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maddogofshimano · 4 years

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Goromi Character Story

I really liked this one even if it was a pain in the ass to translate. Damn all that kansai slang! I have some pics to go with this one unlike the Goromi Event where I forgot to take any screencaps.

Character stories are split into three parts with a fight in each part, and this one will be a little more paraphrased because there’s a lot of back and forth dialogue that doesn’t matter too much. Here’s Goromi’s card!

Summary: Turns out it takes several days for Kiryu to actually show up to club SHINE to meet Goromi (he’s busy!) so Goromi spends her time working there and taking care of problems. She’s not the number one hostess for nothing!

<Part 1> <Majima Goro, as Goromi, has been working at club SHINE for several days now> The shop manager has been having to deal with this and he doesn’t know what to do.

Majima shows up again, as usual, and the manager fumbles over himself on whether to say Majima or Goromi

He asks if Kiryu has shown up yet and Majima complains before heading to the back to get changed, where Goromi continues to complain that she’s a good woman and Kiryu is a horrible lazy bum for standing her up for so long. She’s bored to death! (I wonder, does Majima leave the Goromi outfit at the club or take it with home each time?)

A rowdy customer comes in and makes a scene and Goromi steps in to wallop on him, because she’s bored and he spilled a drink on her dress. <Fight Happens> Goromi wins, easily, and makes him leave his wallet. The manager pulls her into the backroom to tell her that she can’t fight customers. Goromi counters that she can’t allow a threat to women to go unchecked.

Another hostess on the floor shouts at a customer to stop because touching is forbidden. Goromi says that sounds like trouble, she might as well handle it since Kiryu hasn’t shown up yet. The manager says absolutely not, those are Sakamoto Family men (probably, it’s not spoken out loud but Sakamoto is the most common reading).

The manager goes out to deal with it and gets hit by a Sakamoto Family goon for his trouble, but the guy leaves. Turns out the Sakamoto Family has been showing up a lot and never paying, and it’s a real pain. Goromi tells him to get his act together and fight back already! The manager says there’s no way he can win, going along with them is the best way to protect the club. Goromi calls him a coward, and leaves. <Part 2>

<the next day> Majima once again shows up and has a brief struggle with the wig until... Tada! A perfect Goromi~❤️

Goromi is certain Kiryu-chan will show up today! He definitely will! ...Why the hell hasn’t he shown up yet? She notices yet another unruly customer, once again a Sakamoto Family goon, hassling the manager, but this time she just watches. The manager tries to explain that the rules clearly state you aren’t allowed to touch the hostesses, and gets hit for it again. He stands back up, repeats himself, and gets punched another time. The goon grabs the hostess and says they’re going to the bathroom together.

Goromi steps in to stop him, but the manager beats her to it, and finally hits the guy back. He’s remembering what Goromi-san said to him... He’s not going to run away!!

Manager gets his ass KICKED, goon taunts him and says he’d never win in a million years. Manager gets back up anyways, tells him he has to leave... just in time for the patriarch of the Sakamoto Family to arrive. He’s heard this is a fun place, and wants to sit with a lady ASAP. His goon shouts at the manager, the manager fumbles, and Goromi steps in.

Sakamoto thinks this is just great, that eyepatch is really getting his fighting spirit going! His lackey is less sure. The manager tries to step in, Goromi cuts him and says she’ll be his hostess tonight. Sakamoto is falling over himself trying to offer Goromi a seat, he’s just smitten.

The manager wonders what Goromi is up to...

We start off immediately with Sakamoto telling Goromi how cute she is, and how much he likes her, and that she’s got a real tight lil butt.

“Stoooop~, ya pervy patriarch❤️”

Sakamoto says he really like Goromi, too many girls nowadays would throw a fit if he grabbed their ass. The manager is wondering what the hell is going on, why is Goromi being so nice??

Sakamoto asks what kind of men Goromi likes. She likes strong, beefy guys, of course! Sakamoto says that she’s gonna love him then. Sakamoto: I was the strongest guy in his whole town! I’ve heard that the strongest guy in Kamurocho’s the patriarch of the Majima family, some moron named Majima Goro. Goromi: Oh, is that so? Sakamoto: I’m pretty sure him being crazy strong’s just a silly rumor though. If I were up against him it’d be like beating up a baby. Goromi: Woahhhh, that’s so cool~ 🎵 All that strength is really making my heart beat fast~

Sakamoto lets Goromi order whatever she likes from the menu. The manager worries that she’s going to order a fight! But no, she just asks for Don Perignon, the most expensive thing on the menu. And she convinces him to get 10 bottles of it.

<2 hours pass>

Sakamoto: Bahaha! Goromi-chan, you're the best girl of them all! Goromi: Before ya go I got one more thing for ya Mr. Patriarch! Sakamoto: Ehhhh, is it a kiss~ Goromi: It's your bill! Sakamoto: Ah....? Haha, great joke Goromi-chan! Goromi: It ain't no joke! Between the drinks and the service... you've racked up 5 million yen. How would ya like to pay that? Sakamoto: Now hold on, I ain't payin' that! Even if you're cute!! Goromi: Eh, you really won't pay? Sakamoto: No! I absolutely will not pay!! Goromi: So that mean's you're not a customer now, is that right?

Goromi: Since you're not a customer, Goromi can be a little... rough Sakamoto: Tch, boys, let's teach this lady a little discipline! Goromi: Discipline....? Idiots, Goromi is the butterfly that dances in the night. I don't take orders from anyone, especially morons like you!! <Fight Happens, Goromi obliterates them> Sakamoto: You, you're actually...! Goromi: What are ya talking about? I'm Goromi, Kamurocho's number one hostess. Goromi: If you disrespect the women of this city... I'll show you a world of hurt. Sakamoto: W-Wahhhhh!! P-Please forgive me!! Goromi: From now on you're banned. Don't let me see your face here again. Got it? Sakamoto: Y-yes ma'am! I understand! P-Please excuse me... Goromi: Wait. You still got a bill to pay. Sakamoto: Wh- um, well, I don't have that much right now... Goromi: Haw? Then why'd you eat and drink so much! You got some nerve takin' whatever ya fancied. But... I could forgive ya if you go on an after hours date with me. Sakamoto: ...Eh? Goromi: Until the money's collected, we're going on dates. ...Be prepared.

<the next day> Manager: Majima-san, thank you so much. Goromi: Eh? What're you talkin' about. This is just Goromi gettin' paid properly for her work. Manager: Ah. I see. Goromi: And... I'm glad you stood up for your girls. Ya finally showed your guts. You've got a real good crew here, keep workin' to be the best. Manager: Th-thank you so much! Uhuuuuuu! Goromi: Don't get all emotional and cry! I'm countin' on having your full cooperation when it comes to fighting Kiryu-chan! Manager: Yes ma'am! By all means. Door Greeter: Maji- I mean, Goromi-san! K-Kiryu-san is coming here!! Goromi: Ohh, nice timing! Well, let's do this thing! Manager: Yes! <Goromi goes to greet Kiryu at the door> Goromi: Heyyy, it's Goromi~

<END>

Another bonus fact that relates to both this and the event: the rggo twitter put up a poll asking everyone which of these girls was their favorite

(Lady that does the gatcha rolls, Mayumi from rggo’s story, Yuki, and badly photoshopped Goromi)

in a shock to no one reading this, Goromi obliterated the vote, coming in just shy of 80%...

...which was apparently a shock to the staff! They immediately tweeted "Goromi got 80%...! What a crazy result 😵 We're having an emergency planning meeting now. Thank you all for voting so much!"

