Ajasta (about time)

Wrote this at IRC-Galleria, short translation to follow this longish message (if you cant understand, trust me, you dont lose anything), also I might add some more material if I feel like it, to the english version;

Ja Doctor Who Christmas Invasion tuli katottua. Oli jännä. Tässä sitä kattelin 900 mhz:n koneella, ja nykitti niin että piti kattoa isot mustat palkit ympärillä. Tuli mieleen että hyvä että kotona on ainakin kunnon kone nyt, ei olisi vanha 600 mhz enää tätä pyörittäny, ei edes palkkien kanssa.

DW:tä katellessa tuli mieleen, kuinka aika muuttuu. Sarjahan on siis pyörinyt päälle neljäkymmentä vuotta telkkarissa, ja pyörii siis aikamatkustuksen ympärillä (mm.). Katellessa tuli mieleen että tulevaisuus on nyt. Enkä tarkoita edes sillä "vanhat scifisarjat sijoittu aina meidän aikaa" fiiliksellä, vaan yleisesti siten, että moni uneksittu ja villi asia on nyt arkipäivää tai jopa vanhanaikaista. Tai muuten vain kadonnutta. Menneinä vuosikymmeninä ihminen hallitsi säätä, pystyi lopettamaan sairauden kuin sairauden parilla ruiskeella ja kaikkeen oli olemassa ratkaisu. Ja nyt, vuosikymmeniä myöhemmin, sääkontrollista ei puhuta (luin jostain että hurrikaanin pyyhkiminen tai sateen luominen häiritsi pienemmässä mittakaavassa säätä suuremmalla alueella, josta naapurivaltiot eivät tykänneet), bakteerit ovat saaneet immuniteetin (ja aina on vielä HIV) ja DDT oli sitten huippumyrkyllinen jne.
Nyt on esim. bluetooth-kuulokkeita, näköpuhelimia (jota elisa taas vaihteeksi markkinoi, eikös tää ollu tulossa langallisena seiskytluvulla? Jetsonit..) ja mitä kaikkea.

Mutta toisaalta; emmekö me aina elä tulevaisuutta? Uudet high-tech (tai sellaisena myytävät) tuotteet muotoillaan ja markkinoidaan aina tulevaisuutena. Jos automuotoilua katsoo, niin ne ovat kaikki tulevaisuutta, 20-luvulta eteenpäin. Mennyttä tulevaisuutta. Aina teollisesta vallankumouksesta lähtien. Joskus tuntuu että kaikki hieno on jo takana. Kaikkein fantastisimmat rakennukset tehtiin 60-luvulla, ja silloin oli kaikki (ainakin hypen mukaan) hienoa.

Mutta ei kaupungeista koskaan tule sellaisia futuristisia ihannepaikkoja kuin scifissä. Onnistuin äsken jopa selittämään itselleni miksi. Scifissä kaikki on aina uutta, kaikki kiiltää ja on uutuuden karheaa. Todellisuudessa uusi muuttuu normaaliksi ja kuluneeksi hyvin nopeasti, ja jokaista "tulevaisuuden taloa" kohti kaupunki on täynnä vanhoja taloja menneiltä vuosikymmeniltä. Tarvittaisiin sota, joka tuhoaisi koko kaupungin, ennenkuin tulevaisuuden kaupunki voitaisiin rakentaa. Se on ainoa tapa rakentaa kaupunki joka on selkeästi yhdeltä vuosikymmeneltä (tai tietenkin perustaa uusi kaupunki; kuinka usein kaupunkeja vain perustetaan? Ainakin Suomessa ne vain tulevat jostain ja jossain vaiheessa valtuuston puheenjohtaja sitten sanoo että "täs ois sit kaupunki valmiina".) Joku Berliini toisen suuren jäljiltä voisi olla jotain joka näytti, ainakin hetken, yhden vuosikymmenen lapselta.. tai kenties Hong Kong, missä historiaa ei ole varaa säilyttää, ja hallinto pitää huolen että sentimentaalismi ei saa kamaa museorekisteriin, jos sellaista ylipäänsä on olemassa.

