might as well create telephones shaped like coffee mugs or electric laundry irons. However, be careful using them when drinking or ironing; else that sizzling sound you hear might not be static on the line. *** The other day, listening to some of our local songbirds sing in stereo (a mated pair of cardinals, one of the few species in which the female also has a song) and watching them move between branches in a tree, I wondered: how? With eyes on the *sides* of its head, a songbird lacks stereo vision (unlike a brachiating primate); so how does it gauge the distance to a potential perch? Hypothesis: it doesn't try. Instead, it trails its feet until they snag a branch, then grabs hold. *** I watched the 2000 movie "Charlie's Angels" last month. (SPOILERS!) A whiz-kid software CEO develops a vendetta against Charlie, the unseen founder/funder of the crime-solving Angels, because his father had been killed by Charlie during Vietnam. Charlie later explains that the father was a traitor, a spy. Now, the US military has procedures to notify the family of soldiers killed in combat. What's the protocol if the soldier is found to be a *spy* and is killed without trial? To issue a letter reading, "We regret to inform you your husband was a dirty traitor and got what he deserved"? To quietly investigate the family for other national security risks? *** On feedback... if you reply with corrections or additions to the originating address of this newsletter, please indicate if you'd like the comments to be published verbatim, and how you'd like to be credited (by initials, name, geographic location, email, website, or any combination). I reserve the right to edit comments for spelling, space, and formatting. Alternatively, there's the nsx-l@underbase.org discussion list -- which currently has no discussion, or any discusees. /* *************************************************************************** ** ERRATA & OMISSIONS, ADDENDA & ADMISSIONS ** The algebra of knots ** ************************************************************************ */ In Issue 3.5-Observations, I mentioned that an untangled circular loop is classified by topologists as an "unknot". (And topologists are classified by humorists as "mathematicians who can't tell a doughnut from a coffee cup".) Reader JA writes: You can think of knots as equivalence classes under a certain sort of transformation (continuous invertible deformation, roughly: the inversion constraint is essentially the same as saying the lines can't cross and that the equivalence is symmetric (as it must be)). Thinking this way, a single untied string [the unknot] is equivalent to a point, which is a pathological and boring (but important) instance of a knot. It's important because the set of equivalence classes of knots admits to certain algebraic properties, and most things algebraic require a zero element. Thus a point. However small a point is (infinitely, in fact), it's important that it be more than nothing at all. /* *************************************************************************** ** CONVENTION REVIEW ** Katsucon 007 ** 16-18 February 2001 ** Crystal City, Virginia ** ************************************************************************ */ In Issue 3.5, I detailed the costumed entrants in the Balticon 35 masquerade. Balticon is a "literary con" (though I prefer to call the type "generalist"), and many of the costumes (in the show and halls) each year are based on historical precedent, rather than visual depictions from a specific movie or show; the latter category is called "media recreations". Anime conventions feature "cosplay" to a greater degree than generalists; and then there's "Costume Con" itself, which is *dedicated* to the craft. In February I attended "Katsucon 007", compactly called "an anime convention". "Anime" -- strictly speaking, merely the /Nihongo/ term for "animation" -- now connotes specifically Japanese animation created for their domestic market, with export a secondary concern. Subjects considered at anime cons tend to slop over into /manga/ (comic books) and video games, plus the mechanics of the artform and industry. In Japan, both animation and comic books are considered merely mediums, like TV or the live stage; *subject* and *audience* are not implied. (Unfortunately there's no compact English term to replace "comic book" without the implication of "comedic"; and "graphic novel" implies a particular length- format.) Like a generalist SF con, Katsucon attracts a range