New OVAS for Beelzebub and Toriko this year!

Shonen Jump magazine will announce next week the release dates and production details of the new OVAs of Beelzebub and Toriko.
Beelzebub is an action and comedy story in which by a twist of fate, a rebellious high school student becomes the surrogate father of the son of the devil, while Toriko is the story of a hunter looking for rare and exotic animals to convert into exquisite meals, in a world where taste and texture of foods is the only thing that matter (???).
Both mangas, published since 2009, have never had an anime adaptation before, so that's why they'll be part of the Jump Super Anime Tour this year.

Nuevas OVAS de Beelzebub y de Toriko a estrenarse este año!

La revista Shonen Jump de la próxima semana anunciará las fechas de estreno y detalles de la producción de las  nuevas OVAS de Beelzebub y de Toriko.

Beelzebub es una historia de acción y comedia, en la que por cosas del destino, un estudiante rebelde de secundaria se convierte en el padre sustituto del hijo del Diablo, mientras que Toriko es la historia de un cazador que busca animales raros y exóticos para convertirlos en exquisitas comidas (???).

Ambos mangas, publicados desde 2009, nunca han tenido una adaptación al anime antes, por eso formarán parte del Jump Super Anime Tour de este año.

Rotting the tree of life

There are good papers, great papers, and those clever little papers that make you say "I wish I'd thought of that!". Before I get to that, a little preamble:

Taphonomy is the branch of research that is interested in describing what happens to an organism between dying and ending up as a fossil (or even why it won't end up as a fossil). A lot can happen to an organism in that period of time, as the earth is a dynamic spheroid. The older a fossil, the more possible disturbances it can experience. Taphonomy can tell us a lot about the environment an organism was deposited in and it can provide important controls on the inferences we make about the environment we think a fossil organism once lived in. But taphonomy is also an important consideration in considering what an organism is. That is, the 'life' of a fossil after death, might have a profound impact on how we place that fossil in the tree of life.

Enter the experiments of Rob Sansom and colleague's experiments on lamprey larvae and the title organism of this blog, reported in this week's issue of Nature. Sansom et al. wanted to examine what happens to 'primitive' vertebrates that lack hard, mineralized tissues, the type of tissues that normally fossilize. I say "normally", because there are some 'abnormal' cases in which soft-bodied creatures with no bones, teeth, or hard cuticles actually form as fossils. Some such fossils have played an important role in understanding the timing and early origin of vertebrate animals.

For instance, this species known as Yunnanozoon (Chen et al. 1999) from the Cambrian of China. It represents one of the earliest known vertebrates or vertebrate-like forms.



Yunnanozoon is remarkably well preserved, but other Cambrian chordates can be even more incomplete. The problem with such fossils is that they're difficult to interpret because they're squished, and they're made of soft parts. We have no idea how much they might have decayed, apart from the fact that they seem to be an exception to the rule that soft parts don't fossilize. This usually implies some sort of exceptional conditions favouring preservation, but doesn't necessarily rule out decay or other types of disruption.

Sansom et al. let larval lamprey and lancelets rot in buckets of sea water and recorded the progress of the decay over the period of several months.

The impressive and startling results of watching fish decay are below the fold:



As the animals rotted away, Sansom et al. recorded details of their anatomy. Not just general features, but the types of characters that would be used to score an organism for a phylogenetic analysis. These include classically important features, like the gill filaments, cartilages of the gill arches, the type of heart, the shape of the body muscles, the dorsal rod known as a notochord, and so on. These are characters that have normally played a significant role in establishing the relationships of vertebrates and their nearest non-vertebrate relatives, such as the lancelet.



What this figure shows is the length of time each character survived as the animal rotted. What's striking is that the characters that lasted longer all tend to be characters that we consider phylogenetically more primitive. Characters such as a notochord and segmented axial musculature are all considered to be primitive features shared by the last common ancestor of lancelets and lamprey. On the other hand, features such as eyes, or a chambered heart are more derived features found in modern vertebrates.

This figure shows nicely how the decay features plot out in phylogenetic history. If you go back to figure above, there is a graph showing the relationship between phylogenetic rank and decay stage.



What we see is that the level of decay would lead one to think that the taxon was signicantly more distantly related to the vertebrates, much like the early chordates we find in the Cambrian.

Not only do these results provide a caution against how we interpret soft-bodied Cambrian chordates, but it illustrates a framework for studying the phylogenetic effects of decay. As decay is studied across a wider phylogenetic scope, the more we can determine about the generality of these types of patterns. That will have a profound effect on how we study and interpret the exceptional cases of soft-tissue preservation in fossils.

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Chen, Y.-J., Huang, D.-Y., and Li, C.-W. 1999. An early Cambrian craniate-like chordate. Nature 402:518-522 link

Sansom, R.S., Gabbott, S.E., and Purnell. M.A.2010. Non-random decay of chordate characters causes bias in fossil interpretation. Nature 463:797-800 link

Briggs, D.E.G. 2010. Palaeontology: Decay distorts ancestry. Nature 463:741-743 link

Bleach regresa a Cartoon Network USA en Agosto!

Bleach regresa a las pantallas de Cartoon Network con nuevos episodios que se transmitirán en Agosto junto con las dos primeras películas; Bleach: Memories of Nobody y Bleach 2: the Diamond Dust Rebellion, a partir del 14 de agosto, y luego saldrán al aire los episodios 166 y 167 el 21 de agosto.


Es una gran noticia ya que significa que la estrategia adoptada recientemente por Viz Media, en la que los episodios son transmitidos simultáneamente en Crunchyroll, hacen que sea más probable que sean visto en todo el mundo y también permite la oportunidad de ser traducida en varios idiomas, incluyendo el español, lo que favorece una mejor distribución. Atrás quedaron los días en que había que esperar meses para ver los episodios nuevos de tu anime favorito!


