18th Moon Station

Recently, I installed Download Accelerator again to my computer. The need is simple, the need to do batch download a picture gallery that would take long time to click one by one from browser (better go to sleep).

But these days, file download are usually protected behind anti-leech scripts, or file sharing sites. Broadband connection also made download faster, so no need to resume download. Bit Torrent download is… well, that.

Being so used to sites using file sharing sites to host their scan releases, I almost forget until yesterday, when a group released scan for the comic I’ve been looking for a while. I recently got informed that a friend had got the hardcopy version, so when I don’t really need the scan anymore, it pops out of nowhere.

But this time, the connection got reset and cut off midway, to my annoyance. That’s when I remembered… download manager! This site is unusual that it doesn’t use Megaupload, Rapidshare, or the such (particularly hate Uploaded.to, it kept disconnecting after several hundred kb for me).

Most things went well yesterday, which is a good thing, of course.

The first one is not really that important anyway, could ask it myself today to whoever got assigned to stand by at the company’s stand.

Off I go to the book store first. Seems like I’m wrong. The road block is opened during the noon (or else the local authorities might got protests from shopping centre managements around the streets).
Some explanation again. Every last Sunday of the month, the local government official closed the two main street through this city’s business district to promote better air quality, reduction of car emission and outdoor activities for the peoples. Despite so, it always caused heavily congested traffic in the alternative routes.

My ordered magazine, Dragon Magazine 2009-06, finally arrived after quite a long time late. Almost two months, but that’s normal I guess. The price is lower than last month (probably currency rate) and the bonus is a micro-fibre mini towel. Going to use it as collectible rather than usable goods though.

Impression will come later. The next plan is going to the building I used to work in. It’s Sunday, so the office must be close, but there are some restaurant downstairs. Planned on getting lunch there while waiting for the parade to begin.

Closed… no business except the very expensive groups. Wave it good bye and starts walking back. Fuelled by the single thought of “I’ve walked this far anyway, it just doesn’t justify to pay the bus just to go there” somehow I walked quite far, while making joke about tomorrow’s headline of a teen found drowned to death in pool of owns sweat.

By the way, Kinokuniya book store held a Tanabata event. They are helding couple contest too, but I guess the entry price (Rp.500k/€ 34.61 purchase on the day) is becoming the largest barrier of entry. Of course, there’s also the lack of information of the event and not many of the avid eroge magazine fans would have couple to go in contest with :P

Festival starts out rather late as expected. Personally, compared to the size of the street, the parade is small, organized in small groups. The most interesting is actually the earlier groups, we have traditional local dancers and Reog (from East Java) and traditional music bands. The ethnic group wearing red (Dayak tribe? not sure) and a a small parade like when children are going to be circumcised.

Antique bicycle and Vespa scooters is interesting. But classic car and the big bikes are not so impressive. Well, maybe their impression are too arrogant for me.

For the decorated cars, not comparable to international level, but that’s why it’s interesting right ? The cheaper feel and what made it feels like… peoples’ party :D

Yes, some give me laughs. The office for parks had car covered in decorative plants, while the fire brigade parade with band on their fire truck. The sanitation office had… something that’s supposedly model of garbage processing unit, but what’s the two person standing in front of it representing anyway ? (^-^;)

Got to go back earlier because my parent want to go out for dinner together, so, that’s my day. Bought new set of trousers too. Needed a new one.

In all, I think my shoes’ inner soles are taking a lot of damage today.

Since I’ve finished half of Black Lagoon 2 yesterday, I decided to finish it today. Coincidentally, I didn’t bring meal from home, so I usually go out for lunch later. Not really that weird though, usually I try not bringing lunch on Friday in case we’re going out straight after work.

Only this Friday it’s cancelled due to circumstances.

