Jon Bergdoll
@jonbergdoll.bsky.social
Statistician, inexplicably a philanthropy expert, comic fan but only the weird ones, here for the dumb stuff
Tokyo: ends up, it’s pretty big!
October 15, 2024 at 10:02 AM
Tokyo: ends up, it’s pretty big!
@mapcrow.bsky.social Also, I’ll assume you’ve seen this from back in the day, but no Bombadil discussion on this site is complete without it.
Tom Boobadil welcomes you to Bluesky.
This is what you have signed up for.
This is what you have signed up for.
September 8, 2024 at 2:55 PM
@mapcrow.bsky.social Also, I’ll assume you’ve seen this from back in the day, but no Bombadil discussion on this site is complete without it.
Just for fun, gonna post a little threaded review of a new-ish comic publication I was really happy with, The Collected Buzzelli Vol 1, The Labyrinth, by Floating World Comics (1/🧵)
February 10, 2024 at 4:38 AM
Just for fun, gonna post a little threaded review of a new-ish comic publication I was really happy with, The Collected Buzzelli Vol 1, The Labyrinth, by Floating World Comics (1/🧵)
Saw a showing of Spirited Away at a local theater today. One thing I noticed near the start was this eye sign as they first enter the bathhouse area - I wonder if it was directly inspired by a similar frame in Nejishiki or if it’s just coincidence (or shared Buddhist source imagery)
February 4, 2024 at 2:42 AM
Saw a showing of Spirited Away at a local theater today. One thing I noticed near the start was this eye sign as they first enter the bathhouse area - I wonder if it was directly inspired by a similar frame in Nejishiki or if it’s just coincidence (or shared Buddhist source imagery)
I really loved this review, and I think its core thesis - that this is the basically best VR can ever be, and that that throws into stark relief how limited VR is - is really smart. www.theverge.com/24054862/app...
Apple Vision Pro review: magic, until it’s not
The Apple Vision Pro is supposed to be the start of a new spatial computing revolution. After several days of testing, it’s clear that it’s the best headset ever made — which is the problem.
www.theverge.com
January 30, 2024 at 7:40 PM
I really loved this review, and I think its core thesis - that this is the basically best VR can ever be, and that that throws into stark relief how limited VR is - is really smart. www.theverge.com/24054862/app...
My dumb football rule hill that I will die on is that if a defender gets an interception on a fourth down, if they give themselves up they should take over at the line of scrimmage.
January 8, 2024 at 1:56 AM
My dumb football rule hill that I will die on is that if a defender gets an interception on a fourth down, if they give themselves up they should take over at the line of scrimmage.
Day 20: A Christmas episode of a show called Pickle and Peanut. I’m not totally sure if I like a kid’s show being that level of strangeness or if my gut is correct in finding it off putting.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 20, 2023 at 8:43 PM
Day 20: A Christmas episode of a show called Pickle and Peanut. I’m not totally sure if I like a kid’s show being that level of strangeness or if my gut is correct in finding it off putting.
Day 18: “Kosher Christmas”, from a show called Pepper Ann, which felt like a very declawed Daria aimed at a marginally younger audience.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 19, 2023 at 3:45 PM
Day 18: “Kosher Christmas”, from a show called Pepper Ann, which felt like a very declawed Daria aimed at a marginally younger audience.
Day 17: a Where’s Waldo direct to VHS Christmas special. I know it’s a way to be cheap and have less animation, but I did kind of enjoy just having minute long freezes on shots so you can find Waldo/solve a puzzle.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 18, 2023 at 5:09 AM
Day 17: a Where’s Waldo direct to VHS Christmas special. I know it’s a way to be cheap and have less animation, but I did kind of enjoy just having minute long freezes on shots so you can find Waldo/solve a puzzle.
Day 16: Dave Foley’s The True Spirit of Christmas Specials was not a lost classic like I hoped it would be, but it was pretty fun (and extraordinarily of the early aughts)
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 17, 2023 at 3:55 AM
Day 16: Dave Foley’s The True Spirit of Christmas Specials was not a lost classic like I hoped it would be, but it was pretty fun (and extraordinarily of the early aughts)
Day 15 was a British kids show and was so completely fine and nondescript I forgot to post about it entirely.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 17, 2023 at 12:45 AM
Day 15 was a British kids show and was so completely fine and nondescript I forgot to post about it entirely.
Day 14: “Jingle Bell Rap”, a special that wanted to be a backdoor pilot. I can’t tell if it ever aired or was straight to video, but it’s about a band of four cartoon dogs. Along with the titular track, there’s also a weirdly melancholic “Christmas in Our Hometown” song.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 14, 2023 at 10:14 PM
Day 14: “Jingle Bell Rap”, a special that wanted to be a backdoor pilot. I can’t tell if it ever aired or was straight to video, but it’s about a band of four cartoon dogs. Along with the titular track, there’s also a weirdly melancholic “Christmas in Our Hometown” song.
Day 13: Prep & Landing, which apparently was enough of a hit to inspire sequels. I will say, though I loved Arthur Christmas, that movie clearly saw this special.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 14, 2023 at 3:17 AM
Day 13: Prep & Landing, which apparently was enough of a hit to inspire sequels. I will say, though I loved Arthur Christmas, that movie clearly saw this special.
