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  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
  2. <feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
  3.  
  4.  <title>fanu fiku: online hard science fantasy manga</title>
  5.  <link rel="self" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/atom.xml"/>
  6.  <link href="http://www.fanufiku.com"/>
  7.  <updated>2007-07-27T00:00:00Z</updated>
  8.  <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  9.  <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/</id>
  10.  
  11.  
  12. <entry>
  13. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  14. <updated>2006-03-20T00:00:00Z</updated>
  15. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0061.html" type="text/html"/>
  16. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0061.html</id>
  17. <title type="html">Bird of Play</title>
  18.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;The Bird of Play&lt;/h3&gt;
  19.  
  20. &lt;p&gt;
  21. Certainly one of the most iconic images of the Fantasy Renaissance is&lt;br&gt;
  22. the Bird of Play, the flying ship used by Richard Storybrooke.&lt;br&gt;
  23. First editions of the Bird of Play model with movable sail action have&lt;br&gt;
  24. sold for upwards of a thousand dollars Pacific, and the few remaining&lt;br&gt;
  25. models with the "old style" sails that appear only in the concept art&lt;br&gt;
  26. for the Storybrooke movie have sold for as high as seventeen thousand.&lt;br&gt;
  27. &lt;br&gt;
  28. And that and of itself is an odd thing.&lt;br&gt;
  29. Only a few were ever made and the images were not highly publicized,&lt;br&gt;
  30. but collectors rabidly pursue these rare models, which were produced&lt;br&gt;
  31. by the factory in only one erroneous run.  But collectors claim that&lt;br&gt;
  32. the old-style models somehow "feel more real," and will pay almost any&lt;br&gt;
  33. price to get their hands on this rare glimpse of this alternate world&lt;br&gt;
  34. of Richard Storybrooke that few of us ever get a chance to see.&lt;br&gt;
  35. &lt;br&gt;
  36. - Diego Tixan, media critic, Lost Angeles Times&lt;br&gt;
  37. </summary>
  38. </entry>
  39.  
  40.  
  41. <entry>
  42. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  43. <updated>2006-03-13T00:00:00Z</updated>
  44. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0060.html" type="text/html"/>
  45. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0060.html</id>
  46. <title type="html">Fear the Bunny
  47. </title>
  48.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Attack of the Death Bunny&lt;/h3&gt;
  49.  
  50. &lt;p&gt;
  51. nec-ro-lag-o-morph (nek'ro-lag'o-morf) &lt;a href=""&gt;(say it!)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;
  52. n.&lt;br&gt;
  53. 1. (Generic usage) Any zombie raised from a species in the order Lagomorpha.&lt;br&gt;
  54. 2. (Typical usage) A vicious breed of giant, undead rabbit with the distinctive
  55. appearance of a rotting corpse, generally greater in size and savagery than the
  56. Tyrannosaurus Rex.&lt;br&gt;
  57. 3. The storystream's most fast and effective laxative.&lt;br&gt;
  58. &lt;br&gt;
  59. - Sylvester Dirac&lt;br&gt;
  60. </summary>
  61. </entry>
  62.  
  63.  
  64. <entry>
  65. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  66. <updated>2006-03-06T00:00:00Z</updated>
  67. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0059.html" type="text/html"/>
  68. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0059.html</id>
  69. <title type="html">Escape Code
  70. </title>
  71.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Chess and Cards&lt;/h3&gt;
  72.  
  73. &lt;p&gt;
  74. I hate traditional card games.  It's like Russian Roulette.&lt;br&gt;
  75. Some asshole shuffles, you draw your cards&lt;br&gt;
  76. And in the end, with the exception of a little bluffing&lt;br&gt;
  77. Chance determines the winner or the loser.&lt;br&gt;
  78. &lt;br&gt;
  79. Trading card games are different. It's like a game of chess.&lt;br&gt;
  80. You have to plan ahead. You buy your cards. You compose your deck.&lt;br&gt;
  81. And in the end, with the exception of a little shuffling&lt;br&gt;
  82. Strategy determines the winner or loser.&lt;br&gt;
  83. &lt;br&gt;
  84. - Desmond Garriot, three-time Storybrooke Challenge tournament winner&lt;br&gt;
  85. </summary>
  86. </entry>
  87.  
  88.  
  89. <entry>
  90. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  91. <updated>2006-02-27T00:00:00Z</updated>
  92. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0058.html" type="text/html"/>
  93. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0058.html</id>
  94. <title type="html">Object Stream
  95. </title>
  96.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;The Real World&lt;/h3&gt;
  97.  
  98. &lt;p&gt;
  99. When they tell stories on the Continent&lt;br&gt;
  100. there's never a problem so big that it can't be solved&lt;br&gt;
  101. by the hero's big smile and even bigger gun.&lt;br&gt;
  102. &lt;br&gt;
  103. But this is Pacifica.&lt;br&gt;
  104. &lt;br&gt;
  105. We used to tell such stories back when we were California&lt;br&gt;
  106. and then the whole damn Left Coast got pitched out to sea.&lt;br&gt;
  107. So don't expect a happy ending where the hero wins.&lt;br&gt;
  108. &lt;br&gt;
  109. In our stories, you'll be lucky if he lives.&lt;br&gt;
  110. &lt;br&gt;
  111.  
  112. - Jesu Akamata, independent filmmaker&lt;br&gt;
  113. </summary>
  114. </entry>
  115.  
  116.  
  117. <entry>
  118. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  119. <updated>2006-02-20T00:00:00Z</updated>
  120. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0057.html" type="text/html"/>
  121. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0057.html</id>
  122. <title type="html">Reflection Interface
  123. </title>
  124.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Dream Injuries&lt;/h3&gt;
  125.  
  126. &lt;p&gt;
  127. We all have nightmares as children.&lt;br&gt;
  128. We awake screaming, desperate to&lt;br&gt;
  129. hear the reassuring words:&lt;br&gt;
  130. &lt;br&gt;
  131. Dreams aren't real.&lt;br&gt;
  132. &lt;br&gt;
  133. Or are they?&lt;br&gt;
  134. &lt;br&gt;
  135. You might think you can't be hurt in a dream.&lt;br&gt;
  136. You stub your toe and awaken to find it fine.&lt;br&gt;
  137. Break a leg, and still walk in the morning.&lt;br&gt;
  138. Break your heart, and - ah.  Not so simple.&lt;br&gt;
  139. &lt;br&gt;
  140. If you dreamed your lover cheated on you, could you shrug it off?&lt;br&gt;
  141. Or would suspicion live on - why did you dream it, after all?&lt;br&gt;
  142. A dream of success can turn a man into an overconfident fool&lt;br&gt;
  143. while dreams of failure leave him feeling inadequate.&lt;br&gt;
  144. &lt;br&gt;
  145. One fleeting dream can spark a thought&lt;br&gt;
  146. that stays with you for the rest of your life&lt;br&gt;
  147. &lt;br&gt;
  148. It might seem that dreams only affect the mind&lt;br&gt;
  149. But while there is a world beyond our minds&lt;br&gt;
  150. in a real sense our minds ARE our worlds.&lt;br&gt;
  151. &lt;br&gt;
  152. The structures our minds use to describe the world&lt;br&gt;
  153. create the very fabric of our very reality&lt;br&gt;
  154. and so we should beware dream injuries -&lt;br&gt;
  155. if a dream leaves a scar too deep&lt;br&gt;
  156. our minds may become too crippled&lt;br&gt;
  157. to see the world for what it truly is.&lt;br&gt;
  158. &lt;br&gt;
  159.  
  160. - Doctor Daniel Riverstone&lt;br&gt;
  161. </summary>
  162. </entry>
  163.  
  164.  
  165. <entry>
  166. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  167. <updated>2006-02-13T00:00:00Z</updated>
  168. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0056.html" type="text/html"/>
  169. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0056.html</id>
  170. <title type="html">Ray Cast
  171. </title>
  172.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;A Coma Is No Excuse&lt;/h3&gt;
  173.  
  174. &lt;p&gt;
  175. I don't see how this is her fault.&lt;br&gt;
  176. &lt;br&gt;
  177. You may not see how it's her fault.&lt;br&gt;
  178. I may not see how this is her fault.&lt;br&gt;
  179. But law doesn't care about whose fault it is.&lt;br&gt;
  180. &lt;br&gt;
  181. But that's so unfair!&lt;br&gt;
  182. After all this girl's been through&lt;br&gt;
  183. After all she did to turn her life around&lt;br&gt;
  184. Shouldn't she get cut a break?&lt;br&gt;
  185. &lt;br&gt;
  186. You think that.  I think that.  But what we think doesn't matter.&lt;br&gt;
  187. Xiao was absent from the eighth grade exit exam.&lt;br&gt;
  188. She didn't make it up in the legally mandated period.&lt;br&gt;
  189. And she has no written excuse from her parents.&lt;br&gt;
  190. &lt;br&gt;
  191. But that's retarded---&lt;br&gt;
  192. &lt;br&gt;
  193. Yes, absolutely.&lt;br&gt;
  194. Who cares that during the exam she was in the emergency room?&lt;br&gt;
  195. Who cares that during the makeup period she was in a coma?&lt;br&gt;
  196. Who cares that her parents are too DEAD to write a note?&lt;br&gt;
  197. We do: her principal and her gymnastics coach.
  198. And according to the law, that's worth jack and shit.&lt;br&gt;
  199. &lt;br&gt;
  200. - transcript of a dialogue between
  201. Principal Athena Summers and
  202. Coach Michel Coupland of Riverton Middle School&lt;br&gt;
  203. </summary>
  204. </entry>
  205.  
  206.  
  207. <entry>
  208. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  209. <updated>2006-02-06T00:00:00Z</updated>
  210. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0055.html" type="text/html"/>
  211. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0055.html</id>
  212. <title type="html">Gray's Decoder Ring
  213. </title>
  214.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Something's ... Different&lt;/h3&gt;
  215.  
  216. &lt;p&gt;
  217. What just happened?&lt;br&gt;
  218. &lt;br&gt;
  219. Richard is still here,  the monster is reeling, and we're still on the run.&lt;br&gt;
  220. I just KNOW this is a dream.  Storybook characters DON'T come to life.&lt;br&gt;
  221. Posters DON'T come alive and sprout monsters that try to take your head off.&lt;br&gt;
  222. &lt;br&gt;
  223. And yet...&lt;br&gt;
  224. &lt;br&gt;
  225. After that last card ... Richard is now panicked, the monster is reeling, but I ---&lt;br&gt;
  226. &lt;br&gt;
  227. ---I feel more alive than I ever have.&lt;br&gt;
  228. The weight pinning me has finally lifted&lt;br&gt;
  229. the parking brake released, the car into drive&lt;br&gt;
  230. the Great Gear released at last so the Engine can spin into motion.&lt;br&gt;
  231. &lt;br&gt;
  232. Ever since my dreams betrayed me, I've been on an endless treadmill&lt;br&gt;
  233. At school, at life, at the hospice.&lt;br&gt;
  234. Everything's the same.&lt;br&gt;
  235. But now...&lt;br&gt;
  236. &lt;br&gt;
  237. Something's different. Something is different, at last.&lt;br&gt;
  238. I KNOW this is a story, but NOTHING has ever felt so REAL.&lt;br&gt;
  239. &lt;br&gt;
  240. -from the Lifebook of Xiao Dreamweaver&lt;br&gt;</summary>
  241. </entry>
  242.  
  243.  
  244. <entry>
  245. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  246. <updated>2006-01-30T00:00:00Z</updated>
  247. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0054.html" type="text/html"/>
  248. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0054.html</id>
  249. <title type="html">Confusion Matrix
  250. </title>
  251.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;The Enemy&lt;/h3&gt;
  252.  
  253. &lt;p&gt;
  254. I've come to a few conclusions that I feel I have to share.&lt;br&gt;
  255. No, shut up, Richard, you blithering idiot, this is important.&lt;br&gt;
  256. I've catalogued our enemies and detected a few patterns.&lt;br&gt;
  257. &lt;br&gt;
  258. We've seen "plants" - seemingly innocent people whose actions are controlled by monsters.&lt;br&gt;
  259. They've also gone "undercover" - hiding in the background and popping up when WE are seen.&lt;br&gt;
  260. And we've seen "suits" - soulless enemies filled with knowledge and following strict protocol.&lt;br&gt;
  261. &lt;br&gt;
  262. This should all seem familiar to you.  We've seen these tactics before.&lt;br&gt;
  263. No? Let me explain it to you then:&lt;br&gt;
  264. &lt;br&gt;
  265. These are the same tactics a modern media company uses to control its brand.&lt;br&gt;
  266. &lt;br&gt;
  267. "Astroturf" support - plants in forums and fandom to spout the company line.&lt;br&gt;
  268. "Undercover" agents scouring the web and cons looking for copyright violations.&lt;br&gt;
  269. Lawyers - "suits" - who then spring in to action to shut things down.&lt;br&gt;
  270. &lt;br&gt;
  271. I don't know if I'm right, but I know enough to be worried:&lt;br&gt;
  272. I think some shadowy Conglomerate is trying to take control of the Storystream.&lt;br&gt;
  273. &lt;br&gt;
  274. -Sylvester Dirac, in his weekly briefing to the Sojourner's Council&lt;br&gt;</summary>
  275. </entry>
  276.  
