The Philip Rational
"The State of the Article, Article"
By Philip Wesley (2013)
Published: April 17th, 2013.
These articles may contain strong language, viewer discretion is advised.
The last time I wrote a Philip Rational, the following things were not even announced: The Nintendo 3DS, the Nintendo 3DS XL, the Sony Vita, the Sony PS4, the Ouya, and the Nintendo Wii U. THQ and LucasArts were still around and I was gearing up to move to Aurora, Colorado to help out family. Flash forward to 2013 and I am running a business called Animation is Art by the skin of my teeth in a terrible economy that left me unemployed from March 2010 to June 2012. We also left our old web host of about 14+ years to embrace a new web host with unlimited space. So, finally we can start giving everyone the coverage we have always wanted to give you! We have videos on Area DMG, Audio on Radio DMG, and tons of pictures on Flick'r for you to peruse. We average over 600* unique visitors a day from all of our different branches of DMG Ice. Each of those unique visitors reads, listens to, downloads, clicks on, and watches our content multiple times per visit.
I am now going to refer to myself in the "Royal We" and I apologize in advance if that irritates overly sensitive people.
So, what are we doing these days and what will we be doing in the future? I feel that the key word is rambling and vaguely political tripe with a few ounces of common sense sprinkled on top of it. We will be releasing the SANA 2013 and Animeland Wasabi audio on Radio DMG and there will be more videos on Area DMG. Of course this will be the first article of several and I intend to talk about all sorts of things. To pad out the content, I am bringing back Viral Speak as an addendum of The Philip Rational and calling it Viral Speak 2.0. Every week, there will be a new Philip Rational. It will sometimes contain a "Suki Nihon Review" with an accompanying audio review. Suki Nihon is our reviews of animated films or shows. Now that you know my plans, I intend to bombard you with pictures of bunnies. You have been warned and now you have to deal with it.
This is so much better than reading the Associated Press.
We have been working on graphics, redesigning sites, and working at conventions is generally tough but fun. We are gearing up for the one year anniversary of Animation is Art, and to cover Denver Comic Con (and literary conference) 2013. We did attend both Animeland Wasabi and SANA 2013. Both were very interesting events and I shall break down a bit of my personal thoughts on Animeland Wasabi in this article. I feel that Animeland Wasabi is a bit unorganized from time to time. If there had been better communication between the staff of the convention, the staff of the hotel, the attendees of the convention, the dealers, and the companies attached to the event; than everything would run more smoothly. There were a lot of problems which I will probably go into on an episode of Radio DMG; but that is the nature of conventions. Many conventions tend to reflect the attitudes and philosophies of their staff for better or for worse. We could focus on the worse, but that would be neither fair or useful at this time. I may do a full article on convention structure in the future. I had a pretty fun time at the convention, we took lots of pictures, recorded two official interviews (Legacy Action Comics & David Vincent) and an impromptu discussion on political stuff with Jamie McGonnigal. The political discussion will require a lot of notes because Jamie tends to recite a lot of talking points that are devoid of important details and contrast. For example, he mentions the "Violence Against Women Act" which is named in such a way that you think it has something to do with preventing Violence Against Women; but it is actually about removing land rights from Natives. It was such a problem that the American Civil Liberties Union opposed it when it was first proposed back in the 1990's. It passed in the 1990's through a Republican majority and has been up for renewal every few years. PROTIP: Many individual Republicans and Democratic Republicans are awful people and do not even read the things put in front of them. Then Jamie brings up an inheritance case where a lady was married for a few months in Canada before her partner died in 2009. She was "engaged" with her partner for 40 years, even though they lived in different states for a while. She inherited over $4,000,000 and was required by Federal law to pay a tax of $300,000. Then she sued the government over the Defense of Marriage Act which is an overstep of government to begin with. (Joe Biden actually supported DOMA.) Jamie mentions only a few of the facts as to make it sound like she was being bullied by the Bush administration, even though no one from the administration was in power when her partner died. As a reporter, I have to strive for honesty. Yet, the discussion is pretty civil and I can not wait to make it available to our listeners on Radio DMG. I had fun at Animeland Wasabi, overall. I really loved playing Fix It Felix Jr, and I love all the cosplayers, artists, and enthusiastic fans at the convention. There were some iffy things like rude staff and a few other issues. Also, Jamie offended Sarah by apologizing to me for thinking I was White. (That is racist.) I am Asian-Hispanic and I only seem pale because I spend too much time in front of video games.
