Xunker writes "I was mooching around, looking for infomation on the mother of all anime films, Akira, when I found an interesting tidbit pertaining to it's release on DVD. The gist of it being that Pioneer got the rights to it after MGM let them slip, and the word on the wire is that they're redubbing it in preparation for a re-release on DVD in 2001! Finally anime newbies like myself can see what all the fuss is about!"

Start this one off with a creative hack: tim.kerby sent in just that: using a tortilla as a bread board when your local radio shack is out. Future creative hacks may involve i4u's link to camborg which tracks wearable cameras. Ant found cats and robots. You can practice by playing Kitty Lick 3, an FPS you play as a feline (thanks bjorky) But If cats aren't your pet of choice, how about pigs? Rookie sent in linkage to a story about a one in first class that you'll swear is fiction (but it isn't). radiator sent in a hilarious parody: first aid for a dying dot com. Some auctions worth noting: drDugan sent a picture autographed by Linus being sold on eBay (and donated to charity). Dirty Yanni noted that Metallica/Napster parody t-shirts are for sale on eBay. And the last auction (but not on eBay) is Spock's original ears from the original trek. Oh, and how about t-shirts mocking the MS breakin & source code theft? CArnesen noted that Anime Expo 2001 has been scheduled for this summer. I'm seriously considering going. Mothy notes that famed Rubber Chicken vendor Archie McPhee is now selling the Linux Voodoo Penguin (however the ad features a "Sysadmin" wearing a tie! Have to much free time? Ant does! He sent us a reflex tester (I've managed a .24) but thats nothing compared to Am I Hot or Not which is fun for hours on end if you're the type that amuses easily. And finally, tshell noted that that now that there is a complete O'Reily ate my balls site, the Internet is now complete. You can all go home now.

After another extra long pause, we're back with another installment, this time with Chris DiBona, man of many titles, and also the benevolent soul who found me a place to sleep at ALS. In this episode, we talk about bootable Linux games on CD, SQL, life as video game art, fancy chairs, and a healthy dose of anime as well.

Tetsujin28 writes: "TETSUJIN.ORG has a report on Nan Desu Kan 2K, Colorado's anime convention, which took place on October 13 - 15. The anime forecast for the next year? Cars, more cars, and cuteness." Highlights of the gathering included a concert by Mari ("Voice of Lynn Min-Mei") Iijima, appearances by movers and shakers in the manga and anime field, and previews of upcoming films. A cool report -- wouldn't everyone like to dub their own anime? And funny, too: In the costume contest, "[i]t may be more noteworthy that of just over 100 contestants, there were no fewer than nineteen Sailor Scouts."

Tetsujin28 writes: "The Japan Times Online reports that NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.) is planning a digital video archive for all film and video footage from the company's 50 years in broadcasting. Construction of a new building to house the archive is to begin in January 2001, with completion expected in 2003."

the80y writes "For some of us hacking everything we own is obligatory. Well for all of us of this nature who own a Palm or Visor check out this Japanese site @ 'Palm de COOL!' it has the most intense customizations i have yet to see. I just wish I was fluent in Japanese not every thing is mirrored in English. Does any one know if there are similar sights in English espeacialy relating to replacement cases (i.e. clear cases) available for the Palm IIIc?" My favorite is the crank to power a palm if your battery dies. Unfortunately I haven't watched enough anime to translate this stuff *grin*. Anyway, you can figure out a lot of this just from the pictures and the english parts.

Of course DBZ is shunned by the hardcore anime fans, but I enjoy it (20 minutes of soap opera every evening on my tivo *grin*) and have been bored all summer with the reruns. But all that changes today at 5pm when Cartoon Network begins airing the 77 episode Android Saga. Planet Namek has also confirmed that the remaining 174 DBZ episodes have also been purchased by CN. Also, the very cool site AnimeOnDvd.com has a list of Anime on DVD which includes DBZ, Tenchi, and Battle Athletes (I've recently started rewatching battle athletes while I wait for the next Bebop and Trigun, and I'm enjoying even more the second time through. Super happy fluffy, but highly entertaining). Oh, and Cowboy Bebop #5 is out tomorrow. Yum.

