What is the Watercooler?
It's a haven in the middle of a harsh, 9-to-5 world. A place where you can gather with your fellow human beings and bond over a paper cup full of cool refreshment.
All sorts of randomness is welcome here. Post pictures, videos, special Chat information, or just discuss news and current events.
Want to be a guest poster? PM TimeChaser.
Banner by Red Tigress
I've been reading some scans by a group called Helzone, headed by 'musketgiggity', and I am continually impressed by both their sincerity in their work and their sense of humor about stuff. Basically, if I see Helzone on a scan, I know it's going to be well-done.
Here's an example of why I appreciate them.
(NOTE: This is Korean, so read left to right.)
From the note, I gather that the original reference was to something in Japanese mythology, and rather than leave the name intact and attempt to give the readers a quick synopsis of the history of the reference, they made an idiomatic translation decision and presented something of identical meaning and greater familiarity.
I didn't even notice the translator note at first because the substitution was so well-done that I didn't break thought when I was reading the dialogue. It was only until I moved my eyes to the next panel that I saw it, and realised there had been a footnote placed in the text bubble.
To me, that's professionalism.
What is Movie Sign?
Every Sunday night, we nestle down in Chat and watch an episode of the cult TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K for short) while spamming up the Chat box. Don't worry - we use episodes available on streaming sites so that we can all watch simultaneously.
What's MST3K?
A comedy show that ran from 1988-1999, it's like watching a movie with running commentary. Joel Robinson or Mike Nelson, along with 'bots Tom Servo and Crow, are forced to watch terrible films as part of a mad scientist's bid for world domination. To keep their (and our) sanity, they talk back to the movies and riff on them. A more detailed explanation can be found up at the SoL.
Next Episode
Suspiciously middle-aged teenage aliens come to Earth to scout out grazing land for their giant lobsters, but Derek, the Sensitive One, has a conflict of conscious and ends up being ousted by his group. Renting a room from Betty and her Grandpa, he ends up on an adventure of love and fighting the good fight while trying to protect the town.
Host Segment Highlights
Joel trains the 'bots in a manner of self-restraint, but what goes around comes around and he ends dispensing some pain to himself. Ever wanted to sniff your grades? Now you can with the scratch-'n-sniff report card, but even the beauteous smell of biology won't shake the fact that real-life landlords are always creepier than the in the movie. Some boss things go down before our boys strut their stuff with a duct-tape themed fashion show.
Whether a seasoned vet or new meat, we invite you all to come on down! Movie starts at 8pm EST/5pm PST, room opens at the :30 beforehand.
The password for the room is torcha. Be ready to go and find the videos here.
Movie Sign wraps up October with...
10/25 - Episode 515 - The Wild World of Batwoman (w/short "Cheating")
...and gallivants to November with...
11/1 - Episode 105 - The Corpse Vanishes (w/short "Commando Cody and the Radar Men From the Moon" Ep. 3)
11/8 - Episode 607 - Bloodlust (w/short "Uncle Jim's Dairy Farm")
11/15 - Episode 407 - The Killer Shrews (w/short "Junior Rodeo Daredevils")
11/22 - Episode 701 - Night of the Bloodbeast (Turkey Day Edition) - Rewind #1
11/29 - Episode 309 - The Amazing Colossal Man
Next Meeting: October 17, 2009, at 10:00 PM Eastern (7:00 PM Pacific)
Next Episodes: Genshiken 2 ep9-10 / Kare Kano ep19-21
Chat Password: boxingskills
About the Anime Club
The Anime Club is a weekly room in theOtaku's community chat where we meet to have fun laughing, crying, heckling, and spazzing together while watching a few episodes of anime. Rather than watching mainstream shows, however, we pick out good, yet lesser-known anime as an opportunity for people to enjoy new shows. Streaming links are usually provided for those without a copy of the anime.
Current Anime
Genshiken 2 is the 12 episode continuation of the first season. Sasahara Kanji is now the chairman of Genshiken and the show follows his struggles in organizing the group to produce a doujinshi manga for Comic Fest. Meanwhile, the others have problems of their own. Graduation is fast approaching for the seniors and finding a job is no small task.
Click to watch the opening.
Kare Kano (aka His and Her Circumstances) is a 26 episode romantic comedy about Miyazawa Yukino (Enomoto Atsuko), a vain high school girl who acts like miss perfect to garner praise and attention, and Arima Souichirou (Suzuki Chihiro), her classmate who really is mister perfect. Through rivalry, manipulation, and curiosity the two grow closer and experience the drama of high school romance together.
Click to watch the opening.
Schedule
Date..............Genshiken 2...........Kare Kano
Sept 26...........ep01-03................ep12-13
Oct 03............ep04-05................ep14-16
Oct 10............ep06-08................ep17-18
Oct 17............ep09-10................ep19-21
Oct 24............ep11-12................ep22-24
Oct 31............Kujian ep1-3..........ep25-26
Since I've been on a MythBusters kick lately, here's an unaired clip from the episode about the exploding water heater.