of attendees, and there's at least some overlap with more conventional occidental-SF fans. The plethora of subjects depicted in anime -- space-opera SF, swords-and- sworcery fantasy, historical drama, etc. -- provide a wide choice for the media recreationist. There's no limit on the costume budget for drawn characters, so replicated outfits can get very flamboyant; but sometimes the exaggerrated bodily proportions of the original characters are integral to the look; this challenges merely-human cosplayers. *** As at Balticon, the masquerade is always one of the biggest draws; and I missed it, since the main room filled to capacity while I was in the cel- painting workshop. (Con security stood at the doors to block fire-code- defying standing-hopees.) However, all weekend the public convention areas featured dozens of cosplayers displaying their hall costumes for the casual viewer-in-passing. (A less cautious writer might add, "and flaunting the underlying skin", except (a) it's merely an unavoidable consequence when faithfully portraying certain characters, and (b) certain courageous fans did not possess the, err, body mass index usually associated with the word "flaunt". Ahem. And a less *tactful* writer might replace "courageous" with "misguided" or "unheedful of the audience's sensibilities".) Overview: a few bats, many cats; much cleavage, midriff and leg, and too many unshod feet; one mermaid, one serpent tail; miscellaneous epaulets and capes; and a lot of fauvist coifs (though by no means a majority, or I wouldn't have escaped the weekend with most of my retinal receptors still intact). *** The following census will mean nothing to you if you're not familiar with the individual source animes; and no, I'm not going to attempt capsule premises for them. * "Cardcaptor Sakura": several versions of Sakura, 1 Lee Shoron, 1 Kiroberos. * "Dirty Pair" (SF): at least 3 3WA Trouble Consultants. * "Dragonball Z": 1 very short Saiyan warrior, several Gokus (or Gohans, or the other guy with black hair in an orange jumpsuit; I can barely tell them apart on the show, how can I do it with impersonators?). * "Escaflowne": 1 Merle-the-cat-girl, 1 the-merchant-guy. * "Gundam" (SF): many uniforms (* multiple series), 1 Wu Fei, 1 (cross-dresser) Relena Peacemaker, 1 guy with a cardboard box over his head labeled "I am a Gundam". * "Nadia: Secret of Blue Water": 2 Nadias (and if you averaged their skin tones, you'd be just about on-model). * "Neon Genesis Evangelion" (SF): 3 Rei Ayanamis (2 school uniforms, 1 with bandages, 1 with eyeglasses). * "Pokemon": 1 Ashe (cross-dresser) with plush Pikachu, 1 Pikachu (and very svelte she was, too). * "Ranma 1/2": at least 2 of Ranma's dad. * "Sailor Moon": at least 6 Sailor Scouts. * "Tenchi Muyo" (SF): 2 Tenchi Masakis (brown tunic), 1 Tenchi in Jyuraian combat outfit, 1 Ryoko, 1 giant Ryo-Ohki (plus 3 plush mini-Ryo-Ohkis). * "Trigun": 2 red-coat-guy, 1 black-coat-guy-with-infinite-guns. * The "Final Fantasy" games: the big-sword guy, the yellow princess. Plus... a forehead-glyph from "3x3 Eyes", the fox guy from "Chronocross", the bat girl from "Darkstalkers" (or possibly "Monster Rancher"), Lilymon from "Digimon", two of the priestesses from "El-Hazard", the merchant from "Escaflowne", Noriko Takaya from "Gunbuster" (SF), the captain from "Martian Successor Nadesico" (SF). Also... the Baroness from "G.I.Joe" -- but that's an *American* series, you protest; the unmitigated *gall* of the woman! (For my out-of-touch- with-'80s-cartoons readers, think Natasha from "Rocky & Bullwinkle", but actually competent, and given to tight jumpsuits and glasses.) She appeared in shiny leather-vinyl-what?, striking evil-terrorist poses for the crowd of photo-fans -- and unlike many cosplayers, she acted the character's *personality* with gusto. (Though, honestly, I don't recall if the Baroness would've been more in-character to *spit* on drooling paparazzi, or toss a hand-grenade into their midst...) Also... one teen in black leather-vinyl-shiny dress with plunging neckline; she had scrawled "insert money here" on her chest in red marker, with an arrow pointing at her cleavage. "I really want to buy anime," she explained. When questioned further -- yes, the tactic was indeed working. /* *************************************************************************** ** TECHNOLOGY ** Sony WEGA KV-27FV16 television ** General Instruments DCT224 digital cable tuner ** ************************************************************************ */ Ever examined the connector-strewn back panel of your VCR? The standard "RF in" and "RF out" connectors allow "pass-through" of the UHF/VHF signal. Such paired pass-throughs let you "daisy-chain" Commodore 64 disk drives or VCRs, but not (it seems) Sony-brand WEGA TVs. My new TV has seven sets of connectors (six rear, one front), including what *looks* like a pass-through pair. Following the manual's diagrams, I chained my digital cable decoder box into the TV, then ran a triplet of cables from the box to my VCR to tape digital programming. (This reduced by one the rat's nest of cables behind the AV cabinet.) Attempting to do so on three separate occasions, I got... A half-hour of a single frame of Fred Flintstone, caught in mid-stride. A still from "Babylon 5" -- suspiciously, from exactly the moment I powered down the TV after confirming the VCR program was active. And a half-hour of the box's channel information screen, assuring me the missing signal would return shortly. My two hypotheses: unlike on VCRs, the Sony pass-through only works when the TV is powered. When the General Instruments tuner loses signal, it outputs the info screen instead (on the RF out port), and the last- received frame (on line-out). Any home A/V enthusiast with more than two components will realize the following schematics grossly under-represent the tangle behind the cabinet. (And the model number of a cable tuner box can usually be found on a label pasted to the underside.) Configuration One: Tuner box fed through TV; feeds VCR; TV fed by direct signal, VCR, and DVD. DVD connection consists of three component video cables (red, green, blue) and stereo audio (red, white). .------------------------------------. +-----> VHF/UHF | | +---o To conv Vid 3 Vid 4 | | | +-> Aux R W Y Vid Aud | | | | ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ | | |-|-------tv------|-|-|---|-|-|-|-|--' CATV-------+ | | | | | | | | | | .-|-|------------. | | | .-|-|-|-|-|---. | | o RF R W Y | | | | | o o o o o | | +-> RF o o o | | | | | R G B R W | '-cable----|-|-|-' | | | '-dvd---------' .-------|-|-|----|-|-|----. | x RF v v v o o o | | x RF Line 2 Line out | '---vcr-------------------' Configuration Two: Feeds CATV signal directly to tuner box; also the VCR, which I'd forgotten the first time 'round. .------------------------------------. +-----> VHF/UHF | | | x To conv Vid 3 Vid 4 | | | +-> Aux R W Y Vid Aud | | | | ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ | | '-|-------tv------|-|-|---|-|-|-|-|--' CATV-+-----+ | | | | | | | | | | .---|------------. | | | .-|-|-|-|-|---. | | o RF R W Y | | | | | o o o o o | +---------> RF o o o | | | | | R G B R W | | '-cable----|-|-|-' | | | '-dvd---------' | .-------|-|-|----|-|-|----. | | x RF v v v o o o | +----------> RF Line 2 Line out | '---vcr-------------------' /* ************************************************************************ ** Legalese ** Acknowledgments ** Opt-in/out Instructions ** *********************************************************************** */ The set of creative works herein reviewed and analyzed, including the subset {books, movies, TV shows, toys}, are the property of their respective copyright holders. No infringement or endorsement is expressed, implied or intended. The original reviews and analyses are themselves copyright 2001 by Phillip Thorne. If you're receiving this newsletter, you've probably intentionally subscribed to it, or possibly you're interested in special topical coverage, or maybe I've sent you a teaser issue. To subscribe, email nsx@underbase.org with the words "SUBSCRIBE NON-SEQUITUR" in the subject line and/or body. To unsubscribe, use the same address but the phrase "UNSUBSCRIBE NON-SEQUITUR". Capitalization and punctuation are irrelevant, since there's still absolutely no automation behind the subscription process. Newsletter: nsx@underbase.org (human-managed) Discussion list: nsx-l-subscribe@underbase.org (to subscribe; blank subject) nsx-l (list posting) nsx-l-unsubscribe (to unsubscribe) /* *************************************************************************** ** *************************************************************************** ** The Non-Sequitur Express ** http://nsx.underbase.org/ ** Volume 3, Issue 6: Thursday, 28 June 2001 ** Copyright 1999-2001 Phillip Thorne, nsx@underbase.org ** *************************************************************************** ** ************************************************************************ */