Let’s do our best to get you outside this month away from your phone or computer. As always the written portion of the blog is made with brevity in mind, so please listen to the audio above if you want the full details and nuance with this month’s update. If any links I provide to you do not work, I would consider getting any VPN local to your region and setting a server somewhere in the United States.

Contrary to what my YouTube channel content may suggest, I’m actually someone who really enjoys being outside for the most part! My hobbies in video games and pop culture came as a side effect from being quite poor when I was younger. You would think outdoor activities would be cheaper than other hobbies, but this assumption would be wrong if you factor in the potential costs of getting injured. And as someone who was born in the United States with a health care system that must be purchased for any type of assistance, you can see why my parents forbade me to do anything even remotely dangerous and stay indoors where they could see me.

None the less my childhood was a few decades ago, and as an adult I try my best to encourage everyone I meet to keep a healthy balance of indoor and outdoor living when they can. The stereotypes of outdoor activities usually come in the form of playing sports, or doing something that involves a lot of active participation. In reality taking a simple walk and appreciating your local surroundings is just as good for your physical and mental well being. And once more as someone who grew up in poverty, believe me when I say I knew the dangers of walking around a neighborhood that can be considered “less than friendly”. But I got around these limitations by going out at the break of dawn, where most honest folks were getting ready for work and dishonest folks were slipping into bed after a long night meandering. No matter the circumstances, you always have the opportunity to go outside and “touch some grass”.

One of my favorite tv shows of the past is called Survivorman. I was shocked to find out the host Les Stroud owned all the rights to the show, and even more surprised that he graciously posted all of it on his YouTube channel for free for everyone to watch. So in the theme of getting outside and experiencing mother nature, what better encouragement to than watch a show about situations that can go horribly wrong and put your life in danger! I’m probably not the best salesman right now for getting out, but I still want you to do so. At least if you watch all of Survivorman, you’ll have the knowledge to know what to do in case the worse comes to pass. Remember to use a VPN of your choice in case you can’t reach the YouTube channel and get an error about it not being available in your region.

I found another YouTube channel that deals with people walking around with a camera. And of course it’s going to be in Japan since it’s one of the safest places to do so! For those of you who are long time visitors to my site, explaining the history of my childhood and my fascination with the outdoors may help shed some light on why I like these type of videos so much. I really hate being locked indoors too long, and often need some time to stretch my legs. I encourage all of you to do the same, and just take a stroll around your town or city casually for a bit. If your safety is ever a concern, I always humbly suggest going out at sunrise which “allegedly” is the safest time in most cities and suburbs to be walking about. You could also go to a well established shopping center or district in your locale. I know I sound a bit paranoid right now offering such advice, but you have to remember I’m American and this comes naturally to us!

I’m not going to mix words. I’m knee deep in Space Leaper Cocoon at the moment in terms of mobile games. It has made me retire Revived Witch and every other little side game I was keeping on life support out of pity and sunk cost fallacy feelings. It’s very refreshing to come across a game that has a lot of personality to it and tries to be somewhat unique from a sea of copycats. I know there may be inspirations where Space Leaper Cocoon takes from, but that’s leaps and bounds (no pun intended) better than most who seem to be replicas of one another with a different coat of paint. And as someone who has to dredge through a sea of gacha games for testing on a month to month basis, I do not give out my praise lightly. I understand that pragmatically the biggest thing holding back the game is the art direction, but I really want to emphasize that even if that isn’t necessarily your cup of tea; at the very least try the game out to see what I’m talking about when I say it’s a “refreshing” game to play. Because maybe in the future a copycat of Space Leaper Cocoon will come out with an aesthetic to your liking, and frankly I’m ok with that if they kept everything else the same!

The above clip was created by Laosduude over on the Destiny Child discord Nikke subsection (check the pins). Obviously as much as I’m singing praises for Space Leaper Cocoon, the elephant in the room we’re all waiting for is Nikke Goddess Of Victory. I’ve been in 2 closed beta tests at this point, and the most recent one showed a lot of refinement and progress on an already amazing looking product. Even though Nikke is suppose to be out by the end of this year, there is always a rumor in the air that development may take a little bit longer before official launch and that the game might be pushed back until 2023. Either way, I just wanted to throw a reminder for all the folks out there that I am indeed waiting patiently alongside the rest of you for Nikke to finally drop, sway, and bounce into our lives (hopefully) later this year.

Monthly shout outs to YouTube community members who answered the call! Special thanks to g3nm4, Humphry Cobbledick and Noids Edstrom for my Mommy Bear request!