Aquí está el enlace del calendario de programación de Adult Swim de agosto:

http://www.adultswim.com/schedule/onair.html 

Ao no Exorxist: the next Bleach?

This is an interesting but little known manga that I'm sure it won't take long to eventually take the big step into anime.

Also known as Blue Exorcist, its author is Kazue Kato and it began to be published by Shueisha in April 2009.

With the visual style of D-Grayman, its premise is simple but it hits you on the face on the first pages: Rin is the typical boy who lives fighting in the streets, is an orphan and lives in a monastery.  

His protector, father Fujimoto, constantly fights with him so he can finally get a job, because when he reaches 16, he can't stay at the shelter anymore.
His twin brother, Yukio, is more reserved, shy and a pacifist. Yukio is accepted into the True Cross Academy for his medicine studies.
 
In a fight with an enemy of his neighborhood, Rin discovers he can see demons and also has supernatural powers to combat them.
 
When father Fujimoto comes to exorcise the demon that was hounding Rin, he reveals the thing he least imagined in his short and difficult life: he is the son of Satan with a human woman.
 
This manga definitely has the potential to be the next Bleach in terms of a supernatural theme. The Saint Seiya style fights are there, the drama of being half-human half-demon is there, too. The tone is also very similar to Death Note, in the Gothic look of the panels and the characters.
 
You can get this manga on scanlation sites, it's currently 15 chapters and 3 volumes long but well worth it!
 
Here's a preview:

Bleach will be back with new episodes on Cartoon Network on August!!

Bleach is scheduled to come back with new episodes in August the special airing of the first two movies; Bleach: Memories of Nobody and Bleach 2: the Diamond Dust Rebellion, starting on August 14, and following on August 21 with episodes 166 and 167.

It's great news since that means that the recent strategy adopted by Viz Media, in which the episodes are simulcasted on Crunchyroll, makes it more likely to be seen worldwide and also to be translated in various languages, including Spanish, which makes for a better distribution. Long gone are the days in which you had to expect months to see your favorite anime episodes!

Here's the link to the entire Adult Swim August schedule:

http://www.adultswim.com/schedule/onair.html

Early tetrapod footprints from Poland: what changes and what doesn't.

A few years ago, I wrote a post about prediction in the historical sciences. This post came in anticipation of the publication of Tiktaalik roseae, a remarkably well-preserved fossil of an aquatic animal very closely related to the first tetrapods. I offered this figure to illustrate the position of a gap in the fossil record as a predicate for how/where we might look for fossils that would fit within those 'gaps' in phylogeny.



Yesterday, this picture got a lot more complicated. With the publication of tetrapod footprints some 18 million years in advance of this gap by Niedźwiedzki et al., the nice congruence between the node order of the tree and stratigraphy no longer appears so nice.

Here's a picture of the trackways (click for the full view):



[More below the fold]


This news has already broken, and I'm usually the last person to blog about it these days. Naturally, Ed Young has a good take on it. As noted by Jenny Clack in Ed's piece, the individual footprints are more convincing than the trackways in terms of their identity. Here's one from the supplementary information file (which is free to access).

[Picture deleted: I made a mistake, reading too fast and posted an image of Triassic temnospondyl footprints! A better image is this digital surface rendering from the main paper posted below]



But how "bad" is the record now that we know this? Well, bear in mind that lungfishes and tetrapods are considered (at least by the phylogenies in question) to be sister groups. That is, they split from their last common ancestor at exactly the same time. The earliest 'true' lungfishes (i.e. lungfishes with toothplates, and upper jaws fused to the braincase, etc.) are Emsian in age, roughly the same age as these new footprints. Recognizable close relatives of lungfishes, such as Diabolepis, Youngolepis and Powichthys, however, are considerably older. Do, we can set a minimum age for the origin of the tetrapod stem lineage down in very earliest part of the Devonian even if we do not have the fossils.

So, not surprisingly, the record is pretty bad. It's certainly 'gappy'. But we should not be too surprised that tetrapods emerged long before the time when we find their first actual fossils.

Ao no Exorxist: el próximo Bleach?

Este es un interesante pero poco conocido manga que seguro no tardará mucho para que eventualmente salga su versión anime.Es también conocido como Blue Exorcist, y su autor es Kazue Kato.

Empezó a ser publicado por la editorial Shueisha desde abril de 2009.

Con el estilo visual de D-Grayman, su premisa es simple pero te golpea desde las primeras páginas: Rin es el típico chico que vive peleando en la calle, es huérfano y vive en un monasterio que le ha servido como albergue. Su cuidador, el padre Fujimoto, le pelea constantemente para que consiga trabajo, ya que cuando llegue a los 16, no podrá permanecer más en el hogar.
 
Su hermano gemelo, Yukio, es de una personalidad más reservada, tímida y pacífica. Yukio es aceptado en la True Cross Academy  para sus estudios de Medicina.

En un altercado con un enemigo de su vecindario, Rin descubre que puede ver seres infernales y que además  tiene poderes sobrenaturales para combatirlos.

Cuando llega el padre Fujimoto para exorcizar al demonio que estaba acosando a Rin, le revela lo que menos imaginaba en su corta y difícil vida: que es el hijo de Satanás con una mujer humana.

Este manga sin duda tiene el potencial de ser un próximo Bleach en el tema de lo sobrenatural. Las peleas a lo Saint Seiya estan ahi, el drama de ser mitad demonio-mitad humano está ahí también. El tono también es muy parecido a Death Note, en la apariencia gótica de los paneles y de los personajes.

El manga puede conseguirse en páginas de scanlations, apenas van 15 capitulos y 3 volumenes pero vale la pena!

