#anthropology of the ninja world

[practically-an-x-man]

Your OCs have been obligated by the universe to make a music video! What do they do, and how we'll does it turn out?

Oooh thank you! Fun!

Rae: A stripped-down cover of a rock song she likes - her voice is okay, she can hold a tune but it's a little raspy, but she picked a song with a lot of emotion and personal meaning and the heart in her performance makes up for where her voice falters

Robin: Does it even really matter what she sings? She's an absolutely dynamite singer, anything she put together would turn out to be a good, well-crafted music video.

Madison: You could offer her all the money in the world and she would not sing or dance on camera. Maybe she could produce someone else's music video, or make some sets or props or what have you, but she's not spending one second on camera.

Ophelia: And OKGo-style music video with elaborate sets and a massive Rube Goldberg machine. It turns out fucking awesome and goes viral - people beg for more videos like it, but she doesn't have time for that!

Jasper: Probably pretty standard fare, mainly in the style of early-2000s alt rock since that's a lot of what they listen to. They get permission to film at the coven house and use the witches as extras, so there's some cool, ahem, "visual effects"

Kestrel: Doesn't listen to a lot of modern music, so the music video probably turns into them laying out in a field somewhere, with a lot of other nature shots as camera fodder. It's not the most exciting to watch, but with the song choice and all it's pretty calming.

Katherine: Draws up this really cool, heartstring-tugging animated music video, a la Birds from Imagine Dragons. Most of the comments are complaining about onion-chopping ninjas.

Quinn: The punkest punk rock music video you may have ever seen in your life - and that's saying something, since she can't exactly jump around and dance like crazy the way other punk rockers can. It doesn't even crack a thousand views, but Quinn had a lot of fun making it.

Eris: Just wants to get it over with, so they record a barely-over-a-minute video of them sitting on a stool, playing the oud and singing some kind of lullaby/campfire song in a language that doesn't quite sound familiar to anyone. It doesn't exactly go viral, but it's a hot topic in the anthropology community since it's clearly a very old song. Rick had no idea Eris could play the oud, either.

Nikoletta: Hm... all I can hear is her doing a cover of Tracy Chapman's Fast Car (I've associated the song with her before but here it is again). She's on a wooden stool with an acoustic guitar in her hand, in a room with cotton gauze laid out over every surface. As the song goes on, shadows spread out - over the guitar, the stool, then eventually the walls and floor until it's just Nikoletta sitting in a sea of darkness as she finishes the song.

They barely got the final shot before she passed out due to exhaustion, and production halted for almost a week since she landed herself in the hospital for it. Y'know, they probably could've just done all that with CGI. After the video is posted, there's an ongoing debate about if it was VFX or not - it had to be, right? But it looks so real!

[un-pearable]

What is it with ninjago fans and being anthropology majors you're like the third one I found not including myself

WAIT FR??? where are these other ninjago anthropologists bc i would LOVE to meet them… idk it’s something between the mishmash of real world cultures influencing ninjago’s fascinatingly weird one, the fact that archaeology comes up constantly (usually by accident), the allure of long complicated narratives and their ensuing in-universe histories, and also just. ninjas cool :)

[fineillsignup]

I am constantly warring between “Fantasy writing must have coherent world-building! Things need to make sense! Any time a rule of ordinary reality is broken, it must be because of an internally consistent alternate system!” and

[yes-these-obsessions-are-healthy]

Does anyone else have constant thought experiment/What Ifs?/crossover daydream fantasy things where a bunch of characters from different franchises and series are put into a white room and you’re there as an ambassador to promote cross-universe/cultural understanding between those characters, or are you normal.

It’s not harem, it’s not therapy, it’s not intervention. It’s just..crossover anthropology..Psychology. I want to see how characters from different backgrounds, worlds, and such would interact with each other, *with* the only limit on their actions being that they are immortal in that time-space, and their lethal actions can cause pain and injury, but not permanent death. If they are a character with a curable disease, disability, or whatever, then another character could permanently heal them, though.

Something sort of like the CN bumpers where Johnny Bravo and Samurai Jack are doing laundry, or the whole CN cast is chilling in the movie theatre. I would love to see what cliques or rivalries would form out of a composite of, IDK, characters from all my favorite franchises when their immediate location-, context-based goals are removed.

My nerdy list would obviously include:

Game of Thrones (arguably the most normal group, but medieval.)

Mass Effect (Aliens! Sci fi tech!)

Dragon Age (Magic!)

Arcane (Steampunk and guns!)

Naruto (Ninjas!)

Witcher (Magic! Medieval shit!)

Dishonored (Magic! Assassins! Steampunk!)

Fallout (Tech! Sorta normal people!)

ATLA (Kids on an adventure! Special inner powers!)

Supernatural (Literal living myths! Demons! Two dudes that have already experienced a lot of meta themselves!)

My predictions?

Characters that would gravitate toward each other:

[GoT + Witcher]

[Arcane + Dishonored]

[Naruto + ATLA]

[Mass Effect + Dragon Age]

[Dragon Age + Witcher]

[Supernatural + Fallout]

Specific characters I see really getting along:

Original!Naruto (Naruto) & Aang (ATLA)…really Naruto and the whole Gaang. He’d love Appa after getting over how huge he is.

Geralt [Witcher] and Ned Stark [GoT]; Geralt and Iron Bull [Dragon Age]; Geralt and Corvo [Dishonored]

Solas [Dragon Age] and Javik [Mass Effect]. Hoooooooo boy

Hancock [Fallout 4] + [FREE SPACE] feels like a wild card. If anyone can get past him being a ghoul and doesn’t hurt anybody in his presence, he can get along with anyone.

Potentially Mr. House [F:NV] and Silco [Arcane], if Mr. House’s condescending attitude doesn’t trigger Silco too much. Also potentially Silco and Daud [Dishonored]

Heimerdinger [Arcane] and Pietro [Dishonored]

Morrigan (Dragon Age) and Yennefer (Witcher), but frenemies most definitely.

Tywin Lannister [GoT] and Emhyr var Emreis [Witcher]. Either it’s gonna be bosom buddies or they’ll do a “keep your enemies closer” sort of deal. Both will immediately sense the other as a BAMF and garner the other’s respect, at the very least.

Characters that would either avoid each other or trigger Hostility/Aggro if near each other:

Cersei [GoT] and Morrigan. Cersei and literally everyone that has a mouth, tbh.

Solas and Caesar [F:NV]. Cataclysmic. Do not. Do not. Do not. Do NOT—

Petyr Baelish [GoT] x Everyone. He is going to sour every other character’s default goodwill toward him eventually. He is gonna be the guy no one can stand but no one can get rid of. The more vocal, honest, blunt characters such as Naruto, Silco, Dean, and Geralt are gonna point out his bullshit whenever it comes up.

And that’s all I got because I may want this, but that doesn’t mean I know how characters would actually interact. I have only 3% creativity.

[nodesiretogrowup]

it’s time for my play-by-play review (put some breaks in so it’s not a giant wall of text):

“Here in Duckburg, life is like...a hurricane?” Ha ha theme song reference.

El Pato is Spanish for the duck and that amuses me. Although we call our version of that storm system El Niño, so shouldn’t it have been El Patito?

Mr. Chunk’s EXTRA CHUNKY Chili Chunks

“Could you give us a hand?” *All laugh* In hindsight, he probably should have helped them instead of using the time tub again. He’d still get in trouble for stealing, but he probably would have gotten a less harsh punishment.

“We should have plenty of food we won’t get sick of.” “I said sick from and you know it.” Classic kid logic.

Are the chili dogs a Sonic reference, since Ben is playing him in the upcoming movie?

“Chili dogs put the ‘hooray’ in ‘hooraycane’ party.” That was an awful pun and we should all be mad at Della for it.

“And we all get scurvy. Again.” This is why they need Donald home.

“Is that your parenting strategy or did you get that off a bumper sticker?” Beakley keeps in real.

Beakley and Della have a great dynamic this episode. I honestly think Beakley sees a lot of herself in Della and is trying to teach Della what she wishes someone had taught her when she had her own kid(s).

Louie pushing Huey to the center of the room so that nobody notices him leaving, smart.

“My brother’s gonna be a professional nerd.” Hooray for supporting your brother!

Mary Poppins-CONFIRMED MEMBER OF THE MCDUCK CLAN.

The wooden cane reminds me of Hop Pop’s

“That boy’s up to something.” Crazy thought here but maybe you should be proactive about that and follow him YOURSELF.

Launchpad never ceases to amaze me. How did he nail wood to STAINED GLASS?

That’s coming out of his paycheck.

“You’ve got your own tub?! Lucky.” GET THIS MAN A TUB, STAT!

I hope we get more Louie and Launchpad stuff. The way they play off each other is great.

Louie’s little presentation is great and runs on kid logic.

Bubba is adorable.

BWAMP. Nice sound effect.

“Time Treasures, a subsidiary of Louie Inc. It’s not a crime if it’s lost to time.” Cute, but I doubt that would hold up in court. 

Also, did Louie’s plan/most of the episode remind anyone else of Bender’s Big Score? Bender pulled a similar scheme at the end, only his time traveling caused a rip in the fabric of space. So they got off lucky here?

I totally buy Launchpad keeping a shower cap and rubber ducky on his person at all times. I WANT HIM TO GET HIS BUBBLE BATH, DAMMIT!

“HEY COOL. A DEAD GUY!” Dewey, you really shouldn’t get that excited over corpses. I know Bubba is actually alive, but did they?

Webby, Bubba is taller and buffer than you. I don’t think he qualifies as a “little” guy.

I DEMAND to know about the times Scrooge was frozen in an iceberg! Is Webby counting the time he and Goldie were frozen together?

Metaphors and hypothetical situations don’t work on Della. Maybe it’s a pilot thing. 

“HISTORY IS ALIVE!” I LOVE MY NERD SON.

I love when people meet someone who doesn’t understand them/speaks a different language, they think talking louder will help.

“He’s got a hat like a person!” Is that racist?

Of COURSE Dewey turns the hat backwards.

“Your Funky Fresh ways” These kids have watched waaaay too much 90s media. The little hip shimmy was great.

Chili dogs>tree bark 

“Man, I am learning SO MUCH.” Me too, Webby. Me too.

