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I think they took off immediately. I mean, even before they knew technically that they were going to be a block again. The April Fools' stunt really was them hitting the ground running. And they really had a pretty clear blueprint of what Toonami was and what they wanted it to be. Certain shows have been hit or miss. But the block basically hit the ground running and really hasn't faltered much as a whole. The worse thing was probably running low on domestic programming and having to scale the block back, which in the long run really doesn't seem to have hurt the block or the fans. I have personal ideas of stuff I would like to see them do and quibbles here and there about "more of this - less of that" but overall, the block has been pretty consistently successful and I enjoy almost all the shows they've picked on some level or other. The danger for Adult Swim right now is complacency and resting on the comfy cushions of mainstream Fox shows. Toonami, even at its most commercial/mainstream, is still something of a counterbalance to that. Which I think is something of a blessing and a curse for Toonami programmers. Ultimately I would like to see a Toonami that remains alert to good stuff. I don't mind the necessity of mainstream stuff, I think it would serve the block to continue to occasionally drop in adult material, odd things, and an occasional nostalgic pickup. It serves the block well to stick to that path of mainstream long runners and proven/popular new shows (especially if they can get good deals on those). But I also hope there is space to throw bones to mature sensibilities, those seeking something different, and maybe that occasional bit of nostalgia. If they can keep a toe in those waters as they forge a solid schedule of new/proven shows chosen with the Toonami audience in mind, I see no reason the well should ever run dry (at least for the forseeable future).

I finally got the S1 DVD. Still have to sit down and watch it. (already seen the episodes, but haven't actually watched them again on the dVD w/features and whatever all.

Ash was kinda - popier than I usually like maybe?, but I still loved "1977" and a lot of their other stuff.

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-longbanned-tradition-of-mummering-in-newfoundland-is-making-a-comeback

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/as-permit-costs-rise-us-touring-becomes-even-tougher-for-canadian-musicians/article33317868/

100,000 books from the Croatian Library system are now available to read online, free, any time. http://www.total-croatia-news.com/lifestyle/15133-croatia-is-the-first-country-in-the-world-to-become-a-free-reading-zone

the veggie eunuchs are all skypewhores. so - they're kinda also out.

psh - no friends for you. ever.

according to statements made by AS on social media, they were aware of the alt-rightness beforehand. And in fact it was a hotly contested thing within AS, some people in the office were adamantly against it. I tend to agree with the notion that - like if people would just shut the hell up it would probably have just quietly gone away anyhow just on its own steam (or lack thereof in this case). The first thing I saw of their's I think was a game con piece that just was like - not - super inventive or particularly creative. The idea was kind of funny, but wasn't new. And the whole - sort of concept of like "TAKE THAT NERDS" seems a little obvious and overdone maybe. I kind of felt the same about most of the stuff of theirs I've seen. Nothing I've seen of theirs makes me go "oh hey cool it's those guys". It's always just like "eh. why am I watching this?". Not - like pissed off at it. More like just - not - into it in any way. Put it this way - if MDE was a nightclub, it would seem fairly quiet/sedate to me, and there would be no doors that I could find. So - like I could never really find my way into it. So just didn't really care whether it was there or not.

Trying is good. they've been pretty consistently successful since their being resurrected on AS. though reading your post, I can sort of see the downside to trying too hard.

srsly have you read his twitter feed? it's full of alt-right stuff. Not comedy - actual pov type twitter posts. a lot of it's not jokes. Just really super right-wing nutty opinions. there's literally no room for missed context. He's pretty much an alt-right nutbag according to the kinds of stuff he posts on social media. there's no dispute there. unless he's some kind of deep-deep cover comedian, which given the frequency of the posts and opinions, seems unlikely. for me personally, the alt-right phenomenon is interesting comedically and historically. I can't say that I'd be against some sort of mainstream representation of that. But - I don't see the upside for a network. I will say - there's little difference in my mind between the Moral Majority of the 80s and the PC/community standards of the 90s through now either though. I think Brett Gelman is brilliant. One of a small handful of legitimately original thinkers in comedy today. Which on some level makes his stance more baffling. But then again, if you think about history, and what the alt-right generally stands for - I mean, you can be morally outraged all you want, but those words "first they came for the gypsies..." etc, are no less true. If/when stuff like this bubbles its way to the top, should we just "aw let em have their little comedy show, what harm could it do? it's not like somebody like Trump will ever get elected". oh wait... I get both sides. I get the genuine oppressiveness of the left. I think it's a real thing. And - fascism springs as much from the left as from the right. It grows in the manure that the extremes poop out. But also - you know, however it's dolled up, if there's like "oh that one funny sketch so it's all okay" or whatever else - the alt-right camp has some pretty disquieting notions about a lot of social issues. When we have real life history of similar things leading to mass extermination, it's fair to be wary. It's probably even fair to be vocal in opposition. Some may say it's a social imperative to speak and act to entities like Alt-Right before they gain the traction required to make the social change they seem to desire, most of which is fairly frightening. so - I think in some respects, Gelman is possibly being hypocritical. But from another point of view, people who are all "aw that one sketch was funny so let em have their little show" may well be contributing to what is ultimately a fairly dark social movement that advocates many fairly toxic things. or maybe it's just a comedy guy doing comedy. some people aren't into the idea of rolling the dice to find out. So - he's being hypocritical to his art. But he's also being humanist in his social politics. I am not enlightened enough to know which is best.

oh yeah. wasn't aware you still needed it or I would've already sent one.

I'm - really wanting to start some fanfictiony stuff. but just too busy with other stuff.

I (for now) gave up and switched back to the original theme I used. which is incompatible with many features and addons. but I can bring myself to post with it. that's more subconscious I think than conscious, but crappy themes = just don wanna post.

liked the midseason finale. This is probably the first run of episodes where I didn't have any moments of being utterly pissed off by the writing/characters. The last scene was a tremendously satisfying payoff for the first half of Season 7. Very well done. I think this was probably the best overall paced batch of episodes in the series, at the very least, it puts me in mind of that first season, which was pretty tight, though still finding its legs as a series. Every other season to me seems to have floundered a bit at the last, and at most has had giant gaps of creative credibility. I've always liked this show in spite of the flaws. But this season I feel the show actually living up to its potential in a sustained way for perhaps the first time.