text:
Edit Anime Information
What would you like to edit?
SynopsisBackgroundAlternative TitlesPictureAiring DatesProducersRelationsRatingDurationSourceBroadcast
* Your list is public by default.
Status: WatchingCompletedOn-HoldDroppedPlan to Watch
Eps Seen: / 26
Your Score: Select(10) Masterpiece(9) Great(8) Very Good(7) Good(6) Fine(5) Average(4) Bad(3) Very Bad(2) Horrible(1) Appalling
Add Detailed Info
Buy on Manga Store
English: Mushi-Shi
Japanese: 蟲師
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Oct 23, 2005 to Jun 19, 2006
Broadcast: Sundays at 03:40 (JST)
Producers: Avex Entertainment, Marvelous, SKY Perfect Well Think, Delfi Sound
Licensors: Funimation
Studios: Artland
Genres: Adventure, Slice of Life, Mystery, Historical, Supernatural, Fantasy, Seinen
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Score: 8.721 (scored by 165,483 users)
1 indicates a weighted score. Please note that 'Not yet aired' titles are excluded.
Ranked: #422
2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity: #129
Favorites: 19,841
Characters & Staff
Ranked #42Popularity #129Members 475,962
Fall 2005TVArtland
Add to List Select(10) Masterpiece(9) Great(8) Very Good(7) Good(6) Fine(5) Average(4) Bad(3) Very Bad(2) Horrible(1) Appalling
Episodes: /26
"Mushi": the most basic forms of life in the world. They exist without any goals or purposes aside from simply "being." They are beyond the shackles of the words "good" and "evil." Mushi can exist in countless forms and are capable of mimicking things from the natural world such as plants, diseases, and even phenomena like rainbows.
This is, however, just a vague definition of these entities that inhabit the vibrant world of Mushishi, as to even call them a form of life would be an oversimplification. Detailed information on Mushi is scarce because the majority of humans are unaware of their existence.
So what are Mushi and why do they exist? This is the question that a "Mushishi," Ginko, ponders constantly. Mushishi are those who research Mushi in hopes of understanding their place in the world's hierarchy of life.
Ginko chases rumors of occurrences that could be tied to Mushi, all for the sake of finding an answer.
It could, after all, lead to the meaning of life itself.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
Mushishi is an adaptation of Yuki Urushibara's award-winning manga of the same name. The series adapts the first 26 chapters of the manga, adapting one per episode. The anime aired these stories in a different order than that of the manga.
The series won the Tokyo Anime Award in the Television category in 2006. The series premiered on October 23, 2005, but went on hiatus on March 12, 2006 after having aired 20 episodes. Broadcast resumed on May 15, and aired the remaining 6 episodes, concluding on June 19, 2006.
Preview Manga
Adaptation: Mushishi
Sequel: Mushishi: Hihamukage, Mushishi Zoku Shou
Characters & Voice Actors
Nakano, Yuto
Karibusa, Tanyuu
Tsuzurahara, Miyu
Doi, Mika
Adashino
Ueda, Yuji
Oka, Akiko
Honjou, Yuutaro
Ioroi, Shinra
Sanpei, Yuuko
Maeda, Takeshi
Sakamoto, Maaya
Cook, Justin
Nagahama, Hiroshi
Director, Episode Director, Storyboard, Series Composition
Tanaka, Kazuya
Nagai, Tatsuyuki
Episode Director, Storyboard
Edit Opening Theme
"The Sore Feet Song" by Ally Kerr
Edit Ending Theme
#01: "Midori no Za" (緑の座) by Masuda Toshio (ep 1)
#02: "Mabuta no Hikari" (瞼の光) by Masuda Toshio (ep 2)
#03: "Yawarakai Kaku" (柔らかい角) by Masuda Toshio (ep 3)
#04: "Makura Kouji" (枕小路 ) by Masuda Toshio (ep 4)
#05: "Tabi wo Suru Numa" (旅をする沼) by Masuda Toshio (ep 5)
#06: "Tsuyu wo Suu Mure" (露を吸う群れ) by Masuda Toshio (ep 6)
#07: "Ame ga Kuru Niji ga Tatsu" (雨がくる虹がたつ) by Masuda Toshio (ep 7)
#08: "Unasaka Yori" (海境より) by Masuda Toshio (ep 8)
#09: "Omoi Mi" (重い実) by Masuda Toshio (ep 9)
#10: "Suzuri ni Sumu Shiro" (硯に棲む白) by Masuda Toshio (ep 10)
#11: "Yama Nemuru" (やまねむる) by Masuda Toshio (ep 11)
#12: "Sugame no Sakana" (眇の魚) by Masuda Toshio (ep 12)
#13: "Hitoyobashi" (一夜橋) by Masuda Toshio (ep 13)
#14: "Kago no Naka" (籠のなか) by Masuda Toshio (ep 14)
#15: "Haru to Usobuko" (春と嘯く) by Masuda Toshio (ep 15)
#16: "Akatsuki no Hebi" (暁の蛇) by Masuda Toshio (ep 16)
#17: "Uromayutori" (虚繭取り) by Masuda Toshio (ep 17)
#18: "Yama Daku Koromo" (山抱く衣) by Masuda Toshio (ep 18)
#19: "Tenpen no Ito" (天辺の糸) by Masuda Toshio (ep 19)
#20: "Fude no Umi" (筆の海) by Masuda Toshio (ep 20)
#21: "Wataboshi" (綿胞子) by Masuda Toshio (ep 21)
#22: "Okitsu Miya" (沖つ宮) by Masuda Toshio (ep 22)
#23: "Sabi no Naku Koe" (錆の鳴く聲) by Masuda Toshio (ep 23)
#24: "Kagarinokou" (篝野行) by Masuda Toshio (ep 24)
#25: "Ganpuku Ganka" (眼福眼禍) by Masuda Toshio (ep 25)
#26: "Kusa wo Fumu Oto" (草を踏む音) by Masuda Toshio (ep 26)
More theme songs
More reviewsReviews
26 of 26 episodes seen
TheCriticsClub (All reviews)
Overall 9
Enjoyment 10
"Don't let yourself be blinded by fear or anger.
Everything is only as it is."
Mushishi is essentially a series of stories styled after East Asian legends and folktales. In lieu of gods, spirits, and demons, the paranormal phenomena are attributed to more primitive yet no less enigmatic creatures called "mushi". Dealing with their kind is the expertise of "mushishi"; professionals whose role may be thought of as an amalgam of healer, exorcist, biologist, X-Files investigator, and Jedi master (well, sort of). Ginko happens to be one of these mushishi and he wanders from town to town, looking for interesting cases and lending a helping hand to those adversely affected by these mushi.
As formulaic as its premise may sound, no two incidents are alike and every episode features not only different mushi but a different setting and cast as well (with Ginko as constant exception). Because of these, the series is able to experiment with various concepts and human relationships and none of the stories ever end in a predictable manner. As such, there is little room for stagnation as each tale manages to be unique and refreshing.
The title is often mentioned in the same breath as Kino no Tabi though Mushishi's oriental setting and animistic influences give it a more distinct flavor and theme. Whereas Kino limits herself to exploring "what if" scenarios by visiting different countries, Ginko takes it a step further by providing possible solutions and emphasizing the importance of living in harmony with nature, with fellow men, and most importantly, with the self.
While not exactly an anti-hero, Ginko's personality is an unusual mix of benevolence tempered with common sense; a combination of "grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, courage to change the things that should be changed, and the wisdom to distinguish one from the other." Saving lives is part of his job but he also knows when there's reason still to hope and when it's time to move on. He may break his own code at times for the well-being of the majority and he's not above fooling the gullible either just to get by. His expertise stems not only from his knowledge about mushi but also from his understanding of human nature.
Similarly, none of these supporting characters are shoved into stereotypes which plague most anime and manga. No catgirls, lecherous geezers, or single-minded youngsters (Believe it!); just regular folks in unusual circumstances due to encounters with mushi. Consequently, it doesn't require much effort to empathize with these characters even if most only appear in their respective episodes.
Not only is the theme "everything is only as it is" evident in the content but it also permeates the manner in which the stories are presented. Mushishi doesn't try to impress; it simply delivers. While other shows of this era tend go overboard with the fancy CG animation, Mushishi's visuals remain spare yet aesthetically pleasing. Rather than filling up the screen with explosions and fanservice shots at every possible moment, vivid scenes of natural beauty such as raindrops falling from the heavens, cherry blossoms drifting in the wind, and sunlight penetrating the dense foliage are shown instead. Of course, the viewers are occasionally treated to fantastic scenes showing the surreal characteristics of the mushi but these are shown only when called for in the stories and nothing is done in excess. Even the character designs are relatively plain but perhaps these also contribute to the story in their own way since the audience is less likely to judge the characters based on their appearances.
Likewise, the audio takes the minimalist approach. The soundtrack is comprised of simply melodies which are surprisingly effective in evoking various thoughts and emotions. Ranging from haunting and heart-rending to hopeful and bittersweet, the music often eliminates the need for more words in the most crucial scenes. Also worth noting is the lack of exaggerated voice acting which makes the cast sound more like real people rather than cookie-cutter characters.
In addition to its enchanting audio and visuals, Mushishi also serves drama and thought-provoking content in balanced amounts. Its subtle content and execution never insult the intelligence and present several interesting ideas without drowning the viewers in philosophical jargon or sophistry. All in all, Mushishi truly is one of the finest anime specimen out there.
This review is the final result of a review team composed of members from the "Critics and Connoisseurs" club. The team members were:
Yuunagi - Writer
itsmee - Contributer/Editor
June - Contributer/Editor
Talamare - Contributer/Editor
Here are their individual scorings for the show:
Catogory - Yuunagi, itsmee, June,Talamare
Overall: 10, 9, 8, 9 - avg=9.00
Story: 10, 10, 7, 10 - avg=9.25
Animation: 9, 9, 9, 9 - avg=9.00
Sound: 9, 8, 7, 8 - avg=8.00
Enjoyment: 10, 10, 8, 10 - avg=9.5
In the club wide poll held for Mushishi it received an average overall rating of 9.06
permalink | report
mahoganycow (All reviews)
Enjoyment 0
In spirit, at least, each episode of Mushishi strongly reminds me of one thing: A cave painting. A depiction of man and the outside world, brief and primal but perfectly expressive, radiating mysticism, perhaps possessed of more meaning than it initially appears to have.
From minute one, Mushishi's representation of a vast world grabs the eye and doesn't let go. Lush forests with dew dripping from every leaf; barren winter mountains peppered with stubborn snow-covered trees; an innocuous pond with lilies on the surface of the still water. The series roams from setting to setting, and all are presented with a lifelike attention to detail. The color palette is richly varied, reaching from the brilliant emerald of vegetation to the deep turquoise of the sea to the dusky red of a far-off sunset. Lighting is used to strong effect, whether it's beams of sun streaming through layers of foliage and mist or a candle's flame struggling to brighten a dark old house.
And within those habitats, the mushi themselves, creatively rendered as a strange mix of the familiar and the utterly alien—like shapeless blobs propelled by twitching motions, like phosphorescent insects scuttling along the earth, like great legless serpents twisting skyward. Some take the shape of a natural phenomenon, and the sight of a living rainbow exploding from the earth, or a long-restrained cloud breaking free, expanding and floating away, is bound to impress. The animation on the whole is excellent, but the mushi in particular seem to move with a vivid otherworldly fluidity. At least part of Mushishi is about making sense of the mysterious, bringing reason to something that seems unreasonable, and the designs of the mushi add some believability to this; it's quite easy to see how they could be thought of as ghosts, beasts, or legends, able to inspire both wonder and fear. The tranquility of the environments is consistently impressive in a low-key way, but the spectacle of the mushi can be eerie, majestic, and everything in between.
