#also Boone is bi is such a highlight

[bethannangel]

Boone’s comeback to the show is amazing

[fandombird123]

My Opinion On Mortal Kombat 12

The good, the bad, and the salty.

Quick disclaimer, I am not at all a professional reviewer, this will not be formatted or written with any sense of professionalism. If you can not handle, openly simping, stupid meme references and jokes, cussing, very strong feminine opinions, or general NRS criticism maybe pass on this one.

First- Spoiler free game play advise:

Kitana's AI in story mode is brain dead, she'll be the easiest fight in the game.

Shao is pretty easy to beat as long as you don't let him hit you.

Hit boxes are wild and (maybe) broken. Basically you're gonna 'miss' a lot of shots you could have sworn you actually hit. Don't be surprised. Just keep attacking and eventually you'll land a hit.

NOW I will be spoiling the story. Sooooo SPOILDERS FROM THIS POINT ON.

The Good:

Kronika wasn't actually part of the story. Not gonna lie, they had me in the first half (I have more to say on this but those belong in the Bad and the Salty list).

Baraka, Bi Han, Reptile, Sareena, and Nitara can get it. Yes I'm being shameless right now. It's my blog.

FEMALE REPTILE! FEMALE REPTILE! (This skin better be available or I will have words)

I don't know if this was intentional, but having Sareena share a voice actress with Sindel was a cute call back to the two being originally played by the same actress during their OG games.

Baraka was really interesting and I hope he come back. He wasn't just some savage monster, he actually had a real personality and goals. It was a great evolution of his MK11 version (but I'll still miss MK11 Baraka). I want to see him progress more and get his own proper story line.

I have opinions about Hanzo in MK12, but I will compliment one thing. His new suit is bad ass. That's the only nice thing I will be saying about this topic.

Bi Han didn't die, I was quite pleasantly surprised.

With the Mortal Kombat competition never happening I believe this means Hydro is canonically alive. So Maybe Hydro in MK13?

Johnny and Kenshi's friendship was wholesome and I loved it. It was really the highlight of the game for me and I'm looking forward to another Johnny/Sonya/Kenshi team up.

The writers actually remembered Johnny's divorce. I'm shook.

Smoke is adorable and got to live through the story. I'm so proud of him and he deserves the world.

Evil Sindel's outfit was 11/10... if only there was a way to unlock it (I'll get to that later)

I like the Special Forces characters, but it was nice to get a short break from them. Gave us some time with other characters. That said I want them in the next game. I'm missing Sonya, Jax, and Kano already.

While I'm not a huge fan of the base skins (they're not bad, just not great) I loved a lot of the alternative skins shown off in the storymode look amazing and I'm hoping they're unlockable.

I was incredibly happy Raiden's old voice actor came back for this game. I'm not sure when he'll get to play Raiden again so it was nice to see him take up the roll one more time.

I liked that you could pick which character you played in the ending.

The Bad:

First thing is first: there are microtransactions. WHY DID I PAY 60 DOLLARS FOR A GAME IF THERE WERE GOING TO BE GOD DAMN MICROTRANSACTIONS?????????? Boon???? Why??? It'd day 1 and there's already god dang microtransactions. Like I guess it's nice that the invasion is available, but charging me 60$ and then asking for more is stupid.

The AI really puts the i in idiot. Basically it's bad. I know I originally mentioned Kitana's AI (since that's who it's the worst with in my opinion) but I also had an issue with Ashrah and Baby Raiden. They will literally walk backwards until they hit the end of the stage, of if they can fly they'll just jump in the air and stay there. Even on the harder difficulties the game felt too easy. I have lost a total of two fights between both the story mode and invasion.

It feels a bit manipulative that the whole 'tournament' that was heavily featured in the trailers only lasted maybe about 1/3 of the actual plot. It was such a nothing plot point, you could probably cut it out and it wouldn't be missed. Yet that was the only real plot point we saw in the trailer.

Jerrod's death is never explained. He was just killed, but apparently by no one of relevance. He just fell and couldn't even get back up.

They REALLY went with Evil Bi Han, which doesn't even make sense. Let me explain, as far as we know Bi Han has no reason to hold the opinions he does. Human opinions don't exist in an echo chamber. His father was against his ideas, his brothers were against his ideas, everyone around him was against his ideas. Where in the hell did this come from???? I would have understood if maybe if Shang Tsung had been slowly manipulating him throughout the game, but Bi Han was already on that 'f#ck them gods' juice since the beginning of the game (which is a mindset I very much indorse). (Okay I just thought about it but what if instead Quan Chi had used Sareena to try and tempt Bi Han over to their side. As in he sends her in infiltrate the Lin Kuei and get close to Bi Han so she can talk him into turning on Liu Kang, but has she spends more time in the Lin Kuei and with Kuai Liang and Bi Han she starts to have a change of heart and kind of has a sort of Mythologies arc where she begins to understand human feelings and gets attached to them. Having her then join the good guys and tries to undo her manipulation on Bi Han. Sorry idea rant. Back to the review.) MY POINT is that as far as we know there is no one who could have influenced Bi Han in this way. It just doesn't make sense why he thinks this. At least with Shang Tsung and Quan Chi it made sense since 1. They were manipulated and 2. Liu Kang actually f#cked them over and they had a valid reason to be mad. Bi Han had no given reason to hate Liu Kang other then he didn't like his clan being under the god's boot (WHICH I MEAN IS KIND OF VALID).

They didn't even have the balls to let Bi Han murder his his own father. "I didn't help save him!" WTF does that mean???? Did Bi Han just wait to long to call 911??? Did Bi Han watch him fall off a cliff? What does that mean?

NRS Writers have yet again created a situation that made me have to sit there and wonder if we were really on the good guys side. There were a few points where the "bad guys" said something that made me pause and be like "wait, let's hear them out". Often times that makes Liu Kang look like kind of a d!ck since he did design this timeline. See this post here for more of my feelings on this. Examples:

Ashrah confronted Nitara and Nitara explained she just wanted to save her people but apparently we're siding with Ashrah, the woman who's magic sword told her to commit murder to "cleanse her soul". Not Nitara, the woman who's people are incredibly ill and at risk of dying (ALSO WHO ASHRAH ADMITTED TO KILLING).

After Sindel tells Rain that he was like a son to her (a relationship we never get to see) Rain made a comment about how Sindel limited him. I actually what to know what he's talking about. He could just be being a salty bitch, but we don't know since this comment is never explained. Plus Sindel in intros has been shown to be rather cruel if she viewed it to be in her benefit, so what Rain was referring to might have happened. She might have nerfed the demi-god if she viewed his as a threat, but we'll never know since this is never explained.

I think Mileena's outfit is too pink. Her color has always kind of been this purplish pink color and I think the color they picked was just too pink and not purple enough. X had this issue too but we're not talking about that one right now.

The whole 2nd half of the plot was honestly a whole mess. It just completely went all bonkers. I don't even have words. It's like they had two different writing teams and switched mid way through the plot with no communication back and fourth. While I'm glad Kronika wasn't back the actual plot twist was somehow worse. It just felt like to much and felt very unsatisfying in the end.

Mileena and Tanya's relationship feels more like Kitana x Jade then Mileena x Tanya. It feel like the writers wanted to do Kitana x Jade but got told no and just wrote Mileena and Tanya in the roles instead.

Hanzo... Now this. I'm not going to repeat myself so to see how I feel about this in context of how it effect Hanzo as a character go here. I will go over some other issues I don't talk about in that post. The fact Kuai Liang's first canonical love interest is Hanzo's dead wife is something so rage inducing I'm not sure how to put it into words. Kuai Liang has never had his own thing, he has his brother's title, his father's powers, he remade his old clan, and now even his wife was another's before she was his. As a long time fan of Kuai Liang the only reasonable response to this I can have is disappointed. I'm just disappointed in NRS's handling of this character and their clumsy recreation of Hanzo rather then just including Hanzo in the game. Even in a new timeline NRS is to scared to try something too new. It's different but not different enough to mean anything. Just an endless circle of the same story they told two timelines ago. I really don't have the words to properly express the storm of unpleasant emotions this plot point causes me. It just sucks.

Sub Zero vs Scorpion has gotten old. This is all.

The Salty:

(This is just things that annoy me personally and I don't really view as actual criticism. Ignore this part if you don't care about mindless ranting)

I don't like this Mileena. She feels nothing like her previous self and I'm just not a fan. There's none of her fun loving, but creepy, personality she had before. I kind of get why but as a hardcore Mileena simp I just don't like the change.

I didn't unlock a single new outfit during storymode and that's very frustrating given the amount of unlockables we got in MK11.

Since when has Bi Han been a blood purest??? That seemed stupid.

I don't like Sindel's story mode outfit. Hers in particular I'm not a fan of.

I hate this version of Ashrah. She seems to self righteous for my liking. Plus her blaming Quan Chi for her sister's deaths when SHE was the one who killed them kind of annoyed me.

Honestly overall 4/10 story wise and maybe I'll post about the invasion later, but I don't know.

[roamnook]

New Data Revolution: Transformative data visualization reshaping news consumption worldwide. Enhanced storytelling, engagement, comprehension through dynamic visuals. Stay informed with Business Today.

Designing the News of Tomorrow: Embracing the Power of Digital Data Storytelling

The evolving digital landscape has transformed the way we consume news and information drastically. Gone are the days of traditional text-based reporting systems; people across the world prefer receiving news and updates in an engaging and insightful manner. Such an approach is possible with the intersection of accessible design and data-driven storytelling—data visualization.

The What and Why of Data Visualization?

Data visualizations are an effective way to quickly establish a visual hierarchy between headline-worthy data and supplementary information. It helps make text-heavy pieces of information easy to assimilate.

They are the perfect mechanism to add empirical evidence to create improved, aesthetically attractive literary experiences bound to stimulate the audiences’ interest.

Transformation Driven by Data Visualization

At the crux of revolutionizing the way news and media content is presented and consumed, we turn raw data into thrilling visuals enhances storytelling, engagement, and comprehension. From interactive charts and maps to dynamic animations, we’re crafting more techniques to create captivating stories that move the reader.

Economic Trends

As we embrace the big change we’re witnessing in the finance industry with respect to big data, we continue to look for accessibility in data design. Numerous techniques and steps have been taken to make data accessible to the audience in real time.

Augmented Analytics (AA) is a boon for businesses worldwide. With cutting-edge techniques paired with robust systems designed to handle data efficiently, AA enables visual data discovery and more for industries.

Through modern AI tools, embedded data has become the norm. To improve functionality, BI tools can embed interactive data tools to portals and websites seamlessly.

Environmental Reporting

Through impactful data visualizations, environmental journalism has been highlighting pollution, deforestation, and the decline of wildlife across the globe. This presentation of data is a powerful tool in raising awareness and inciting action on a larger scale.

Breakthroughs in Healthcare

When covering medical advances or healthcare topics, news organizations use data visualization to interpret clinical trial results, the spread of disease, and the effectiveness of clinical trials. These help simplify complex medical information for the public.

Envisioning Data in the Future

The future of data visualization in news and media is all set to be both dynamic and transformative, driven by a convergence of technological advancements, evolving consumer expectations, and the imperative for effective storytelling.

The rise of immersive technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) promises to revolutionize data presentation by enabling audiences to step into data-driven experiences. Furthermore, interactive and real-time visualizations will gain much-deserved attention, offering viewers the ability to manipulate and explore data themselves.

AI-powered news and media distribution will offer tailored content and data-driven insights with relevance and information distribution in mind, enhancing user engagement globally. This may also bring global events and incidents closer to the younger audience, as they would be heavily involved with cross-continental information at reach constantly.

