#northern-chinese-panther

[johnnyslittleanimalblog]

Northern chinese panther Hoenderdaell 3L0A1443 by safi kok

[russenoire]

i'm now about halfway through avatar: the last airbender s2 (and halfway through the entire series). and i have thoughts.

i regret missing out on this while it was airing. chest deep in anime at the time, i'd largely turned my back on american TV animation and was in the midst of wrapping up a bachelor's degree. A:TLA would probably have won me over then too. it holds its own as a story so well even now, i don't mind being two decades late to the party.

A:TLA takes place in a constructed world largely based on ancient china, with recognizable chunks from many, many other east asian peoples and subarctic indigenous nations stirred in. american fantasy worlds rooted in real-world places often tend towards this kind of racist pan-cultural stew (black panther—my deep abiding love for it otherwise—is another example) and A:TLA, a dish that manages to be both deeply honorable and kinda disrespectful, is no exception.

for every display of cultural respect:

all the chinese text in the show is real, supervised and/or translated by ming dynasty historian, research scientist and calligrapher dr. siu-leung lee.

the selection process for the avatar closely mirrors that for the actual dalai lama, right down to the search for a child born around the time of the previous lama’s death who picks his relics out of a collection of possible playthings.

the elemental bending techniques and fight choreography are derived from real chinese martial art forms. 5th gen northern shaolin master sifu kisu, the series' main martial arts consultant, chose a form for each element based on its movements and/or philosophy. the water tribes use t'ai chi; earthbenders use the hung gar style of kung fu (and the blind earthbender toph fights with her own aggressive and rare style, chow gar kung fu); the fire nation use northern shaolin kung fu; and the air nomads use ba gua zhang, a style characterized by spinning and other circular motions.

aang sits with a guru who teaches him how to unlock his chakras at one point, and his explanation respects both aang's level of maturity and the complexity of the concept as laid out in hinduism.

avatar roku’s fire temple contains a lotus-petal shaped flame motif common in thai art and architecture; ty lee and katara wear split skirts that resemble those worn by thai performers of a ballet retelling of the hindu epic ramayana (it’s called ramakien in thailand). thai (and burmese!) traditional dance/theatre costume and armor show up everywhere in the fire nation, especially in the military garb. even zuko’s topknot is a traditional thai hairstyle (for children).

there are perhaps two or three of ignorance or apathy.

names in mandarin chinese, korean, tibetan, sanskrit or japanese are mostly butchered; mandarin sees the worst abuse because it's used most often. A:TLA was released at a time when it was still not uncommon for US anime distributors to change japanese names outright in localizations; producers figured 'american-sounding' names would go down easier with audiences. given this, i'm not surprised a mid-2000s american production inspired by anime wouldn't give a toss about names in other asian languages: most americans don't care. (personally i find the mispronounced names far harder to stomach than the dollops of buddhist-daoist-hindu philosophy purée: while A:TLA’s painstaking worldbuilding, tight plot and excellent voice acting make the show's faults stand out all the more, its spiritual aspects aren't a major focus.)

someone thought it would be a good idea to give a group of swamp dwellers vaguely cajun accents. whyyyyy.

the blending (read: conflation) of cultures ignores existing tensions and centuries of cross-pollination in ways that can be offensive. there are many, many other nods to thai (and vietnamese! and burmese! and...) culture in clothing, setting and architecture across the series, but the showrunners made no effort to educate viewers on the provenance of any of these smaller influences. people of non-chinese east asian ancestries already get mistaken for chinese by americans who assume they’re all the same.

and yet. while looking to cartoons for cultural sensitivity may be a fool's errand, A:TLA gets a lot right, particularly when it comes to its characters.

more about the people of A:TLA to follow in a subsequent post.

[dear-indies]

hiii cat!!! 🫶🏼 can i ask for some fc suggestions that’d work in a zombie apocalypse setting? (preferably 20-30’s and a woc, but white is okay too) tysm for all the work you do in helping out the rpc and spreading helpful important information 🧡

Lupita Nyong'o (1983) Mexican Luo Kenyan - Little Monsters, Black Panther.

DeWanda Wise (1984) African-American - Jurassic World Dominion.

Tao Okamoto (1985) Japanese - Westworld.

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (1985) Kainai Blackfoot, Northern Sámi - Blood Quantum, Night Raiders.

Jessica Matten (1985) Red River Metis of Cree and Saulteaux descent, Chinese, White - Frontier.

Diane Guerrero (1986) Colombian - Doom Patrol - has spoken up for Palestine!

Alba Flores (1986) Romani and Spanish - is a lesbian - Romancero, Money Heist - has spoken up for Palestine!

Hannah John-Kamen (1989) Nigerian / White - Resident Evil.

JuJu Chan (1989) Hongkonger - Wu Assassins.

Gratiela Brancusi (1989) Romani - has spoken up for Palestine!

Nathalie Emmanuel (1989) English, Saint Lucian, Dominican - Army of Thieves.

Malese Jow (1991) Chinese / English, Scottish, Cherokee - The Shannara Chronicles.

Seychelle Gabriel (1991) French, Mexican / Italian, including Sicilian - Blood Fest - has spoken up for Palestine and Sudan!

Tanaya Beatty (1991) Da’naxda’xw / Himalayan - Yellowstone, Murder At Yellowstone.

Hari Nef (1992) Ashkenazi Jewish - is a trans woman - Assassination Nation - has spoken up for Palestine!

Adwoa Aboah (1992) Ghanaian / English - Willow.

Jessica Madsen (1992) - is bisexual - Dark Light - has spoken up for Palestine!

Ellora Torchia (1992) Indian / White - Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands - has spoken up for Palestine!

Devery Jacobs (1993) Mohawk - is queer - Blood Quantum, American Gods - has spoken up for Palestine!

Triana Browne (1993) Chickasaw, Aamsskáápipikani Blackfoot, Cherokee, African-American, Unknown Caribbean, White - Walker: Independence.

Anna Leong Brophy (1993) Irish, Chinese, Kadazan - Shadow of Bone.

Jasmin Savoy Brown (1994) African-American / White - is queer - has spoken up for Palestine!

Tsuchiya Tao (1995) Japanese - Alice in Borderland.

Jessie Mei Li (1995) Hongkonger / English - is a gender non-conforming woman who uses she/they - Shadow and Bone - has spoken up for Palestine!

Myha'la (1996) Afro Jamaican / White - is queer - Leave the World Behind - has spoken up for Palestine!

Chase Sui Wonders (1996) Chinese, some Japanese and Tahitian / Unspecified White - Bodies Bodies Bodies.

Tati Gabrielle (1996) African-American / Korean - Uncharted, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, The 100.

Morgan Holmstrom (1997) Metis of Cree descent, Ilocano and Sambal Filipino, Possibly Tagalog Filipino - Day of the Dead.

Amber Midthunder (1997) Hunkpapa Lakota, Hudeshabina Nakoda, Sissiton-Wahpehton Dakota, Thai-Chinese, and White - Prey.

Thaddea Graham (1997) Chinese - The Irregulars.

Sisi Stringer (1997) African Australian and White - Vampire Academy - has spoken up for Palestine!

Erin Kellyman (1998) Afro Jamaican / White - is a lesbian - Willow.

Tsunematsu Yuri (1998) Japanese - Alice in Borderland.

Pegah Ghafoori (1999) Iranian - From.

Jennifer Cheon Garcia (?) Korean / Mexican - Van Helsing.

Gosh thank you for the kind words anon they mean so much to me! Not all of these have apocalypse specific resources but they have resources that can definitely fit. 💌

[smithtales]

Publications

Short Stories and Poems: - Leave Taking: Literary Yard: - “Oh No, Not Again”: More Words from the End of the Road, Anthology of the Key West Writers Guild, volume 2 - Exit: More Words from the End of the Road: More Words from the End of the Road, Anthology of the Key West Writers Guild, volume 2 - - Mendy’s Exit: Murder in Key West 9—Murder and Mayhem in Paradise, Volume Nine - In the Shadow – Death in Mexico: CC&D Magazine, May 2023 Edition - Understanding Ice Cream: After Dinner Conversation Magazine, March 1st, 2023 - Cynthia, Literary Yard Essays - Self-Certainty: Academy of the Heart and Mind: July 2023 Edition - Learning Like: Academy of the Heart and Mind: - Meaning and Moment: Academy of the Heart and Mind: - Stilling the Ripples: Academy of the Heart and Mind: Books - The Broadway Murders Case: An Omega/Alpha Thriller - Enter the world of Omega/Alpha. Non-stop action, psychic connections, telepathy & shape shifting. Meet Anna, a paranormal private detective engaged in a global battle against a dangerous cabal. Her confidential assistant Ian MacGregger from Scotland Yard via Interpol, the French electronics expert, an ancient Catalan butler, a cleaver wielding Chinese chef, a gardener older than dirt, the old man who lives up on the mountain, a panther, grey wolf, a seven-foot bushmaster and a resident raven. - Assault on Omega: An Omega-Alpha Mystery: Volume Two in the Cabal Series. After the defeats surrounding the Broadway Murders Case, the Cabal strikes back with vengeance. A direct assault on Anna's estate in Westchester Country. - The Sound Of Fury: An Omega-Alpha Mystery: The Cabal – Volume Three: This the third in the Cabal Series. The tranquility at Omega is shattered by the assassination of an honored visitor. The killing is just a prelude to a series of horrific attacks. The leader of the Cabal shows herself to be a far more formidable adversary than Anna has ever faced before. - Response: An Omega/Alpha Thriller: Three dozen top intelligence operatives and officers are called to a retreat in the northern Minnesota woods during the dead of winter. When one of them begins to suspect that something is about to go very wrong, he reaches out to allies. They share his apprehension. Something is going to happen. People are going to die. But no one could anticipate what comes to pass. Or the global conflict it would ignite. - Mice: Here told is the history of a people brought from prosperity to ruin by their own excesses as told by the last of them. The story of their rise and flourishing. Their successes and failures. Their brilliances and their stupidities. And of their ultimate extinction. - Dream Walk: Parables for the Living - Meditation on Meaning: You are about to enter a world in which all the characters are animals. But these are not cartoon characters, team mascots or anthropomorphic manifestations of human tendencies they are potent spirits in their own right. Animals to be sure - but animals of a very special sort. They are derived very loosely from Native American mythology - particularly that of the Tlingit natives of southeast Alaska - but only very loosely. In a fundamental way they have created themselves. - Dream Food: Journeys Towards The Light: This book, at its core, is an investigation into what it means to be human. Not all of what it means to be human, but a small slice. The characters you will meet are all animals. They are loosely drawn from the mythologies of the native tribes of southern Alaska. To those who have gifted stories from generation to generation, the spirits are real, potent, and contribute to the lives of the humans amongst which they live. Read the full article

[luna-rainbow]

the general cop out of TFATWS

Saw this fantastic thread pop up today but since this post would be talking about everything else apart from Bucky, I thought I'd start another post.