Sound is part of atmosphere, and in the same way that cold urban horrors might use reverberations in dark alleys or the foreboding thrumming of electronics, Mushishi might use a chorus of insects or the roar of drifting snow to surround us, allowing the setting to speak its piece. The music is minimal but startlingly effective, in many cases fitting easily alongside and even seeming to mimic the voices of the earth. Slow piano notes overlap with rhythmic footsteps, a woodwind's sad screams resemble those of a forlorn bird. So, too, can the score sound almost unearthly, with an ominous progression of bells and chimes sometimes underscoring a haunting ending or signaling the arrival of the mushi. The result is an immersive ambiance where visuals and sound alone can convey dark, brooding tension or innocent curiosity with equal ease. It isn't just pretty, it's totally engrossing, exuding pure atmospheric mastery in almost every scene.
Through this vast world walks Ginko, revenant of revenants, our looking glass. Perceptive of the nature of human and mushi alike, he uses words as careful and deliberate as his journeying stride to become the voice of reason and, with an air of serene confidence, impart his knowledge to others. To become a witness to needless death, a bearer of bad news, or a participant in deception is sometimes part of his job description. As an admirer of life and truth, he cares for none of these tasks, but he'll defy his own nature and undertake them with solemn dedication if he feels that it's necessary. He is wise, but not infallibly so. Nor is he a complete stoic; outbursts of childlike wonder at incredible sights, sarcastic retorts to smart-mouthed travelers, and emotion-laden shouts of panic and warning to his fellow humans all show him as a little more than just the nonchalant white-haired sage. His development, in the traditional sense, is sparse, but he is afforded a poignant backstory that makes him and his thought process a little less of an enigma.
Of course, Mushishi gently pushes a picture of a sprawling and intricate world where all beings affect each other in ways both seen and unseen, their actions rippling outward in ever-widening circles, and in that sense, Ginko as a character is no different than any other living thing in the show, simultaneously of little and great consequence. He may be our guide, cursed and blessed to ceaselessly wander, but the world doesn't turn for him. Rather, it's in what he represents that we might find significance: The quest for knowledge, the insatiable desire to understand even while knowing that the sheer body of things in existence prevents total understanding. The need to capture the meaning of what surrounds us, spread our wisdom responsibly, and use it to form calculated reactions to the world instead of rash judgments. He truly is that silver fish swimming endlessly through dark water, opalescent barbels probing fathomless black crevices, illuminating them, if only for a brief moment. Much of Mushishi's strength lies in the ability to provoke thought without direct questions, to let an image serve as subtext, and Ginko himself represents an impressively seamless merging of humanity and idea.
Mushishi is episodic, not bound by an overarching plot. It is a series of self-contained stories which vary in theme, but are always skillfully crafted. Most episodes consist of human drama, based on relatable and familiar emotions, infused with an element of the natural world. The episodic format delivers powerful and gripping tales in an extremely brief timetable, a feat which I have no problem appreciating. The scenarios are original, and the writing is rich with little subtleties and metaphors, but each episode can be understood and appreciated as successful story even if you've no desire to peer into them deeply. View Mushishi as a progression of intelligent parables full of interesting ideas, or as a bunch of moving and affecting tales; much to its credit, it is both.
Part of what makes Mushishi work is its steadfast refusal to portray anything in terms as simple as "good" or "evil." Stories where barbaric man stupidly abuses mother nature, or where nature is a hate-filled monster that comes from the hills to eat scared little man, are a dime a dozen, and while they might pass as entertainment, they often fail to say anything worth saying because they handle man and earth as if they're combatants in a holy war. Mushishi is not so black and white, and it has an idea that scales much better. The mushi are not red-toothed animals seeking to kill in droves. The humans are not greedy savages bent on scorching the earth. Both are just beings, trying to survive in the same place and at the same time. That they will cross paths, have conflicting interests, use each other, and hurt each other is inevitable; such is survival. Each episode is one meeting of mushi and human, one miniscule butting of heads in a massive world, with the implication being that this is simply what happens, everywhere. Instead of vilifying humans or portraying nature as a vengeful power, Mushishi whispers: This is just the way things are. It does give us a small shove by implying that, as the ones with the ability to reason and understand, the responsibility for mitigating the damage that humans inflict (and the damage that humans receive) falls on the humans, but it never degenerates into the preachy heavy-handedness or gross oversimplifications that plague many works with similar themes.
It's that theme which allows Mushishi to navigate the spectrum of human emotion. Conflict in its world does not arise from moral failings or piggish greed, only from a lack of understanding, and understanding is a sword with many edges. Ask the child who learns of death, or the old man who learns of life. Sometimes the knowledge you gain is liberating, sometimes it's disheartening, sometimes it's terrifying. Mushishi can be all of those words and more, but even when it strays to one extreme, it never loses its humanity, its worldliness, or its feeling of being completely natural. Just as it can depict the warm orange rays of the sun and the cold white howl of the snow, it can depict innocent wonder and violent loss, and with equal sincerity. It has balance, and then some.
As a caveat, I will say that this is the kind of series that practically begs me to use the phrase "not for everyone." It's dialogue-heavy, more about the thought leading up to action than the action itself; it keeps the big guns of its visual spectacle on a tight leash, letting them explode only after a suitable buildup to assure the maximum payoff; it doesn't have the conventional storytelling satisfaction of explicitly coming full circle, instead simply tapering off and fading quietly, as episodic series sometimes do. A few episodes will likely be enough to inform you of whether or not it's to your tastes, and I've no doubt that many have labeled (and will continue to label) it as simply "boring." I understand the origin of this opinion, but I just can't share it, because Mushishi is strangely beautiful and intensely fascinating on several levels. Imbibe it a little at a time like a fine liquor, or dive deeply into it and become drunk on its atmosphere, intrigue, and insights. In my experience, neither disappoints.
TheBrainintheJar (All reviews)
Some people will tell you Mushishi is great because it doesn't contain action and fanservice. These must be the same people who praise a film for not including Adam Sandler. They also make Mushishi look more pretentious than it is. It's far from it. The problem is, even though Mushishi has a worthwhile aim and the right methods, it doesn't know how to use them.
In order for something to be pretentious, it needs to put up a cover while not including the methods. An anime that has a realistic art style with dramatic characters is pretentious. It looks realistic, but the methods that are used are opposed to it.
Mushishi makes it clear what it wants to be in the first episode. It's a series that's concerned mainly with men's relationship to nature. The mushi are just the physical embodiment of what nature can be. Some have criticized Mushishi for creating a magic system that has no rules but leads to convenience, but that's untrue. Mushishi doesn't have an RPG-like magic system because it uses magic to explore themes, not to offer instructions on how to do battle.
The rules the magic in Mushishi follows is the theme of nature. It's successful in that department. We often see nature portrayed as a calm, peaceful place in contrast to heartless machinery. If the person is especially ignorant, we will even hear about the good old days when men was One With Nature and everything was peaceful and good. Most people see nature though the lens of the Garden of Eden.
Anyone who ever bothered to learn a little about nature – botany or geology or zoology – will understand Mushishi's stance on nature. Nautre is unstable, mysterious, powerful and cares nothing about us. Volcanic eruptions and meteors crashing are terrible things, but they're produced by an indifferent world that has no malice. They just happen. Then again, it's the same world that gives us great food and visual spectacles. There plenty of time when the terrible and beautiful merge – how many dangerous animals are also beauiful?
The series achieves that by the nature of the mushi. They often benefit and harm at the same time, like allowing people to give birth to a person that died. There is always a sense of wonder and mystery surrounding the mushi. Even Ginko, despite his cold demeanor is also startled by them. What people don't say enough about Mushishi is that this is how fantasy should be done. It's not like Martin's world, which is full of details to make it clear and familiar. It's truly alien and fantastical.
Where the series falls is in all other departments. The series doesn't put enough effort into the characters and the stories. They exist solely to present the varying mushi. There are films whose purpose is only to deliver a visual experience, so abandoning conventional storytelling can be a smart decision. It's not here. It's not just that 26 episodes make you demand more, but that abandoning conventional storytelling doesn't help the series' aim.
The series forgets about the 'men' in the relationship between men and nature. The characters feel like they have an outer life. The issues spring from life itself – art, marriage, vision – rather than having a guy preventing another guy from Being the Best. There isn't enough character psychology to make these issues feel important.
The characters are all interchangeable. I kept waiting for a reason why this person is concerned with vision, or this one with marriage. Nothing is pointless in fiction, after all. In order to bring depth to an issue, you need to connect to the character. Something in the character's personality needs to be related to the issue so it will affect it. A lot of shounen shows know this, so they tend to give a narcisstic nature to their characters. The character doesn't just struggle with The Problem but with his own nature. Ikki learns to curb his narcissism and stop swinging between it and depression. Tai learns (or is supposed to) how being a leader works.