Ajattomuutta on paljon helpompi etsiä. Tiedäthän, sitä ajatonta kaupunkia? Menneiden aikojen Pariisia, jossa kaikki ei välttämättä ole uutta, mutta aina kaunista, ja ihmisillä on aina aikaa kävellä kaduilla, jotka kimaltelevat auringossa, viime öisen sateen jäljiltä... Joskus kun kävelen Keravalla, Tapiolassa tai Helsingin keskustassa, voin melkein nähdä sen. Ajattomuuden ja kauneuden. Kuinka kaupunki on täydellinen Juuri Niinkuin Se On. Ja sitte huomaa kuinka rakennus jos toinenkin on peruskorjauksen tarpeessa, eivätkä kadutkaan ole ihan sitä mitä ne voisi olla.

I watched Doctor Who Christmas Invasion. Was pretty nifty, and got me thinking. About future, and more specifictly, how we are living it, right now. And I dont mean like "all the old scifi was situationed to our time". No, I mean technology. Jetsons, apart of the flying car (they stopped developing that after it became imminent that state would want you to have licence for four-engine aeroplane to be allowed to fly, even thought computers make it only slighty more difficult than normal cardriving) are modern day. Sometimes, we are even forward in the curve. Video-conversations thru mobilephones are of this day (thought they probaply cost an arm and an leg, and only CEOs of big companies can afford them), as are handsfree bluetooth-gadgets (worth mentioning because every selfrespecting scifi has them, starting from Star Wars and Star Trek) and really powerful homecomputers, that double as television sets (also items of every science story worth its money). Robots arent there yet, but give it a few more years. I hear they have gotten the AI to the level of five year old.

But then, is not future always now? Sure, we have all the stuff mentioned above, but much has been lost. Weather Control is also something in every scifi, as is the fact that diseases are either all extinct or easy to take care of, no matter what. All mastery of nature. We lost that during the way. We could take care of huricanes, but the big-level, short-area distortion was changed into small-level, big-area distortion, and it usually went over countryborders; neighbors didnt like taking part of your problems... the dream of diseases vanished with developing resistance of bacteries, and with HIV. And mastery of nature vanished with DDT. And cars, they are always of the future, by their design. A cool, streamlined Ferrari looks futuristic now... but no less futuristic than the model of -61, or -34. It's just a different future. I tried to google something definite on the subject, and found this. Fascinating stuff, eh?

Sometimes, when I watch classic movies from the fifties, I actually feel that that time was more of the future than is today. Think of it; the future is over.. And one reason one gets this feeling, is that the movies concentrate around buildings that were then brand new. Still rough around the edges. The reason why no modern city cant reach that standard, is that the cities only renew themselves one building at a time. The time to update each and every building (worth changing) takes so much time that the style between the first building and the last building makes them of different style again. And even thought they would be of the same style, the first ones would be quite worn by the time the last ones would be finished; and where would people live if the change would be done all-at-once (and where to find the people to do the labour?). There should be a war, or a brand new town established, for the city to look about of the same time period. Also, future never arrives without bugs, of the technical kind. Modern solutions are often untried, and engineers and architechs and try to crasp the now. On the subject; I miss bathtub. I havent lived in an apartment with bathtub since I was six, and used an small movable one last when I was about ten. Bathtubs arent modern no more, bathrooms are build with showers instead, and even buildings WITH bathtubs are repaired, and the tubs removed (suddenly I ache for an b-tub).