TFATWS brings up very complex issues and some very dark themes. Unlike Black Widow which by and large does it well, TFATWS does not give these issues the complexity they deserve. It wants to be a political show, but it shirks away from actually giving those issues the gravity and depth they deserve.

1) Racial injustice

My particular issue with the racial injustice theme is that the MCU does not actually align with the real world. I mean half the world has just come out of non-existence, that messes up the social psyche in major ways - so this is not the same as the post-Floyd US we know in the real world. Especially to people living outside the US, we're going to need a little more than a bank and a police scene to show us exactly how racial injustice pervades the MCU America to the point that Sam/Sarah denounces the country multiple times, particularly as it had never been established as an issue before this series (again, only lightly touched on in Black Panther). It is also a missed opportunity to actually educate people outside of the US why racial injustice in the US is a problem that needs the world community's support. Go hard and go deep. Make it without a doubt that Sam could've gotten a loan if he was white - just need a passing comment that someone else in the same situation easily got a loan. Make it clear that in the MCU world, there are also unjust deaths in custody which preferentially affects BIPOC, and this problem has become bigger because the lack of resources has driven up petty crime. Talk about BIPOC being passed over for opportunities, which are going to be massively limited in the post-Blip world. Talk about how people can't get jobs, can't go to college, can't go to school because the colour of their skin pushes them down the list of priorities. Which brings me to...

2) Post-Blip mess

This is criminally glossed over in the series, with a lot of handwaving lines about "the GRC" and "things were better before the Blip". Again, show/tell us the horrors. There won't be enough food and water. There won't be enough housing or accommodation. Don't show us refugees living in clean European mansions. Show us overcrowded, poorly constructed, unhygienic refugee camps (see below picture from Syria). The world's population doubled overnight with no increase in infrastructure. You're going to have a LOT of displaced people literally on the streets. Crime will soar, deaths and illness will soar, and overall dissent will soar.

3) Resource allocation

Even in a world that hasn't had to deal with half the population disappearing then returning within a short time frame, we are having issues with vaccine inequity. Here's a recent JAMA article about this very issue:

Approximately 1.2% of the global vaccine supply has been received by low-income countries and just 14% by lower-middle-income countries, which account for nearly 40% of the world’s population. In contrast, more than half the US adult population is fully vaccinated (...)

Vaccine inequity is driven by insufficient supply and unfair allocation. Powerful high-income countries prepurchased sufficient doses for their entire populations, sometimes twice the number needed. In contrast, COVAX, a global initiative to procure and equitably allocate vaccines, failed to secure enough doses even for its modest goal of covering 20% of lower-income country populations this year. Pfizer, for example, agreed to sell COVAX only 40 million doses, and had delivered just over 1 million by mid-May.

Now extrapolate this across all resources, including food, fuel, medicines, materials, manufacturing machinery etc. For example, recently parts of northern Chinese cities went dark for days in the middle of a freezing winter because the power grid didn't have enough coal to run. This is going to be made so much worse when the population had suddenly doubled. Greedy corporations will want to capitalise on the sudden surge in demand. Large numbers of people will be dying from all of these reasons, and if the GRC is driving the inequity by unfair allocation of resources, people are within their rights to protest or push for change.

4) Police/Government corruption

It's a fine line that separates a terrorist from a revolutionary, and TFATWS shied away from portraying the gritty reality that would have made Karli a real heroine in this post-apocalyptic world. This is a particularly missed opportunity because Karli's story isn't even set in America, and even as someone who doesn't keep up much with world news I know there are ongoing issues of military/government driven brutality going on throughout the world, which would be many times worse post-Blip because the population will become more expendable.

For anyone interested, here's China's forcing sterilisation/contraception in Uighurs. Here's Myanmar military shooting young people posting Tiktoks of pro-democracy songs. Here's China (again) arresting staff at a pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong and driving it into closure.

Get into the dark side. Tell us how the GRC is colluding with corrupt governments. Tell us about the slavery that has shot through the roof because human labour is now so cheap. Tell us how governments are banning their own people from having children because of overcrowding concerns, and how the GRC plays into that propaganda. Tell us how corrupt powers try to censor these issues from getting to the media, and how the GRC's musclemen (like Walker) are unknowingly or intentionally used to silence people who are trying to fight for their right to live.

5) "I believe we can do better"

Maybe because I'm more a doer than a talker, but I'm still trying to recover from the cringe caused by that speech. Again, I don't blame Sam for either this speech or his talk with Bucky in episode 5, I can only lay the blame at the writers who clearly weren't interested in any of the practical ramifications of what they're writing.

Firstly, establish what they were doing wrong (see above, and there's lots more that could be added with just a cursive research into world affairs). Second, "The only power I have is that I believe we can do better" is a terribly avoidant reply when someone is pointing out rightfully that the issues are complex. This is a time when people want solutions, not just nebulous ideas. I mean, who doesn't want things to be "better"?? But you haven't established the why or what and now you're just handwaving about the how.

Point out what they're doing wrong. Talk about equity in resource and opportunity allocation. Tell them how their policies are driving crime and death and corruption in lower income countries. Offer to be on the Council as a representative for the layperson. Sure, committees might not seem very superhero-like, but other heroes have sat in on international meetings with politicians with success - Nat, Tony, T'Challa to name a few.

I know it's easy to use the excuse that "they tried to pack too much so they can't address all this" and I agree to an extent. But by taking the handwaving cop-out route with these heavy issues, it undermined several scenes that should have held more emotional weight.

[sleepysera]

3.10.22 Headlines

WORLD NEWS

Ukraine: Attack on hospital draws outrage as talks stall (AP)

“A Russian airstrike on a Mariupol maternity hospital that killed three people brought condemnation down on Moscow on Thursday, with Ukrainian and Western officials branding it a war crime, while the highest-level talks yet yielded no progress in stopping the fighting. Emergency workers renewed efforts to get food and medical supplies into besieged cities and get traumatized civilians out.”

China: Promotion of Russia disinformation indicates where loyalties lie (CNN)

“In public statements and at international summits, Chinese officials have attempted to stake out a seemingly neutral position on the war in Ukraine, neither condemning Russian actions nor ruling out the possibility Beijing could act as a mediator in a push for peace. But while its international messaging has kept many guessing as to Beijing's true intentions, much of its domestic media coverage of Russia's invasion tells a wholly different story.”

India: Uttar Pradesh election pits Covid-19 anger against Hindu nationalism (CNN)

“Ritesh Mishra vowed to care for the dead, even if it meant risking his own life last year as India's second Covid-19 wave tore through the country's most populous state. The social worker said he didn't wear a mask or gloves as he gave funeral rites for more than 200 Covid victims on the banks of the sacred River Sarayu in northern Uttar Pradesh state -- it wouldn't have been what God wanted, he said.”

US NEWS

Russia: US House approves Russia oil import ban (AP)

“The U.S. House overwhelmingly approved legislation that would ban Russian oil imports to the United States, an effort to put into law the restrictions announced by President Joe Biden in response to the escalating war in Ukraine. Going further than Biden’s import ban on Russian oil, the bill making its way through Congress would also encourage a review of Russia’s status in the World Trade Organization and signal U.S. support for sanctions on Russian officials over human rights violations, as the U.S. works to economically isolate the regime.”

Transgender Rights: Texas files lawsuit over federal guidance that highlighted protections for pediatric gender-affirming care (CNN)

“Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Wednesday he is suing the Biden administration over guidance from federal health officials that conflicts with his legal opinion that gender affirming procedures in children should be considered "child abuse." Paxton's February legal opinion -- which was seen by many as an attack on transgender children -- prompted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to direct the state's Department of Family and Protective Services to investigate instances of those procedures.”

Crime: Black Panther Ryan Coogler director mistaken for bank robber (BBC)

“The director of hit superhero film Black Panther was mistaken for a bank robber as he tried to take money out of his own account in the US, a police report has revealed. Ryan Coogler was briefly arrested after trying to withdraw $12,000 (£9,100) from the Atlanta bank in January. The teller had reportedly told her boss she suspected an attempted robbery after misinterpreting the situation.”

[alexanderlee1012]

Reflections on Mulan

It took me a long time to cherish my Taiwanese-American heritage. Growing up in the United States, it wasn’t a facet of my identity that I attached any importance to. As a child, I even actively denied that part of me. Whenever my family went out to eat Chinese food, I threw a temper tantrum and would only eat if we stopped by fast food first. I didn’t bother speaking Chinese; I replied to my Mom’s Mandarin in English and I consistently repeated the entry level class for my Saturday Chinese-school until I was not compelled to go anymore. The only attempt to understand the vast history and traditions of my culture was acknowledging the bare minimum to profit off of the New Years. 

While there are many reasons for my delayed acceptance of my culture and identity, the portrayal of Asians in Western Society was definitely a significant factor. Similar to many young children, I was deeply impacted by television and movies. My weeks were organized by TV show airtimes and the few times I was able to go to the movies were momentous occasions. I idolized the heroes on screen, wishing to become just like them. However, what I saw on the screen never closely resembled me. Almost all Western media featured white protagonists, and in the few moments there was somebody of Chinese descent, they were essentially a one-dimensional caricature that was completely unrelatable (for men, choose either kung fu master or a super nerd, and for women, choose an exotic hypersexualized love interest or submissive wallflower). Many values are actively defined and imprinted at a societal level, and this one was no different. The messaging from Hollywood was loud and clear: there is nothing valuable about being Asian American; this culture only deserves to be simplified to basic tropes. 

To my delight, as my own relationship with my culture deepened and flourished over the decades, it seemed that the media’s portrayal of Asians were finally evolving as well. First starting on the fringes, with Asian-American content creators using new platforms such as YouTube to reach directly to their audience, then slowly creeping into the mainstream, with sitcoms and major blockbuster films. Finally, Asian-Americans can be cast as characters that were complex and interesting. Their only defining feature wasn’t just that they were Asian! Similar to white actors and actresses, it was just another part of their identity. Witnessing Asians star in these multifaceted roles has been amazing given how the landscape was just a few years prior. 

I also understand that at the end of the day media is a business, and for this movement to not be temporary, Asians need to throw their full support when these things happen. Personally, I watched Crazy Rich Asians four times (two times in theaters, once on a plane, and then renting again at home to show my mom), and I’ve been subscribed to Wong Fu’s Patreon ever since I’ve learned of it. So of course, given this momentous live-action remaking of Mulan, I’ve been at the edge of my seat, excited and ready to support. 