Despite these two not being the most developed examples, they make for different stories. You couldn't put Tai in Ikki's story, because Tai's personality is concerned with relationships with others. You couldn't put Ikki in Tai's story, because his story is about learning that sometimes you lose some and win some. I could not remember a character that had a situation concerned with his personality. They tend to have generic wants and needs, nothing that's unique to them. They may be 'ordinary people', but people are not clones even when they follow patterns. Or if the series wanted to comment on that, then the similarity should've been made important. Nothing is there to emphasize how similar humans are. These are just empty characters.
Ginko is not much better. An episodic series isn't an excuse to have undeveloped characters. They may not change throughout the series, but they need a personality that will affect every story. A lot of Cartoon Network shows are purely episodic, yet they're full of quirky characters who create the stories because of who they are.
We get a backstory episode for Ginko, but it doesn't reveal much. What's his motivation? Why is he so into mushi? How does all this exploring affected his worldview? There are sometimes hints. In one episode, Ginko agrees with what I wrote above about the cruelty of nature. This is just one instant, though. All Ginko does is visit people, help them solve the problem and that's it.
That makes him a plot device, not a real character. He exists so we'll have someone to follow, but how different would the series be if it was a random mushishi in every episode? I do not ask to immidiately reveal who Ginko is. If every episode gave a small piece, it would be enough. The collector, who appears from time to time is the only person with something resembling a drive. He's really into collecting, and values it more than humans. It's a little touch that makes him more real than anyone here. There are sometimes other mushishi's who act a little different, but the difference is never wide enough.
It's a missed oppurtunity, sure, but not one without merits. It's as original as people say it is, and a good example of how far storytelling can go. It didn't live up to its concept, but it's still good that it's out there and that it found an audience. Hopefully, one of these someone will pick up these ideas and run away with them. It's a fun series, but one that should be easy to improve.
3.5 mushi out 5
KingIK (All reviews)
This anime was a very unique experience. The show introduces a very interesting concept called the mushi. It'd be very difficult to describe what the mushi are precisely. In a nutshell , they're essentially spiritual beings, but at the same time they inhabit the physical world ( Yeah I know what your thinking, you just completely contradicted yourself. I know, I know just go with it) and they use humans as a host ( very similar to a parasite). One aspect in particular that struck me about the show was how it was devoid of any western influences whatsoever. Many anime fans don't realize how anime is indeed heavily influenced by Western culture. But Mushi-shi primarily borrows stories from many east Asian folklore and myths. Although Mushi-shi does offer an original and innovative premise/concept, the execution is most certainly flawed.
The story of Mushi-shi follows the exploits of Ginko, who is otherwise known as the Mushi-shi or Mushi master in the English dub. Ginko's job as a Mushi-shi is to go around and help people who have been infected by the mushi. This is one of the flaws to Musi-shi, which is it's formulaic plot. As you go through these episodes you'll notice that 90% of the them play out like this: Ginko is wandering around, he encounters a village, group of people or an individual who have had an encounter with the mushi. Which in turn, leads to them being harmed to the point were they're crippled or their lives are hanging on by a thread. Ginko attempts to save them. His efforts leads them to being cured or sometimes the episode will end off tragically where the one infected dies. Basically, this formula repeats for 26 episodes.
Yeah.....the series is a tad bit repetitive.
Notice how I said a tad bit repetitive and not overly repetitive. Because what saves it is the mushi themselves, there isn't a single episode where the mushi are exactly the same; it's always fascinating to observe them, because the way they interact and work with humans is so compelling. Oh and did I forget to mention that Mushi-shi has no main storyline ? Yes, this is an episodic anime where each episode is it's own standalone story. This wasn't a problem for me, but I know it will be for some. Because of course, most people generally prefer a main ongoing story. Again this wasn't a problem for me. Also, when I say episodic, I mean it. It's not like Cowboy Bebop or Samurai Champloo, where it's episodic in nature but it has an overarching story. That's not the case with Mushi-shi. Plus there's no recurring characters in the show except Ginko. I mean, if someone was to walk up to me and say "hey, I found Mushi-shi to be a phenomenal anime and I absolutely loved it," I'd completely understand. If somebody else walked up to me and said "hey, I found Mushi-shi to be extremely boring and I didn't like it," I'd also completely understand. Because of how literally quiet and subtle it is (not recommended if you got A.D.H.D), which isn't a bad thing by the way. Mushi-shi is definitely not for everyone; it's not meant to appeal to the masses, its meant for a niche audience who can truly appreciate its fascinating concept and artistry. It's very reminiscent of an independent arthouse film.
Now on to the themes and characters. This anime excels in that department. Mushi-shi does a fantastic job of exploring themes of loss, despair, self sacrifice, suffering and tragedy. Whenever the mushi infects people, family bonds are tested and death is always around the corner. If someone does in fact die or suffer a heavy loss, it always resonates with you. So yeah, clearly the show has a lot of emotional depth. Lets get into the characters, now as I mentioned before there are no recurring characters except for Ginko, and for the most part the anime does a fairly good job of fleshing out these nonrecurring characters. Especially considering the fact that each has only about 21 minutes (excludes opening and closing songs) of screen time. On to Ginko, whose obviously the main protagonist. You'll definitely take a liking to him as he's a very kindhearted individual. He does get a good amount of characterization and we do get a back story as to how he became a Mushi-shi/Mushi master. But really compared to other main protagonists its wasn't enough in my opinion. That's another one of my problems with Mushi-shi, Ginko needs to be fleshed out more. Nevertheless, he's an all around good main protagonist
Arguably the best part of Mushi-shi, from the score, to the voice acting and even just the sounds going on in the back ground. The opening track is called " The Sore Feet Song" by Ally Kerr and its a solid one overall. You'll probably enjoy it if you like folk rock. Something that is also very unique about Mushi-shi is the ending theme, or should I say ending themes, because every episode has its own closing song and I got to say, I liked all of them. It's hard to describe them because the instrumentation is so unique and each one feels so surreal and atmospheric. They have an otherworldly vibe to them. Then we have the actual score within the show which is also great and complements the mood excellently. Like the closing themes, the score has an otherworldly vibe as well that I can't put my finger on. Finally on to the voice acting, which is outstanding on both the Japanese sub and English Dub. No seriously, it's that good, especially the English dub which in my opinion surpasses the original Japanese and it ranks up there with Funimation's best work like Baccano, Yu Yu Hakusho, and Fullmetal Alchemist. Both Yuto Nakano and Travis Willingham embody the character of Ginko perfectly, and all the other cast members do a great job as well especially considering that fact that they only appear once. Also, pay attention to the tone of the voice acting on both languages and notice how monotone and subtle it is. Don't let it discourage you. This is completely intentional because it's meant to match the quiet and subtle tone of the actual show.
Art & Animation
Finally, we get into the last part of the review, the art and animation. The animation is very good and smooth, but the art (especially the backgrounds) is absolutely stunning. You'll know what I mean when you watch the series for yourself, just pay close attention to the detail that is given here. From the lush green vegetation, to the mountains and rivers. It's absolutely gorgeous. I recall when I was watching it, I had to pause the show for a moment because the backgrounds were so beautiful to look at. Hands down, some of the best you'll find in all of anime. I guarantee it.
When it's all said and done, Mushi-shi has it's flaws and at the same time it has a lot of good things going for it. It's formulaic tendencies really held it back. Plus, Ginko could have been fleshed out more. Regardless of that, this anime was a joy to watch and it's a good solid one at that. If you have an open mind, I recommend you check it out, especially if you want something that is unique and original.
Natsume Yuujinchou69 Users
Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World58 Users
Mononoke34 Users
Mononoke Hime15 Users
xxxHOLiC13 Users
Aria The Animation11 Users
Haibane Renmei10 Users
Ookami to Koushinryou9 Users
Bartender8 Users
Bakemonogatari8 Users
Jigoku Shoujo6 Users
Saraiya Goyou6 Users
Hotarubi no Mori e6 Users
Casshern Sins5 Users
Moyashimon5 Users
Master Keaton5 Users
Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi5 Users
Dororo4 Users
Shinreigari4 Users
Shinsekai yori4 Users
Death Parade4 Users
Mokke4 Users
Dantalian no Shoka4 Users
Chikyuu Shoujo Arjuna4 Users
NHK Announces Best 100 Anime
To commemorate one hundred years of Japanese anime history, NHK has announced a list of 100 Best Anime on Wednesday at NHK BS Premium. The list is based on the audi...read more
May 3, 2017 7:07 AM by tsubasalover | Discuss (459 comments)
'Mushishi' to Get Sequel in Spring 2014 and Fall 2014
At the end of Mushishi Special: Hihamukage, it was announced that a second season of Mushishi, titled Mushishi Zoku Shou, will be airing separately in Spring 2014 an...read more
Jan 4, 2014 7:55 AM by tsubasalover | Discuss (317 comments)
Recent Forum Discussion
Poll: Mushishi Episode 2 Discussion ( 1 2 3 )
zippy - Feb 2, 2008 134 replies by Gytanzo »»
Poll: Mushishi Episode 26 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )
zippy - Feb 10, 2008 256 replies by Akko_Berserk »»
Recent Featured Articles
Crunchyroll Will Stream New Stan Lee Superhero Anime Series
Anime and comic book fans, are you ready for a brand new superhero series? A collaborative project between Stan Lee and Studio DEEN, The Reflection, will premiere this summer on Crunchyroll.
by MisterD98
Top 15 Best Fantasy Anime of All Time
Fantasy anime worlds are filled with aspects that far surpass our wildest dreams. We can fly the high skies alongside majestic dragons or even fight alongside heavenly creatures unknown to reality. Let us present to you the top 15 fantasy anime on MAL, based on their individual scores.
by NicWat10
RecommendationCollection