Aquí tienen un adelanto:

Andromeda Shun (part 1)

Being a controversial and an ambiguous character at the same time, Andromeda Shun has his fans as well as his detractors (the infamous scene in the house of Libra with Hyoga comes to mind!).

Somewhat effeminate in appearance, Shun has always been underestimated, but it is no wonder since it's what you would normally expect of a bishounen or bishie character (Japanese for 'beautiful boy').

Shun, unlike his brother Ikki, is calm, sweet and does not like fighting. However, he is one of the few Saints that has a physical weapon as a primary mean of attack.

But while the story of Saint Seiya progressed, Shun was showing his tough side and he was determined to protect Saori (Athena) no matter what, mastering his maximum technique 'Nebular Storm' (Storm Nebular).

The Nebular Storm is one of the most impressive techniques seen in the series, and consists of a cosmic wind that paralizes the enemy, that in a matter of just seconds can become a brutal storm that destroys everything in its path.

That's how Shun was able to finish Aphrodite of Pisces, using this technique as a last resort before he was struck with the White Rose (White Rose Dead).

Like his peers, Shun is an orphan and was selected to train as a Saint. He was initially meant to train at the Fire Island, most known as the Death Island, but Ikki took his place so that his brother had better luck on the Island of Andromeda.

Basic Facts

Height: 1.65 meters.
Weight: 51 Kg
Date of Birth: 9 September (Virgo), the same date that Hades was born, making him the perfect candidate to be his host, as well as being the human with the purest soul.
Blood Type: A
Source: Japanese
Teachers: Daidalos in the manga, and Albiore of Cepheus in the anime, given that the creators thought that it was more accurate, because in Greek mythology, Cepheus was the father of Andromeda, whom he gave in sacrifice to Poseidon.

Shun de Andromeda (parte 1)

Siendo un personaje controversial y ambiguo a la vez, Shun de Andromeda ha tenido sus fans así como sus detractores (la famosa escena en la casa de Libra con Hyoga!!) Y no solo en el fandom de Saint Seiya sino dentro de la misma historia del manga también.

A lo largo de todo el manga, Shun ha sido subestimado por su apariencia algo afeminada, y es que no es para menos, como personaje bishie o bishounen (en japonés se traduce como 'muchacho hermoso').

Shun, al contrario de su hermano Ikki, es tranquilo, dulce y no le gusta pelear. Sin embargo, es de los pocos caballeros que posee un arma física como su principal medio de ataque.

Pero mientras la historia de Saint Seiya fue avanzando, Shun fue mostrando su lado más rudo y determinado por proteger a Saori (Athena), llegando a dominar su máxima técnica 'Tormenta Nebular' (Nebular Storm) con singular maestría.

El Nebular Storm es una de las técnicas más impresionantes vistas en la serie, y consiste en un viento cósmico paralizante del enemigo, que en cuestión de apenas segundos, y a voluntad, puede convertirse en una brutal tormenta que arrasa con todo a su paso.

Asi fue como Shun pudo acabar con Afrodita de Piscis, como último recurso antes de que le alcanzara la Rosa Blanca (White Dead Rose).

Al igual que sus compañeros, Shun es huérfano y fue seleccionado para entrenar como caballero. Inicialmente le había tocado entrenar en la Isla del Fuego o Isla de la Muerte, pero Ikki tomó su lugar para que su hermano tuviera una mejor suerte en la isla de Andrómeda.

Datos básicos

Estatura: 1.65 mts.
Peso: 51 Kg
Fecha de Nacimiento: 9 de septiembre (Virgo), la misma fecha en que nació Hades, lo que lo hace el perfecto candidato para ser su host o cuerpo, aparte de tener el alma más pura.
Grupo Sanguíneo: A
Origen: Japonés
Maestro: Daidalos en el manga y Albiore de Cefeo en el anime, ya que a los creadores les pareció más preciso darle este nombre, pues en la mitología griega Cefeo era el padre de Andrómeda, a quien dio en sacrificio ante Poseidón.

(fuente: SNK-Seiya y Enciclopedia Saint Seiya Taizen)

Deepak Chopra Fail

It's fun to see somebody with both a knowledge of physics and a sense of humour take on Deepak the Woo-Meister.

That snake with a leg...?

There's been a report of a snake with a legs and toes in the media recently. The blogosphere has some interesting comments on it, too. Most notably, there is skepticism. Take a look at our snake in question here:



In a comment on Pharyngula, Jerry Coyne notes:

I suspect that this snake ingested a lizard, and that the lizard's limb simply burst through the side of the snake. I may be wrong, and I hope so, because this is great evidence for evolution.

Some graphic images below the fold illustrate why this is not unreasonable speculation.

Snakes sometimes consider their prey choices poorly. Here's a snake with legs and two tails:




(Hat tip to Febble)

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Oops! I sort of skipped the first comment at Pharyngula. This commenter noted first that it was probably something the snake ate. Moreover, they note a fact I forgot to mention in my haste: the limb is quite far from where we'd expect the hindlimb to be, if one were to show up. It would be much closer to the tail, not at mid-length of the body. It should be at approximately the same level as the cloaca. There's the unlikely case that it's an atavistic forelimb however, which would raise the issue of where a snake's neck begins or ends.

On the use of the stem group concept.

The notion of a 'stem group' is indespensible for a palaeontologist. Much used and abused, it is simply not possible to talk about the relationships of fossils to modern life without the use of the crown and stem group concepts. The crown group is a clade which is delimited by its living (extant) members. The stem group comprises those fossils which are closer to the crown group than to any other extant clade, but do not fall within the crown group. As a result, the stem group is paraphyletic, and thus not really a group at all. It is perhaps more useful to talk about a 'stem assemblage' than a 'stem group'.