Especially given the cultural phenomenon that was Black Panther, I was ecstatic that Disney was going to take on Mulan again. While many were bemoaning the exclusion of Mushu, Shang and those classic songs, I actually grew more excited since the director stated that she made those decisions to be more faithful to the original legend. The anticipation kept growing and growing as the pandemic forcibly pushed back the release again and again. Until finally, this past Friday’s release on Disney+, where I eagerly paid the additional $30 premium access to be among the first to support the movie. 

My disappointment was immeasurable.

While there are many major flaws to dive deep into regarding this movie (especially the superpowers that weaken the narrative of a woman fighting to be seen as an equal in a patriarchal society), I wanted to spend some time to speak on some smaller details that yanked me out of the immersion by how grossly misrepresented it was. In life, it’s the small actions that build up to communicate your intent. Love is shown by showing care and consistency in the tiniest of details; however, in this case, the small details accumulated to disrespect and disregard instead. These cultural details clearly didn’t matter to the people designing this film.

Warning slight spoilers ahead, but nothing too major if you’re familiar with the story.

The villagers from Mulan’s hometown all lived together in a Tulou (土樓), a circular earthen hut that can house many families. However these buildings are a facet of the Hakka people living in Fujian originating from the 12th century. Mulan’s story takes place in the Northern Wei Dynasty; which occurs during 386 to 534 AD and is, as the name describes, in the northern part of China. Not only is it geographically inaccurate, but there is a time difference of 600+ years there! That would be akin to placing a modern skyscraper penthouse into the Renaissance.

As someone who is learning more about Chinese tea to connect to their culture, the teapot used during the matchmaking scene was equally jarring. The teapot was a Yokode kyusu, a teapot that has a side handle 90 degrees from the sprout. While Japanese tea culture was originally imported from China during the Song Dynasty, the cultures have significantly diverged. Each has their unique vessels, tools, and processing techniques worthy of celebrating (matcha vs pu’er, sencha vs oolong, yokode kyusu vs yixing). However, maybe to the creators of this movie, east Asian culture is just all the same to them. 

The phoenix was a central character in the movie, and to the chagrin of many fans of the original, Mushu’s replacement. As the Hua family’s ancestral guardian spirit, it provided a nice symbolism for Mulan, as her character’s male persona dies and she is reborn as Hua Mulan. What is egregious is that Phoenixes are not even an animal within Chinese folklore, that’s a Western (Greek) myth! While some may point out that there is a Chinese mythical bird called the Fenghuang (鳳凰), these are immortal birds that only choose to visit regions when there is peace and prosperity. What it definitely is NOT is a reincarnating bird leading warriors into the heat of battle. Sure, Fenghuang are genderfluid and that does match Mulan, but why was the only emphasized trait of the bird the aspect from Greek lore? Why bother taking out Mushu to be closer to the original if it’s replacement is a Western myth?

Finally, I have to bring up the obvious change in accents that happened when Mulan changed from a kid to an adult. Why cast a child actor with an American accent if the main character has a Chinese accent? There is no way that any other movie with a 200M+ budget would have allowed a white child actor to speak with an American accent, to then change it to a British accent when that character grew up and not even acknowledge it. Are we just supposed to be okay with it since they’re at least both Chinese looking?

No movie will ever be picture perfect in representing any culture, trade-offs are inevitable. However, I can’t see how those choices above added anything. Why would you make the villagers live in a Tulou? Was it critical to the plot? Every other Mulan adaptation is fine without a Greek Phoenix, why make it so necessary to this re-telling? Those small details exposed the attitude that I was all too familiar with growing up: who cares about representing actual Chinese culture?

After watching that movie, it felt as if the creative process was a room of white people gathered together, cherry-picking what fit their own narrative, sprinkling some Asian artifacts throughout, shrugging and saying to each other “That’s Chinese-y right? Good enough for me!” Imagine my lack of surprise when I checked to see that none of the screenwriters, producers or director had an Asian background. Chinese culture is the longest continuing culture in the world. It deserves to be shared for what it is (warts and all), not to be trivialized into a simplified palette that’s easiest to digest. Chinese representation in Western media should be about collaborating with us as peers, not to be used as a tool to extract the growing affluence of the Chinese and it’s diaspora.

I so badly wanted this to be a celebration, but now it’s a lose-lose situation. I wouldn’t want the younger version of me to watch this. It would have pushed me further away from my culture; I would either not relate to the characters alluding to “honor” every other sentence, or I would see that my culture isn’t worth even having just one person in this $200M major blockbuster film correct the gross cultural inaccuracies. On the other hand, I also don’t want critics to point at bad numbers and proclaim that Asian representation isn’t worth the investment. 

I just wish for us to be portrayed as who we truly are. 

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 7.1

AD 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor. 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the Ostrogoth king, Totila, is mortally wounded. 1097 – Battle of Dorylaeum: Crusaders led by prince Bohemond of Taranto defeat a Seljuk army led by sultan Kilij Arslan I. 1431 – The Battle of La Higueruela takes place in Granada, leading to a modest advance of the Kingdom of Castile during the Reconquista. 1520 – Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés fight their way out of Tenochtitlan after nightfall. 1523 – Jan van Essen and Hendrik Vos become the first Lutheran martyrs, burned at the stake by Roman Catholic authorities in Brussels. 1569 – Union of Lublin: The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania confirm a real union; the united country is called the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth or the Republic of Both Nations. 1643 – First meeting of the Westminster Assembly, a council of theologians ("divines") and members of the Parliament of England appointed to restructure the Church of England, at Westminster Abbey in London. 1690 – Glorious Revolution: Battle of the Boyne in Ireland (as reckoned under the Julian calendar). 1766 – François-Jean de la Barre, a young French nobleman, is tortured and beheaded before his body is burnt on a pyre along with a copy of Voltaire's Dictionnaire philosophique nailed to his torso for the crime of not saluting a Roman Catholic religious procession in Abbeville, France. 1770 – Lexell's Comet is seen closer to the Earth than any other comet in recorded history, approaching to a distance of 0.0146 astronomical units (2,180,000 km; 1,360,000 mi). 1782 – Raid on Lunenburg: American privateers attack the British settlement of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. 1819 – Johann Georg Tralles discovers the Great Comet of 1819, (C/1819 N1). It was the first comet analyzed using polarimetry, by François Arago. 1837 – A system of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths is established in England and Wales. 1846 - Adolphe Sax patents the saxophone. 1855 – Signing of the Quinault Treaty: The Quinault and the Quileute cede their land to the United States. 1858 – Joint reading of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace's papers on evolution to the Linnean Society of London. 1862 – The Russian State Library is founded as the Library of the Moscow Public Museum. 1862 – Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, second daughter of Queen Victoria, marries Prince Louis of Hesse, the future Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse. 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Malvern Hill takes place. It is the last of the Seven Days Battles, part of George B. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign. 1863 – Keti Koti (Emancipation Day) in Suriname, marking the abolition of slavery by the Netherlands. 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Gettysburg begins. 1867 – The British North America Act takes effect as the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia join into confederation to create the modern nation of Canada. Sir John A. Macdonald is sworn in as the first Prime Minister of Canada. This date is commemorated annually in Canada as Canada Day, a national holiday. 1870 – The United States Department of Justice formally comes into existence. 1873 – Prince Edward Island joins into Canadian Confederation. 1874 – The Sholes and Glidden typewriter, the first commercially successful typewriter, goes on sale. 1878 – Canada joins the Universal Postal Union. 1879 – Charles Taze Russell publishes the first edition of the religious magazine The Watchtower. 1881 – The world's first international telephone call is made between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, and Calais, Maine, United States. 1881 – General Order 70, the culmination of the Cardwell and Childers reforms of the British Army, comes into effect. 1885 – The United States terminates reciprocity and fishery agreement with Canada. 1885 – The Congo Free State is established by King Leopold II of Belgium. 1890 – Canada and Bermuda are linked by telegraph cable. 1898 – Spanish–American War: The Battle of San Juan Hill is fought in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. 1901 – French government enacts its anti-clerical legislation Law of Association prohibiting the formation of new monastic orders without governmental approval. 1903 – Start of first Tour de France bicycle race. 1908 – SOS is adopted as the international distress signal. 1911 – Germany despatches the gunship SMS Panther to Morocco, sparking the Agadir Crisis. 1915 – Leutnant Kurt Wintgens of the then-named German Deutsches Heer's Fliegertruppe army air service achieves the first known aerial victory with a synchronized machine-gun armed fighter plane, the Fokker M.5K/MG Eindecker. 1916 – World War I: First day on the Somme: On the first day of the Battle of the Somme 19,000 soldiers of the British Army are killed and 40,000 wounded. 1922 – The Great Railroad Strike of 1922 begins in the United States. 1923 – The Parliament of Canada suspends all Chinese immigration. 1931 – United Airlines begins service (as Boeing Air Transport). 1931 – Wiley Post and Harold Gatty become the first people to circumnavigate the globe in a single-engined monoplane aircraft. 1932 – Australia's national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, was formed. 1935 – Regina, Saskatchewan police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police ambush strikers participating in the On-to-Ottawa Trek. 1942 – World War II: First Battle of El Alamein. 1942 – The Australian Federal Government becomes the sole collector of income tax in Australia as State Income Tax is abolished. 1943 – The City of Tokyo and the Prefecture of Tokyo are both replaced by the Tokyo Metropolis. 1946 – Crossroads Able is the first postwar nuclear weapon test. 1947 – The Philippine Air Force is established. 1948 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Quaid-i-Azam) inaugurates Pakistan's central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan. 1949 – The merger of two princely states of India, Cochin and Travancore, into the state of Thiru-Kochi (later re-organized as Kerala) in the Indian Union ends more than 1,000 years of princely rule by the Cochin royal family. 1957 – The International Geophysical Year begins. 1958 – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation links television broadcasting across Canada via microwave. 1958 – Flooding of Canada's Saint Lawrence Seaway begins. 1959 – Specific values for the international yard, avoirdupois pound and derived units (e.g. inch, mile and ounce) are adopted after agreement between the US, the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries. 1960 – The Trust Territory of Somaliland (the former Italian Somaliland) gains its independence from Italy. Concurrently, it unites as scheduled with the five-day-old State of Somaliland (the former British Somaliland) to form the Somali Republic. 1960 – Ghana becomes a republic and Kwame Nkrumah becomes its first President as Queen Elizabeth II ceases to be its head of state. 1962 – Independence of Rwanda and Burundi. 1963 – ZIP codes are introduced for United States mail. 1963 – The British Government admits that former diplomat Kim Philby had worked as a Soviet agent. 1966 – The first color television transmission in Canada takes place from Toronto. 1967 – Merger Treaty: The European Community is formally created out of a merger with the Common Market, the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Commission. 1968 – The United States Central Intelligence Agency's Phoenix Program is officially established. 1968 – The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is signed in Washington, D.C., London and Moscow by sixty-two countries. 1968 – Formal separation of the United Auto Workers from the AFL–CIO in the United States. 1972 – The first Gay pride march in England takes place. 1976 – Portugal grants autonomy to Madeira. 1978 – The Northern Territory in Australia is granted self-government. 1979 – Sony introduces the Walkman. 1980 – "O Canada" officially becomes the national anthem of Canada. 1983 – A North Korean Ilyushin Il-62M jet en route to Conakry Airport in Guinea crashes into the Fouta Djallon mountains in Guinea-Bissau, killing all 23 people on board. 1984 – The PG-13 rating is introduced by the MPAA. 1987 – The American radio station WFAN in New York City is launched as the world's first all-sports radio station. 1990 – German reunification: East Germany accepts the Deutsche Mark as its currency, thus uniting the economies of East and West Germany. 1991 – Cold War: The Warsaw Pact is officially dissolved at a meeting in Prague. 1997 – China resumes sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule. The handover ceremony is attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Charles, Prince of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. 1999 – The Scottish Parliament is officially opened by Elizabeth II on the day that legislative powers are officially transferred from the old Scottish Office in London to the new devolved Scottish Executive in Edinburgh. In Wales, the powers of the Welsh Secretary are transferred to the National Assembly. 2002 – The International Criminal Court is established to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. 2002 – Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937, a Tupolev Tu-154, and DHL Flight 611, a Boeing 757, collide in mid-air over Überlingen, southern Germany, killing all 71 on board both planes. 2003 – Over 500,000 people protest against efforts to pass anti-sedition legislation in Hong Kong. 2004 – Saturn orbit insertion of Cassini–Huygens begins at 01:12 UTC and ends at 02:48 UTC. 2006 – The first operation of Qinghai–Tibet Railway is conducted in China. 2007 – Smoking in England is banned in all public indoor spaces. 2008 – Riots erupt in Mongolia in response to allegations of fraud surrounding the 2008 legislative elections. 2013 – Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union. 2020 – The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement replaces NAFTA.