I have to wonder if this was a turning point in how they wrote Goromi, with the event and substory presenting her as not strictly a one off occurrence! Maybe the fan enthusiasm got them to take her a little more seriously

#yakuza #rggo #majima #goromi #ryu ga gotoku #ryu ga gotoku online

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marrys-dream-world · 3 years

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That recent post you reblogged really sheds some light on what's happened to modern media/fandoms. Their argument, to paraphrase, is "media only writes kind women because they don't want to alienate men. I can't imagine the idea that some people actually want kindness rewarded and cruelty punished on principle, because I personally like mean and cruel people, so I think creators/other fans should worship them as well!" No wonder the ML fandom worships Chloe if morality is based only on "I like."

Is this about this post, anon? Because if it is I just don’t see your point.

The post was about how women tend to be stuck in a box where they have to be non-threatening as possible to the male audience and they end up falling flat because they don’t really have any flaws (or they aren’t well addressed at all). OP wasn’t saying that we should be apologists or anything, just that women should be better written (and, as someone who watches shounen, I agree). Women aren’t allowed to be mean or bitchy because they wouldn’t be a fan favorite. Can you imagine a girl with a personality and background like Bakugou’s in bnha being number one on popularity polls? I’m struggling to. It doesn’t have anything to do with the narrative rewarding cruelty for female characters.

The post was about shounen (and honestly, the only heroine that’s not constantly sexualized and is kinda bitchy and bossy and rude while maintaining their popularity that I can think of is Rukia, my beloved, from Bleach), but since I’m lowkey a ML blog, I’m gonna talk about cartoon exemples:

Helga Pataki from Hey Arnold is a staple for mean, rude, bitchy girls. She’s sympathetic and we understand her, even more after the “Helga on The Couch” episodes, but the narrative rarely excuses her actions. When she popularized a newspaper with fake news? She was punished for it. When she told Arnold off for helping the gang with their problems? She was punished for it. When she stole Arnold’s hat for her weird shrine? She was punished for it. The characters, while tolerating her meanness, don’t shy away from taking revenge when they can or dismissing Helga’s (sometimes) good advice for her attitude. She’s a flawed and deep character and the fans adore her because she’s well-written and compelling.

Gaz from Invader Zim isn’t as much of a main character in her show as Helga is in hers, but god, is she a fan favorite. She is mean and stoic and a bit sadistic and none of that detracts from her character. Sure, she’s from Invader Zim from all shows, being unusually mean is a given, but I do appreciate how for all the characters to soften up the grim dark atmosphere of the show (and still fitting very well in it), they didn’t go with making the girl a sweet character, they went with Gir, the robot dog. Even in Florpus, where her character is a little nicer, she’s still very mean and I like it! Sure, she’s never punished for being mean, but who actually is in Invader Zim? No double standards here, at least. (Also, Game Slave 2 slaps, one of the best episodes from the show).

Even Chloé herself! I like that she’s mean and spoiled and annoying, I like her arc in the show and her relationship with other people. The only thing I don’t like is people acting like she’s way less mean than she is or that her actions were not as serious as they were. Nobody cares if you like a mean character, just own it up and when people say “oh, but they are-” just answer with a “I know that, I don’t think they’re right, I just like the character”. I like Lila as a character too and you don’t see me going around defending her actions.

I can even apply the part of the post where they talk about the hype around characters with zero personality to the ML fandom while setting the girls aside. You-know-who barely has any well developed personality before season 4 and is praised for being a great character and superior love interest. Kagami, meanwhile, gets bashed for breathing. I do think that part of it relates to what I was talking about in the above: Kagami isn’t “bitchy” nor “mean”, but she’s blunt and her personality isn’t as accommodating as, say, Rose or Marinette. She’s a bit stoic and has a hard time connecting with people and comes off as rude at times, but is overall a wonderful girl and people still bash her for things like “Frozer” and “Oni-chan” (even though she was akumatized) and, more recently, “Lies”. Ask me if Luka got half that flack for “Wishmaker”.

(Plus, there were a lot of Félix apologists around even though he tried to assault our protagonist but it’s fine because “Chat Noir does it all the time” (?????) and “Félix is not that bad, he’s suffering too.” I’m not joking, the lengths people will go for white male characters while villainizing girls of color, like Alya and Kagami, still astounds me.)

So yeah, anon, I think you got the post’s message a little mixed up.

#if it's not about this post sorry about this rant #hey arnold #helga pataki #invader zim #gaz #miraculous ladybug #chloé bourgeois #luka salt #(i don't hate luka but i'm a little harsh on him i know)#kagami tsurugi #marry answers

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redrocx · 5 years

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«Mutter» English Translation

Artist: Rammstein

Album: Mutter

Year: 2001

Requested by: Twitter poll

«Mutter»

[original lyrics]

Die Tränen greiser Kinderschar Ich zieh sie auf ein weißes Haar Werf in die Luft die nasse Kette Und wünsch mir, dass ich eine Mutter hätte Keine Sonne die mir scheint Keine Brust hat Milch geweint In meiner Kehle steckt ein Schlauch Hab keinen Nabel auf dem Bauch

Mutter, Mutter Mutter, Mutter

Ich durfte keine Nippel lecken Und keine Falte zum Verstecken Niemand gab mir einen Namen Gezeugt in Hast und ohne Samen Der Mutter die mich nie geboren Hab ich heute Nacht geschworen Ich werd ihr eine Krankheit schenken Und sie danach im Fluss versenken

Mutter, Mutter Mutter, Mutter Mutter, Mutter Mutter, Mutter

In ihren Lungen wohnt ein Aal Auf meiner Stirn ein Muttermal Entferne es mit Messers Kuss Auch wenn ich daran sterben muss

Mutter, Mutter Mutter, Mutter

In ihren Lungen wohnt ein Aal Auf meiner Stirn ein Muttermal Entferne es mit Messers Kuss Auch wenn ich verbluten muss

Mutter, Mutter Oh gib mir Kraft Mutter, Mutter Oh gib mir Kraft Mutter, Mutter Oh gib mir Kraft Mutter, Mutter Oh gib mir Kraft

«Mother»

[English translation]

The tears of a geriatric group of children I bead them on a white strand of hair1 Throw the wet chain2 into the air And wish I had a mother No sun that shines for me No breast has wept milk There’s a tube inserted in my throat I don’t have a navel on my belly

Mother, mother Mother, mother

I wasn’t allowed3 to lick any nipples There was no wrinkle I could hide in Nobody gave me a name4 Conceived in haste and without sperm To the mother that never gave birth to me I swore tonight I’ll give her a disease And will drown her in the river afterwards

Mother, mother Mother, mother Mother, mother Mother, mother

In her lungs there lives an eel5 On my forehead there’s a birthmark6 Remove it with the kiss of a knife7 Even if I’ll die from it8

Mother, mother Mother, mother

In her lungs there lives an eel On my forehead there’s a birthmark Remove it with the kiss of a knife Even if I’ll bleed out

Mother, mother O give me strength Mother, mother O give me strength Mother, mother O give me strength Mother, mother O give me strength

[Additional Notes]

1 I wasn’t sure whether you usually use the word “hair” in English when you only mean one single piece of hair, so I added the word “strand” to make it more clear that he’s talking about a single strand

2“chain” (Kette) refers to the bead he’s been beading; though “Kette” can mean a variety of things, such as necklace or chain, so I went for chain since “bead chain” is also a thing that exists. It’s technically a necklace he's talking about lol chain just fit the ambiguity of the German word a bit better~

3“Ich durfte [nicht]” can both indicate that you’re not allowed to do something, or not able to do it. I chose the word “allowed” because the lyrics gives off the feeling that the narrator was “prevented” from doing all these things, aka be a normal infant by forces beyond their control.