GUNTHER asks: "I've always wondered what the difference is between a "Geek" and a "Nerd." I think of a geek as one who is interested in sci-fi, computers, role-playing, anime, and the like. I think of a nerd as one who is interested in math, physics, and technology. I consider myself much more of a nerd than a geek. I've done a bit of searching on the net for the difference and everyone seems to have a different opinion. Some say that nerds are just social outcasts. Some say that geeks are just arty nerds. Slashdot is "News for Nerds" but most people here seem to refer to themselves as geeks. What do you think, is there a difference between the terms? Which do you prefer (if you prefer either)?"

SenshiNeko writes: "This week's "Work" column on the Bay Area arts&culture Web site Metroactive explores the apparent overlap between anime fandom and the technology/computer industry/community... and why increasingly, in an American pop culture that doesn't represent them, 'geeks look to anime for their entertainment and self-images' and the portrayal of something that resembles the way they live their lives." Recently I've been watching Key the Metal Idol, Tenchi Universe, and Ranma 1/2. Very different series, but each entertaining while I wait for the next Cowboy Bebop. I've also recently begun collecting Anime cels. I feel like American television has let me down (with a few rare exceptions like South Park and That 70s Show) and while I'm not looking for media to "represent the way I live my life", I am looking for it to be interesting, original and entertaining. Sadly very little of what I see on cable is any of these.

randomErr writes "FantasiCon.com recently got a preview of the upcoming Japanese TV series AD Police. Just as the OVA version of AD Police is the prequel to the OVA of Bubblegum Crisis, so is this series the prequel to BGC's TV series. This series takes place approximately one year before BGC 2040(TV). The major difference with this series is that the plot follows the exploits of squadron leader Sasaki Kenji instead of rookie Leon McNichol. You can view the full article and a Quicktime of the upcoming series here. "

da3dAlus writes: "Cartoon Network has revealed its plans for Toonami for the end of the year. About.com holds the article that details CN's plan for the next wave of anime to hit U.S. shores beginning in September. This includes more Gundam series, Blue Submarine #6, two Reboot movies, Sailor Moon movies, and even some of their own material. Unfortunately, there will be no uncut Tenchi episodes." Blue Sub #6 is crazy but highly interesting (notable for amazing surround sound effects, and abnormal quantity of CGI, that isn't always perfectly integrated).

bodosom writes: "DVDFILE notes in this blurb that ADV films has purchased the rights to the third season of ReBoot It's not really anime but ADV is primarily an anime distributor. If you've never seen ReBoot ... well ... I'm sorry. The canonical episode (Talent Night from the second season) is available on VHS."

I'm here at Ottawa Linux Symposium, and I took the Quickies to the crowd and let them pick some of today's Quickies. Hope you like them. CitizenC told us to check out The Kama Sutra of Winnie the Pooh. Scary. alpha264 wrote in about a pegboard computer." Darkness Productions told us that Spaz Labs was back." Phrogman shared a huge collection of Space Images now available on Spaceref.com. kbolton told us to look at streaming anime for free. scampbell said that Yamaha Paper Craft has updated their rare-animal paper sculpture collection to include the Yellow-eyed Penguin. _endgame mentioned that voting has begun for the Freenet Logo." An anonymous coward wrote in about the Men of Sieg Hall calendar. I included that one for Telsa. cdlu wrote (from about ten feet away) about this thing that creates much annoyance from the console. MURL said that Christopher Lee has been cast in the role of a charismatic separatist in Episode II. And finally, I just wanted to mention that Dave Taylor from that company stopped by just to make sure that he wasn't mentioned in the Quickies. Teehee.

