#ameba pico

[leviroyale]

MMO COOKIE OCS [8/19]

AMEBA PICO - Candied Rose Cookie

Deep Cherry Cookie’s trusted C.HE.R.I agents

Rose Cookie’s Cousin

Trusted AND fashionable agent.

Usually goes in the most extreme and mind-boggling missions and was able to succeed them

Her chill and playful nature somehow annoys Deep Cherry cuz he thinks she doesn’t take missions seriously

In reality, she’s been on missions for so long, nothing new excites her. So she goes with the flow

Chill, Kinda playful, Loves guessing the main motivations of many missions she was in, before completing them

Interactions below vvvv

[threecheersforsuccess]

20241106

Playing Cooking Mama 2 to feel better. I think I would really like this kind of bento. It could benefit from more veggies though! I've also started playing various Japanese games like Nicotto Town and Pigg Party. I used to play both TinierMe and Ameba Pico (pretty much the English versions of both virtual worlds) when I was really young in the 2000s. I didn't even understand a lick of what was going on then, so lol playing it in Japanese is no difference.

[tomoko-minakuchi]

[bracrap]

When I found this game on Facebook many years ago I was OBSESSED and more obsessed than I was about Yoville or FarmVille! This game was my life and it’s sickening. It left Facebook and was online but everything was is Japanese and I was DEVASTATED

Yo who remembers ameba pico

[freeengineer]

Ameba pico virtual world games

In March 2009 Ameba launched Ameba Pico, a Facebook app for the English market based on the virtual community Ameba Pigg. In December 2009, Ameba launched Ameba Now, a micro-blogging platform competing with Twitter.

Are there any virtual worlds like Ameba Pigg?Īmeba (Japanese pronunciation: アメーバ, Amēba) is a Japanese blogging and social networking website.

Are there any games like Ameba Pico fiction Earth?.

What can you do In Ameba Pico virtual world?.

Is there a game like Roblox for adults?.

The stand alone Ameba Pico site allows you to check your avatar from anywhere. If you aren’t anywhere near your Facebook, you don’t have to ignore your Ameba Pico! You can use to check on your Pico. If you give them out, you will be more likely to be given them from the players you meet online! Use the Stand Alone Ameba Pico Site That’s why, when you have the chance, you should give avatars that you like Pico Props. By completing it, you will earn 5 Tokens! Use Pico Props in Ameba Pico!īy getting Pico Props from other Picos in the virtual world, you can earn Gummies and Tokens. That’s why when you start the game, make sure to take the tutorial. Although the concept is confusing, the point is that you want to earn as many Tokens as you can in Ameba Pico. Tokens are harder to get and can mainly only be won in a game called Gacha (which you pay for with Gummies). Since the in game currency, Ameba Coins, can only be bought it’s important to stock up on the free currency called Tokens. Use our Ameba Pico tips to start your game today! Ameba Pico Tips Take the Ameba Pico Tutorial This truly is a global game you can talk and play with Picos from around the globe. Because the game is using this site, you can come in contact with English, Japanese, and French players. The game is global and the Facebook version is linked to the site itself using Facebook Connect. The last, and best, part that stands out about Ameba Pico is the stand-alone site connected to the game. This seems to be a fairly convoluted way to earn extra cash in a social game, but it does keep things fresh. You can play the game for 300 Gummies and you will be awarded with a random prize. You can win more Tokens in the virtual game called Gacha. When you go through the tutorial at the beginning of the game, you are given 5 Tokens. Token, this third currency, are used to buy anything within the game. This may seem harsh, but to even out the balance between Gummies and Ameba Coins, there is a third currency. Purchases can only be done with the virtual currency that you can buy, called Ameba Coins. The earnable in-game currency is called Gummies the unique thing about Gummies is that it is not used for purchases. The only part of Ameba Pico that may be confusing is the currency situation. This alone gives players a chance to truly immerse themselves in the game as a Pico, since it feels like they are traveling around a REAL city. This includes decorations for your room and also different clothes and accessories for your Pico. The stores in each area have items that are specific to that area.