[pkmnsdarkqueen]

ANIMAL SUBSTYLES - RARE KUNG FU STYLES

So I’ve said before that when Karen’s unusual fighting style she can whip out which usually confuses opponents is when she’ll start to fight on all fours or mimic animal movements.

I finally found a complete list of these fighting style and how they operate so I bolded the various elements of each style Karen has down. Also going to put the styles she’s mastered above the cut. 

*****IMPERIAL LEOPARD KUNG FU 豹式​功夫​​

Imperial Leopard is fierce, fast, cunning, and deceptive. As a master of feigns and deception Leopard often goes unnoticed and underestimated until they unexpectedly unleash years of combat training and vital point attacks with fast and highly toughened hand and body weapons. Leopard is a master of ambush and hit-and-run guerrilla style combat tactics. The Leopard Kung Fu Hand Weapons are legendary and kill with one strike to the throat.

*****CANTON DOG 广州狗​式​功夫​

Canton Dog is a ferocious street, and ground fighting style, with an evil reputation. Eye gouging, groin attacks, finger breaking, throat attacks, leg breaks, and even tearing off lips and ears are signature wounds from one quick Dog attack. This style, like all the animals arts, is savage and brutal for real combat. These aren't just self defense moves, but toughened and powerful attacks.

*****IMPERIAL PHOENIX 凤​​式​功夫​

​Phoenix is found in most Leopard Kung Fu if only a hand weapon and few strikes. The legends of this bird date back at least 8000 years, and modern sources claim that the mythical Phoenix has its roots in a prehistoric bird that lived in China. Phoenix Kung Fu, a complex martial art in its own right, gives bird-like energies to Leopard with the highly toughened knuckle strikes of the Phoenix-Eye.

*****GOLDEN LEOPARD (Her and Will) 金色​​豹式​功夫​

Golden Leopard is a unique and challenging martial art with two Leopard practitioners fighting together as one entity. This art is more intimate and complex that dance mastery with full speed combat decisions communicated through movement, growling, and guttural code. Golden Leopards draw weapons from each other, attack in unison, throw, push, pull each other, and train high levels of group fighting tactics.

*****IMPERIAL PANTHER KUNG FU 黑豹式​功夫​​

Imperial Panther is a hunter-killer with equal parts power and stealth. Imperial Panther Masters execute full speed forms, even diving and rolling, in almost complete silence. In addition to stealth Panther is intense and ferocious with powerful growls, highly toughened hands, and throat crushing grips. Panther Style trains body collision take-downs with flesh grips that spin opponents down into ground positions, chin na, and joint destruction.

*****NORTHERN WOLF 北狼式​功夫​

Northern Wolf is a deadly and fearsome fighting style from the streets of Shanghai. This rare style taught at Imperial Combat Arts specializes in group fighting tactics, low realm combat, and ground-fighting. Wolf is a vicious art with high level gripping, ripping and tearing techniques that can kill with the hand. Wolf is heavier but somewhat similar in nature to the ferocious style of Dog.

*****RED SCORPION ​红​蝎​​式​功夫​

Red Scorpion is a Scorpion Sub-style that is designed to fight much larger opponents where grip and striking strength may be outmatched. Red Scorpion specializes in faster flurries of movement, combinations, kicking, leaping, and evasion with moments of intense striking focus to the most vulnerable areas. Where the Black Scorpion trains extensive grappling and Chin Na, Red Scorpion trains anti-grappling and evasion.

*****BLACK SCORPION ​黑蝎​​式​功夫​

Black Scorpion is a massive martial art that has highly toughened gripping Chin Na, devastating strikes, strike captures, kicking and throws as well a a vast grappling and ground-fighting system made up of numerous sub-styles. Black Scorpion Ground-fighting System teaches high levels of Terrain Fighting, climbing, in water, hillsides, tight spaces, obstacles etc. and its training is more difficult that a military obstacle course.

*****SALAMANDER ​火蜥蜴式​功夫​​

Salamander is a fighting style that fights and moves in a squat position with rolling, leaping, kicks, reaps, and sweeps with toughened legs as well as grips and strikes. Salamander shows up in all combat fighting including weapons and firearms, and trains students how to dynamically fight and move in a low squat position. This real is needed for all types of real combat circumstances.

****GOLDEN RAT 金色大鼠​功夫​​​

Rat Kung Fu trains strong biting grips with two fingers and the thumb, pinches that remove areas of flesh, knuckle strikes to vital points, and extensive kicking. Rat is quite painful to learn, like all the Imperial Animal Styles.

*****SPIDER 蛛式​功夫​

Spider, one of three rare styles taught in, is a sub-style that specializes in rope fighting, entrapment, strangulation, captures, and entanglement vs multiple opponents. Spider is a master of soft weapons, gripping, striking, throws, and chin na. Spider trains the combat applications of rope for use in man-traps, prisoner restraints, hunting, and climbing/rappelling.

*****IMPERIAL VIPER 红黄颔蛇式​功夫​​

Viper is a high-speed combat style that trains primarily striking and kicking. Viper specializes in toughened knuckle strikes, counter grappling, and fighting larger opponents. Viper style uses complex and ever-changing patterns that have great success in confusing and controlling opponents. Imperial Viper toughens both hands and legs to weaponize the body for combat.

WILD BOAR KUNG FU 野猪式​功夫​​​

Boar is an aggressive berserker style of fighting that toughens lethal thumbs and knuckles, and specializes in head-butts, elbows, knees, kicking and full body collisions. This fighting style toughens the entire body to ram through strikes, minimizing their own damage and in exchange landing killing strikes. Boars grunting growls, sheer animal rage, and willingness to exchange blows make it a force that invokes fear on the battlefield.

IMPERIAL EAGLE CLAW KUNG FU 鹰爪翻子拳​​

Eagle Claw is a lethal combat art created by General Yue Fei in the 1100's for his elite combat units. This highly effective martial art was still being trained by elite guard in the Ch'ing Dynasty, and has been used in wars for almost 1000 years. Like General Yue Fei and his elite warriors, Imperial Eagle Claw is for powerful highly trained warriors capable of perfecting 100's of Chin Na techniques used in combat with striking and melee weapons.

IMPERIAL HAWK 鹯式​功夫​​

Imperial Hawk is an Eagle Claw Substyle for medium build fighters that use more body weight in their Chin Na and, falling, leaping, and ground-fighting in their techniques. If Eagle Claw is half Tiger/Crane in Taoist energies then Hawk is half Panther/Crane. Imperial Hawk also contains the stealth and ambushing tactics of Panther training even leaping, rolling, falling, and killing in total silence. 

IMPERIAL FALCON 隼​​式​功夫​

Imperial Falcon is an Eagle Claw substyle for small fighters that use more striking/kicking, and not as much Eagle Claw Chin Na. If Eagle Claw is half Tiger/Crane in Taoist energies, then Falcon is half Leopard/Crane. Falcon trains the complex patterns of controls and striking used in Leopard and many prefer to master the ground art of Cantonese Dog over the Black Scorpion.

IMPERIAL CRANE KUNG FU 鹤式​功夫​

Crane is a legendary Chinese martial art as renowned for its grace, agility, and balance as it is for its powerful highly toughened angular strikes. Crane masters train extensive kicking, leg controls, maneuvers and lower body toughening. Masters of this fighting style will routinely demonstrate standing on one leg, evading multiple strikes while simultaneously countering with fingertip strikes breaking three or more inches of solid wood.

BLACK CRANE 黑鹤式​功夫​​

Imperial Black Crane is a powerful substyle that incorporates both Mantis and Snake techniques. Black Crane Style moves its arms like Snake using the similar serpentine form of the Cranes Neck and a unique highly toughened beak weapon for strikes. This rare martial art that blends Crane with Snake and Mantis also uses the quick arm captures and strikes of Mantis with its neck and beak.

GREY HERON 苍鹭式​功夫​

Grey Heron is a Sustyle of Imperial Crane that fights exclusively with their legs. By training and matching to control, negate, or counter an opponents techniques with the legs alone, Heron adds a tremendous value to Imperial Crane. Many of 167 kicks trained in Imperial Crane are contained in this complex and formidable sub-style. Extensive leg toughening is required to learn this style.

GREEN HERON 绿鹭式​功夫​

Green Heron Kung Fu is a unique sub-style of Crane taught at Imperial Combat Arts. This Crane style is for small, short framed practitioners and uses tighter, quicker strikes, often in combinations, as well as leaping to engage larger opponents. Green Heron is fashioned after small Herons in Asia like the Striated Heron. Imperial Combat Arts has several arts designed for small people.