4 The song can both be an interpretation of the motherless person either being a clone or a reference to Frankenstein’s monster. Especially with the narrative of Frankenstein’s monster this line makes a lot of sense, since the monster doesn’t have a name either. 5 I gotta be honest with you, I have no clue what Till is referring to here. It may be some sort of disease (like the disease the narrator said they’d give the non-existent mother), or the idea that after they’d drowned the mother in the river, an eel would enter her body/corpse. Or maybe it’s a paraphrase for something else entirely, I let you guys decide for yourselves what Till means by that line! 6Just a nice-to-know thing, birthmark/mole in German has different words, one of them being “Muttermal”, which is a compound of “Mutter” (mother), and “Mal” (mark). I thought it’d be fun to mention that Till specificially chose that word for it, since it contains the word “mother” again.

7 Till uses the word “Messer”, which means knife, but I think in English it’d be more natural to use the word blade. But yeah, it’s basically the same idea.

8 This part was kinda tricky for me lol. The idea behind “auch wenn ich sterben muss” is basically “even if I have to die/must die”. So it could be understood as a consequence of the narrator’s previous actions (cutting the mole out), and something that happens because of what they did before. “Müssen” showcasts a sense of urgency and inevitability. Though that same inevitability could very well just be described by a conditional phrase, “If I do x, then y will happen.” I guess you could say that “auch wenn ich sterben muss” in German weighs heavier with the idea of “even if I HAVE TO die” in mind as opposed to “I will die”. That being said, while I didn’t really know which one to pick, and kinda like the urgency with the first possibility a bit more, the second one just sounds a lot more natural in English; hence, why I went with that option.

#rammstein #rammstein mutter #mutter lyrics #till lindemann #mutter translation #rammstein translations #mytranslation #myrst #man that last note is a mess lol sorry but it's late and i'm tired #but didn't wanna leave it uncommented

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stoweboyd · 5 years

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Why Biden Should Drop Out: We Need An Antiracist In The White House

In Joe Biden Should Drop Out, Jamil Smith thinks Joe Biden’s lack of credibility around racism disqualifies him to run for president, at least as a democrat:

Davis later directed a question at Biden concerning his alarming 1975 comments on school segregation. She read the full quote, “I don’t feel responsible for the sins of my father and grandfather, I feel responsible for what the situation is today, for the sins of my own generation, and I’ll be damned if I feel responsible to pay for what happened 300 years ago,” and Biden smirked oddly as she did so. The correspondent followed up by asking, “What responsibility do you think that Americans need to take to repair the legacy of slavery in our country?” Without missing a beat, the Democratic front-runner delivered a response that was considerably more disqualifying than anything Castro said all night.

Having just had something offensive that he said 44 years ago quoted back to him, Biden took the opportunity to say something that was arguably worse.

After proposing that teacher raises are the first step to undoing the legacy of slavery, Biden said the following. It’s worth reading in full. “Number two, make sure that we bring in to help the teachers deal with the problems that come from home. The problems that come from home, we need — we have one school psychologist for every 1,500 kids in America today. It’s crazy.

The teachers are — I’m married to a teacher. My deceased wife is a teacher. They have every problem coming to them. We have — make sure that every single child does, in fact, have 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds go to school. School. Not daycare. School. We bring social workers into homes and parents to help them deal with how to raise their children.

It’s not that they don’t want to help. They don’t — they don’t know quite what to do. Play the radio, make sure the television — excuse me, make sure you have the record player on at night, the — the — make sure that kids hear words. A kid coming from a very poor school — a very poor background will hear 4 million words fewer spoken by the time they get there.”

That’s the current front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination a) first appearing to treat the mere mention of an old segregationist quote of his as ridiculous, then b) responding to a question about repairing the legacy of slavery by saying that the government needs to have teachers go into the homes of kids in poor schools to teach the parents how to raise those children. And what color are the children, disproportionately, going to those poor schools? Nowhere in that answer is a prescription for making the poor families less so, nor for improving the schools. It’s the kind of paternalistic racism that has so long existed in both liberal and conservative circles, and was on Thursday night spilling out of the mouth of the former vice president on the campus of an HBCU. It was all quite a sight to behold.

Joe Biden is a kewpie doll, with a head full of sand. Very ancient sand. Strangely, Smith doesn’t mention Biden’s foot-dragging on school busing, way back when. You’d think that would be disqualifying -- especially with black Americans -- but it doesn’t seem to, despite the Kamala Harris’ recounting of herr experience as a recipient of the benefits of busing for her.

Smith goes on to point out that Biden’s performance did not get better, although strangely many journalists and politicos feel that he didn’t damage himself. Leaving the record player nonsense behind — which is, in essence a blatant blaming of the victims of slavery and its on-going impacts on American society — he continued to distance himself from his checkered path:

Biden’s thinking on incarceration may have evolved his thinking since his Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, known more infamously as the crime bill, was signed into law 25 years ago today by President Bill Clinton. However, it was jarring to see the man behind the legislation that helped explode mass incarceration in this country, especially on the state level — and who said in a 1994 Senate floor speech, “I would say, ‘Lock the S.O.B.s up” — stand last night in Texas and claim that “Nobody should be in jail for a nonviolent crime.” Considering who was mostly hurt by the crime bill, I’ll paraphrase Ramos: why should African Americans trust you?

Smith then states that Biden should quit the race:

Despite Biden’s swelling poll numbers with black voters, we don’t have to trust him. In fact, the former vice president should do the honorable thing after that disgrace of a debate and remove himself from contention for the nomination. Yes, even with him leading most polls. It isn’t about him winning. It’s about the party winning, then having a successful presidency undoing Trump’s racist policies.

Democrats will need an antiracist candidate to defeat Trump because Trump is a white nationalist with white-nationlist policies. Good poll numbers with the black electorate do not make one antiracist. A moderate, milquetoast criminal-justice plan that largely seeks to repair some of the damage he did with the 1994 crime bill does not make one antiracist. Biden not only isn’t picking up what it means to fit the definition, but his debate remarks provide evidence that he is actively rejecting it. As such, he should leave the race to contenders who have the party’s most loyal constituency, black voters, in mind.

[…]

The former vice president can trumpet his Obama associations all he wishes, but after that debate, it comes across merely as the “I have a black friend” excuse. Biden is not only deficient as an antiracist, if he ever was one, but he is saying things — at a Democratic debate on an HBCU campus, no less — that make it absolutely impossible to trust him to be the party’s best candidate to address systemic racism and to ameliorate the nation the current administration leaves behind.

#joe biden #jamil smith #elections 2020 #racism #reparations #antiracism

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sparda3g · 6 years

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My Hero Academia Chapter 184 Review

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It’s the beginning of a new arc. I think. Actually, I don’t know what it is going to be about just yet. It’s not really the case of a slice of life chapter where it can be seen as a standalone. It’s a buildup to whatever is next in store. The chapter explored a couple of familiar faces, almost like anime advertisement, and new faces from the Japanese Hero Billboard Charts, whatever that means.

Interesting that we get to see Eri return already. We waste no time I see. Really, Eri is transferring to UA since she can’t spend her time at the hospital forever. Funny, because I was fine with that. It does elaborate that she was abandoned by her parents and the Yakuza leader is still in coma, so they might as well look after her. It is reassuring to know that she will be around, most likely slowly learn how to use her quirk properly.

Even though she is transferring there, it doesn’t mean we will see her constantly since she will be monitored by Aizawa in the empty room in the teacher’s lounge. Also, Mirio could tag along as well, so at least they will be around. Will we see her often? Plausible, though Kohei may hold up until she can use her quirk normally. Slice of life can be an ideal but he has to be pretty good at it, because he can be a hit and miss in execution. I thought it was nice of Tamaki to give some hope to Mirio that one day he will get his quirk back. Only time will tell for when he will be back in action.