  277.  
  278. <entry>
  279. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  280. <updated>2006-01-23T00:00:00Z</updated>
  281. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0053.html" type="text/html"/>
  282. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0053.html</id>
  283. <title type="html">Duff's Device
  284. </title>
  285.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Duff's Device&lt;/h3&gt;
  286.  
  287. &lt;p&gt;
  288. "Broken card?" "Broken card?!?"&lt;br&gt;
  289. *YOU* authored "Duff's Device"&lt;br&gt;
  290. and *you're* telling *me* that&lt;br&gt;
  291. "Far Jump" is a "broken card?"&lt;br&gt;
  292. &lt;br&gt;
  293. You know where you can bite me.&lt;br&gt;
  294.  
  295. &lt;br&gt;
  296. -Hawking Wayneder to Guinness Wayneder, during an interview about the creation of "Storybrook: Battlegrounds".&lt;br&gt;</summary>
  297. </entry>
  298.  
  299.  
  300. <entry>
  301. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  302. <updated>2006-01-16T00:00:00Z</updated>
  303. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0052.html" type="text/html"/>
  304. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0052.html</id>
  305. <title type="html">Background Daemon
  306. </title>
  307.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Background Daemon&lt;/h3&gt;
  308.  
  309. &lt;p&gt;
  310. I hate that card.  It always bites me in the ass.&lt;br&gt;
  311. &lt;br&gt;
  312. OF COURSE I meant literally.&lt;br&gt;
  313. And stop making fun of my donut pillow&lt;br&gt;
  314. or so help me I'll summon up&lt;br&gt;
  315. something that'll leave you &lt;br&gt;
  316. siting on one for a month too.&lt;br&gt;
  317.  
  318. &lt;br&gt;
  319. -Richard Storybrooke to Sylvester Dirac, personal communication.&lt;br&gt;</summary>
  320. </entry>
  321.  
  322.  
  323. <entry>
  324. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  325. <updated>2006-01-09T00:00:00Z</updated>
  326. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0051.html" type="text/html"/>
  327. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0051.html</id>
  328. <title type="html">Far Jump
  329. </title>
  330.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;The Evolution of Storybrooke: Battlegrounds Play&lt;/h3&gt;
  331.  
  332. &lt;p&gt;
  333. Far Jump is often hailed as an example of a "broken" card.&lt;br&gt;
  334. The original wording of the card was perfect for dueling:&lt;br&gt;
  335. enabling a player to save a valuable card from destruction&lt;br&gt;
  336. or, even better, to sidestep a foolishly overextended attack&lt;br&gt;
  337. entirely, delivering an entire attack group into the enemy's&lt;br&gt;
  338. emptied stronghold in the middle of their own combat phase!&lt;br&gt;
  339. &lt;br&gt;
  340. But with the advent of multiplayer, avatar and especially&lt;br&gt;
  341. miniatures play, the Far Jump card became "too powerful",&lt;br&gt;
  342. enabling a clever player to turn the most minor attack&lt;br&gt;
  343. into a near zero-cost Segue.  Even reworded to prevent&lt;br&gt;
  344. moves across play boundaries, Far Jump still retained the&lt;br&gt;
  345. power of a Teleport with none of the limitations or costs.&lt;br&gt;
  346. &lt;br&gt;
  347. This led, of course, to the usual debate.&lt;br&gt;
  348. &lt;br&gt;
  349. Some claimed the card should be banned from tournament play.&lt;br&gt;
  350. Others, who learned to use it and defend against it correctly&lt;br&gt;
  351. claimed that "the banners" missed the whole point of the game:&lt;br&gt;
  352. applying the surprises of play of collectible card games&lt;br&gt;
  353. to complex two dimensional gameboards of miniatures&lt;br&gt;
  354. creating the first entirely new genre of gaming since&lt;br&gt;
  355. Magic the Gathering updated Dungeons and Dragons.&lt;br&gt;
  356. &lt;br&gt;
  357. -April Olive, Game/Play Blog, April 23, 2024.&lt;br&gt;</summary>
  358. </entry>
  359.  
  360.  
  361. <entry>
  362. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  363. <updated>2006-01-02T00:00:00Z</updated>
  364. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0050.html" type="text/html"/>
  365. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0050.html</id>
  366. <title type="html">Sorry, You Gotta Wait a Turn
  367. </title>
  368.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;She Smiled At The Boy&lt;/h3&gt;
  369.  
  370. &lt;p&gt;
  371. She smiled at the boy who smiled back at she&lt;br&gt;
  372. Thinking not of her boy back in fair Cali.&lt;br&gt;
  373. He walked her back from the pier gallantly&lt;br&gt;
  374. Then pressed for a kiss, too passionately&lt;br&gt;
  375. She said goodbye to friend found carelessly&lt;br&gt;
  376. Reminded again of whom she wished to be.&lt;br&gt;
  377. &lt;br&gt;
  378. -poem on an airline ticket, found in Aca Vivashiva's personal effects&lt;br&gt;</summary>
  379. </entry>
  380.  
  381.  
  382. <entry>
  383. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  384. <updated>2005-12-26T00:00:00Z</updated>
  385. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0049.html" type="text/html"/>
  386. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0049.html</id>
  387. <title type="html">Show A Little Empathy, Would Ya?
  388. </title>
  389.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Show A Little Empathy, Would Ya?&lt;/h3&gt;
  390.  
  391. &lt;p&gt;
  392. It's all too easy to be self-righteous.&lt;br&gt;
  393. People wound us all the time:&lt;br&gt;
  394. Our friends unintentionally&lt;br&gt;
  395. Our enemies deliberately&lt;br&gt;
  396. The rude lady in the grocery line obliviously&lt;br&gt;
  397. The clerk at the grocery register in his hurry.&lt;br&gt;
  398. It's all too easy to point out how they've done us wrong.&lt;br&gt;
  399. &lt;br&gt;
  400. It's a lot harder to be self-reflective.&lt;br&gt;
  401. We wound others all the time:&lt;br&gt;
  402. Our friends unintentionally&lt;br&gt;
  403. Our enemies deliberately&lt;br&gt;
  404. The fellow sufferer in the grocery line ungraciously&lt;br&gt;
  405. The clerk at the grocery register in our haste.&lt;br&gt;
  406. It's all too easy to overlook how we've done them wrong.&lt;br&gt;
  407. &lt;br&gt;
  408. But the real challenge is to step outside the self.&lt;br&gt;
  409. It's easy to live in our shoes, and harder to reflect in them,&lt;br&gt;
  410. But while almost everyone talks about it sooner or later,&lt;br&gt;
  411. no-one takes the time to actually walk in someone else's shoes.&lt;br&gt;
  412. &lt;br&gt;
  413. When people wound us, we never stop to ask why:&lt;br&gt;
  414. We never consider they have a reason for their behavior&lt;br&gt;
  415. just as we never stop to consider how our own behavior&lt;br&gt;
  416. might be improved by rooting out the reasons that cause our sins.&lt;br&gt;
  417. &lt;br&gt;
  418. Only by digging to the roots of our behavior&lt;br&gt;
  419. do we have a chance of stopping the cycle of evil&lt;br&gt;
  420. before it begins again.&lt;br&gt;
  421. &lt;br&gt;
  422. -From the inaugural address of Zanne Hathaway, First Presiding Bishop of the Pacifican Episcopal Church&lt;br&gt;</summary>
  423. </entry>
  424.  
  425.  
  426. <entry>
  427. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  428. <updated>2005-12-19T00:00:00Z</updated>
  429. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0048.html" type="text/html"/>
  430. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0048.html</id>
  431. <title type="html">Wedged Between Atoms of Time
  432. </title>
  433.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Wedged Between Atoms of Time&lt;/h3&gt;
  434.  
  435. &lt;p&gt;
  436. Since the proverbial beginning of time, people have wondered about time's smallest limit.&lt;br&gt;
  437. Through proverbs about the end of a journey, Zeno made us wonder how we can get anywhere&lt;br&gt;
  438. when after each halfway point we still find a new journey with another halfway point before us.&lt;br&gt;
  439. Newton and Leibniz rode these halfway points to infinity with their calculus to calculate speed&lt;br&gt;
  440. only to have Lynds and Ichiye point out that at the instant of infinity there's no speed left.&lt;br&gt;
  441. &lt;br&gt;
  442. Modern physicists seem to think that there are atoms of time: tiny but finite moments of time,&lt;br&gt;
  443. irreducible knots in the sea of strings (or graph of loops or tangle of physiosemiotic connections,&lt;br&gt;
  444. depending on your religion) beyond which further attempts to measure break down, beads of existence&lt;br&gt;
  445. which refuse to be pinned down and erupt into glittering chains as soon as you pressure them too closely.&lt;br&gt;
  446. &lt;br&gt;
  447. What if they're wrong?  Or, to put it another way, what if they're more right than they imagined?&lt;br&gt;
  448. What real difference is there between an infinity of time and a finite time that can be infinitely divided?&lt;br&gt;
  449. If we truly understood the glittering chains of time, who's to say that we couldn't focus our attention&lt;br&gt;
  450. and find ourselves a thousand new moments standing between two frozen instants in time?&lt;br&gt;
  451. &lt;br&gt;
  452. - Dr. Daniel Riverstone, "Wedged Between Atoms In Time", collected in "One Last Thought" edited by Nat Kintaro.&lt;br&gt;
  453. </summary>
  454. </entry>
  455.  
  456.  
  457. <entry>
  458. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  459. <updated>2005-12-12T00:00:00Z</updated>
  460. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0047.html" type="text/html"/>
  461. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0047.html</id>
  462. <title type="html">The Most Horrible Thing in the World
  463. </title>
  464.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;The Most Horrible Thing In The World&lt;/h3&gt;
  465.  
  466. &lt;p&gt;
  467. The most horrible thing in the world changes from age to age:&lt;br&gt;
  468. In one century it is the Big Bad Wolf,&lt;br&gt;
  469. After that those horrible witches,&lt;br&gt;
  470. &lt;br&gt;
  471. Only in retrospect do we fear the things we ought to:&lt;br&gt;
  472. Not wolves, but disease and the terrible Black Death,&lt;br&gt;
  473. Not witches, but governments and the fearsome Inquisition.&lt;br&gt;
  474. &lt;br&gt;
  475. In the last century we feared nuclear weapons&lt;br&gt;
  476. when perhaps we should have feared governments instead.&lt;br&gt;
  477. &lt;br&gt;
  478. In this new millenium, with millions dead and a continent divided&lt;br&gt;
  479. we think we know what to fear: the alien Progenitor that Fractured our world.&lt;br&gt;
  480. &lt;br&gt;
  481. But why should we be so different?&lt;br&gt;
  482. With Skywatch and GARDMOND we have created our own Inquisition&lt;br&gt;
  483. when you're &lt;b&gt;still&lt;/b&gt; more likely to be killed by a car crash&lt;br&gt;
  484. than a Big Bad Wolf with Big Green Eyes.&lt;br&gt;
  485. &lt;/p&gt;
  486.  
  487. &lt;br&gt;
  488. - Xiao Dreamweaver, essay for History 8R, Riverton Middle School, Tuesday, October 6, 2054&lt;br&gt;
  489. </summary>
  490. </entry>
  491.  
  492.  
  493. <entry>
  494. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  495. <updated>2005-12-05T00:00:00Z</updated>
  496. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0046.html" type="text/html"/>
  497. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0046.html</id>
  498. <title type="html">Dressing Like A Victim
  499. </title>
  500.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Dressing Like a Victim&lt;/h3&gt;
  501.  