IMPERIAL LION 狮​​式​功夫​​

​In addition to being a powerful combat Style, Lion was also the symbol of the 1st and 2nd class military ranks in Imperial China for over 500 years 1391C.E. to 1911C.E. Lion is a tremendously powerful and effective fighting style both standing and on the ground, and fights with highly toughening grips, claw and fist weapons that can tear out, or crush the throat of a man in seconds. 

IMPERIAL SNAKE KUNG FU 蛇式​功夫​

Snake style fighting is legendary for its blinding speed and incredible accuracy in combat. Unlike most snake martial arts Imperial Snake consists of five unique fighting styles each considered a complete martial art with their own master level toughening and training. One of the five is Python a massive system of powerful palm strikes, combat grappling, chokes, strangles, joint attacks, and throws. Also Cobra, Adder, Viper, and Asp.

IMPERIAL PYTHON 白​​蟒式​功夫​

Python is a high level combat art that masters powerful palm strikes, highly toughened fingers, powerful kicks, and a massive system of grappling, chokes, strangles, joint attacks, and throws. Several masters taught Jujitsu before joining Imperial Combat Arts and training Python for combat with its toughened fingers, throat crushing grips, lethal tail strikes, and the deadly grappling.

IMPERIAL COBRA 黑​眼镜蛇式​功夫​

Cobra is a lesser know style that masters long range strikes, powerful whipping backhands, toughened fang weapons, and hard heavy throws. Cobra is also a master of standing Chin Na with primary focus on Chin Na throws, joint destruction, and quick arm breaks. Cobra Masters routinely demonstrate breaking boards and bricks with just the two fingers of the Cobra's Fangs.

IMPERIAL ADDER 绿毒蛇式​功夫​

Adder is a devastating art that specializes in toughened knuckle and finger strikes, Chin Na, ripping & gouging, as well as painful and powerful grips that crush the throat. Adder Masters are at home fighting on their feet or the ground and use strikes, grips, and Chin Na for twisting bring-downs and take-downs. Adder has numerous nerve attacks, and is a master of afflicting pain.

IMPERIAL ASP 蓝蝮蛇式​功夫​​

Asp is designed after small but deadly snakes such as the Mamba. This extremely fast-moving art specializes in fast fingertip strikes and powerful blade hands. Asp Masters are experts of high speed bobbing, weaving, and evasive maneuvers to get into striking range and spend many hours training to evade and counter the high level Chin Na and Grappling of our other Animal Styles.

TIBETAN GHOST BAT ​鬼蝠​式​功夫

The Ghost Bat is a very rare and little known style that is trained as part of the Three Forces martial arts. Ghost Bat is a circular running style somewhat similar to Pakua, but with focus on stealth and evasion. Running is an important part of training for real combat when maneuvering over large areas or through multiple opponents. This concept is no different then that of the fast stealthy maneuvers of small military units.

IMPERIAL TIGER KUNG FU 虎式功夫​

Tiger is a powerful and aggressive martial art that requires years of finger, arm, and whole body toughening to master. Tiger masters can power through the strongest defenses, killing with a single strike or grip, and can tear out the throat of an opponent. Tiger training is extremely challenging and requires the highest level of human willpower to master.

​With our direct military lineage Imperial Tiger is rooted in 5 different Tiger Styles.

NORTHERN TIGER 北虎功夫​

Northern Tiger is the most physically powerful Tiger Style as the Northern Chinese people, Manchurians, and Mongolians are larger and stronger than the Southern Chinese People. Northern Tiger masters can power through the strongest defenses, killing with a single strike or grip, and can tear out the throat of an opponent, our Masters today demonstrate this ability on pig cadavers as part of Tiger training.

SHANGHAI TIGER 上海​​虎功夫​

Shanghai Tiger is a more intelligent interpretation of Tiger with training and development put into each individual digit of the hand for single finger and thumb strikes to vital points as well as gripping and chin na not found in our other Tiger styles. Shanghai Tiger is favored by medium-weight masters and master who move into Tiger after training Animal Styles with intricate finger gripping.

SOUTHERN TIGER 南虎功夫​​

Southern Tiger is the fastest a lightest Tiger style, and while Southern Tiger practitioners may have smaller builds they still develop all the intensity and intimidation of the larger styles. While they may not be able to tear the throat from their opponents and animal cadavers, they're required to crush throats within their Tigers Mouth grip in order to carry the title of Imperial Tiger Master.

BLACK TIGER 黑​虎功夫​

Black Tiger trains to the highest levels all of the stealth, ambush, and guerrilla tactics of true combat level Tiger. When many people think of Animal Styles they see them as done by a performer in a silk costume and don't realize that the true killing styles were real world martial arts that trained all the techniques of the animals they emulate like camouflage, stalking, and ambush.

WHITE TIGER 白​​虎功夫​

Imperial White Tiger is most noted for its extensive matching with one arm and in legend was incorporated into our arts as a sub-style for combat amputees. White Tiger has since become an important part of mastering Imperial Tiger and trains to match all the other animals styles with one highly toughened arm at a time. Not to be confused with other White Tiger Styles. 

IMPERIAL BEAR 熊式​功夫​

Bear is a rare style that like several of the Animal Substyles is close to extinct. Bear is very much alive at Imperial Combat Arts and taught as a substyle of Tiger. Bear is a powerful style that incorporates the toughening, strikes, claws, ripping, and throat crushing grips of Tiger into chin na, wrestling, and grappling. Bear was the 5th class officer rank in China for over 500 years.

IMPERIAL RHINO 犀式​功夫​

​Rhinoceros is not an animal people usually think of when it comes to Chinese Martial Arts. In actuality Rhino (Unicorn) is a tremendously powerful and effective fighting style, and was the 8th class military rank in China from 1391C.E. to 1911C.E. This martial arts hand weapons look  like the horns of the Rhino and show up in several arts, usually arts associated with Tiger such as Pai Mei. 

IMPERIAL BULL 牛式​功夫​

Bull was a popular military martial art in China often trained by 8th & 9th ranking officers. Bull masters toughen knuckle and fist strikes, ramming elbows, and full body collisions. Bull adds some of the most powerful fist and knuckle strikes into Tigers already powerful style. In legend Bull Masters are said to be able to knock a horse and its rider to the ground with their powerful collisions. 

IMPERIAL PRAYING MANTIS 螳式​功夫​​

Mantis is an art renowned for its speed and accuracy. This legendary art specializes in capturing opponents strikes and counter-striking with single or two-fingered strikes to vital points. Years of finger toughening and speed training are required to master this style. Imperial Mantis Masters demonstrate the true power of Mantis with one fingered strikes into melons, and destroy animal eyeballs held in moving dummies.

CRAB ​蟹式​功夫​​

Crab is the first complete ground style students learn at Imperial Combat Arts. Crab is a powerful and dynamic ground position used to fight standing opponents with focus on evasion vs strikes and weapons, anti-grappling, powerful kicks, reaps, sweeps, and throws. With level IV leg toughening Crab becomes a devastating ground-fighting art that specializes in breaking legs.

MANTA RAY ​蝠鲼式​功夫​​

Manta Ray specializes in rolling, evasion, and counter chin na against arresting controls on the ground. This rare style has high percentage and unusual ground escapes vs grappling holds. Master level Manta Ray will also perform rolling chin na escapes into counters from standing, often breaking an opponents arm in the process. This style has the ability to counter throw while being thrown.

STING RAY 𫚉鱼式​功夫​​

Sting Ray is another Supine ground posture that trains students how to fight and maneuver dynamically on steep grade hillsides and slopes without tumbling. This is a good example of how the Imperial Eight Animals train for real world combat in all types of terrain. Combat training and knowing how to use your environment is a crucial part of fighting multiple armed opponent in any situation. 

MORAY EEL ​鳗式​功夫​​

Moray Eel is a fighting style that fights and moves on its back and uses powerful grips and Chin Na to escape, negate, or kill its grappling opponents. Moray Eel shows up in all weapon fighting including firearms, and trains students how to dynamically fight and move in a Supine position for all types of real combat circumstances. Eel is descriptive of how fighters look when they move quickly while Supine.

GOLDEN DRAGON ​金龙式​功夫​​

Golden Dragon is a prone combat posture similar to a military crawl. This crucial combat position is trained the world about today and in most of the ancient world. Yue Fei the legendary Imperial General 1103-1142 the creator of our arts H'sing-i (Xsingyi) and Eagle Kung Fu, would have his elite forces crawl through ditches and fortifications in this posture wearing full armor and gear.

ALLIGATOR ​鳄式​功夫​​

Alligator is a fast moving and powerful prone fighting system that uses full body rolls with its gripping, and chin na. Similar in likeness to a true Alligator Death Roll, these techniques are designed to us the rolling power of the whole body to break limbs and tear flesh, high level Alligator can crush or tear out the throat with its hand alone. Rolls that choke and strangle are trained in Python

LIZARD ​蜥蜴式​功夫​​

Lizard is a very fast ground posture that runs very low on the hands and toes, as well as extensive fast training in climbing, and hanging. Lizard its trained on the floor, the walls, and the ceiling. Lizard fights with kicks, and spear hand strikes. The strength Lizard masters to hang its whole weight with just the fingers of one hand, it uses for ripping, tearing, and brutal gripping.

TURTLE ​龟式​功夫​​

Tortoise, Terrapin, and Turtle are ground and kneeling postures used in grappling, as well as throws, rolls, and take-downs. Seemingly innocently named these arts use brutal grips, beak like weapons, and fingertip strikes to gain access to vital point or assist in chin na. This posture appears similar to the classic wrestling position by the same name, but with vicious weapons and techniques for combat.

SQUID & OCTOPUS ​鱿鱼​式​功夫​

Squid and Octopus are postures that fight primarily on their back and master all types of grappling, entanglement, strangulation, with the arms and legs all working together. This style also uses its highly toughened hands for beak like strikes, ripping, gouging, and fingertip weapons fashioned after the ancient Cephalopods, beak, barbed tongue, and tooth cover papilla, that can crack any opponents shell.

FROG & TOAD 蟆式​功夫​​

Frog & Toad fighting styles master powerful bone breaking kicks, leaping collisions, take-downs, throws, fast spear hand strikes, and ripping, raking, stabbing grips with the hands. The powerful toughened legs of Frog are also used for reaps, and sweeps that hook, pull, and capture. Frog uses specialized swimming style blocks with the arms and hands that capture strikes or open them up for vital point strikes.

CENTIPEDE ​蜈式​功夫​​

Centipede is an art of a hundred kicks from the ground, not an exact number but in how fast these combinations and flurries are thrown. Centipede use the highly toughened feet and legs already trained in the Main Animal Styles to break the lower legs, knees, feet, or attack the groin. The sheer pain, speed, and intensity of this style has sent trained fighters running or climbing up the walls to escape.