As we move towards advanced data visualizations in news and media, we find ourselves embracing next-gen technologies and a commitment to ethical data handling, helping us build better stories for users worldwide. Think Design is looking forward to being at the forefront of data visualization trends in the industry, striving to captivate and inform our audiences in ways that were once unimaginable.

The author is Design Director at Think Design Collaborative

(DISCLAIMER: Any views, thoughts, and opinions expressed by the author or authors are solely their own and do not reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of Business Today)

Published on: Nov 14, 2023, 6:58 PM IST

[sternbilder]

Camille Has Many KDrama Thoughts

As some of you have possibly noticed, I have recently fallen into a KDrama hole and I can’t get up, and I have just finished my 10th drama, which seems like less of an accomplishment than I thought now that I say it out loud, but anyway,

As a checkpoint/thinly veiled plug of some shows I love very much, here is a very long post with some of my thoughts on all the KDramas I’ve seen so far, as well as what’s next on my list, in case you too were interested in joining me in nonexistent fandom hell!

So firstly, all of the dramas I have watched to completion, in the order of how much I like them. First, my top five:

1. Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010). My #1 favorite drama to date. I’ve probably watched it in full 4-5 times, and it’s still an absolute treat every time. Is it the best drama I’ve ever seen? Probably not. But it’s so fun and charming that it’s just gotta be at the top of my list. 

The best way I can describe this drama is Ouran High School Host Club, except in Joseon era Korea, and instead of flirting with girls the main characters learn about Confucianism and solve mysteries and play sports (twice) and end up accidentally involved in a complicated political scandal. Also, that one text post about how Shang from Mulan is bi because he falls for Mulan while he thinks she’s a man...This drama has that, except actually canon. And while I won’t pretend this is show is a shining beacon of representation, there are multiple main characters who are explicitly not heterosexual and several others with very plausible queer readings, which earns it a very special place in my heart.

As for the actual premise of the show, it’s basically about a wonderfully determined and kind and clever but lower-class girl whose writing skills catch the eye of the most stubbornly strait-laced but idealistic aspiring politician-type on the planet. She ends up getting a one-way ticket to the most prestigious school in the country, except she has to pretend to be a man the entire time because women aren’t allowed to be educated at this time. 

It’s a bit of a silly, cheesy show, and here are many wacky shenanigans, but the main cast is full of incredibly highly endearing and multifaceted characters, there is a lot of sexual confusion, the slowburn roommate romance has an incredible payoff, and it’s also full of deeply moving social commentary about class, privilege, and gender roles. This drama is a blast and I could go on and on about what I love about it, I absolutely adore it to pieces.

2. Six Flying Dragons (2015-2016). I debated between this and Tree With Deep Roots (next on my list, to which SFD is a prequel) as my #2 but I do think I want to place SFD higher just because it's the drama that I keep thinking about even after finishing it. of course, it has the dual advantages of 1) being released chronologically later (and having better production value, etc., because of this) and 2) being twice as long, but there’s just so much stuff to unpack with SFD that it makes me want to keep coming back to it. 

The show is about the founding of the Joseon dynasty, and six individuals (half of whom are based on real historical figures and half fictional) whose lives are closely tied to the fall of the old regime and the revolution that brought in the new. It has an intricate, intensely political plotline based on the actual events that happened during this time, and though this may sound kind of boring if you’re like me and not super into history (admittedly, the pacing in the beginning is a tiny bit slow), it quickly picks up and becomes this dense web of character relations and political maneuvering. Though none of the major events should come as a surprise if you’ve seen TWDR or if you happen to already know the history it was based on, the show adds such a depth of humanity and emotion to every event and character that nothing ever feels boring or predictable. As a matter of fact, there are several events that were alluded to in TWDR that, when they actually happened in SFD, left me breathless--because although I 100% knew these were foregone conclusions that were coming up at some point, I still had a visceral moment of, “oh no, so that’s how that came to happen.” 

But though I really enjoyed following the story of SFD and learning about the history behind it, the highlight of the show for me is definitely the great character arcs. I loved TWDR’s characters, too (especially Yi Do, So Yi, and obviously Moo Hyul), but with double the episode count SFD just has so much time for rich, dynamic character development, and I absolutely loved seeing how these characters grew and changed over time when their ideologies and fates collided in this turbulent and violent age: How young and ambitious Yi Bang Won eventually spiraled into a ruthless tyrant, how the naive and kind-hearted Moo Hyul struggled to retain his humanity in a bloody revolution that challenged his values and loyalties to the core, how the fiercely determined and idealistic Boon Yi grew into a pragmatic and capable leader who comes to realize what politics and power mean for her and her loved ones. 

SFD was also everything I wanted as a prequel to TWDR--I loved seeing the contrasts between some of the TWDR characters and their younger selves in the SFD timeline: The hardened and ruthless Bang Won as a passionate and righteous adolescent, the cynical and resigned Bang Ji as a cowardly boy who grows into a traumatized and bitter young man, and my personal favorite character, the comically serious bodyguard Moo Hyul as the very model of the dopey, lovable himbo archetype. And though the ending was controversial among fans (particularly those who watched SFD first), I loved how it closed all the loops and tied it back to the events of TWDR, both providing that transition I wanted but also recontextualizing and adding new meaning to the original work. I think it's still a very good drama on its own, but this hand-off is what really sealed the deal for me personally, because it was not only super emotionally satisfying to watch how the stories connected, but it elevated TWDR to something even greater (suggesting that Yi Do and the events of TWDR was the culmination of everything the six dragons fought so long and hard for), which is exactly what I expect from a good prequel. 

I’ve already talked so much about this drama but I also do need to mention that the soundtrack to SFD is A+, and the sword fights are sick as hell. There is also some romance, though it’s not really a focus--and all the pairings that do exist are extremely tragic, which is exactly up my alley. Overall, this is a hell of a historical drama, coming of age, villain origin story, and martial arts film in one, and I highly recommend it.

3. Tree With Deep Roots (2011). The sequel to SFD, though it aired first chronologically. Although this show isn’t one of those shows that I could rewatch once a year like SKKS or keep ruminating on like SFD, TWDR (much like Les Mis, or Fata Morgana) is thematically the kind of story that just makes my heart sing.

The story centers around the creation of Hangul, the Korean alphabet, by Yi Do (a.k.a., King Sejong the Great, who is the son and successor of Yi Bang Won, the main character of SFD) as well as two fictional childhood friends whose backstories and ambitions become central to the story of how and why this alphabet came to exist. Not only is the actual process of creating this alphabet absolutely fascinating from a linguistic and scientific POV, but the show dramatizes Yi Do’s motivations in a way that’s so incredibly touching and human--portraying the king as a soft-hearted and extremely charismatic yet fundamentally flawed and conflicted figure who tries so desperately to do right by his people. 

The show explores both a number of personal themes like redemption, atonement, and vengeance, as well as broader societal themes such as the ethics of authority, the democratization of knowledge, and the power of language and literacy. Though the show never forgets to remind the audience of the bitter reality of actual history, it’s still a deeply idealistic show whose musings on social change and how to use privilege and power to make the world better are both elegant and poignant. 

Romance definitely takes a backseat in TWDR, even more so than SFD, though this isn’t something I personally mind. There are, however, a lot of interesting politics surrounding the promulgation of the alphabet, including a string of high-profile assassinations--if SFD is historical/political-thriller-meets-action-film, then TWDR is historical/political-thriller-meets-murder-mystery, and it’s an incredibly tightly written and satisfying story whose pieces fall into place perfectly. Though not the sprawling epic that SFD is, TWDR is an emotional journey and an extremely well-written story with a TON of goodies if you’re as excited about linguistics as I am. 

4. White Christmas (2011). My first non-sageuk on this list! White Christmas is, in a lot of ways, an odd drama. It’s an 8-episode special, and featured largely (at the time) new talent. it’s also neither a historical work nor romance-focused, but instead a short but intense psychological thriller/murder mystery. 

The premise is this: Seven students at a super elite boarding school tucked away in the mountains receive mysterious black letters that compel them to remain on campus during the one vacation of the year. The letters describe various “sins” that the author accuses the students of committing, as well as the threat of a “curse” as well as an impending death. The students quickly find that they’re stranded alone at the school with a murderer in their midst, as they are forced to confront their shared histories and individual traumas to figure out 1) why they’ve been sent the letters, and 2) how to make it out alive. At the center of the survival game the characters find themselves in is a recurring question: “Are monsters born, or can they be made?”

If you’ve been following me for a while, it’s easy to see why I was drawn to this drama. In terms of setup and tone, it’s Zero Escape. In theme, it’s Naoki Urasawa’s Monster. It’s Lord of the Flies meets Dead Poets Society. or as one of my mutuals swyrs@ put it, Breakfast Club meets Agatha Christie. The story is flawlessly paced with not a scene wasted. There’s so much good foreshadowing and use of symbolic imagery, and though I’ve watched it at least 3-4 times, I always find interesting new details to analyze. The plot twists (though not so meta-breaking as ZE) are absolutely nuts, and aside from the somewhat questionable ending, the story is just really masterfully written.

Above all, though, WC is excellent for its character studies. Though I typically tend to stay away from shows that center around teenagers because I don’t find their struggles and experiences particularly relatable, WC does such an excellent job of picking apart every character psychologically, showing their traumas, their desires, their fears, and their insecurities. We see these kids at their most violent and cruel, but also their most vulnerable and honest. Their stories and motivations are so profoundly human that I found even the worst and most despicable characters painfully sympathetic at times, as cowardly and hypocritical and unhinged as they became. 

Like I said, it’s only 8 episodes long with probably the best rewatch value on this list. My only complaints about it are its ending, as well as its relative lack of female characters, but otherwise I would absolutely recommend.

5. Signal (2016). Okay, this might be the recency bias talking because I just finished this series but I'm sure but I'm still reeling at the mind-screw of an ending and I feel like it deserves a place on this spot just for that.

Signal is a crime thriller based on a number of real-life incidents that happened in Korea in the last 30 or so years. In short, a young profiler from the year 2015, who has a grudge against the police after witnessing their incompetence and corruption twice as a child, happens to find a mysterious walkie-talkie that seems to be able to send and receive messages from the past. on the other end is an older detective from 2000 who tells him that he’s about to start receiving messages from his younger self, back in 1989. Through the seemingly sporadic radio communications, the two men work together to solve a series of cold cases, which begin to change the past and alter the timeline.

As they solve these cases, expose corruption within the police department, and correct past injustices, the two men (along with a third, female detective who has connections to both of them) also begin to unravel the mysteries of their pasts, as well as why and how they came to share this connection.

Like WC, the story and pacing of this drama were flawless, reminding me of an extended movie rather than a TV series. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time, and the 16-episode run went by in no time at all. I always love timeline shenanigans and explorations of causality and fate and the consequences of changing the past, and this show has oodles of that peppered with the heartbreakingly tragic human connections and stories that the main characters share. The main pairing has great chemistry and gave me exactly the pain I crave from a doomed timeline romance, and the cinematography and soundtrack were also beautiful, which also contributed to the polished, cinema-like feel.

My only complaint is that I wish that the ending felt more like an ending, such that the drama could stand on its own. I do realize this is because there’s a second season coming, but right now the show feels somewhat incomplete, ending on a huge, ambiguous cliffhanger/sequel hook and with several loose ends. I obviously can’t give a final verdict until the entire thing airs (and I typically don’t like multi-season shows, so I will wait for the next season to come out both reluctantly and begrudgingly), but even where the show leaves off I still did enjoy it immensely.