The chapter shifts the setting to the dorm where 1-A students are relaxing. After reading it the second time, it’s clear that the intention of the discussion about Tokoyami centers on the reputation in which hints the key focus of the chapter. Before diving deeper to that topic, they have special guests. The Wild Wild Pussycats makes their return, only in casual clothes. The pose is still effective.

It’s a bit odd to imagine that it has been nearly 100 chapters ago that we last saw them. I blame Internship for this. It’s amusing to see Kouta has become a fanboy of Deku; perhaps a little too dedicated. Although Deku doesn’t have an official merchandise, Kouta wanted to replicate him with matching shoes. It could have been worse. Good to know that Deku has a fan. It’s also good that Ragdoll is going back to work, but as an office lady. It’s the least she can do since quirkless and such.

All for One makes a cameo by mentions. Basically, the heroes want to investigate him to uncover the quirks he has taken and such. It’s probably for the sake of extracting everyone’s quirk out of him, but he’s provoking them to be released in order to do so. Of course, that would be suicidal, so that option is a huge no. I would guess he will be free when Shigaraki is ready to inherit as the successor.

It’s not a real issue, but it is odd how the Pussycats and All for One made a return on-panel here during in which the anime has finished the training camp and soon to cover Hideout Raid Arc. It comes off like an anime advertisement, which is probably why there’s no real progress to be shown for All for One. Unless the idea is him breaking free already. Feels too soon though. It’s no secret that mangaka tends to insert a reference based on the current event. It could be a huge coincidence, but regardless, it’s fine to bring the group back for status update anyway. It’s appropriate fit for them to engage the main focus of the chapter: popularity poll.

Before you say, “Whatever happened to world building,” we are introduced to a ranking system called The Japanese Hero Billboard Charts. Supposedly, it’s based on an active hero’s contributions, meaning how helpful they are, crimes they resolved, and even public approval, which could factor to popularity. The system tally up the numbers and then rank them for every twice a year.

The concept isn’t bad, but wonder why is it necessary. It comes off more of a popularity poll for heroes or an excuse to have another thing to aim for Deku and others. It’s almost like it has to have all Shounen tropes in one. Now, it can be thoughtful and necessary if it is written to establish the flaw behind it, so I can’t be so judgmental yet. I know it was briefly mentioned, but it didn’t have built behind it, so it’s like a poor man hype of Reverie from One Piece.

It’s also can be seen as an excuse to showcase the top ten heroes and I’m fine with that. Ryukyu is ranked number 10. Honestly, I felt like her line about not living up to the hype, paraphrasing here, shows self-awareness. Yoroimusha the armored hero is next; looks like a wise old man. Number 8 is someone I would like to see more just for good laugh because it’s Wash, the washing hero. He’s basically a laundry machine. I want his backstory.

Kamui is ranked 7. I wonder if we will get to see him in action like in an arc. Too bad for Mt. Lady to ranked lower than him. Despite her last action, she had to deal with karma. Crust the shield hero is next; looks like he has sheer respect for All Might like a fan. I’m only guessing by his tear and line. Number 5 is the rabbit hero, Miruko, who seems to think solo is the way to victory. Edgeshot is next and he’s a ninja. I do like the design though.

Interestingly, Best Jeanist is at number 3 despite having no quirk. At least we can’t treat this like power level, at least I hope so. Number 2 is the winged hero, Hawks. Tokoyami was interning with him, so it’s no wonder the popularity discussion happened in the first place. Lastly, the number 1 hero is Endeavor, now sporting a new costume. He’s no longer a place holder; he’s the real deal. The question is how can he maintain the prestige. We’ll see how long he can last.

Overall, it was a decent chapter. I like the aftermath with Eri transferring to UA, which means her time to use her quirk in good hand is in slow progress. It’s good to see the old characters back with an update, including Deku garnered a new fan. The art is pretty decent, mainly on the introduction portion. While it’s difficult to care about the ranking system due to lack of grounds, at least it’s neat to see new heroes. I can’t exactly make it out of them outside of their design and one line, but in due time, we’ll get a better view. After last time, I have a bit difficulty to get excited for new heroes. I hope whatever this new arc heads to, it will revert back to excitement.

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #chapter 184 #review

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gunnerpalace · 7 years

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Let's Talk About Orihime

This is a bit long, so I’m putting it under a cut:

But first, because this requires some setup, let's talk about Mace Windu. Now, someone a lot more famous than me has already had this discussion, if a bit crudely:

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So, in short, Jackson was cast not because he was good for the part, but because his name would bring in extra dollars and an audience that might not have come otherwise.

Anyway, keep in mind the quoted section.

Now let’s talk about Bella Swan. This is by no means the most exhaustive breakdown of her character, but it will suffice.

Throughout the series, Bella is only defined by her relationship with Edward. That is what sets her apart from the other characters. She has no special traits or defining hobbies or characteristics. She could just as easily be replaced with a secondary character and the only difference would be the name.

[...]

This is a product of the bad writing evident throughout the series. Meyer never shows, she just tells. She tells the reader Bella is smart, though, over the series, a veritable mountain of evidence stacks up against this fact.

[...]

Bella's main problem, however, is not her lack of depth, Twilight is a poorly written romance novel after all, you cannot expect too much, the main problem is Bella's essentially anti-feminist characterisation.

Keep this in mind too.

Last, but not least, let’s talk about healers in JRPGs, specifically, Final Fantasy. Now, when people think of White Mages, they think of something like this. And of course this image of healers as chaste, pure, pretty maidens is quite the trope, and begat its own offspring.

This became so rote that eons (almost 20 years) ago, PSM had an article on trying to change up the tropes in JRPGs to keep them fresh. I can’t find the article, but here was their concept art. (The female lead was a black mage, not a healer, and the healer was actually pretty into violence.)

The pinnacle of this trend was, of course, Aeris:

Now, everybody thinks of Aeris as a pure princess because of FFVII: Advent Children, and the associated following Kirk Drift. But Aeris was street-smart and loved to crack innuendo, so this is largely a mass-misremembering of her actual personality in FFVII. (The definitive screenshot LP of FFVII makes the case for this handily.)

Still, you get the idea: healers are pure, pretty princesses.

Speaking of pure, pretty princesses:

(Gee, you wonder if that color-scheme is a coincidence?)

So here’s the thing: Orihime is bait. She didn’t start off that way, but that’s what she became very quickly, certainly by the end of the SS arc.

She is a very shoujo character in a shounen. Who do you suppose that she is designed to attract? The answer, of course, is women, specifically teenage girls who can identify with her. (This is analogous to Mace Windu being introduced to expand market capture.) She serves an auxiliary role through her design, as IH has lately seen fit to constantly crow about: her huge chest also makes her fan service for male readers. (This is like Mace Windu being the “only” Jedi who can balance between light side and dark side and the only one with a purple lightsaber.)

Not only is she perfectly designed to appeal to a non-traditional demographic in addition to shoring up a traditional one, she’s designed to do so through insidious means. Put simply, much like Bella Swan, she was largely designed to be, or became, a tabula rasa. She is a blank slate. What few personality quirks she had to begin with were eliminated to focus her existence entirely upon pursuing Ichigo. We’re told that she’s smart, just like Bella, we’re told that she has an interesting interiority, we’re told this, we’re told that... All of that is systematically eliminated for the sake of her pursuit of Ichigo. She exists for no other purpose. She is the girl seeking to get the guy.

And much like Bella Swan, she is successful in that appeal, because by being so thoroughly bland, and sympathetic in a rudimentary way (that is to say, relatable, because she is aimed at an age-group when people are figuring out how to pursue relationships), she is the perfect template onto which to project one’s desires. She exists for the reader to use as a self-insert.