My stomach growled, but I had only two hundred or so lines to finish, so I go on, holding back, until the clock showed 1430 (approx.). Staying up stuffed with two mint/choco candies and glasses of waters and some light sleep now and then (plus new books coming from Shogakukan). Finishing the job, time for lunch, a late one that is.

This is where the fun starts. Down stair, there’s a lot of peoples preparing something. At first I thought it’s another “big guy” coming, after all, the last two days we have the vice president and president coming to visit one of the company’s founders. I’m in the comic book division, but in this corporate group, there’s also probably the largest publication of newspaper in this country, and since both politician are running for presidential election…

Not really. They’re planning a fire evacuation simulation, a surprise party for the unsuspecting workers. Lights are out and smoke are blown inside the building. I’m regretting the fact that I left my camera upstairs so I can’t take their pictures other that from my phone camera.

But seems like many know it’s not serious. The peoples from my division are really late. They said they doubted the seriousness of the issue because the security ordering evacuation are holding laughs. In some place, the smoke also have vanilla sweetness in it. Doesn’t stop me from teasing them 「命より〆切」 (deadline before life). The best evacuation I saw is actually from the other unit, who immediately bring down the most important documents related to the company legal status.

Afterward, the employees already evacuate downstairs made a show, simulating when they captured the arsonist and starts beating the person (albeit playfully).

Today, I checked my Hatena Antenna page for updates. There’s a shocking update on one site, an adult game site I often visit (don’t play, too expensive and not enough time). As far as I know, this studio is quite clean. Although incorporating sexual relationship in the game, the plot itself (as far as I know) are romance, drama and miraculous. But then…

This website cannot be browsed excluding Japan.
Some foreigners seem to be having an antipathy against EROGE.
Therefore, We prohibited the access from foreign countries, to defend our culture.
Sorry for you of the fan that lives in a foreign country.
minori Inc.

For those wanting to read it on-site: http://www.minori.ph/

What they call eroge, or erotic game, is an industry. Maybe not as huge in sales as the major studios like Square, Capcom, Konami, etc, but there’s dozens of studios big and small working on these visual novel games. The genre of course, range from romance with minimum sex events (some can even cleanly excluded), to those catered for “special interest groups” (think, fetish porn). Well, in Japan, they flourished, some live and die, some thrives, just like any other businesses.

So… some time ago, there is a case, around the end of May. Equality Now, a women’s right organization, campaigned in protest of a game that featured rape theme as… well, as women’s right group, I think it’s save to assume it as “degrading of women” ? The outrage seems to successfully gained support to put pressure on governments, who want to ban such games.

Let aside the fact about rape and underage first… think of it with neutrality. This is, a game. And unlike porn, it doesn’t even need real life actors other than for the voice acting.

In media, two of the most sensitive matters in general are sex and violence, that’s ought to irk peoples, followed by racism. Being in media, and in a uptight country (for general public, hypocrites country), that two issues are also shunned. Sex in particular, is more sensitive thus censorship is tighter for picture of naked women than someone getting their head decapitated brutally in psycho killer “art”.

But come on… if we can accept seeing peoples getting shot dead in game… that’s violence.

So… there goes. Westerner, you who can’t understand, please stay out, nobody’s forcing you to come in. Hope this is the last one to take such moves. Kind of reminds me to Windows E.

In Telegraph.co.uk, there’s an article that reminds me of the story in a comic I worked on, Is Farming the Root of All Evil ?

But there’s a quote that really took my interest. It quite summarize the idea I want to convey to friend during idle talk in my campus years about why the greatest invention of human being is language, and why theoretical educations are also important instead of just being “street savvy”.

"Without the surplus of food you get through farming, we couldn't have the runaway technological innovation we see today. For instance, I can spend a lifetime in school, years doing a PhD, and then teach my students everything I know in a few months. They can then go on to become more expert than I am, pushing the boundaries of knowledge. Without agriculture, we wouldn't be able to stack innovation upon innovation."

In short, inheriting knowledge and building it on the peoples who had opened the path before us.