Did the exchange between Louie and Launchpad about the ethical nature of Time Treasures remind anyone else of when Jim and Launchpad discussed Jim’s plan to get himself into the movie or am I seeing parallels where there aren’t any?

Louie went to the school of Katara. (Both agree it’s ok to steal from pirates)

NOTHING is ever 100% safe

Dewey reeeeeeally wants another sibling. I bet someone is gonna push his mom into the dating scene.

OG DUCKTALES REFERENCE FTW

Bubba-a lyrical genius

Launchpad looks SO LOST while all of this is going on. Though he seems pretty lost in the whole episode.

“At least make him wear a helmet.” Safety lessons!

“SHUT UBBA, MAN.”

“Don’t think about it too hard.” A rule of thumb when dealing w/ time travel.

Poor Launchpad is having an existential crisis.

 And THAT is why we leave time travel to the professionals, Louie. Next time just ask Uncle Scrooge.

How did they make a graphic for Timephoon so fast?

Roxanne is salty, but of course the source is McDuck Manor.

I DEMAND MORE FRANKLOON. Maybe Fenton could write a musical about him. Sidenote: I REALLY WANT a Ben Franklin musical. 

Bubba-an artistic MARVEL

Shimmy that board clean!

The little head stroke she gives Louie. MY HEART!

I...don’t think that is how to do math.

“I see how you turned this into a lesson in parenting and I’m impressed.” THAT’S HOW GRANDMAS ROLL.

Gyro-the most USELESS TWINK. I love him.

I love the way Bobby says “oh boy” for Louie.

“HE IS OFFENSIVE TO THE FIELD OF ANTHROPOLOGY!” Time travel in general is probably offensive to anthropology.

Is it wrong to enjoy Huey going FERAL AS FUCK? Because I thoroughly enjoy it.

Why would you listen to Dewey on research?

“Did you SEE that finger progression on that solo?” 

Bubba-MASTER MUSICIAN! Also, KEYTARS ROCK!

“COME HERE, YOU HISTORICAL ABOMINATION!” Not saying Huey’s killed a man, but he knows how to and how to cover it up.

 Pretty sure Webby and Dewey are trolling.

“Definitely not cloning an army.” I have SO MANY QUESTIONS. 

Louie’s in hoodie-ville.

“He could be anywhen!” Time travel jokes.

I like that they all assume it’s Gyro at first. WHAT CRIMES HAS THIS MAN COMMITTED?!

“It’s one of the kids.” “I’ll get Dewey.” I could see Dewey stealing the time tub, but he’d just try and change the name of things into Dewey puns.

Ninjas,worse than termites-Scrooge Mcduck, 2019 

MORE BEAKLEY/DELLA TEAM UPS PLZ

“Even good kids do dumb things.” And good adults. No one thinks Louie is a bad kid, but he was pretty dumb.

What was with the log?

SANTA TRAP

“Oh no, they may be French.” That line made me laugh.

Launchpad falling asleep when the tapestry was over his face-hilarious.

“Don’t ask.”

Launchpad-always asking the right questions.

“Thank you past and/or future me.” 

I love Huey trying to make sense of Bubba.

“I hate this.”

Poor Huey.

Bubba-an amazing animal tamer

I really like how much Della admires Beakley.

Webby shouting “GRANNY!” T_T

So is that picture of Scrooge, Donald, and Della fighting pirates a time travel related adventure?

Hi Woody and Jessie

“I’VE IMMEDIATELY FAILED YOU.” Mood

Launchpad is so wise. But I think time is more timey-wimey, wibbly-wobbly, right Scrooge?

Della’s angry mom voice

The fight is cool.

“AH, ME SCURVY!” BRICK JOKE FTW!

Not the time for time travel logic, Dewey. Plus they seem to be coming from different countries so anywhere would still work.

Bubba-A HERO

“GO, YOU FREAK OF HISTORY!”

#youtriedLaunchpad

“EVERYTHING WE DO HAS ALREADY HAPPENED!”

Della shouting “KIDS” and Louie shouting “MOOOM” really hit me in the gut.

Let’s pour one out for Bubba.

I PRAY TO GOD someone writes fics about what each character was doing in the time period they ended up in.

Della was giving me MAJOR Joan of Arc vibes in that armor.

Yeah, this scene hurt. But it needed to be done. Louie still seems to think that it was all a good idea. He hasn’t learned his lesson yet.

That scene also reminded me of Merida and Elinor’s fight in Brave. Both sides have a point, but both went too far.

I’m glad Louie didn’t instantly accept his mom. It’s more interesting that way and feels real.

I love that Launchpad looks around at everyone before he reacts. He most likely knows nothing about the Spear of Selene incident so he has no idea of how hurtful Louie’s comment was.

Gyro had NO REACTION to any of that fight.

That broke poor Della.

“I went to the future. I’ve seen how the world ends.*pause* It was neat! See you there soon!” 

I wonder why Launchpad was the only one who went forward in time. Could it play a role in stopping the invasion?

“Some people aren’t ready for the truth.” So wise.

Bubba-THE FIRST OF CLAN MCDUCK

[merlucito-booksandstories]

Hello!

Hello world! I’m a writter. Also an antropologist. Also an unemployed milenial. Combine that and you get a freelancer trying to live for what he loves. That’s me. 

I write since I was 11 or 12 and since then I never stopped. I had highs and lows, obviously, but I never really stopped. The first thing I wrote was an epic novel (in my mind) about a girl who discovered she had powers to control fire. Any similarity with Harry Potter, Avatar the last airbender and Naruto is pure coincidence (it's not). Somehow I had managed to mix all those universes plus another one a little more original to get a very strange story about the life of this girl and her fight against the great evil that threatened the universe.

I never finished writing the whole story, because it was so big that I couldn’t find all the words. What I did finish was one of the endless parts of the story, where the protagonist, already at 18, followed in the footsteps of her father and cousins ​​to become a ninja. Now that story is lost somewhere on the internet (luckily).

For a long time I dedicated myself to writing fan fiction while trying to polish that old story, trying to make it more original and mine, as well as more coherent. In the end, in the NaNoWriMo of 2017 I managed to finish a more or less coherent draft that is still under review. The only thing left of the original story is that it takes place mostly on Mars, and that Martians have the power to control the elements (but not as in ATLA). The rest is so different that now it's about a man who ends up traveling in time and his husband tries to bring him back to the present.

I always wrote as a distraction, to clear myself of reality or studies, but now I am seeing it as something more, as a way of life, as something that can give me more than just distractions. That's why I start the blog, that's why I'm taking writing as something more serious, putting a routine, trying to learn from the big ones, looking for advice, reading everything I couldn’t read when the university consumed all the desire to read (when you study something social like anthropology, there comes a time when you see a book and run away).

Last year I sent for the first time a short story to a contest and to my surprise they not only chose me, but the title of my story became the title of the anthology. I was so happy that I sent my copy of the book to everyone, regardless of whether they read it or not. Seeing my name (pseudonym actually) in those digital pages gave me so much happiness that I said "I want to do this, I want to try it". I don’t care if I can’t live of writing, I don’t care if it only makes a few cents for each story or nothing at all, seeing my name in places like an anthology of stories is worth it, someone reading me and saying "this is good" means the world.

It remains to say two things:

This is not my main blog, so I can’t follow from here but from this other and,

Most entries will be in English and Spanish. 

Español luego del “keep reading”

Hola mundo! Soy escritor. También antropólogo. También un milenial desempleado. Combina todo eso y tienes un freelances tratando de vivir de lo que ama. Eso soy, en sumatoria.

Escribo desde que tengo 11 o 12 y desde entonces nunca paré. Tuve altos y bajos, obviamente, pero nunca paré realmente. La primer cosa que escribí fue una novela épica (en mi mente) sobre una niña que descubría que tenía poderes para controlar el fuego. Cualquier similitud con Harry Potter, Avatar the last airbender y Naruto es pura coincidencia (it’s not). De alguna forma había logrado mezclar todos esos universos más otro un poco más original y sacar una historia sumamente extraña sobre la vida de esta niña y su lucha contra el gran mal que amenazaba el universo. 

Nunca terminé de escribir la historia entera, porque eran grande que no me alcanban las palabras. Lo que sí terminé fue una de las infinitas partes de la historia, en donde la protagonista, ya con 18 años, seguía los pasos de su padre y sus primos para convertirse en ninja. Ahora esa historia está perdida en algún rincón de internet (por suerte). 

Por mucho tiempo me dediqué a escribir fanfiction mientras intentaba pulir esa vieja historia, tratando de hacerla más original y propia, además de más coherente. Al final, en el NaNoWriMo de 2017 logré terminar un borrador más o menos coherente que todavía está en revisión. Lo únco que quedó de la historia original es que transcurre en su mayor parte en Marte, y que los marcianos tienen el poder de controlar los elementos (pero no como en ATLA). El resto es tan diferente que ahora se trata sobre un hombre que termina viajando en el tiempo y su esposo trata de traerlo de regreso desde su presente. 

Siempre escribí como distracción, para despejarme de la realidad o los estudios, pero ahora ya lo estoy viendo como algo más, como una forma de vida, como algo que puede darme más que solo distracciones. Por eso inicio el blog, por eso estoy tomándome la escritura como algo más serio, poniéndome una rutina, intentando aprender de los grandes, buscando consejos, leyendo todo lo que no pude leer cuando la universidad me consumía todas las ganas de lectura (cuando estudias algo social como antropología, llega un momento en el que ves un libro y sales corriendo). 

El año pasado mandé mi primer cuento corto a un concurso y para mi sorpresa no solo me eligieron, sino que el título de mi relato se convirtió en el título de la antología. Estaba tan feliz que le mandé mi copia del libro a todo el mundo, sin importar si lo leían o no. Ver mi nombre (pseudónimo en realidad) en esas páginas digitales me dieron tanta felicidad que me dije “quiero hacer esto, quiero intentarlo”. No me importa si no logro vivir de la escritura, no me importa si solo hace unos centavos por cada escrito o nada de nada, ver mi nombre en lugares como una antología de cuentos vale la pena, que alguien me lea y diga “esto está bueno” significa el todo. 