Unlike Bella Swan, she does have one special trait: she’s the healer. Orihime is practically an archetypal example of the pure maiden/princess archetype of a healer. And of course, her powers are routinely hyped up as something truly astonishing (the, to paraphrase, “transgressing into God’s domain” quote that gets bandied about) even as they are simultaneously dismissed. (Hachi doesn’t regard her powers as special, Kisuke considers her powers dispensable, Aizen ultimately had no use for her except bait, etc.)

Orihime isn’t powerful. For all of her vaunted ability to reject events, she is neutralized by differentials in reiatsu, just like Soi Fon is by Aizen. Against a more powerful opponent, she’s ineffective. Further, she lacks a killer instinct, and was only able to muster it once. (This being in the defense of Tatsuki; some will argue she was ready to hurt Moe if he had been the one to injure Uryuu, but close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades, and global thermonuclear war.)

What she is, is fast. Soul Society’s healers are able to reproduce her results or better with time, but she can do the same very quickly. This makes her convenient, particularly to the plot. She is an expedient deus ex machina for enabling our heroes to do what they do, and this gives her an air of necessity to their adventure. She seems very important as a result! But we must remember that this is a story with an author, not a record of events, and that stories can be incredibly contrived.

Hanatarou couldn’t fix the degree of injuries she could, or fix them as quickly, but he could largely fulfill the same role—and in fact did during the Soul Society arc. She could be swapped out for another healer, like Unohana, and very little would change except the necessary pacing of events. She exists to speed up the plot.

In other words, Orihime is the perfect synthesis of the three examples I lead off this essay with: she is a cynical readership-expanding token character, she is rather featureless and designed to facilitate audience self-insertion, and she is a Mary Sue with an overstated importance to the plot that conceals her weaknesses. (With the last point: I don’t refer to Aeris in actuality, but more the idea of her that was built up by the extended universe ex post facto.)

She basically became a plot and marketing device.

And the hilarious thing is, she worked perfectly. Her popularity poll numbers were acceptable enough, but it’s the zealotry and rancor of her supposed fans that really tells the tale:

There is the continued focus on her physical form, particularly her breasts; this reduction of her to her character design is a gleeful admission that such was her function in appealing to men.

There is the lack of concern toward her ending showing the final destruction of her early dreams and personality: this reduction of her to her relationship with Ichigo is a gleeful admission that such was her function in appealing to women.

There is the constant defense that she “deserved” Ichigo’s affection because her chaste love was so pure and selfless: this is a gleeful admission that she achieved her objective of standing in for the speaker’s own estimate of their self-worth and value.

Orihime is ultimately utilized as a surrogate for happiness by those who identified with her. She “won,” therefore they “won.” She “deserves” Ichigo, just like they “deserve” their own figurative Ichigo (that is to say, “love”). They extol her “importance” because it means they are “important.”

Not everyone who likes Orihime identified with her to this extent, of course. But I think it’s rather obvious that the diehard core of IH—that is to say, the faction that is presently occupied with making fools of themselves in the ask boxes of IRs—did.

And this is, of course, exactly why this faction of IH is so aggrieved. Orihime does not really exist as a character to them (just as Ichigo doesn’t; but Ichigo at least has a character), she exists only within the matrix of IH, because that is her purpose. When IR, or the fandom in general, rejects IH, they view it as a rejection of themselves. It’s a repudiation of the commitment they made, and of their core being, and thus they lash out. When they demand recognition for their ship, what they are really demanding is recognition of themselves. They are trying to compel respect and love.

The tragedy and irony of this is of course self-evident, but nonetheless noteworthy, for they are in effect being told the one thing they cannot actually cope with:

Santen Kesshun: I Reject!

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manwithasociologyblog · 6 years

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Lesson 15, Task 3: Who am I?

Text to recording:“I'm Cris, I'm 27 years old and yes I am one of those “self-entitled Millennials” you hear about. One of those young folks who loves luxury, has bad manners, has contempt for authority, disrespects his elders, and loves talking instead of exercise. I think nothing but of myself and have no reverence for my parents or people of old age. Do these things sound like the descriptions of millennials you often hear of?

Well, I’m actually paraphrasing a quote often attributed to the Greek philosopher Socrates in the 4th century BCE. You see, these types of generalizations aren't new. If your older than someone in my generation, than I'm sure the same types of things have been said about your own generation. But is there any truth to these words?

Well, maybe. It's not hard to imagine that someone living in a generation that has more access to a good standard of living will search for more, even if that is luxury, it's simply human nature to strive for a better life.

As to having contempt for authority, well we are a more educated generation due to the resources accessible to us, we know of and have more exposure to what authority can lead too if it’s not questioned. We see the effects of totalitarianism and police brutality, so we speak against these unhinged forms of authority.

I completely understand the assertion that we don't care for or disrespect the elderly, however, we must consider the fact that social attitudes have changed and that maybe we as a younger generation feel that not every elderly person is entitled to undue respect, simply because they're elderly. Maybe we don't find it just to excuse or refuse to question older people when they say prejudice things, because we believe everyone should be held accountable for their actions.

Oh, and have I mentioned that according to a study done by the Pew Research center... the vast majority of 18- to 29-year-olds polled — 84 percent — said adult children have a responsibility to provide financial assistance to an elderly parent if he or she needs it.

Lastly, do we come off as being the most self-entitled and egocentric generation in history? Possibly. However, we're also the generation most passionate about the environment and saving our world. We vote for green legislations and are outraged by environmental injustices committed by big corporations. We don't stand for social injustices. Masses of millennials go out in the streets protesting for gay, black, women, income inequality issues and rights - in numbers that have never been seen before around the world. So, if that's what you call only thinking about ourselves, so be it.

Hey, it's Cris again. In case you got lost in that tangent.

Not only am I a millennial, but I'm also a male. I don't know what to say about that exactly.

I guess, I hope I don't contribute much to behaviours that could be described as “toxic masculinity"…

Why you may ask? Because I see how those notions affect women, and not only women but most men like myself. You see I don't mind crying in front of people, I'm quite clumsy, and I'm drastically afraid of most insects. Those types of things didn't really help me from being picked on by my male peers, who'd call me things like a little girl. Because apparently the worse thing in the world is being a little girl...

Yeah, that's how I know toxic masculinity and misogyny affect not only women but also men in society. I do however play team sports like soccer. I like watching mma and ultra violent gangster movies, which unfortunately probably have impacts on some of those issues linked to toxic masculinity

On another note, I'm not quite the lady's man myself either. Probably not winning over any one of those delightful "alpha male" frat boys we hear of. That's because I'm gay (sorry ladies, I know I sound so…. appealing).

I’m also most likely not helping my case against stereotyping by admitting to those signs of “male weaknesses” I mentioned before. But then, I'm pretty sure being gay is enough for a lot of those guys concerned with policing others males’ masculinities, to see me as a "beta male".

I'm not quite concerned with being seen as either “masculine” or "effeminate", despite the fact that many people think its a compliment to tell me things like, "wow, you seem so straight. I would have never expected you to be gay!"

You know because all gay men are apparently the highly flamboyant caricatures you see on tv. Not that there's anything wrong with the one's who are. But just like there are heterosexual guys who aren't the most "masculine", there are gay guys who are and aren't themselves. And like I said, I don't mind embracing either "masculine" or "feminine" qualities.

Yes, I do like to play sports. I work in construction. I can be a slob. I'm quite physically fit and strong. And I’m good with tools as well.

But I also like to take care and nurture others. I'm interested in careers that are seen as female dominated such as social sciences. And like I said I don't mind expressing my emotions.

Actually, I think its important to encourage boys to express their emotions. We used to teach them to repress them, so that we could easily turn them to unempathetic killing machines.

Trust me, I know first hand... I was taught to salute to an image of Che Guevara and how to use a gun before I finished adolescence!