sew2902 writes "If you didn't know, the aforementioned Tenchi Muyou series is going to be on the Cartoon Network. Theres an article over at Media Junkies that talks about it, including the fact that it will be censored." Tenchi is among my favorite anime series, but they'll definitely have to edit it for TV since there is the occasional nude scene. The article itself talks about Cartoon Networks increased anime content. I've been hoping they'd create a Toonami channel to counterpart their Boomerang channel: I figure somewhat censored anime is better then none at all. Oh, and the next episode of Cowboy Bebop is now out: my copy should arrive today or tomorrow: I'm stoked about this one.

randomErr write: "AIC, the people who did the good Tenchi episodes, has announced here that they are doing another series. They haven't said if it would be a based on the OVA series or a continuation of Tenchi in Tokyo. BTW, if you can't read Japanese, Click Here for a bad translation by Anime News Network." You guys know about Tenchi, right? It's about the high school kid that meets up with a demon, and the creepy 700-year-old mummy morphs into a girl space pirate? I love anime.

Robotech_Master writes: "In the wake of other Japanese animation vendors moving select titles to DVD-only, AnimEigo recently announced it would be releasing all future titles (including the remastered subtitled Macross series due out by the end of the year) on DVD only, due to the fading VHS animé market no longer being able to support itself. This article explains why in economic terms, and the implications for the larger video market overall." This is a fantastic article. I still can't believe I'll have Macross before BTTF.

Robotech_Master writes: "Nausicaa-L list-owner Michael Johnson spoke to Buena Vista and confirmed it...due to fears of reverse-importing and piracy, the August 29 Princess Mononoke DVD will have English and French audio, but no Japanese. I've written an article summarizing the situation and what concerned fans can do about it." Update by Emmett: The link is currently busted (again), but there are some informative posts in the comments regarding this. After seeing Corn Pone films like 'BAD,' I don't watch dubbed anime. Even though I've seen Princess Mononoke in the theater, I'd rather watch it in Japanese. Battle on, Otaku.

Feign Ram wrote in to tell us about cool Gnome screen shots for PDAs and mobile phones. An Anonymous Coward wrote in with a webpage devoted to the rules of Shotgun. atomic212 shared the news about Claudia Schiffer's Palm Pilot." JohndaBuddhist wrote in about Eric Idle's tour, where he sings hits from the Monty Python days. I went to this, and it ruled. Dungeon Dweller told us about Search Bastard. jpbelang wrote in about the scientific destruction of a Magic 8-Ball. Scott shared a good article called Deciphering Anime over at Mediajunkies. thegrommit told us about the Star Wars telnet client for Windows. Anonymous Squonk told us about SearchSpell, a typo search database. Another Anonymous Coward wrote in about a Hoverboard at Future Horizons. I'm still waiting for my flux capacitor. Neuroprophet gave us a link to Mike "Head writer of MST3K" Nelson's article for The Philanthropy Roundtable.

cameloid asks: "I've been ordering stuff from a couple of U.S. Web sites now (I live in the UK), and was a bit dubious about credit card security at first. However, it was always the case that I was worried about getting my details stolen or something. Last night I was browsing an interesting site looking for some anime ("Captain Tylor" out on DVD?), and naturally checked to see if they would deliver internationally. Now, they wanted proof that the credit card details I sent them really belonged to me, in the form of a photo of me and a photo of my credit card (actual size I suppose). Now this doesn't strike me as being of much use to anyone and got me thinking. As I'm already an established customer on a couple of other well known e-commerce sites would it not be possible to get some kind of referral from these sites, saying that I'm a worthy customer? What would the implications of this be?" I've been seeing lots of really pointed questions about e-commerce sites lately (this site being the latest entry on that list) and I'm wondering how much information a company really needs before they can do business with someone and what kind of information a person can legitimately withhold. Would such information sharing between commerce site be something that would benefit consumers or are there privacy issues here that we should be concerned with?

Lately I've become addicted to Anime. Now that I'm seeking something new to watch, I figured I'd throw this out to you guys and see if any of you experts have good suggestions of what I should check out (preferably on DVD). I've also attached quick summaries of a few cool ones to get things started.