The options in this frame determine what you want the caller to enter, and when Architect should stop listening for incoming digits. This action is available in the Data category of the task editor's Toolbox.
Note: You can also use the Expression Editor to build automated calculations by selecting variables and operators. For more information, see the Suggested content.


Make sure you meet Ansons Solicitors at the Royal Sutton Business Fair on 8 June 2018. The event is a celebration of business throughout the area, hosted by the Sutton Coldfield Chamber of Commerce.
The fair takes place from 10.30am to 3pm at the Ramada Birmingham hotel, Sutton Coldfield. The event is free for businesses to attend and is expected to attract 400 delegates.
Delegates can expect over 40 exhibitors showcasing the best of local businesses, including lawyers from Ansons Solicitors commercial law, property, private client, and family law teams who will be at hand to discuss legal issues affecting you and your business.
It is an excellent opportunity for anyone running or starting a business in Staffordshire to meet potential contacts and get advice, ending with a speed networking session to complete the experience.
If you are attending the fair, do pop by our stand and leave your business card to enter our fantastic prize draw. The first card to be drawn will win a bottle of Abel Charlot champagne, two second prize winners will receive luxury shoe shine kits and three lucky raffle winners will get an Ansons Solicitors football.
Sorry no related posts available.


text:
Q: Fixing the oldest bug about serialVersionUID from jasperreports with barcode This thread is about an oldest bug from jasperreports containing barcode. All Java Swing clients get an exception about serialVersionUID when they are trying to print a remote compiled report, this one downloaded through RMI, HTTP request, etc.

A: Java Swing clients only can see those reports who were rendered by the same JVM version (server), this one for instance:

*

*JVM Server: 1.7.0.71

*JVM Client: 17.0.71

But, how we can fix it ?
The first option we have is render those reports as PDF format. For instance:
print = JasperFillManager.fillReport(jasperFile, parameters, connection);
byte[] bi= JasperExportManager.exportReportToPdf(print);

Then return this byte array for clients, so read/write it as PDF stream to local temp file on client side. This one can by mobile, desktop, web, etc.
FileOutputStream fos = new FileOutputStream("/some/file.pdf");
fos.write(bytes);
fos.flush();
fos.close();

The second one, but I think more simple and transparent, is replace the barcode lib that you're using on your reports, from Barbecue to Barcode4J. The image bellow shows what lib you must choose:

And, to keep the same proportion of Barbecue lib of Code 128, you should sets 'Module width' option with value '1.0'.

Other tips
In general, always render reports in PDF there aren't no problems, it's more responsive through clients (web, desktop, mobile, etc.), except when you're working if labels (or stickers), PIMACO 6082 for instance. When you convert jasper to PDF, RTF, or any other format, sometimes their margins are modified in this process.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
[EYE] A treasure house of antique books
By Park Yuna
On the bustling main street of Insa-dong -- which once symbolized Korean traditional culture, but is now crowded with souvenir shops -- visitors nonchalantly pass by a store that holds centuries-old treasures.
Tongmunkwan, the oldest bookstore in South Korea, keeps its door closed most of the time.
Facade of Tongmunkwan (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)
Stepping inside, one is instantly overwhelmed by its massive collection of antique books, stacked from floor to ceiling, and the thick smell of old volumes. The oldest here is from the late Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392).
"Some people touch books carelessly," said Lee Jong-woon, the third-generation owner of Tongmunkwan, when asked about the uninviting look of the shop.
"I want (only those) people who would treat books more carefully (to come in). Many of the books here are very old and fragile."
In 1934, during the Japanese colonial era, Lee's grandfather took over the bookstore from a Japanese owner. After Korea gained independence in 1945, he changed the name to Tongmunkwan, which means "a place where all books encounter."
For more than eight decades, under the stewardship of Lee's family, Tongmunkwan has grown to be a treasure trove of nearly 20,000 antique books -- some hundreds of years old. Within its collection are masterpieces of Korean literature.
Four years ago, the first edition of the poetry collection "Azaleas," written in 1925 by the late Kim So-wol, was auctioned for 1.3 billion won ($1.1 million), a record for a Korean literary work.
"Such first editions are precious, and usually stored at home," Lee, 49, said. "Unlike Western titles, old Korean books withstand humidity so they are relatively easy to preserve."
Lee Jong-woon, owner of Tongmunkwan, poses Tuesday in front of the antique books at Tongmunkwan (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)
Tongmunkwan's customers include the National Museum of Korea and private museums, which purchase books of exceptional value. Prices are usually between 40 million and 50 million won.
Lee's family has stuck to one rule: Do not bargain over a book's price, and put a price tag on every book. This, according to Lee, builds trust with buyers.
"My grandfather used to tell me 'don't tell the price twice (don't change the price), and don't deceive buyers regardless of their age,'" he said, writing his grandfather's words down in eight Chinese characters.
On his desk is a little note that reads "To the beginning."
"You know it is very hard to lose the first resolution and control your mind," the owner said. "I live by dealing with books, but once the money becomes a priority, it will ruin not only myself but this store," Lee said.
He especially likes textbooks from the Korean Empire, which lasted only 13 years until Japan annexed Korea in 1910. That was a turbulent period when Western cultures were flowing in while some Confucian scholars strived to protect their culture.
"The textbooks issued by the government in the Korean Empire reflect exactly how confusing the period was," Lee said. "It is interesting to see how books were made differently in two styles: a Western style and a traditional Korean style."
While in a Western book, the lines are arranged horizontally and the pages are flipped from right to left, the opposite is true of Korea's traditional books.
Searching for rare antique books is like seeking out hidden treasures -- like in the "Indiana Jones" movies, Lee said.
"I make trips to Japan and China regularly, usually five times a year, to seek out antique Korean books, which are neglected there as foreign books with no one realizing their value," Lee said.
Lee said the business has not had a major crisis yet, despite the sluggish bookstore industry in general. "We are different from ordinary bookstores," Lee said.
On the rapidly changing book scene with e-books, web publishing and so on, he just said, "Easy come, easy go." He believes there's something special about paper books.
A sign written in Chinese characters reads "Tongmunkwan." (Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald)
"People can get easily distracted when reading digital books. But when you read a paper book, you have time to contemplate on the contents," Lee said.
He is not sure how much longer Tongmunkwan will remain at its current location.
"I have a son who is a college student, but I am not sure if he wants to take over the store. He is young and the world is rapidly changing," Lee said. "But I am teaching him some Chinese characters just in case."
Looking at the main street of Insa-dong, he reminisced about the old days.
"Insa-dong has changed a lot … what I miss the most is kids playing on the street and seniors coming to play janggi (Korean style chess)," Lee said. "They are all gone now, except for this store."
By Park Yuna (yunapark@heraldcorp.com)
[Newsmaker] Opposition leader sends beef jerky to Buddhist monks
Korea's exports down 0.2% in first 20 days of January
US reaffirms need for inter-Korean cooperation, denuclearization to move in lockstep