Resta decir dos cosas: 

este no es mi blog principal, así que no puedo seguir desde acá pero sí desde este otro y,

la mayoría de las entradas estarán en inglés y en español.

[howtohero]

Transdimensional Cities

There are a lot of weird places in the world. There are talking jungles and upside down plains where the rain falls upwards. There are psychedelic tundras and digital rain forests and that one island that’s completely cut off from civilization where all the seagulls constantly sing songs about cool guys not looking at explosions and throwing things on the ground and being way too excited about boats. But some of the weirdest places in our universe are the places that sometimes aren’t even in our universe!

Transdimensional cities are locales that phase in and out of any given dimension. One second they’ll be there and the next they’re shimmering out of existence (ok they still exist but now they’re in a pocket dimension that can’t be reached by anybody). If you’ve even seen one you know how trippy of an experience that can be. The word “mirage” actually comes from the name of one of these cities that fritzes in and out of the Sahara Desert every so often, confusing travelers. The supernatural properties of the vast majority of transdimensional cities are magic-based. Some monks decided they’d get more meditation done if they didn’t have to deal with the rest of the world except for for one week every fifteen years. Or some rogue mage folded an entire city into a pocket dimension in order to practice his evil magic in private, and on dozens of unwilling participants. Recently scientists have made a few forays into trying to replicate the abilities of these cities with varying results. At best they’ve been able to warp individual buildings like smoothie stores or Halloween themed restaurants (Boo Burger was sorely in need of this transdimensional upgrade, now instead of offending people all year long, they can just blip out of this dimension whenever it isn’t October) but entire cities have proven to be a bit more tricky. If you would like your city to be considered for an experiment in dimension shifting enter our sweepstakes here! 

As far as you need to be concerned with these cities, remember, cities that only enter this plane of existence very briefly every so often might be very appealing to a variety of types of people. Supervillains, for example, might appreciate the downtime from being on the run or having their evil schemes foiled by a kid with a magic backpack that can fit more rocket launchers in it than should be physically possible. (Here’s to you Ricky Rockets, keep doling out your hilariously disproportionate brand of child vigilante justice!) In days past, superheroes were forced to assume that every transdimensional was home to dozens of supervillains who were hiding out. Plus, due to the transient nature of transdimensional cities, they had to assume that the city could blink out of this reality at a moment’s notice. This resulted in superheroes storming transdimensional cities and beating up as many people as possible and throwing them in prison while there was still time. That caused everybody a lot of headaches (both literal and metaphorical). It turns out that it is erroneous to assume that most people in any given transdimensional city are supervillains. Lucky for you the citizens of the various cities have worked out a better system!

These days transdimensional cities have pretty heterogeneous populations. It took a couple of years of bussing people between cities but now everything is pretty well organized. There are cities specific for every kind of person who might want to hop out of reality for a while. We’ve got monks who want seclusion. Supervillains who need to keep out of the public eye. Deadbeat dads, people with overdue library books, people who’ve unintentionally killed people, people who don’t want to be spoiled on shows they’ve only just started binge-watching, procrastinators. If you don’t want to be a part of society all the time you can bet that there’s a transdimensional city somewhere out there for you! So now all you need to do is figure out where the supervillain-filled ones are going to pop up next so you can be there to rain justice down on their bald, horned, helmeted, and on-fire heads!

Determining where and when a transdimensional city will next appear can be a tricky thing. Most cities will appear in the same place every time, and most of those are on a set cycle, so all that needs to be done there is a good old-fashioned, potentially decades long, stake-out. Grab a buddy, some donuts, and a big ol’ book of Mad Libs and settle in for a good long wait. But sometimes the cities don’t show up in the same place (more on that later) or it disappears and reappears at infrequent intervals. In which case you’d be wise to keep a few tracking devices on you and throwing one into every city that randomly pops up in your path. Short of that, I’m sure you can get some brains together (from the brain store) and devise some sort of mathematical algorithm to calculate the exact where and when for any given transdimensional city. Unfortunately you’ll have to do your own work for this one. We here at Howtohero steadfastly refuse to do any math. As a rule.

When transdimensional cities’ locations are randomized, or if they always appear in the same place but it’s been a while since the last time this city appeared and since then some foolish people built a lame stationary city in its spot, things go sideways real fast. That’s how you have situations where cities become superimposed on other cities or stuff starts getting spliced together. Gross. Luckily, using some regular off-the-rack-store-bought magicks these problems can be easily avoided! Sort of! And as we all know, sort of avoiding a problem is the best way to deal with a problem! See, using magic you can actually cause it so that when a city magically vops into a location that already contains something (a city, a town, a village, a cat) the thing that was there before actually switches places with the transdimensional city. Turning the transdimensional city into a regular one and vice versa. (I bet you guys didn’t expect to learn the secret origins of Surprise Cat! the cat that appears when you least expect it in this post but there you have it!) Sure, now there’s a regular city warping in and out of our dimension and that’s not really what those people signed up for but all transdimensional cities were normal cities at some point! (Except for Nexusville, which was built from a one-of-a-kind transdimensional brick over a period of three hundred years by different construction workers and engineers who happened to come across the partially completed city during that time.) 

If you’re a guy who is from a transdimensional city and is deciding to use your first trip to this dimension to fight our criminals, then first of all, welcome to the neighborhood. Second of all, where do you get off punk! These are our criminals! You come in here all high and mighty and judgemental from your crime-free teleporting city (remember all the transdimensional criminals live in their own, separate city) of ninjas and think you can fight our crime? Get over yourself! Also, be warned, lots of times people like you tend to lose track of the time. I guess time flows differently in between dimensions. But you might find that when you get tired of beating up our muggers in our alleys that your city might be gone. Now, it important that you don’t misunderstand what’s happened. Your city has simply transported itself beyond the vail of what we can perceive in this dimension (as cities are wont to do). It hasn’t been destroyed. It hasn’t been stolen. Just wait ten to fifteen years and it’ll be back. No harm no foul. What you need to do now, is not go on a roaring rampage of revenge where you punch everybody in sight. Also don’t blame us for your city going away. We didn’t do that. Have you read the rest of this post? We clearly have like zero to two ideas about what’s going on with these cities. Don’t punch anybody. If you really feel like you have to punch somebody you can punch some more of our criminals but your city and all your loved ones aren’t gone forever. Write that down.

Transdimensional cities are easily one of the weirdest parts of the Weird Factor. They’re cities that are sometimes there... but usually not. What a headache. And most of the time the people who live in the city don’t even know when things are gonna get all space-warpy. They’ll just be buying groceries and vwoompf now they’re underwater, or in a frozen wasteland, or in Cincinnati. What a life that must be. Still, it’s interesting to see how civilizations and cultures develop when they’re removed from society for years at a time (or minutes at a time, but in cities like those there’s not a ton of deviation from the world around them). From an anthropological perspective that is. So good for anthropologists I guess! 

[teachingbytes-mls]

How do we do diginiographies

I experienced a good dose of culture shock when I went from burning hot, deep south Texas to blizzard cold Minnesota. I went there to study theology. It sounded good at the time.

Soon thereafter, I stumbled upon a cultural anthropology class and it’s professor, Dr. Correll, and found myself exploring what it meant to be a human being in a collective society. Not good news for the reverend back home.

One of the first books Dr. Correll introduced us to was James Spradley’s, “You Owe Yourself a Drunk.” It demonstrates the importance of paying careful attention in any discipline. It’s the art of the ethnography.

Despite giving up my degree in Cultural Studies (after significant coursework) for the alluring and seductive voices of Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, I never lost my love for the social sciences. After getting a degree in Philosophy and feeling sick of books and theories, I dove into social work full-time. And what better way to study social science.

A friend of mine wonders why someone who contemplated becoming a Benedictine monk, studied cultural studies and philosophy in college is now passionately interested in technology, programming, data and information science. Bits and brains. Makes some sense to me. I see the connection(s).

I’m interested in the interaction and intersection of the connections between bits and brains; but in a Buber-esque space kind of way, maybe. I-It for now and maybe I-Thou soon to come…

I’m interested in the ethnographies of the internets, the people and non-people groups and the spoken and unspoken norms floating fluidly about. The search, the stories, the theories and the ideas, the questions of the ideal and the actual going, or gone digital.

Forget drunks and cocktail waitresses. Or maybe not. Actually, definitely not. And the thing we used to call the circus, with varied people groups exhaustively ethnogra-fied (I know, not a word) has invaded our backyard. While the other circus of so-called normality that we used to hide so not-so-well has now walked out the front door, trousers in hand.

A good day for the detached observer. Or jump in and participate. Actually, a participatory observation is the only option, now. Time for quite the interesting and complex multidimensional digi-ethnographic research. On instabook, facegram, and the new Tube, simple self-developed auto-biopics have turned into hyper-media ethnographies that blend together to morph into giga-media-ecologies in ultra-hd. Digi-ethnographies that are not of the analog type. This is the bandwidth type, but who’s measuring. The bits are moving way too fast for the brains.

I’m definitely not any kind of expert at ethnography or technology Far from it. I am, however, a learner and an educator. I’m interested in exploring hardware, software, programming and data just as much as I’m interested in exploring complex social realities and interactions and these social complexities require quite a bit of troubleshooting of their own. Complex and beautiful systems of anthro/psycho/social interactivity. You know, human mess.

So, in the midst of that lack of expertise and specialization, I found myself teaching in a classroom in South America. c.2000. I was considering the priesthood and instead, I was christened, Profesor de Sistemas. Meanwhile something was happening at this time. A shift. What was causing this shift? Something called the world wide web, maybe; that included something called wikipedia, perhaps. And then something called Google…and…and…something shifted super fast at about this time, as the annoying dial-up sound faded fast.

And, in just over a few years, the tipping point did happen. And then learning, sociology, philosophy, databases, poetry, code, art, ninjas, grammargirls, algorithms…and yes, even pornography and online confessionals started integrating in some messy (some would say unstructured) yet interesting ways. A way it all hadn’t before. So easily and seamlessly. Radically so and radically fast. Radically messy and radically organic. Or not. It all happened in a very short period of our lifetime, like human race lifetime.