While at this year's SVP (and at previous meetings), I was struck by some of the terminological abuses of the term 'stem group'. In various instances, it was used either to refer to the nearest sister taxa of an extinct clade, or it appealed to essentialist nomenclature. I comment further on these below the fold.

'Stem groups' of extinct clades:
When a clade is extinct is has neither a crown nor a stem. If we did not distinguish between extant and extinct clades when applying the crown group concept, then crown groups could be arbitrarily small and stem groups arbitrarily deep. Because nodes in a cladogram are rotatable, we could use any taxon (fossil or living) to be a stem taxon.

We already have a set of terms for this: sister group relationships. This is also what the crown group concept conveys. However, it's purpose is to convey the relationship of fossils to a particular living group. When we talk about fossil or extant clades, we can talk about the nearest sister taxa. When talking about fossils in relation to an extant clade, only then do we apply the crown group concept.

Arbitrarily deep stem groups
One abstract title at this year's meeting struck me, because it referred to the fossil Morganucodon as the earliest stem-mammal. This taxon is almost certainly a stem-mammal. Is it the earliest? Take a look at this figure (from Angielczyk, 2009) (you may have to click on it to see the full image):


Notice the placement of the node "Mammalia". It's a full two internodes displaced from the node that subtends the extant mammalian branches: monotremes, marsupials, and placentals. You'll also notice that the Triassic fossil Morganucodon is the nearest fossil sister group of the three extant mammal lineages. In other words, it's the nearest sister taxon (in this tree) of the mammalian crown group (which, strangely, is unnamed!).

This is a peculiar trait among palaeontologists: give the standard crown group name (i.e Mammalia, Aves, etc.) to some arbitrary node within the group's stem. For instance, Aves (birds) is often considered to be the clade delimited by the last common ancestor of all extant birds + Archaeopteryx.

What you should also notice in the diagram above is that the root node of this tree is called "Synapsida". This means it entire run of taxa in this tree from the Synapsida node up to (but not including) the unnamed mammalian crown group nodes are part of the mammalian stem assemblage. Yes, Dimetrodon is a stem mammal, as well as Morganucodon. This means that a host of Permian (and potentially earlier) forms are also stem mammals, leaving Morganucodon appearing fairly late in the game.

The utility of the stem/crown group concept comes in placing fossils in relation to living groups. When we do this, fossils can be used to build up knowledge of the sequence of acquisition of homologies where living forms provide no clues. Fossils can, in turn, help test hypotheses of homology by providing unexpected combinations of characters, as well as precluding or 'predicting' certain character combinations. It is important that these concepts are applied in the correct fashion, or else they (and fossils) will lose their meaning.

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Angielczyk, K. 2009. Dimetrodon Is Not a Dinosaur: Using Tree Thinking to Understand the Ancient Relatives of Mammals and their Evolution. Evolution: Education & Outreach 2:257–271.

Cancelling Coulter:the U of O's shame

I was much dismayed to learn that Ann Coulter was going to speak at the University of Ottawa. I was even more dismayed to find that the U of O provost sent her a letter warning her of the consequences of hate speech. However, I'm shocked and ashamed that her talk has been cancelled citing "security reasons". The real reason seems to be a response to the 2,000 angry protesters on campus. I support the protesters, but I also support Ann Coulter's right to speak—even if I find what she has to say bigoted, vile, and contemptible.

In the first instance, I don't think she should have been invited to speak at the U of O at all. While I'm not a conservative, I grant that there are probably countless other conservatives with far more scholarly and worthwhile opinions than Coulter. Coulter is the Howard Stern of political punditry, and the more shocking and offensive her remarks the more she thrives. After all, each time she spouts one of her racist, homophobic, or xenophobic slurs, her name rockets up to the top of the headlines. There is all of zero intellectual content in what she has to say. Nonetheless, she had been invited to speak and the attempt to un-do the mistake is simply a farce.

On a university campus, the way to handle cases like Ann Coulter is pretty simple: pack the audience and ask questions at the end. The stage is as much a platform for her to speak as it is one for her to receive the brunt of criticism and questioning of her dispicable views. Universities are marketplaces of ideas, and there's no doubt that there are enough well-informed, intelligent people there who can handle Coulter's hateful rhetoric.

---

UPDATE: The news now is that it was the organizers themselves, not the university who pulled the plug on this event. Like several other bloggers and columnists, I was quick to pour scorn on the U of O.

Here's the University's statement on the event:

Dear Alumni and Friends,

On Tuesday, March 23, an appearance by Ann Coulter was scheduled on our campus, organized by the International Free Press Society Canada and the Clare Boothe Luce Policy Institute.

The University of Ottawa has always promoted and defended freedom of expression. For that reason, we did not at any time oppose Ann Coulter’s appearance. Whether it is Ann Coulter or any other speaker, diverse views have always been and continue to be welcome on our campus.

Last night, the organizers themselves decided at 7:50 p.m. to cancel the event and so informed the University’s Protection Services staff on site. At that time, a crowd of about one thousand people had peacefully gathered at Marion Hall.

"Freedom of expression is a core value that the University of Ottawa has always promoted," said Allan Rock, President of the University. "We have a long history of hosting contentious and controversial speakers on our campus. Last night was no exception, as people gathered here to listen to and debate Ann Coulter’s opinions.

I encourage our students, faculty and other members of our community to maintain our University as an open forum for diverse opinions. Ours is a safe and democratic environment for the expression of views, and we will keep it that way."

Nevertheless, Coulter is still playing her martyr card, and Faux News, I'm sure, is crowing right along with her.

h/t to tom for pointing this out in the comments. Thanks!

This week's featured AMV!

We are going to start this new section by posting this Bleach AMV with the song Dig by Mudvayne, made by user BOWSHIKABOWBOW of Youtube. Brutal and fast, this video is about Ichigo and the evolution of his power. Possibly made with Windows Movie Maker (for effects) and edited with Adobe Premiere.