...And now, some brief thoughts on the other 5 shows I’ve watched, because I ran out of steam and have less to say about these:

6. Healer (2014-2015). It’s been a few years since I’ve seen this show, but I remember being really impressed by this drama at the time, especially the storyline. Unfortunately though I don’t remember too much about the drama itself, which is a shame. It’s a mystery/thriller, I think, and there is hacking and crimes involved? The main character is a very cute and sweet tabloid writer and she falls in love with a mysterious and cool action boy who helps her uncover the truth behind a tragic incident that relates to her past, or something. Judging from my liveblog it seems like this was an extremely emotional journey, and I enjoyed the main couple (who are both very attractive) a lot, and it was just overall a cathartic and feel-good experience. I feel like I should rewatch this drama at some point?

7. Rooftop Prince (2012). It’s also been forever since I watched this show but I remember thinking it was hilarious and delightful and I definitely cried a lot though I do not remember why (probably something something time travel, something something reincarnation/fated lovers??). I do remember that the premise is that a Joseon-era prince and several of his servants accidentally time travel into modern-day Seoul and end up meeting the main character who is the future reincarnation of his love (?) and he is hilariously anachronistic and also insufferably pretentious, which the MC absolutely does not cut him any slack for, and they have an extremely good dynamic.

8. Coffee Prince (2007). I watched this around the same time as Rooftop Prince and I remember really enjoying it! it’s basically just SKKS, but the modern cafe AU, and I mean that in the best way possible? It definitely shares a lot of the same tropes--crossdressing/tomboy female lead, sexually questioning male lead who falls in love with her despite being “straight,” very good chemistry and also extremely charming secondary characters.

9. Shut Up Flower Boy Band (2012). This show...Was just OK. I enjoyed it at the time, but I can’t say I found it particularly memorable. As I said, I don’t typically find stories about high school students particularly relatable, and the battle of the bands-type plot was interesting enough at the time but didn’t really leave a lasting impression. As expected, the music was pretty good. I kind of watched this mostly to hear Sung Joon sing tbh?

10. Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People (2017). I wanted to like this show. I really did. I wouldn’t say it was bad, but the beginning was painfully slow, and I only really enjoyed the last 10 episodes or so, when the vive la révolution arc finally started kicking off. The pacing was challenging--the pre-timeskip dragged on about twice as long as it needed to, and I just wasn’t really interested in the Amogae/Yiquari storyline very much. I also really, really disliked all the romances in the show, especially the main pairing, since I didn’t particularly love either the male or the female leads until pretty late in the show. Overall I think I would have enjoyed the show more if the first 2/3 of it was about half as long, and it either developed the romance better or cut it out altogether.

What I’m thinking of watching next:

1. Chuno (2010). Mostly because the soundtrack to this show is so goddamn good, but also because I’m craving more historical dramas with good sword fights after SFD. I was kind of hoping Rebel would fill that need but I was a little disappointed tbh?

2. Warrior Baek Dong Soo (2011). Same reasons as above, honestly. also has a very good soundtrack, and Ji Chang Wook, who is a known nice face-haver, doing many very cool sword fights.

3. Mr. Sunshine (2018). Late Joseon era is something I’ve never really seen before in media so I’m pretty intrigued? Also Byun Yo Han was one of my favorites from SFD and I definitely want to see him in more things.

4. Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung (2019). A coworker recommended this to me and the trailer looks delightful. first of all it’s a sageuk with the gorgeous and talented Shin Se Kyoung in it playing a smart and plucky female lead, which have historically been extremely good to me, but also it gives me massive SKKS vibes, so how could I not.

5. My Country: The New Age (2019). This caught my attention because it’s based on the same historical events as SFD, so it features some of the same characters. I am very very interested in Jang Hyuk’s take on Yi Bang Won, even if he is less of a main character here compared to SFD, and he’s already an adult so he’ll already be well on his way to bastardhood. I also hear it’s very heartbreaking, which is instant eyes emoji for me?

6. Chicago Typewriter (2017). It’s about freedom fighters from the colonization era, which I’m very intrigued by after The Handmaiden and Pachinko, plus a reincarnation romance. I am very predictable in my choice of tropes. Also, Yoo Ah In is in it.

7. Arthdal Chronicles (2019-). Ok, it’s a gorgeous-looking historical fantasy set in Korea written by the same writers as TWDR and SFD, plus it has not just one but TWO Song Joong Ki characters, one of which is a pure, doe-eyed soft boy and the other an evil long-haired fae prince looking asshole who I hear is a complete and utter Unhinged Bastard Supreme. Nothing has ever been more Camille Bait than this, but unfortunately this show hasn’t finished airing, which does pain me deeply. speaking of,

8. Kingdom (2019-). It’s a fantasy sageuk with zombies, is about the extent I know about this show. The fact that it also hasn’t finished airing turns me off a bit but it looks absolutely gorgeous and I also just found out it was written by the same writer as Signal, so,,,,,,,,,

9. Gunman in Joseon (2014). I honestly don’t expect too much from this drama but I just enjoy its premise a lot? From what I understand it’s just Percy from Critical Role, but make it Joseon era.......Like, they just straight up took a Shadow the Hedgehog, “let’s make a sageuk, but guns,” approach, and I kind of unironically love that. Also the soundtrack kicks ass, which like...you can really see where my priorities lie here, huh,

10. Misaeng (2014). I don’t remember at this point why this is on my list but I found it in the Keep note I have of all the media I want to watch?? I have no idea what this show is about, except that it takes place in an office. Apparently Byun Yo Han is also in this one? I’m sorry this is the only non-sageuk or sageuk-adjacent show in this list, I know what I’m about, and it’s fancy old-timey costumes and cool braids.

[aion-rsa]

Mortal Kombat Review: Video Game Movie Redefines Classic ‘90s Series

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Warner Bros. and director Simon McQuoid pull off a daring, high-wire balancing act (above a pit of spikes, no less) with their big screen take on Mortal Kombat. That is to say, it’s incredibly difficult to make a good, entertaining movie that stands on its own while at the same time remains faithful to source material with a rich, extensive history and passionate fanbase. Plus, it’s a video game movie.

Yet 2021’s Mortal Kombat is both a loving homage to the blood-soaked arcade classics that started it all and a savage, devilishly fun martial arts flick. The film is actually so effective in the latter regard that it transcends the “video game movie” category completely and should in all likelihood attract an audience of people who have never even played the games. McQuoid takes the complex canon and iconic characters from the games and presents them in a way that respects the original designs to the highest degree but makes clear that this is a new take on the story that has its own voice.

This interpretation of Mortal Kombat opens with a fateful encounter between the Chinese Lin Kuei clan’s Bi-Han, aka Sub-Zero (Joe Taslim), and the Japanese Shirai Ryu clan’s Hanzo Hasashi, aka Scorpion (Hiroyuki Sanada), whose family is murdered by his cold-blooded arch-nemesis. The battle is gruesome and conveys straight away that the film will indeed depict hard-R violence. Heads are impaled, necks are snapped, guts go flying… yeah, this is Mortal Kombat alright.

But what feels new here is the level of emotionality that’s built into the hyper-violence. The scene is an origin story of sorts for Scorpion, and the rage that he unleashes comes from a visceral place that is easy to understand on a human level. This fixation on the human element permeates the rest of the movie and gives the action dimension without weighing down the proceedings.

The majority of the story revolves around a new character, Cole Young (Lewis Tan), an amateur MMA fighter and family man who gets swept up in a supernatural war of the worlds when he’s informed by special ops badass Jax (Mehcad Brooks) that he’s been chosen as one of Earth’s champions to face the challengers of Outworld in an interdimensional fight for survival and dominance. He’s shocked, hilariously, to learn that the dragon-shaped “birthmark” on his chest is actually a brand given to anointed champions of Earth.

The movie introduces a lot of the classic characters from the games in the context of recruitment for the impending tournament, and it’s impressive that the filmmakers were able to incorporate such a wide variety of characters and still keep the story coherent, especially for a movie that clocks in at just 1 hour 50 minutes.

On the Earth side of the battle, we meet Jax’s partner, the virtuous Sonya Blade (Jessica McNamee); her captive, Earth champion-murdering maniac, Kano (Josh Lawson); honorable martial arts masters and cousins Liu Kang (Ludi Lin) and Kung Lao (Max Huang); and stoic thunder god Lord Raiden (Tadanobu Asano). The outworlders include the soul-devouring Shang Tsung (Chin Han); fanged fatale Mileena (Sisi Stringer); fast-footed psychopath Kabal (Daniel Nelson); winged warrior Nitara (Mel Jarnson); the sledgehammer-swinging General Reiko (Nathan Jones); and the legendary four-armed beast, Goro.

Each character gets at least a few minutes of shine, and some make bigger impressions than others. Kano is the clear standout, with Lawson offering up some genuinely funny banter and one-liners throughout. He truly steals the show. And while he’s essentially only seen in an epic one-on-one with Cole, Goro is absolutely spectacular-looking and is one of the highlights of the movie. Other characters like Liu Kang, Kung Lao, and Mileena, feel underserved. One even wonders if the story would’ve worked better as a limited series, giving the minor characters more room to breathe.

While some of the characters are less compelling than others, the good news is that they all look terrific. The designs stay completely faithful to the games while also making the characters look embedded in reality and not at all cartoonish. And in a greater sense, the movie captures the ethereal brutality of the games’ environments (some classic levels make fun cameos) but renders them in a way that looks tactile and believable.

Still, Mortal Kombat’s bread and butter is, of course, the combat, and in this respect the movie over-delivers. The intricately choreographed hand-to-hand fight scenes are at times breathtakingly good (the standoffs between Scorpion and Sub-Zero that bookend the movie are freaking unbelievable). The cast is stacked with experienced martial artists, and all of the physicality looks as legit as it gets. The more supernatural encounters look equally amazing: From Kano’s laser eye to Sonya’s pulse rings, to Sub-Zero’s ice storms, all of the visual effects-based action looks incredibly cool and is integrated perfectly into the martial arts choreography.

As for the level of violence, it’s certainly gory and visceral, and worthy of the Mortal Kombat moniker. Several classic fatalities from the games are rendered in blood-splattered, big budget glory (Kung Lao’s hat gets the spotlight it rightfully deserves), and like the games, the movie’s sense of humor tempers the violence perfectly. Bloodthirsty fans won’t be disappointed.

The most impressive thing about McQuoid’s version of Mortal Kombat though is its tone. The drama and levity balance out nicely, with Cole’s commitment to his family acting as the emotional anchor and Kano’s blather acting as the comic relief. All of the cinematic and narrative elements just gel, which frees the audience up to simply have fun and enjoy the proceedings.

Mortal Kombat stands on its own as an excellent martial arts movie, period. It’s a wildly entertaining ride from beginning to end, and newcomers should have no issue diving into the wicked world Ed Boon and John Tobias created back in 1992. But the movie is also a lovingly crafted homage to the games that’s full of fan service that somehow doesn’t cheapen Cole’s story, which is always the going concern.

The movie is clearly designed to be the launching pad for a larger universe of films, and with several fan-favorite characters missing from the initial lineup (Johnny Cage, Baraka, Shao Kahn, among others), a sequel or two is surely on the horizon.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The post Mortal Kombat Review: Video Game Movie Redefines Classic ‘90s Series appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3xgZenc

[toonpunk-game]

Fluff Updates 3: Some characters

And finally for today, a few default setting NPCs for use by bored GMs. 