Speaking of video games, I have truly fallen in love with Etrian Odyssey IV for the Nintendo 3DS. I have a bit of a problem where I love Role Playing Games and I love making MAPS. The whole point of Etrian Odyssey is that you go into a labyrinth and map it out as you explore it. The difficulty of the game comes from balancing the idea of exploring further or retreating to the town. There are "Field On Enemies" that can really mess your party up hidden in each maze and the way you get stronger requires you to kill enemies and sell their parts. This is a bit like a long Advanced Dungeons and Dragosn campaign. There is a writer out there who is famous for having written thousands of words about the first Etrian Odyssey. I hope to some day surpass or match his accomplishment; but that is for future Philip Rationals! Right now, I can only tell you a little bit about what ELSE I will be talking about in the future.
The thesis statements for our upcoming episodes will be an exploration of how Anime will evolve as a part of the Japanese Culture (SANA 2013), why violence in video games is both harmful and helpful, a bit about Aurora and the events we dealt with here, how Nintendo should deal with their Billion Dollar challenge, the future of handhelds, the future of consoles, my time with the fringes of the political spectrum, how to ruin a convention, stagflation, and much more! I will also be reviewing animation and providing the juiciest of Viral Speaks for you to peruse.
"The State of the Article, Article"
By Philip Wesley (2013)
Published: April 17th, 2013.
These articles may contain strong language, viewer discretion is advised.
The last time I wrote a Philip Rational, the following things were not even announced: The Nintendo 3DS, the Nintendo 3DS XL, the Sony Vita, the Sony PS4, the Ouya, and the Nintendo Wii U. THQ and LucasArts were still around and I was gearing up to move to Aurora, Colorado to help out family. Flash forward to 2013 and I am running a business called Animation is Art by the skin of my teeth in a terrible economy that left me unemployed from March 2010 to June 2012. We also left our old web host of about 14+ years to embrace a new web host with unlimited space. So, finally we can start giving everyone the coverage we have always wanted to give you! We have videos on Area DMG, Audio on Radio DMG, and tons of pictures on Flick'r for you to peruse. We average over 600* unique visitors a day from all of our different branches of DMG Ice. Each of those unique visitors reads, listens to, downloads, clicks on, and watches our content multiple times per visit.
I am now going to refer to myself in the "Royal We" and I apologize in advance if that irritates overly sensitive people.
So, what are we doing these days and what will we be doing in the future? I feel that the key word is rambling and vaguely political tripe with a few ounces of common sense sprinkled on top of it. We will be releasing the SANA 2013 and Animeland Wasabi audio on Radio DMG and there will be more videos on Area DMG. Of course this will be the first article of several and I intend to talk about all sorts of things. To pad out the content, I am bringing back Viral Speak as an addendum of The Philip Rational and calling it Viral Speak 2.0. Every week, there will be a new Philip Rational. It will sometimes contain a "Suki Nihon Review" with an accompanying audio review. Suki Nihon is our reviews of animated films or shows. Now that you know my plans, I intend to bombard you with pictures of bunnies. You have been warned and now you have to deal with it.
This is so much better than reading the Associated Press.