Enjoy!

El amv de la semana!

Empezamos esta nueva sección posteando un AMV de la serie Bleach, con la canción Dig de Mudvayne, y hecho por el usuario BOWSHIKABOWBOW. Brutal y rápido, este video es sobre Ichigo y la evolución de su poder. Posiblemente hecho con Windows Movie Maker (por los efectos) y editado con Adobe Premiere.

Disfrútenlo!

Maybe some redemption can be found in parody.

This review, and all seven subsequent parts made my day.

More unfortunate fallout from celebrities vs. science

It looks like the anti-vaccination crowd is starting to have the effect they want on public opinion. This article is not very encouraging.

"I don't believe in the flu shot," said a typical posting on a Canadian news website this week, which went on to suggest the vaccine could have the same effects on pregnant women as Thalidomide. "I refuse to be a guinea pig."

An Ipsos Reid survey for Canwest News Service released yesterday suggested that barely half of Canadians were even somewhat likely to get the shot.

At the same time, I'm a bit encouraged by the reporting in that article. I does not give any credible space to antivax lunatics. It does look to the 'other side' of the question of the H1N1 vaccines (or flu vaccines in general), by considering the opinions given by a team of university-based researchers—not Bill Maher, Jenny McCarthy, or Jim Carrey.

The opinions of these wack-o Hollywood types are winning the battle of public opinion, however, and more of this type of reporting is going to be needed. The article also has a list of figures at the end which, I think, also helps mitigate some of the over-the-top media hype about this flu, while providing evidence against the unfounded claims about the dangers of this new vaccine.

New promotional video of the Black Lagoon OVA!

The official website of this series (http://www.blacklagoon.jp) shows a small 40 second promotional video featuring scenes of the OVA, which will air in Japan this week. The OVA is titled Roberta's Blood Trail, and will kickstart the third season, consisting of five episodes.



(source: ANN, Saishin Anime Jōhō)

trailer promocional de la OVA de Black Lagoon!

En la página oficial de esta serie (http://www.blacklagoon.jp) ha aparecido un pequeño trailer promocional de 40 seg que muestra imágenes de la ova proxima a estrenarse esta semana a partir del 26 de junio hasta el 29. La OVA se denomina Roberta's Blood Trail (El rastro de Sangre de Roberta), y dará inicio a la tercera temporada, que consistirá de 5 episodios.



(fuente: ANN, Saishin Anime Jōhō)

I'm a disillusioned Mac user today.

This was a frustrating and disappointing part of my day:



After lunch, I opened my year-old MacBook Pro from its slumber to find a nice set of off-center racing stripes down my screen. Turns out, they go away if I jostle the monitor panel a bit, but that's not going to cut it. The vertical lines will reappear and continue to remind me of the cheap and overrated engineering.

I'm very disappointed by this. My options right now are either to pay to get it fixed or pay to get a new computer. I can't stand the thought of going back to Windows, really. However, the thought of giving Apple another cent of my money is really putting me off. This one forum thread alone can regale you with 12 pages of anecdotes about this same problem with MacBook Pros. Even while under warranty, some folks have gone through three or more new computers—or so the stories say.

---

UPDATE: Apple has kindly offered to cover the costs of the repair. It's still rather disappointing though.

More news on the upcoming Akira movie!

According to director Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli), Warner Brothers wants a movie that is at least PG-13, and the project will continue its development this year, with the script possibly ready in September.

"There's something about cinema — old cinema", the director says,"where I get excited about some subversive things you can do with being held down by something like that or being censored. That I kinda found to be a challenge, how can I make this feel like a rated-R movie. I look towards what [director Christopher] Nolan did with Batman. Tonally, those don't feel like PG-13 movies."

Hughes said that the trick to achieve this effect was to simplify everything for the audience, bearing in mind that certain elements of this manga are too complicated to translate them into film.

As for the possible cast, Hughes said it was too early to give names but he's looking for a young and talented unknown actor, as well as a Gary Oldman or Morgan Freeman type of actor.

(Source: ANN, Film School Rejects)

It seems that they want to take this movie seriously, but at the same time it looks like it won't be very faithful to the manga because we know what happens when directors and producers speak of "content too complicated for the audience"
O_O

Mas detalles de la pelicula de Akira!

Según el director Albert Hughes (El Libro de Eli), la Warner Brothers quiere una pelicula que sea como mínimo PG-13, y el proyecto seguirá su desarrollo durante este año, con el guión posiblemente listo en septiembre.

"Hay algo sobre el cine de antes," afirmó el director en una entrevista concedida por radio, "en lo que uno se emociona con ciertas cosas transgresoras que uno puede hacer sin ser censurado. Es lo que encuentro como un reto para mí, cómo hacer que esto se vea como una película R sin serlo. Es lo que hizo Christopher Nolan con Batman. Sabemos que en términos del tono, no son para nada PG-13 sino mucho más."

Luego indicó que el truco para lograr este efecto era simplificar todo para la audiencia, teniendo en cuenta que ciertos elementos de este manga son muy complicados para plasmarlos en film.

En cuanto al posible reparto de actores, Hughes dijo que era muy temprano para dar nombres, pero que busca a un actor joven, nuevo, con mucho talento y un actor veterano a lo Gary Oldman o Margan Freeman.

(fuente: ANN, Film School Rejects)

Todo parece indicar que se quieren tomar en serio esta pelicula, pero al mismo tiempo no va a ser algo muy fiel al manga porque ya sabemos lo que pasa cuando directores y productores hablan de que "es muy complicado para las audiencias"
O_O

Carl Gans (1923-2009)

Carl Gans, a giant in the field of comparative and functional morphology, has died at 86.