Something to go to, and wait for, instead of city of the future, is, perhabs, an city without time. To be tied to certain time, is to be limited by the limitations and customs of that timeperiod; either there are no vaccines, or hot water, or no bathtubes... or perhaps its impossible to get clothes or shoes in certain size because you vary too much from the average? A timeless city, would have no such limitations. It is Paris of dreams, where everything is romantically, and curiously, at the same futuristic and old (but with vaccines, bathtubes and horsecarts (without shit on streets). And while that Paris dosen't exist, and truly, there exists no city like that, sometime, for a brief moment, sometimes even day or two, it might be your hometown. The consist rush hour might vanish, and the clouds of pollution might disapear; and sun might bring light down just SO, making everything look new and glorious (partly thanks to the rain during the night, that stopped just before you woke up). And birds sing, and you can actually hear it because there are no cars or other machinery going nearby. You feel like you could dance yourself... have you felt ever like that? Like everything is perfect? That must be, surely, what heaven is all about. Maybe its as close as we ever get.

OK, if you can read both finnish and english, you will find these texts to be quite different in nature. Lucky you. For those who cant; be content that it talks mostly about the same things, with some different variations and points.

BTW, Happy Christmas and Merry new year - or was it the other way around?

About dogs.

While I was coming back to home from my mother today, I saw a woman with very interesting hair-do, with very short hair expect just in top of her eyes, where she had big patch, greased to go upwards. It had also been dyed yellow (rest of her hair was brown). She was dressed in wierd jacket, pants and boots. She wasn't very slim, but not fat either; she looked like she had bought that chocolate bar few times too often, but not like she would have been swimming in it.
She also had a dog. I dont know much about dogs, so I cant well identify it; but it was about three fourths of meter high, it was very brown, very slim and very agile looking. In other words, it didnt look much like it's mistress.

From seeing this, I remember the old saying about dogs and their masters (or mistresses, as it is), and about how they end looking like each other. And I started thinking, if this was so, why was it? Was it because, after having had a similar lifestyle for years they started to look like each other? Or maybe it was only the company?

And from this, my train of thoughts jumped to the obvious conclusion; what if people actually bought dogs, to make themselves LOOK like dogs? "I would like to look little more masculine, I think Ill get a bulldog." "I wanna look little more official, I think I take the wolfhound." "I think I want to look cute, Ill take the pudel." And so on.

While writing this, it occured to me that people really do this. They take animals they want to highlight they lifestyle, or give certain image; dalmatians, for examble, are animals that can and should run 100 kilometres each day (read this from somewhere), so they are perfect animals at farms; but people who want to look avantgarde (and thus live in urban cities) get them. Not good for the pet, is it?

So, maybe I wasn't so genius as I thought, eh? But it's a nice thought. To get slim and younglooking by getting one of those dogs that chase bunnies at competitions..

Comicbook logic!

Comics are a great thing. There are several reasons, and one of the most coolest thing about particular brand of them is the continity. Yes, Im talking about superheros.

Continity - that is, things from past storylines affect the future ones - is a cool thing. Sometimes it also causes problems. Things are made for one particular storyline, that become obvious hinderstones in later ones. Or some machine (usually weapon) has some really obvious beneficial uses, but the heroes (even if they have resources, and even if they themselves are in need of the beneficial use) never get around doing it.

The most obvious examble, of course, is Professor Charles Xavier, the founder of X-Men. As you might remember from the movies (in case you dont read comics), the man is a cripple; he moves around while sitting in a wheelchair. This is quite strange, while we remember that the man teaches and houses people of great healing power under his roof. Several times, these healers have been shown to cure battlewounds that would cause death inside minutes; mending bones, removing holes thru the stomach and what have you. And still, Xavier has not asked, nor has of the healers suggested, that Xavier himself could be healed.