They are not simply visual changes to where your Pico is hanging out, but they also host different stores that you can shop at. What is nice about traveling around the Pico virtual world is that you can interact differently in each area. Your Pico avatar can visit an area in downtown NYC, the island around the Statue of Liberty, different parts of Central Park, the New York Academy, and more. Each area has a different theme to it, but all of the themes are parts of New York City. These areas are basically chat rooms that have limits on how many users can be in them. He world that your Pico will live in is divided into different areas that you can travel to.

All of the options are aesthetically pleasing and bright. You can customize the hair (both front and back), the face, the makeup, the outfits and the room for your Pico. This isn’t a bad thing though, it’s a vast improvement over YoVille. The customization is very advanced, even though the animations are strictly 2D and cartoonish. Each gamer creates a completely customizable avatar in which they use to interact with other Picos from around the world in a virtual city. Other virtual world games, like YoVille by Zynga, have the same goal as Ameba Pico. The game, by the internet company CyberAgent America, Inc., called Ameba Pico. Ameba Pigg, a popular Japanese social networking game, is finally coming to the U.S.

[lumigita]

O nascimento da morte

Esse sentimento nasceu no dia que morri.

Nascer.

Morrer.

Sentimento.

Dia.

Esses conceitos também surgiram para mim depois da minha morte. Se é que dá para chamar de morte o que ocorreu comigo. Eu mesmo não existia, como o ser que sou agora, para criar tal fenômeno. Se não é certo chamar de morte, como devo me referir a isso? Uma mudança de estado? Reformulação de status? Seria muita ousadia chamar de renascimento. Tanto quando não estava morto, não estava mais vivo. Mas o que seria estar vivo? Sangue pulsando? Amebas não tem sangue e os biólogos os consideram vida. Pensar? O filósofo diria que é o necessário para existir, no entanto é o mesmo que estar vivo? Ter uma alma? Bem, se essa fosse a resposta eu ainda era vivo. Era tudo que eu era no agora. Talvez eu só tenha deixado a matéria e me tornado energia. Como o calor do sol, que ironicamente trazia vida à terra.

O tempo que passei caminhando pela terra — Sem poder comer, dormir, ser ouvido, visto e tocado. —, me permitiu pensar muito sobre essas classificações. Por mais que eu nunca tenha chegado a um consenso interno. Ser o defensor e atacando das minhas próprias formulações não deviam ajudar na chegada de uma conclusão.

Não conclui, também, se era essa falta de resolução ou consequência inata, que aquele sentimento primordial crescia com o tempo. Os picos apareciam sempre que algum companheiro do meu estado de “vida” sumia. O que não demorou muito para parar de acontecer. Só mais alguns ciclos elípticos terrestres e não restava mais nenhum rosto conhecido. Ainda consegui me apegar a algumas criaturas que observava. Me torturando masoquistamente, sabendo que um dia eles também sumiram. Sabe se lá para onde. Eu gostaria de saber. Quem sabe a solidão — Outro conceito que aprendi naquele status. — não pertencesse ao lugar misterioso.

Provavelmente a única vez que não senti aquele tal sentimento, quando alguém sumiu, foi no desaparecimento daquela pessoa. Aquele ser bípede que me apunhalou com um pedaço de osso. Roubando minha caça. MINHA caça. Eu a persegui. Eu a matei. Eu a trouxe aos meus colegas. Não só, não senti a sensação corriqueira como pareceu anestesiá-la. Apenas por um breve momento, pois logo depois ela se alastrou novamente. Enquanto eu observava outros, parecido ao que eu já fui, sentados em volta de uma fogueira.

