August 26, 2017
“But time flows like a river . . . and history repeats . . . ”
Oh my god Secret of Mana is being 3D remastered for PS4, PC and Vita by Robert Purchese [Eurogamer] “The best game in the world ever, Secret of Mana [YouTube][ Announcement Trailer], is being 3D remastered for PC (Steam), PS4 and Vita, and will be released 15th February 2018. Why Switch isn't included I don't know, especially given the game's Nintendo heritage, but as Xbox One is excluded as well, it could be a Sony exclusivity deal. Remember, the Secret of Mana series landed on Switch in Japan in June, albeit in a retro re-release anthology which isn't confirmed for the West. The Secret of Mana 3D remake will have a complete new visual style as well as voiced characters (a choice of English or Japanese), some new dialogue scenes, and a newly arranged soundtrack. It looks like a much newer game now, albeit a slightly more cartoony one. There is mention of upgraded gameplay but no details on how it has changed.” [more inside]
All dogs have their Day
It's National Dog Day (previously), and what better way to celebrate our best friends than by watching Stacy play Dogcraft? How about watching rescue dogs romping? Maybe a Dog Kissing Booth at the Indiana State Fair (with slow-motion kisses!)
13 and alone.
The big fight
Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor will face off tonight in what is expected to be the most lucrative boxing match, with the most bets laid, in history. [more inside]
Working From Within
While the DSA National Convention (previously) made headlines, another political convention met in Chicago - The People's Summit - a Bernie Sanders headlined, multiple group organized, 4,000 strong meeting of American Progressives. The Katie Halper Show interviews several uo and coming candidates looking to turn the Democratic Party left. Larry Krasner, civil rights attorney running for Philadelphia DA; Paula Jean Swearengin, a coal miner's daughter running against Senator Joe Manchin to represent West Virginia; Stephen Jaffe running against Nancy Pelosi; Ginger Jentzen, running for Minneapolis City Council Ward 3, and Andre Vasquez, executive director of Reclaim Chicago/Chicago Progress.
Stop and be friendly
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a 1977 movie, written and directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Julia Philips and Michael Philips. The story concerns UFO sightings and encounters, alien abductions, a large mothership, and... It starred Teri Garr, Melinda Dillon, François Truffaut, Cary Guffey and Richard Dreyfuss, with a cameo by Jerry Garcia. A digitally remastered 4K version will be shown briefly in the US in September (in the UK on the 19th for a day, other countries from the 15th); here is arguably the best place to watch it.
[Lights up, and post title] [more inside]
do the right thing and act on those qualms
Last week, in the wake of the dissolution of President Trump's Business Council over his public statements about Charlottesville (previously), many noted that his Evangelical Council said nothing. Ex-evangelical support blogger Chris Stroop called on Twitter to call white evangelical leaders to account with a call to #EmptyThePews of religious leaders who cannot demonstrate enough moral fiber to denounce white supremacy. The hashtag quickly filled with stories of spiritual abuse. Leaving these churches, Stroop acknowledges, is very difficult for many people. But he hopes that this public discussion will help more people to find the courage to leave toxic churches, whether or not they continue to maintain a Christian faith. [more inside]
Biodiversity Reclamation Suits for Urban Pigeons
Inspired by the traditional use of fiber-craft to provide safety and comfort, California-based artist Laurel Roth Hope (who is a former park ranger and conservationist) has been crocheting small suits for urban pigeons that disguise them as extinct birds, thereby (visually) re-creating biodiversity and placing a soothing "cozy" on environmental fears. [more inside]
Ulysses Bucket List
Before saying goodbye she turned to me and asked me a question that has become a wonderful part of my life; she asked me, “Tell me something you have done, or want to do, that you think I should do? It can be anything, as challenging as you want it to be, or as easy. As long as you give me the rest of my life to complete it, I promise I will do it."[more inside]
Beat your plowshares into swords
Beat your wrenches into swords. Beat your drill bits into swords. Beat your truck leaf springs into swords. Beat your lockwashers into swords. Beat your cables into swords. Beat more wrenches into swords. Let the weak say, I am strong.
Only the title is longer than Jackson's
If you found Peter Jackson's Hobbit film series a tad padded, maybe the 1985 Soviet television movie The Fabulous Journey of Mr. Bilbo Baggins, The Hobbit, Across the Wild Land, Through the Dark Forest, Beyond the Misty Mountains. There and Back Again, which tells the same story in only 1 hour 11 minutes and 52 seconds, might be more to your liking. Note: you may want to disable youtube's subtitles as the source already has English subtitles.
“Here lies one whose name was writ in water.”
The princess myth. "She was the White Goddess evoked by Robert Graves, the slender being with the hook nose and startling blue eyes; the being he describes as a shape-shifter, a virgin but also a vixen, a hag, mermaid, weasel. She was Thomas Wyatt’s white deer, fleeing into the forest darkness." Hilary Mantel on Princess Diana, as we approach the 20th anniversary of the princess's death. (SLGuardian)
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