We have been working on graphics, redesigning sites, and working at conventions is generally tough but fun. We are gearing up for the one year anniversary of Animation is Art, and to cover Denver Comic Con (and literary conference) 2013. We did attend both Animeland Wasabi and SANA 2013. Both were very interesting events and I shall break down a bit of my personal thoughts on Animeland Wasabi in this article. I feel that Animeland Wasabi is a bit unorganized from time to time. If there had been better communication between the staff of the convention, the staff of the hotel, the attendees of the convention, the dealers, and the companies attached to the event; than everything would run more smoothly. There were a lot of problems which I will probably go into on an episode of Radio DMG; but that is the nature of conventions. Many conventions tend to reflect the attitudes and philosophies of their staff for better or for worse. We could focus on the worse, but that would be neither fair or useful at this time. I may do a full article on convention structure in the future. I had a pretty fun time at the convention, we took lots of pictures, recorded two official interviews (Legacy Action Comics & David Vincent) and an impromptu discussion on political stuff with Jamie McGonnigal. The political discussion will require a lot of notes because Jamie tends to recite a lot of talking points that are devoid of important details and contrast. For example, he mentions the "Violence Against Women Act" which is named in such a way that you think it has something to do with preventing Violence Against Women; but it is actually about removing land rights from Natives. It was such a problem that the American Civil Liberties Union opposed it when it was first proposed back in the 1990's. It passed in the 1990's through a Republican majority and has been up for renewal every few years. PROTIP: Many individual Republicans and Democratic Republicans are awful people and do not even read the things put in front of them. Then Jamie brings up an inheritance case where a lady was married for a few months in Canada before her partner died in 2009. She was "engaged" with her partner for 40 years, even though they lived in different states for a while. She inherited over $4,000,000 and was required by Federal law to pay a tax of $300,000. Then she sued the government over the Defense of Marriage Act which is an overstep of government to begin with. (Joe Biden actually supported DOMA.) Jamie mentions only a few of the facts as to make it sound like she was being bullied by the Bush administration, even though no one from the administration was in power when her partner died. As a reporter, I have to strive for honesty. Yet, the discussion is pretty civil and I can not wait to make it available to our listeners on Radio DMG. I had fun at Animeland Wasabi, overall. I really loved playing Fix It Felix Jr, and I love all the cosplayers, artists, and enthusiastic fans at the convention. There were some iffy things like rude staff and a few other issues. Also, Jamie offended Sarah by apologizing to me for thinking I was White. (That is racist.) I am Asian-Hispanic and I only seem pale because I spend too much time in front of video games.
Speaking of video games, I have truly fallen in love with Etrian Odyssey IV for the Nintendo 3DS. I have a bit of a problem where I love Role Playing Games and I love making MAPS. The whole point of Etrian Odyssey is that you go into a labyrinth and map it out as you explore it. The difficulty of the game comes from balancing the idea of exploring further or retreating to the town. There are "Field On Enemies" that can really mess your party up hidden in each maze and the way you get stronger requires you to kill enemies and sell their parts. This is a bit like a long Advanced Dungeons and Dragosn campaign. There is a writer out there who is famous for having written thousands of words about the first Etrian Odyssey. I hope to some day surpass or match his accomplishment; but that is for future Philip Rationals! Right now, I can only tell you a little bit about what ELSE I will be talking about in the future.
The thesis statements for our upcoming episodes will be an exploration of how Anime will evolve as a part of the Japanese Culture (SANA 2013), why violence in video games is both harmful and helpful, a bit about Aurora and the events we dealt with here, how Nintendo should deal with their Billion Dollar challenge, the future of handhelds, the future of consoles, my time with the fringes of the political spectrum, how to ruin a convention, stagflation, and much more! I will also be reviewing animation and providing the juiciest of Viral Speaks for you to peruse.
And
now you know my plans.
Viral
Speak 2.0
It has been a while since I did one these too! The comments are in BLUE and my replies are in RED. The Source for the comment is listed like (this) and is presented with NO CONTEXT. You can also e-mail us your Viral Speak 2.0 feedback by contacting Philip AT dmgice DOT com with the subject line Viral Speak.
Nice colour detail on the back of Eclair. If I lived in Denver I'd have a shelf full of these now. - eeemaster (Youtube)
It has been a while since I did one these too! The comments are in BLUE and my replies are in RED. The Source for the comment is listed like (this) and is presented with NO CONTEXT. You can also e-mail us your Viral Speak 2.0 feedback by contacting Philip AT dmgice DOT com with the subject line Viral Speak.