Yeah, I said Che Guevara... one of the "heroes" of the Cuba revolution. Did I mention that I'm from Cuba? My parents are Cuban and Brazilian, respectfully, and I was raised between the two countries for a good part of my life.

Yes, I do love futebol or how people here call it "soccer", and yes I do love to dance, which is probably a paradoxical notion in itself because I'm a pasty Latin American of European descent, and.. I think the notion goes white people can't dance?

Weird because white people in the Caribbean and Brazil are some of the best dancers I've met in my whole life, in addition to their black counter-parts.

That's another thing I've never got, why white North Americans are apparently representatives of all "white people"; given that most white people in Latin America and Europe are probably not speaking English in their everyday lives, unless necessary, and most probably don't love Jesus, Guns, and country music the way a lot of white Americans do.

Sorry, I'm stereotyping there myself.

Oh, and yes, I am a pale blond boy that speaks Spanish, and no, that's really not that odd. I mean the Spanish language was brought to Latin America, Africa, and Asia by European colonists from Spain. Last time I checked Spaniards were white Europeans in the same way the Welsh, Gascons, Greeks, and Latvians are, and quite often blond-haired at that. I mean if you've watched the world cup you’ve probably seen Nacho Monreal, Gerard Pique both who are blond.

Both of those footballers mentioned are Catalan by the way, which is coincidentally where part of my dad's family comes from in Spain. Catalonia. My mom's family on the other hand are a mix of Eastern Europeans and West Asians.

Yeah, fyi Brazil was doing the "country of immigrants" game way before Canada was, and so many of us are not named Dias, Martins, and Goncalves but also Dicker as in German Brazilian Cintia Dicker, Temer as in the Lebanese-Brazilian president Michel Temer, Roussef as in Bulgarian-Brazilian former president Dilma Roussef, Ambrossio as in Italian-Polish Brazilian Alessandra Ambrossio, and Suzuki as in Japanese-Brazilian Daniele Suzuki and so on.

Additionally, if you've noticed, the most common surnames in Brazil are names like Gomes and Pereira, not Gomez and Pujol. This is because Brazil was a Portuguese colony and not a Castilian one, and most Brazilians don't speak Spanish as a first language, but Portuguese.

Actually, because of the level of immigrants that came to Brazil (the second most in the Americas, between the U.S. and Argentina) many Brazilians, like my grandma who spoke mostly Polish and Ukrainian, did not learn to speak Portuguese until very recently. Unfortunately, due to forced assimilationist policies.

Another interesting thing about my own family history? My Lebanese great-grandmother was a Maronite Catholic, while my grandfather was a Crimean Tatar from Ukraine. Tatars like him are generally Muslims.

Yeah, I know I'm blowing the mind of some dude in rural Alabama; a blond, green eyed, white Latin American Muslim!? Well, actually I was raised in a mixture of Sufi Islam, Roman Catholicism, and something called Lukumi.

Lukumi or Santeria is an Afro-Cuban religion which originated with the Yoruba in Africa and was brought by enslaved Africans to the country. Its the most popular religion in Cuba, since the communist regime was not too fond of Catholicism, and these days its practiced not only by black and mixed Cubans, but also white Cubans.

Which, I won't lie, there's probably a quite a bit of problematicness with the descendants of slave-owners dressing up in Yoruban clothing and singing chants to the gods of the ancestors of the people their ancestors enslaved.

But I disgress, discussions of cultural appropriation have ironically not reached Cuba yet, because "we live in a racial paradise" and our dear saviour Fidel Castro put a stop to any trace of racism in our society. Trust me! (and his brother's government too!). Cuba produces the largest number of black doctors in the West! Despite the fact that doctors in the country get paid bread crums, and any chance of making decent money is in the tourist industry or being an elite in the communist government. Which funny enough both sectors are vastly occupied by white Cubans...

Anyways, back to Lukumi. Lukumi is greatly related to Afro-Brazilian Candomble and Haitian Voodoo, and yes, we do sacrifice chickens. However, it's no different than ritual sacrifice in Judaism and Islam, we do it humanely and we eat the meat after. However, no we do not use "Voodoo dolls" and no our religion, and Haitian Voodoo, both are not "evil". In fact, the European dichotomous concepts don't actually exist in these religions, but either way both promote treating your fellow man with love and respect. In fact, the association with witch-craft, satanism, and evil was invented by Spanish and French slave-owners by pure ignorance in order to demoralize the Africans in Cuba and Haiti.

Anyways, let's try to cure modern ignorance, and not define each other by stereotypes. Sure, you may label me as a 28-year-old, white Cuban/Brazilian, gay millennial dude, who was raised in array of religions, but at the end of the day I'm simply, Cris, a Hatsune Miku stan. (just kidding)”

*FYI I’m 27 turning 28 very soon, so that’s why I messed up my age, lol*

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dreamilycoolanchor · 6 years

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rickhorrow · 7 years

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15 to Watch + top tech week of 91117

• The 2017 NFL season is officially underway. This past offseason was full of drama, excitement, and big names making big headlines. The Atlanta Falcons have a new stadium that still has problems with its roof, Tom Brady and his Patriots are favorites to win it all again, and Colin Kaepernick remains a free agent. With that, the NFL is kicking off the new season with a full head of steam. According to NFL Marketability Research conducted by E-Poll Market Research, the NFL brand still has the highest awareness of all professional sports, while remaining the “most entertaining” and “better than competitors.” The New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, and Arizona Cardinals came out as the “most appealing” NFL franchises, while the two Los Angeles clubs – the Rams and Chargers – came in the bottom two slots. Individually, Larry Fitzgerald is the most appealing player in the league and Brady has the highest awareness among his peers. The NFL remains the gold standard among U.S. pro sports leagues, and actions by many, many NFL players and other athletes throughout the traumas of Hurricane Harvey and Irma – such as the Texans’ J.J. Watt raising over $30 million for Harvey relief – remind us that while every athlete can’t win an MVP award or stand atop an Olympic podium, true winners have hearts of gold.

• Sloane Stephens on Saturday defeated Madison Keys in straight sets to win the U.S. Open, capping a "remarkably rapid rise after sitting out 11 months because of foot surgery." Stephens is "only the second unseeded woman to win the tournament in the Open era," which began in 1968, joining Kim Clijsters, and Stephens’ victory came atop a U.S. Open women’s semi that featured an all-American cast for the first time since 1981. Prior to arriving in New York, the 24-year-old's 2017 earnings stood at $310,000 and her career earnings at $4.5 million, but that now stands at over $8 million after she collected a $3.7 million winner’s check. USA Today notes that Stephens has become the "new media darling of tennis.” (It doesn’t hurt that her boyfriend is soccer superstar Jozy Altidore.) And the Los Angeles Times’ Helene Elliott writes Stephens' win came at the right time for the "suddenly bright future of American women's tennis.” Meanwhile, TLA Worldwide, which reps Stephens, sent an email congratulating her on the win and listed her marketing reps. Also in the winner’s circle: top Stephens’ sponsor Under Armour; she also stands to make millions more in endorsement deals as a result of her triumph.

• The inaugural Indy Women in Tech Championship presented by Guggenheim concluded Sunday with a victory by Lexi Thompson. Fans lined the ropes at The Brickyard Crossing Golf Course to watch 144 of the world’s best golfers compete for the IWiT Championship Title. The final stretch came down to Lydia Ko and Thompson. Ultimately, Thompson pulled away with a four shot lead over the competition to take home the inaugural Indy Women in Tech Championship presented by Guggenheim Title and the $300,000 winner’s check. Thompson joined the tradition of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway champions after her final round of the IWiT Championship by kissing the infamous Yard of Bricks, drinking milk, and receiving a victory wreath. Her win capped a successful weeklong schedule of tournament events designed to provide awareness and funding for specific women and tech initiatives, particularly those focused on robotics, STEM days, and career transitioning for those re-entering the workforce. Remarkable that this was only the first year of the Indy LPGA event, which came together under Guggenheim’s dedicated stewardship. The IWiT team has set a high bar, and look for even more women to benefit in 2018, inside the ropes and outside of them.