Hoje eu sei o nome dessa sensação. Na verdade, desse conjunto de sensações. Inveja, tristeza, raiva, medo, algumas outras que ainda não inventaram nomes e principalmente injustiça. Sim, principalmente. Porque esse sentimento foi o ladrilho que me guiou até aqui. Felicidade não é a palavra mais correta para o destino que busco, ainda que tenha a vivenciado. Realização, conclusão e propósito. Esses são alguns dos motivos que me fizeram aceitar aquele pacto. Sem hesitar, sem mesmo saber nomear tudo isso que é tão nítido agora, eu sabia que era a escolha certa.

Num daqueles momentos terrestres que o sol — O meu momento de mais ansiedade. A lua logo chegaria, junto à escuridão. Ela acolhia, ao contrário da luz que parecia me engolir. — ilumina apenas as copas das árvores, três criaturas apareceram para mim. O primeiro deles, autointitulado Sean, me convenceu a alimentar algo chamado perdão. Perdoar meu assassino, meus colegas que me esqueceram, aqueles que não me enxergavam e os deuses — Outra coisa nova. — por não terem ouvido minhas angústias antes.

O segundo, lindamente chamado Darcel, me deu um presente. Como meu algoz não andava mais pela terra, ele me deu imagens mentais. Eu voltava a vida e apunhalava meu agressor com o osso que retirei do meu peito. Devo confessar, o frenesi dessa visão foi melhor que a anestesia do desaparecimento dele. Foi o único que ansiei e agradeci por Darcel. Para os outros, eu aceitei Sean e a paz que ele trazia.

O terceiro deles, Quinn. A realeza maior e autoridade, como nome fazia trocadilho, queria me propor um trato. Um pacto. O primeiro pacto dos demônios. Esclareceu-me que seu princípio era da troca justa. Com isso me perguntou o que eu mais queria. Pensei que seria o que Darcel me deu, mas, na verdade, eu almejei outra coisa. Reivindiquei saber para onde os outros iam. Desejava conhecer o depois. Levou-me ao além sem pedir nada em troca. Afinal, como me informou, era para onde eu devia ter ido a princípio. Isso se eu não tivesse criado algo que nem os deuses previram. A justiça e a injustiça. Algo que me privou da paz, do descanso antes da reencarnação.

Os três deuses sentiram a desordem no meu coração no segundo que ele parou de bater, mas não acreditaram ser possível. Como um humano entenderia o propósito de um deus? Um deus que ainda nem sequer havia se apresentado à humanidade. Racionalizando agora, foi arrogante essa confissão deles. Quando um deus pode se apresentar a um humano antes deles decidirem acreditar? Araci só foi adorada porque subia ao céu. Rudá só amoleceu corações porque humanos decidiram se olhar nos olhos. Ceuci tinha o que proteger porque tribos foram surgindo. Assim por diante.

Às vezes é difícil manter o foco. Muitos milênios, muitas memórias e muitos pensamentos. Como os deuses me ensinaram, nada é infinito a não ser o tempo e o nada. Nem mesmo a mente deles e muito menos a minha capacidade cognitiva. Então, aqui estou eu, novamente perdendo o foco dessa história.

Voltando, então. Após conhecer o depois devo dizer que fiquei decepcionada. Viver, além, descansar, renascer, viver, além, descansar, renascer…Me dava sono só de imaginar e eu nem podia mais dormir. Constatando isso, decidi o que queria de Quinn. O poder de não deixar que mais nenhuma alma andasse sozinha pela terra sem ter para aonde ir. Fui atendido prontamente. Em troca eu ajudaria os deuses a decidir para onde levar as almas. Eu seria a morte.

Como um ciclo fechado. Um isopor com gelo derretendo ou um jardim cultivado dentro de uma garrafa vedada. O poder do inferno — Assim como da terra. — era proporcional às almas que pertenciam ali. Energia se transformando, mas nunca desaparecendo. Então eles precisavam de novas almas habitando ali. Eu seria o juiz, junto aos deuses, que decidiria quais tinham o perfil para caber ao submundo.