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Andover Newton bringing people of faith together to 'say no' to gun culture
Andover Newton Theological School, a seminary of the United Church of Christ, is hosting a two-day summit this week that will bring together religious, civic and academic leaders in discussion on increasing gun violence it says is raging through American cities.
Traci Blackmon to lead UCC Justice and Witness Ministries
The Rev. Traci Blackmon, a prominent community leader, gifted preacher and much-loved pastor and teacher,has been appointed as the acting executive of UCC Justice and Witness Ministries.
UCC, United Church of Canada formalize full communion through worship, word and sacrament
Leaders from the United Church of Christ and The United Church of Canada came together to share worship, word and communion, fulfilling Jesus' prayer that "They may all be one" in celebration of their new partnership. The governing bodies of both denominations approved a full communion agreement this summer, formally culminating with a Saturday night Oct. 17 worship service, celebration and document-signing by leaders from both denominations.
Laying the foundation to build a church culture of risk-taking, innovation and ingenuity
United Church of Christ General Minister and President John C. Dorhauer shares five initiatives, at the United Church of Christ October Board meeting, which he believes can build a church culture of risk-taking, innovation and transformation.
Virginia church honors lives lost to gun violence
People on the street are stopping to see why hundreds of t-shirts are planted on the lawn of an Arlington, Va., church this week. Blue, white and yellow shirts hung over crosses, with names and dates of birth and death noted, they symbolize the 155 lives lost to gun violence in the Washington, D.C., metro area in 2014.
UCC appoints new general counsel, chief strategist
Heather Kimmel has been chosen to succeed Don Clark, Jr., as General Counsel for the UCC, assuming that role on Dec. 1, while Cheryl Joseph Williams will serve as the Chief Strategic Officer for the UCC, a new position within the national setting to begin on Nov. 16.
Interfaith rallies trump Anti-Muslim protests
Peace-filled interfaith rallies replaced publicized hateful Anti-Islam demonstrations when protestors were no-shows. Three UCC pastors were front and center in the Pacific Northwest.
Urgent Call for UCC Response to Anti-Muslim Rallies
The General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ, the Rev. John C. Dorhauer, is issuing a call to the denomination's local congregations to stand with Muslim people in response to planned anti-Muslim rallies across the country this weekend.
Historic document paves way for renewed relationship between Boy Scouts, United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ and the Boy Scouts of America re-established a formal relationship today (Oct. 5) with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding regarding local UCC congregations chartering Scout troops.
NYE 2016 promises faith-nurturing, fun experiences for all
To underscore the importance of National Youth Event 2016, the United Church of Christ has assigned General Synod planners and staff to the effort in order to insure that NYE 2016 is a memorable, faith-filled experience for attendees.


Miss Imperial (17 Oct 06 - 10 Sep 07): "Down where your paint is cracking."
"Down where your paint is cracking."
This song played, followed by this song, and the sounds melted into each other so beautifully that I didn't really notice the rain or the chill. It was the perfect music for walking home at night, which is what I was doing when all of this hit me -- these songs, and this thought: I have always had a place to call home; I have always had somewhere I could go for the night.
TRACK LISTING: Iggy Pop, "Neighborhood Threat"


"Dr. Samura our prayers are with you, we believe you will emerge victorious," read one message sent via SMS to the Star Good Morning Show on Star Radio.
"Continue to remember Dr. Samura Kamara in your prayers." said one Facebook wall day after day.
@magashi We do too. Would be good to see Salone lead AfDb, wrote one handle on Twitter.
In a country where politics is polarized than ever before, the idea of Dr. Kamara as Africa's chief banker garnered goodwill across the political divide, observed one social commentator.
"This is about Sierra Leone and we wholeheartedly support Dr. Kamara's candidacy for the African Development Bank," Yusuf Keketoma Sandi posted on Facebook.
Sandi is a campaign manager for Maada Bio, the SLPP presidential nominee who lost to APC's Ernest Bai Koroma in 2012.
So who is Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara?
Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara (born in Kamalo, Bombali District) is an economist, who graduated from Fourah Bay College.
Kamara spent some time as the financial secretary in the Ministry of Finance during president Ahmad Tejan Kabbah's administration.
He was the governor of the Bank of Sierra Leone from 2007 until March 2009, when he was appointed by President Ernest Bai Koroma as Finance Minister.


Regardless of whether you are the timeshare trade owner or the timeshare resort, we understand that the main objection to purchasing a better vacation ownership is the one you currently own. Reduce your timeshare maintenance fees by trading in your high maintenance fee timeshare. Call us for approved affiliated resorts.
Timeshare Trade Ins (TSTI), a division of Resort Closing Services, LLC, is a title transfer and closing agency specializing in all aspects of vacation property and timeshare resales. We service a marketplace of timeshare Resorts as well as timeshare owners that have sold their property and need closing services. Located near Branson, Missouri, we handle timeshare trade closings of Hilton, Wyndham, Marriott, Bluegreen, Diamond, RCI Points programs and many more resort locations around the world in a proactive, efficient and timely manner.
TSTI is also the resort developers first alternative when restocking resort inventory. We can show your company a more profitable return on the inventory that is being overlooked every day. Let Timeshare Trade Ins help you increase your bottom line with our timeshare closing services. Call 417-334-8784 today for your free consultation!
List your timeshare for sale on both of our websites right now. Join our other 17,000+ customers and click below to sell your timeshare. List in 10 minutes for $169 and it will be listed on both TimeshareTradeins.com and HalfPriceTimeshares.com! Create an account to sell your timeshare now!
Timeshare Trade-ins helps hundreds of people each year by allowing them to trade-in their timeshare for a more affordable vacation experience at their favorite resort. It's your money and you deserve to have the ownership that you want at a price that you can afford.
Call us today 417-334-8784 or complete the form below for information on how we will help reduce your timeshare maintenance fees.


text:
#ifndef _LIB_OPENGL_RENDER_THREAD_INFO_H
#define _LIB_OPENGL_RENDER_THREAD_INFO_H

#include "RenderContext.h"
#include "WindowSurface.h"
#include "GLDecoder.h"
#include "GL2Decoder.h"

struct RenderThreadInfo
{
    RenderThreadInfo();
    ~RenderThreadInfo();
    static RenderThreadInfo* get();

    RenderContextPtr currContext;
    WindowSurfacePtr currDrawSurf;
    WindowSurfacePtr currReadSurf;
    GLDecoder        m_glDec;
    GL2Decoder       m_gl2Dec;
};

#endif

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Eastern Sydney Harbour, a Western City and a place called 'GPOP'.
Sydney should become three major cities and Parliament could be moved to Parramatta as the greater city's population expands over the coming decades, the head of the Greater Sydney Commission, Lucy Turnbull, says.
Turnbull on Wednesday argued three cities -- Eastern Sydney Harbour, Central Parramatta River City and a Western City around the new airport at Badgerys Creek -- would be part of a "reimagining" of greater Sydney, with the population expected to grow to eight million by 2056.
Such an expansion could make it "irrefutably logical" to move Parliament from the city's east to a new central city within seven years and, if properly planned, the three cities would provide a short commute to residents' preferred school or job, the former lord mayor said.
"So that people are 30 minutes from either work, school, university or whatever they like to get up to in their recreational time, so that the 30-minute city is achievable across a much wider part of metropolitan Sydney," Turnbull said.
"This makes our city more liveable, productive and sustainable for everyone."
A core part of the commission's vision is the identification of the area to be known as 'GPOP', drawn from its name Greater Parramatta and the Olympic Peninsula.
"Not just a snappy name, GPOP is a shared vision for the growth of this area as an additional 40,000 people call Parramatta home over the next five years," Turnbull said.
"It's time for a change of perspective and a change in the way we all imagine Greater Sydney. Greater Sydney needs a true city at its centre, close to its heart.
She also said Parliament could be moved further west.
"What could be more logical than having our government right in the heart of the city where most of the population is based?" she said.
"A new Parliament in the Central City of Parramatta in the mid-2020s could be a game changer for Sydney."
NSW Premier Mike Baird on Thursday appeared to reject the idea of moving Parliament, with a spokesman for Baird telling News Corp "there are no plans to move Parliament from Macquarie Street".
Sydney University Professor of Urban and Environmental Geography, Phil McManus, told the Huffington Post Australia the expansion is already under way.
"Part of it is happening already," he said.
"In terms of the westward expansion of Sydney... it is formalising what is already occurring in practice. The geographic centre of Sydney has been moving west, south west for some time.
"Asking people to reimagine the city in different ways, that's somewhat new, but in terms of physical development it's reinforcing what's already happening in practice."
Lucy Turnbull, Chief Commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission, has argued for three city hubs to cope with a growing population.
He said an argument could be made for moving the Parliament out of Sydney, and even further west than Parramatta.
"The idea of moving Parliament would have some physical impacts to be sure, but it would be psychological and symbolic," he said.
The NSW Government earlier this year released Department of Planning figures showing Sydney's population was growing faster than had previously been projected.


Ever since Watch Dogs was first announced back in 2012, it has been hugely anticipated by gamers everywhere. It came as a blow to everyone when Ubisoft announced that the game was to be delayed by quite some time, fortunately Watch Dogs is still on schedule for it release later this month. The delay caused financial trouble for Ubisoft but Ubisoft's marketing executive Tony Key insists the company had no choice.
Key also explained how setting up a new franchise who's game would be released on the older and newer gen consoles as well as PC meant the process was very difficult. He seemed to envy the experience the team working on the annual Assassin's Creed games have gained since the franchise was first released in 2009.
Watch Dogs is due for release on May 27th and will be available on the PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC. A Wii U version will come some time later.


text:
Q: How to understand the drawbacks of Hierarchical Clustering? Can someone explain the pros and cons of Hierarchical Clustering?

*

*Does Hierarchical Clustering have the same drawbacks as K means?

*What are the advantages of Hierarchical Clustering over K means?

*When should we use K means over Hierarchical Clustering & vice versa?

Answers to this post explains the drawbacks of k means very well.
How to understand the drawbacks of K-means

A: An additional practical advantage in hierarchical clustering is the possibility of visualising results using dendrogram. If you don't know in advance what number of clusters you're looking for (as is often the case...), you can the dendrogram plot can help you choose $k$ with no need to create separate clusterings. Dedrogram can also give a great insight into data structure, help identify outliers etc. Hierarchical clustering is also deterministic, whereas k-means with random initialization can give you different results when run several times on the same data. In k-means, you also can choose different methods for updating cluster means (although the Hartigan-Wong approach is by far the most common), which is no  issue with hierarchical method.
EDIT thanks to ttnphns: One feature that hierarchical clustering shares with many other algorithms is the need to choose a distance measure. This is often highly dependent on the particular application and goals. This might be seen as an additional complication (another parameter to select...), but also as an asset - more possibilities. On the contrary, classical K-means algorithm specifically uses Euclidean distance.