Nice colour detail on the back of Eclair. If I lived in Denver I'd have a shelf full of these now. - eeemaster (Youtube)
Well, the solution is to move and throw
all your money at Animation is Art. - Philip
I AM TONY AND I HATE YOU. THIS GAME
IS NOT A BOOTLEG. IM KILLING YOU! - Charlie Cantkier (Youtube)
And now you're just being silly. Also, you are terribly bad at killing me as I am pretty sure I am not killed. - Philip
I really wish the anime community would stop complaining about bootleg wall scrolls, since yes, many of them ARE retired. The entire problem is the result of how the anime industry in America only offers individual wall scrolls for a brief time and then never again. If I want a certain Evangelion wall scroll from 12+ years ago, today, I'm SOL unless I buy a bootleg. Like I'm supposed to just go without it because I didn't buy it back then. And if I do buy a bootleg, then suddenly I'm "bad." - lustacularlysimple (Youtube)
As a retailer, I can tell you that the majority of wall scrolls do not "retire," nor does their actual value increase over time like other types of art. The problem with bootleg wall scrolls is that many of them are made out of inferior ink and cloth or are flat out stolen from people's DeviantArt accounts. They are also sold for ridiculous prices to the dumb pieces of shit like you who either do not know any better or just think they are entitled to shit. Now, there is a difference between printing out a picture you like from the internet for your own use and printing out a picture from the internet to sell it. Copying is not theft, but making copies of something to sell it without permission IS theft. There are still Evangelion wall scrolls being made today and they are available in many styles, so the excuse that "it just is not available" is BULLSHIT and you know it. Quit spoon feeding yourself bullshit and then vomiting it back up on my Youtube channel, bitch. Here is an idea, why not look for people who are willing to sell a wall scroll they own that may be difficult to find or contact license holders like Great Eastern or Trends International to find out if anyone carries it. So, yes. If you knowingly buy bootlegs, you are a BAD PERSON and you should feel BAD. - Philip
Is this the same battery, like on the normal 3DS? - lukasaje98 (Youtube)
Nope. It is a slightly higher capacity. Make sure to purchase the right kind. - Philip
what cam recorder do you use - ethan easterbrook
A Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX5 and I have named it Suzanne. - Philip
would you like to to tell me who the fuck cares? and you only need one anyway -_- - theultimatrix101 (Youtube)
Are you secretly Lance Armstrong? Is that why you're so bitter? - Philip
it's up to you, there isn't any 3000 unit in store 'cause they're no longer manufacturing them, you can only buy it used, when it comes to go, not all of the games are compatible via online service like final fantasy vii:crisis core or kingdom hearts:birth by sleep, go is for someone who's willing to buy a game digitally for a same price that they're probably gonna delete it from memory flash later on, there is e1000 unit, lot cheaper, umd compatible, no online support - CliffFitter89 (Youtube)
It seems to be a real shame that Sony did not release the e1000 in the Estados Unidos. Especially since Crisis Core, Popolocrois, and Kingdom Hearts may never get a digital release. - Philip
I have to say this but you are the god of portable games, you have hundreds of them. Also where did you get the Super Mario Bros 2 (Japanese version). - hunter keps (Youtube)
I bought it from Play Asia at a convention. Certainly worth checking out and certainly worth owning, although you can now get it via the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console. As for being a god? Naw. I just strive to follow Byargh. As should you. - Philip
Tbh.. I
like scanlines. Gives it a CRT feel that I have grown to love with
NES/SNES/... straight up to Wii. xD - Zalibidas (Youtube)
You are a true retro scholar. Scanlines are just your picture tube creating SEX. - Philip
We still haven't seen Sonic Lanyrinth's and Sonic Blast's release. - xxWeston07 (Youtube)
I have no idea who we kill for that either. They have them in Japan. Is it licensing? Is it Sega secretly loathing us from their hamster cages beneath the Earth? - Philip
Damn right,
If only Sony also had a "Pay what you get for" service that allowed you to download games you already owned on the UMDs.