  502. &lt;p&gt;
  503. No-one wants to tell the truth about clothing and rape.&lt;br&gt;
  504. &lt;br&gt;
  505. Victims can be traumatized just reading about rape.&lt;br&gt;
  506. Victim advocates fly into a rage trying dispel "myths"&lt;br&gt;
  507. and feminists's blood boils trying to protect "rights"&lt;br&gt;
  508. every time someone on the "outside" tries find out "causes".&lt;br&gt;
  509. &lt;br&gt;
  510. But the truth is no-one knows.  Most rape is never reported.&lt;br&gt;
  511. The published studies we DO have don't tell us anything - &lt;br&gt;
  512. only that the young and female are likely to be victims&lt;br&gt;
  513. and that provocative dress changes observer's "attributions".&lt;br&gt;
  514. &lt;br&gt;
  515. I don't have the answers.  The people that do are the police -&lt;br&gt;
  516. not in their statistics, which are useless, but in forensics&lt;br&gt;
  517. where criminologists pore over clothing to gather evidence -&lt;br&gt;
  518. but they have no interest in answering our idle questions&lt;br&gt;
  519. and instead reserve themselves for the questions they face&lt;br&gt;
  520. defending that evidence in front of a jury.&lt;br&gt;
  521. &lt;br&gt;
  522. Very well.  Let them work.&lt;br&gt;
  523. In the absence of evidence,&lt;br&gt;
  524. I must fall back on my own experience.&lt;br&gt;
  525. &lt;br&gt;
  526. In my experience, provocative clothing is not the issue&lt;br&gt;
  527. but instead provocative companions who mean you no good.&lt;br&gt;
  528. People who believe that sexy clothing somehow causes rape&lt;br&gt;
  529. fail to realize that dressing like a mouse is no protection,&lt;br&gt;
  530. but people who believe in their right to wear sexy clothing&lt;br&gt;
  531. fail to realize dressing to impress is no protection either.&lt;br&gt;
  532. &lt;br&gt;
  533. Or is it?&lt;br&gt;
  534. I've been through a lot&lt;br&gt;
  535. and seen even more - muggings, and rape, and murder.&lt;br&gt;
  536. &lt;br&gt;
  537. And I've seen where one person falls victim while another&lt;br&gt;
  538. walks through the valley of the shadow of death unscathed&lt;br&gt;
  539. - both wearing, of course, the same dress.&lt;br&gt;
  540. &lt;br&gt;
  541. Yet I could always tell what would happen.&lt;br&gt;
  542. I saw them, the bold ones, the confident&lt;br&gt;
  543. walking firmly with head held high&lt;br&gt;
  544. always destined for their destination&lt;br&gt;
  545. where I, desperate for attention,&lt;br&gt;
  546. was destined to be hit upon&lt;br&gt;
  547. to be robbed at gunpoint,&lt;br&gt;
  548. to be raped.&lt;br&gt;
  549. &lt;br&gt;
  550. So, yes, I have some experience.&lt;br&gt;
  551. &lt;br&gt;
  552. The problem, I tell myself, wasn't my dress. It was my selfconfidence.&lt;br&gt;
  553. Until I learned to pick my head up high&lt;br&gt;
  554. and turn my back upon the people&lt;br&gt;
  555. that I had formerly courted&lt;br&gt;
  556. I was shit upon.&lt;br&gt;
  557. Only when I learned to stand by myself&lt;br&gt;
  558. did I find myself free to do and be what I want.&lt;br&gt;
  559. I don't know that would have saved me from being raped.&lt;br&gt;
  560. I do know I would have enjoyed planting my foot into the nuts&lt;br&gt;
  561. of my ex-boyfriend before he threw me down,&lt;br&gt;
  562. and that image will have to be enough.&lt;br&gt;
  563. &lt;br&gt;
  564. So, I think:&lt;br&gt;
  565. &lt;br&gt;
  566. It doesn't matter what you wear.&lt;br&gt;
  567. It matters how much you respect yourself.&lt;br&gt;
  568. How much attention you pay to your surroundings.&lt;br&gt;
  569. And most importantly, who you choose to be with.&lt;br&gt;
  570. Rape can happen to anyone - man or woman, mouse or model -&lt;br&gt;
  571. but if you choose not to think like a victim&lt;br&gt;
  572. and choose not to expose yourself to predators&lt;br&gt;
  573. you are less likely to become a victim of one.&lt;br&gt;
  574. &lt;/p&gt;
  575. &lt;br&gt;
  576. - Athena Summers, Principal, Riverton Middle School&lt;br&gt;
  577. </summary>
  578. </entry>
  579.  
  580.  
  581. <entry>
  582. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  583. <updated>2005-11-28T00:00:00Z</updated>
  584. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0045.html" type="text/html"/>
  585. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0045.html</id>
  586. <title type="html">Put Away Childish Things
  587. </title>
  588.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Put Away Childish Things&lt;/h3&gt;
  589.  
  590. &lt;p&gt;
  591. Hear what I said / when I was a child, &lt;br&gt;
  592. "This is so real" / I spake as a child, &lt;br&gt;
  593. "this is so now" / I knew as a child, &lt;br&gt;
  594. "so important!" / I thought as a child.&lt;br&gt;
  595. &lt;br&gt;
  596. But when I became a man / I heard not the child&lt;br&gt;
  597. I put away childish things / I saw not the child&lt;br&gt;
  598. I saw through a glass darkly / and knew not the child.&lt;br&gt;
  599. &lt;br&gt;
  600. I turned my face on my child&lt;br&gt;
  601. and only knew myself in parts, in pieces.&lt;br&gt;
  602. &lt;br&gt;
  603. But one day I shall know myself&lt;br&gt;
  604. even as I am also known.&lt;br&gt;
  605. The man become child / as child once became man&lt;br&gt;
  606. Shall see himself / face to face.&lt;br&gt;
  607. &lt;/p&gt;
  608. - Franklin Mellon, Pacifican poet on his deathbed, June 19, 2052.
  609. </summary>
  610. </entry>
  611.  
  612.  
  613. <entry>
  614. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  615. <updated>2005-11-21T00:00:00Z</updated>
  616. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0044.html" type="text/html"/>
  617. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0044.html</id>
  618. <title type="html">Daggers Back Atcha
  619. </title>
  620.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;aH! wHAT-eVUUR!&lt;/h3&gt;
  621.  
  622. &lt;p&gt;
  623. Bah! If you're in so deep / How do you have time to blog it?&lt;br&gt;
  624. Uh! I roll my eyes. What ARE you talking about?&lt;br&gt;
  625. Ha! Think you're skilled? / Yes! Fear my skills! / Written in my name!&lt;br&gt;
  626. Shh! Am I talking too loud? / Yes! I am talking too loud!&lt;br&gt;
  627. You - fear they'll hear us! / I - don't fear they'll hear! / Me - I make sure!&lt;br&gt;
  628. &lt;/p&gt;
  629. - Xiao Dreamweaver, marginal riff on lifebook transcript of lunch conversation, 11:54am, November 19, 2054.
  630. </summary>
  631. </entry>
  632.  
  633.  
  634. <entry>
  635. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  636. <updated>2005-11-14T00:00:00Z</updated>
  637. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0043.html" type="text/html"/>
  638. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0043.html</id>
  639. <title type="html">"At Last, The Story Begins"
  640. </title>
  641.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;The Modern Hypomnemata&lt;/h3&gt;
  642.  
  643. &lt;p&gt;
  644. Each new age of information technology has caused disruption.&lt;br&gt;
  645. We've all been lectured on how good vivitanks are for learning&lt;br&gt;
  646. and how bad immersion caps are for family dinnertime --- well,&lt;br&gt;
  647. thanks for the tip, chuckles, but we midmillenials don't care.&lt;br&gt;
  648. We love all the wonderful worlds the tanks can show us&lt;br&gt;
  649. and yes, even this world - I for one relish seeing my parents again&lt;br&gt;
  650. since I'll never have family dinnertime again outside a vivitank.&lt;br&gt;
  651. &lt;br&gt;
  652. Perhaps that's too heavy for you.  Let me dial it back.&lt;br&gt;
  653. &lt;br&gt;
  654. We all grew up with talking stuffed animals.  You remember the first simulacra.&lt;br&gt;
  655. You all grew up with universal messaging.  Your parents remember the first cellphones.&lt;br&gt;
  656. Your parents grew up with laptops.  Your grandparents remember the first personal computers.&lt;br&gt;
  657. The chain continues backwards.&lt;br&gt;
  658. &lt;br&gt;
  659. Go back far enough, and you see the same things:&lt;br&gt;
  660. The new generation embraces the telegraph, while the older generation fears it.&lt;br&gt;
  661. The new generation embraces the printing press, while the older generation fears it.&lt;br&gt;
  662. The new generation embraces the hypomnemata, while the older generation fears it.&lt;br&gt;
  663. &lt;br&gt;
  664. Not heard of that one?&lt;br&gt;
  665. &lt;br&gt;
  666. We all take notebooks - paper notebooks - for granted.&lt;br&gt;
  667. But back in the day of Plato, they were new: and started their own revolution.&lt;br&gt;
  668. What once was in the hands of philosophers, now was in the hands of tradesmen.&lt;br&gt;
  669. Everyone could now record the events of their own lives;&lt;br&gt;
  670. Everyone could now reflect on them, not just men of leisure.&lt;br&gt;
  671. A dangerous and disruptive technology it was;&lt;br&gt;
  672. Perhaps it is no coincidence that so many of our modern philosophical systems&lt;br&gt;
  673. took root in this, the very first time that the populace began to reflect,&lt;br&gt;
  674. the very first time that paper, in a sense, began to think.&lt;br&gt;
  675. &lt;br&gt;
  676. Which brings us to living paper.&lt;br&gt;
  677. Digital paper and cloth has been around for decades&lt;br&gt;
  678. we've all seen newspapers, after all&lt;br&gt;
  679. and who doesn't have a reprintable shirt?&lt;br&gt;
  680. &lt;br&gt;
  681. But living paper is something different.&lt;br&gt;
  682. &lt;br&gt;
  683. It no longer needs a processor, a controller, a framework.&lt;br&gt;
  684. Each page is a laptop more powerful than our grandparents could have dreamed of&lt;br&gt;
  685. and the hundred or so in the lifebook in my hands form a supercomputer&lt;br&gt;
  686. that puts anything on this world older than a decade to shame.&lt;br&gt;
  687. &lt;br&gt;
  688. Who knows what Plato could have wrought with this kind of power in his hands?&lt;br&gt;
  689. All we do know is that power he could never have dreamed of&lt;br&gt;
  690. is now in the hands of a fifteen year old girl...&lt;br&gt;
  691. and I assure you all, I can dream a lot.&lt;br&gt;
  692. &lt;/p&gt;
  693. - Xiao Dreamweaver, lifebook transcript of a class presentation, 2:12pm, October 6, 2054.
  694. </summary>
  695. </entry>
  696.  
  697.  
  698. <entry>
  699. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  700. <updated>2005-11-07T00:00:00Z</updated>
  701. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0042.html" type="text/html"/>
  702. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0042.html</id>
  703. <title type="html">Richard Storybrooke and the Weaver of Dreams
  704. </title>
  705.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Richard Storybrooke and the Weaver of Dreams&lt;/h3&gt;
  706.  
  707. &lt;p&gt;
  708. O.M.G. Oh. My. Gawd. This was the greatest Storybrooke EVAH!&lt;br&gt;
  709. Isn't Richard such a HUNK!?!  And DIGa that Weavah's out-fit!&lt;br&gt;
  710. And did you SEE what happened to crusty old El Gecko? FREE-key!&lt;br&gt;
  711. &lt;br&gt;
  712. Ahem.  Seriously now.&lt;br&gt;
  713. &lt;br&gt;
  714. Alright.  I admit it.  RS@WOD was good. *Really* good.&lt;br&gt;
  715. I know I said "It couldn't be good", "It can't possibly be good"&lt;br&gt;
  716. and even "I'll swallow my own pen if they pull this one off,&lt;br&gt;
  717. but after two hours of surgery at Riverton General&lt;br&gt;
  718. they were able to retrieve it so that I could write the following:&lt;br&gt;
  719. &lt;br&gt;
  720. "Richard Storybrooke and the Weaver of Dreams" was the best Storybrooke, ever.&lt;br&gt;
  721. &lt;br&gt;
  722. It delivered all the fan service we wanted, but with a convincing, realistic twist.&lt;br&gt;
  723. It had action.  It had drama.  And it had the Weaver - such a cutie!&lt;br&gt;
  724. For the first time on screen, I got a sense of how lonely Richard&lt;br&gt;
  725. would be, cut off from his family, his school, his future.&lt;br&gt;
  726. You really want to see him cut a break this time.&lt;br&gt;
  727. &lt;br&gt;
  728. So, dear fanu, the novelization's in my livebook, the poster's on my wall,&lt;br&gt;
  729. and I even bought the special limited editon RS@WOD Bird of Play for my shelf.&lt;br&gt;
  730. &lt;br&gt;
  731. And now if you'll excuse me, I have a hearty helping of crow to eat.&lt;br&gt;
  733. &lt;/p&gt;
  734. - Xiao Dreamweaver, "Dreams Too Big For the Sky", weblog, 1:17am, November 27, 2053.
  735. </summary>
  736. </entry>
  737.  
  738.  
  739. <entry>
  740. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  741. <updated>2005-10-31T00:00:00Z</updated>
  742. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0041.html" type="text/html"/>
  743. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0041.html</id>
  744. <title type="html">Forget About Me
  745. </title>
  746.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Richard Storybrooke and the Weaver of Dreams&lt;/h3&gt;
  747.  