A: Whereas $k$-means tries to optimize a global goal (variance of the clusters) and achieves a local optimum, agglomerative hierarchical clustering aims at finding the best step at each cluster fusion (greedy algorithm) which is done exactly but resulting in a potentially suboptimal solution.
One should use hierarchical clustering when underlying data has a hierarchical structure (like the correlations in financial markets) and you want to recover the hierarchy. You can still apply $k$-means to do that, but you may end up with partitions (from the coarsest one (all data points in a cluster) to the finest one (each data point is a cluster)) that are not nested and thus not a proper hierarchy.
If you want to dig into finer properties of clustering, you may not want to oppose flat clustering such as $k$-means to hierarchical clustering such as the Single, Average, Complete Linkages.
For instance, all these clustering are space-conserving, i.e. when you are building clusters you do not distort the space, whereas a hierarchical clustering such as Ward is not space-conserving, i.e. at each merging step it will distort the metric space.
To conclude, the drawbacks of the hierarchical clustering algorithms can be very different from one to another. Some may share similar properties to $k$-means: Ward aims at optimizing variance, but Single Linkage not. But they can also have different properties: Ward is space-dilating, whereas Single Linkage is space-conserving like $k$-means.
-- edit to precise the space-conserving and space-dilating properties
Space-conserving: $$D_{ij} \in \left[ \min_{x \in C_i, y \in C_j} d(x,y), \max_{x \in C_i, y \in C_j} d(x,y) \right]$$
where $D_{ij}$ is the distance between clusters $C_i$ and $C_j$ you want to merge, and $d$ is the distance between datapoints.
Space-dilating: $$D(C_i \cup C_j, C_k) \geq \max(D_{ik}, D_{jk}),$$
i.e. by merging $C_i$ and $C_j$ the algorithm will push further away the cluster $C_k$.

A: Scalability
$k$ means is the clear winner here. $O(n\cdot k\cdot d\cdot i)$ is much better than the $O(n^3 d)$ (in a few cases $O(n^2 d)$) scalability of hierarchical clustering because usually both $k$ and $i$ and $d$ are small (unfortunately, $i$ tends to grow with $n$, so $O(n)$ does not usually hold). Also, memory consumption is linear, as opposed to quadratic (usually, linear special cases exist).
Flexibility
$k$-means is extremely limited in applicability. It is essentially limited to Euclidean distances (including Euclidean in kernel spaces, and Bregman divergences, but these are quite exotic and nobody actually uses them with $k$-means). Even worse, $k$-means only works on numerical data (which should actually be continuous and dense to be a good fit for $k$-means).
Hierarchical clustering is the clear winner here. It does not even require a distance - any measure can be used, including similarity functions simply by preferring high values to low values. Categorial data? sure just use e.g. Jaccard. Strings? Try Levenshtein distance. Time series? sure. Mixed type data? Gower distance. There are millions of data sets where you can use hierarchical clustering, but where you cannot use $k$-means.
Model
No winner here. $k$-means scores high because it yields a great data reduction. Centroids are easy to understand and use.
Hierarchical clustering, on the other hand, produces a dendrogram. A dendrogram can also be very very useful in understanding your data set.

A: I just wanted to add to the other answers a bit about how, in some sense, there is a strong theoretical reason to prefer certain hierarchical clustering methods.
A common assumption in cluster analysis is that the data are sampled from some underlying probability density $f$ that we don't have access to. But suppose we had access to it. How would we define the clusters of $f$?
A very natural and intuitive approach is to say that the clusters of $f$ are the regions of high density. For example, consider the two-peaked density below:

By drawing a line across the graph we induce a set of clusters. For instance, if we draw a line at $\lambda_1$, we get the two clusters shown. But if we draw the line at $\lambda_3$, we get a single cluster.
To make this more precise, suppose we have an arbitrary $\lambda > 0$. What are the clusters of $f$ at level $\lambda$? They are the connected component of the superlevel set $\{x : f(x) \geq \lambda \}$.
Now instead of picking an arbitrary $\lambda$ we might consider all $\lambda$, such that the set of "true" clusters of $f$ are all connected components of any superlevel set of $f$. The key is that this collection of clusters has hierarchical structure.
Let me make that more precise. Suppose $f$ is supported on $\mathcal X$. Now let $C_1$ be a connected component of $\{ x : f(x) \geq \lambda_1 \}$, and $C_2$ be a connected component of $\{ x : f(x) \geq \lambda_2 \}$. In other words, $C_1$ is a cluster at level $\lambda_1$, and $C_2$ is a cluster at level $\lambda_2$. Then if $\lambda_2 < \lambda_1$, then either $C_1 \subset C_2$, or $C_1 \cap C_2 = \emptyset$. This nesting relationship holds for any pair of clusters in our collection, so what we have is in fact a hierarchy of clusters. We call this the cluster tree.
So now I have some data sampled from a density. Can I cluster this data in a way that recovers the cluster tree? In particular, we'd like a method to be consistent in the sense that as we gather more and more data, our empirical estimate of the cluster tree grows closer and closer to the true cluster tree.
Hartigan was the first to ask such questions, and in doing so he defined precisely what it would mean for a hierarchical clustering method to consistently estimate the cluster tree. His definition was as follows: Let $A$ and $B$ be true disjoint clusters of $f$ as defined above -- that is, they are connected components of some superlevel sets. Now draw a set of $n$ samples iid from $f$, and call this set $X_n$. We apply a hierarchical clustering method to the data $X_n$, and we get back a collection of empirical clusters. Let $A_n$ be the smallest empirical cluster containing all of $A \cap X_n$, and let $B_n$ be the smallest containing all of $B \cap X_n$. Then our clustering method is said to be Hartigan consistent if $\Pr(A_n \cap B_n) = \emptyset \to 1$ as $n \to \infty$ for any pair of disjoint clusters $A$ and $B$.
Essentially, Hartigan consistency says that our clustering method should adequately separate regions of high density. Hartigan investigated whether single linkage clustering might be consistent, and found that it is not consistent in dimensions > 1. The problem of finding a general, consistent method for estimating the cluster tree was open until just a few years ago, when Chaudhuri and Dasgupta introduced robust single linkage, which is provably consistent. I'd suggest reading about their method, as it is quite elegant, in my opinion.
So, to address your questions, there is a sense in which hierarchical cluster is the "right" thing to do when attempting to recover the structure of a density. However, note the scare-quotes around "right"... Ultimately density-based clustering methods tend to perform poorly in high dimensions due to the curse of dimensionality, and so even though a definition of clustering based on clusters being regions of high probability is quite clean and intuitive, it often is ignored in favor of methods which perform better in practice. That isn't to say robust single linkage isn't practical -- it actually works quite well on problems in lower dimensions.
Lastly, I'll say that Hartigan consistency is in some sense not in accordance with our intuition of convergence. The problem is that Hartigan consistency allows a clustering method to greatly over-segment clusters such that an algorithm may be Hartigan consistent, yet produce clusterings which are very different than the true cluster tree. We have produced work this year on an alternative notion of convergence which addresses these issues. The work appeared in "Beyond Hartigan Consistency: Merge distortion metric for hierarchical clustering" in COLT 2015.


text:
package multicluster

import (
	"bytes"
	"context"
	"encoding/base64"
	"fmt"
	"testing"
	"text/template"

	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp"
	"github.com/google/go-cmp/cmp/cmpopts"
	. "github.com/onsi/gomega"
	v1 "k8s.io/api/core/v1"
	metav1 "k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/apis/meta/v1"
	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/runtime"
	"k8s.io/apimachinery/pkg/types"
	"k8s.io/client-go/kubernetes/fake"
	"k8s.io/client-go/tools/clientcmd/api"

	"istio.io/istio/pkg/kube/secretcontroller"
)

func cloneCluster(in *Cluster) *Cluster {
	return &Cluster{
		ClusterDesc: in.ClusterDesc,
		Context:     in.Context,
		clusterName: in.clusterName,
		installed:   in.installed,
	}
}

var (
	// required to build remote secret
	pilotServiceAccount = &v1.ServiceAccount{
		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
			Name:      DefaultServiceAccountName,
			Namespace: defaultIstioNamespace,
		},
		Secrets: []v1.ObjectReference{{
			Name: "fake-service-account-secret-name",
		}},
	}

	kubeconfigTemplateData = `apiVersion: v1
clusters:
- cluster:
    certificate-authority-data: {{ .CAData }}
    server: {{ .Server }}
  name: {{ .Context }}
contexts:
- context:
    cluster: {{ .Context }}
    user: {{ .Context }}
  name: {{ .Context }}
current-context: {{ .Context }}
kind: Config
preferences: {}
users:
- name: {{ .Context }}
  user:
    token: {{ .Token }}
`

	kubeconfigTemplate = template.Must(template.New("").Parse(kubeconfigTemplateData))
)

func makeUniqueKubeNamespace(c *Cluster) *v1.Namespace {
	return &v1.Namespace{
		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
			Name: "kube-system",
			UID:  types.UID(c.clusterName),
		},
	}
}

func makeCluster(id int) *Cluster {
	return &Cluster{
		ClusterDesc: ClusterDesc{
			Network:              fmt.Sprintf("net%v", id),
			Namespace:            defaultIstioNamespace,
			ServiceAccountReader: DefaultServiceAccountName,
			DisableRegistryJoin:  false,
		},
		Context:     fmt.Sprintf("context%v", id),
		clusterName: fmt.Sprintf("clusterName%v", id),
		installed:   true,
	}
}