High Noon

Accent:  Hardened cowboy

Likes: Poems,  ballads, whiskey, big hats

Prop: Cigar, revolver,  journal/sketchbook

Dislikes: Society,  civility, cities, government

Demeanor: Sullen,  bitter, fits of manic energy

Hobby: Whittling,  Guitar, Card games

Vocabulary: Folksy  anarchist revolutionary

During the late 30s to mid 50s, one of the most popular adventure magazines in the comics industry was Wild West Adventures—a bi-weekly anthology devoted to Westerns of all varieties.  The series featured several recurring characters based on existing folk tales, such as Daniel Boone or Paul Bunion; as well as new characters like Running Bull the Indian Brave, “Black” Jack Jackson the abolitionist, the enigmatic sorceress Billie Fish, and the mystical gunfighter, High Noon. Originally conceived as “the spirit of the wild west”, High Noon appeared in supernatural stories, frequently opposing notorious outlaws such as Black Bart, Jesse James, or John Wesley Hardin. While WWA was originally published by American Comics Co., the company’s bankruptcy in 1938 lead to their acquisition by the New England Press, which would become AC Comics just one year later.  After this, WWA was re-launched as a monthly series.  

In the 1940s, High Noon’s popularity with the GIs fighting in Europe lead to the book abandoning its anthology roots, and instead began focusing entirely on the serial adventures of High Noon and “the Longcoats”, a vigilante gang consisting of Running bull, Billie Fish, and several other characters.  During this period, he often faced horror characters like vampires, werewolves, or Satanists; and simultaneously, his own supernatural abilities were downplayed in favor of more traditional gunfighting adventure material. By the time the war ended, though, superhero comics had begun to come into their own; and the introduction of the Comics Code Authority in 1954 made High Noon’s adventures entirely unsuitable for publication.  WWA was unceremoniously cancelled 2 months after the CCA was installed; and High Noon would remain out of print for 30 years.  

In 1987, fledgling writer Morris Allen produced The Dreamers, the legendary Eisner-winning graphic novel.  In The Dreamers, High Noon received his first print appearance since the CCA’s founding, this time as an antagonistic figure. During the events of the comic, High Noon is shown to be immortal due to his status as a “spirit of the West”; however, he has grown disillusioned with America after serving in the Vietnam War, and carries out a string of elaborate bank robberies and assassinations to further a radical anarchist agenda.  Ultimately, he is shot to death by his former companion—the superhero Captain Hope—following the assassination of Richard Nixon.  His homepage comes from here, a scant few panels before his death.  

High Noon was one of the first people to contextualize The Rabbit’s crime spree as a philosophical statement.  He was also the first person to emulate it successfully, to the point that historians often remark him as the first “proper” toonpunk; even though he has never identified as such, and has actually expressed his distaste for the term at least once. Since I-day, High Noon has been more or less constantly active as a criminal element, with the average rest period between crimes being between three and nine months. The sole exception to this was a 20-year period during which he vanished entirely from the public eye; to date, he has never commented on this.

Usually, High Noon works with The New Longcoats: a group of similarly-motivated and similarly-skilled meat and inkmen, several of whom were originally parodies of or homages to him. These include High Moon the talking cow; Witching Hour, a horror-themed tongue-in-cheek send-up from Visage Comics’ Old Souls series; Chester Lillibridge, the psychotic antagonist from Darkness Over Deadwood; and the Illegitimate Lovechild of Calamity Jane and A Bear, who is usually just called “Lovely Jane”.  The group is notorious for their politically-motivated crimes; rather than simply smash and grab, their crimes are often flashy and showboaty affairs, punctuated with the inclusion of pre-recorded messages or the on-site production of particularly outlandish graffiti.  Most of these are meant to bring across a message—examples so far include “the fundamental immorality of late-stage capitalism”, “the self-defeating nature of society and law”, and “rock’s not dead”. Because of their ideological slant, they are often considered terrorists more than mere criminals.

Noon is an active fixer, planner, and perpetrator who works all around the world.  In addition to the Longcoat gang, he frequently works with other gangs on a case-by-case basis—most commonly, he makes his services available to people with whom he shares ideological ground; and has been known to support or arrange multiple operations in a month, with several gangs at a time. Most commonly, he gravitates towards people who target governmental or megacorporate interests—which means that all you anarchists out there might just find a friend in him.

Alexxi ‘The Abattoir’ Penderghast

Alexxi is the most annoying kind of cop: a crazy one. The saying goes that Iron Man is the one you don’t want working your case, but Abattoir is the one you don’t even wanna meet. It is, to put it simply, a miracle that she is still employed: during her 220-year long career she has bounced around like a ping-pong ball between different cities, organizations, and planets: she’s worked on Earth, second Earth, Mars, Iarn, and the Chinese Ring—and she’s always left a long trail of bodies. With over 340 justified killings in the line of duty, 147 brutality complaints, and 134 miscellaneous internal affairs investigations, she has an underworld-spanning reputation as the dirtiest cop to never get caught…and worst of all, she does it just because she likes the work.

Penderghast began her life as the lead character in Delta Borealis, a promotional tie-in comic for an obscure line of novelty miniatures. As a “wyrd hunter”, she was responsible for hunting the distant corners of space for the servants of the Outer Gods—but in true antihero fashion, had forged a pact with each of those outer gods in order to use their own power against them. More shockingly still, despite affecting the air of a femme fatale, she was actually biologically male. In 1991, when DB was published, such a thing was more or less unheard of in the comics industry—and this move was daring enough to earn DB a small but devoted following. Either way, Alexxi’s characterization was simple enough to fit on a postcard: she does not like bad guys, but she does like performing gut-wrenching acts of violence upon them.

The comic also incorporated the excessive sex and gore which would come to be characteristic of poorly-made 90s comic books—but it so often appeared to be self-aware that contemporary critics were undecided on whether the comic was a work of clever parody or a truly brain-dead show of excess. Famously, Alexxi had highlight quotes from two different reviews of DB#3 tattooed on her shoulder blades: on her left, “a truly genius work of deconstruction, highlighting the absurdities and inherent folly of its source material” (att. Harold Green); and on her right, “a frankly appalling celebration of adolescent sexual repression, implying grotesquely stunted growth in both reader and writer” (att. Andrew Black).

Alexxi first incarnated in the Cork Inkish Incident, where she rapidly earned the gratitude of the Irish government by serving with the Thunderers. In the days after Bloody March, she continued to serve alongside the Irish Army—only leaving the country in 2048, after lasting peace was declared. As a courtesy, she—along with the other Thunderers—received an Irish/EU citizenship and an honorary BA in criminal justice from the UCC. Thus armed, she embarked upon a globetrotting tour of duty across Europe, Asia, and Africa…and a pattern soon emerged. When picking a new job, Penderghast didn’t seek out higher pay or greater prestige…she went specifically for high-crime low-income areas with underdeveloped government infrastructure. To put it simply, she went wherever she was going to be able to beat up a lot of people; and her track record meant she was more or less a shoo-in for any posting she wanted.

In 2298 she found her way to Saskatoon, on the tail end of two decades’ tour in Cob Country. She introduced herself in a suitably graphic way: her first ever beat walk ended with an octuple-arrest over a brawl in Lilliput, during which she reportedly “descended on the crowd like a bat out of hell”—breaking 2 peoples’ arms and concussing 4 others. She became a talking point among the locals after an incident in which she interrupted a rape in progress: the Saskatoon Tribune reported that she “disemboweled the perpetrator with her bare hands”; but an internal affairs investigation ultimately revealed that this was highly sensationalized: all of the perpetrator’s organs were still technically inside his body.

Outside of the field, Alexxi is known to be personable, polite, high-spirited, and ultimately a rather pleasant person. She is, however, distinctly unwilling to talk about her personal life before or after her homepage. Fate has afforded her a fair deal of privacy: due to a copyright dispute over the text of DB, it was cancelled after issue 3. The inventory of the last 2 issues was largely destroyed before publication, and only survived in extremely limited quantities. For now, only she knows what motivates her bloodlust…and you ought to be more concerned with avoiding her than with finding out what drives her.

Accent:  Boarding School Received Pronunciation

Likes: Tea,  stage magic, her 3rd ex, fashion

Prop: Various  icons of nondenominational faith

Dislikes: Her  first 2 exes, Welshmen, criminals

Demeanor: Posh,  bubbly, outgoing

Hobby: Miniature  soldier collecting/painting

Vocabulary: floral  and colorful, many idioms

Criminal  Record: Numerous IA investigations

 Commissioner Walker Stone

Accent: Deep  Southern Gentry

Likes: 1980s  Arena Rock, his dog Skipper

Prop:  Comically outdated service revolver

Dislikes: High  society, weak-willed persons

Demeanor: Suspicious,  intimidating, intense

Hobby: amateur  war historian

Vocabulary: Folksy,  modestly well-educated

Favorite TV  Detective: Joe Friday

 If Mayor Levitt is a hand stabbing at the throat of our industry, Walker Stone is the knife he’s using to do it. He is a driven, charismatic, and capable man: under his leadership, the SPD has reached record-high recruitment and conviction rates, with record low civilian casualties. His crowning achievement is undoubtedly the wholesale disassembly of the Gambino crime empire; though his ongoing prosecution of the Rasputins may one day supplant it. Perhaps most important of all is his incredible devotion to duty: despite being successfully assassinated 3 separate times, Stone has served an unbroken tenure as commissioner for the last 36 years. In fact, he aced the Bendis-Bagley Continuity Test all 3 times—making him the only certified static personality to hold public office in the city of Saskatoon.

Not everything about him is smiles and sunshine, however. Stone rose to office amidst controversy about his origins and character—controversy which persists to this day, and puts him under near-constant scrutiny: on his homepage Stone was a villain, and a particular nasty one at that. In Kings of America, Walker Stone was a corrupt county sheriff whose actions were often amoral or even cruel. In the series, the county police force is overstretched and underfunded, with violent crime spiraling out of control. Over time, Walker comes to believe that the limited order imposed by the area’s crime cartels was better than the lack of order presented by the civil government; and so allows several organized crime groups to reach prominence.

In the climactic act of the story, Ariel Levitt—the main character—discovers that Walker is secretly the King of Land, and has the power to telekinetically manipulate stone and rock. The two briefly engage in a super-powered duel, before the more experienced Stone overpowers and kills Levitt by impaling him through the heart with a spear of solid rock. In the series finale, Stone falsely eulogizes Levitt as a victim of gang violence, and uses his death to rally the people of Levitt’s hometown in support of increased police funding.  In the closing monologue of issue #6, Stone remarks that “the real tragedy is that the world will always need more dead dreamers.”

Many people were understandably nervous at the prospect of this man being put in charge of the police force. However, despite being the antagonist of the picture, Walker Stone was never portrayed as villainous—only as pragmatic and impersonal, almost to the point of inhumanity. Prior to I-day, the efficacy of his system raised frequent debate among fans of the series about whether he was truly a villain or merely an anti-hero.

After I-day, he leveraged his reputation to his advantage during several civilian careers as a lecturer, security consultant, and talk show panelist—all of which were cut short by his deaths. His fourth incarnation briefly entertained returning to the talk show circuit, before ultimately partnering with Ariel Levitt during Levitt’s mayoral bid.  During the campaign, he repeatedly stressed that his actions in Kings of America were the result of extreme duress; and the size of the Saskatoon PD would allow him to work fully within the confines of the law. As a show of good faith, he regularly submits to and cooperates with the RMBI; and his approach to internal misconduct is notoriously strict—often relying on punitive measures that far exceed other cities’.

As a person, Stone is known to be stern and pensive. He prefers to listen rather than speak, and he does not like to waste words. Despite being known as a pragmatist and a tight ship-runner, those subordinates of his who remain faithful to the law say that he is understanding and reasonable, if not necessarily kind. The phrase “firm but fair” is often applied to him—though a number of less charitable things are said by those who find his single-minded devotion to the law tiresome or inconvenient. Either way, he has done a fine job of getting results—he did more than his fair share to bring Saskatoon’s Onyx age to a screeching halt, and shows no sign of stopping.