No encabeçamento eles buscavam as almas que Darcel ansiava, porém com o meu pacto os injustiçados se tornaram os participantes mais importantes. As almas que buscavam justiça desciam juntas as sentenciadas para punição. Nem todas conseguiam pactos. Alguns por sua ânsia ser tão simples que os deuses entregavam de bom grado, outros por vir do puro egocentrismo à ilusão de injustiça. Como estar no fim de classificação do vestibular e pensar que cota tirou a vaga.

Os pactos se tornavam mais frequentes com as formações de sociedades. Me questionava se a aglomeração causava violência ou o surgimento da fala e pensamentos complexos permitiram às pessoas criarem divergências sobre o que era justo. Pendi a segunda opção ao conhecer um jovem rapaz de olhos amarelos. Olhos cativantes por sinal. Morreu assim como eu, pelas mãos de outro igual. No entanto, ele foi um sacrifício. Seu povo acreditava que seus olhos únicos foram a causa de má sorte. Na hora de julgar sua alma, me vi pela primeira vez como morte, sem saber o que fazer. Era palpável o ressentimento no coração dele, mas também no coração da aldeia. Sob a ótica de quem eu devia seguir meu discernimento? Devia levar em conta as “leis” criadas por aquele povo como norma? Dar aquela alma a chance de um pacto ou enviar a condenação?

Com o passar dos séculos e milênios fui me orgulhando da minha decisão. Ouvir os costumes que os humanos criavam era essencial para uma decisão justa, mas nem sempre era o peso mais importante na balança. As leis humanas raramente eram completamente justas e suas visões limitadas pelo próprio tempo e espaço. E, infelizmente, não foi a última vez que me deparei com aquele impasse. A aversão ao diferente é um dilema persistente, apesar das crescentes filosofias da diversidade.

Posso afirmar que nunca me arrependi de uma decisão? Não. Poderia dizer que “Até mesmo um deus erra.”, mas como seguidor da justiça isso seria blasfêmia. Seria fugir da minha responsabilidade como representante do inferno. Busquei me redimir, quando possível, seguindo os princípios de Quinn. Aceitei os rancores daqueles que ferir, dando solução aos seus corações. Assim como Darcel me deu no passado. Me perdoei e recebi o perdão de outros, sob os ensinamentos de Sean.

[typhra]

does anyone here remember this. ameba pico.

[hasanizzu]

Idea Journal #5

Halo semwa, pada idea journal kali ini saya akan membahas tentang isu mental health lagi nihh. Seperti yang sudah saya bahas sebelumnya isu mental health sangatlah perlu untuk diperhatikan karena hal ini masih tabu di mata masyarakat, namun belakangan ini isu mental health mulai sering diangkat di berbagai campaign. Hal ini merupakan langkah positif dalam mengangkat isu mental health. Naah maka kali ini saya ingin sedikit membahas tentang ide saya dalam isu ini. setelah pada kelas kemarin ditugaskan untuk meriset dan wawancara beberapa orang tentang apa yang akan saya angkat, akhirnya saya berhasil mewawancara beberapa teman saya. Hasil dari wawancara tersebut dapat disimpulkan bahwa kebanyakan kasus penyakit kesehatan mental adalah karena masih banyaknya masyarakat yang memandang hal tersebut lebay atau dikatakan gila. Hal ini menyebabkan banyaknya orang yang kurang aware dengan penyakit mental ini sehingga enggan atau malu untuk bercerita, konsultasi atau sekedar periksa ke ahli kesehatan mental tentang masalah yang dialaminya.