func makeTokenSecret(token, caCertData []byte) *v1.Secret {
	return &v1.Secret{
		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
			Name:      "fake-service-account-secret-name",
			Namespace: defaultIstioNamespace,
		},
		Data: map[string][]byte{
			v1.ServiceAccountRootCAKey: caCertData,
			v1.ServiceAccountTokenKey:  token,
		},
	}
}

func makeServerName(c *Cluster) string {
	return fmt.Sprintf("server-%v", c.Context)
}

func makeKubeconfig(c *Cluster, token, caCert []byte) (string, []byte) {
	var out bytes.Buffer
	_ = kubeconfigTemplate.Execute(&out, map[string]string{
		"CAData":  base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(caCert),
		"Server":  makeServerName(c),
		"Context": c.Context,
		"Token":   string(token),
	})
	kubeconfig := out.Bytes()
	kubeconfigBase64 := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(kubeconfig)
	return kubeconfigBase64, kubeconfig
}

func makeRemoteSecret(c *Cluster, kubeconfig []byte) *v1.Secret {
	return &v1.Secret{
		ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
			Name:      remoteSecretNameFromClusterName(c.clusterName),
			Namespace: defaultIstioNamespace,
			Annotations: map[string]string{
				clusterContextAnnotationKey: c.Context,
			},
			Labels: map[string]string{
				secretcontroller.MultiClusterSecretLabel: "true",
			},
		},
		Data: map[string][]byte{
			c.clusterName: kubeconfig,
		},
	}
}

func makeCAData(c *Cluster) []byte {
	return []byte(fmt.Sprintf("%v-caCert", c.Context))
}
func makeToken(c *Cluster) []byte {
	return []byte(fmt.Sprintf("%v-token", c.Context))
}

const numFakeClusters = 3

// these variables must be initialized at runtime in init()
var (
	clusters             [numFakeClusters]*Cluster
	kubeSystemNamespaces [numFakeClusters]*v1.Namespace
	remoteSecretClusters [numFakeClusters]*v1.Secret
	base64Kubeconfigs    [numFakeClusters]string
	kubeconfigs          [numFakeClusters][]byte
	tokens               [numFakeClusters][]byte
	caDatas              [numFakeClusters][]byte
	pilotTokenSecrets    [numFakeClusters]*v1.Secret

	cluster0IstioNotInstalled   *Cluster
	cluster1DisableRegistryJoin *Cluster

	apiConfig *api.Config
)

func init() {
	apiConfig = &api.Config{
		Contexts: map[string]*api.Context{},
		Clusters: map[string]*api.Cluster{},
	}

	for i := 0; i < numFakeClusters; i++ {
		clusters[i] = makeCluster(i)
		kubeSystemNamespaces[i] = makeUniqueKubeNamespace(clusters[i])
		tokens[i] = makeToken(clusters[i])
		caDatas[i] = makeCAData(clusters[i])
		base64Kubeconfigs[i], kubeconfigs[i] = makeKubeconfig(clusters[i], tokens[i], caDatas[i])
		remoteSecretClusters[i] = makeRemoteSecret(clusters[i], kubeconfigs[i])
		pilotTokenSecrets[i] = makeTokenSecret(tokens[i], caDatas[i])

		apiConfig.Contexts[clusters[i].Context] = &api.Context{
			Cluster: clusters[i].Context,
		}
		apiConfig.Clusters[clusters[i].Context] = &api.Cluster{
			Server: makeServerName(clusters[i]),
		}
	}

	cluster0IstioNotInstalled = cloneCluster(clusters[0])
	cluster0IstioNotInstalled.installed = false

	cluster1DisableRegistryJoin = cloneCluster(clusters[1])
	cluster1DisableRegistryJoin.DisableRegistryJoin = true

	apiConfig.CurrentContext = clusters[0].Context
}

// cmp.Diff helper function for sorting slices of secrets.
func lessSecret(a, b *v1.Secret) bool {
	switch {
	case a.Namespace < b.Namespace:
		return true
	case a.Name < b.Name:
		return true
	default:
		return false
	}
}

// create a map key for a k8s action
func action(verb, resource string) string {
	return fmt.Sprintf("%v/%v", resource, verb)
}

// StringData is write-only. Simulate kube-apiserver logic and convert StringData to BinaryData
func simulateWriteOnlyKubeApiserverBehavior(secret *v1.Secret) *v1.Secret {
	fixedSecret := secret.DeepCopy()

	if fixedSecret.Data == nil {
		fixedSecret.Data = make(map[string][]byte, len(fixedSecret.StringData))
		for k, strV := range fixedSecret.StringData {
			fixedSecret.Data[k] = []byte(strV)
		}
		fixedSecret.StringData = nil // clear write-only field
	}
	return fixedSecret
}

type applyTestCase struct {
	clusters    []*Cluster
	config      *api.Config
	initObjs    map[string][]runtime.Object
	wantSecrets map[string][]*v1.Secret
	wantActions map[string]map[string]int // verb+resource
	wantErr     bool
}

func runApplyTest(t *testing.T, testCase *applyTestCase) {
	t.Helper()

	g := NewWithT(t)

	env := newFakeEnvironmentOrDie(t, testCase.config)
	mesh := NewMesh(&MeshDesc{MeshID: "MyMeshID"}, testCase.clusters...)

	fakeClients := make(map[string]*fake.Clientset, len(testCase.clusters))
	for _, cluster := range testCase.clusters {
		// create fake client with initial set of objections
		client := fake.NewSimpleClientset(testCase.initObjs[cluster.clusterName]...)
		fakeClients[cluster.clusterName] = client
		cluster.client = client

		mesh.addCluster(cluster)
	}

	err := apply(mesh, env)
	if testCase.wantErr {
		g.Expect(err).To(HaveOccurred())
	} else {
		g.Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())
	}

	// verify test results
	for _, cluster := range testCase.clusters {
		t.Run(fmt.Sprintf("cluster %v", cluster.Context), func(tt *testing.T) {
			tt.Helper()

			fakeClient := fakeClients[cluster.clusterName]

			secretList, err := fakeClient.CoreV1().Secrets(cluster.Namespace).List(context.TODO(), metav1.ListOptions{})
			g.Expect(err).NotTo(HaveOccurred())

			gotSecrets := make([]*v1.Secret, 0, len(secretList.Items))
			for _, secret := range secretList.Items {
				gotSecrets = append(gotSecrets, simulateWriteOnlyKubeApiserverBehavior(&secret))
			}

			if diff := cmp.Diff(testCase.wantSecrets[cluster.clusterName], gotSecrets, cmpopts.SortSlices(lessSecret)); diff != "" {
				tt.Errorf("\n got %v\nwant %v\ndiff %v",
					gotSecrets, testCase.wantSecrets[cluster.clusterName], diff)
			}

			wantActions := testCase.wantActions[cluster.clusterName]
			gotActions := make(map[string]int)
			for _, a := range fakeClient.Actions() {
				gotActions[action(a.GetVerb(), a.GetResource().Resource)]++
			}

			if diff := cmp.Diff(wantActions, gotActions); diff != "" {
				tt.Errorf("wrong set of actions:\n got %v want %v diff %v",
					gotActions, wantActions, diff)
			}
		})
	}
}

func TestApply_InitialSuccess(t *testing.T) {
	testCase := &applyTestCase{
		clusters: clusters[:],
		config:   apiConfig,
		initObjs: map[string][]runtime.Object{
			clusters[0].clusterName: {pilotServiceAccount, pilotTokenSecrets[0], kubeSystemNamespaces[0]},
			clusters[1].clusterName: {pilotServiceAccount, pilotTokenSecrets[1], kubeSystemNamespaces[1]},
			clusters[2].clusterName: {pilotServiceAccount, pilotTokenSecrets[2], kubeSystemNamespaces[2]},
		},
		wantSecrets: map[string][]*v1.Secret{
			clusters[0].clusterName: {remoteSecretClusters[1], remoteSecretClusters[2], pilotTokenSecrets[0]},
			clusters[1].clusterName: {remoteSecretClusters[0], remoteSecretClusters[2], pilotTokenSecrets[1]},
			clusters[2].clusterName: {remoteSecretClusters[0], remoteSecretClusters[1], pilotTokenSecrets[2]},
		},
		wantActions: map[string]map[string]int{
			clusters[0].clusterName: {
				action("get", "secrets"):         3,
				action("list", "secrets"):        2,
				action("create", "secrets"):      2,
				action("get", "namespaces"):      1,
				action("get", "serviceaccounts"): 1,
			},
			clusters[1].clusterName: {
				action("get", "secrets"):         3,
				action("list", "secrets"):        2,
				action("create", "secrets"):      2,
				action("get", "namespaces"):      1,
				action("get", "serviceaccounts"): 1,
			},
			clusters[2].clusterName: {
				action("get", "secrets"):         3,
				action("list", "secrets"):        2,
				action("create", "secrets"):      2,
				action("get", "namespaces"):      1,
				action("get", "serviceaccounts"): 1,
			},
		},
	}

	runApplyTest(t, testCase)
}

func TestApply_SingleClusterMesh(t *testing.T) {
	testCase := &applyTestCase{
		clusters: clusters[0:1],
		config:   apiConfig,
		initObjs: map[string][]runtime.Object{
			clusters[0].clusterName: {pilotServiceAccount, pilotTokenSecrets[0], kubeSystemNamespaces[0]},
		},
		wantSecrets: map[string][]*v1.Secret{
			clusters[0].clusterName: {pilotTokenSecrets[0]},
		},
		wantActions: map[string]map[string]int{
			clusters[0].clusterName: {
				action("get", "secrets"):         1,
				action("list", "secrets"):        2,
				action("get", "namespaces"):      1,
				action("get", "serviceaccounts"): 1,
			},
		},
	}