Or Cyclops. The man can shoot conclusive rays from his eyes (eg. he shoot beams that have the same effect as by being hit by cannonball). Thanks to brain damage as a kid, he can never turn his rays "off", and therefore he has to use visor that makes his rays harmless when not fighting people. He could be healed, as detailed above, but there are other solutions. X-Men have fought villains, and sometime they have lost. And the villain has chosen to imprison them by using "Inhibitor Collars". In short, it makes using superpowers impossible; shorts them out. They are well tested - in Marvel Universe, there were a whole islandnation full of mutants who were made to use them - so research in the technology is well betatested, and quite safe for users. So, why hasn't some company reverse-engineered the technology and built, for examble, bracelets with on/off switch? Cyclops wouldn't need those glasses, Rogue could touch people without taking their memories and so on. And thats just in the X-Men. Worldwide, there must be thousands, if not hundred of thousands, who look pretty normal and would like the comfort of knowing they dont accidentally, say, level a house. And people whose powers make normal life impossible. Naturally, it wouldnt help always, but it would help SOMETIMES. And even if the bracelet would cost tens of thousands of euros... goverment might help with the fees (it would limit damage to buildings), and even if it wouldnt - how much would you pay for item that would let you touch people without killing them? It should cost very much indeed that I wouldnt get one. There are loans, you know, and item like this would probaply have lifetime waranty.

Other things well known in Marvel U, but not used by anyone outside hero/villain community: time machine (with "ghost mode", where you can observe past but not affect it - ideal christmas present for any archeologist or historian!), alien civilisations with very advanced technolgoies and benevolent mindset (eg. ready to share, not trying to invade), Asimovian robots, force fields, 3D-technology, VERY advanced computers, flying cars, get-superpowers machines (several, most quite safe for the user) and so on. Seeing as some superheroes and villains are also involved in business, not seeing these things in the market is quite amazing (Fantastic four is financed by patents, Iron Man and Iron Fist own tech companies, Black Panther is the head of state, X-Men has several millionares and company owners and Batman is one of the richest people in the world).

Then there are those very absurd things, such as in DC's Flash. One of the villains is Dr. Alchemy. "Ha Ha Ha! After years and years of research, I have finally invented the Alchemist's Stone! With it I can change any material into another! Let's go rob some banks, instead of making copper, silver, iron, platinum, aluminium or some other very valuable and/or rare metal that is used in machines!" And of course, the men who just happen to discover how to make power armours, freeze guns, stilt legs (allowing you to rise to hundreds of meters, while keeping your legs on the ground), power sources and what have you. They could make millions if they started selling their inventions instead of trying to rob the bank down the street!

Oh, and it is shown that Batman's company, Wayne Enterprises, had in the middle eighties a machine that allowed people with broken backs to walk again. Problem was, back then the machine weighted 20 kilos or more, and must have been used all the time. It was 20 years ago, and surely the tech has evolved. And/or, Batman could have pushed more money in the technology, seeing as his friend, former Batgirl and current hacker and manager of Batman's information, happens to suffer from just this condition. Pretty indifrent, isin't he?

While, obviously, some of these things may have violent uses, and some heroes may want to keep their heads out of the workings of humankind - such as Superman - I cant really see why Iron Man, who owns a high tech company with army contracs, would hesitate to put into the market such things as 3D-projector (seeing as he wants to develope the company more to the high tech, consumer market). And time machines (which cant be used in Marvel U to change present) could and should be owned by at least several universities, however ridiculously expensive they were.

So many heroes could help so many more people than they do, if they just would think a moment more of the technology they smash and broke in every issue of their comic books. Sure, they are malevolent, but cant the underlining technology (and applications of physics) be used for GOOD? And why wont villains, that are are shown to be only concerned with money (and not say, world domination) sell or licence their patents instead of robbing banks?

But of course, these are comic books. But some technology could be incorporated into the the universe without making it look very foreign from our own; and that which cant could easily be explained away. But they dont do either, and this makes the heroes look very stupid indeed. Even if some of them are Nobel-winning scientists or supergeniuses.

Happiness!

This post is update in my life, which consists of report about my life during the past few days. About how Salo was at school and kept a presentation; about how he got his permanent driving licence and lastly some ponderings about internet relationships.

