Little Notes

“Long ago, there was something in me, but now that thing is gone. Now that thing is gone, that thing is gone. I cannot cry. I cannot care. That thing will come back no more.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald 

Especially given the plethora of news sources that have been birthed by the rise of social media and the ease of access/communication, its become increasingly important that we as news consumers take care in properly educating ourselves on which of these news sources are credible and make sure that we are aware of each of their respective biases. The most important quality is to ensure that articles are parsed for facts and to draw your own opinions and conclusions from them. In this post I'll mostly be talking about the media bias chart published (most recently in August 2018) by ad fontes media, the (first?) most popular rendition of such a news source bias ranking system that I have come across. So let's jump right into it, everyone. The Media Bias Chart Compiled by ad fontes media , this media bias chart (pictured below), categorizes the most popular  news sources relevant to residents of the United States by partisan bias and accuracy of reporting. Several sub-charts ...

I recently picked up Another Eden, a story-based and artistic JRPG mobile game that follows the adventures of Aldo as he searches for his sister, Faye, through the annals of time. I was initially very impressed with the movement, which is extremely fluid compared to other mobile games that I've played that have an overworld component. The story is also quite well-written with mildly interesting dialogue interspersed with humor. I thought the prologue of the game was most enjoyable because you had to talk to all of the NPCs to find the "quests", which would be small tasks such as playing hide-and-seek with a village child and finding a replacement for a little girl's balloon. This component of the story is largely eliminated in the subsequent chapters of the story, however, with the introduction of quest markings and prompts. I thought it was a nice touch that they allowed you to choose the result of your first gatcha roll among a selection of 4 star characters. Th...

The spaghetti that I made today turned out pretty good (although I added a bit too much salt to the pasta ToT) so I thought I'd write down some notes that I can come back to next time. Sauce:  Heat up oil in a saute pan  Add 2.5 tablespoons of brown sugar to the heated pan and wait until the sugar turns golden brown. If you overcook the sugar it'll turn bitter.  Saute onions and garlic (onions before garlic because they take longer to cook) until you can smell the aroma of the onions and they turn translucent Add the ground beef at medium low heat and mash it thoroughly while cooking to make sure that it turns out soft and moist Add two tablespoons of soy sauce  Add mushrooms and other vegetables over low heat Drain oil from pan. Add store-bought spaghetti sauce Pasta: Boil water in a large pot  Add pasta and salt (see below) Test the firmness of the pasta periodically to assess completeness (aldente = a little firm) Once the pasta is done c...

A mature depiction of the Japanese idol/talent industry through following the journey of a young, lost university graduate, Haruka, who struggles to find a job and is reluctantly pulled into the talent business. Despite her original dislike of the profession, Haruka is able to find her own desire and passion that drives her to pursue success through the support of all those around her. Although there are some plot aspects which I personally did not enjoy, the overarching storytelling was incredibly interesting and I found myself unable to stop reading. It was enjoyable and satisfying to watch Haruka's rise in the entertainment world and to see her develop and overcome the setbacks thrown in her path. Through the perspective of the main character and through that of various side characters in different professions and roles in the business, the work was able to portray a cut-throat environment where only the strongest and most determined survive.  Initially written in 2003, Haru...

Nishan Shaman is a mobile rhythm game that tells the northeastern Chinese story of the Nishan Shaman - a girl who was born with the power to commune with the spirits through her drum and dance. One day, a the spirit of a young boy is taken into the spirit world after a holy totem was accidentally destroyed. The boy's parents ask the Nishan Shaman to help recover their son's spirit and wake him from his deep sleep. Although extremely short, Nishan Shaman is an absolutely beautiful game in the style of traditional Chinese paper-cutting art that is well made and presents a sufficient challenge for those who want to go for a complete clear yet is not to difficult for those who just want to finish the game. The controls and gameplay are simple and easy to grasp, and is incredibly well executed especially considering it was made by a team of six university students over the span of five months. The music and art design are heavily steeped in northeastern Chinese minority tribe lore...