And along came the cluetrain, web2.0, the restoration of the goddess, google, wikipedia, the database of intentions, tagging (no, not the Banksy type, but while we’re at it, why the hell not), and folksonomies (user-generated taxonomies) that all walked in and broke bread with ethnographies and fieldwork, stayed for some wine, the analog kind, and never left. So, will the world be a better place because of this internetsupertrain we ride?

Who knows? It may be an ugly mess or a beautiful mess. A good mess or a bad mess. But a mess, nonetheless it will be. Here’s to those who’ll work to make some sense of that mess.

-saúl martínez

[jaidonschool]

PM Reflection & Contemplation

My role

PMI: Success under Resources, Scope, Time

Jaidon: Help people grow + learn PM + love others

SDN: Great conference + $

Fix problems and bring opportunities

Enforce process structure to keep momentum and progress IF a dependency group gets behind

Give fire connections / critique / mentorship to the team!

Experience: The progress is going well. Concept will need some quality refinement. We are growing a community.

Reflection:

• The setup time in the begging provided a good platform and spark for people to get to know each other as first priority.

• The team is handpicked, and has a big name behind us (heavy weight responsibility to rise up to) - so they have excitement to self organize.

• Because ATF was scattered in the beginning, reassuring friendly structure was very important to establish a positive work environment and faith in the project.

• The minimal overall timeline is good, because teams are autonomous and dependable enough to make their own sub timelines and meet the deadlines.

• Birgit is <3 <3 and encourages/enables the team inspiration - these professors are great at their jobs! We can leverage them for QC and motivation

• There may be health issues in the human structure (individual work SPEs) - but things seem better now that teams have broken up again

• With new members coming in, it’s hard to know how team dynamics might change

• While pushing further, it shouldn’t be limited to individual’s time use (more research, learning, output, experimenting). We can push by gardening the team (the plans are already VERY GRAND!)

Abstraction:

• Setting the dynamics in beginning, expectations, human structure, hand picked students, big SDN name, individual work focused SPEs, structure for belief, motivation, excitement, structure… the team’s “health” seems to be strong. We need to keep this up and not grow weary. But we can now focus on other areas.

• We seem to be hitting deadlines early, which leads me to think high quality work is important.

• We can push by involving more adjacent students (research, design for, offerings, etc.)

Experimentation:

• We could implement a “finalization process” where professionals give feedback/mentorship on deliverables.

• We can afford to do more research - This is something PM team can do - research reports!

• Bring in voice of diverse students: anthropology, art, CS, business, science, literature

• This user group is too big to do something designey - we either focus on conference being more general about student potential + create the future + PM, or we be more specific on design power for adjacent fields

• Should design better communication channels as the complexity of these teams and their needs proliferate

Personal boundaries / expectations

I can only do my best

• My learning is going STRONG, I invest 2 hours meeting, plus creating some documents and writing about my thoughts, plus reading articles/presentations + research.

• My dedication, investing open thinking, could be more systematic: use KOLB’s cycle, problem scanning and identifying, check in with prof’s what they think risks might be to anticipate problems/opportunities. I will dedicate an hour per week to open thinking about this project.

• In emergencies, I will work more than this. But until a problem arises, I’m chillin in #project-management, Sunday meetings, and lead team meetings.

• Another skill to level up is ninja communication skills (negotiation, helping, debate, etc.)

PM stress

• I am doing the best I can. I have mentorship, safe environment, dedicated contemplation time, personal expectations and boundaries. If problems arise, I can handle them, and if I can’t they must be really bad! I can just do my best, but I can’t save the world. ATF can help.

• My leadership style is calm, quiet, calculated. It is not spontaneous. It functions best when I can plan and have time to discuss with others. I am also good at inspiring and sending positive energy. My weakness is providing lamarckinian shortcuts in pressure times and judging what is desirable. I can do the thinking but can’t announce the vision (without experience).

• It’s not worth me having stress. I am setup for success, well equipped in habits, skills, and resources. It’s ok if I fail.

• I need to grow at setting limits.

Worst case plans

• If graphic design or concept is bad: critique / mentorship session to polish it up.

• If everyone quits (LOW RISK) - we make something simple and cool anyways!

• Tech fails DAY OF: we have a backup plan how we’ll deliver the talks and workshops (Zoom)

• Very few people come: They get to make friends with all of us!

• SDN gets mad it’s lame: lol it’s a prototype of what students can do

2 Friends advice

• What they think could go wrong

• What conference would be like

[felipesmithart]

Anime News Network - Inside The Manga Industry with Felipe Smith, American Mangaka (Part II)

In the second part of our interview (find part one here), Smith explains how manga distorted his expectations of life in Tokyo a bit, how working with Kodansha got him to look harder at genres and audiences, and what four crucial tips must be followed by any American otaku hoping to work in Japan, too.

Did working through Kodansha's demands for PEEPO CHOO develop any skills you've found useful on subsequent projects?

The quick and simple answer is a huge, resounding... yes! The rigorous schedule and incessant deadlines I kept while creating manga in the Japanese market actually prepared me to work full-time simultaneously in two industries back in the US! Upon my return in 2012, I was hired by Nickelodeon as a storyboard artist – and later character designer – for the Ninja Turtles animated TV show.

During that time, I was approached by Marvel to revamp the Ghost Rider franchise. I created Robbie Reyes, wrote 21 issues of his monthly comic, drew two of them and illustrated covers for ten of them.

So, from 2013 to 2017, I worked in both animation and comics full-time, at the same time. It was a bit nightmarish, but definitely worth the effort. And it was a possibility, in part, thanks to my Japanese publishing boot camp experience.

With that “double-duty” wrapped this year, you've turned to a new project Death Metal Zombie Cop, which was funded through Kickstarter. How does it differ from your recent output?

[It's] my return to creator-owned comics and I'm very excited about it. I've been developing it since the end of PEEPO CHOO back in 2011. In creating it, I'm applying everything I've learned from the Japanese and American comic markets and I can't wait to release it!

You've said you got the idea while wrapping up PEEPO CHOO. What was the inspiration?

...A combination of factors. The most important of which is the need to tap into an identifiable genre with an established audience. Neither of my previous graphic novel series, MBQ or PEEPO CHOO, fit neatly into any genre. I could say, with no real risk of sounding bumptious, that both titles are pretty singular in their approach and subject matter – something I've always strived for. But, by the same token, though well-received, they did not reach a tremendously expansive audience, either.

Did your run on Ghost Rider shape the idea, too?

In contrast, [it's] probably my most-read comic book series to date. It's very true that because it is a Marvel book – and an expansion on a well-known franchise – it already had significant interest and an expectant fan base before its release. But I believe that genre specificity had a great deal to do with its greater success, as well.  All-New Ghost Rider is an anti-hero “action” comic with elements of horror. Those are two tried-and-true genres with an important audience, and well-established tropes upon which to expand.

Sounds like these projects got you to consider potential audiences in different ways?

A fanbase is the life of a creator, and is essential to his or her existence and prosperity. A good creator will foster and grow a fanbase independently. But fitting neatly into genres – as was [explained to me] in Japan – can help a creator unite his fanbase with greater speed and efficacy. Thus, upon finishing PEEPO CHOO – and after four original series pitch rejections – I decided to try my best to find a story I could be invested in and tell effectively that would also fit in a designated, easy-to-identify genre… for once! [Laughs]

So, I picked horror and action – genres I've always liked – and then added “cops and crooks,” which is also a personal favorite of mine. What's funny is that the “zombie” genre element didn't really come into play until later in the development of the pitch, but once I found that piece of the puzzle, my mind was blown. I had never created a story with any supernatural elements, because I'd always strayed away from superheroes. But now, I found myself with a whole new set of storytelling possibilities and I got really excited.

So, your horizons were expanded, both literally and figuratively, after having to see the notion of genre from a different angle over in Japan?

As I mentioned earlier, the one series that caught the interest of my Japanese editor was also the one I eventually decided would most likely find a better place with a Western audience, and it was Death Metal Zombie Cop. As I also mentioned, upon my return to the US, Nickelodeon hired me on TMNT, and then I got a call from Marvel. And when the editor mentioned that he'd like me to pitch him an idea for a Ghost Rider in a car [as opposed to on his traditional motorcycle], and that I was pretty much free to create everything from the ground up… I had a few things I was dying to test out on the American direct market audience.

Now that I'm finally putting together Death Metal Zombie Cop, I can't say I'm really approaching it very differently than my previous creator-owned work. The major difference is that this series will be in full-color and I plan to release 24-page monthly issues, like an American comic series.

PEEPO CHOO explored the misconceptions American otaku have about Japan. How might manga give US readers – and aspiring creators – a skewed view of life across the Pacific?

That's a good question.  Although I've found that the largest portion of Japanese manga stories take place somewhere in real-life Japan, near real-life Japanese landmarks and during some time in real Japanese history – whether it be past or present –  in my experience, a great number of the “Japanese” characters portrayed in these manga do not truly reflect the character and behavior I've observed in the Japanese people.

What shaped your expectations before moving there, then?

...My only real perspective on Japanese culture, like that of many Westerners, was derived from what I saw on their TV shows, live-action or animated, read in manga or magazines, or from any Japanese person I happened to meet. Obviously, first-hand conversation and discussion with people is your best bet, when it comes to trying to understand or familiarize yourself with their culture.

Having lived and worked with Japanese people in LA, I was lucky to learn their culture in action, first-hand. The more I learned, the more I realized that the fictional manga characters I presumed to be realistic because of their true-to-life surrounding locations and attire were anything but.

What specific details might ring more realistic?

[If you are] the least bit observant, you'll see that people do not hug very often, nor high-five each other. “High-touch” is how it's referred to in Japan. And, in my experience, unless there's celebration or alcohol involved, they're rarely prone to any kind of loud outbursts of emotion, wild arm or body gesticulation, or very expressive facial communication. It only takes watching a bit of Japanese TV carefully to discern who is being a TV character and who is just a person [that] happened to be filmed by the camera.

In contrast, a huge number of characters in all media [all over the world] behave astoundingly differently from the norm. Imagine if every person you saw on TV behaved and talked like Ace Ventura, Pet Detective. You'd find that pretty strange. This is a topic I brought up to my editors on more than one occasion...

Were you trying to strike the right balance of realism and surrealism?