On Thursday I had presentation (ten pages plus powerpoint) at school about Japanese culture. It was group project, there was four of us.. and I admid, we took Japan mostly out of my suggestion (I had done several presentations of the subject already, and I knew stuff without having to look up, which is always a bonus). As it goes, one person of the group stopped school 20 hours before the presentation - something about how he had studied too long and he couldnt continue, law said so. He didn't give us his notes, tho I know he had them, so suddenly we were short several pages.
Somehow making the powerpoint and collecting and editing the papers from the group became my task... We made some last minute modifications, but things really didnt go as we had planned, because second group member decided to drink alcohol the day before presentation and had a hangover (and therefore didnt come to talk at his cue). The presentation went just fine with only two of us, I was amazed how much I actually knew of the subject. Teacher asked a curve-ball question about employment (I dont think she hoped for an answer), and I think she was quite suprised that I could, after little thinking,give essey answer on the subject!
And then I had, at the same day, that driving lesson stuff (more of that later), so I gave the nearly-complete paper to the fourth group member, who promised to see it thru (there were some incomplete sentences and stuff like that yet to be edited, thanks to small changes we had done earlier in the morning). Felt like I was escaping from a sinking boat - only one person left, after me! But yeah, I did do my part, I feel. Most in the whole group, but I wonder what the fourth member feels..

* * *
So, the driving stuff. The second stage (as its called) consisted of class in "How to drive during dark?" (read: nearly always on wintertime outside cities), of "grading drive" (where teacher put me driving around and wrote up my mistakes, what I should try to correct in the future), four hours of testdriving at arena, with road iced and water thrown over, hour or so watching two wrecked cars scraped from the road, also testing some Volvo-gadget which simulated (on low speed) how it feels like when car goes over three times before settling on its roof, and how hard its to get out thru window if this happens.
This morning had the last theory class, which was quite ridiculous, and I dont think I learned anything new; expect that getting driver's licence will be getting even harder at future; they are going to double the compulsory driving lessons! It isint like Finland wouldnt have one of the hardest driving schools in the world as it is! Well, that dosent really have anything to do with me, but my sister will be so pissed off when she has to go thru this "all new driving school" in seven or eight years.
So, got my studies for permanent driving licence finished and gave it to police. Said I can come to get it after seventh of January next year. After getting it to my hands, I can use it till Im 55 (my current one is ok only till next July). Also, I wont lose it after my first speeding ticket or bad parking.

* * *
Bordering on my personal life; talking with a great personality (belonging to a female) always make me feel incredible happy for days after. Even if we talked via computer.
This also borders on pathetic; I think of her way too much even if Im not on computer. Definetly not good. Hope this rubs off. Though I have to admid, usually Im very gloomy this time of a year. Now I feel like I could dance.

* * *
Should draw more, but somehow I dont seem to get anything orginal on paper. Just faces, and Im good enough with those already. Maybe should take some photos and practice drawing more from a model? To make art that is actually good enough to recongize the model from. Yes, that is definetly something I should practice more of.

* * *
On other news. Do you know how it feels to hear that someone actually reads my writings? Without prompting? [HINT: so very good].

K. J. Parker - Scavenger trilogy - Pattern and Memory

Continuing from the earlier post (see below). Probaply spoils stuff, but not too trastically, I hope. I might spoil pretty badly part of the man/god riddle, so beware. The books should be interesting even after reading this, though. Pattern is mostly an inbetween book. In Shadow, Poldarn gets the first clues of his identity, and in Pattern goes back to the house where he grew up; and finds out what kind of person he is. Because while memories are gone, the man under those memories is mostly intact. Pattern wasn't as good as Shadow; few times I actually had problems carrying on. My friend said he had tried to read this aswell, but couldnt keep on going.