Day 12: “A Gert Lush Christmas”, which was completely fine with a couple of great lines and an appearance by Greg Davies.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 13, 2023 at 1:07 AM
Day 12: “A Gert Lush Christmas”, which was completely fine with a couple of great lines and an appearance by Greg Davies.
Day 11: hit some burn out and changed the rules to “random special that I have even the slightest interest in watching”. Did “The Snowman and the Snowdog” tonight. Sweet & sappy & nostalgic, but pleasantly animated and overall cute.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 12, 2023 at 5:38 AM
Day 11: hit some burn out and changed the rules to “random special that I have even the slightest interest in watching”. Did “The Snowman and the Snowdog” tonight. Sweet & sappy & nostalgic, but pleasantly animated and overall cute.
There’s an interesting essay to be written - and maybe has been! I’m a dummy, I wouldn’t know - about how Godzilla Minus One and The Boy and the Heron are both (opposing) testaments to the passing of the Japanese generation born and raised during WWII
December 11, 2023 at 4:51 AM
There’s an interesting essay to be written - and maybe has been! I’m a dummy, I wouldn’t know - about how Godzilla Minus One and The Boy and the Heron are both (opposing) testaments to the passing of the Japanese generation born and raised during WWII
Day 9: it was a long day so I cheated and just watched a Teen Titans Go Christmas episode and then forgot to bother posting about it.
Also the new Batman Christmas cartoon is a full-ass 97 minutes long? Huh.
Also the new Batman Christmas cartoon is a full-ass 97 minutes long? Huh.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 10, 2023 at 8:08 PM
Day 9: it was a long day so I cheated and just watched a Teen Titans Go Christmas episode and then forgot to bother posting about it.
Also the new Batman Christmas cartoon is a full-ass 97 minutes long? Huh.
Also the new Batman Christmas cartoon is a full-ass 97 minutes long? Huh.
Day 8: Santa’s Magic Toy Bag. A puppet special about an elf that keeps screwing up. Pretty nondescript except that Santa has ALF’s voice.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 8, 2023 at 8:17 PM
Day 8: Santa’s Magic Toy Bag. A puppet special about an elf that keeps screwing up. Pretty nondescript except that Santa has ALF’s voice.
Day 7: Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls, 1983. See, this is why I do this. 23 minutes of a cartoon to advertise what is barely a toy, where a group of sticky alien octopuses follow around a spoiled kid to learn what Christmas is, complete with voice acting legends and written by Mark Evanier.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 7, 2023 at 7:38 PM
Day 7: Deck the Halls with Wacky Walls, 1983. See, this is why I do this. 23 minutes of a cartoon to advertise what is barely a toy, where a group of sticky alien octopuses follow around a spoiled kid to learn what Christmas is, complete with voice acting legends and written by Mark Evanier.
Day 6. The Robot Chicken Christmas Special. The nicest thing I can say is that at least it was only 11 minutes. A show so deeply unfunny that I was pleasantly surprised to see a joke at about the 10 minute mark.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 7, 2023 at 3:32 AM
Day 6. The Robot Chicken Christmas Special. The nicest thing I can say is that at least it was only 11 minutes. A show so deeply unfunny that I was pleasantly surprised to see a joke at about the 10 minute mark.
Day 5: Christmas in Cartoontown. I am beginning to think this bad idea of mine was, in fact, bad.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 6, 2023 at 3:47 AM
Day 5: Christmas in Cartoontown. I am beginning to think this bad idea of mine was, in fact, bad.
Being pushed to my limit here in Day 4 with Highway to Heaven’s “Merry Christmas from Grandpa”. A reminder that TV used to really stink, though I begrudgingly respect a holiday special going post-apocalyptic. So many dying children.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 5, 2023 at 5:36 AM
Being pushed to my limit here in Day 4 with Highway to Heaven’s “Merry Christmas from Grandpa”. A reminder that TV used to really stink, though I begrudgingly respect a holiday special going post-apocalyptic. So many dying children.
Day 3: “On Christmas Eve”, a wordless 1992 BBC animated special about a fairy making sure a little girl gets her presents. A pretty blah, seemingly cheap affair. There’s something really unpleasant about a lot of 90s BBC music, a kind of cheap digital feel that’s off putting to me.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 4, 2023 at 3:02 AM
Day 3: “On Christmas Eve”, a wordless 1992 BBC animated special about a fairy making sure a little girl gets her presents. A pretty blah, seemingly cheap affair. There’s something really unpleasant about a lot of 90s BBC music, a kind of cheap digital feel that’s off putting to me.
Day 2: Kenan & Kel’s “Merry Christmas, Kenan”. I liked that the toy store was stocked with unpopular action figures from the last summer - clearly had bought Congo and Waterworld toys on clearance to serve as props.
I have an infrequent tradition of watching a randomly selected Christmas special per day in December (using the random special button on christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Special... ). I’ll try to post little minireviews on here.
December 3, 2023 at 3:16 AM
Day 2: Kenan & Kel’s “Merry Christmas, Kenan”. I liked that the toy store was stocked with unpopular action figures from the last summer - clearly had bought Congo and Waterworld toys on clearance to serve as props.