	runApplyTest(t, testCase)
}

func TestApply_IstioNotInstalledInOneCluster(t *testing.T) {
	testCase := &applyTestCase{
		clusters: []*Cluster{cluster0IstioNotInstalled, clusters[1], clusters[2]},
		config:   apiConfig,
		initObjs: map[string][]runtime.Object{
			cluster0IstioNotInstalled.clusterName: {kubeSystemNamespaces[0]},
			clusters[1].clusterName:               {pilotServiceAccount, pilotTokenSecrets[1], kubeSystemNamespaces[1]},
			clusters[2].clusterName:               {pilotServiceAccount, pilotTokenSecrets[2], kubeSystemNamespaces[2]},
		},
		wantSecrets: map[string][]*v1.Secret{
			cluster0IstioNotInstalled.clusterName: {},
			clusters[1].clusterName:               {remoteSecretClusters[2], pilotTokenSecrets[1]},
			clusters[2].clusterName:               {remoteSecretClusters[1], pilotTokenSecrets[2]},
		},
		wantActions: map[string]map[string]int{
			cluster0IstioNotInstalled.clusterName: {
				action("list", "secrets"): 1,
			},
			clusters[1].clusterName: {
				action("get", "secrets"):         2,
				action("list", "secrets"):        2,
				action("create", "secrets"):      1,
				action("get", "namespaces"):      1,
				action("get", "serviceaccounts"): 1,
			},
			clusters[2].clusterName: {
				action("get", "secrets"):         2,
				action("list", "secrets"):        2,
				action("create", "secrets"):      1,
				action("get", "namespaces"):      1,
				action("get", "serviceaccounts"): 1,
			},
		},
	}

	runApplyTest(t, testCase)
}

func TestApply_DisableRegistryInOneCluster(t *testing.T) {
	testCase := &applyTestCase{
		clusters: []*Cluster{clusters[0], cluster1DisableRegistryJoin, clusters[2]},
		config:   apiConfig,
		initObjs: map[string][]runtime.Object{
			clusters[0].clusterName:                 {pilotServiceAccount, pilotTokenSecrets[0], kubeSystemNamespaces[0]},
			cluster1DisableRegistryJoin.clusterName: {pilotServiceAccount, pilotTokenSecrets[1], kubeSystemNamespaces[1]},
			clusters[2].clusterName:                 {pilotServiceAccount, pilotTokenSecrets[2], kubeSystemNamespaces[2]},
		},
		wantSecrets: map[string][]*v1.Secret{
			clusters[0].clusterName:                 {remoteSecretClusters[2], pilotTokenSecrets[0]},
			cluster1DisableRegistryJoin.clusterName: {pilotTokenSecrets[1]},
			clusters[2].clusterName:                 {remoteSecretClusters[0], pilotTokenSecrets[2]},
		},
		wantActions: map[string]map[string]int{
			clusters[0].clusterName: {
				action("get", "secrets"):         2,
				action("list", "secrets"):        2,
				action("create", "secrets"):      1,
				action("get", "namespaces"):      1,
				action("get", "serviceaccounts"): 1,
			},
			clusters[1].clusterName: {
				action("list", "secrets"):        2,
				action("get", "namespaces"):      1,
				action("get", "serviceaccounts"): 1,
				action("get", "secrets"):         1,
			},
			clusters[2].clusterName: {
				action("get", "secrets"):         2,
				action("list", "secrets"):        2,
				action("create", "secrets"):      1,
				action("get", "namespaces"):      1,
				action("get", "serviceaccounts"): 1,
			},
		},
	}

	runApplyTest(t, testCase)
}

func TestApply_JoinClusterToExistingMesh(t *testing.T) {
	// Cluster 0 and 1 are in mesh. Adding cluster 2.
	testCase := &applyTestCase{
		clusters: clusters[:],
		config:   apiConfig,
		initObjs: map[string][]runtime.Object{
			clusters[0].clusterName: {pilotServiceAccount, pilotTokenSecrets[0], kubeSystemNamespaces[0], remoteSecretClusters[1]},
			clusters[1].clusterName: {pilotServiceAccount, pilotTokenSecrets[1], kubeSystemNamespaces[1], remoteSecretClusters[0]},
			clusters[2].clusterName: {pilotServiceAccount, pilotTokenSecrets[2], kubeSystemNamespaces[2]},
		},
		wantSecrets: map[string][]*v1.Secret{
			clusters[0].clusterName: {remoteSecretClusters[1], remoteSecretClusters[2], pilotTokenSecrets[0]},
			clusters[1].clusterName: {remoteSecretClusters[0], remoteSecretClusters[2], pilotTokenSecrets[1]},
			clusters[2].clusterName: {remoteSecretClusters[0], remoteSecretClusters[1], pilotTokenSecrets[2]},
		},
		wantActions: map[string]map[string]int{
			clusters[0].clusterName: {
				action("get", "secrets"):         3,
				action("list", "secrets"):        2,
				action("create", "secrets"):      1,
				action("get", "namespaces"):      1,
				action("get", "serviceaccounts"): 1,
			},
			clusters[1].clusterName: {
				action("get", "secrets"):         3,
				action("list", "secrets"):        2,
				action("create", "secrets"):      1,
				action("get", "namespaces"):      1,
				action("get", "serviceaccounts"): 1,
			},
			clusters[2].clusterName: {
				action("get", "secrets"):         3,
				action("list", "secrets"):        2,
				action("create", "secrets"):      2,
				action("get", "namespaces"):      1,
				action("get", "serviceaccounts"): 1,
			},
		},
	}

	runApplyTest(t, testCase)
}


On August 28, 2018, the Cumberland School of Law chapter of the Federalist Society hosted a panel discussion entitled "State Judges, Federal Courts, and Judicial Supremacy: Constitutionality of Roy Moore's Removals." The Federalist Society held the discussion in the John L. Carroll Moot Courtroom at Cumberland School of Law. Both law students and faculty attended the discussion and had the opportunity to ask questions of the panelists.
← Oral Argument Preview: Ghee v. USAble Mutual Insurance Co.


text:
Coleman inmates served steak by unpaid guards
Cleve R. Wootson Jr. / The Washington Post
With the federal government shutdown solidly into its third week, there is no shortage of hypocritical or ironic or just plain sad moments to further enrage apoplectic taxpayers:
There are the overflowing port-a-potties and trash cans at national parks, reports of Vice President Mike Pence's scheduled $10,000 pay raise, shuttered Smithsonian museums and the image of a relaxed-looking Nancy Pelosi vacationing at a Hawaiian resort where rooms top out north of $5,000 a night.
Joe Rojas, a union leader and a guard at Coleman Federal Correctional Complex in Sumter County, would like to add another scene to the growing list: an unpaid federal prison employee, working on New Year's Day, serving a steak supper to convicted murderers, gang members and terrorists.
For inmates at Coleman, New Year's Day lunch was grilled steak, steamed rice with gravy, black-eyed peas, green beans, macaroni and cheese, a choice of garlic biscuits or whole wheat bread and an assortment of holiday pies.
The feast was served by not-particularly-festive prison guards and workers who have no idea when they will receive their next paycheck — but who have to come to work anyway because they work in crucial public safety jobs.
"We're already stressed. Outside the shutdown, the job is stressful," said Rojas, who has been a prison guard since 1995 and, as soon as his car clears inspection, will be an Uber driver. "Now you've got the shutdown, you're coming to work, and then you see this."
"They're using federal workers in a game of chicken. Who's going to blink first? We're a pawn," he said. "I didn't sign up for this. I signed up for this job to protect society and to have a good government job so when I retire I can have a pension, not to be used in a game of chicken."
Chicken remains a sore subject for Rojas. Talking with colleagues in other facilities, he learned that federal inmates in Brooklyn feasted on Cornish hen and prisoners in Minnesota got chicken wings on New Year's Day.
The guards weren't the only people in the facility who understood the irony of the situation. The inmates, Rojas said, were "eating like kings and then laughing at us."
Others bragged about the filling meal in emails that were screened by prison personnel for safety reasons. Some were copied by employees and sent to Rojas.
"Ima end up fat i been eatin like a boss all week i just had steak, pie, chicken, potatoes, salad mac nd cheese rice all type of (things)," one wrote. "bro ibe workin out for (nothing)"
In a statement to NBC News, the Bureau of Prisons said holiday meals are "planned weeks in advance, including as happened here in advance of the government shutdown."
The meals help "promote morale for the inmate population because they are separated from their families," the bureau said.
Rojas remains miffed at the steak, but he says he's most concerned with the effects of a protracted government shutdown on employees who work in an already-dangerous job. In addition to an assortment of gang members and murderers, Coleman houses terrorists and a Somali pirate. It was also home to gangster-turned-FBI-informant Whitey Bulger before he died.
These criminals are being guarded by people "putting in 16 hours a day," Rojas said, and many are picking up side jobs to be able to afford gas to make it to the prison facility. If they are tired or distracted, bad things will happen, he said.
"These inmates are not here for singing too loud at a church," Rojas said. "These are dangerous felons. We're working with killers. We're working with terrorists. All these guys do is think and hatch plans and figure out how to get weapons. It's like a molotov cocktail waiting to explode."


Concordia Administrative Information System (CAIS) is a consortium of higher education campuses within The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) for the operation of a common administrative information system. CAIS is an entity of the Concordia University System (CUS). CAIS has been serving the administrative computing needs of higher education for over 45 years.