  748. &lt;p&gt;
  749. If only Anna Lee Anderson had lived!&lt;br&gt;
  750. She would have been delighted to see the latest installment&lt;br&gt;
  751. in the series of movies based on her Richard Storybrooke tales.&lt;br&gt;
  752. &lt;br&gt;
  753. Even though the series of books never reached a conclusion,&lt;br&gt;
  754. visionary filmmaker Sergey Viseand has created a dynamic, engaging&lt;br&gt;
  755. speculation about the continued life the twenty-first century's&lt;br&gt;
  756. most engaging wizard - now a juvenile delinquent and on the run.&lt;br&gt;
  757. &lt;br&gt;
  758. Lacking a definitive conclusion to the story, Viseand has instead&lt;br&gt;
  759. returned to the story's premise, mining the endless potential inherent&lt;br&gt;
  760. in a young man's quest to find a place for himself in a world that doesn't want him.&lt;br&gt;
  761. &lt;br&gt;
  762. After the obligatory tricks with magic monsters dispatched by playing card spells&lt;br&gt;
  763. that are the standard for this genre, the movie gets smart and slows down,&lt;br&gt;
  764. gain a new level of maturity as Richard seeks guidance from the Weaver of Dreams,&lt;br&gt;
  765. a delight played by relative newcomer Noxi Mengzhiang (say that twice fast).&lt;br&gt;
  766. &lt;br&gt;
  767. An accomplished stage actress, Mengzhaing brings subtlety to her enigmatic Weaver,&lt;br&gt;
  768. whose psychic powers reveal a darker world behind the melodrama of the surface plot&lt;br&gt;
  769. and whose sultry beauty layers new complexity upon the deeper, ongoing&lt;br&gt;
  770. coming of age drama that makes the Richard Storybrooke tales so interesting.&lt;br&gt;
  771. &lt;br&gt;
  772. In the end, magic saves the day - almost, of course, leaving Richard Storybrooke with&lt;br&gt;
  773. one problem solved and a baker's dozen new problems to deal with.  But we can only&lt;br&gt;
  774. hope that in the next installment, Richard will once again team up with the Weaver&lt;br&gt;
  775. - and this time have the guts to ask her out on a first date.&lt;br&gt;
  776. &lt;br&gt;
  777.  
  778. &lt;/p&gt;
  779. -  Arthur Beauchamp, "Merlin and Arthur On the Movies" podcast, October 4, 2054.
  780. </summary>
  781. </entry>
  782.  
  783.  
  784. <entry>
  785. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  786. <updated>2005-10-24T00:00:00Z</updated>
  787. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0040.html" type="text/html"/>
  788. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0040.html</id>
  789. <title type="html">The Illusions of Allusions
  790. </title>
  791.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;The Illusions of Allusions&lt;/h3&gt;
  792.  
  793. &lt;p&gt;
  794. The richness and depth of allusion is rarely appreciated&lt;br&gt;
  795. and even more rarely seen for what it truly is.&lt;br&gt;
  796. &lt;br&gt;
  797.  
  798. For example, the Christian allusions in &lt;b&gt;The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;
  799. are well known and were admitted to by none other than C.S. Lewis himself&lt;br&gt;
  800. - but Lewis's borrowing of the "child going through a wardrobe into another world"&lt;br&gt;
  801. from Edith Nesbit's "The Aunt and Amabel", written more than forty years earlier&lt;br&gt;
  802. is almost unknown to the public - and far less publicized by Lewis than his Christian sources.&lt;br&gt;
  803. &lt;br&gt;
  804.  
  805. But even the Christian myths from which Lewis drew the structure of his stories&lt;br&gt;
  806. themselves draw on even earlier myths and legends; regardless of the reality you assign&lt;br&gt;
  807. to the historical status of Jesus and his metaphysical status as the Christ, &lt;br&gt;
  808. his story is &lt;b&gt;neither&lt;/b&gt; unprecedented &lt;b&gt;nor&lt;/b&gt; unique, but is instead echoed&lt;br&gt;
  809. in particular after particular in the stories of many other so-called "Sons of God"&lt;br&gt;
  810. scattered across the Greco-Roman world around what we would now call its millenial divide -&lt;br&gt;
  811. most notably, in the person of the Pythagorean teacher Apollonius of Tyana, whose remarkable life&lt;br&gt;
  812. --- miraculous birth, precocious childhood, saintly ethics, compelling teaching,&lt;br&gt;
  813. inconvenient miracles, unjust execution, and glorious resurrection --- &lt;br&gt;
  814. mirrors Jesus's in almost every detail, even down to the subsequent glowing writeups&lt;br&gt;
  815. penned by his stunned followers in the wake of the non-permanence of his demise.&lt;br&gt;
  816. &lt;br&gt;
  817.  
  818. Unfortunately Philostratus' &lt;b&gt;The Life of Apollonius&lt;/b&gt; did not have the good fortune&lt;br&gt;
  819. to be incorporated into the official texts of a popular religion later co-opted&lt;br&gt;
  820. as the state religion of the Roman Empire, which perhaps explains why Jesus' biographies&lt;br&gt;
  821. are still on the bestseller lists and Apollonius' are not.  But I digress.&lt;br&gt;
  822. &lt;br&gt;
  824. Regardless, the stories of both Jesus' life and Apollonius' life mirror that of deeper, older myths&lt;br&gt;
  825. - what Joseph Campbell identified as the &lt;b&gt;monomyth&lt;/b&gt;, more popularly known as the Heroes' Journey.&lt;br&gt;
  826. However, I don't mean to say that these echoes should shake the faith of any Christians&lt;br&gt;
  827. --- or Apollonians --- in the audience.  In fact, I mean to do quite the opposite.&lt;br&gt;
  828. &lt;br&gt;
  830. The &lt;b&gt;story&lt;/b&gt; of Jesus' life mirrors not only the pagan stories of demigods - Sons of Gods&lt;br&gt;
  831. but also the midrashical structure of Jewish commentary on the Torah and its Men of God.&lt;br&gt;
  832. If we give any credence at all to the accounts given of his life --- especially the one&lt;br&gt;
  833. now called the Gospel of Luke, which by its own account tried to straighten out the oral&lt;br&gt;
  834. tradition into something resembling a history --- this echoing was visible&lt;br&gt;
  835. even when Jesus was alive.  He was mistaken for the reincarnation of John the Baptist&lt;br&gt;
  836. or Elijah the Tishbite; while the early Christian writers drew a different conclusion,&lt;br&gt;
  837. the point is that even before storytelling begins, people see echoes of stories&lt;br&gt;
  838. in the lives of famous, powerful, saintly or otherwise exceptional people.&lt;br&gt;
  839. &lt;br&gt;
  840.  
  841. So something more is going on than just exaggeration on the part of followers&lt;br&gt;
  842. wishing to talk up their fallen hero in an attempt to get more converts.&lt;br&gt;
  843. Storytellers capture what people see even when they're not telling stories.&lt;br&gt;
  844. What if the monomyth and the midrash aren't just storytelling conventions?&lt;br&gt;
  845. &lt;br&gt;
  846.  
  847. Could it be instead that the monomyth, this perennial story of&lt;br&gt;
  848. extraordinary people who bring hope to mankind, is not just wish fulfillment...&lt;br&gt;
  849. but instead a reflection of a very real process going on in our world?&lt;br&gt;
  850. &lt;br&gt;
  851.  
  852. If so, literary allusions are far more than simple borrowing&lt;br&gt;
  853. but instead are an inevitable, tantalizing glimpse into&lt;br&gt;
  854. the glittering network of connections underlying&lt;br&gt;
  855. the fundamental structure of reality.&lt;br&gt;
  856. &lt;br&gt;
  857.  
  858. &lt;/p&gt;
  859. - Matthias Voyanovi, from "Interconnexions: the Lectures", delivered April 30, 2035.
  860. </summary>
  861. </entry>
  862.  
  863.  
  864. <entry>
  865. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  866. <updated>2005-10-24T00:00:00Z</updated>
  867. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0039.html" type="text/html"/>
  868. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0039.html</id>
  869. <title type="html">The Metric Structure of Story Time
  870. </title>
  871.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;The Metric Structure of Story Time&lt;/h3&gt;
  872. &lt;p&gt;
  873. Aaaaaaa!&lt;br&gt;
  874. Alright. Alright. It's just you.&lt;br&gt;
  875. So ... there &lt;b&gt;are&lt;/b&gt; stranger things in heaven and earth&lt;br&gt;
  876. than were dreamt of in my natural philosophy.&lt;br&gt;
  877. You win; I admit that. I am an empiricist, after all.&lt;br&gt;
  878. &lt;br&gt;
  879. So.&lt;br&gt;
  880. &lt;br&gt;
  881. Despite my surprise, I have been giving this much thought.&lt;br&gt;
  882. So what if dreams &lt;b&gt;are&lt;/b&gt; real? (Evidently they are.)&lt;br&gt;
  883. What if stories &lt;b&gt;are&lt;/b&gt; realities? (Evidently they are.)&lt;br&gt;
  884. And what if you could travel between them?&lt;br&gt;
  885. (Because, apparently, &lt;b&gt;you&lt;/b&gt; can.)&lt;br&gt;
  886. &lt;br&gt;
  887. Why would that mean we'd have to throw all of physics out the window?&lt;br&gt;
  888. Don't laugh - you laugh because you don't know quantum relativity.&lt;br&gt;
  889. All quantum relativity is, is the realization that&lt;br&gt;
  890. the whole world is just a map of interconnected events&lt;br&gt;
  891. and that the unfolding of each event affects how&lt;br&gt;
  892. every other event interconnects with the map around it.&lt;br&gt;
  893. &lt;br&gt;
  894. All the fancy math is just a way of making it precise:&lt;br&gt;
  895. probability matricies describe how events unfold,&lt;br&gt;
  896. geometric metrics describe how events connect.&lt;br&gt;
  897. &lt;br&gt;
  898. So ... the world is more complicated than we imagined it.&lt;br&gt;
  899. Events aren't just connected to other events;&lt;br&gt;
  900. The fabric of reality is woven out of stories and&lt;br&gt;
  901. Stories are interwoven into a fabric of allusions.&lt;br&gt;
  902. So why can't we find a probability matrix for an allusion?&lt;br&gt;
  903. A geometric metric for how stories interconnect?&lt;br&gt;
  904. &lt;br&gt;
  905. If we could find a metric for reality travel...&lt;br&gt;
  906. Could we map the storystream?&lt;br&gt;
  907.  
  908. &lt;/p&gt;
  909. - Sylvester Diract to Richard Storybrooke (2049, personal communication)</summary>
  910. </entry>
  911.  
  912.  
  913. <entry>
  914. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  915. <updated>2005-10-17T00:00:00Z</updated>
  916. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0038.html" type="text/html"/>
  917. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0038.html</id>
  918. <title type="html">Lied To By Our Album Covers
  919. </title>
  920.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Book Larnin Dont Cut It&lt;/h3&gt;
  921. &lt;p&gt;
  922. You think you're so smart! You think you know everything!&lt;br&gt;
  923. But you don't know anything that's not written in a book!&lt;br&gt;
  924. If you had any common sense, you'd show some damn empathy!&lt;br&gt;
  925. Keep turning your back on your friends, they'll abandon you!&lt;br&gt;
  926. Just keep going on this path, you'll end up in deep trouble!&lt;br&gt;
  927.  
  928. &lt;/p&gt;
  929. - Richard Storybrooke to Sylvester Dirac (2053, personal communication)</summary>
  930. </entry>
  931.  
  932.  
  933. <entry>
  934. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  935. <updated>2005-10-10T00:00:00Z</updated>
  936. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0037.html" type="text/html"/>
  937. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0037.html</id>
  938. <title type="html">The Price of Entry to Sojourn Station
  939. </title>
  940.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Frisson&lt;/h3&gt;
  941. &lt;p&gt;
  942. it's that tingle up our spine when the springloaded cat leaps&lt;br&gt;
  943. it's that quiver of delight when our secret lover creeps&lt;br&gt;
  944. behind us to deliver that shiver of fright in the night&lt;br&gt;
  945. we mind only till we find that everything is all right&lt;br&gt;
  946. &lt;/p&gt;
  947. &lt;p&gt;
  948. we find we must test ourselves against fear and fear alone&lt;br&gt;
  949. in the comfort of our theater and the privacy of our home&lt;br&gt;
  950. in a world where real horrors walk about in broad daylight&lt;br&gt;
  951. we stalk packaged terror to give us courage to keep up the fight&lt;br&gt;
  952. &lt;/p&gt;
  953.  
  954. -Denise Dyer, Poet Laureate of the Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writers of Pacifica</summary>
  955. </entry>
  956.  
  957.  
  958. <entry>
  959. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  960. <updated>2005-10-03T00:00:00Z</updated>
  961. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0036.html" type="text/html"/>
  962. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0036.html</id>
  963. <title type="html">Enter Nyow-Nyow
  964. </title>
  965.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Influence&lt;/h3&gt;
  966. &lt;p&gt;
  967. That's a good question, Master Pryor. Why &lt;i&gt;are&lt;/i&gt; we studying this?
  968. &lt;/p&gt;
  969.  