Dr. Gans has left a profound and lasting impact on vertebrate anatomy and evolution. His work with Glenn Northcutt laid foundations for modern ideas on the role of neural crest in the evolution of the vertebrate head. He was the editor of the 23-volume Biology of the Reptilia, a remarkable source of ideas and data on reptile biology and evolution.

Obituaries: NY Times; CNAH

Tip to Palaeoblog

Major Baseball manga comes to an end after 15 years

For all the fans of sports manga, this classic by Mitsuda Takuya comes to an end after 15 years, as Shogakugan indicated in the latest issue of Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine. Major Baseball has 76 volumes, 6 anime series and a movie.

The story is about Goro, the son of a major league batter who has the dream of becoming famous and to become great like his father.

The anime of the same name came out in 2004, while the sixth adaptation was released in April this year. It has even inspired movies like Major: Yujo no Winning Shot, which opened in 2008 in Japanese theathers.

El famoso manga Major Baseball llega a su fin

Para todos aquellos fans de los mangas deportivos, este clasico de Takuya Mitsuda llega a su fin después de 15 años, tal como lo indica la editorial Shogakugan en el último número de la revista Weekly Shonen Sunday. Major Baseball tiene 76 volumenes, 6 series de anime y una pelicula.

La historia trata de Goro, el hijo de un bateador de las grandes ligas que tiene el sueño de hacerse famoso él también y ser un grande como su padre.

El anime del mismo nombre salió en el 2004, mientras que su sexta adaptación salió en abril de este año. Incluso ha inspirado películas como Major: Yujo no Winning Shot, que se estrenó en el 2008.

Akira live action movie will have a new writer

The film adaptation by Warner Brothers will have the writer and screenwriter Albert Torres, who will work with director Albert Hughes, the latter known for films like Menace II Society, From Hell and The Book of Eli.

In the words of producer Andrew Lazar, Akira is a project that Warner executives would love to have as a franchise, as they see their high commercial and intrinsic value.

Lazar also confirmed that the first film will cover the first three volumes of the manga by Katsuhiro Otomo, and the possible sequel would cover the following three.

It seems that Warner is trying to take things seriously, although it is somewhat difficult, since they always think on commercial terms, which is what usually never works with this type of adaptations (Dragon Ball: Evolution, anyone?)

Well, it'll be a matter of crossing fingers and pray that they don't rape this manga

nueva pelicula live action de Akira tendra nuevo escritor

La adaptacion del cine llevada a cabo por Warner Brothers tendra al escritor y guionista Albert Torres, quien trabajará con el director Albert Hughes, conocido este ultimo por peliculas como Menace II Society, From Hell y El libro de Eli.

En palabras del productor Andrew Lazar, Akira es un proyecto que a los ejecutivos de la Warner les encantaria tener como franquicia, ya que ven su alto valor intrinseco y comercial.

Lazar tambien confirmo que este primer film abarcara los primeros tres volumenes del manga de Katsuhiro Otomo, y en la posible secuela pudiera abarcar los tres siguientes.

Todo parece indicar que la Warner esta tratando de tomarse las cosas en serio, aunque es algo dificil, pues como siempre piensan en el tema comercial, lo que nunca suele funcionar con este tipo de adaptaciones (cof cof Dragon Ball: Evolution cof cof)

Bueno, será cuestión de cruzar los dedos y tratar de que la pelicula no sea tan mala jejej

The famous website, along with others, has removed 350 titles in their stock. Their manager is currently negotiating with representatives of Japanese and U.S. publishers, who formed a coalition on June 8th, for the removal of many manga scanlations that represent financial losses for them.

Mangafox is owned by a Chinese company called Hangzhou Noez Technology Co., Ltd, and it was in the Alexa ranking as one of the 2,000 most visited sites with a million daily visitors from around the world (!!!).

The company has other sites dedicated to streaming anime episodes, a download site and a social networking site exclusively for fans of anime and manga like us.

Wow, this is quite a blow to those who are looking for a specific title, although some people might think that reading manga online legally is much better.

(yeah, right)

Mangafox elimina 350 mangas de su lista de scanlations

El famoso sitio web, junto con otros mas, ha removido 350 titulos de su stock. Su administrador esta negociando con representantes de las editoriales japonesas y estadounidenses que formaron una coalicion la semana pasada para la remoción de los scanlations de muchos mangas que representan perdidas financieras para ellos.

Mangafox es propiedad de una compañia china llamada Hangzhou NOEZ Technology Co., Ltd, y estaba en el ranking Alexa como uno de los 2,000 sites mas visitados con un millon de visitantes diarios (!!!) de todo el mundo.

La empresa posee otras paginas dedicadas al streaming de episodios de diversos animes, un sitio de descargas y otro sitio de red social exclusivo para fans del anime y el manga como nosotros.

Wow un duro golpe para los que quieran conseguir un titulo en especifico, aunque hay quien pudiera opinar que leer manga online de manera legal es mucho mejor.

Japanese Anime Creators looking for new talent

Perhaps this news does not concern us directly, but it is good to know that the Japanese government has donated 2.27 million dollars to domestic anime industry, provided that the owners of studies and senior artists will feel motivated to look for fresh, new talent and pass their knowledge to younger artists.

This incentive, given to the Japanese Animation Creators Association (Janica) includes funds for training and production of 30-minute short that will allow new artists to express their talent.

Creadores de anime japoneses estan a la busca de nuevo talento

Quizas esta noticia no nos concierne directamente, pero es bueno saber que el gobierno japones ha donado 2,27 millones de dolares a la industria de anime nacional, con tal de que los dueños de estudios y los artistas senior en general se vean incentivados a buscar nuevo talento y a pasar su conocimiento a los artistas mas jovenes.

