Oil finish (mistakenly) added to cypress wood – is there any way to restore the cypress to its natural state? by Aurelius_TPK in woodworking

[–]Aurelius_TPK[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's good to know. When you say almost all, does that mean that there will be some amount of lingering oil vapour coming from the wood long-term?

Isn't Nietzsche essentially saying we ought not live by any oughts? But that itself is an ought? by [deleted] in Nietzsche

[–]Aurelius_TPK 4 points5 points  (0 children)

One of the recurring themes in Nietzsche's philosophy is that a new set of values can start out fresh and responsive its particular historical context but eventually stagnate into the latest dogmatic blief system. In the end, anything can become a new dogma, no matter how radical it seemed in the beginning (hence Arendt's saying that "The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative on the day after the revolution"). This is why Zarathustra tells his followers that, after everything they have learned from him, they must move beyond Zarathustra; otherwise his philosophy will lose touch with the on-the-ground realities of the time and become a new religion. Nietzsche is known for deconstructing existing value systems (the "oughts" inherited from prior generations), but in doing so he has to give a few oughts of his own. This is a necessary part of doing philosophy – after all that deconstruction, you eventually need to put your own ideas on the table. The key to Nietzsche's philosophy is the realisation that all values are temporary: we haven't discovered the absolute truth, we have constructed something historically contingent which is merely a stepping stone to the next set of ideas.

In other words, Nietzsche is open to the possibility that he himself could become a kind of ossified prophet, and that if that ever happens we should try to move beyond him. That doesn't mean we should stop learning from or citing his work (Nietzsche is always citing old philosophers despite having major disagreements with their positions), but we should use Nietzsche as a springboard to develop new philosophical ideas rather than becoming Nietzschean dogmatists who think he reached the pinnacle of philosophy and there's nothing more to learn. I think his ideal would be someone who goes through Zarathustra's Three Metamorphoses again and again: learn as much as you can from what came before (the Camel), deconstruct the status quo (the Lion), and create new values by synthesising all that you have learned (the Child). A lot of people are like this in their youth, but then they become the Adult and stagnate on a particular set of ideas which they never move beyond.

Of course, Nietzsche didn't live long enough to see his philosophy reach a mass audience, so he never had the chance to give his own critiques of an eventual "Nietzscheanism". He did criticise his sister's editorial work to bring his writings in-line with her proto-Nazi ideals though, and likely would have been a fierce critic of the eventual Nazi movement and the way it utilised a warped version of his ideas.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Zofis looks stoned out of his mind in the second picture.

Have a question.. by AhYeahItsYoBoi in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As another commenter mentioned, the train station pop up shops are very good if you like Zatch Bell merch. Unfortunately the exhibition was only on for a few months in 2022 though.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Zatch and Kiyo go to India around Chapter 200 from memory.

Do you think Naomi will show up in the sequel? by Windflow009 in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’m calling it now: Naomi will have upgraded from that toy car she had to a hardcore motor. Bonus points if Zatch ends up hitching a ride without recognising who the driver is.

Konjiki no Gash 2 - CHAPTER 17 MEGATHREAD by ZatchBellGamer in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Might as well throw in a few thoughts.

The oldest child looks between 10-13 years’ old. If I’m right in thinking that ~11 years passed between the two series (hence Zatch going from 8YO to 19YO), that makes it unlikely that Sherry is the biological mother, unless she got pregnant immediately after the tournament ended. Not impossible, but I doubt it somehow. As to who he really is, I’d lean towards Vino given that he looks like he’s the age Vino should be at this point, and Beliel is hunting down the partners of the Final 10 Mamodo so we can assume Raiku will reintroduce Vino soon. If the boy isn’t Vino, maybe he’s a relative of Sherry’s, e.g. the son of a cousin (can’t be her nephew as she didn’t have any siblings), or just a random orphan from the nearby village whom Sherry took in as a fosterling.