  970. &lt;p&gt;
  971. Influence.
  972. &lt;/p&gt;
  973.  
  974. &lt;p&gt;
  975. That's why we study literature - to see what influences us.
  976. &lt;/p&gt;
  977.  
  978. &lt;p&gt;
  979. And influence is why we focus on the classics:&lt;br&gt;
  980. those works that have survived the filter of posterity,&lt;br&gt;
  981. those works which consistently influence generation after generation.
  982. &lt;/p&gt;
  983.  
  984. &lt;p&gt;
  985. There are great works - and howlers - in every age.&lt;br&gt;
  986. But some works, of greater or lesser quality, endure,&lt;br&gt;
  987. because they resonate with audiences again and again and again.
  988. &lt;/p&gt;
  989.  
  990. &lt;p&gt;
  991. That's why we study Dracula next to Dickens&lt;br&gt;
  992. Gudndam next to Goethe and Star Wars next to Shakespeare...&lt;br&gt;
  993. even, as you note,  Half-Life next to Hamlet.
  994. &lt;/p&gt;
  995.  
  996. &lt;p&gt;
  997. For better or worse, these are the works&lt;br&gt;
  998. that influenced us from generation to generation.
  999. &lt;/p&gt;
  1000.  
  1001. &lt;p&gt;
  1002. I hope that answered your question.&lt;br&gt;
  1003. Now, let us return to our focus on the influence of horror,&lt;br&gt;
  1004. with particular attention to the Japanese Renaissance &lt;br&gt;
  1005. of the late twentieth century and the spearhead of its&lt;br&gt;
  1006. subsequent American Invasion, the "sadako-tan"&lt;br&gt;
  1007. or cursed girl archetype...
  1008. &lt;/p&gt;
  1009.  
  1010. -Norton Siegel, Instructor, Advanced Placement Literature, Videograph, and Videogame Studies 301</summary>
  1011. </entry>
  1012.  
  1013.  
  1014. <entry>
  1015. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1016. <updated>2005-09-26T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1017. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0035.html" type="text/html"/>
  1018. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0035.html</id>
  1019. <title type="html">I Want Something More
  1020. </title>
  1021.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Where Are They Now?&lt;/h3&gt;
  1022. &lt;p&gt;
  1023. Of course, no discussion of Pacifican superheroes would be complete&lt;br&gt;
  1024. without a mention of its most mysterious "team", the Sojourners.&lt;br&gt;
  1025. &lt;br&gt;
  1026. Some observers question whether the Sojourners really exist;&lt;br&gt;
  1027. Their appearances are rare, their membership unknown,&lt;br&gt;
  1028. even their base of operations is unclear.&lt;br&gt;
  1029. &lt;br&gt;
  1030. As usual, the Global Guardians were completely unhelpful:&lt;br&gt;
  1031. "It is our consistent policy that the best protection for&lt;br&gt;
  1032. those extraordiary citizens that risk their lives for us&lt;br&gt;
  1033. is anonymity; therefore, the identities of heroes&lt;br&gt;
  1034. and their membership in groups is not divulged."&lt;br&gt;
  1035. &lt;br&gt;
  1036. Research is more difficult because of the Pacifican news media's&lt;br&gt;
  1037. self-imposed blackout on the Sojourners' most prominent alleged member.&lt;br&gt;
  1038. &lt;br&gt;
  1039. However, this much is known.&lt;br&gt;
  1040. &lt;br&gt;
  1041. The Sojourners were real, with seven documented sightings starting in the early 2020s.&lt;br&gt;
  1042. They're affiliated with the Global Guardian's enigmatic heavy hitter "The Pacifican",&lt;br&gt;
  1043. but whether as fellow superheroes, support staff or simply a fan club is unknown.&lt;br&gt;
  1044. Their membership was once large, but dwindled to three in their last few sightings,&lt;br&gt;
  1045. in which the remaining members were seen as increasingly grim.&lt;br&gt;
  1046. &lt;br&gt;
  1047. In fact, after the grand crisis that dominated the global airwaves,&lt;br&gt;
  1048. not even the Pacifican has been sighted in over two years.&lt;br&gt;
  1049. &lt;br&gt;
  1050. -Leia Claudia Mixen, outlier science columnist, New Vegas Times</summary>
  1051. </entry>
  1052.  
  1053.  
  1054. <entry>
  1055. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1056. <updated>2005-09-19T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1057. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0034.html" type="text/html"/>
  1058. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0034.html</id>
  1059. <title type="html">Junior PSAilers Go
  1060. </title>
  1061.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Junior PSAilers Triumph Again&lt;/h3&gt;
  1062. &lt;p&gt;
  1063. Pacifican windsailing enthusiasts, take heart!&lt;br&gt;
  1064. Despite the repeated, crushing defeats of our professional,&lt;br&gt;
  1065. college, and even high school divisions to Continental teams&lt;br&gt;
  1066. in the sport our once-proud country supposedly originated,&lt;br&gt;
  1067. all hope is not lost.  Once again, as has happened so many&lt;br&gt;
  1068. times in our country's history, the next generation has&lt;br&gt;
  1069. stepped up to the plate - and hit one out of the park&lt;br&gt;
  1070. when their elders cannot hit anything at all.&lt;br&gt;
  1071. &lt;br&gt;
  1072. The Junior PSAilers - excuse me, the "PSAilers Junior", as they prefer&lt;br&gt;
  1073. to be called - have once again routed all international competition&lt;br&gt;
  1074. in the youth division windsailing championships.  That's right, you&lt;br&gt;
  1075. heard me - the middle school affiliate of the most loved but least&lt;br&gt;
  1076. winningest skysailing team defeated not just our opponents across&lt;br&gt;
  1077. the Great Rocky Straits, but all other teams in the entire world.&lt;br&gt;
  1078. &lt;br&gt;
  1079. Led by Professor Wilhemina Paule, acrobatic Zacques Pryor and enigmatic&lt;br&gt;
  1080. Lynx Moon, the seven Junior PSAilers dominated the skies in three speed&lt;br&gt;
  1081. races and nine single elimination skill trials, winning the international cup&lt;br&gt;
  1082. against sixteen competing teams from the Continent, Europe, Japan and Asia.&lt;br&gt;
  1083. I think the leader of the New Vegas team, Buck Wilensky, put it best when he said&lt;br&gt;
  1084. "We just got beat."&lt;br&gt;
  1085. &lt;br&gt;
  1086. What more can I say. Fly, junior PSAilers, fly - may the wind carry you all the&lt;br&gt;
  1087. way from middle school through to the professional leagues, where, God knows,&lt;br&gt;
  1088. they need you.&lt;br&gt;
  1089. &lt;br&gt;
  1090. -Gerald "Rock" Sands, senior sports commentator, Pacifican Public Podcasting Company</summary>
  1091. </entry>
  1092.  
  1093.  
  1094. <entry>
  1095. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1096. <updated>2005-09-12T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1097. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0033.html" type="text/html"/>
  1098. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0033.html</id>
  1099. <title type="html">The Cliffs of Insanity
  1100. </title>
  1101.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;The Cliffs of Insanity&lt;/h3&gt;
  1102. &lt;p&gt;
  1103. Nowhere else in the world has cliffs like the west coast of Pacifica.&lt;br&gt;
  1104. Nowhere else in the world could support them: sheer cliffs three miles high&lt;br&gt;
  1105. would collapse long before any sane geological process could uplift them.&lt;br&gt;
  1106. And so, too, will the cliffs of Pacifica: with each settlement,&lt;br&gt;
  1107. another bit of our precious heritage slips into the sea.&lt;br&gt;
  1108. But for now the West Lostangeles Uplift stands,&lt;br&gt;
  1109. a staggering monument of terrible beauty standing in memory&lt;br&gt;
  1110. of Earth's greatest disaster since the ejection of the Moon.&lt;br&gt;
  1111.  
  1112. -Rhoda McCauley, "A Guide to Skysailing Along the West Lostangeles Uplift"</summary>
  1113. </entry>
  1114.  
  1115.  
  1116. <entry>
  1117. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1118. <updated>2005-09-05T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1119. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0032.html" type="text/html"/>
  1120. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0032.html</id>
  1121. <title type="html">Worldsmanship
  1122. </title>
  1123.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Worldsmanship&lt;/h3&gt;
  1124. &lt;p&gt;How do I know I have read a good story?&lt;br&gt;
  1125. I tremble. I shake. I cannot put it down.&lt;br&gt;
  1126. Its characters reach out and grab me and do not let go&lt;br&gt;
  1127. and when the story ends, they rip out part of my heart&lt;br&gt;
  1128. and take it with them forever.&lt;br&gt;
  1129. THAT is what a good story is.&lt;br&gt;
  1130. -Shaugnessy Macadamson, "Worldsmanship and Other Essays"
  1131. &lt;/p&gt;</summary>
  1132. </entry>
  1133.  
  1134.  
  1135. <entry>
  1136. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1137. <updated>2005-08-29T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1138. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0031.html" type="text/html"/>
  1139. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0031.html</id>
  1140. <title type="html">Take your chances.
  1141. </title>
  1142.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Take Your Chances&lt;/h3&gt;
  1143. &lt;p align="center"&gt;Fanu Fiku: Online Hard Science Fantasy Manga.&lt;/p&gt;
  1144. &lt;p align="center"&gt;Weekly. Resuming August 29, 2004.&lt;/p&gt;</summary>
  1145. </entry>
  1146.  
  1147.  
  1148. <entry>
  1149. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1150. <updated>2005-04-18T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1151. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0030.html" type="text/html"/>
  1152. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0030.html</id>
  1153. <title type="html">"What will be, will be"
  1154. </title>
  1155.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;What will be, will be...&lt;/h3&gt;
  1156. Some people say&lt;br&gt;
  1157. Perception is reality&lt;br&gt;
  1158. The real truth is&lt;br&gt;
  1159. What is, &lt;b&gt;is&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;
  1160. And not what we want it to be&lt;br&gt;
  1161. &lt;br&gt;
  1162. - The Schrodinger's Cat's Song, from "Sylvester Dirac's Saturday Morning Science Adventures"&lt;br&gt;
  1163. </summary>
  1164. </entry>
  1165.  
  1166.  
  1167. <entry>
  1168. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1169. <updated>2005-04-11T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1170. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0029.html" type="text/html"/>
  1171. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0029.html</id>
  1172. <title type="html">"Meanwhile, Crusing 50,000 Feet Above Mundanity..."
  1173. </title>
  1174.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Meanwhile, Cruising 50,000 Feet Above Mundanity...&lt;/h3&gt;
  1175. The greatest power of mind is the full grasp of reality.&lt;br&gt;
  1176. &lt;br&gt;
  1177. At the lower levels of experience, our feelings are opaque to reason:&lt;br&gt;
  1178. passively swayed by bodily sensations and prerational moods.&lt;br&gt;
  1179. &lt;br&gt;
  1180. At higher levels of experience, our feelings begin to become clear:&lt;br&gt;
  1181. we glimpse glimmering wings driven by glittering clockworks.&lt;br&gt;
  1182. &lt;br&gt;
  1183. At the highest levels of experience, we see there is no highest level:&lt;br&gt;
  1184. Only flow from the vast subcognitive icebergs of our mind&lt;br&gt;
  1185. focused by an eternity of experience into conscious awareness&lt;br&gt;
  1186. tuned to deal with the swarm of moments coalescing around us.&lt;br&gt;
  1187. &lt;br&gt;
  1188. At the highest level, once we see that all "parts" of our "minds"&lt;br&gt;
  1189. - reason flowing into emotion into consciounsess back into reason -&lt;br&gt;
  1190. are all just facets of the engine of reason at the seat of our souls,&lt;br&gt;
  1191. all just elements of the grasp the Self has upon Reality...&lt;br&gt;
  1192. &lt;br&gt;
  1193. Then our minds become one.&lt;br&gt;
  1194. The veil of reality is lifted.&lt;br&gt;
  1195. And at last, the Self begins to glimpse its own true nature.&lt;br&gt;
  1196. &lt;br&gt;
  1197. - J.K. Langdon, "A Quantum Narrative Perspective on Creighton's 'Reason and Feeling'"&lt;br&gt;
  1198.  
  1199. </summary>
  1200. </entry>
  1201.  
  1202.  
