:anime: Free Anime Directory Update! ::For 07.27.09::

Here it is...an epic "Free Anime Directory Update[!]" more than three months in the making! The palpitation can be felt as the excitement and adrenalin washes over the crowd as everyone awaits the news with baited breath! And...and...

Oh, who am I kidding? The notations have been there for months already. The only reason I kept them around so long was because it would make compiling this list and referencing to the Directory more easy. In reality, the feature itself has been kept up-to-date, but I never posted the mid- to late-April "Update" due to the time constraints mentioned in previous posts. So with that placed behind, let's kick off post #202 of HD with [*cough*something that should have happened ages ago*cough*] it!

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::07.27.09:: Vernon Forrest (1971-2009)

The month of July has not been a merciful one for the world of boxing, as another tragedy has resulted in another fighter's life being cut short outside of the ring. Former champion Vernon Forrest was shot and killed Saturday night in Atlanta after being the subject of an attempted carjacking. He, along with his girlfriend's young son, stopped at a gas station to refill a tire on his Jaguar. The details from there vary to some degree among reports (including an account from his manager in the linked article, which is differs from others), but in general, his vehicle was being stolen when Forrest gave suit and chased the attempted robbers until he lost sight of them and headed back, which was when he was fatally shot multiple times by them from behind.

Though it is easy to bring up his accomplishments over the years, from being an Olympian and the first person to defeat Shane Mosley (back-to-back) to returning to form from a few years marred by injuries to win the WBC Light Middleweight Championship in 2007 and regaining the belt from then-undefeated Contender winner Sergio Mora this past September in a rematch (his final fight) after losing it a few months before, what is perhaps of greater importance was his work with children and mentally-handicapped adults, which he seemed to have a great deal of love for. That fact alone makes the unfortunate news so tragic and the act that led up to it all the more shameful. My condolences to his family.

HardDoor--The Third Anniversary:: How I Got Into Anime

Wow, it's only been three years since HardDoor's inception?! It's been a fun, enjoyable ride all this time (in spite of the recent bouts with dwindling computer access time), with the introduction of the seasonal anime and boxing previews coming within the last year. Yet, throughout the time I have been writing this blog on anime and boxing, I have never delved into how I got into my two favorite subjects.

Since I expunged about the history behind HardDoor's moniker for its first anniversary, it seemed only fitting to do something similar for its third anniversary year (and 200th post!). It might be a little harder to peg down the origins of my boxing interests, but I can go into what got me involved in the strange, near "other-worldly"--at the time (and sometimes, still is)--realm of Japanese animation--or "Japanimation", as it used to be called back-in-the-day. What was once a "passing impression" and curiosity more than a decade and a half ago has now turned into something that I hold with considerable admiration--that little thing called "anime".

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::07.16.09:: Of The Departed and The Young...

Before posting HardDoor's third anniversary post, I would be remiss in acknowledging two tragic passings that by now many have already known. The first of those being Alexis Arguello, one of boxing's greatest fighters and champions, who committed suicide on July 1. Despite his accomplishments, and classics bouts against Aaron Pryor and Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini, Arguello had a history of drug problems and suicidal tendencies. He recently won the mayoral seat in his hometown of Managua, Nicaragua. His apparent suicide might have been foul play according to some, who have linking it to rival political forces.

HardDoor--The Third Anniversary:: The Overture

So, three years since the beginning of HD, huh? (thought it was four :D )

I have something nice planned to commemorate this year's milestone, but as you have it, and given how things have been lately, I only have a small window of time to write it out. So, for the time being, consider this as something of a "placeholder", unless something unforeseen happens. So for now, be on the look out for it!

To a great(er) fourth year and more...

--HD

**Now Available Here ;) **

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::06.19.09:: Cotto Decisions Clottey

This month's, and season's, first Boxing Bits installment was very light in its first week, with not too many other notable fights in the second week. This summer's boxing preview will be coming shortly, but in the meantime, below are some of the more noteworthy recent bouts.

:anime: The FUNimation "Leaky Stream" Fiasco

I originally wasn't going to comment on this until more of the facts came in, but I think there has been enough disseminated to draw an overall view of opinion on. Should there be anymore major developments, I'll comment on them further.

As many know, FUNimation has been going through a series of major complications and setbacks to its streaming anime campaign as of late. The crux of the issue has settled primarily on the company's ill-secured and ill-planned method of preparing their video files for same-day streaming (aka "simulcast"). The first problem surfaced on May 30 with One Piece's then most-recent episode, #403, which was to be part of the company's effort to simulcast the series as it aired in Japan, being accessed and distributed onto torrent sites by someone hours before it was to be aired there. This act would lead to FUNimation and Toei Animation and its other partners to cancel the simulcast "for the immediate future" on all of the sites it was set to be on. Additionally, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, another high-profile title, was pulled from FUNimation's site, until better security was implemented. The second problem arose shortly after on June 3 when not only a pre-broadcast episode of Phantom ~Requiem for the Phantom~ was leaked, but also an episode of FMA:B, which, while having already aired in Japan, had yet to appear on their video site at its scheduled time. With these developments, FUNimation's video site was shut down soon after for "maintenance".

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::06.03.09:: Berto, Cintron Successful

A few good fights rounded out the conclusion of this spring's boxing season, but a particular one did not. That bout was to be a championship decider between WBA Heavyweight Champion Nikolai Valuev and Ruslan Chagaev, the "Champion in recess" (no really, that's the title bestowed to him by the WBA, since he hasn't been able to defend quite often, as to be explained). The scrappy Chagaev whupped on the giant Valuev in 2007 to take his belt and undefeated record and the latter has wanted the title back ever since. However, Chagaev is rather injury/mishap-prone, causing their rematch to be hampered on more than just this occasion. In the meantime, Valuev defeated John Ruiz to claim the WBA belt as a co-holder, with the just-cancelled rematch to determine the one true champion. After the latest call-off, Valuev's promoter, Don King, wants Chagaev stripped of his (pseudo-)title and his man crowned the real champion. The cause this time? A positive blood test for hepatitis that Chagaev and Universum have refuted.

:anime: Spring Anime Preview '09 - First Episode Review Pt. 2:: K-ON!, Haruhi S2

The second batch of first episode reviews for the spring season are finally here, featuring two shows that were quite good and two that were quite torturous to watch (yes, I'm probably the only one who wasn't enthralled with one of them...). The previews from last time were pretty long, so I tried to streamline and shorten by comments as much as possible (with a heavy emphasis on try...). As before, these are my general thoughts on the shows covered below and their premiere episodes, not synopsises or great dissertations. That said, one of the bad ones first...

:boxing: Boxing Bits ::05.27.09:: The Cubans Make a Statement

This weekend proved to be mix of a showcase of new contenders and up-and-comers and a few big fights.