Este incentivo, otorgado a la Asociacion Japonesa de Creadores de Anime (siglas Janica en ingles), incluye entrenamiento y fondos para produccion de cortos de 30 minutos que le permitiran a nuevos artistas expresar su talento.

the fourth Naruto Shippuuden movie will have a special omake

The fourth movie in the serie, titled Naruto Shippuuden: The Lost Tower, will feature a special in which Naruto and his friends will struggle with a bottle that contains a genius that can grant wishes. A little out there, but we know that omake is always fun.

The movie will premiere on Japan on July 31st, and it's a about a mission that was assigned to our protagonist, in which he has to capture Mukade, a missing-nin that hides in the mythical ruins of Ouran. After cornering him, Mukade reveals that he is after a leyline that allows time travel. He gathers it and uses it on Naruto, who is sent 20 years in the past and then he meets his father, Minato Namikaze!

Sounds predictable, but hey, at least we get some kick ass animation!

La nueva pelicula de Naruto Shippuuden tendra un omake especial!

La cuarta pelicula de la serie, titulada Naruto Shippuuden: la torre perdida, tendra aparte un especial omake en la que Naruto y sus amigos se ven envueltos en un problema con una botella que contiene un genio que concede deseos a lo Aladino.

Una liga extraña de Aladino (???) con el mundo shinobi, pero supongo que será divertido.

La pelicula se estrenará en Japón el 31 de julio, y trata de una misión que le asignaron a nuestro protagonista de capturar a Mukade, un ninja fugitivo que se esconde en las historicas y miticas ruinas de Ouran.

Despues de encontrarlo y pelear con él, Mukade invoca los poderes de un artefacto entre las ruinas, que envia a Naruto 20 años al pasado, donde se encuentra a su padre, Minato Namikaze!

More info on the new Black Lagoon OVA!

animeanime.jp has announced that the long promised OVA of Black Lagoon will air on Japanese TV stations from June 26th to the 29th. The OVA would be centered on Roberta's character and her story.

The Monthly Sunday GX magazine keeps without giving much detail over if there will actually be a third season, but it seems that series will continue in this form for good.

imagenes de la nueva OVA de Black Lagoon!

animeanime.jp anuncia que Black Lagoon ya tiene fecha para regresar a la pantalla chica de Japón: desde el 26 hasta el 29 de junio, dependiendo de las estaciones regionales niponas.

La OVA se centraría en el personaje de Roberta y su Baile de la muerte (Blood Trail)

La revista Monthly Sunday GX, de la editorial Shogakugan, sigue sin dar detalles sobre si habrá una tercera temporada de la serie o no, todo parece indicar que la serie continuara esporadicamente en forma de OVAS.

A Supernatural anime in the works!

MADHOUSE, the studio behind series like Death Note and Vampire Hunter D, is producing the anime version of the CW series as part of a project for Warner Brothers.

According to the site Cinema Today, this is the first project by a Japanese studio based on foreign series.

Supernatural: the animation will be released on DVD and Blu Ray on January 12th, February 2nd and April 6th, 2011 respectively in Japan by Warner Home Video.

While animeanime.jp reports that the series will contain 22 episodes or OVAS that will cover the story of the first two seasons of the live action series, adding new scenes and original stories, as well as details of the Winchester brother's childhood.

Takahiro Yoshimatsu (Trigun) is in charge of character designs.

The seiyuus for the characters of Sam and Dean will be Yuya Uchida and Hiroki Touchi, the actors that did the Japanese dub for its broadcast in that country.

un anime de la serie Supernatural???

Un lujo para los fans de esta serie!!!!

MADHOUSE, el estudio detras de la animacion de series como Death Note y Vampire Hunter D se encuentra produciendo la versión animada de la serie de Warner Channel como parte de un proyecto para la Warner Brothers.

De acuerdo con el sitio Cinema Today, este es el primer proyecto realizado por un estudio japonés que esté basado en una serie extranjera.

Supernatural: the animation será lanzado en DVD y en Blu Ray a partir el 12 de enero, el 2 de febrero y el 6 de abril de 2011 en Japón por Warner Home Video.

Mientras que animeanime.jp reporta que la serie contendra 22 episodios que cubriran las historia de las primeras dos temporadas del live action, añadiendo nuevas escenas e historias originales, así como mas detalles de la infancia de los hermanos Winchester.

Takahiro Yoshimatsu (Trigun) está a cargo del diseño de los personajes.

Los seiyuus para los personajes de Sam y Dean serán Yuya Uchida y Hiroki Touchi, los actores que le hacían el doblaje en japones a la serie para las transmisiones en Japón.

OpenManga: the new online 'official' scanlations platform

The 'Crunchyroll effect' has entered the world of scanlations as MangaHelpers, one of the largest distribution sites of manga scans and scanlations, has announced its decision to close due to pressure from Japanese and U.S. publishers.

In its place will rise OpenManga, a new platform that will allow manga creators to distribute their work digitally, which will also allow them to sell related merchandise and accept donations.

The new system will also allow users to translate and adapt the manga of their interest in a legal way. The site, http://openmanga.org , is now online, anticipating its launch.

OpenManga: la nueva plataforma de manga online

MangaHelpers, uno de los sitios mas grandes de distribución de mangas escaneados y de scanlations, ha anunciado su decision de plegarse a las presiones de las editoriales japonesas y estadounidenses para el cese de sus actividades.

En su lugar surgira OpenManga, una nueva plataforma que permitira a los creadores de manga distribuir sus trabajos por estas vias digitales, en la que podran vender mercancia relacionada y aceptar donaciones.

El nuevo sistema tambien permitira a los usuarios traducir y adecuar el manga de su interes de manera legal. El sitio, http://openmanga.org, ya se encuentra online.

Sin duda, el "efecto Crunchyroll" ha llegado al mundo de los scanlations XD

US and Japanese publishers declare war to scanlation sites!