  1203. <entry>
  1204. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1205. <updated>2005-04-04T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1206. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0028.html" type="text/html"/>
  1207. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0028.html</id>
  1208. <title type="html">Straddling the Manichaean Divide
  1209. </title>
  1210.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Straddling the Manichaean Divide&lt;/h3&gt;
  1211. Now the archon who is weak has three names.&lt;br&gt;
  1212. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  1213. The first name is Yaltabaoth.&lt;br&gt;
  1214. The second is Saklas.&lt;br&gt;
  1215. The third is Samael.&lt;br&gt;
  1216. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  1217. And he is impious in his arrogance which is in him.&lt;br&gt;
  1218. For he said, 'I am God and there is no other God beside me,'&lt;br&gt;
  1219. For he is ignorant of his strength, the place from which he had come.&lt;br&gt;
  1220. - The Apocryphon of John&lt;br&gt;
  1221.  
  1222. </summary>
  1223. </entry>
  1224.  
  1225.  
  1226. <entry>
  1227. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1228. <updated>2005-03-21T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1229. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0027.html" type="text/html"/>
  1230. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0027.html</id>
  1231. <title type="html">More Things In Heaven And Earth
  1232. </title>
  1233.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;King of Infinite Space&lt;/h3&gt;
  1234. O God, I could be bounded in a nut shell&lt;br&gt;
  1235. and count myself a king of infinite space,&lt;br&gt;
  1236. were it not that I have bad dreams.&lt;br&gt;
  1237. - Hamlet&lt;br&gt;
  1238. </summary>
  1239. </entry>
  1240.  
  1241.  
  1242. <entry>
  1243. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1244. <updated>2005-03-14T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1245. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0026.html" type="text/html"/>
  1246. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0026.html</id>
  1247. <title type="html">An Introduction to Pacifican Geography
  1248. </title>
  1249.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;An Introduction to Pacifican Geography&lt;/h3&gt;
  1250. Visitors from the Eastern Hemisphere ---&lt;br&gt;
  1251. or even just the Eastern United States ---&lt;br&gt;
  1252. are often unprepared for the stark jumble of geography&lt;br&gt;
  1253. typical of Pacifica and the Western United States.&lt;br&gt;
  1254. &lt;br&gt;
  1255. Of course, everyone in the world has seen pictures of western Lost Angeles,&lt;br&gt;
  1256. has heard stories of the massive uplifts that stepped the Pacific Coast.&lt;br&gt;
  1257. &lt;br&gt;
  1258. But little can prepare you for the fractured east coast of Lost Angeles&lt;br&gt;
  1259. or the fjorded coastline around the great ports of New Reno and New Vegas.&lt;br&gt;
  1260. &lt;br&gt;
  1261. It's not clear what's more shocking to outsiders:&lt;br&gt;
  1262. turning a corner on a pleasant garden path to see&lt;br&gt;
  1263. a rickety rope bridge crossing a mile-deep crevasse,&lt;br&gt;
  1264. or the utterly cavalier attitude of Pacifican natives&lt;br&gt;
  1265. towards their punishing post-Fracture geography.&lt;br&gt;
  1266. &lt;br&gt;
  1267. - From An Introduction to Pacifican Geography&lt;br&gt;
  1268. by Rosario Nimmon
  1269. </summary>
  1270. </entry>
  1271.  
  1272.  
  1273. <entry>
  1274. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1275. <updated>2005-03-07T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1276. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0025.html" type="text/html"/>
  1277. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0025.html</id>
  1278. <title type="html">Not even a Pyrrhic victory
  1279. </title>
  1280.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Not Even a Pyhrric Victory&lt;/h3&gt;
  1281. Yet again I find Miss Dreamweaver in my office.&lt;br&gt;
  1282. &lt;br&gt;
  1283. After all the trouble this young lady has been in,&lt;br&gt;
  1284. you would expect she would learn to stay out of trouble.&lt;br&gt;
  1285. &lt;br&gt;
  1286. Yet today she was seen in the library browbeating Miss Dawson&lt;br&gt;
  1287. after I suggested Miss Dawson encourage her to go outside and play.&lt;br&gt;
  1288. &lt;br&gt;
  1289. I don't know the details of the encounter and I don't care to.&lt;br&gt;
  1290. It must be crushing for Miss Dreamweaver --- for such an athletic&lt;br&gt;
  1291. young woman to be barred from all sports and activities.&lt;br&gt;
  1292. &lt;br&gt;
  1293. But on the other hand it would be more crushing for her to be held back&lt;br&gt;
  1294. yet another year --- especially after all the horror she has seen.&lt;br&gt;
  1295. &lt;br&gt;
  1296. I cannot afford to let up on her a minute.&lt;br&gt;
  1297. Xiao Dreamweaver will graduate from middle school this year&lt;br&gt;
  1298. if I have to walk her to the placement exam myself!&lt;br&gt;
  1299. &lt;br&gt;
  1300. - Athena Summers, Principal, Riverton Middle School&lt;br&gt;
  1301. </summary>
  1302. </entry>
  1303.  
  1304.  
  1305. <entry>
  1306. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1307. <updated>2005-02-28T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1308. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0024.html" type="text/html"/>
  1309. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0024.html</id>
  1310. <title type="html">A Saint on his Shining Steed
  1311. </title>
  1312.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;A Saintly Knight on His Shining Steed&lt;/h3&gt;
  1313. Diagonsis: Werdnig-Hoffman Syndrome (aggressive juvenile spinal muscular atrophy)&lt;br&gt;
  1314. Patient: Jonathan Gale, Age 13&lt;br&gt;
  1315. Facility: Advancex Medical Associates&lt;br&gt;
  1316. Physician: Winston Madstone&lt;br&gt;
  1317. Psychologist: Hami Dan Anderval&lt;br&gt;
  1318. Reviewed: 2054-09-11&lt;br&gt;
  1319.  
  1320. &lt;br&gt;
  1321. Narrative: Attending physician's assistant at patient's school referred subject to AMA&lt;br&gt;
  1322. after subject collapsed during lunch period.  The APA also expressed concerns about&lt;br&gt;
  1323. patient's level of effort in school government and extracurricular activities.&lt;br&gt;
  1324. &lt;br&gt;
  1325. Madstone conducted a physical examination and Anderval performed a psychological assessment.&lt;br&gt;
  1326. Physically the subject was in good condition, responding well to Broering treatments&lt;br&gt;
  1327. and an outstanding regimen of rehabilitation and exercise given his physical limits.&lt;br&gt;
  1328. &lt;br&gt;
  1329. Mentally the subject was well and defended his current activities.  In private consultation&lt;br&gt;
  1330. Anderval expressed amazement at the subject's level of activity, which includes school government,&lt;br&gt;
  1331. hall monitor duty, juvenile special olympics coaching and participation, and volunteer work at the&lt;br&gt;
  1332. local soup kitchen.  After review of sleep quality markers in the blood test, both Anderval and&lt;br&gt;
  1333. Madstone concurred that the so-called "collapse" was simply the result of the exhausted patient&lt;br&gt;
  1334. falling asleep and out of his mobilex chair --- as the subject originally contended to the nurse.&lt;br&gt;
  1335. &lt;br&gt;
  1336. Subject was dismissed with directive to get more sleep.&lt;br&gt;
  1337. &lt;br&gt;
  1338. Madstone personal note: I'm damn proud of this young boy.
  1339. </summary>
  1340. </entry>
  1341.  
  1342.  
  1343. <entry>
  1344. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1345. <updated>2005-02-21T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1346. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0023.html" type="text/html"/>
  1347. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0023.html</id>
  1348. <title type="html">There is no cruelty like the dagger of a friend.
  1349. </title>
  1350.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Extraordinary popular delusions about the cruelty of children&lt;/h3&gt;
  1351. Everyone remembers being picked on as a child.&lt;br&gt;
  1352. Everyone remembers how much it hurt, how much it pained them.&lt;br&gt;
  1353. Everyone honest who looks deep into themselves will still see themselves limping,&lt;br&gt;
  1354. where their spirits were twisted by childhood emotional scars that never healed.&lt;br&gt;
  1355. &lt;br&gt;
  1356. And yet we find it proper to forget all this, to deny it, nay, to sanction it&lt;br&gt;
  1357. somehow in the hope that institutionalizing these horrors&lt;br&gt;
  1358. will nurture a crop of young Einsteins and Riverstones?&lt;br&gt;
  1359. &lt;br&gt;
  1360. Isn't it far more likely that rather than training our youth to apply themselves,&lt;br&gt;
  1361. the Remedial program instead is an experiment in child abuse on a societal scale,&lt;br&gt;
  1362. destined to produce a scarred generation of monsters laden with problems&lt;br&gt;
  1363. we cannot yet imagine and dare not yet contemplate?&lt;br&gt;
  1364. &lt;br&gt;
  1365. - Elaine Anonova, Educator, in testimony to the Pacifican Congress
  1366. </summary>
  1367. </entry>
  1368.  
  1369.  
  1370. <entry>
  1371. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1372. <updated>2005-02-14T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1373. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0022.html" type="text/html"/>
  1374. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0022.html</id>
  1375. <title type="html">Did I fail to mention I'm the center of attention in my universe?
  1376. </title>
  1377.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Center of attention in her universe&lt;/h3&gt;
  1378. The lure of Cleopatra, her subtle beauty, her bold seductions,&lt;br&gt;
  1379. her irresistable charms are the stuff of legend:&lt;br&gt;
  1380. Grown from a kernel of truth, nurtured larger than life through mythical elaboration,&lt;br&gt;
  1381. as charming in the telling as Cleopatra herself.
  1382. &lt;br&gt;
  1383. Her real strength, her true strength, was forgotten.&lt;br&gt;
  1384. Reared in the style of Alexander, she grew into true genius:&lt;br&gt;
  1385. Fluent in many tongues angient and modern, she was her own ambassador.&lt;br&gt;
  1386. &lt;br&gt;
  1387. Familiar with the classics, schooled in science, clever in wit&lt;br&gt;
  1388. and discerning in both politics, personages and pageantry,&lt;br&gt;
  1389. Cleopatra seized bold control of her kingdom and then&lt;br&gt;
  1390. over two successive Roman rulers, not on the strengths&lt;br&gt;
  1391. of her beauty but on the skill of her strategy.&lt;br&gt;
  1392. &lt;br&gt;
  1393. Pascal once said that had Cleopatra's famously aquiline nose&lt;br&gt;
  1394. been more petite, the whole face of the world would have changed.&lt;br&gt;
  1395. I say that had Cleopatra been born a scant century earlier,&lt;br&gt;
  1396. before Rome had the chance to sweep up to Egypt's door,&lt;br&gt;
  1397. then the Roman Catholic church would now be called the Alexandrian&lt;br&gt;
  1398. Catholic Church, and its official language would not be Latin, but koine ---&lt;br&gt;
  1399. the official Greek of Cleopatra's court.&lt;br&gt;
  1400. &lt;br&gt;
  1401. - Professor Andrew Cimbali
  1402. </summary>
  1403. </entry>
  1404.  
  1405.  
  1406. <entry>
  1407. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1408. <updated>2005-02-07T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1409. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0021.html" type="text/html"/>
  1410. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0021.html</id>
  1411. <title type="html">Guest Artist: Sandi Billingsley
  1412. </title>
  1413.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Remediation&lt;/h3&gt;
  1414. We need to get over the stigma attached to children who are falling behind.&lt;br&gt;
  1415. &lt;br&gt;
  1416. No, I don't mean we should not stigmatize them.  Quite the opposite.&lt;br&gt;
  1417. We need to get over our resistance to apply the stigma.&lt;br&gt;
  1418. &lt;br&gt;
  1419. So-called learning disabilities, mental illnesses, behavior problems...&lt;br&gt;
  1420. ... all of these are products of the indulgences we grant children&lt;br&gt;
  1421. --- and childlike adults --- in our permissive society.&lt;br&gt;
  1422. But where tender love fails, tough love will succeed.&lt;br&gt;
  1423. &lt;br&gt;
  1424. This is the purpose of the Remedial Education system.&lt;br&gt;
  1425. A simple behavioral contingency --- succeed, and you progress;&lt;br&gt;
  1426. fail, and you are penalized.  It's just that simple.&lt;br&gt;
  1427. &lt;br&gt;
  1428. Neural, cognitive, behavioral and empirical studies have all shown&lt;br&gt;
  1429. the harsh contingencies of the Remedial program have all but eliminated&lt;br&gt;
  1430. the mental freeloaders of our society and produced a generation of&lt;br&gt;
  1431. smarter, healthier, happier, and more productive adults --- and have&lt;br&gt;
  1432. left our mental health care practitioners with far more resources&lt;br&gt;
  1433. to deal with care the small number of people who have genuine issues.&lt;br&gt;
  1434. &lt;br&gt;
  1435. In the face of the millions of children and the rest of a society who benefits,&lt;br&gt;
  1436. who can forgive us for putting slackers through a few years of hell?&lt;br&gt;
  1437. &lt;br&gt;
  1438. - Dr. Saffrine Legrande, Chief Education Coordinator for Pacifica
  1439. </summary>
  1440. </entry>
  1441.  
  1442.  