 Papa Malorn

Accent:  Big-city Midwest Canadian

Likes:  Whiskey, darts, decent people

Prop: Cigar,  his robot hand

Dislikes: Wealthy  people, cowards, Germans

Demeanor:  Street tough, occasional kindness

Hobby: Antique film buff

Vocabulary: Meticulously  articulate

Thomas Malorn, heir to the Malorn Shipping company, was born to respectable means. Beatrice and Thomas Sr. were, respectively, the majority shareholder and CEO; and under their leadership it had grown to be a major name in rail and air freight across North America. Thomas enjoyed a privileged childhood, wanting for nothing; but this abruptly ended on his fifteenth birthday, when the three of them were caught in a car bombing (which is now widely believed to have been an assassination attempt by Hackerschmidt Shipping). Thomas’s parents were killed in the blast, while he himself was badly burnt and paralyzed from the waist down.

As the son of a wealthy couple, Thomas was admitted to high-grade urgent care at Saint Josephine’s of Saskatoon, where he was outfitted with a set of quality-of-life augmentations which restored his ambulatory function and much of his appearance. He soon learned, however, that his parents had willed their entire fortune to rival shipping magnate William Hackerschmidt, which left Thomas penniless. Hackerschmidt confessed to the murders some 20 years later, but died in prison while awaiting trial.

Thomas spent the next few years moving through a series of temporary labor jobs, where he often put his augments to good use. When he was 19, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for home invasion, though he was released after only 5. From then up to his 30s, he was arrested and fined over a dozen more times on charges of public brawling. During this time he began associating with Francis Flanagan, Alex Grimaldi, and Jimmy the Corpse. The four of them would come to be known as the Malorn gang, and soon came under suspicion for all manner of crimes.

Fast forward 20 years. Thomas “Papa” Malorn is known around town for many things: his generous donations to the churches and universities of Saskatoon; his work with the city ink asylum and poorhouses; and for being the leader of a wickedly successful crime family. Like any good mobster, the accusations against him are so far insufficient for conviction; but he has been questioned in connection with over 200 counts of racketeering, arson, battery, and murder. Among the night life of Saskatoon he is known for being kind to his allies and merciless to his enemies; and many crime analysts have named him the heir apparent to organized crime in Saskatoon after the dissolution of the Gambino crime family in 2303.

So far, he has been content to keep his business to the waterfront districts. He is even known to tolerate the presence of Toonpunks in his territory, so long as they respect his properties and protectorates. He has survived thus far by keeping his head low, and cooperating with the police to a point…but there are rumors in the shadows of a full-fledged gang war on the horizon; and those who know Malorn expect him to be prepared, and ready to bring his rivals down in flames…

[crystalnet]

State of the Art: JRPG Spotlight-

Issue #1- 2017 at a Glance- A quarterly or bi-annual journal on the JRPG at large, focusing on recent releases, trends, quarterly reviews/analyses and upcoming release hype.

The other night I was getting yet even deeper still into the freshly minted minor-masterpiece that is Xenoblade Chronicles 2 when it dawned on me just how good 2017 was to the quaint little genre known as the JRPG. I knew all year while it was happening that some special games were getting released with a certain regularity, but now that the dust has fully settled, we can look back and be conclusively impressed by such a stellar stretch. 

3 or 4 years ago I think people were getting ready to pen their moratoriums on why big developers and JRPGs should soon plan on never intersecting again save for small-scale handheld releases, and now here we are and Japan is seemingly back on top as far as role-playing goes. That return-to-form didn't always seem so inevitable as it is now that it's fully underway, especially after a somewhat shaky stretch for the genre during the 7th generation. Indeed, high-definition graphics and devs who catered to Gatorade-guzzling gamer bros seemed to not be the boon to the genre that old-school role-players really needed, and even the first couple of years of the 8th generation saw the genre to still be on slightly shaky ground, without a ton of great titles to point to from those initial years. 

But then throughout the 7th gen a little franchise called Dark Souls (a JRPG in spirit, though not quite in practice, in many ways) started to build a little following, generating new interest in things like difficulty, customization, and innovative diagetic story-telling. As of the middle of this decade though, the genre still doesn’t have all that much of a presence compared to the late 90s heyday of JRPGs. Cut to 2016 though and Square drops FFXV which is a solid, if not-perfect realization of the 30-year-old standard-bearer of the genre, (a herald of sorts, if you will) and BAM. 2017 begins and in quick succession Nier Automata, Persona 5 and Breath of the Wild drop, all to stunningly positive reception. Now BotW, like Dark Souls, is not as much of a JRPG as the other 3 releases I hope to focus on, but Zelda has always had it's toe in the same waters as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, borrowing and simplifying elements of role-playing games from an action-adventure perspective, and in turn, also influencing those very JRPG franchises it seemed to pay homage to. 

This wasn't just a coincidental blip of releases though, proved largely by the fact that all the way at the end of the year, Xenoblade 2 would also drop, and show yet again how the JRPG can be fresh and vital, and can be a Nintendo-exclusive at that. Indeed, I hope to demonstrate my thesis that it was a particularly strong year by triangulating my discussion around Nier A, Persona 5 and Xenoblade 2. Not only are these three very strong titles, they are also all pretty vastly different styles of JRPGs, which I think displays the health and potential of the genre even better than the fact that they are so individually good. First of all we have an industry veteran and mad-hatter in Yoko Taro finally coalescing a fully-realized vision of action-JRPG greatness by collaborating with Platinum games to make something as heady, and intellectual as it is well-designed and fun to play. That game is something like a Hegelian Philosophy PhD driving a Lamborghini in terms of the amount of stuff going on with the writing and character development, all while sporting a super classy luxury sports-car, six-cylinder engine. For long-time fans of Taro, I don't think this direction could have ever been predicted, though they may have secretly dreamed of such a fusion of form and function. 

The best thing about how simultaneously weird and playable Nier A is for me is the way it hearkens back to the golden age of PS2 JRPGs for me personally. Without pinning it to a single PS2-era title, it gives me the same feeling that games during that console could consistently deliver on: a fully realized fantasy/sci fi world, a deep-yet-approachable combat system, a weird and very-Japanese, but also deep-as-hell plot, and a certain functionality that games like Kingdom Hearts 2, Rogue Galaxy and Final Fantasy XII delivered on back then. I don't mean to say it's derivative or stuck in the past, it's just that, the highlights of the PS2 days are my go-to precedent for what a good modern, post-16-bit JRPG is, since that equally sweet ps1 era can only be reasonably emulated on smaller and/or handheld retro-style releases. And while the story’s depth and esoteric nature recall the plot’s and worlds of PS1 and 2 greats like FFX, Xenosaga or Vagrant Story, the combat itself feels as fast-and-furious as hack-n-slash classics from then like Devil May Cry. 

So while Nier had action-(j)RPG style gameplay covered, Persona 5 was there for all the turn-based devotees, and oh boy were we there for it also. That game was a huge victory lap for Atlus, who has built up a deep fanbase over the past decade, largely because of youtubers (at least in the west we can thank the cult-y presence of its fans online for the slow-burn development of an army of Atlus acolytes, whereas P3 and 4 were only barely noticed in the States back when they actually first came out.) And they finally capitalized on that hard-earned interest by finally following up P4 after nearly a decade, and while they were at it, they also showed everyone that fully turn-based (not even slightly active-time) systems can still melt faces, please crowds and feel fresh, which is no mean feat at all in a world where some question if turn-based is officially dead save for retro-homages. 

And while Nier captures a kind of ethereal PS2-esque quality, Persona very literally pulls some of the PS2-era goodness into the future by updating and refining the awesomely deep and OCD-enabling systems of the now holy-grail-level PS2 era Persona games. Yes, wandering around Shinjuku, going on supportive dates with classmates, building up your relationships in general, and working a part time job between study breaks has been fully realized for the modern gamer, and it is glorious to behold. 

And that takes us to Xenoblade which out of all the titles I might be most surprised by. Being a bit of a Xeno-noob, I wasn't sure if the release was going to be a major or minor event for role-players, especially given Nintendo's spotty track-record with the JRPG, usually sporting all of maybe one or two truly notable ones per generation, as well as their tendency to censor and/or smother developers. But alas, Xenoblade is fully-formed, proper, brimming-with-life and as deserving of the title of new standard-bearer to the genre as any of the other fantastic JRPGs released that year, many of which I won't even get to. 

As is the case with the others, it seems to draw on PS2 era greatness in someways, by building on battle systems like the ones in FFXI and FFXII, while also being an actual descendant of the Xenosaga series that rocked that console, and also still draws on PS3-era titles that were successful (though smaller in number there were some good ones!) like Ni No Kuni and the Last Story. This is a round-about way of saying the combat system is an excellent take on the free-moving active-time auto-battling-but-with-real-time-triggers-style combat that started to show up towards the end of the PS2's life-cycle just when people were realizing the days of pure turn-based role-laying may be limited. And it also delivers on all those other check-marked boxes that any truly great and special JRPG must deliver on including: emotionally stirring and unique soundtrack, a deep and rewardingly complex story with all sorts of specific and detailed lore, a really nice visual style, and some incredibly beautiful locales. Okay that last thing isn't even a thing JRPGs usually have to deliver on, but it sure is a highlight. Some of the locations you move through during your travels in this game are breathtaking, and even more impressive than the  similarly psuedo-cell-shaded style of Breath of the Wild, whose open-world Monolith Soft also worked on (though you can't climb all over these areas I should say). 

I'm as blown away by the suddenly addictive combat (once it fully kicks in and you are given full control over 3 blades around the 15 hour mark) as I am by the surprisingly moving, funny and immersive story. I can be a little skeptical sometimes when approaching JRPG stories, but by all three of these aforementioned titles, we were treated to surprisingly mature and complex narratives, with refreshingly grounded and/or thoughtful characters. Indeed, with this many games firing on all these different cylinders (I didn't even mention the soundtrack to Persona 5 or Nier OMG), you know something special is happening.

So there you have it, three wildly differently styles of JRPG, only unified by their consistent top-tier quality. An old-school turn-based lite-novel hyprid, a full real-time action-RPG for philosophy students, and a MMO-style combat fantasy epic. And on top of all that there's myriad other fantastic releases, or even re-releases like the Final Fantasy XII Zodiac Age remaster of FFXII, one of my favorites and oft-forgotten FF titles that I think got overlooked slightly upon initial release precisely because of the way it showed other developers the way forward from pure turn-based combat. 

And then the behemoth that is Breath of the Wild saw a tried-and-true franchise get fully revitalized in a way that drew on the weapon system of Dark Souls as much as it did the food system of Odinsphere of all games. And like I said, though not a true JRPG, it shows that role-playing adjacent titles are also showing a come-back. Survival components in video games were always the more practical, realist cousin to role-playing/stat-grinding after all. 

So where do we go from here? Well 2018 will show us whether 2017 was a stand-out year or just the beginning of a trend, but all signs seem to point to an ongoing upward trend if releases like Monster Hunter World are any indication. Ni No Kuni 2 is due out soon, Octopath Traveler, which should make good on the idea of a retro-JRPG, and Kingdom Hearts 3 at the end of the year all help to paint the picture of an equally formidable year. Alas, Nippon is poised to continue its domination in coming months. All in all, fans of the genre should be very pleased, and if you haven't checked out one of the aforementioned titles get to it, because all of them are excellent, even if Xeno takes about 15 hours to truly get rolling and Persona takes a whopping like 20. All good things come to those who wait, after all.~

[janepwilliams87]

Pennsylvania Senate Democrats Push For Marijuana Legalization To Boost Revenue Amid Coronavirus

A majority of Pennsylvania Senate Democrats sent a letter to the governor and legislative leaders on Thursday, arguing that lawmakers should pursue adult-use marijuana legalization in order to generate revenue to make up for losses resulting from the coronavirus pandemic.