SHARK & BARRACUDA ​鲨式​功夫​

Shark and Barracuda are grappling positions that use powerful upper body enveloping and painful gripping to hold and control opponents and gain vital points. Whether standing or on the ground these styles use deep stances, dropping, running, and leg strength with a powerful thrashing energy to counter, control, and subdue and opponents counters and death throes. 

[thecryptidprincess]

Numbers... ALL OF THEM

Oof anon killing me with all of them but thank you for actually sending something it’s been centuries since I last got an anon ily

PLEASE DON’T LET THIS FLOP AHHHH

1. What is you middle name?

Kwon. It’s my Korean mom’s surname

2. How old are you?

I’m a lil’ baby 20 year old

3. When is your birthday?

May 6th

4. What is your zodiac sign?

Taurus

5. What is your favorite color?

PINK

6. What’s your lucky number?

I don’t actually think I have a lucky number???7. Do you have any pets?

Not at my apartment with me, but I have an adorable little Yorkie/Bishon mix at my parents place!

8. Where are you from?

Northern Maine

9. How tall are you?

5′3″ 

10. What shoe size are you?

It depends on brand but usually a 6 in women’s

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Uhhhh...6 I think

12. What was your last dream about?

I was a famous comic book artist at Comic Con (even though I’ve never been there EVER)

13. What talents do you have?

I can draw and somehow keep my shit together and not seem like I’m dying inside lmao

14. Are you psychic in any way?

I swear I am like slightly

15. Favorite song?

I have a few but currently it’s Pray For Me by the Weeknd from the Black Panther movie

16. Favorite movie?

Any Marvel movie hands down!

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

I have a lowkey crush on one of my coworkers rn but just someone who is sweet and sassy and good at communicating and listening idk I’ll take anyone at this point I’ve been single for almost a year now (jk I still have standards but y’know)

18. Do you want children?

I go back and forth on that a lot but really I’m not sure

19. Do you want a church wedding?

Nooooo

20. Are you religious?

Not really

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

I have!

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

Nah I’m too much of a lil’ bitch to do anything to get in trouble like that

23. Have you ever met any celebrities?

I wish but no

24. Baths or showers?

Baths god I miss taking baths

25. What color socks are you wearing?

I currently have no socks on

26. Have you ever been famous?

Nah not pretty enough

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?

Kinda but not really???

28. What type of music do you like?

It varies I’m very much a “if I like it I like it” kinda person

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

Nopeeeeee

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

Two usually

31. What position do you usually sleep in?

On my sides

32. How big is your house?

Well I live in a shitty little studio apartment so not that big

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

Air lmao no I usually eat like eggs or something

34. Have you ever fired a gun?

Kinda it was during a hunter safety class that shot a laser out because we were like doing target practice and learning how to hold a gun

35. Have you ever tried archery?

Kinda it was fun I sucked at it though

36. Favorite clean word?

Hun

37. Favorite swear word?

FUCK

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

I think like two days

39. Do you have any scars?

I do yes40. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

Not to my knowledge

41. Are you a good liar?

Depends on the reason I gotta lie but occasionally I am

42. Are you a good judge of character?

I’d like to think so

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own?

I do a great Busan accent when I’m talking to my mom sometimes (It’s a place in South Korea with a different dialect it’s kind of the equivalent to our southern accent)

44. Do you have a strong accent?

No I have the least accent voice ever

45. What is your favorite accent?

British/Australian

46. What is your personality type?

No idea and I’m too tired to check

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

Umm....my Captain America tank top I think???? I have no clue I get second hand shit mostly

48. Can you curl your tongue?

Sadly no 

49. Are you an innie or an outie?

Innie!

50. Left or right handed?

I think I might be able to use both I just know I write with my right but I do everything else with my left it’s weird as hell

 51. Are you scared of spiders?

YEP

52. Favorite food?

Oh god there are so many but Chinese food always wins my heart

53. Favorite foreign food?

Korean food in general specifically made by my mom

54. Are you a clean or messy person?

Pretty clean unless I hit a good ol’ depressive episode

55. Most used phrased?

“Da fuck bruh”

56. Most used word?

Fuck (or just some variation of it)

57. How long does it take for you to get ready?

In the morning usually 30 minutes to an hour depending

58. Do you have much of an ego?

I don’t think I do honestly

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops?

Is it a sin if I do both?

60. Do you talk to yourself?

Constantly

61. Do you sing to yourself?

CONSTANTLY

62. Are you a good singer?

Oh god no

63. Biggest Fear?

Idk, I guess being alone

64. Are you a gossip?

Naaaaaah well a little I’m just the messenger mainly lol

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?

Uuuuuh idk can’t think of one rn

66. Do you like long or short hair?

Personally on me I go between the two I’m trying to grow my hair out at the moment though

67. Can you name all 50 states of America?

I used to be able to not anymore though

68. Favorite school subject?

Art! And history

69. Extrovert or Introvert?

Both???

70. Have you ever been scuba diving?

Nope

71. What makes you nervous?

Well I have general anxiety so like...everything

72. Are you scared of the dark?

Sometimes

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

Only my friends but that’s me just teasing them 

74. Are you ticklish?

Yes

75. Have you ever started a rumor?

Nah 

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority?

Kinda?? Idk I’m not the most authoritarian kinda person even if I sometimes think I am

77. Have you ever drank underage?

Yep

78. Have you ever done drugs?

Yes

79. Who was your first real crush?

There’s no place for feelings around here pal

80. How many piercings do you have?

I only have my ears pierced but I really want more

81. Can you roll your Rs?“

If I really get going I can

82. How fast can you type?

Hella fast

83. How fast can you run?

Who runs?

84. What color is your hair?

My natural black

85. What color is your eyes?

Broooown

86. What are you allergic to?

Bullshit and bad people

87. Do you keep a journal?

I try to honestly

88. What do your parents do?

My dad works on a barge and my mom works in a warehouse

89. Do you like your age?

?? I kinda have no choice in that matter

90. What makes you angry?

A lot of shit

91. Do you like your own name?

Not really it’s just a word to me I have no real feelings about it at this point

92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they?

Noooo I only look at baby names when I’m making characters but those are for grown ass adults I’m drawing

93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child?

AH CHILDREN QUESTIONS NO

94. What are you strengths?

I’m loyal and I care a lot about people

95. What are your weaknesses?

I give my 100% into everything I do and that fucks me up later sometimes plus I’m short

96. How did you get your name?

From my mom??

97. Were your ancestors royalty?

I think on my mom’s side back in the day they weren’t royalty but they were important

98. Do you have any scars?

Again yes

99. Color of your bedspread?

Dark blue

100. Color of your room?

A weird off white I think?

THANK YOU ANON I LOVE YOU AND I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT NIGHT YOU LIL’ PUNK

[johnnyslittleanimalblog]

Northern Chinese panther Hoenderdaell DSC01082 by safi kok

[heliosphoenix]

State of the planet: 2018 edition

Well here we are, it's time once again for my now annual review of the year we just finished up. When we take some time out of our New Year's celebrations to recognize that while it seems like we just went through 365 days of pain and frustration, there was a smattering of good things that happened as well.

Here's some of them:

Scientists in China cloned two monkeys via Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer, a major development toward's the potential for this technique to be used for regenerative cloning in the future

A new drug designed to combat Ovarian Cancer has begun clinical trials. Early results show that half the patients taking the drug are now Cancer free with no sign of the Cancer returning

Chinese scientists have developed rice that will grow in drought conditions. They plan to cover about 10% of the desert in the UAE with this rice for farming use.

An effort is underway to save the Northern White Rhino from extinction, using frozen sperm implanted in eggs from Southern White Rhinos, the hope is that this process will be able to revive the species in the future

A Ukrainian company is placing Solar Panels around Chernobyl to generate Solar Power. They plan to use the existing infrastructure to eventually generate up to 100 Megawatts of energy

101 cities around the world are now getting 70% of their power from renewable energy sources. In a related story, 56 cities in the United States have committed to going 100% renewable by 2050

The World Health Organization reported that Paraguay has now completely eradicated Malaria, other Latin America nations are close to doing so as well

The Ocean Cleanup Project has begun an initiative to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. They're aiming to remove at least 50 tons of garbage from the ocean every year

The Ozone is beginning to repair itself. At current rates, the Northern Hemisphere should be fully repaired by 2030, with the Ozone Hole in Antarctica sealed by 2060

The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge was opened, it's the world's longest sea crossing bridge

Chinese scientist He Jiankui announced that he's modified the DNA of twin infant girls in an attempt to make them resistant to HIV

According to a report by the International Telecommunications Union, 51.2% of the world's population is using the Internet

Qantas launched the first commercial non stop service between Australia and the United Kingdom, the route is flown by their 787 fleet

Cinemas opened in Saudi Arabia for the first time since 1983, the first movie shown is Black Panther

Diplomatic talks took place between North and South Korea, with both nations committing to the removal of land mines from the Demilitarized Zone between the nations

The Basque separatist group ETA announced its dissolution

The Supreme Court of India decriminalized homosexuality

Ireland citizens voted to repeal the nations ban on abortion in a national referendum

Voting turnout for the US Midterm elections was at a 50 year high

Michigan was the latest state to legalize recreational use of Marijuana, Canada also voted to allow sale of Marijuana.

The overall crime rate for the year is expected to have dropped by 2.9%

11% of the US Population is expected to get a boost to their credit scores

Homeownership rates for Americans under 35 are now at just over 36%, the highest since 2013

Americans gave over $400 Billion to charity this year, a record high

The 2018 Winter Olympics were held in South Korea

The 2018 World Cup was held in Russia with France claiming their second title. It was also announced that the United States, Mexico and Canada will host the 2026 World Cup

The Philadelphia Eagles won their first Super Bowl over the heavily favored New England Patriots

Tiger Woods won his first PGA tournament since 2013

The Michigan Basketball team did so much better than anyone could've expected, winning their second consecutive Big Ten tournament, and making their second Final Four appearance in 5 years

The Michigan Football team had a decent year as well, posting their third 10-3 record under Jim Harbaugh as well as winning a share of the Big Ten East division title (but because two of those losses were to Notre Dame and Ohio State, Michigan fans will be forced to spend the offseason being miserable twats again)

Justify won the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, the second horse to win the title in 3 years (rather remarkable considering the previous title drought was nearly 4 decades)

SpaceX launched 21 Falcon rockets this year, including the first Falcon Heavy rocket which sent Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster into interplanetary space

NASA had a busy year as well, launching the TESS spacecraft to search for ExoPlanets, the Parker Solar Probe to explore the Sun's atmosphere, and the InSight lander which successfully touched down on Mars in November

ESA launched the BepiColombo spacecraft to explore the planet Mercury, the first mission to the planet in over a decade

The OSIRIS-REx sample returned spacecraft arrived at the Asteroid Bennu.