Too bad that never happened, and some titles will never be released on the PSN anyway. Sony Double Screwed their loyal customers with a system that you had to pay more to get more of what you already owned on one system, and you couldn't download others at all! - HolyFenderBender14 (Youtube)
Yeah. The GO and VITA both have pretty messed up launches. - Philip
I just want to ask, if you can answer this...
I read on the internet that they would have annual K-Pop dance event plus K-Pop merchandise. Would they have it this year, too? I've never been to Wasabi before. That's why I'm asking. - Rockaway98 (Youtube)
Sometimes you can find K-Pop merchandise in the dealers room at Animeland Wasabi. I wonder about the future of that event, since the lawsuit from Funimation started. - Philip
GOD! u sound like u love everything i your store! I LOVE IT!!! *Hitting subscribe! - Polarnumse (Youtube)
I do actually. From Larry, the brick we put in the door to prop it open when carrying in boxes, to Lucy, the keychain/cell phone charm rack that we have. I love all of the products and I love the customers that buy the products. If you want to be loved, please buy stuff at Animation is Art.
this game was pretty f*cking awesome. I really do wish theyd made a sequel for this, it had a charm all its own. How was this all compiled though, may I ask? - Rising Kiwi (Youtube)
They were working on a sequel to Magi-Nation but Interactive Imagination decided to dump all of their programmers after the first game instead of paying them. They were rushed (couldn't add the Core Hyren Quest!) and then brushed out the door. This was compiled by the developers. I stayed in the same hotel room with them one year at E3. We all went to Medieval Times and it was all awesome. Most of the developers are also Mormon and they got me back into anime by giving me CDs full of AVI and RAM files. Discs containing Neon Genesis Evangelion, Serial Experiments Lain, and Love Hina in stunning 120 by 240 resolution. Anyhow, the developers have all moved on to other jobs, but the story is still tragic because the game was pretty great. - Philip
AND THAT'S ALL YOU GET THIS WEEK. STARE AT SHANTAE AND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU DID.
And now you're just being silly. Also, you are terribly bad at killing me as I am pretty sure I am not killed. - Philip
I really wish the anime community would stop complaining about bootleg wall scrolls, since yes, many of them ARE retired. The entire problem is the result of how the anime industry in America only offers individual wall scrolls for a brief time and then never again. If I want a certain Evangelion wall scroll from 12+ years ago, today, I'm SOL unless I buy a bootleg. Like I'm supposed to just go without it because I didn't buy it back then. And if I do buy a bootleg, then suddenly I'm "bad." - lustacularlysimple (Youtube)
As a retailer, I can tell you that the majority of wall scrolls do not "retire," nor does their actual value increase over time like other types of art. The problem with bootleg wall scrolls is that many of them are made out of inferior ink and cloth or are flat out stolen from people's DeviantArt accounts. They are also sold for ridiculous prices to the dumb pieces of shit like you who either do not know any better or just think they are entitled to shit. Now, there is a difference between printing out a picture you like from the internet for your own use and printing out a picture from the internet to sell it. Copying is not theft, but making copies of something to sell it without permission IS theft. There are still Evangelion wall scrolls being made today and they are available in many styles, so the excuse that "it just is not available" is BULLSHIT and you know it. Quit spoon feeding yourself bullshit and then vomiting it back up on my Youtube channel, bitch. Here is an idea, why not look for people who are willing to sell a wall scroll they own that may be difficult to find or contact license holders like Great Eastern or Trends International to find out if anyone carries it. So, yes. If you knowingly buy bootlegs, you are a BAD PERSON and you should feel BAD. - Philip
Is this the same battery, like on the normal 3DS? - lukasaje98 (Youtube)
Nope. It is a slightly higher capacity. Make sure to purchase the right kind. - Philip
what cam recorder do you use - ethan easterbrook
A Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX5 and I have named it Suzanne. - Philip
would you like to to tell me who the fuck cares? and you only need one anyway -_- - theultimatrix101 (Youtube)
Are you secretly Lance Armstrong? Is that why you're so bitter? - Philip
it's up to you, there isn't any 3000 unit in store 'cause they're no longer manufacturing them, you can only buy it used, when it comes to go, not all of the games are compatible via online service like final fantasy vii:crisis core or kingdom hearts:birth by sleep, go is for someone who's willing to buy a game digitally for a same price that they're probably gonna delete it from memory flash later on, there is e1000 unit, lot cheaper, umd compatible, no online support - CliffFitter89 (Youtube)
It seems to be a real shame that Sony did not release the e1000 in the Estados Unidos. Especially since Crisis Core, Popolocrois, and Kingdom Hearts may never get a digital release. - Philip
I have to say this but you are the god of portable games, you have hundreds of them. Also where did you get the Super Mario Bros 2 (Japanese version). - hunter keps (Youtube)
I bought it from Play Asia at a convention. Certainly worth checking out and certainly worth owning, although you can now get it via the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console. As for being a god? Naw. I just strive to follow Byargh. As should you. - Philip
You are a true retro scholar. Scanlines are just your picture tube creating SEX. - Philip
We still haven't seen Sonic Lanyrinth's and Sonic Blast's release. - xxWeston07 (Youtube)
I have no idea who we kill for that either. They have them in Japan. Is it licensing? Is it Sega secretly loathing us from their hamster cages beneath the Earth? - Philip
Damn right,
If only Sony also had a "Pay what you get for" service that allowed you to download games you already owned on the UMDs.
Too bad that never happened, and some titles will never be released on the PSN anyway. Sony Double Screwed their loyal customers with a system that you had to pay more to get more of what you already owned on one system, and you couldn't download others at all! - HolyFenderBender14 (Youtube)
Yeah. The GO and VITA both have pretty messed up launches. - Philip
I just want to ask, if you can answer this...
I read on the internet that they would have annual K-Pop dance event plus K-Pop merchandise. Would they have it this year, too? I've never been to Wasabi before. That's why I'm asking. - Rockaway98 (Youtube)
Sometimes you can find K-Pop merchandise in the dealers room at Animeland Wasabi. I wonder about the future of that event, since the lawsuit from Funimation started. - Philip
GOD! u sound like u love everything i your store! I LOVE IT!!! *Hitting subscribe! - Polarnumse (Youtube)
I do actually. From Larry, the brick we put in the door to prop it open when carrying in boxes, to Lucy, the keychain/cell phone charm rack that we have. I love all of the products and I love the customers that buy the products. If you want to be loved, please buy stuff at Animation is Art.
this game was pretty f*cking awesome. I really do wish theyd made a sequel for this, it had a charm all its own. How was this all compiled though, may I ask? - Rising Kiwi (Youtube)
They were working on a sequel to Magi-Nation but Interactive Imagination decided to dump all of their programmers after the first game instead of paying them. They were rushed (couldn't add the Core Hyren Quest!) and then brushed out the door. This was compiled by the developers. I stayed in the same hotel room with them one year at E3. We all went to Medieval Times and it was all awesome. Most of the developers are also Mormon and they got me back into anime by giving me CDs full of AVI and RAM files. Discs containing Neon Genesis Evangelion, Serial Experiments Lain, and Love Hina in stunning 120 by 240 resolution. Anyhow, the developers have all moved on to other jobs, but the story is still tragic because the game was pretty great. - Philip
AND THAT'S ALL YOU GET THIS WEEK. STARE AT SHANTAE AND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU DID.
Click HERE to go to the TOP of the Article.
*This is a conservative estimate that has been rounded downward.
The Philip Rational and Viral Speak 2.0 are products of DMG Ice.
*This is a conservative estimate that has been rounded downward.
The Philip Rational and Viral Speak 2.0 are products of DMG Ice.