Ide saya kali ini hanyalah merupakan ide yang terlintas tentang bagaimana orang yang mengalami penyakit ini memiliki wadah dan kemudahan dalam bercerita, sharing atau bahkan konsultasi tentang penyakit mental yang dialaminya. Disini saya terpikirkan untuk membuat sebuah game yang berbentuk virtual world (referensi game ini saya ambil dari game ameba pico), dimana semua pemain game tersebut merupakan orang-orang yang telah terindikasi memiliki penyakit mental. Dalam game ini pemain dapat membuat sebuah karakter yang mewakili dirinya, setelah itu mereka dapat bercerita atau konsultasi secara online kepada admin game tersebut yang merupakan ahli psikologi dengan mudah karena mereka tidak perlu bertatap muka terlebih dahulu, serta tanpa rasa malu karena pandangan masyarakat. Selain itu pemain dapat bertemu dengan pemain lainnya yang memiliki masalah kesehatan mental juga, dimana disitu mereka bisa saling berinteraksi dan sharing tentang masalahnya dengan orang yang sama-sama mengerti atau sepemikiran dengan mereka, sehingga mereka bisa lebih terbuka serta dapat saling memberi insight atau saran terhadap sesama penderita. 

Selain itu game ini dibuat dengan konsep yang family friendly sehingga dapat dimainkan oleh segala usia serta dikemas dengan menarik dengan adanya fitur membuat rumah hingga membeli pakaian untuk masing-masing karakter. 

dibawah saya ingin memberikan sedikit gambaran dari game ameba pico,

gambar 1, merupakan proses konseling pemain dengan admin atau psikolog online.

gambar 2, interaksi dan komunikasi antar pemain,

gambar 3, karakter beserta rumah yang dapat dibuat sesuka hati,

mungkin sekian dan sedikit gambaran tentang ide saya kali ini, mungkin akan dijelaskan secara lebih detil di idea journal selanjutnya, saya tidak tau haha. Terima kasih.

[napinthecemetery]

i wish ameba pico was still around. just wanna log in and talk to randos at pico square

[whatsupjme]

Unlock Your Phone, Access Life

*PING!*

[2021]

I immediately grab my phone to look at the notification that I just received, it turns out to be a Snapchat streak from my best friend that we continuously do for quite a while now. A streak is a feature in Snapchat wherein you and your friends can send each other snaps of your life or whereabouts every day for as long as you want. This has been a daily routine for me and in a way, it keeps me in check of my day starting already.

*PING!*

[2012-2015]

Yes, it is nearly impossible for me to not ignore the sound my phone makes every time since I always have it with me 24/7. I became very attached with my phone back when I was in high school, it was an era of me being addicted to Wattpad stories about my favorite band—One Direction.

*PING!*

[2013]

Then I once again entered a phase where I created a stan account for those British boys dancing above on Twitter because that is what everyone my age is doing. It opened me to a lot of lessons on how to be responsible and civil netizen, just like in real life, the internet can be full of different personalities that I may or may not get along with. The 2013 Jaymee was very focused on her phone, refreshing her feed every 5 seconds to see if any other fan accounts has One Direction updates that will surely have a trending hashtag to follow.

*PING!*

[2009-now]

I made my first Facebook account back when I was around 8 or 9 years old since the platform offered interesting and viral games like the classic Tetris, Ameba Pico Game, and many more. Now, I use it for keeping myself updated on the life of my friends to see how they are doing and post stuff that I want to share to them as well.

With this, I've come to a realization that the reason why most of us these day are on our phones is because this mobile device has provided us easier means of communication that is instant and convenient. And with its emergence with the internet, a revolutionary combination has been born that will forever change the way human beings will live in this planet. Then, modernization even leveled up with the invention of smartphones which is also considered as a computer-phone hybrid since it almost does everything a computer set can do. A smartphone represent two important characteristics of new media:

PORTABLE

and

PERSONALIZED

Especially now that mobile games are gaining much recognition, it ignited more users in being consistently in their mobile phones.

Like how I am very much into Mobile Legends Bang Bang (MLBB), I always make it to a point that I get a chance to play after my classes or school works that I need to get done first. It started when my younger cousins were playing and I got curious as to how the game works. Then they explained the ropes of MLBB, surprisingly, I got so curious that I downloaded it in my phone for the first-hand experience. Since then, I never stopped playing the app but I always make it to a point that I remind myself that I should play in moderation and don't make playing MLBB as a whole day activity.