The concept of “reality” is something that I believed was essential to establishing a believable story scenario. The way characters behave and react to situations is a reflection of that reality. So, if I ever wrote a scene about a person riding a public bus, I would want all the details to be right and make sense…

“Does this person pay with coins or with a card?”

“If they're approached by an inebriated or deranged homeless person, what would they most likely say?”

“If they witnessed someone stealing from or hurting another, what would they do?”

If the character reacts to any of these situations in a plausible manner, then it's realistic, and therefore based on reality. Unless it's a comedy. In [that] case, we are now playing with the conventions of what would normally occur and turning them on their side.

Did this anthropology study reveal even more about the manga business, in turn?

...Partly because I'm a foreigner, I found myself noticing more and more that these characters on TV, in movies and in manga… in many cases [they] displayed very uncharacteristic behaviors that did not match what I saw on the streets in real life. This truly confounded me, because I realized that my telling of reality in a story seemed to actually be of little importance in the overall scheme of manga storytelling! [Laughs]

I remember telling my editor, “Where's the reality in these stories? People don't own guns in Tokyo. People aren't this outspoken. People don't behave like this here. This isn't real. What's this based on? It's not reality!”

My editor simply answered, “Who cares about reality? As long as it's interesting [and entertaining], it's good.”

Sounds like you went through a process of enlightenment, much like the characters in PEEPO CHOO?

Unlike Milton [the manga's otaku protagonist from Southside Chicago], it was obvious to me that one cannot equate a country's cultural reality to its popular entertainment. [Still], I had no idea how oddly removed from reality I'd find certain aspects of everyday Japanese storytelling – be it in manga or just regular TV. I guess I learned that when it comes to Japanese entertainment, we should seek [it expressly as entertainment], rather than [as] “reality” or “truth”. [Laughs].

How was the series received by Japanese readers? Any surprises?

PEEPO CHOO was positively received by reviewers as a series worthy of merit for being the first of its kind. It also confused some readers, who took to the 2chan internet forums to discuss it and me as a creator. Some speculated that I was just a Japanese mangaka who wrote under a gaijin-poi “foreigner-like” pen-name to try to get attention. Others did a little internet research, found my earlier work –  photos of me – and commented on how “he looks more like a soccer player than a mangaka!” [Laughs]

I remember my editor mentioning that some readers wrote in to the magazine commenting on my art –  which they liked – and on how they had a hard time understanding the motivations of some of my American characters.

Speaking its reception, if anybody types “Felipe Smith Japan” into YouTube's searchbar, they'll find some interesting videos, won't they?

PEEPO CHOO also received some TV coverage on a few shows, including NHK's documentary show Manga No Genba – “The Place of Comic Creation” – which filmed me working in my apartment and walking around Tokyo running daily errands. [I was also on the] comedic duo Oriraji's show Manga No Hi – “Comics Day” – in which I had five minutes to pitch my series' premise to a panel of judges live, in Japanese.

Did you encounter any misconceptions about America throughout this?

...Upon meeting me for the first time, my editor assumed I owned firearms in the US – which I don't – and a few more silly things that escape me at the moment. [Laughs] But, encountering strange misconceptions and being asked outlandish questions by locals is pretty common when you're a Westerner living in Japan. It's something you just kinda grow used to.

What advice do you have for any American cartoonists who'd like to follow in your footsteps?

“Eat your veggies, get your sleep, learn Japanese and get to work!”

Creating manga professionally for a major publisher has a quantifiable effect on you mentally and physically due to its rigorous schedule, so it's important for you to eat healthy and get proper rest as much as possible. Sitting in a seat for 12 to 18 hours a day can have a lasting negative effect on you if you let it, so stay active and pay attention to your health.

Do they need to go to the lengths you went to, though – flying over and taking residency in Tokyo?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again… you don't need to be in Japan to create manga. But, if for some reason you want to do it in Japan, you need to speak the language in order to articulate your ideas to an editor. If that's taken care of, and your series concept is accepted, get ready to write and draw non-stop for very long periods of time – rain or shine, for as long as your series goes, regardless of whether you feel like it or not.

With no exaggeration or intent to dissuade, I can tell you from my own personal experience that a professional mangaka has little time for anything other than making manga. I can say, with honesty, that within the arts, it's a profession best suited for a very particular kind of artistic maniac.

[fineillsignup]

Hello! can i ask ur opinion on konoha HIGHLY SUGGESTING HAVING MULTIPLE PARTNERS to tackle their high death rate? I have this weird headcannon where, if kishimoto wasnt shy abt sex, the konoha 11 would have been taught/encouraged/endoctrinated to be sexually active... which would give the story a darker tone and perhaps add more (?) chemistry between the characters?? idk wht r ur thoughts? (^^ゞ

Do you mean to encourage a higher birth rate to counteract the higher death rate? I totally agree with the fact that, as depicted in the series, the death rate/birth rate is more disproportionate than real world inverted pyramids like Singapore, as evidenced in my dryly named tag “ninja world demographic winter”.

Here are the things in the real world which raise birth rates:

It is at least as affordable and socially beneficial to have (another) child versus not have (another) child

The culture expecting/supporting/approving large(r) families and marrying young

Inability to easily access various birth control methods from condoms to pills to abortions

I put the birth control thing third because I think the first two things matter more. There are countries in the world with easy access to birth control and much higher rates than other countries with more difficult access and lower rates (example: Israel vs Brazil). And to a large extent, access to the latter depends on the cultural attitudes in point one and two. Societies where it is easy to access birth control but people have larger families anyway do so largely because of point one and two. So I rank those two higher.

So across the modern developed world it is points one and two that are the major driving factors behind falling birth rates.

Konoha culture, as depicted, ought to be very pronatal from point one and two; “the kings of the Leaf are the unborn children” is so pronatal it’s almost like a Handmaid’s Tale parody. Yet Kishimoto either is unable himself to imagine something so unlike modern Japan in terms of family structure, or he thinks his target audience (modern Japanese teenage boys) won’t be able to enter into it. So the TFR is like Japans’ modern sub-replacement fertility rate of ~1.6 (in the 80s and 90s when the readers of the original run of the comic were being born).

Would increased sexual activity raise the birth rate per se? I would say not, as long as points one and two don’t change.

It’s worth pointing out that societies of impermanent sexual partners with raising children tend to be matrilocal (children don’t leave their mothers, often even in adulthood) and matrilineal (descent is reckoned by the mother), such as the Mosuo, Note that I do not say matriarchal as, while these societies often have more female equality, they aren’t necessarily “female dominated” in the way that we see patriarchal as “male dominated”. Instead, the important men in a woman’s household will be her brothers by the same mother or her mother’s brothers etc; they will live together and work together. And these men usually have quite a lot of say in how things happen.

Children require a lot of work and resources and to have kids women expect, deserve, and need help of many kinds; the Mosuo work as a culture where the babydaddy doesn’t do much because the mother’s brothers and matrilineal family do that support instead.

But the bottom line is that the culture in Konoha and across the ninja world is weirdly apathetic about anyone having kids, including people with bloodline based superpowers, where, IDK, it seems like making more bloodline based superpower children would be an interest of the military government. I don’t think adding or subtracting sex per se is the issue here.

Unless you’re suggesting some kind of Sparta scenario where people are encouraged to have sexual relationships with their teams so as to be less likely to get their teammates hurt, and lower the death rate that way? Cracky, but potentially solid smutty fanfic AU idea there! I don’t know if it would work, mind you, because the whole point of military anti-fraternization policies is that they also cause lots of drama, stress, jealousy, manipulation, etc; but if it’s a fanfic, go nuts with it.

[rynnie-rynn]

Orange!

orange: what makes you feel warm inside? what’s your favorite halloween tradition? what’s the last thing you learned? when’s the last time you felt obsessed? what’s your favorite article of clothing?

What  makes me feel warm inside hmm?? Knowing that someone has actually listened to me. Most of my life I have felt looked over by people mostly because I’m horribly shy and have always been the background person (which if you really get to know me I’m super loud and fun so my close friends never believe I’m shy). So it annoys me when I have to repeat myself over and over again. When someone makes reference to something I told them or remembers things important to me or that I care about, it means the world to me and gives me all the warm fuzzies. Prime example: get anthropology girl back here ❤

Favorite Halloween tradition is obviously dressing up!~ I’ve been obsessed with it since I was a child. It was the bane of my mothers existence as I would never be just a ghost or witch. I was always having to be a character from something. I remember asking to be April from Ninja Turtles in grade 1. Poor woman had no idea what I wanted to be but she pulled it off with an amazing microphone and video camera made out of cardboard to boot! I remember after high school when she told me I had to learn how to sew or else I would have to stop dressing up lol

Last thing I learned….. well last random fact I learned is that today is Brooke McCarter’s birthday. Does that count? 

I ALWAYS FEEL OBSESSED. I never half ass anything. I had a conversation with @jyinxe not too long ago telling her “I AM SO OBSESSED WITH _______ RIGHT NOW!” (I don’t remember what the actual thing was I was obsessed with) and she just looked at me and said “Rynnie you’re always obsessed with something”. If I like it, I am going to like the hell out of it! lol

Favorite article of clothing….. probably my yoga pants? actually yoga shorts if we’re gonna be real here. Funnily enough I never really used the wear them (shorts or pants) before I got my yoga teacher training but after doing that I just want to wear them all the time lol

[vsplusonline]

Ten best food shows on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar

New Post has been published on https://apzweb.com/ten-best-food-shows-on-netflix-amazon-prime-disney-hotstar/

Ten best food shows on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ Hotstar

Let me say it straight away— I am not a big fan of food shows. Cruelly aspirational, my kitchen looks nothing like the fancy ones on the show, and even if I were to follow the simplest of recipes, where the chef du jour is just throwing things together to create a fabulous dish, it would unfailingly turn into an unpalatable mess.

Being vegetarian by choice, I find it difficult to watch all that meat. But duty calls and as I dived headlong into the world of food shows on streaming platforms, I discovered the meditative calm of sushi, the anthropological evidence for Prometheus, the heart-breaking beauty of Havana, the unfailingly-disturbing Lord of the Flies and the joy of desserts. One of my favourite Bob Dylan lines suddenly popping up in the middle of a show was an added bonus. So here, in no particular order, are 10 shows you could check out to learn about the emotions, history and techniques of food.