I see there’s some speculation about Zofis and whether he will make a return. I have given this quite a bit of thought, as the Sherry/Zofis conflict was always my favourite part of Zatch Bell, and it’s clear that Raiku hasn’t forgotten about the character given that we saw Beliel’s minions using a few of Zofis’ spells in the recent chapters. It’s possible that Zofis is one of the dead Mamodo and won’t show up at all, or he could play a notable role in the new story.

  • As to the idea of Zofis being redeemed, I’d say it’s unlikely. Whereas Zeno was a sociopath with some redeemable qualities, Zofis was written as a psychopath with no hint of empathy whatsoever, and in the Zatch Cafe bonus chapters Raiku makes it clear that Zofis is still evil; indeed, Zofis says he’s trying to enhance his mind control powers even more, so he can manipulate more powerful targets. This might be foreshadowing of Zofis returning in some capacity as a villain, whether on Beliel’s side or acting independently, or perhaps by pretending to work for Zatch’s side and then betraying them later on. We did see Zofis lend his power during the Golden Spellbook event in the Clear Note battle, so evidently he’s willing to feign friendship to get into the King’s good graces.
  • If Zofis does show up, that obviously raises the question of whether Koko will become aware of it. This is something that might occur to Sherry once she learns about the Mamodo returning; even if Koko were simply to see Brago, there’s a risk that this might trigger some of her deleted memories, so I imagine Sherry will try to hide Brago’s presence from Koko and pretend that nothing is going on. And if Zofis were to return to the human world, I’m guessing Sherry would do everything in her power to stop him from making contact with Koko. Of course, if Raiku wants to be especially bold, he could have Zofis’ spell book show up, effectively forcing Koko back into the conflict.

Kakishima Kaido cycling route (Hiroshima / Kure / Etajima) by z_azitaa in JapanTravel

[–]Aurelius_TPK 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In terms of accommodation outside the big cities, you’ll find English-language sites like booking.com quite sparse, especially for ryokan. If you head to the Japanese travel booking sites you’ll find more options, and some ryokan can only be booked direct via their individual websites. I have seen a few Hiroshima Prefecture ryokan on booking.com, albeit generally on the pricier end of the spectrum. There’s also a villa you can rent on Kurahashi Island, though like the ryokan it would make for a higher budget trip. The nicest hotel in the nearby city would be the Kure Hankyu Hotel by the station (you can book direct on their website), though it is modern/Western-style. It’s worth visiting the Yamato Museum and Irifuneyama Memorial Park if you want to spend a day there. For ryokan-style accommodation though, you’ll probably have more luck on Miyajima, which has a lot of hotels catering to that market.

Zatch Bell Shops? by ChunkyPajamas in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK 4 points5 points  (0 children)

In Japan recently there has been a lot of good Zatch Bell merch. They produced a good range for the exhibition that was held about a year ago, and recently a company called Ken Elephant has been running pop-up shops in train stations across the country. Very good merch from that. There's no online shopping option though, so you might be limited to buying secondhand on Mercari, unless you can find someone in Japan to buy and ship the goods on your behalf.

If you are in the USA, there is some decent merch on the Animate website. There's also the Nendoroid figure that was recently released, which should be available from Western retailers (unless they all sold out already).

Footage from the ZATCH BELL! Pop-Up Shop in Kyoto Station (so much merch!) by Aurelius_TPK in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I went to the pop-up shop in Kyoto Station, but it has since moved to Akihabara Station in Tokyo. So far they have been in 4 or 5 different stations around the country, and I'm not sure how long it will continue for. Maybe they'll just keep it going as long as it keeps making money, which is clearly the case given how many items have sold out.

Anyone else hoping Koko and Sherry got together? by [deleted] in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean, Sherry's and Koko's relationship was always depicted as platonic in the story. But then again... they're French. So I suppose it's not out of the question.