Mobile phones have caused big changes in our society as a whole, politics have adapted in the algorithm of social media platforms while socio-cultural conceptions have affected almost all generations that have experienced technological modernization. So as much as this highly portable and personalized mobile phones provides us endless content that we can spend majority of our time in, it is still important to assess the things that truly makes you happy and start from there.

—♥

[fllaviavanilla]

i was this cute at ameba pico AND NOW THE GAME IS NOWHERE TO FIND. rip to all my ameba gold that i've bought with real money.

[al-lewinsky]

rping on this n ameba pico is the reason why i am the way i am today

[mastercoldrice]

Story Time! I've always been the recluse since I was a kid. And they thought my Internet addiction just made me worse. Idk. Maybe. I got separated from my irl friends when I transferred schools and the Internet was where I've found new "real friends." I started playing Ameba Pico back in 2011 but didn't give it much attention until 2012 when I lost my best friend irl. I was depressed and wouldn't go out of the house. I eventually dropped out of school for the nth time because I never felt like I connected with the real world at that time and everything just reminded me of my loss. And that was when I started playing Pico everyday. I've found friends who actually listened, and made me feel like they actually cared. Around December or 2012 though, Pico had to shutdown and in order to keep in touch with each other, my friends and I moved to Ameba Pigg, the og Japanese online community game that has been running since 2009. It's where lonely people feel less lonely, because we get to be alone but together lol. It has become our escape from the cold, harsh world. On there, we get to forget about our sadness for a little bit. We get to talk about our feelings more freely. We get to be ourselves in cute 2D avatars. For us lonely people, Pigg has become our refuge. It has been so for 10 long years. But in just a few hours from now, this game will be shutting down. It's sad to think that this little world of ours will disappear. Sad to think that we won't be able to see or talk to most of the friends we met here ever again. But in those 7 years that I've played this game, I feel grateful. Grateful for the lessons it taught, the time wasted having fun, the refuge I've found, grateful for the friendships I've made. This game has been with me while I was (and still am) growing up. For that, I am grateful. I hope that even when this game ends, the friendship built from this game would still continue. Thank you, Pigg Buddies. Thank you, Ameba Pigg. (ﾉ>ω<)ﾉ https://www.instagram.com/p/B5kNpP6p3Wc/?igshid=fz6m02gk42wf

[pgmadinfinite-blog]

O site Ameba Times publicou um relatório que indica que em 2018 havia cerca de 4 000 arcades no Japão, bem a baixo do pico que foi de 26 000 arcades em 1986 No artigo, os gerentes do Tokyo arcades...

[soradinnersready]

does anyone remember that game ameba pico from like 6 years ago

[ericpoptone]

Last Sunday, the Super Bowl took place. For the 98.7% of the world’s population who didn’t watch this televised spectacle; it featured billionaire Enos Stanley Kroenke‘s Rams in competition with billionaire Robert Kraft’s Patriots; the musical stylings of the Empress of Soul (Gladys Knight), Proactiv’s Maroon 5, Kardashian rapper Travis Scott, and Big Boi; as well as no doubt hilarious advertisements for products sold by Amazon, Anheuser-Busch, CBS, Mars, Microsoft, and Walt Disney.

Despite the fact that most Americans don’t watch the soporific Super Bowl — an estimated 70% of the country did not tune in for any part of the roughly nine-hour long spectacle during which time the ball was actually in play for only about twelve minutes — Super Bowl Sunday has emerged, in recent years, into what some trade publications appetizingly describe it as the “second largest food consumption event of the year” after Thanksgiving. It all seems a bit Ancient Rome to me — and as someone who loves holidays feasts (especially pagan ones), I decided last December to host a Super Bowl party without any Super Bowl — something I call “Thanksgiving II.”