• Dallas Cowboys second-year quarterback Dak Prescott has leveraged his massively successful rookie campaign this offseason to expand his sponsorship portfolio. According to Yahoo Sports, Prescott inked more than a half-dozen new endorsement deals this offseason thanks to his “performance, storybook rise and relatable charisma.” Prescott is now set to make an astounding “10 times” his playing salary in endorsements this season, with Pepsi, AT&T, Frito-Lay, Beats by Dre, Campbell’s Chunky Soup, and 7-Eleven all signing on as new sponsors. On top of that, adidas, “one of his few sponsors prior to his rookie year,” decided to rip up its current contract with the Cowboys star and award him a brand new deal. Prescott recently had dinner with PepsiCo North America CEO Al Carey, who compared the quarterback to longtime PepsiCo partners Peyton Manning and Derek Jeter. On Sunday night, Prescott led his Cowboys to a marquee win over the Giants, 19-3. More high-profile primetime wins will only boost his marketability and brand value.

• After failing on a bid to buy the Houston Rockets back in 1993, Landry’s owner, CEO and billionaire Tilman Fertitta finally got what he wanted. According to ESPN.com, Fertitta has reached a deal with current team owner Les Alexander to buy the franchise for a record price of $2.2 billion. If the deal goes through, it would “eclipse the record” of $2 billion that Los Angeles Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer paid in 2014. The NBA Board of Governors will have to approve Fertitta as the next owner of the team before he officially takes control. The Houston-based billionaire has worked in sports before, as he was one of the original investors in the Texans. In 1993, Fertitta offered $81 million to buy the Rockets, but lost out to Alexander, who bought the team for $85 million. Just under 25 years later, Alexander is set to sell the team for over 27-times the price he bought it for…talk about a Return on Investment.

• Little Caesars Arena is finally open. According to the Detroit Free Press, the new home of the Detroit Red Wings and Pistons had its ribbon cut after architectural firm HOK managed to pull off a major “balancing act – creating a new mega-structure huge in its proportions that nonetheless contributes to the surrounding street life…” To build the arena and appropriately fit it into the surrounding community, the playing surface was placed about 40 feet below street level. In doing so, the profile of the arena is lower as to not “loom over its surroundings.” The deconstructed design puts all of the Red Wings’ offices, retail stores, and the box office outside the arena itself. HOK is being praised for its efforts to integrate the facility into the neighborhood in a non-dominating way. The use of varying types of brick and window treatments make the outside structure look like “a row of traditional urban buildings not unlike many others that line Woodward Avenue.” In economically challenged Detroit, a new arena to be shared by two of the city’s pro sports franchises is a welcome addition, providing economic impact as well as boosting community pride.

• The joint bid from the United States, Mexico, and Canada for the 2026 World Cup should win the hosting rights, unless a “crazy action” by President Donald Trump and his administration prevents it from doing so. According to SportsBusiness Journal, those are the paraphrased words of Relevant Sports Chair Charlie Stillitano, whose group runs the popular International Champions Cup. The joint North American bid still sits as a “firm favorite” to win over a last-minute bid submission from Morocco when a decision is announced next June. “The only thing that could possibly derail (the bid) is some crazy action on the part of our government, but I can't even imagine that,” said Stillitano. “It's ours to lose. I can't imagine we won't have the World Cup.” With an expanded field of 48 teams set to compete in the 2026 World Cup, the host of the tournament will be set to “bring in a lot of money.” With stadiums in Houston and Florida among the proposed sites to host World Cup matches, let’s hope that those traumatized communities will be able to use the ensuing years to rebuild from 2017’s terrible storms and widespread destruction.

• The Golden State Warriors may bring the Bay Area millions of dollars in positive economic impact, but that does not mean they are exempt from paying their bills. According to the East Bay Times, the reigning NBA champions “have not paid a cent” for their 2017 NBA Championship festivities in Oakland following their victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. In total, the team owes up to $816,000. The Warriors are currently questioning “how the parade bill tripled in cost from an early estimate and wants to sort out the bill with the city.” Immediately after the parade, Warriors Vice President/Communications Raymond Ridder said that the team “planned to shell out” $4 million to cover all the costs, but that has not happened yet. Oakland officials are also asking the team to pay $244,000 for the cost of their 2015 NBA Championship parade. The city sent a $1 million bill to the team on July 19, with a due date of August 18, but ‘no money has changed hands.” While the city of Oakland owes the team an explanation, the Warriors have an obligation to crack open their well-stuffed vaults and pay for their fair share of the parade, if not more.

• The WNBA continues to rise, with 2017 attendance numbers coming as the league’s highest in years. According to SportsBusiness Journal, the average attendance marker of 7,713 fans is the league’s best since the 2011 season, up 0.8% overall from last year. While this number is positive for the league as a whole, individual teams reported mixed results – some posted double-digit growth while other experienced double digit drop-offs in attendance percentage. Leading the way in the WNBA was the L.A. Sparks, with an average of 11,350 fans per game at the Staples Center, “up a league-best 17.8% from last season and the team’s highest mark since 2002.” The other teams that posted double-digit growth were the Connecticut Sun, Minnesota Lynx – who played home games at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul amidst Target Center Renovations – and the Washington Mystics. Conversely, the Indiana Fever (-12.1%), Atlanta Dream (-20.7%), and Dallas Wings (-26.9%) all experience double-digit falloffs. Athlete personalities rule pro sports, and the WNBA’s next task should be doing more to promote the personal brands of its most marketable stars – like Candace Parker, Skylar Diggins-Smith, and Elena Delle Donne.

• The Miami Marlins have a new ownership group, and with that might come a significant cut to the team’s payroll. According to the Miami Herald, a potential investor who was “specifically briefed” by the Bruce Sherman/Derek Jeter ownership group noted that they spoke about drastically trimming the payroll, with or without slugger Giancarlo Stanton on the roster. Stanton is due between $25 million and $32 million for each of the next 10 seasons, which is a primary reason that the team’s payroll currently sits at $115 million. If Stanton were to remain with the Marlins, the ownership group would aim to cut the payroll to around $80-85 million, but potentially to as low as $55 million if he is traded. Whether those numbers have “changed since the investor was briefed is unclear, because those conversations happened before the Marlins surged back into wild card contention in recent weeks.” The team is on pace to lose a whopping $50 million this year – even with deeper-pocketed new owners, they may not be able to afford to keep Stanton.

• Following an increasingly popular trend, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings have become the most recent professional sports franchise to transition to paperless tickets. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Kings are making this move for the upcoming 2017-2018 season, though paper tickets will still be available for fans at a $100 fee during the regular season and at a $40 fee during the playoffs. Kings Vice President/Communications and Broadcasting Mike Altieri noted that the franchise pushed for paperless tickets last season, but the team’s efforts were confounded by the fact that they produced commemorative paper tickets for the teams 50th anniversary year. Some season-ticket holders “renewed for this season with the paper option thinking it would be a special, non-generic ticket and were disappointed.” Altieri added that season-ticket holders get a “membership card with their seat account data and a team store discount.” For many sports fans, a trip to a high profile pro game is not a regular occurrence but a bucket list check box. It’s important to keep providing them with tangible, physical mementos of their experience.