  1443. <entry>
  1444. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1445. <updated>2005-01-31T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1446. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0020.html" type="text/html"/>
  1447. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0020.html</id>
  1448. <title type="html">A new reality only a segue away...
  1449. </title>
  1450.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Superpower power...&lt;/h3&gt;
  1451. With all this talk of "cosmic energies" and "flow of chi",&lt;br&gt;
  1452. people forget that super powers expend actual &lt;i&gt;power&lt;/i&gt;.&lt;br&gt;
  1453. Power is just the rate of energy expended over time.&lt;br&gt;
  1454. And energy just work --- force expended over distance.&lt;br&gt;
  1455. And force itself is just mass times acceleration.&lt;br&gt;
  1456. &lt;br&gt;
  1457. So the physical power of a superhero is big words for how&lt;br&gt;
  1458. much stuff he or she can get moving, how far, and how fast.&lt;br&gt;
  1459. &lt;br&gt;
  1460. So everyone gets all excited when the Continental can burn&lt;br&gt;
  1461. through a steel plate with his gamma-ray vision --- but not me.&lt;br&gt;
  1462. You can keep him with his gamma ray vision.  I know better.&lt;br&gt;
  1463. &lt;br&gt;
  1464. I just saw the Pacifican fly from a dead stop in Lost Angeles&lt;br&gt;
  1465. to a dead stop in to New Vegas in less than a minute,&lt;br&gt;
  1466. and I'm done being impressed for the day.&lt;br&gt;
  1467. &lt;br&gt;
  1468. - Dr. Daniel Riverstone
  1469. </summary>
  1470. </entry>
  1471.  
  1472.  
  1473. <entry>
  1474. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1475. <updated>2005-01-24T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1476. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0019.html" type="text/html"/>
  1477. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0019.html</id>
  1478. <title type="html">Guest Artist: Rosie Johnson-Cater
  1479. </title>
  1480.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Nursery Crymes&lt;/h3&gt;
  1481. Spun with sugar spun with spice&lt;br&gt;
  1482. Spun with bits of everything nice&lt;br&gt;
  1483. Kokolimo spins the clev'rest web&lt;br&gt;
  1484. There your strength begins to ebb&lt;br&gt;
  1485. Leaving your soul cold as ice&lt;br&gt;  
  1486. Leaving your soul cold as ice&lt;br&gt;
  1487. &lt;br&gt;  
  1488. Her talons grip your soul like a vice&lt;br&gt;
  1489. Flensing your dreams slice by slice&lt;br&gt;
  1490. Leaving your soul cold as ice&lt;br&gt;
  1491. Leaving your soul cold as ice&lt;br&gt;
  1492. &lt;br&gt;
  1493. Kokolimo suck'd our spirits dry&lt;br&gt;
  1494. Flensed our dreams slice by slice&lt;br&gt;  
  1495. Leaving our souls cold as ice&lt;br&gt;
  1496. Leaving our souls cold as ice&lt;br&gt;  
  1497. Leaving our souls cold as ice&lt;br&gt;
  1498. &lt;br&gt;
  1499. - traditional despiritural hymn of the Ensnarelings
  1500.  
  1501.  
  1502.  
  1503.  
  1504.  
  1505. </summary>
  1506. </entry>
  1507.  
  1508.  
  1509. <entry>
  1510. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1511. <updated>2005-01-17T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1512. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0018.html" type="text/html"/>
  1513. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0018.html</id>
  1514. <title type="html">Guest Artist: Jennie Breeden
  1515. </title>
  1516.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Something vast upon the deep...&lt;/h3&gt;
  1517. We have been watching carefully for over fifty years...&lt;br&gt;
  1518. ever alert for the slightest sign of the entity that nearly destroyed our world.&lt;br&gt;
  1519. Now ... there are hints.  Rumors.  Unexplained phenomena.  Nothing concrete; nothing certain.&lt;br&gt;
  1520. Our ground-based investigators find nothing.  But our physicists ... Our physicists tell us of traces.&lt;br&gt;
  1521. Vast disturbances in the shell of dust around the solar system.&lt;br&gt;
  1522. Subtle, unexplainable shifts in the galactic magnetic field.&lt;br&gt;
  1523. The readings of both the Forward Gravitational Telescope&lt;br&gt;
  1524. and the Feynman-Riverstone Least Action Array confirm it:&lt;br&gt;
  1525. &lt;br&gt;
  1526. Something vast stirs upon the deep.&lt;br&gt;
  1527. &lt;br&gt;
  1528. God help us, I fear the Progenitor has returned.&lt;br&gt;
  1529. &lt;br&gt;
  1530. - classified testimony of Dr. W. Olan Stephenson&lt;br&gt;
  1531.  to the Joint American-Pacifican Interstellar Threat Committee&lt;br&gt;
  1532.  of Les Gardiens Superieurs de le Monde
  1533.  
  1534.  
  1535.  
  1536.  
  1537.  
  1538. </summary>
  1539. </entry>
  1540.  
  1541.  
  1542. <entry>
  1543. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1544. <updated>2005-01-10T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1545. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0017.html" type="text/html"/>
  1546. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0017.html</id>
  1547. <title type="html">Guest Artist: Jennie Breeden
  1548. </title>
  1549.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Drifting Somewhere in the Vast...&lt;/h3&gt;
  1550. Somewhere out in the vast space of all possible combinations of all possible stories...&lt;br&gt;
  1551. ... every character ever written will someday meet every person who ever lived.&lt;br&gt;
  1552. - from &lt;i&gt;Richard Storybrooke and the Sword of Truth:
  1553.  &lt;br&gt;The Unfinished Masterpiece by Anna Lee Anderson&lt;/i&gt;
  1554.  
  1555. </summary>
  1556. </entry>
  1557.  
  1558.  
  1559. <entry>
  1560. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1561. <updated>2005-01-03T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1562. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0016.html" type="text/html"/>
  1563. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0016.html</id>
  1564. <title type="html">Guest Artist: Jennie Breeden
  1565. </title>
  1566.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Following tragedy ... hope survives.&lt;/h3&gt;
  1567. Our hearts go out to those who are lost, as our aid goes to those who survived.&lt;br&gt;
  1568. And even as in our ignorance we rage at God for allowing this tragedy to occur&lt;br&gt;
  1569. in our humility we give thanks to Him for the opportunity to build a new way of life.&lt;br&gt;
  1570. - from The Post-Fracture address&lt;br&gt;
  1571. by Arnold Schwarzenegger, first President of Pacifica
  1572.  
  1573. </summary>
  1574. </entry>
  1575.  
  1576.  
  1577. <entry>
  1578. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1579. <updated>2004-12-27T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1580. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0015.html" type="text/html"/>
  1581. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0015.html</id>
  1582. <title type="html">Surprise Visit
  1583. </title>
  1584.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;It's not satanic porn, honest!&lt;/h3&gt;
  1585. Today's guest comic is brought to us by Jennie Breeden, author of
  1586. &lt;a href="http://thedevilspanties.keenspace.com/"&gt;The Devil's Panties&lt;/a&gt;
  1587. ("It's not satanic porn, honest!").  Thanks to Jennie's good graces and
  1588. fast pen, our dreamtripping hero Xiao is visiting the universe of Jennie's
  1589. new comic &lt;a href="http://thedevilspanties.keenspace.com/Cover.html"&gt;Huntress: Nightmares&lt;/a&gt;.
  1590. &lt;p&gt;When you're done here, go check it out!&lt;br&gt;
  1591. Thanks, JB!&lt;br&gt;
  1592. - The Centaur&lt;br&gt;
  1593. December 28, 2004
  1594.  
  1595. </summary>
  1596. </entry>
  1597.  
  1598.  
  1599. <entry>
  1600. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1601. <updated>2004-12-20T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1602. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0014.html" type="text/html"/>
  1603. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0014.html</id>
  1604. <title type="html">Fiku of a thousand faces...
  1605. </title>
  1606.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Fiku of a thousand faces...&lt;/h3&gt;
  1607. Nature uses the longest threads to weave her fabric,&lt;br&gt;
  1608. and ties the threads in only a handful of knots.&lt;br&gt;
  1609. But each knot sees its neigbors in a constellation with more possibilties&lt;br&gt;
  1610. than all the individual threads and knots in the universe combined.&lt;br&gt;
  1611. - Dr. Daniel Riverstone
  1612. </summary>
  1613. </entry>
  1614.  
  1615.  
  1616. <entry>
  1617. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1618. <updated>2004-12-13T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1619. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0013.html" type="text/html"/>
  1620. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0013.html</id>
  1621. <title type="html">No matter how bad life gets...
  1622. </title>
  1623.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;I get by with a little help from my friends...&lt;/h3&gt;
  1624. Thanks to my sketchbook, my scanner,
  1625. and a great group of friends,
  1626. I've put together an 8 page
  1627. mini-arc fleshing out Xiao's
  1628. fan fiction dreamworld... Enjoy!
  1629. &lt;p&gt;
  1630. NOT keeping my fingers crossed,&lt;br&gt;
  1631. -The Centaur&lt;BR&gt;
  1632. December 13, 2004
  1633. </summary>
  1634. </entry>
  1635.  
  1636.  
  1637. <entry>
  1638. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1639. <updated>2004-12-06T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1640. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0012.html" type="text/html"/>
  1641. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0012.html</id>
  1642. <title type="html">Thems the breaks.
  1643. </title>
  1644.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Thems the breaks...&lt;/h3&gt;
  1645. My arm is broken ... see
  1646. &lt;a href="http://www.dresan.com/2004/12/dont-get-those.html"&gt;Don't Get Those&lt;/a&gt;
  1647. and
  1648. &lt;a href="http://www.dresan.com/2004/12/i-taurborg.html"&gt;I, Taurborg&lt;/a&gt;
  1649. over on
  1650. &lt;a href="http://www.dresan.com/"&gt;The Library of Dresan&lt;/a&gt;
  1651. for details.
  1652. &lt;p&gt;
  1653. ANYWAY, I'll be running guest art and sketchbook pages for a couple of weeks...
  1654. contact me at &lt;i&gt;centaur at dreesan dot com&lt;/i&gt; for details if you're
  1655. interested in submitting.
  1656. &lt;p&gt;
  1657. NOT keeping my fingers crossed,&lt;br&gt;
  1658. -The Centaur&lt;BR&gt;
  1659. December 6, 2004
  1660. </summary>
  1661. </entry>
  1662.  
  1663.  
  1664. <entry>
  1665. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1666. <updated>2004-11-29T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1667. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0011.html" type="text/html"/>
  1668. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0011.html</id>
  1669. <title type="html">Dreams are better than history.
  1670. </title>
  1671.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Progressing...&lt;/h3&gt;
  1672. Still don't know why the forums are down --- now that I'm
  1673. back from Thanksgiving perhaps I can debug them this weekend.
  1674. HOWEVER... I have completed rendering of pages through January. w00+!
  1675. &lt;p&gt;
  1676. AND I'm partway through inking the last two pages, have started
  1677. layout on a two-page "interlude", and am a couple of pages
  1678. into the next issue's script.
  1679. &lt;p&gt;
  1680. Keeping my fingers crossed,&lt;br&gt;
  1681. -The Centaur&lt;BR&gt;
  1682. November 29, 2004
  1683. </summary>
  1684. </entry>
  1685.  
  1686.  
  1687. <entry>
  1688. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1689. <updated>2004-11-22T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1690. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0010.html" type="text/html"/>
  1691. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0010.html</id>
  1692. <title type="html">Your daily diet of abuse.
  1693. </title>
  1694.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Late...&lt;/h3&gt;
  1695. Unable to log in to upload the files for some reason...&lt;p&gt;
  1696. ... hopefully this will be up by Monday.
  1697. &lt;P&gt;
  1698. -The Centaur&lt;BR&gt;
  1699. November 21, 2004
  1700. </summary>
  1701. </entry>
  1702.  
  1703.  
  1704. <entry>
  1705. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1706. <updated>2004-11-15T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1707. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0009.html" type="text/html"/>
  1708. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0009.html</id>
  1709. <title type="html">Your daily diet of fear.
  1710. </title>
  1711.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Early...&lt;/h3&gt;
  1712. I'll be out of town this weekend, so the
  1713. site update's going up a little early.
  1714. &lt;p&gt;
  1715. In one sense this is a little "bonus art"
  1716. to tide you over BUT it &lt;b&gt;is&lt;/b&gt; related
  1717. to the story (if only tangentially).
  1718. &lt;p&gt;
  1719. SO ... enjoy!&lt;p&gt;
  1720. &lt;P&gt;
  1721. -The Centaur&lt;BR&gt;
  1722. November 11, 2004
  1723. </summary>
  1724. </entry>
  1725.  
  1726.  
  1727. <entry>
  1728. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1729. <updated>2004-11-08T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1730. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0008.html" type="text/html"/>
  1731. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0008.html</id>
  1732. <title type="html">It's starting again.