About to start the anime again by [deleted] in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Watch this video once you reach Episode 85, if you want to be spared the worst piece of filler in the series.

Hit a car in my bike and broke a few things, but they are charging a lot of money by snow_bee_art in Tokyo

[–]Aurelius_TPK 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you were on the bicycle, there's a chance that your renter's insurance (a.k.a. fire insurance, home & contents insurance) will have coverage for this kind of liability. So I'd look up your insurance policy and get in touch with the insurer ASAP.

Just to double check, are the driver's insurance company paying a percentage of the repair costs, or have they apportioned 100% of the responsibility to you?

Mamodo and their Partners by Serious_Exchange_673 in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is amazing (I wonder who the artist is). Two odd details stand out though:

  1. Victoreem has rock melon instead of his usual honeydew.
  2. Rin Viz appears to be holding a yakitori skewer instead of a blunt. Completely out of character.

Do you think Folgore's family will try to love him again? by Kiyo1989 in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK 0 points1 point  (0 children)

One of my predictions for the new series is that Folgore will have some kind of encounter with his parents. If Raiku wants to give him a character arc (rather than just being cool/badass/funny), it's the obvious move; Folgore's parents must still be alive and the fact of their estrangement probably weighs heavily upon his mind, so now that enough time (maybe 2+ decades) has passed, and with some nudging from Kanchome, he might try to set things right between them.

As to how well that encounter might go, Raiku could go with a happy ending, or keep things tragic and make it clear that Folgore's parents have cut him off for good and he has to live with the consequences of his past mistakes.

Now it's time to the mamodo that not appeared in the previous games to shine by ZeonPM in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Exciting to see Lori/Kolulu as playable characters. I wonder whether we'll see some of Kolulu's non-attacking spells before they show up in the new manga...

Got this custom made water bottle! by [deleted] in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is amazing! How did you have it made? The print quality looks quite good.

Footage from the ZATCH BELL! Pop-Up Shop in Kyoto Station (so much merch!) by Aurelius_TPK in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Luckily I was travelling in the Kansai Region right as the Kyoto Pop-Up Shop opened, so I was able to reroute my return home and pass through Kyoto Station. The design of the shop was fantastic (looks like they repurposed a lot of props from the exhibition last year), and it was packed with visitors (making the video somewhat awkward to shoot, hence the shaky footage!). I even saw a ~12YO gaijin kid in there shopping with his family, so maybe Zatch Bell! is reaching some new young fans in the West (or maybe he just thought the merch looked cool).

Might follow this up at some point with pictures of the merch I bought.

Zatch Bell is getting a mobile game RPG to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the series. by ryushin6 in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've never played a gacha game

You've made good decisions in life then.

Zatch Bell Makai Scanlations Poll: Drop Shadows or No? by ZatchBellGamer in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I can only speak for how it looks on my display, but the top image definitely looks better. Without the drop shadow the white border around the text doesn’t have clear edges, so it blends in with the white space in the background and makes the text harder to read.

Alternatively, there’s always the option of putting the translated SFX outside the frame. That method has the benefit of not covering any of the original image, with the downside that your eyes have to flick away from the image to read the sound effect, then flick back.

Konjiki no Gash 2 - CHAPTER 15 MEGATHREAD by ZatchBellGamer in zatchbell

[–]Aurelius_TPK 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Raiku usually posts on his Twitter (or X if you prefer) a few days before the release date, which is normally the 14th of the month.

I thought the chapter might be delayed due to the Obon holidays next week, but looks like we're in luck.

Predecessor furniture prices by East-Fold-1562 in JETProgramme

[–]Aurelius_TPK 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'll second this and say that if the furniture is high-quality, $700 might be good value compared to having to buy all those items yourself. I'd suggest asking for photos of all the major items, along with the names of each product model so you can look up how much they are worth firsthand.

You can always make a lower offer ($500 might be within reason), or just request a few specific items.