• Nike switched up its retail strategy at this year’s U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows by electing not to occupy its usual spot at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. According to the Wall Street Journal, Nike instead chose to “sell tennis gear through its suite of smartphone apps and pop-up locations” around New York. Some of Nike’s tennis sneakers could be bought at pop-up stores in Manhattan and Queens, including a special edition collaboration between Roger Federer and Air Jordan. With digital retail channels becoming more popular, Nike is attempting to stay ahead of the curve and stick to its plan of selling more wares online. Nike for years has “held prime commercial real estate outside Arthur Ashe Stadium, which it used to sell T-shirts, zip-ups and other gear worn by star players” Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, and Serena Williams, among others. Adidas had a store on the grounds this year, as did event sponsors Wilson and Polo Ralph Lauren. Best guess is that Nike rethinks their on-the-ground retail strategy and returns to the Billie Jean National Tennis Center grounds in 2018 or 2019.

• Facebook is making a new push into sports streaming with its recent bid to land the rights to Indian Premier League cricket. According to Recode, Facebook’s five-year, $600 million deal did not ultimately win the bid, but it still shows the social network’s willingness to “put up that kind of money” in an auction. This comes as a “bold declaration” that Facebook will write “real checks” to gets its hands on “must-see sports content.” Star India, a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox, “won the auction for the IPL rights,” paying about $1 billion for its 10-year contract. Facebook is trying to compete against traditional networks for streaming rights, along with companies like Amazon that are also vying to make a splash in the sports streaming marketplace. Amazon and Yahoo were reportedly interested in the IPL bid as well, though neither ultimately made a bid to land the rights. But watch all of these digital giants continue to bid.

• Moving to a new market could mean big things for Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine. According to ESPN.com, after having spent the last couple of seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the move to Chicago “meant an overnight rise in intrigue from a handful of brands looking to sign him.” Despite currently recovering from an ACL tear, LaVine is largely looked at as a player with some of the most untapped potential across the league thanks to his athleticism. His three-year deal with Nike is set to expire at the end of the month. Companies reportedly interested in signing LaVine to a shoe endorsement deal include adidas as well as Chinese brands Li-Ning, Anta, and Peak. Nike is “expected to aggressively look to make it own initial offer in the coming weeks to retain” the budding star. From a company’s perspective, LaVine has all the qualities an endorsable player needs: explosive, entertaining, “and a willingness to wear a variety of attention-grabbing sneakers.” Another important quality: LaVine has no LaVar.

• In a move to address the “hidden epidemic” of addiction to gambling in the United Kingdom, the Labour Party is pushing for English soccer clubs to stop signing gambling companies as jersey sponsors. According to the London Guardian, the proposed policy is “understood to be the first of a series of proposals to curb the power of gambling firms…” Gambling companies have had an increasingly large presence on the front of English Premier League jerseys, with Bournemouth, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Everton, Newcastle United, Stoke City, Swansea City, Watford, and West Ham all wearing betting firms on the front of their jerseys. These nine clubs represent almost half of the 20 clubs that comprise the EPL, showing a drastic shift in the demographic of kit sponsors from what it used to be. Even though many of the betting firms are not from the United Kingdom, their names “are seen on TVs every weekend, during the segments of football that break up the adverts for British bookmakers.” The betting firm genie has been out of the bottle for a long time, and she continues to grow. Don’t look for her to jump back in unless some major match-setting scandal besets the league.

• Tech Top Five

1) The NFL, Wilson Sporting Goods, and Zebra Technologies have partnered on a project for the 2017 NFL season that will bring a new level of data to NFL teams and fans. Every NFL football this season will have a chip implanted into it that will relay data about the ball’s location, speed, and rotation metrics. The technology made its debut in the 2016 Pro Bowl and was also used in kicking balls on Thursday Night games during the 2016 NFL season. Jill Stelfox, Zebra Technologies General Manager of Locations services, had to this to say about the use of data in football: “It’s been a couple of years of an iterative process. How can we focus on the plays when it’s both fun and important? I think we’re in that early phase of looking at that for the ball. I do think data will get to fans soon, which will be fun.” Through these data points and using the chips in NFL games, fans will have a new feature to dig into while viewing. In the statistics-driven fandom of sports today, the NFL is doing all it can to quench the proverbial thirst of fans for more specific and interesting data.

2) According to SportTechie.com. Garmin has added a new feature to its line of smartwatches that will help intense trainers conveniently make purchases. The Vivoactive 3, a new model of Garmin smartwatches, has included contactless payments into its new features. As a result, watch wearers can purchase items such as food and equipment straight from their watches. Dan Bartel, Garmin Vice President of Worldwide Sales, had this to say: “Anyone who is out and about being active can relate to the struggle of where to stash a credit card or cash, and has had to forgo a post-workout snack or coffee as a result. We’re solving that dilemma with Garmin Pay, an exciting feature on the new Vívoactive 3. Use it pretty much wherever contactless payments are accepted, and give yourself one less thing to remember when you’re leaving the house.” With new features like this, Garmin is looking to get an edge over competitors like the Apple Watch. While Garmin doesn’t have connectivity between products like Apple does between its watches and smartphones, Garmin proves its ability to stay ahead of the curve in this competitive wearables market. 3) Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Alex Smith used a new type of helmet in the NFL season opener last Thursday night. Smith wore Vicis Zero1 helmet, which ranked first out of 33 helmets tested by the NFL and NFL Players’ Association this past year. According to CNBC, after testing the helmet in both training camp and the preseason, Smith was so impressed he not only decided to wear the helmet, he also became an initial investor in the Vicis. When asked about what benefits he sees coming from the new and improved line of helmets, Smith said, “Obviously, I’ve had a little history with head stuff, and for the first time, there seemed to be new technology in the helmet. For me, it was just finally this big science push. You actually had real scientists developing this and thinking about it.” If Vicis is successful in not only convincing NFL players to use their new helmets, but actually stopping concussions, the future of the NFL could be changed. The fear of sustaining concussions and CTE through football is very real, and youth football player numbers have decreased as a result. With a more proven means of preventing head injuries, the NFL could ensure that their sport survives in the coming years. 4) Major League Baseball fans are now able to watch the Boston Red Sox like never before. Intel and NESN have partnered on a project to start a four-game pilot of broadcasting Red Sox games in Virtual Reality. In June, Intel began broadcasting a game in VR every Tuesday, but now they have an agreement with a specific team. The games will be available to NESN subscribers on the NESNGo VR App. From NESN.com: “Choose your preferred camera angle, or sit back and watch a “director��s cut” of all the VR cameras, all while seeing a 180-degree camera perspective. Look all around and soak up the Red Sox and Fenway Park. Look further beyond, right or left, and you’ll see real-time team line-ups and statistics. Look up and you’ll see an expanded box score. Look down and you can select your desired camera angle.” If this is any indication, MLB could be moving toward VR sooner rather than later. MLB fans will soon have packages available to watch their favorite team from their couch as if they’re in the stadium. With more accessibility to the VR headsets, VR set-ups could become a common household appliance. 5) The Boston Red Sox were embroiled in a cheating scandal this week as they were caught stealing signs from the New York Yankees during a game. The New York Times chronicled the controversy specifically: “The Yankees, who had long been suspicious of the Red Sox’ stealing catchers’ signs in Fenway Park, contended the video showed a member of the Red Sox training staff looking at his Apple Watch in the dugout. The trainer then relayed a message to other players in the dugout, who, in turn, would signal teammates on the field about the type of pitch that was about to be thrown, according to the people familiar with the case.” All MLB teams look to technology to give themselves an advantage. However, sometimes teams can take that initiative too far. In the case of the Red Sox, they used a member of their training staff to relay signs to players on the team. This was a clear violation of MLB rules, but it brings up an interesting discussion about what role technology will play for teams during games. Should teams be able to use Apple Watches? Should teams even have access to any video during games? Expect these questions to be discussed at length this offseason.

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