One of the things I love about Thanksgiving [I] is its pronounced autumnal character (autumn is one of my top four favorite seasons). On Thanksgiving, even people who think that “seasonal eating” means Shamrock Shakes in spring and Pumpkin Spice Lattes in fall get closer to the actual spirit. Apples, baked winter squash, beans and rice, Beaujolais Nouveau, boiled onions, Brussels sprouts, cider, collard greens, cornbread, cranberry sauce, fruit cake, grapes, hickory nut cake, lasagna, mashed potatoes and gravy, parsnip fritters, pecan pie, pickles, potato salad, pumpkin pie, sauerkraut, stuffing, and sweet potatoes all make sense to eat at autumn’s conclusion.

Thanksgiving II — which falls on the first Sunday of February, takes place near the end of winter — about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox and toward the end of winter by meteorological reckoning. It occurs, in other words, around the same time as Imbolc, Candlemas (and thus, Groundhog Day), Setsubun, Lunar New Year, and of course, Lupercalia. It also thus marks the beginning of several vegetables’ “spring seasons.” Carrots are back, as is celery, which is handy because both are commonly eaten at Super Bowl Party’s dipped in Blue cheese dressing. Small, sweet, turnips also appear around this time, and I mixed them with potatoes to make a sort of mashed “neeps and tatties.” Having more potatoes than I could handle, I also roasted some with garlic and rosemary from the garden. I also cooked collard greens — now at the peak of their season — which I would’ve mixed with turnip greens but they’d already been removed by the time they made it to the market.

The roots of Thanksgiving II are in an annual American football competition, first held in 1967. It seems, from pictures, that straw boaters were once typically worn for such events — although I’m not sure why and sadly that practice seems to have faded long ago and the favored headgear of today’s jocks — regardless of sport — is the lowly baseball cap, usually unflatteringly worn backward.

Interestingly, whereas the first Thanksgiving was observed by the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony, the first Super Bowl paired the team of Greenbay, Wisconsin‘s Indian Packing Company with the Chiefs team of Kansas City, Missouri — two teams at least nominally connected to Native America. The annual match used to take place in January but was moved to February in 2002, following a postponement of the season on account of the terror attacks of 11 September, which took place the previous year.

This being my first Thanksgiving II, it was a bit of a learning experience…

I had decided that I would bake the pizzas at 3:30, when the actual football game begins. This was another mistake, because due to the large number of guests and the potluck nature of the buffet, there was also a massive quantity of non-pizza foods including salad, seitan jerky, grapes, pies (pecan and pumpkin), pigs-in-a-blanket, veggie chicken, as well as cheese and crackers. The vegan neighbor brought a jug of kombucha as well as a dish made of broccoli and kinwa. Because of the pre-pizza feast, by kick-off, everyone was too full to eat any more and the pizzas were thus never baked. Next year I will serve the traditional pizzas alongside the sides, pass-arounds, and hors d’oeuvres.

After pizza, the second-most traditional food at Super Bowl parties is the Buffalo wing — a food made of a section of a chicken’s wing which is deep-fried and subsequently coated or dipped in a sauce composed of a vinegar-based cayenne pepper sauce and melted butter. It was invented at Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York by Teressa Bellissimo. Although invented in 1964, I don’t remember ever hearing of them until sometime around the early ’00s, perhaps after the 2003-founding of WingStreet and incidentally, around the time cauliflower wings began to appear on the menus of sports bars I occasionally found myself dragged to. Because wings are apparently so important (and I am vegetarian), I had planned to buy mock chicken at Silom in Thai Town by one guest made cauliflower wings from a questionable recipe (it called for breading). I’m still not entirely clear about “dipping sauces,” although a co-worker endeavored to explain them to me. Is a dipping sauce distinct from a condiment? Do people make their own or buy them? Where those sauces developed on Breaking Bad for Pollos Hermanos (e.g. “Kick-ass Cajun, “Franch,” and “Honey mustard”)? Still not sure, I put out bottles of brown sauce, dumpling sauce, gogigui sauce, hoisin sauce, lechon sauce, salsa picante, and sriracha.