Finally, the New Horizons spaceprobe will conduct a flyby of the Kuiper Belt Object Ultima Thule just after midnight tonight!

Remember all that? Good. Because that's where I'm at right now: December 31, 2018, with just over 11 hours left in this year.

You, dear reader, are in the future. And by the time you read this, it's very likely that for you 2018 will be over. Relegated to the books. And you've probably read a bunch of articles and blogs and tweets about how we just went through a year of infinite pain. Which is why I'm hoping that this missive finds you after you've already read all those other things.

Because our minds tend to place the most emphasis on the last thing we experienced, and I want your lasting memory of 2018 to be that all those things I listed above happened this year, and nothing can ever erase them.

Now this is the part where I say something nice and worldly to tie up the events of this last trip around the ol' Sun. I try my best to come up with some theme or other that brings it all together into a coherent picture.

I think the word I would use to describe this year is "Revelation." Because I think we can all say that this year, it's not so much that we learned things, but things were revealed to us.

We've all been in this situation before. We think that we've got everything figured out, we have all the answers. And then all of a sudden we uncover something that completely shatters our perceptions and kicks our foundation out from under us. And based on all that's happened this past year, I think it's safe to say this happened to all of us at least once in the preceding 12 months.

Perhaps someone did something you never thought they would do? Or something that seemed to be amazing turned out not to be as good as you thought? Or maybe your way of viewing the world now looks totally alien to you?

Revelation can be a very traumatic thing to deal with, and I can tell you from experience that when your entire perception of reality is challenged, you become unsure about everything else. Doubts creep into your mind, and you start wondering what else it might be that you're wrong about? It's the kind of feeling that can make you feel completely alone even in the middle of thousands of people.

But Revelation can also be a good thing.

Sometimes something turns out to be even better than you were expecting. Or you discover that you actually are much more respected and valued than you thought you were. Or maybe you look around and realize that things aren't actually as bad as they seem.

Even if you have to deal with the Revelation of a harsh truth, you can still find the positive out of that. Sure you can choose to become cynical and jaded and let it consume you, or you can choose to be proactive about it.

Sure, things weren't what you thought they were, but that's okay. The world didn't come to an end, you still have much to be thankful for, and you can now use the knowledge that you've learned to become wiser about how to live your life.

So this is the part where I usually say that there's one more awesome thing that happened this year, but you're going to tell me what it is. Tell me something good that happened to you during 2018.

This time however, I'd like to try something different.

In addition to telling me something good that happened to you this year, I'd like you to give me the biggest Revelation you've had this year. What was the most surprising thing that was revealed to you?

Now I understand that it probably won't be as pleasant of a memory as whatever awesome thing that happened to you this year was, it may even cause you distress just thinking about it.

If that's the case, embrace it, because you are distressed. But not over whatever it was that you were forced to confront, but rather the loss of what you thought the world was.

But don't let it consume you. Take the truth that was revealed to you and apply it. Learn from it and resolve to use that truth to strengthen your resolve for this next trip around the Sun.

Things aren't always what they seem, and they often don't work out how you planned, but that's not always a bad thing. Because the amazing thing about this world is that things have a way of working out anyway.

So remember the good times, but learn from the Revelations. When you do that, you'll be that much closer to being the person you want to be.

Have a good day, a great month, and an AMAZING 2019.

[dear-indies]

hey cat and mouse! I was wondering if you had any fcs that'd be a good replacement for ch*rlie hunnam's role in the gentlemen? race doesn’t matter, just sb with a beard + glasses? thank you guys so much!

Russell Hodgkinson (1959)

Bradley Whitford (1959) 

David Cross (1964) Ashkenazi Jewish.

Ben Desombre (1965) - has worn them in commercials!

Jeffrey Wright (1965) African-American - wears them sometimes outside of roles but wears them in Westworld and The Hunger Games.

Álvaro Morte (1975) - Money Heist. 

Todd Grinnell (1976) 

Lou Taylor Pucci (1985) - Evil Dead. 

Cooper Andrews (1985) Samoan / Hungarian Jewish.

Kofi Siriboe (1994) Ghanaian. 

Not beards but have got facial hair and glasses!

Tom Selleck (1945) 

Keanu Reeves (1964) Native Hawaiian, Portuguese, English, Scottish, at least 1/16th Chinese, remote Dutch / English - Always Be My Maybe.

Simon Baker (1969) -  wears them sometimes outside of roles but wears them in I Give it a Year.

Richard Armitage (1971) - The Stranger.

Hu Bing (1971) Chinese - Love Designer.

Arjun Rampal (1972) Indian - Inkaar.

Eric Sheffer Stevens (1972) - has facial hair and glasses in a gif pack (/tagged/Eric Sheffer Stevens) but not sure the role! 

Joaquin Phoenix (1974) English, with some Scottish, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, German, Irish, Welsh, and French Huguenot / Ashkenazi Jewish - Her. 

Sendhil Ramamurthy (1974) Kannadiga / Tamil - Heroes.

Pedro Pascal (1974) Chilean [Spanish, Basque, possibly other], 1/16th Peruvian - We Can Be Heroes.

Hugh Dancy (1975) - Hannibal. 

Sterling K. Brown (1976) African-American - This is Us. 

Matthew Goode (1978)  -  wears them sometimes outside of roles but wears them in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Tom Ellis (1978)

Josh Dallas (1978) - Manifest.

Nathan Followill (1979) 

Adam Brody (1978)  Ashkenazi Jewish - Billy & Billie.

Daniel Brühl (1978) - The Fifth Estate.

Ben Whishaw (1980) - Spectre - gay. 

Robert Buckley (1981) - The Christmas Contract.

Elyas M'Barek (1982) Austrian / Tunisian - Fack ju Göhte.

Daniel Levy (1983) Sephardi Jewish, Ashkenazi Jewish / English, Irish.

Alfonso Herrera (1983) - Sense8.

Matthew Shear (1984) Ashkenazi Jewish.

Charles Michael Davis (1984) African-American / Filipino - Chicago P.D.

Rahul Kohli (1985) Indian - The Haunting of Bly Manor.

François Arnaud (1985) - Jean of the Joneses - bisexual.

Nathan Stewart-Jarrett (1985) Afro-Barbadian.

James Lafferty (1985) Mexican / Irish, English, German, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish - Lost On Purpose.

Ryan O'Connell (1986) - has cerebral palsy - gay. 

Tony Thornburg (1987) Japanese / Swedish - has worn them in commercials!

Andrew Koji (1987) Japanese / English - American Gods.

Dev Patel (1990) Indian - Modern Love. 

Michael B. Jordan (1987) African-American - Black Panther.

Harvey Guillen (1990) Mexican - queer - wears them sometimes outside of roles but wears them in What We Do in the Shadows.

Moses Sumney (1990) Ghanaian - aromatic. 

Chance Perdomo (1996) Afro- Dominican, Guatemalan.

James Yaegashi (?) Japanese / Unspecified American - Runaways. 

[mdccanon]

“If Marvel is problematic, it has been problematic since 1964.” Yes, that’s true.

“You don't KNOW and don't CARE that a Vietnamese girl played a Chinese girl in the X-Men movies.” You’re right, I did not know (because I haven’t watched X-Men movies since I was child), that doesn’t mean it’s not wrong. Know that I know, I do care. Funny how that works.

“I didn't ask if you thought it was necessary.” I also have no idea what you mean by this, no one was talking about necessity.

Honestly the fact that you keep bringing up Chris Hemsworth feels like you’re trying to argue that reverse racism is a thing. White people are not underrepresented, Roma are.

I will mention a casting that I do know about where the actress is the same race but not ethnicity that I find wrong. Danielle Moonstar in the New Mutants, I didn’t watch the movie but I do know that Dani is Northern Cheyenne but the actress Blu Hunt is Lakota.

And, with Halle Berry, she is a Black woman, but she’s lightskin and Storm should be played by a darkskin actress.

But you don’t actually care about any of this, you just what people to shut up. Because you know that just because someone didn’t mention something doesn’t mean they don’t care or it doesn’t matter, but you act like you don’t, because you just want people to shut up.

I see a continued narrative that "Roma aren't white" without any significant definition of what "race" they are, because, again, any answer would justify a non-Romani actor.

I see the shoe-horning in of a rebuttal to an "anti-racism" argument that was never made because you guys don't know how to have an argument with someone who isn't a blonde Republican sex-kitten.

I see a continued justification of the concept of race, even though the very concept is a simplistic, cartoonish quasi-scientific pile of bullshit, such as saying that you are allowed to determine who is and isn't white: if a woman is 1/2-1/4 black but you like them, they are black. If they are 1/2-1/4 Arab but you don't like them, they are white.

"Just, shut up. You want people to shut up. You ask people questions because you don't want them to answer them, you, you, you just want people to shut up!"

Baby, baby, baby. I'm not asking the same 8 questions over and over again for my health. THINK outside of your self-championing logic and apply your ideals to everyone so that we can come to some accord to how we ALL think fantasy worldbuilding politics is supposed to work.

I am not fancasting anyone for Doom or Wanda until SOMEONE bothers to LEARN something about the 6-8 major ethnic groups of the ENTIRE CONTINENT of Africa so they can say something more intelligent than "Black Panther casted black people, so it did nothing wrong."

There will be no selective progressivism.

No compartmentalized wokeness.

No limited-time-only empathy.