The letter, led by Sen. Sharif Street (D), stresses that the state’s economic situation is “dire” and that the government “should do absolutely everything we can to raise revenue.”

“That is why we come together as a committed group of Pennsylvania Senators to urge our leaders to take up the bi-partisan issue of adult-use cannabis legalization,” they wrote.

Street and the other 14 senators made a series of arguments in favor of approving comprehensive cannabis reform. They talked about the issue’s increasing bipartisan support, for example. A recent poll found that almost two-thirds of Pennsylvanians support recreational legalization, and that includes majorities of those who identify as conservative, moderate and liberal.

The end of cannabis prohibition is long overdue in PA. Proud to be joined by 14 @PAsenateDems colleagues to urge the legislature to take up this issue as soon as possible and help move Pennsylvania forward. It’s time. pic.twitter.com/aiMjS3f5Jh

— Sen. Sharif Street (@SenSharifStreet) July 9, 2020

They also emphasized the need to avoid raising taxes on Pennsylvanians or making budget cuts as well as the potential boon to the job market that legalization could represent.

“We need to ensure our spending on healthcare, education, housing, and small businesses continues unabated throughout this crisis,” the letter states. “Legalizing adult-use cannabis will raise revenue and help mitigate the possible need for cuts, and additionally can serve as a revenue saving tool in agencies such as the Department of Corrections.”

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) told Marijuana Moment in a phone interview on Thursday that “there’s never been a more appropriate time to have this conversation.”

“I’ve been saying this now since the pandemic started. I’ve never understood why it wasn’t always a top Democratic priority along with the other ones,” he said. “It hits on every cylinder. You have the criminal justice reform aspect, you have the economic development reform aspect, jobs, revenue. I mean, there’s so many different things that this can bring. And now that we’re in the height of a pandemic with record unemployment and record budget deficits.”

The senators also highlighted racial disparities in marijuana enforcement, noting that black Americans are significantly more likely to be arrested for a cannabis offense compared to white people despite similar rates of consumption. They are also more likely to serve longer sentences.

“This is damaging to communities and families and a waste of valuable resources,” they wrote. “Legalizing adult use cannabis will not only save the Commonwealth money but will bring much needed justice to those who have suffered the most under the impact of prohibition.”

The letter goes on to say that an adult-use market—which is estimated to bring in about $581 million in tax revenue annually—could be modeled after the state’s existing medical cannabis program. That revenue is “no small sum and would be instrumental as we navigate this hundred-year crisis.”

“Once again, the single most important goal we should have right now is ensuring we can continue to provide for the communities of Pennsylvania,” they concluded. “Through legalizing adult-use cannabis, we can protect Pennsylvanians from harmful tax hikes and spending cuts and raise new revenue to continue providing vital services and assistance for our constituents. We urge you to consider this issue during this year’s budget negotiations, and work with us to enact a responsible budget that will benefit all Pennsylvanians.”

Prior to state shelter-in-place and social distancing mandates, Rep. Jake Wheatley (D) announced that he would be introducing a revised legalization bill for the session. The lawmaker, who filed a similar bill last year, wrote that his proposal will be “the most comprehensive and well-vetted legislation providing for a legal adult-use cannabis industry.” It would also provide for expungements and releasing people from prison for non-violent drug offenses.

While Gov. Tom Wolf (D) initially opposed adult-use legalization, he came out in support of the policy change last year. That shift came after Fetterman, a major ally of the reform movement, led a statewide listening tour last year to solicit public input on the issue.

This story has been updated to include comments from Fetterman.

Read the letter from Pennsylvania Senate Democrats on marijuana reform below: 

Pennsylvania senators lette… by Marijuana Moment on Scribd

Bipartisan State Treasurers Call For Marijuana Banking Protections In Next Coronavirus Bill

Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.

The post Pennsylvania Senate Democrats Push For Marijuana Legalization To Boost Revenue Amid Coronavirus appeared first on Marijuana Moment.

from Updates By Jane https://www.marijuanamoment.net/pennsylvania-senate-democrats-push-for-marijuana-legalization-to-boost-revenue-amid-coronavirus/

[inehasomani]

Drones Technology for AEC Industry-A boon!

DRONES…We all are familiar with this tool as a martial tool.

But DRONES are not any longer restricted to Military and Government.

The use of DRONES is increasing and becoming popular these days for Aerial Photography, Agriculture, Mapping Applications, Weather Forecasting and many more…! 

“Drone is any unmanned aircraft or ship, also known as UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), that is guided remotely”.

Could BIM be integrated with Drones?

Yes… And for no surprise Drones have arose as powerful technology to bolster BIM technology in many ways.

Let’s give a look of how Drones can be combined with BIM workflow at different stages of a Project.

Pre-Construction Activities:

Activities like land surveying (topography) & site exploration can be successfully achieved by Drones Technology saving time and labor and indeed giving precise surveys not prone to human errors which are high-resolution and clear aiding Planning and Design.

Throughout Construction:

During Construction, Drones can be utilized for numerous tasks like better designing with a view of prevailing site details and adjacent structures, you may be able to design a model and visualize it in a better manner making it viable for construction.

Tracking and monitoring progress and have a view of the activities taking place on the site.

Security concerns of the site can also be resolved by having a sight of all the trespassing, theft or damage taking place along with the safety of the laborers on site reducing on-site mishaps.

Post-Construction:

Activities like inspections, maintenance, evaluation activities can be accomplished saving time with efficiency and accuracy.

Visualization & Marketing:

Incomparable aerial views of the site help in providing enriched viewing experiences to the owners and associated personnel. Also, they can help to highlight prominent areas of the edifices for promotional purposes.

Thus, Cost Effectiveness; Risk Mitigation; Access to remote sites & locations; Enhanced Data Resolution; Saving time in Data Collection & its Processing Compact & Intellectual Results are some of the benefits of the Drone Technology that extends the usage of Drones from Construction (AEC) Sector to Agriculture, Urban Development, Railways, Infrastructures, Forest & Wildlife, Disaster Management, Health Care, Mining, Traffic Management.

As stated by the global market intelligence and advisory firm, BIS Research, India is expected to be one of the fastest growing markets for drones and UAVs because of their ability to transform all key sectors. India’s UAV market is expected to reach USD 885.7 million by 2021, whereas, the global UAV market will reach US$ 21.47 billion.

Aren’t you excited to embrace this technology and work with Drones!

You may certainly but just take some time to go through the protocols as Usage of Drones is bound by the Drone Policy of The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which answers the queries like How, Who, Which and Where can one fly drones subject to certain Do’s and Don’ts.

You may find the below links that highlight the same aspect:

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/know-your-drone-dos-and-donts-before-you-hit-the-skies/articleshow/65574802.cms 

https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/flying-drones-now-legal-india-heres-all-you-need-know-92558

https://www.businessinsider.in/flying-drones-is-finally-legal-in-india/articleshow/65573434.cms

To mention, there are many companies globally including India, providing Drone Manufacturing/Repairs as well as BIM Drone Services. You can easily get their information on Internet.

In closing, Drones Technology in conjunction with BIM will prove to be valuable throughout the project lifecycle and play a vital role in enabling AEC industry to add deliver massive & complex projects efficiently & effectively with regards to time and quality. Isn’t this exciting!

I strongly believe that Drones will definitely prove out to be a great tool for BIM lovers!

-BIM will make it easy!!

[scienceblogtumbler]

How to ease loneliness and feel more connected

As the COVID-19 crisis has hammered America, its citizens have responded with the turtle defense. Encouraged by government stricture and rapidly evolving social norms, we’ve pulled heads, arms, and legs inside our shells, drawing away from potentially infected others, with the salutary side effect — should we be the sick ones — of also being unable to infect them.

But as we pull away, rising loneliness appears to be among a host of mental health impacts that are inevitable side effects. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll from late March showed that 45 percent of those surveyed reported mental health effects from the crisis, with 19 percent reporting a “major” impact. While social distancing’s physical isolation can enhance feelings of loneliness, experts also caution that isolation and loneliness are not the same thing. They also say, however, that there are things we can do to ease it, some of which may even help others.

“The experience of loneliness is 100 percent subjective,” said Jeremy Nobel of the Center for Primary Care at Harvard Medical School and adjunct faculty in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he teaches a course on loneliness and public health. “Isolation is the objective state of being physically separate. Loneliness is the self-perceived gap between our social connectedness and that which we aspire to have.”

While loneliness itself is not considered a mental illness, Nobel said it is a risk factor for depression, suicide, and addiction. He put its ill health effects on a par with smoking and obesity and said its physiological impacts include increased inflammation — which has been implicated in negative health consequences — and decreased immune response, both potentially important during pandemic times.

Karestan Koenen, a Harvard Chan School psychiatric epidemiologist and expert in the mental health impacts of trauma, said the pandemic’s loneliness-inducing effects may be particularly acute for those who lived alone even before the coronavirus hit.

“Loneliness is a big concern, especially for people already isolated,” she said. “We know it’s toxic to health, not just mental health but physical health.”

Robert Waldinger, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital and head of the long-running Harvard Study of Adult Development, agreed that loneliness can impact health and warned that pre-existing conditions can further hamper one’s ability to get out and connect with others.

“We find that that people who are more connected are healthier and healthier people are more connected,” Waldinger said. “It’s bi-directional.”

Being alone and lonely can also result in a kind of emotional inertia, Waldinger said, which means it may take a force of will to reach out. It may help, Waldinger said, to first reach out to a friend you think may also be lonely.

“There’s inertia if you’re alone. You think, ‘People probably don’t want to talk with me.’”

Waldinger said. “Research has shown that human connection is a big way we get through tough times. We don’t do nearly as well isolated as we do together.”

Losing a loved one is trying during normal times and may be particularly difficult now, Waldinger said. The normal comfort of family coming together to grieve and support each other may be postponed or foregone entirely due to social-distancing concerns. The impact of grief compounded by isolation may be particularly hard on surviving husbands, since studies have shown that women are better at maintaining social networks and husbands often rely on those maintained by their wives.

Nobel, who recently founded The UnLonely Project and has responded to the pandemic with a “Stuck at Home (together)” website to provide free, arts-based support for those struggling with involuntary isolation, said that the creative arts have been shown to have remarkable health effects. Nobel has blogged about how to write your way out of loneliness and conducted studies that showed that the creative arts can be healing in surprising ways. He said the effect may be because creating forces one to focus on the moment and encourages one to express thoughts and feelings in a healthy way. An important aspect of using the arts to heal, he said, is sharing one’s creation — whether art, a poem, or a cooked meal.

“In the moment, you’re not worried about your 200 emails,” Nobel said. “Making art, even a doodle or an arranged bouquet of flowers, gives you an artifact you can share with another human being and that person can have some sense of you. It’s reliably powerful, like closing an electric circuit, and both people are connected.”

Unlike pandemics past, Nobel and Waldinger agreed that many of those social distancing at home have the benefit of technology to stay connected. Though physical presence can’t be entirely replicated — having someone with you in a doctor’s office, for example, is calming, Waldinger said — videoconferencing platforms such as Zoom provide ways to stay in touch and approximate in-person connectedness.

“Connecting with others remotely is better than I thought it would be before the pandemic,” Waldinger said. “My meditation group meets every Monday night, virtually, and it’s good. We’ve had cocktails with friends, and it’s not the same, but it’s better than nothing.”

While virtual meetings, happy hours, family chats, and other gatherings have proved a boon for many during this pandemic, Waldinger said he’s concerned that it may turn into the familiar scenario of “the rich getting richer,” with those better off and comfortable with technology benefiting while others suffer in silence.

“One in four Americans lives alone,” Waldinger said. “My worry is that the people who live alone don’t have others to drag them to events or say, ‘Let’s call up so-and-so.’”