Chips, both potato and corn varieties, are traditional fare for Super Bowl parties — as are their associated dips and sauces such guacamole, pico de gallo, and “queso.” I first experienced “queso” a few years ago and at first, wondered why these Anglx friends of mine kept consistently (and I assumed, pretentiously) referring to cheese by its Spanish name. I soon learned that, in the Tex-Mex vernacular, not only does “queso” not refer to cheese — it doesn’t even refer to a dish made with cheese at all. Instead it refers to a corn chip dip made of “pasteurized processed cheese food product” (e.g. cheese-adjacent Velveeta®) and Ro-Tel® brand canned tomato and chili mix. In other words, it’s a bit like the Thanksgiving II equivalent of Campbell’s® green bean casserole — a corporate creation which despite its corporate origins is nevertheless pretty tasty. I put in a request from my friends who introduced me to the concoction but they instead brought a bag of pita bread.

Pretzels, popcorn, and nuts are also popular — the sort of salty snacks typically associated with dive bars and mass-produced and watery lagers. On this day, Americans consume around 424 million liters of beer and 94% of it is a macrobrew produced by either Anheuser-Busch or MillerCoors. As a wine drinker and this being winter, I was leaning toward full-bodied reds like Bordeaux blends, Cabernet Sauvignons, Malbecs, Syrahs, and Zinfandels. Had I gone white, I’d have chosen an oaked Chardonnay. It was pretty chilly out, in fact, and rain was pouring down. I thus entertained the notion of mulling the wine… but I’m glad that I didn’t. After trying to pace myself with red wine for nine hours, I learned just why people drinking for the long-haul favor lager.

So next year, I’ll bake the pizzas at the beginning, make sure queso is accounted for, buy lots of lager, and maybe start a bit later in the afternoon. Oh, and should you celebrate your own Thanksgiving II, the most important thing is to have fun… well that and to not watch the Super Bowl!

Eric Brightwell is an adventurer, writer, rambler, explorer, cartographer, and guerrilla gardener who is always seeking paid writing, speaking, traveling, and art opportunities. He is not interested in generating advertorials, cranking out clickbait, or laboring away in a listicle mill “for exposure.”

Brightwell has written for Angels Walk LA, Amoeblog, Boom: A Journal of California, diaCRITICS, Hidden Los Angeles, and KCET Departures. His art has been featured by the American Institute of Architects, the Architecture & Design Museum, the Craft & Folk Art Museum, Form Follows Function, Los Angeles County Store, the book Sidewalking, Skid Row Housing Trust, and 1650 Gallery. Brightwell has been featured as subject in The Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Magazine, LAist, CurbedLA, Eastsider LA, Boing Boing, Los Angeles, I’m Yours, and on Notebook on Cities and Culture. He has been a guest speaker on KCRW‘s Which Way, LA?, at Emerson College, and the University of Southern California. Art prints of Brightwell’s maps are available from 1650 Gallery. 

Brightwell is currently writing a book about Los Angeles and you can follow him on Ameba, Facebook, Goodreads, Instagram, Mubi, and Twitter.

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  Thanksgiving II; or, a Super Bowl Party for people who hate the Super Bowl Last Sunday, the Super Bowl took place. For the 98.7% of the world's population who didn't watch this televised spectacle; it featured billionaire Enos Stanley Kroenke's Rams in competition with billionaire Robert Kraft's Patriots; the musical stylings of the Empress of Soul (Gladys Knight), Proactiv's Maroon 5, Kardashian rapper Travis Scott, and Big Boi; as well as no doubt hilarious advertisements for products sold by Amazon, Anheuser-Busch, CBS, Mars, Microsoft, and Walt Disney.