It seems the future doesn't bode too well for scanlation sites, this could mean a definitive hit against free access to manga scans for people everywhere in the world that doesn't have the means to obtain their favorite manga!

From ANN:

The 36 publishers in Japan's Digital Comic Association and several American publishers are forming a coalition to combat the "rampant and growing problem" of scanlations — illicit digital copies of manga either translated by fans or scanned directly from legitimate English releases.

The coalition asserts that "scanlation aggregator" sites "now host thousands of pirated titles, earning ad revenue and/or membership dues at creators' expense while simultaneously undermining foreign licensing opportunities and unlawfully cannibalizing legitimate sales." Google lists one site on its list of the 1,000 most-visited sites on the web. An unnamed spokesperson for the coalition also pointed to smartphone applications designed to read such sites as an escalation of the problem.

The coalition is reportedly threatening legal action against 30 scanlation sites, whose names were not revealed. The organization currently includes Japanese publishers Kodansha, Shogakukan, Shueisha, Square Enix, and the Tuttle-Mori Agency, as well as North American manga publishers Vertical Inc., Viz Media, Tokyopop, and Yen Press.

Editoriales estadounidenses y japonesas le declaran la guerra a los sites de scanlations!

Las 36 editoriales de la Asociacion del Comic Digital Japonés y varias editoriales importantes norteamericanas han formado una coalición para combatir "el rampante y creciente problema" de los sitios web que distribuyen scanlations, copias ilegales digitales de mangas, sea traducido por los fans, o escaneado directamente de su versión en ingles.

La coalicion afirma que hay miles de paginas agregadoras que cuelgan miles de titulos ilegales, ganandose el share de publicidad y cuotas de membresias a la expensa de los creadores originales, mientras que a su vez representan una amenaza para la licencia de los derechos de autor en paises foraneos y un golpe severo a las ventas de los mangas.

Tal es así que incluso Google tiene a uno de esos sites (se dice el pecado pero no el pecador, uy) entre los 1000 mas visitados de toda la web. Un portavoz de esta coalicion tambien indicó que hay aplicaciones para smartphones como BB y iPhone que permiten leer contenido escaneado ilegalmente, lo que se ha convertido en un agravante del problema.

La Coalición va a demandar a alrededor de 30 sitios de scanlations, cuyos nombres no han sido revelados. La organizacion incluye a editoriales como Kodansha, Shogakugan, Shueisha, Square Enix y la agencia Tuttle-Mori, asi como los ya conocidos Vertical, Viz Media, TokyoPop y Yen Press.

New scenes added on the BD/DVD edition of the 10th One Piece Film Strong World!

The 10th film of the One Piece franchise will come out in Japanese stores on August 27th, and a special limites edition will be available for collectors!

This is the first One Piece film directly supervised by its creator, Eichiro Oda, in terms of story and character designs.

The special edition contains footage from the first release in theaters, as well as TV and movie trailers, interviews, a "tone-dialing" voice keyholder, a deck of special Strong World playing cards, and a bendable Gomu-gomu pencil!

Nuevas escenas en el BD/DVD del film de One Piece Strong World!

El decimo filme de One Piece saldra en Blu-Ray y en DVD el 27 de agosto de este año en Japon, con nuevas escenas añadidas a peticion de su creador, Eichiro Oda. Este es el primer film de One Piece cuya produccion fue supervisada por su creador original, en cuanto a historia y diseños para los personajes.

Ademas de todo esto, habran ediciones especiales y limitadas para coleccionistas por el decimo aniversario de la serie!

Estas ediciones especiales contendran material de los trailers, de los invitados que estuvieron el dia de estreno en Japón, los comerciales de cine y television, un juego de cartas y un lapiz Gomu-Gomu!

Una joya para los fanaticos!

(hem, cuanto costara??)

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Larry Moran on Ardipithecus

Larry Moran has a good piece about the newest fossil hominid find, Ardipithecus ramidus. He goes after some of the irresponsible reportage from both the journalists and scientists alike. Having dealt with the sometimes difficult task of explaining the significance of certain new fossils to journalists, I can understand that sometimes things would get lost in translation. However, here we have an example of highly problematic statements coming from both scientists and the media.

I've got a lot on my plate this week, but I would like to write a comment or two about Ardipithecus this week. Hopefully I'll have that up soon.

Bleach estara en el simulcast de Crunchyroll a partir del 8 de junio

The Crunchyroll media-distribution website has announced on Wednesday that it will simulcast Studio Pierrot and TV Tokyo's television anime adaptation of Tite Kubo's Bleach manga. The simulcast will start with the latest episode, #274, next Tuesday at 2:30 a.m. PDT. Episodes 266 to 273 will also be streamed next Tuesday, and information about the planned release of the remaining older episodes "will be provided at a later date."

Crunchyroll's simulcast will be available to Premium Subscription members in high definition one hour after each episode's first airing on Japan's TV Tokyo station, and for free in standard definition one week later. The simulcast will be available in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central and South America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The streamed episodes will use English subtitles from Viz Media.

Mas informacion de la edicion española de Soul Eater por la editorial Norma

El primer número de Soul Eater estará a la venta a finales de septiembre, y vendrá con un pequeño regalo: un cofre para contener los diez primeros volúmenes de esta serie, un pequeño aliciente para los primeros compradores. Pero atentos: como ya hemos hecho en otras promociones similares, el cofre solo acompañará a la primera edición del manga, por lo que os sugerimos que, si os queréis hacer con él, no esperéis demasiado para comprarlo.

Mientras que el segundo volumen saldra a la venta en octubre, coincidiendo con las fechas en las que se va a realizar el Salon del Manga 2010 en Barcelona, desde el 29 de octubre hasta el 1 de noviembre.

Después de esto, Soul Eater saldrá bimestralmente a partir del 2011.