The pandemic has also highlighted at least one area for future research, Waldinger said. Studies should probe which activities are just as effective when done virtually as in person, which activities may not be the same but are effective enough, and which should still be done in person.

If there is a benefit to these quarantined days, Nobel said, it’s that with everyone physically isolated, the stigma of admitting to loneliness has decreased, which may make it easier to reach out.

“Now, in the world of coronavirus, no one is embarrassed to say they’re lonely,” Nobel said.

Ironically, Waldinger said that even as the pandemic keeps us physically apart it’s getting many of us to pull together, whether through supportive “stick with it” messages on social media, making donations to pay for first responders’ personal protective equipment, or the clapping, singing, and musical instruments pouring from apartment windows and balconies from New York to Italy.

“We were inundated with messages of how divided we are,” Waldinger said. “If anything, [the crisis is] reaffirming our connectedness.”

From Harvard University.

source https://scienceblog.com/516124/how-to-ease-loneliness-and-feel-more-connected/

[foursproutwealth-blog]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has delayed prepaid regulations

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/wealth/the-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-has-delayed-prepaid-regulations/

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has delayed prepaid regulations

This story was delivered to BI Intelligence “Payments Briefing” subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its 2018 regulatory agenda, which indicates a slowdown in rule-making and regulation, last week, according to The Wall Street Journal and PYMNTS.

That slowdown, which comes amid a leadership scuffle following the resignation of prior director Richard Cordray, will impact the CFPB’s sweeping prepaid regulations, which were released last year and set to take effect in 2018. It’s not clear if the CFPB will delay the implementation, change the rules, or do away with them entirely.

The new rules were poised to make prepaid cards, which often come with fees, considerably more consumer-friendly. For context, roughly two-thirds of prepaid users pay a fee of some sort. The long set of new rules, which were open to changes and public comment over the summer, could have helped change that — they included requirements for upfront fee disclosure, elimination of overdraft fees, better fraud and loss protection, and more stringent requirements for lines of credit. Those provisions could be attractive to users or potential users of prepaid cards — many of whom are un- or underbanked and might feel squeezed by skyrocketing fees on what seemed like a more affordable alternative to a checking account or credit card — and therefore could have made these offerings more accessible to a key population.

And so a shift could be impactful at a time when prepaid usage is growing and offerings are diversifying. Prepaid volume is on the rise, growing from $20 billion in 2003 to over $300 billion in 2015. This figure has likely risen since as the space evolves, with legacy players consolidating and newer upstarts, like Venmo and Square, entering the space by introducing prepaid stored value products for their peer-to-peer (P2P) users.

For these players, lesser regulations could be a boon, allowing for higher fees that might bring out increased monetization potential — something particularly critical for P2P players — or new, lucrative revenue opportunities. But it could also sour customer sentiment or turn off key demographics, so it’ll be worth watching the CFPB’s next moves to understand how players in the space should respond in order to strike the balance between monetization and brand perception.

Dan Van Dyke, senior research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service has written a detailed report that explores the digital payments ecosystem today, its growth drivers, and where the industry is headed. The report also: 

Traces the path of an in-store card payment from processing to settlement across the key stakeholders. 

Forecasts growth and defines drivers for key digital payment types through 2021.

Highlights five trends that are changing payments, looking at how disparate factors, such as surprise elections and fraud surges, are sparking change across the ecosystem.

Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it:

Subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and over 100 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you’ll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> Learn More Now

Purchase & download the full report from our research store. >> Purchase & Download Now

Join the conversation about this story »

[foursprout-blog]

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has delayed prepaid regulations

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/wealth/the-consumer-financial-protection-bureau-has-delayed-prepaid-regulations/

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has delayed prepaid regulations

This story was delivered to BI Intelligence “Payments Briefing” subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its 2018 regulatory agenda, which indicates a slowdown in rule-making and regulation, last week, according to The Wall Street Journal and PYMNTS.

That slowdown, which comes amid a leadership scuffle following the resignation of prior director Richard Cordray, will impact the CFPB’s sweeping prepaid regulations, which were released last year and set to take effect in 2018. It’s not clear if the CFPB will delay the implementation, change the rules, or do away with them entirely.

The new rules were poised to make prepaid cards, which often come with fees, considerably more consumer-friendly. For context, roughly two-thirds of prepaid users pay a fee of some sort. The long set of new rules, which were open to changes and public comment over the summer, could have helped change that — they included requirements for upfront fee disclosure, elimination of overdraft fees, better fraud and loss protection, and more stringent requirements for lines of credit. Those provisions could be attractive to users or potential users of prepaid cards — many of whom are un- or underbanked and might feel squeezed by skyrocketing fees on what seemed like a more affordable alternative to a checking account or credit card — and therefore could have made these offerings more accessible to a key population.

And so a shift could be impactful at a time when prepaid usage is growing and offerings are diversifying. Prepaid volume is on the rise, growing from $20 billion in 2003 to over $300 billion in 2015. This figure has likely risen since as the space evolves, with legacy players consolidating and newer upstarts, like Venmo and Square, entering the space by introducing prepaid stored value products for their peer-to-peer (P2P) users.

For these players, lesser regulations could be a boon, allowing for higher fees that might bring out increased monetization potential — something particularly critical for P2P players — or new, lucrative revenue opportunities. But it could also sour customer sentiment or turn off key demographics, so it’ll be worth watching the CFPB’s next moves to understand how players in the space should respond in order to strike the balance between monetization and brand perception.

Dan Van Dyke, senior research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service has written a detailed report that explores the digital payments ecosystem today, its growth drivers, and where the industry is headed. The report also: 

Traces the path of an in-store card payment from processing to settlement across the key stakeholders. 

Forecasts growth and defines drivers for key digital payment types through 2021.

Highlights five trends that are changing payments, looking at how disparate factors, such as surprise elections and fraud surges, are sparking change across the ecosystem.

Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it:

Subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and over 100 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you’ll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> Learn More Now

Purchase & download the full report from our research store. >> Purchase & Download Now

Join the conversation about this story »

[thedeadshotnetwork]

Ant Financial inks a new deal with Standard Chartered BI Intelligence This story was delivered to BI Intelligence " Fintech Briefing " subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here . Ant Financial, the financial affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with major incumbent bank Standard Chartered, under which the companies will boost financial inclusion in countries targeted by the Chinese government's Belt and Road initiative. Under the deal, Standard Chartered (which separately pledged to commit $20 billion to the initiative) will leverage Ant Financial 's tech savvy to offer services in markets with low bank penetration, while Ant Financial will take advantage of the bank's resources and network to extend its reach. The MoU builds on an ongoing partnership between the parties since 2012. The new deal seems like a major boon for one of China's most successful fintechs.The Belt and Road initiative aims to disseminate Chinese services, investment, and infrastructure in multiple Asian, Middle Eastern, African, and European countries to cement China's position as a major global power. Given the geopolitical and economic importance of the project to China, companies helping to promote the initiative could be afforded breathing room by regulators, a welcome reassurance at a time when domestic watchdogs are taking a tough line on fintech. Moreover, Ant Financial amassed its success by providing financial services, such as loans and e-wallets, to the unbanked, so leveraging Standard Chartered's name and connections across multiple geographies will allow it to tap into even more new markets, further boosting its growth. Ant Financial's inclusion in a project of this scale reflects a broader global fintech trend. That a global bank with a strong APAC presence like Standard Chartered has opted to cement its commitment to the Belt and Road project in partnership with a fintech suggests that, despite regulators’ recent crackdowns on the mainland, fintech — and especially its biggest, most successful representatives — is nevertheless becoming more integrated into the broader financial system, mirroring a trend seen worldwide . If Ant Financial and Standard Chartered's MoU delivers tangible benefits, perhaps we’ll see more of China’s tech behemoths announcing similar plays, thus accelerating this integration of fintech and finance. Sarah Kocianski, senior research analyst for BI Intelligence , Business Insider's premium research service, has put together a report that compiles various fintech snapshots , which together highlight the global spread of fintech, and show where governments and regulatory bodies are shaping the development of national fintech industries. Each provides an overview of the fintech industry in a particular country or state in Asia or Europe, and details what is contributing to, or hindering its further development. We also include notable fintechs in each geography, and discuss what the opportunities or challenges are for that particular domestic industry. In full, the report: Explores the fintech industry in six countries or states, and identifies individual fintech hubs. Highlights successful fintechs in each region. Outlines the challenges and opportunities each country or state faces. Gives insight into the future of the global fintech industry. Interested in getting the full report? Here are two ways to access it: Subscribe to an All-Access pass to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and over 100 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> Learn More Now Purchase download the full report from our research store. >> Purchase Download Now December 19, 2017 at 03:58PM

[ramialkarmi]

Google Assistant has a huge advantage in the voice assistant market (GOOGL)

This story was delivered to BI Intelligence Apps and Platforms Briefing subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.

By 2022, devices running Google Assistant are going to be much more prevalent in the smartphone market than those running competing native voice assistants like Apple's Siri or Samsung's Bixby, according to Strategy Analytics. Already, Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) powered voice assistant has the greatest smartphone installed base.

Devices running Google Assistant account for 46% of the smartphones equipped with personal assistants, but by 2022, Google will expand its market share to exceed 60%. This will give Google a major advantage in the years to come, because consumers who have access to a built-in smartphone voice assistant are more likely to use it than one from a competing platform.

Here are some takeaways from the report that highlight Google’s advantage in the smartphone personal assistant space:

Global search giants will dominate the market by 2022. Google and Chinese search giant Baidu are expected to make major gains between 2017 and 2022, as they’re estimated to boost their market shares by 31% and 75% respectively. Baidu currently has 13% of the AI-powered smartphone market, and by 2022, its share is expected to jump to 23%. The pair already dominate in terms of text-based search, and the rise of voice assistants will further solidify their dominance in both voice and text-based search on mobile devices.

Preference for Google’s software will hinder uptake of Samsung’s Bixby and strengthen Google’s control over Android. Samsung currently boasts a 13% market share, but by 2022, that is expected to decline to 5%. This drop off will likely come as a result of Android owners favoring the Google Assistant over Bixby, which is a boon for Google considering Samsung leads the overall global smartphone market with a 22% market share.

Google will further strengthen its lead in the market as more of the Android installed base gains access to Google Assistant. Google Assistant is compatible with Android devices running an unforked version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow or newer. Although Google has a massive global reach, with approximately 2 billion active Android devices, just under half are currently compatible with Google Assistant.

As more Android devices upgrade to software that is compatible with Google Assistant, Google will be able to increase its share in the market for smartphones with built-in voice assistants. And this will likely diminish Apple’s share from 41% in 2017 to 17% in 2022 as more Android devices have access to Google Assistant.

It’s important to note that this report only assesses smartphone-oriented personal assistants, without addressing competitors in the smart speaker space.

Although Amazon’s Alexa currently falls short in terms of smartphone usage, the company’s early lead could theoretically help Alexa be a competitor in the smartphone space if Amazon can adequately integrate Alexa into all of the other connected devices in a consumer’s life. Amazon has recently increased effort to do just that; such as creating tabletop smart-screen devices like the Echo Show that run Alexa and baking Alexa into cars like BMW and Nissan.

Jessica Smith, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on the voice assistant landscape that:

Identifies the major changes in technology and user behavior that have created the voice assistant market that exists today. 

Presents the major players in today's market and discusses their major weaknesses and strengths. 

Explores the impact this nascent market poses to other key digital industries. 

Identifies the major hurdles that need to be overcome before intelligent voice assistants will see mass adoption. 

To get the full report, subscribe to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. » Learn More Now

Join the conversation about this story »

[tortuga-aak]

Google Assistant has a huge advantage in the voice assistant market (GOOGL)

BI Intelligence

This story was delivered to BI Intelligence Apps and Platforms Briefing subscribers. To learn more and subscribe, please click here.