  1733. </title>
  1734.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;To sleep, perchance to dream...&lt;/h3&gt;
  1735. ... or not, for the life of a new webcomic
  1736. author.  Dreams actually aren't the problem,
  1737. but the perchance to get sleep isn't what I'd
  1738. like it to be.
  1739. &lt;p&gt;
  1740. Still, I've got another two pages in the can,
  1741. but I'm still finding things that I need to
  1742. finish here and there, so I can't push it as
  1743. far ahead as I want as fast as I want.
  1744. Not yet.  But I will.
  1745. &lt;p&gt;
  1746. However, from what I've seen so far of what I
  1747. have for Issue 0, Issue 1 will begin in late
  1748. January (depending on how much "bonus" art I
  1749. throw in and whether or not there's a Christmas
  1750. special.)
  1751. &lt;p&gt;
  1752. Also, note that the
  1753. &lt;a href="http://www.fanufiku.com/forums"&gt;fanu fiku forums&lt;/a&gt;
  1754. are now open!  Check them out... and feel free
  1755. to discuss whatever you like!  The fanu fiku
  1756. forums themselves are for the comic and
  1757. "passing notes in class" is for off-topic
  1758. posts (not that I can imagine that there'd
  1759. be any recent events that might send some
  1760. off-topic posts down the pipe :-).
  1761. &lt;p&gt;
  1762. And now, dear fanu, here is the next page.  
  1763. Enjoy!
  1764. &lt;P&gt;
  1765. -The Centaur&lt;BR&gt;
  1766. November 6, 2004
  1767. </summary>
  1768. </entry>
  1769.  
  1770.  
  1771. <entry>
  1772. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1773. <updated>2004-11-01T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1774. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0007.html" type="text/html"/>
  1775. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0007.html</id>
  1776. <title type="html">Fan Fiction.
  1777. </title>
  1778.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Closing In&lt;/h3&gt;
  1779. Always make sure you do your roughs in sufficient
  1780. detail actually to ink them.  My "pencils" are
  1781. actually rough inked 8.5x11 pages, which I then
  1782. blow up to 11x17 and ink using a lightbox.  
  1783. However, three of the final pages had &lt;b&gt;very&lt;/b&gt;
  1784. rough, sloppy pencils, too rough for normal inking;
  1785. it took me easily twice as long to do one of them
  1786. and I wasn't satisfied with the result.
  1787. &lt;p&gt;
  1788. So I had a brainstorm: since the blown up roughs
  1789. are actually photocopies, nothing's stopping me
  1790. from taking a big black brush pen and inking
  1791. them in the way I want.  It's liberating ---
  1792. the original can't be destroyed becuase the
  1793. sheet's just a photocopy, and the intermediate
  1794. ink can't be used because the big black marker
  1795. is too rough and it's inked over messy lines
  1796. anyway.
  1797. &lt;p&gt;
  1798. In this freeing context, I can re-ink a page
  1799. rough in less than an hour, and have a intermediate
  1800. result that makes it much easier to produce the
  1801. final product.  
  1802. &lt;p&gt;
  1803. And, as an added bonus, I've got the
  1804. &lt;a href="http://ant.apache.org/"&gt;Ant&lt;/a&gt;
  1805. build for the site running and integrated into
  1806. &lt;a href="http://www.eclipse.org"&gt;Eclipse&lt;/a&gt;,
  1807. so I can edit this rant as a text file, hit
  1808. "Clean" in the Project menu, watch fiku
  1809. whirr in the Console window, and then see
  1810. the rendered HTML appear in my local server,
  1811. ready for upload.  Nice.
  1812. &lt;p&gt;
  1813. Anyway, here's a page.  Enjoy!
  1814. &lt;P&gt;
  1815. -The Centaur&lt;BR&gt;
  1816. October 30, 2004
  1817. </summary>
  1818. </entry>
  1819.  
  1820.  
  1821. <entry>
  1822. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1823. <updated>2004-10-25T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1824. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0006.html" type="text/html"/>
  1825. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0006.html</id>
  1826. <title type="html">Lonely vistas.
  1827. </title>
  1828.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Struggling Afloat&lt;/h3&gt;
  1829. Ach! It's hard to stay ahead ... working on the
  1830. site software and postproduction for images has
  1831. just about eaten up all the time I wanted to
  1832. spend on the extra page each week ... so I'm
  1833. still really only two pages ahead, and soon I
  1834. will get into the new-scripting zone where I
  1835. have to stop drawing long enough to finish
  1836. the script for Chapter 1.
  1837. &lt;p&gt;
  1838. But I've got enough built up to hold us for
  1839. this week and the next, and if I get a lot
  1840. done tonight I'll buy myself a buffer.  Tell
  1841. you what --- I'll even throw in a "bonus"
  1842. art page not in the printed edition that will
  1843. help expand the story --- translation: I'm
  1844. already planning in my "Dead Piro Days"
  1845. (&lt;a href="http://www.megatokyo.com/"&gt;(c) and (tm) Fred Gallagher&lt;/a&gt;)
  1846. to make absolutely sure I don't fall behind
  1847. on site updates unless the site is actually
  1848. down so I can't update it (which actually
  1849. happened one night already).
  1850. &lt;p&gt;
  1851. Anyway.  Here's the next page.  Enjoy!
  1852. &lt;P&gt;
  1853. -The Centaur&lt;BR&gt;
  1854. October 25, 2004
  1855. </summary>
  1856. </entry>
  1857.  
  1858.  
  1859. <entry>
  1860. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1861. <updated>2004-10-18T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1862. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0005.html" type="text/html"/>
  1863. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0005.html</id>
  1864. <title type="html">I hate my life.
  1865. </title>
  1866.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Seeking a Buffer&lt;/h3&gt;
  1867. Right now I'm somewhat ahead in the comic.
  1868. I have the next 2 pages completely in the can
  1869. (not counting last-minute tweaking of dialog
  1870. box placement necessary when translating from
  1871. the test printed page to the "MegaTokyo Format"
  1872. 975-by-650 PNG pages I currently use for the
  1873. comic).  Beyond that, I have another 2
  1874. completed pages, another 5 inked pages,
  1875. script and layouts for 3 more pages beyond
  1876. that (through the end of the prototype
  1877. Chapter 0), a rough outline for Chapter 1,
  1878. and plot outlines that take me all the way
  1879. to the beginning of Part IV (currently
  1880. scheduled to start around Chapter 19).
  1881. &lt;p&gt;
  1882. Currently, I can produce about 2 inked
  1883. pages a week. My goal with what started out
  1884. as a little side project to teach me comics
  1885. production is now to get a solid 52 pages
  1886. ahead.  When I do, the comic will go
  1887. semiweekly - Mondays and Fridays.
  1888. &lt;p&gt;
  1889. Here's to actually getting your creativity out!
  1890. &lt;P&gt;
  1891. -The Centaur&lt;BR&gt;
  1892. October 16, 2004
  1893. </summary>
  1894. </entry>
  1895.  
  1896.  
  1897. <entry>
  1898. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1899. <updated>2004-10-11T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1900. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0004.html" type="text/html"/>
  1901. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0004.html</id>
  1902. <title type="html">A hiss in the dark.
  1903. </title>
  1904.    <summary type="html">&lt;h3&gt;Late to the Party&lt;/h3&gt;
  1905. I'm late almost everywhere.  
  1906. Late to bed, late to rise,
  1907. late to school, late to work, late late late.
  1908. &lt;p&gt;
  1909. Once in high school I turned in a form late
  1910. (actually, I'd turned the form in on time,
  1911. but my mother forgot to sign it and I
  1912. refused to forge her signature - but let's
  1913. not confuse the story with facts) and
  1914. was put in the last group for registration
  1915. - and for the next several years was
  1916. called "The Big Red L" for the mark
  1917. they put on my registration package.
  1918. &lt;p&gt;
  1919. So when my karate group decided to meet
  1920. at Stone Mountain last weekend for a 3:00
  1921. workout, I was prepared.  I left a full
  1922. hour and fifteen minutes early, determined
  1923. (for once) to get there on time.
  1924. &lt;p&gt;
  1925. Then everything went wrong.
  1926. First I hit traffic. Then I
  1927. took a wrong turn (a REALLY wrong
  1928. turn).  Finally, after an hour and
  1929. fifteen minutes in my car, I arrived
  1930. at the park ... only to find a chili
  1931. cook-off had eaten up all the available
  1932. parking.  I almost turned around and
  1933. went home two or three times ... but,
  1934. after another fruitless 30 minutes
  1935. riding around, I finally found a space
  1936. halfway back to Atlanta, shouldered
  1937. my bag, and trudged 15 minutest back
  1938. to the big green field beneath the
  1939. carvings on the face...
  1940. &lt;p&gt;
  1941. ...and found they had *just* started.
  1942. &lt;p&gt;
  1943. So all that self-doubt ran smack into
  1944. a big wall of reality.  Of *course*,
  1945. everyone *else* had trouble parking too.
  1946. So right around the time *I* was ready
  1947. to give up because I was too late,
  1948. *they* were still finding the field and
  1949. getting set up.  And while I was beating
  1950. myself up for being such a poor student
  1951. for showing up so late, two *other*
  1952. students --- both far more hard-core
  1953. than I --- were suffering their own
  1954. tales of traffic woe, and didn't arrive
  1955. until a full hour after I did.
  1956. &lt;p&gt;
  1957. So all my voices of self-doubt were
  1958. meaningless; in fact, the only tragedy
  1959. would not to have showed up at all.
  1960. Instead, I had a long, fun workout at
  1961. the base of the mountain and got to
  1962. spend the next two hours eating dipping
  1963. dots and watching a laser show with
  1964. a bunch of good friends --- none of
  1965. whom gave me any grief about what time
  1966. I showed up.
  1967. &lt;p&gt;
  1968. The point, as it relates to Fanu Fiku,
  1969. is this: it is never to late to chase
  1970. your dreams.  Someone may be there
  1971. before you; others may arrive after
  1972. you.  It doesn't matter how late
  1973. you have been: the only tragedy is
  1974. to not to show up at all.
  1975. &lt;P&gt;
  1976. -Anthony&lt;BR&gt;
  1977. October 10, 2004
  1978. </summary>
  1979. </entry>
  1980.  
  1981.  
  1982. <entry>
  1983. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  1984. <updated>2004-10-04T00:00:00Z</updated>
  1985. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0003.html" type="text/html"/>
  1986. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0003.html</id>
  1987. <title type="html">Fanu Fiku Chapter 0: Premonitions
  1988. </title>
  1989.    <summary type="html">&lt;i&gt;
  1990. "Bringer of peace in war, quiet in chaos,
  1991. and sleep without dreams: release me!"&lt;br&gt;
  1992. &lt;/i&gt;
  1993. &lt;div align="right"&gt;- Traditional Returner Hymn&lt;/div&gt;
  1994.  
  1995. </summary>
  1996. </entry>
  1997.  
  1998.  
  1999. <entry>
  2000. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  2001. <updated>2004-09-30T00:00:00Z</updated>
  2002. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0002.html" type="text/html"/>
  2003. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0002.html</id>
  2004. <title type="html">Reveal your secrets.
  2005. </title>
  2006.    <summary type="html">&lt;i&gt;"It is time for that which was hidden to come into the light."&lt;/i&gt;
  2007. &lt;p align="center"&gt;Fanu Fiku: Online Hard Science Fantasy Manga.&lt;/p&gt;
  2008. &lt;p align="center"&gt;Weekly. Starting October 4, 2004.&lt;/p&gt;</summary>
  2009. </entry>
  2010.  
  2011.  
  2012. <entry>
  2013. <author><name>Dr. Anthony G. Francis, Jr.</name></author>
  2014. <updated>2004-09-27T00:00:00Z</updated>
  2015. <link rel="alternate" href="http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0001.html" type="text/html"/>
  2016. <id>http://www.fanufiku.com/comics/page0001.html</id>
  2017. <title type="html">Dreams too big for the sky.
  2018. </title>
  2019.    <summary type="html">&lt;i&gt;
  2020. "Seize the day, seize the day, it's your time now&lt;br&gt;
  2021. Chase your dream, it's your dream, only you know how&lt;br&gt;
  2022. Seize the day, come and play, come outside now&lt;br&gt;
  2023. Share your dream, sing your dream, it's your time now to&lt;br&gt;
  2024. Dream a dream the whole world can share,&lt;br&gt;
  2025. Sing a song to drive away their cares,&lt;br&gt;
  2026. Spin a tale they will all follow along&lt;br&gt;
  2027. Forget the past, seize the mast,&lt;br&gt;
  2028. and sail to a world of song."&lt;br&gt;
  2029. &lt;/i&gt;
  2030. &lt;div align="right"&gt;- Opening theme music for the &lt;b&gt;Storybrook&lt;/b&gt; OAV, series 1 and 2&lt;/div&gt;
  2031. </summary>
  2032. </entry>
  2033.  
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