MasterChef Australia

Disney+Hotstar, Seasons: 12, Episodes: 768, Runtime: 30-120 minutes

With new judges, restaurateur and chef Jock Zonfrillo, food writer Melissa Leong and season four winner Andy Allen replacing Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston, Season 12 of the cooking reality show is different yet with the same amounts of drama and intrigue. The mystery boxes, pressure tests, and immunity challenges do not fail to thrill as contestants create works of art from duck’s oesophagus, (really) chocolate, parsnip, parsley, fennel coconut, chilli, mango, lemon chicken and potatoes.

A mild Gordon Ramsay and Katy Perry are celebrity judges while the contestants are winners from previous seasons. If reality shows are your thing, you cannot go wrong with this veteran based on a British show from the 90s where amateurs and home cooks competed for the ultimate cooking prize. Season 12, which started to air on April 13, is into week 5 which is the Twists Week.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Netflix, 81 minutes

When the hurlyburly’s done, when the battle’s lost and won, (cooking and restaurants always remind me of Macbeth), it is time to move to sushi. David Gelb’s documentary about an 85-year-old sushi master, Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011) is beautifully calm. While the movie is all about the perfect cut, the freshest seafood, massaging the octopus for 45 minutes instead of 30, Jiro Dreams of Sushi also tells the story of fathers and sons.

Jiro Ono started working at the age of seven at a local restaurant. A formal portrait of young Jiro with his father holding his hand is all he has of his father, who seems to have lost his money and taken to drinking. Jiro says he did not go to his father’s funeral. Jiro’s elder son, Yoshikazu (50) who will eventually take over the restaurant, still works for his father. Jiro speaks of the kind of tough love he has dispensed to his sons (the younger son has opened his own sushi restaurant) to ensure they will be able to carry on. Even if you are not a fan of sushi, Jiro Dreams of Sushi, with its evocative music and dazzling photography is irresistible.

The Chef Show

Netflix, Seasons: 3, Episodes: 20, Runtime: 26-34 minutes

This is a delightful show for all nerds, geeks and comic-book fans. In 2014 Jon Favreau wrote, acted and directed Chef, a charming film about a successful chef who gives it all up to run a food truck. Roy Choi, the creator of the gourmet Korean-Mexican taco truck, Kogi, was consultant for the film and trained Favreau on all the ninja chef moves.

Incidentally, Favreau directed Iron Man, the movie that set the ball rolling for the gargantuan Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Chef Show which premiered on June 7, 2019 is a spin-off of the film and features Favreau and Choi experimenting with fun recipes (yes that grilled cheese is a star) and breaking bread with some of the biggest names in the entertainment business. It was fun watching them do a pepper pot for Gwyneth Paltrow (nudge, nudge) at Goop and have Tom Holland discuss his audition with Robert Downey Jr.

Ugly Delicious

Netflix, Seasons: 2, Episodes: 12, Runtime: 45-55 minutes

Chef David Chang uses popular food to dissect the concepts of travel, history, culture and the notion of authenticity. The first episode, which premiered on February 23, 2018 looks at pizza—from the uber traditional pizzas in Mark Iacono’s pizzeria, Lucali, in Brooklyn to a tuna mayonnaise one in Savoy in Tokyo and one from Dominos! There are also stops in Frank Pepe in Connecticut, Antillo’s pizzeria in Naples and Bæst in Copenhagen.

With a variety of guests, including food writer Peter Meehan, comic Aziz Ansari and TV show host Jimmy Kimmel, Ugly Delicious is an in-depth look at everyday food. Watching Chef Floyd Cardoz enjoying Awadhi cuisine in the episode on Indian food, which also featured Padma Laxmi, was particularly poignant as Chef Cardoz passed away on March 25, 2020 of COVID-19.

Salt Fat Acid Heat

Netflix, Seasons: 1, Episodes: 4, Runtime: 40–48 minutes

The four-part show, which premiered October 11, 2018, is based on Samin Nosrat’s bestselling cookbook, Salt Fat Acid Heat (2017). The show sees the chef, TV show host and food writer travel the world to investigate the four pillars of cooking namely salt, fat, acid and heat. She travels to Italy to explore fat and the concept of “noble meat,” Japan for salt, Mexico for acid and Chez Panisse (where she worked her way up from bussing tables to chef) for heat. Salt Fat Acid Heat is an interesting way of looking at food buttressed by a charming host and Instagram worthy locales.

Cooked

Netflix, Seasons: 1, Episodes: 4, Runtime: 50-58 minutes

Samin Nosrat is described as “the chef who taught Michael Pollan how to cook” and features in Cooked, Pollan’s four-part documentary based on his eponymous book. The documentary travels the globe to explore the different aspects of cooking, which serendipitously correspond with the four elements—earth, water, fire, and air. Pollan, a writer (The Botany of Desire, The Omnivore’s Dilemma) activist and professor looks at the socio-cultural impact of food on our lives.

In collaboration with Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney, Cooked travels with an aboriginal tribe to hunt goanna (a type of monitor lizard) and tries to bridge the gap between our “meat transactions which are hidden behind feed lots and abattoirs” and our plates. There is also singer-songwriter James Taylor singing a song to his pig, Mona.

Street Food Asia

Netflix, Seasons: 1, Episodes: 9, Runtime: 30-34 minutes

Released on April 26, 2019, Street Food Asia looks at street food in Bangkok, Osaka, Yogyakarta (Indonesia), Chiayi (Taiwan), Seoul, Singapore and Cebu (Philippines). Looking at the bustling Mangal Chat Wale, the delicious kebabs at Karim’s and batura at Nand di Hatti in the Delhi segment, one can only imagine the silence on the streets now with the lockdown and the number of livelihoods affected. Truoc’s Snail Stall in Ho Chi Minh was a revelation of the number and variety of edible snails.

Chef’s Table

Netflix, Seasons: 6, Episodes: 30, Runtime: 50 minutes

David Gelb, who also created Street Food Asia, considers Chef’s Table a spiritual successor to his Jiro Dreams of Sushi. The show which premiered on April 26, 2015, profiles professional chefs, their inspirations, dedication and determination to make it. Chefs from all over the world including Italy (Massimo Bottura), Argentina (Francis Mallmann), Sweden (Magnus Nilsson) Brazil (Alex Atala), South Korea (Jeong Kwan) and Russia (Vladimir Mukhin), are featured. Gaggan Anand and Asma Khan represent India though their restaurants are in Bangkok and London.

The episode featuring Christina Tosi, founder and owner of Milk Bar and creator of the infamous crack pie was a revelation into what drives these men and women to create delicious works of art. It also revealed the workings of a restaurant including the family meal, where the crack pie (a pie so good it is addictive) was born. Seeing David Chang (he hired Tosi and encouraged her to open the Milk Bar) gives that special joy of connections.

Eat the World with Emeril Lagasse

Amazon Prime, Seasons: 1, Episodes: 6, Runtime: 30 minutes

Emeril Lagasse, the star of cookery shows in the 90s and nougties, travels the world with other chefs discovering the cuisine of different places. The entertaining and informative show was first aired on September 2, 2016. Eat the World… sees Lagasse in Sweden exploring New Nordic with chef Marcus Samuelsson, searching for the Shanghai soup dumpling with Mario Batali, exploring modernist cuisine in Barcelona with chef José Andrés, Jeong Kwan’s vegan cuisine in South Korea and Franco Pepe’s pizza with Nancy Silverton in the Campania region of Italy. In colourful Havana, Emeril and Aarón Sánchez taste the freshest of vegetables from urban gardens in an Ajiaco stew, a fine roasted pig with a cigar instead of an apple in its mouth—it is Cuba after all – and dine at a paladar (restaurants run out of homes).

Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman

Netflix, Seasons: 1, Episodes: 12, Runtime: 24 minutes

This is the perfect dessert to end a food show marathon. Based on the manga series, Saboriman Ametani Kantarou by Tensei Hagiwara, Kantaro: The Sweet Tooth Salaryman follows the adventures of Ametani Kantarou, (Onoe Matsuya) who quits his job as a programmer and joins a publishing house to indulge his sweet tooth. In the first episode, which aired on July 7, 2017, he zips through his sales calls to visit the Kanmidokoro Hatsune, a traditional sweet shop in Ningyōchō. There he samples anmitsu and is transported into dessert fantasy. His rhapsodies over the jelly, fruit, gyūhi and agony over choosing between white and black syrup are endearing.

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[tulawula26-blog]

Flying Lessons & other stories

Image- (above)

The Flying Lessons & Other Stories 

Author - Ellen Oh

Evaluation of book - This book is a great read for a tween reader. I think that because one focus message is coming from so many different people that it may make the message more clear, or more truthful to some readers. This book does not have any pictures but it is very elegant inside its pages. 

The authors chose to not have artwork elements in its text show how important the text. I do not think that this makes the book weak in any way or that by adding art elements to the book it would have made it any better. I feel that sometimes when you add too much to a project things begin to get unfocused and the message can get lost. 

I feel so through the use of dialogue in this book is captured well by the author to appease the tween audience. I think that the use of elements like “ninjas, and pets” make the book more relatable to the average reader. 

Response - Being a compilation of 12 authors writing short stories to make up a book I thought it would be a cluster of mismatched ideas not making sense to read together. I was wrong, and not only wrong but these stories evoke emotions from me about other cultures I had not experienced before. I found it to be a very proud experience to read so many different stories that could be linked together to make one book, it was greatly done. 

I found The Flying Lessons & Other Stories to be a work of art that was constructed by at least 12 different individuals for its completion. I think that the experience of reading a book like this is different than reading a book that had one author. It makes the overall tones and feelings have more importance coming from so many different angles. 

This book was really interesting to me because I  have a background in cultural related issues, being a maritime anthropologist archaeologist and museum studies major. I love to know what makes people different, and how people react to differences in certain situations. I love to know more about anthropological aspects of a person's life, but in today's world, someone cannot be blind to the cultural issues at hand. I have a “blended” family with children and racial qualities. Myself not having any racial issues growing up does not know what it is like for my children being “mixed” growing up in a world of today. Books like this help a parent like me understand things my husband cannot explain to me to help my children with their issues growing up. 