By 2022, devices running Google Assistant are going to be much more prevalent in the smartphone market than those running competing native voice assistants like Apple's Siri or Samsung's Bixby, according to Strategy Analytics. Already, Google’s artificial intelligence (AI) powered voice assistant has the greatest smartphone installed base.

Devices running Google Assistant account for 46% of the smartphones equipped with personal assistants, but by 2022, Google will expand its market share to exceed 60%. This will give Google a major advantage in the years to come, because consumers who have access to a built-in smartphone voice assistant are more likely to use it than one from a competing platform.

Here are some takeaways from the report that highlight Google’s advantage in the smartphone personal assistant space:

Global search giants will dominate the market by 2022. Google and Chinese search giant Baidu are expected to make major gains between 2017 and 2022, as they’re estimated to boost their market shares by 31% and 75% respectively. Baidu currently has 13% of the AI-powered smartphone market, and by 2022, its share is expected to jump to 23%. The pair already dominate in terms of text-based search, and the rise of voice assistants will further solidify their dominance in both voice and text-based search on mobile devices.

Preference for Google’s software will hinder uptake of Samsung’s Bixby and strengthen Google’s control over Android. Samsung currently boasts a 13% market share, but by 2022, that is expected to decline to 5%. This drop off will likely come as a result of Android owners favoring the Google Assistant over Bixby, which is a boon for Google considering Samsung leads the overall global smartphone market with a 22% market share.

Google will further strengthen its lead in the market as more of the Android installed base gains access to Google Assistant. Google Assistant is compatible with Android devices running an unforked version of Android 6.0 Marshmallow or newer. Although Google has a massive global reach, with approximately 2 billion active Android devices, just under half are currently compatible with Google Assistant.

As more Android devices upgrade to software that is compatible with Google Assistant, Google will be able to increase its share in the market for smartphones with built-in voice assistants. And this will likely diminish Apple’s share from 41% in 2017 to 17% in 2022 as more Android devices have access to Google Assistant.

It’s important to note that this report only assesses smartphone-oriented personal assistants, without addressing competitors in the smart speaker space.

Although Amazon’s Alexa currently falls short in terms of smartphone usage, the company’s early lead could theoretically help Alexa be a competitor in the smartphone space if Amazon can adequately integrate Alexa into all of the other connected devices in a consumer’s life. Amazon has recently increased effort to do just that; such as creating tabletop smart-screen devices like the Echo Show that run Alexa and baking Alexa into cars like BMW and Nissan.

Jessica Smith, research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on the voice assistant landscape that:

Identifies the major changes in technology and user behavior that have created the voice assistant market that exists today. 

Presents the major players in today's market and discusses their major weaknesses and strengths. 

Explores the impact this nascent market poses to other key digital industries. 

Identifies the major hurdles that need to be overcome before intelligent voice assistants will see mass adoption. 

To get the full report, subscribe to BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report and more than 250 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. » Learn More Now

from Feedburner http://ift.tt/2iyv61X

[silversentinel2013]

Neuer Beitrag im Kunstblog von Kunstplaza

Es wurde ein neuer Beitrag veröffentlicht im Kunstblog von Kunstplaza unter http://www.kunstplaza.de/kunstlexikon/crossover-musik-electronics-trifft-akustik-und-klassik/

Crossover in der Musik - Electronics trifft Akustik und Klassik

Es wird mal wieder Zeit, uns in einem Artikel der Musik zu widmen. Zuletzt lag der Fokus unser Veröffentlichungen vor allem in den bildenden und darstellenden Künsten. Wenden wir uns also dieses Mal wieder der Welt der Klänge zu.

Crossover – Eine Begriffsdefinition

Der Begriff Crossover stammt aus dem Englischen und bedeutet übersetzt soviel wie “Überschneidung”, “Kreuzung”, oder “Überquerung”. Im Allgemeinen versteht man heute darunter die Vermischung von zwei oder mehreren Musikstilen und -arten, welche vormals getrennt waren und erschafft somit eine neuartige Klangkomposition.

Ursprung und Entwicklung

1940 – 1979

Crossover als Bruch mit der ursprünglichen Einteilung der Hitparaden Bildquelle: Artificial Photography – Shoreditch, London (UK)

Ursprünglich bezeichnete man damit streng genommen die gleichzeitige Platzierung eines Musikstücks, das einem bestimmten Musikgenre zuzuordnen ist, in mindestens zwei, nach Musikgenres getrennten Hitparaden. Der Begriff wurde in den 1940er Jahren geprägt, als die hitparadenmäßige Trennung von Musikstilen die Regel war.

Die Crossover-Geschichte beginnt mit der deutlichen Abgrenzung der Musikstile untereinander in den USA, insbesondere aber mit der Isolierung einer zunächst einheitlichen Hitparade in schwarze Rhythm-and-Blues-, weiße Country- und Pop-Charts im Jahre 1942 durch das Billboard-Magazin. Zunächst verblieben die jeweiligen Genres auch in den zugehörigen Charts.

In den darauf folgenden Jahren und Jahrzehnten wurde diese Trennung in zunehmendem Maße überwunden. Zu den ersten Crossover-Interpreten zählten u.a. die Mills Brothers, Ink Spots oder Louis Jordan. Dieser Trend gewann dann vor allem durch Pat Boone und andere an Fahrt, als sie “schwarze” Originalversionen coverten und so für die Pop-Charts zugänglich machten. Im August 1956 erreichte dann Elvis Presley mit “Hound Dog” und über 3 Millionen verkaufter Platten den kommerziellen Höhepunkt der Crossovers.

1980 – 2000

Als später Fusionen zwischen Rock und anderen Genres entstanden und man nicht sicher war, wohin die Stücke einzuordnen waren, erhielt der Begriff eine leicht veränderte Bedeutung. Es entstanden dadurch mit der Zeit immer neue Genres und Subgenres.

Roskmusiker als Crossover-Pioniere in den 1980er Jahren Bildquelle: Joe Watts – Port Lympne Reserve, Lympne, UK

In dieser Entwicklung stechen vor allem die 1980er Jahre heraus, als es einen weiteren Trend hin zur Verschmelzung verschiedener Genres gab. In der nordamerikanischen Hardcore-Punk-Szene suchte man nach neuen Ausdrucksformen, wobei aufgrund der engen Verwandtschaft vielfach Metal-Elemente zum Einsatz kamen.

Grundsätzlich wurde aber mehrheitlich die Öffnung des begrenzten Punk-Schemas gegenüber nahezu allen Bereichen populärer Musik angestrebt und stand damit lange Zeit als Synonym für künstlerische Freiheit. Schwer einzuordnenden Bands wurden Etiketten wie Post-Punk oder New Wave aufgestempelt.

Unter Beibehaltung der Basisenergie des Punks der 1970er Jahre wurde daher auch verstärkt mit Stilrichtungen wie beispielsweise Country, Jazz oder Funk experimentiert, die vorher als unpassend betrachtet wurden. Auf diese Weise entstand eine breite Bewegung zunächst subkulturell orientierter Rockmusik, die sich stetig weiter vom ursprünglichen Punk weg entwickelte.

Dieses neu entstandene Bewusstsein fand Anfang der 1990er schließlich ein noch breiteres Publikum. Zusammen mit dem so genannten Grunge entstand eine neue Szene, die sich vom Punk absetzte.

Heute

Heute werden jedoch nur noch wenige Bands explizit dem Crossover zugerechnet. Dies liegt zum einen daran, dass Crossover nie konkret und explizit eine bestimmte Stilrichtung bezeichnete, sondern die Vermischung verschiedener Musikstile und Stilelemente meinte.

DJs als Zeremonienmeister der elektronischen Musik Bildquelle: Marcela Laskoski – State of Santa Catarina, Brasilien

Zum anderen gilt es heute fast als selbstverständlich, dass sich Bands von verschiedenen musikalischen Einflüssen inspirieren lassen. Nur noch in wenigen Musikrichtungen wird die Übernahme “verwässernder” Elemente anderer Stilistiken abgelehnt.

Electronics trifft Akustik und Klassik

Während im 20. Jahrhundert vor allem die Rock- und Punk-Musik von Crossovern gekennzeichnet war, bilden sich heutzutage vielerlei stilistische Vermischungen im Bereich der elektronischen Musik auf der einen und der klassischen Musik auf der anderen Seite.

Von modernen Covern mit ungewohnten Instrumenten, über experimentelle Neuinterpretationen bis hin zu großen und durchgemischten Ensembles wurde die Musiklandschaft in dieser Hinsicht äußerst bunt und facettenreich. Auch der DJ als musikalischer Künstler wird vielfach in diese “hybriden” Musikstücke und -interpretationen mit einbezogen.

Zwei moderne Crossover-Künstler verbinden unterschiedliche Klangwelten

Kreischende Teenager, die sich für Bratsche und Geige begeistern – ein Phänomen, das man im klassischen Konzertbetrieb nur selten erlebt. Wil Baptiste und Kev Marcus alias “Black Violin” schaffen das.

Hinter dem Bandnamen stehen zwei US-amerikanische Hip Hop Künstler aus Florida, die beide in klassischer Musik und Saiteninstrumenten wie der Violine und der Viola unterrichtet und geschult wurden.

“Stereotypes” heißt das aktuelle Album des Crossover-Duos. Indem sie klassische Musik und Hip Hop mischen und dabei auf starke Emotionen setzen, durchbrechen “Black Violin” Muster und inspirieren vor allem Jugendliche, ihr Ding zu machen und dabei neue Wege zu beschreiten.

Erst gerade waren sie auf Tour in Europa.

Henrik Schwarz hat es in die Ränge der berühmtesten DJs unserer Zeit geschafft. Sein Instrument ist der Laptop. Eine Kooperation mit dem Stuttgarter Kammerorchester beim Festival “Jazz Open Stuttgart” inspirierte den Produzenten und Komponisten für sein aktuelles Projekt “Instruments”.

Statt wie andere Künstler vor ihm Klassik einfach mit Beats zu unterlegen, verzichtete er gänzlich auf Beats und synthetisch erzeugte Effekte. Den minimalistischen Sound produzierte das Tokyo Secret Orchestra auf ganz normalen Instrumenten. Die Zusammenarbeit mit klassischen Musikern war für den DJ dabei völlig neu. Hier prallten zwei Kulturen aufeinander.

Umso überraschender scheinen dann die imposanten Resultate, die durch diese Fusion erzielt wurden.

DJ + Saxophon + Sänger + Percussion

Ein überaus spannendes Projekt, welches ganz der Verschmelzung verschiedener Arten und Stile von elektronischer und akustischer Musik Rechnung trägt, findet derzeit in Nürnberg statt.

DJ & Friends nennt sich die dafür verantwortliche Nürnberger Formation und präsentiert mit ihrem abwechslungsreichen Programm eine eindrucksvolle Verbindung von DJ und Live-Musikern. DJ in Nürnberg plus Sängerin, Saxophon und Percussion – so das Motto der Veranstaltung. Das modular gestaltete Konzept vereint die Vorzüge eines DJs oder einer DJane mit der einzigartigen Ausstrahlung von Sängerinnen, Saxophonisten und anderen hochklassigen Live-Musikern.

Die Nürnberger Formation DJ & Friends

Die Beats aus den Plattentellern sorgen für das musikalische Fundament und geben den Takt vor. Sängerinnen, Saxophonisten und Percussion-Künstler setzen darauf aufbauend dann in mehreren Show-Blocks die virtuosen Akzente und musikalischen Highlights. Die unterschiedlichen Klänge fügen sich dann zusammen zu einer mitreißenden Performance der Extraklasse.