[smithtales]

Publications

Short Stories and Poems: - Leave Taking: Literary Yard: https://literaryyard.com/2022/10/03/leave-taking/ - “Oh No, Not Again”: More Words from the End of the Road, Anthology of the Key West Writers Guild, volume 2 - https://www.amazon.com/More-Words-End-Road-Anthology/dp/B0BM7RV2G6/ - Exit: More Words from the End of the Road: More Words from the End of the Road, Anthology of the Key West Writers Guild, volume 2 - https://www.amazon.com/More-Words-End-Road-Anthology/dp/B0BM7RV2G6/ - Mendy’s Exit: Murder in Key West 9—Murder and Mayhem in Paradise, Volume Nine - In the Shadow – Death in Mexico: CC&D Magazine, May 2023 Edition - Understanding Ice Cream: After Dinner Conversation Magazine, March 1st, 2023 - Cynthia, Literary Yard: https://literaryyard.com/2023/04/23/cynthia - Essays - Self-Certainty: Academy of the Heart and Mind: July 2023 Edition - Learning Like: Academy of the Heart and Mind: https://academyoftheheartandmind.wordpress.com/2022/11/11/learning-like/ - Meaning and Moment: Academy of the Heart and Mind: https://academyoftheheartandmind.com/2022/12/19/meaning-and-moment/ - Stilling the Ripples: Academy of the Heart and Mind: https://academyoftheheartandmind.wordpress.com/2022/09/09/stilling-the-ripples/ Books - The Broadway Murders Case: An Omega/Alpha Thriller - Enter the world of Omega/Alpha. Non-stop action, psychic connections, telepathy & shape shifting. Meet Anna, a paranormal private detective engaged in a global battle against a dangerous cabal. Her confidential assistant Ian MacGregger from Scotland Yard via Interpol, the French electronics expert, an ancient Catalan butler, a cleaver wielding Chinese chef, a gardener older than dirt, the old man who lives up on the mountain, a panther, grey wolf, a seven-foot bushmaster and a resident raven. https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B096L13HW5 - Assault on Omega: An Omega-Alpha Mystery: Volume Two in the Cabal Series. After the defeats surrounding the Broadway Murders Case, the Cabal strikes back with vengeance. A direct assault on Anna's estate in Westchester Country. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0992VVDVT - The Sound Of Fury: An Omega-Alpha Mystery: The Cabal – Volume Three: This the third in the Cabal Series. The tranquility at Omega is shattered by the assassination of an honored visitor. The killing is just a prelude to a series of horrific attacks. The leader of the Cabal shows herself to be a far more formidable adversary than Anna has ever faced before. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DV69K7Y - Response: An Omega/Alpha Thriller: Three dozen top intelligence operatives and officers are called to a retreat in the northern Minnesota woods during the dead of winter. When one of them begins to suspect that something is about to go very wrong, he reaches out to allies. They share his apprehension. Something is going to happen. People are going to die. But no one could anticipate what comes to pass. Or the global conflict it would ignite. https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B0B3F6PQGB - Mice: Here told is the history of a people brought from prosperity to ruin by their own excesses as told by the last of them. The story of their rise and flourishing. Their successes and failures. Their brilliances and their stupidities. And of their ultimate extinction. https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B096PP1GXJ - Dream Walk: Parables for the Living - Meditation on Meaning: You are about to enter a world in which all the characters are animals. But these are not cartoon characters, team mascots or anthropomorphic manifestations of human tendencies they are potent spirits in their own right. Animals to be sure - but animals of a very special sort. They are derived very loosely from Native American mythology - particularly that of the Tlingit natives of southeast Alaska - but only very loosely. In a fundamental way they have created themselves. https://www.amazon.com/kindle-vella/story/B0B3KFTXD7 - Dream Food: Journeys Towards The Light: This book, at its core, is an investigation into what it means to be human. Not all of what it means to be human, but a small slice. The characters you will meet are all animals. They are loosely drawn from the mythologies of the native tribes of southern Alaska. To those who have gifted stories from generation to generation, the spirits are real, potent, and contribute to the lives of the humans amongst which they live. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BS4B2P8W Read the full article

[xidnaf]

the signs as animals

arist: south african cheetah

aries: american black bear

argo: kordofan giraffe

arga: griffon vulture

arittanius: wildebeest

arittarius: yak

arpio: bowhead whale

arpia: african elephant

arlo: horse

aro: barn owl

ara: tiger

arza: white rhinoceros

aricorn: spider monkey

ariborn: ring-tailed lemur

arnius: tabby cat

arius: megabat

asci: rock dove

asces: pied crow

armino: lion

armini: eurasian wolf

arcer: gerbil

arcen: newt

arus: bush-tailed porcupine

arun: philippine forest rat

taurrist: asiatic cheetah

taurries: asian black bear

taurgo: nubian giraffe

taurga: cinereous vulture

taurittanius: roan

taurittarius: southern marsupial mole

taurpio: right whale

taurpia: asian elephant

taurlo: sea eagle

tauro: grass owl

taurra: sheep

taurza: sumatran rhinoceros

tauricorn: vervet monkey

tauriborn: aye-aye

taurnius: jungle cat

taurrius: flying fox

taursci: trocaz pigeon

taursces: american crow

taurmino: kit fox

taurmini: tundra wolf

taurcer: guinea pig

taurcen: seal

taurus: crested porcupine

taurun: nile rat

gemrist: north american cougar

gemries: atlas bear

gemgo: west african giraffe

gemga: white-rumped vulture

gemittanius: waterbuck

gemittarius: northern marsupial mole

gempio: blue whale

gempia: blue-ringed octopus

gemlo: snake-eagle

gemo: sooty owl

gemra: argali

gemza: black rhinoceros

gemicorn: proboscis monkey

gemiborn: sifaka

gemnius: european wildcat

gemrius: egyptian fruit bat

gemsci: laurel pigeon

gemsces: cape crow

gemmino: red fox

gemini: arabian wolf

gemcer: dove

gemcen: house mouse

gemus: long-tailed porcupine

gemun: moluccan prehensile-tailed rat

canrist: florida panther

canries: blue bear

cango: reticulated giraffe

canga: black vulture

canittanius: eland

canittarius: golden mole

canpio: bryde’s whale

canpia: dumbo octopus

canlo: black-chested buzzard-eagle

cano: itombwe owl

canra: mouflon

canza: indian rhinoceros

canicorn: pygmy marmoset

caniborn: mouse lemur

canius: black-footed cat

canrius: california leaf-nosed bat

cansci: hill pigeon

cansces: hooded crow

canmino: cape fox

canmini: steppe wolf

cancer: humming bird

cancen: mayor’s moue

canus: bristle-spined rat

canun: bulldog rat

lerist: african leopard

leries: eurasian brown bear

lego: angolan giraffe

lega: turkey vulture

leittanius: gerenuk

leittarius: eurasian beaver

lepio: fin whale

lepia: mimic octopus

lelo: black solitary eagle

leo: bay owl

lera: urial

leza: nile hippopotamus

leicorn: rhesus macaque

leiborn: cockatiel

lenius: sand cat

lerius: hondurian white bat

lesci: snow pigeon

lesces: somali crow

lemino: arctic fox

lemini: mongolian wolf

lecer: flying squirrel

lecen: sikkim mouse

leus: prehensile-tailed porcupine

leun: kerala rat

virrist: javan leopard

virries: eurasian brown bear

virgo: south african giraffe

virga: california condor

virittanius: steenbok

virittarius: north american beaver

virpio: see whale

virpia: blanket octopus

virlo: crested eagle

viro: scops owl

virra: bighorn sheep

virza: east african hippopotamus

viricorn: gibbon

viriborn: parrotlet

virnius: chinese mountain cat

virrius: big brown cat

virsci: specled pigeon

virsces: flores crow

virmino: fennec fox

virmini: dingo

vircer: unstriped ground squirrel

vircen: volcano mouse

virus: electric eel

virun: himilayan field rat

librist: northern goshawk

libries: grizzly bear

libgo: masai giraffe

libga: greater flamingo

libittanius: nyala

libittarius: star-nosed mole

lipio: chilean dolphin

lipia: coconut octopus

liblo: harpy eagle

libo: screech owl

libra: thinhorn sheep

libza: cape hippopotamus

libicorn: bornean orangutan

libiborn: caique

libnius: amazon weasel

librius: dwarf epaulettes fruit bat

libsci: wood pigeon

libsces: bismark crow

limino: grey fox

limini: dog

libcer: indian palm squirrel

libcen: indian field mouse

libus: hog-nosed skunk

libun: sunburned rat

scorrist: gray-bellied hawk

scorries: east siberian brown bear

scorgo: thornicroft’s giraffe

scorga: lesser flamingo

scorittanius: klipspringer

scorittarius: hairy-tailed mole

scorpio: arabian dolphin

scorpia: giant squid

scorlo: papuan eagle

scoro: snowy owl

scorra: snow sheep

scorza: west african hippopotamus

scoricorn: sumatran orangutan

scoriborn: lorikeet

scornius: mountain weasel

scorrius: split-nosed bat

scorsci: comoros olive pigeon

scorsces: white-necked crow

scormino: swift fox

scormini: tibetan wolf

scorcer: eastern grey squirrel

scorcen: ryukyu mouse

scorus: hooded skunk

scorun: aceh rat

sagirist: red-chested goshawk

sagiries: syrian brown bear

sagigo: pig

sagiga: chilean flamingo

sagiittanius: kudu

sagiittarius: eastern mole

sagipio: long-beaked dolphin

sagipia: colossal squid

sagilo: balck eagle

sagio: great horned owl

sagira: red kangaroo

sagiza: angola hippopotamus

sagiicorn: tapanuli orangutan

sagiiborn: parakeet

saginius: steppe polecat

sagirius: brown long-eared bat

sagisci: white-naped pigeon

sagisces: jungle crow

sagimino: plains bison

sagimini: japanese wolf

sagicer: colorado chipmunk

sagicen: cook’s mouse

sagius: striped skunk

sagiun: snake

capririst: besra

capriries: giant panda

caprigo: chicken

capriga: jame’s flamingo

capriittanius: lechwe

capriittarius: gansu mole

capripio: killer whale

capripia: humboldt squid

caprilo: spotted eagle

caprio: eagle owl

caprira: eastern grey kangaroo

capriza: north american ostrich

capriicorn: eastern gorilla

capriiborn: pianos parrot

caprinius: long-tailed weasel

capririus: mediterranean horseshoe bat

caprisci: stork

caprisces: fish crow

caprimino: wood bison

caprimini: indian wolf

capricer: grey-collard chipmun

capricen: cypriot mouse

caprius: spotted skunk

capriun: spider

aquarist: long-tailed hawk

aquaries: sloth bear

aquago: red junglefowl

aquaga: andean flamingo

aquittanius: springbok

aquittarius: long-tailed mole

aquapio: pilot whale

aquapia: japanese flying squid

aqualo: tawny eagle

aquo: fish owl

aquara: western grey kangaroo

aquaza: masai ostrich

aquicorn: western gorilla

aquiborn: cockatoo

aquanius: yellow-bellied weasel

aquarius: raccoon

aquasci: goose

aquasces: house crow

aquamino: european bison

aquamini: arctic wolf

aquacer: gray-footed chipmunk

aquacen: steppe mouse

aqus: fattail scorpion

aqun: alligator

pirist: chanting goshawk

piries: polar bear

pigo: cow

piga: american flamingo

piittanius: sable antelope

piittarius: japanese shrew mole

pipio: houglass dolphin

pipia: vampire squid

pilo: camel

pio: spotted wood owl

pira: antilopine kangaroo

piza: arabian ostrich

piicorn: chimpanzee

piiborn: conure

pinius: european mink

pirius: koalas

pisci: duck

pisces: palm crow

pimino: water buffalo

pimini: baffin island wolf

picer: uinta chipmunk

picen: meerkat

pius: pandinus

piun: crocodile