Memory is better, and starts three years after Poldarn found himself at battlefield without clue to his identity. He has more or less found out what kind of person he is, and isint really that enthuastic in reclaiming his memory anymore. He works at a foundry, helping in casting bells for churches.
Then things start to roll. An old schoolmate finds Poldarn, wanting to - if not reclaim his memory, at least telling him the story of his life. But should he trust the man? He is not the first one who claims to know his past -- but previously, people have always lied. And then military seizes control of the foundry. They would be making something never seen in the world before - Poldarn's Flutes, huge metal tubes that shoot fire and rocks.

And while Poldarn is working in the project, he starts to remember the dreams that plague his night... and closing to Poldarn, is the man known as Monach. Like Poldarn, Monach dreams, and in his dreams, he sees the past, the present and - maybe - the future.

It is said that when the god known as Poldarn comes to earth, he dosen't know who he is, but travels from city to city in a cart, doom following. And there are things that Poldarn is said to do in his travels. And nothing can kill a god; only when Poldarn has driven thru the whole world in his cart, and sees himself coming back from the other direction, can he die. And then the world ends.
Story after story, the man Poldarn has filled. But it has all been accidents, mostly in the realms of possible. To the very end the reader has to guess is he man or god... and the solution dosen't hit like lighting bolt from the sky.

The most interesting part of the story is maybe when in the first book Monach comes to Cien investigating Poldarn, and finds an old man who claims he witnessed the god returning people back to life. He back his story very well, and even has something on the line of proof going for him, and so certain magic is backed to the character of Poldarn. In book two, Poldarn is killing ravens, and for a minute he meets, in the foggy fields, a young guy he teaches how to kill ravens. And in the book three; Poldarn remembers how as a young man, he met someone who clearly was not from this world... something divine. These few pages are the only ones that clearly go out of ordinary. Poldarn also gets few dreams about future, but they are easy enough to explain away.

I would recommend you at least browsing the books thru, if you find them in Library. They might be somewhat slow at times, but completly orginal. And books like that dont happen in Fantasy that often.

Presidential elections

Today Hyvinkää's magistrate sent me mail concerning Presidential elections. The post mostly said when it was ok to vote and where, and offered alternatives how to cast my vote should I be out of the country when the official casting day is, what to do if I can't leave my apartment (on behalf of being nintyfive and tied to my bed) or what to do if I have both of my hands tightly wrapped in casts, thanks to skiing accident (and cant therefore do the number of my candinate in the casting pallot).

So, the elections are sometime next month, and I still dont know who to vote. There are six or seven candinates, of which three have at least some change of getting in.

Tarja Halonen, the standing president is Social Democrat. She has repeatedly gone with her morals when guiding the ship of state; basically good thing, but I feel her decisissions in the whole arent that well defined or logical. She is the "feel good" candinate. At some point, she had better popularity than Saddam Hussein (somewhere around 95% would have voted for her, if the elections would have been then - around 2002 I suppose).

Matti Vanhanen is the candinate of the Centre-party. Standing Prime Minister (eg. the person who does most of the decissions), he has very good "nice guy" imago (if we ignore the rumours about adultery - the Minister of Culture said about month ago how she can rate Sauli Niinistö and Vanhanen in bed (Niinistö is her old boyfriend)). What makes this is interesting that MoC is also of Centre-party, so should think she would have some loyality to the party, by not making such remarks (presidency is, naturally, a big thing). Vanhanen shot into public knowledge basically from nowhere, tho he has sat in parlament for years (usually with minimum ammount of votes).
The main problem with him is that he would probaply be going for helping the rural areas, which the party has traditionally has special interest in; farmers being the mainvoters of the party (previously known as the "Rural Party" or somesuch, before changing the name).

Sauli Niinistö is the candinate of Kokoomus, the conservatist party. He used to be Finance Minister, and the guy who pulled Finland out of recression and to the boom-years that gave Finland the reputation of high tech country. Currently working in European Pank. He would know how to handle the budget, and he apparently has very good grasp of how to handle things and knows stuff about economy - the bad thing is that conservatists traditionally have wanted to take steps towards more capitalist system - cutting health care and social and public services. Also, they usually arent that big for environment, so good bye Kioto.