Conclusion - I give this book 4 stars. I feel that the authors were compassionate about their writing and I could feel it within the pages an s/I read. After reading this book I felt as though I had gained something from reading it that I could apply to my life and that was something I did not expect to do when starting The Flying Lessons & Other Stories. It was not something I would normally read but I am now more than happy that I did. 

 APA Style Reference- Oh, E. (2018). Flying lessons & other stories. New York: Yearling.

[sanctferum]

Chapter 1, I assume?

“Ultimate Revival” is this still the Prologue?

We’re...in the locker again?

Deja vu all over again...

This is...playing out exactly as it did before...

I wonder what Kaede knew about the Monokubs...and Ransaru knew about the situation? I get the feeling neither of them will remember now.

Shuichi again...but Kaede’s response to him freaking out is different?

Now she has piano memories...

and the Monokubs again?

This time I’m assuming Monophanie actually gave them their “first memories” and the Exisals won’t show up till later. Right?

“We’re not Monkubs! We’re the stuffed animals!” no you fucked up that line. do over, do-over!

I have a hunch these seeming 4th-wall breaking lines are gonna have some hidden importance...

And now that she has her first memory, Kaede doesn’t know who the Monokubs are. As I thought.

What I’m getting so far is that Ultimates are being hunted down, and so the Ultimates somehow developed amnesia and possible fake memories to help hide themselves from whoever’s behind the Ultimate Hunt. I wonder if Kaede will remember being kidnapped in this new version of events? Prolly not.

The Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles? Definitely not Hope’s Peak then.

The school was founded specifically for the cast. Who founded it? Monokuma?

“activity” yeah that is gonna be pleasant >.<

Hmmm. I wonder...first memory...implying a second memory and onwards, right?

Introductions are a go!

Awww, Kaede was so cute as a baby! But...

I can’t help wonder which memories are real and which aren’t. The music is called “Beautiful Lie”...you advance trials through lying...lies are definitely a central theme of this game. The memories of a normal girl with no special talents...the memories of a skilled piano player...which set of memories are real and which are fake? Are either of them the truth, for that matter?

What the fuck was that?!

Kaede, asleep, with some manner of machine hooked up to her brain? Is this...a vision of what’s happening right now, or a memory of losing her memories, or...?

And instead of a hope fragment, we get a friendship fragment.

And here’s our menu interface!

The monopad.

Kaede’s profile: She’s a blood type O, likes piano keys, and dislikes bicycles.

Shuichi likes novels, and dislikes gossip...strange dislike for a detective.

There’s a second classroom and a concert hall here. Classroom first.

Nope, classroom is locked.

Music room is locked too.

Oh here’s the Monokubs again.

Ultimate Research Lab?

Ah, a personal room besides the dormroom. For honing your talents...

But a bunch of the other labs are...hidden.

And these rooms aren’t ready yet.

A bronze dragon statue that seems awfully suspicious, and...this girl? Was she the cosplayer, or what?

Yup, she’s the Ultimate Cosplayer, Tsumugi Shirogane.

Kaede please stop hitting on her what the hell girl

Yeah the statue is clearly suspicious.

KAEDE stop hitting on her for fuck’s sake

OK, Tsumugi likes EVA foam (is that an NGE thing?) and dislikes disorderly queues.

That’s the third floor. Now for the second.

Check the bathrooms...yeah the plants everywhere are unsettling.

No way to get to the dorms for now.

Let’s check near the kitchen...Rantaro’s hanging around the hallways there.

Woah, after bringing up amnesia, Rantaro’s face got all scary...

“It’s not like...I already told you, but then I forgot I did, right?” Well...

Likes: Extraterritorial rights. Dislikes: cars. What?

Let’s check out the school store! Nope, it’s locked. Cafeteria then?

Locked during night-time...sounds about right.

Magician girl and Neo-...akido? master are here, too.

Himiko Yumeno, Ultimate Mage. Well, Ultimate Magician.

She likes small spaces, dislikes the ocean.

And now th- holy shit don’t yell like that

Neo-Aikido. That was it.

Tenko Chabashira, the Ultimate Aikido Master.

Kaede’s still hitting on the ladies...

Tenko’s making the face! She’s making the face!

Likes: nunchucks. Dislikes: Men. Well yeah I kinda got that she hates men yeah

There’s a kitchen here according to the demo, but we can’t get to it right now.

What’s inside classroom A on the other side of floor 2?

Oh, it’s Supreme Leader and K1B0!

Keebo...which just so happens to be Japanese for hope, right?

K1B0, the Ultimate Robot, and Kokichi Oma, the Ultimate Supreme Leader.

Professor Idabashi was the scientist who created Keebo and gave him a “strong AI”.

I’m glad they kept that question about robot anatomy from the demo. Pffft.

Kokichi’s true talent: the Ultimate Little Shit.

Kokichi likes carbonated drinks and dislikes pig’s feet. Keebo likes 100-24o volts of electricity, and dislikes vending machines.

Creepy basement time...

There’s a library...and it is musty and freaky. Two people in here. The caretaker first...wait the other person is just Shuichi. OK, nevermind about two people.

Maki Harukawa....Ultimate Child Caregiver. And not a particularly friendly person. Once our conversation was done, she GTFO’d.

Apparently she likes morning lake shores, and dislikes winter lake shores.

There’s a door down the basement hall that opens up into a wall, or rather doesn’t open up. Weird and suspicious. The other door in the hallways leads back into the library.

The final door here is a game room. With the tennis player inside.

Ryoma Hoshi, Ultimate Tennis Pro. He likes the Russian blues, dislikes whitetip reef sharks, and killed several members of the mafia. And then went to jail for it. Somehow, he ended up here, though. He claims he didn’t need a future anymore, and that’s why he killed the mafia players even though he knew he’d go to jail. Does his not having a future have anything to do with the Ultimate Hunt, I wonder...?

Inside the game room is a locked door to another room. The same room that the unopenable door in the hallways leads to, it looks like. Back up to the second floor. No wait, this is the first floor. Weird. I thought we started on the third floor?

There’s a door here with a strange othello-like pattern. I’m guessing it’s another Ultimate Lab, and it’s possible the room behind the game room is yet another, but “hidden”.

This way is the gym...but we still haven’t met all the students. I gotta look for a place I haven’t been before, then.

Trying to go into the gym is futile, anyways - it’s locked. But Shuichi is starting to feel a strange sense of deja vu...As he should.

Ah, we haven’t been to the warehouse yet! Inventor girl is here.

Yeah she’s full of innuendo...

Miu Iruma, the Ultimate Inventor...she invented a new type of contact lens but she thought it was pointless since it didn’t improve productivity while sleeping, which all her inventions she cares about do. She signed the rights away like a total idiot and that was that.

She needs meds, huh? Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me. *sweatdrop*

...ooooooor she wants to get high as fuck off of them...

You...you don’t have balls in the first place, girl...

hey Kaede, if she can’t use drugs to get high, what do you suggest she use to get high?

Also Shuichi is strangely defensive about his hat...is he bald underneath it or something?

Miu likes children’s TV and hates taking it easy.

Huh, after going to the gym and not being able to enter, the dorms are now accessible.

And the anthropology guy comes outta nowhere

Korekiyu Shinguji, Ultimate Anthropologist. But call him Kiyo.

Right, as I said before, I think this guy might be the Nagito of this game.

Kiyo likes straw ropes and dislikes air conditioning.

Hey, the door does lead outside...but not to the dorms?

This is weird...we can see the outside world, but I feel like they can’t see us...

According to the Monokubs, who showed up again, this is the End Wall.

It represents...the end of the world...?

No matter how much we scream...no one can hear us. It’s as I thought then...the outside world cannot see the place we’re in...even if it’s right in front of their own eyes.

The Exisals are working on renovations? The robots?

How can a robot have a wife and kids. Yeah this guy is BSing.

Ah, there’s the dorms. And astronaut boy!

Kaito Momota, Ultimate Astronaut. He likes house plants and dislikes the occult.

Further down this area, there’s a ninja statue, and the bug guy. There’s also a red door. Could that be...?

“Shrine of Judgement”

This is the courtroom, then?

And also the ultimate artist.

Angie Yonaga, Ultimate Artist and devout worshiper of a god named Atua. She likes avocados and dislikes humidity.

Now to backtrack and talk to bug guy.

Gonta Gokuhara, Ultimate Entomologist. He speaks Tarzan-like and aspires to be a gentleman. As a kid, he got lost in the woods while looking for bugs and wasn’t found for 10 years, hence his style of speech. Oh, and because of that he was raised by wolves. Gonta can speak to bugs and animals because of this.

And...there’s no bugs on the school grounds. Weird...

Shuichi mentioned not liking bugs. That was a mistake. Gonta scary when Gonta angry.

Gonta likes arthropods and dislikes bananas.

That leaves only the maid, who must be in the dorms.

Yup, there she is. But we gotta deal with the Monokubs first.

Yup, we gotta live here.

Kirumi Tojo, the Ultimate Maid. She claims to have no desires or opinions of her own, existing to fulfill the desires of others. Wow.

The bell!

The monitor shows the Monokubs on a couch, in a room decorated with tiny figurines of the Ultimates.

To the gym, then!

Oh, and Kirumi likes cleaning and dislikes taking days off.

Well, next time we’ll go to the gym and see the opening ceremony!

[livefromtheloam]

Whatever Happened to Kamigawa?

So, I’ve noticed the Kamigawa discussion happening a bit more often these days, so I wanted to give my take on the original block and whether or not it’s feasible for Wizards to return to the plane in a Standard set.

This wound up being much longer than I had anticipated so I’ll throw in a jump so as not to take up all of your dash.

Intro

Magic the Gathering is a franchise that serves two purposes. It is a deep strategy card game which adds onto itself annually. It is also a rich, setting-driven collection of stories which explores different fantasy worlds. Magic is at its best when these two factors are both strong (the original Innistrad merged flavor with game play better than any other block), but is also excellent when it’s light in one (Kaladesh was light on mechanics but had amazing story) or the other (the original Zendikar was light on story but had amazing mechanics). Additionally, when a world is heavily inspired by a real-world source, the flavor has to match expectations. Innistrad truly felt like you were playing a role in the battle between a struggling human race and hordes of different things that go bump in the night. Even leaving aside the ancient Egyptian theme, Amonkhet was able to marry its flavor (idyllic city in a harsh cursed world owned by Nicol Bolas) with its gameplay (powerful spells and abilities that hurt your own creatures, cause you to discard, etc) with the added bonus of having a sunny, beautiful art direction.