So, we either have a woman who goes for the "feel good" line, without actually doing anything (leaving most stuff to the cabinet), a guy who wants to push money from cities to farms, or guy who wants to make the public sector smaller.

Sure, there are other candinates. I might be voting on the first row for Heidi Hautala, the candinate of the Green Party who will probaply get under 15% of the votes, and then on the second round (if there is one; it's possible that Halonen gets over 50% of the votes on the first try). I'll vote one of the big three. Or two, because either Niinistö or Vanhanen has dropped off by then.

But we shall see. Im also pretty sure I have some impressions of the candinates wrong, but I dont have that much experience in voting for presidents before, this is my first time I can take part. The last time president was elected was year 2000; didn't know much then about the people, and the previous time before that (1994) only that it was man vs. woman. Choosing is so hard. Its pretty comforting in knowing that the president dosent have that much power, and that I wont be making this decission alone.

School Rumble

This was actually one of the two animes I have bothered to watch during - say, the last two years (not counting my eternal love, Rose of Versailles [should write about that too, someday]).

School Rumble is a school comedy, in the heart of which there is cute girl named Tenma, who acts and appears like she would be several years younger than her age would presume; she is pretty bad with school and not the sharpest pen in the box anyway.
The other main character is the school's toughest tough guy, Hajima. The series starts at the beginning of the school year; Hajima returns to school only to be near Tenma, who he loves from his heart. He, like Tenma, is not very bright; for a thought guy, he has a big heart, but people cant see it because he is also quite violent by nature, and fears for his imago (and enemies, who would surely attack him if they would see him going soft). Hajima is also exellent artist, and now and then during the series we see peeks to his manga, which revolves around him getting Tenma as his girlfriend (naturally, the manga has happy ending).
Tenma, too, is in love, but to a guy who can only see... food. Therefore, the two main plots is Hajima trying to propose to Tenma, and Tenma trying to propose to her heart's desire, Karasuma. Karasuma, too, is a character of suprising qualities. All in all, of all the characters, he seems to be most out of this world. Excelling in everything he bothers doing, he dosen't seem to have much social contacts - maybe he is simply unable to creating them.

Along with Hajima, Tenma and Karasuma, the casts consists of most of the class they are going to, 2C. Each of them seems to have qualities not really expected from normal people, or even of anime thats basicly a love story. Tenma's little sister can read minds; class president (in love with Tenma's sister) is also karateka, one of Tenma's classmates is (apparently) half-Swedish, and has problems with her family she seldom sees... and so on.

But the thing that really makes School Rumble orginal is how drastically the genre of the story changes; Dragonball, Initial D, sports, horror... all such and more the story sifts to, and often, only afterwards the viewer gets to know, was it all a dream, or did it really happen? The characters, particulary Hajima, go to the very extreme to get what they want or forget it -- such as becoming a holy man who talks to animals, channeling their wisdom to those who want to know the future. Other particular thing that suprised me was how jokes of the moment, that don't really have any part in the plot carry on and on, while other stories would simply disregard them. Like the holy man sketch; it only lasts five minutes, and the animals are only part of the background, making the joke to work. But few episodes later half the episode is used to tell what happens to the giraffe that Hajima had earlier.

The anime was very refreshing experience. Usually Im bothered by the ammount of cliches these series use, seemingly without noticing. School Rumble avoids most of them, and when it dosent, it gives such twist that you cant help but enjoy. This is, surely, one of the best series I have ever seen. It would, thought, be even better if the show would have definite ending. Now Hajima only finishes his manga, which gives him some small comfort before going after Tenma again; Tenma, though, dosent seem to understand its over now. After the texts, she starts telling about what happens in episode 27 - without realising this was the very last one.

We can only hope that someday there will be OVA or second season. One would really wish to know how the story finally ends. Apparently there is a manga too, but what hope do we have of ever reading it in english (or in any other language I understand?). Chances also are, that the manga hasnt found it conclusion yet either.

K.J.Parker -- Scavenger-trilogy -- Shadow

"Suppose there was a really bad man, a truly evil man who did terrible things; and one day he can't remember who he is or what he's done [...] suppose you can get rid of the past so it no longer exists. After all, the past is just memories. Suppose you can wipe them all out, wash them away like a stain in a shirt, so even you don't know any more. There's no past, just present and the future. And the bad man's not bad anymore, is he?"
-Pattern, page 353 (paperback, UK edition)

I found the first book in the library good week ago. It interested me mostly because of the red colour and the lone crow profile in the picture. The backside didn't really do it for me - the first part was good enough, which I quote now;
A man wakes in the wilderness, amid scattered corpses and inquisitive crows. He has no memory of who he is or how he came to be there. The only clues to his former existence lie in his apparent skill with a sword and the fragmented dreams that permeate his sleep. The second half, though,is mostly about how to make the book seem cooler than it is (leading the reader to expect something other than the book really gives), but most books in the market do that, so you have to give some kudos for the first half being good enough. In this text, I will probaply spoil the first hundred pages of the first book (because reviews are about telling about the book, without telling the sollution; and I feel that hundred pages is the ammount of pages you have to read before you can say if book is good or bad; it is also the ammount of pages you feel can be spoiled and most people will forgive you).

You can't tell much about the books, because the first book (and the second (which I'm halfway thru now) seems to continue the trend) is about a mystery. Who the man is? He sees dreams, but he always forgets them when he wakes, leaving reader with a clue of the identity, while the man himself forgets again.
The first book takes place in an unnamed Empire, which dosent have a name because it's so big, and there's only one of them anyway. Long ago, the Empire was strong, but now its getting ever weaker. The provinces far from the center are rebelling, and the generals who are send to put it down declare themselves kings instead. But while the Empire is getting smaller, it is by no means small. While provinces far off are drifting, the center itself is under attack from the sea; the raiders come out of nowhere, destroying whole cities leaving no person alive. And on addition to the raiders and renegade generals (and those still loyal to the Emperor), there are mercenary armies, that change sides with the wind.

The reader is given several options who the man without memory, calling himself Poldarn (name found from an old tile), could be. Maybe he is just a soldier - he seems pretty good with the sword, and several people in that trade seem to know him - only to get killed before sharing that information. Maybe he is even a general, several great ones have been missing for a while... or even a prince, sent to stop a rebellion.

Poldarn tries to make himself a living by attaching himself to a con-artist, who goes from town to town pretending Poldarn is a god in a cart, and she her priestess, cheating farmers out of their food and valuables. Seems pretty good plan...

But Poldarn is a name belonging not only to a tile or to a man with no memory; there is also a god by that name, who is said to manifest in flesh before the end of the world. And it is said, that this god, he will be traveling from city to city, bringing death after him...

The book does not directly handle magic. I feel this is important to mention, because this is definetly a fantasy book, and fantasy books usually have magic in them.. sometimes, them having magic is one of the selling points of the whole story. Magic sword, spells, dragons...nothing like that in this book, no sir. There are things that can be atributed to it, but on the other hand, that magic can also be great skill or lucky accident. Nothing definetly out of possible happens or is seen; and so the reader is thrown from one theory to the next.

The books are not that action packed; true, the first book is pretty dramatic, and has fighting, but the second one is mostly about farming (at least till now). I cant say much about the third book, which is still a work for the future. You could probaply read the first book without reading the next two. The center mystery (who Poldarn is) is answered, and also pretty definite clues why everyone knew him. But much is left unsaid, hence the next two books. I will go into them later on.

The first book is definelty worth reading, it is quite unlike what you have previously read, I can quarantee it.