While all those sets did their things right, I can’t help but feel as if Kamigawa had to get both sides of the equation wrong for us to get them.

Mechanics

Gameplay wise, Kamigawa was a mess. While samurai/bushido and ninjas/ninjutsu were home runs, the rest of the block felt like a frustrating puzzle with no solution. Spirits and Arcane were supposed to play off each other, but in reality there were only a few combos that were useful. Flip cards were messy and difficult to grok. Too many Legendary cards, made the best abilities less consistently playable and deckbuilding was made much trickier thanks to it (not to mention mirror matches using the Legendary rule of the time). Uncommon Legendary cards felt almost like a cheat. Epic spells, while a neat idea, were underwhelming. Offerings made it seem like the block was considering being tribal, but there were too many creature types and not enough support for most of them. Even equipment, which had been introduced in the previous block, was struggling to find its identity in a non-artifact world.

Entrenched players found themselves almost fighting against the game itself, while newcomers were confused and frustrated by a game that already had a reputation for being confusing and frustrating.

Flavor

Creative wise, Kamigawa was a bigger mess. I’ll get into what I think their motives for creating a Japanese-inspired world were later, but there were many issues for non-Japanese fans. Ostensibly, the setting is based on Sengoku Period Japan, and even if you don’t know it by name, you probably know the general idea of warring clans forging what would become the Empire. Since this is a fantasy setting, they also included their take on the kami, spirits and gods based on Japanese folktales and religion.

On paper this sounds good, but in reality it was incredibly difficult to keep up. As there was a Legendary theme, a huge number of cards had names that were unfamiliar to the vast majority of non-Japanese players. (As someone with a big "foreign” last name from a big "foreign” family, I can sympathize.) And to make matters worse, very few of those Legendary creatures (items, locations, etc.) featured in the main storyline of the set! The kami themselves were designed to be representations of their respective domains (kind of like Elementals, now that I think about it), but wound up being kind of incomprehensible and difficult to parse. Even though they took on many different kinds of forms, the kami artwork was extremely weird, even for fantasy. 

What Went Wrong

Everything changed in 1997. This was the year Pokémon left Japan and conquered the rest of the world. It was a vast multimedia phenomenon and it brought with it the idea that cartoons from Japan were really cool. While we had anime in the States previously, Pokémon introduced it to a far wider audience than ever before. By 2000, a large portion of animated shows that aired in the United States were made in Japan. The audiences couldn’t get enough and distributors had no problem with selling a product for which only the voicework and minimal editing needed to be done. Champions of Kamigawa was released in 2004, which means production started in 2002, still in the middle of the anime boom. While I can’t find anything stating that this craze wasn’t a driving factor in setting a Magic block in a world influenced by Japanese culture, I wouldn’t bet against it (as evidenced by this paragraph that’s already gone on too long).

The problem is that design did their homework too well. They based it on real world history and mythology, which bucked Western expectations of what Japanese culture was in regards to many elements. Non-Japanese fans didn’t have the cultural foundation or vocabulary for many of these new characters and fantasy creatures and the most foreign ones still stuck out and used more brainspace than the things players already got, like samurai and ninja. There was little resonance with anything that wasn’t already a trope.

I should note here that this was their first modern attempt at creating a Magic setting inspired by a real world one. Arabian Nights and Portal: Three Kingdoms were adaptations of the 1001 Nights and Romance of the Three Kingdoms settings, respectively, while Ice Age and the Dark were made in a completely different era of design. Of course there would be hiccups.

This was also the first time they had told a story that didn’t tie into Urza’s epic saga in years. It was completely new. And while I’m not sure if this were added later on, Kamigawa is mentioned as being very far away from Dominaria and other known planes, giving it an excuse to be stranger.

That still doesn’t excuse the curveball that players got thrown when it came to the subpar mechanics. As stated earlier, bushido and ninjutsu were great. Players grokked them immediately and many remember them fondly. However, the mechanics that didn’t play nicely outside the block, as well as the overall frustrating gameplay, made many people reconsider their hobby of choice.

Which brings me to the final nail in Kamigawa’s coffin. The Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game hit American shores in 2002. This was a direct result of a Western obsession with all things anime. Yu-Gi-Oh was able to hit all the anime tropes that Magic couldn’t, even in their Japan-inspired set. And while Magic had been able to weather the competition that was the Pokémon TCG, it couldn’t deal with a third contender.

Finally, I want to address a nagging thought. Normally, one would expect “the names were confusing for most people, but not me,” or something similar. I can’t in good conscience say that. Since I was a child, I’ve been interested in Japanese culture and mythology (as well as others - I did choose to study anthropology after all), but without having been immersed in it, I was just a fan at the time, not a scholar and certainly not Japanese. As I mentioned earlier, I bear no ill will towards those who can’t keep a glut of new unfamiliar words and names straight as I’ve seen how confused other people get when they’re introduced to my family all at once. This extends past the names, of course, and into many of the bits and pieces of Japanese folklore they did use.

Is there Hope?

Honestly, not a lot. Kamigawa had its chance at being a featured plane in a Standard set and failed. As Mark Rosewater has repeated ad nauseam, it’s almost disingenuous to try to convince the powers that be to approve it thanks to poor sales and abysmal player reaction to both the mechanics and creative direction. It’s not like bringing back a risky mechanic here and there - this is a whole setting, with everything that goes into it. Every set that comes out has an incredible amount of work and resources behind it, and there’s always a risk that it won’t sell. If you want a plane with gods (that aren’t mostly dead) and too many Legendaries, there’s Theros. If you want a plane with Asian influence, there’s Tarkir. If you want a plane with wacky spells, hey we’re finally going back to Dominaria next year. Why would a company that’s in the business of making money take a risk on losing when there are much safer gambles?

That being said, with the right pitch and a lot of work (and possibly the total destruction of all the collected market research and sales data) a Return to Kamigawa could be made. The fact that we’re going to three worlds a year now improves the chances of going back, and a decade and a half of experience with their modern design sensibilities definitely help. Realistically though, we’re only likely to see bits of Kamigawa in core sets and supplementary products.

But could it be GOOD?

Absolutely! Everyone’s got an opinion on how this could be done, but you’ve read this far so why not consider mine? These are just ideas for one to two Standard sets, not supplementary products or an old-fashioned block.

To start, it’s a great thing that the Champions of Kamigawa block took place thousands of years in the Multiverse’s past. It makes it easier to justify massive changes to everything.

The kami need to be dialed back, but present. I think a good case could be made for the kami being enchantment creatures, but there need to be far fewer, and they need to serve the story and an in-game purpose. Perhaps they could all be lords for their respective things, but they shouldn’t be normal creatures with freaky art. They also shouldn’t have freaky art. They shouldn’t be a rehash of the gods and Nyxborn creatures from Theros, but that’s a good starting point. I could see a mythic cycle of god-like kami and a rare cycle of concept-like or element-like kami. Give them the creature type Kami and abandon spirits altogether (unless the actual ghost of Toshiro Umezawa plays a role). Have no more than three other cards interact with this creature type.

The tribal component needs to be tightened up. There were so many cool new races in the Kamigawa block, but ultimately we only need five races of people (including humans), two classes, and then an assortment of other creature types. More on this in a bit.

Do away with the Legendary theme altogether. It never works and only sounds cool for about five minutes. Quality over quantity. (That being said, a Legendary theme for a Commander-focused product would work out very well I think.) Likewise, do away with the parasitic mechanics. Splice onto Arcane only works if there are Arcane cards outside the set and only if you want to actually play those cards.

It would be better to stick with a tried and true theme for limited - either Samurai vs. Ninja or five faction turf war. You could even have watermarks for the different clans. Everyone loves those, and clan emblems were used in real life too. Either way, it’s best not to deviate too much from what other sets and blocks have proven to work and it helps dictate the design of the set.

Speaking of design, there’s still a lot of great stuff going on in the original block. I haven’t mentioned the Soratami (moon people), Orochi (snake people), Nezumi (rat people), or Akki (goblin people), but they serve the set perfectly. Tribal is always a popular mechanic, and as a subtheme or even a major theme, players always want a team to join. Again, there are other creature types that could be utilized, but I think these are perfect to be the main races, along with humans. The Soratami are especially cool because they’re a Magic-specific race, much like the Aetherborn, and we’ve got a fan-favorite, story-driving moonfolk Planeswalker in Tamiyo.

There should absolutely be Japanese cultural and mythological inspired creatures, but they should be based on a modern idea of Japanese fantasy. Kappa, tengu, oni, and other assorted yokai fill in these spots pretty well, not to mention dragons. There’s also a good amount of things that can be done with locations, like shrines and castles, which wouldn’t necessitate them being Legendary.

If I had my way, the feel of a Return to Kamigawa would have a theme of journeying (a theme in a lot of old Japanese stories), much as original Zendikar had the feel of adventuring or Kaladesh had the theme of inventing. Lands with the type Road could lead you to places represented by other lands or artifacts with the type Shrine or Castle. These could help you play spells of a specific type, say, samurai or snake. In turn, those cards synergize with other spells. In practice I don’t know how this would play out, but as a midrange kind of limited environment, I can see it being enjoyable.

Final Thoughts

Despite its checkered past, the original Kamigawa block was very important. It was a first for a lot of modern Magic design sensibility, but wound up being more like a mistake to learn from than a model to base future sets off of. Additionally, it strayed when it should have stayed faithful to the source material and vice-versa. And while there were some very cool, very resonant elements that were introduced, the strange and unfamiliar elements are what dominated many players’ perception of the world. Combined with increased competition and a failed attempt at appealing to a certain type of fan, the block was doomed from the very start. 

Knowing what they know now, I think that the Magic team can put together an amazing Japanese-inspired set and keep it on Kamigawa, rather than having to create a new plane. They need to define what they want Japanese-inspired to mean, however, and keep it more in line with audience expectations. They need to focus on what people still love about the plane and bring it in line with what a Magic set is now.