Sunny Summer Memories

Audio Blog

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Audio Blog ♪

Last month I wanted you to expand your horizons a bit. This month we’re taking a break to remember a few older things out there in the world. 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.

We’re traveling back to the magical land of Japan again for a mixture of urbex and retro. A lot of folks may associate Japanese culture with many things, but for me it will always be the greatest place on Earth for…vending machines. Japan has the highest concentration of vending machines in the world per populace, at a ratio of 1 machine to 23 people. To put that number in perspective, every public interior you’ve ever been in your entire life (each room) would theoretically have 1 vending machine in it. To make things every more fascinating, some machines are out in the open in rural areas in direct sunlight. They are never heavily fortified or chained down as you would see in other countries. There are even videos of people buying drinks in the middle of nowhere, often along long stretches of highway running up and down the country. Some tourists (like myself hopefully one day) actually visit Japan just to take a long road trip living exclusively off of vending machine or convenience store food and recording the experience. If this quirky topic interests you, there are a ton of YouTube videos (often foodies) that have put their adventures online. The one I’m linking you below is a look at a huge gathering of machines in one location.

Following the retro and urbex theme for the month, let’s get you out exploring some abandoned places with people way braver than any of us. Uncharted Travel is a YouTube channel I’ve been following for quite a long time now but somehow conveniently forgot to mention in past updates. As with a lot of my dead mall related content, I always feel a fascination with largely abandoned mega complexes and industries of old. Although I don’t really appreciate the often times over dramatized adventures of people who are seeking attention than paying respect to what they’re exploring, there are folks who do it simply for the love of archiving sights and sounds largely forgotten to time. Before I start waxing poetic about the entire thing, let’s just watch a cool guy do cool stuff together shall we?

As much as I like looking at old rotting buildings, I just as much equally find it cathartic to see things being restored to their former glory in some degree. Unfortunately it is not possible to film an entire mall complex brought back to life, but you can watch various small items being taken from the brink of destruction back to near pristine condition. I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with “restoration” videos on YouTube (or mainstream TV), but it’s quite a large (albeit still niche) group of people bringing things back to life via hard work and some ingenuity. I typically prefer the sights and sounds of the repair work with minimum narration or music, but if you’re inclined to hear every detail of every step along the way; there are channels that cater to that as well. In any case, let’s look at a bread cutter brought back to life.

Onto a little bit of gaming news. In terms of the mobile gacha front, there’s not much of notice this upcoming month to talk about. All of us are still collectively holding out for Nikke, so to that end may I suggest you take a look at an indie game that is coming out in July that may spark your interest. The game is called Sexy Mystic Survivors, and it is a complete clone of the popular indie game Vampire Survivors. You’ll need a steam account to look at (and of course play) the game, but if you rather not bother at the moment; just look at the video below of someone who played the early access beta. If there are no delays in release date, it should be out on July 22. Keep in mind the video is showcasing the “censored” version but is the same exact game minus the lewd stuff. The developer has promised an aftermarket official patch to convert the censored version to uncensored version for those that live in regions of the world that prohibit adult games or media. That fact alone makes this game a day 1 purchase out of principal!

To close out the blog for July, let’s look at an event that almost died out completely. I’m talking about E3, the gaming expo that (most) of us grew up with gaming wishing we could all be there. E3 was cancelled out completely this year in 2022 to strategize their assets and vision moving forward. One of those aspirations was the return to a physical event for 2023, which would make it 3 years since the last one they held back in 2019 in person. I have a lot to say on this topic personally as I feel I have more in-depth perspective on the whole situation since I graduated with a marketing degree. Unfortunately it’s way too long to put into words for the written blog, so I’ll just summarize as best I can my thoughts on it. I think the “general public” really does not understand the importance of in-person events and the lasting impression it makes over time. Coming from 3 (onto 4) years of online only media that has been extremely over-saturated even before the pandemic broke out, most folks basically take content today online “in one ear and out the other”. 2023 serves as one of the best opportunities in the last 5 years to really make an impression on a public largely fatigued from “online only” shows and events. Those that take advantage o this will (in my opinion anyway) really reap something useful out of it than most people give credit for. In any case, if you want to see the whole actual in-person experience at an E3 before the world changed forever, please watch the LGR video I’ve linked below when he attended back in 2019. I can assure things will never be the same again like that show, but hopefully it might morph into something more impactful in-person and less “media circus” as it once was.

That’s it for this month’s blog! A quick shout out to my YouTube community members who’ve been active. In no particular order for this month: Gabe, Henriq, Ben Is, Dig Tekken, Raven, Victory, Omega Xis, Morgan Mox, Unkxz, Noids Edstrom, Cool Dood, DL Kentarou, Doraver, Alos Kun, Mister’s Gaming Channel, Kyfpm 21, and Franc 3115. (Shout outs were recorded earlier in the week. Everyone I missed on the June 29th update I’ll get you in the next month!)

Thought For Food

Audio Blog

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Audio Blog ♪

It’s rare for me to have an update with so many diverse topics, but even rarer is when all of them have a slight tinge of philosophy attached. So if you’re ready to dive into the real deep end this month, I highly suggest you come back to these topics when you have the time to do so. All of them are slow burns best viewed after a long day of work, or a quiet weekend morning with nothing else to do. As always the written portion of the blog is abridged for the sake of my visitors who want to dive right into the links, but I always recommend listening to the audio blog for the full nuanced experience.

Artist is Sho / wnmf3234

First - a quick shoutout to my loyal YouTube followers on the community tab. I asked for a mini “call to action” on my May 21st "Weekend Chill” music post. Ryan Ring, OmegaXis, Noids Edstrom, Doraver, Humphry Cobbledick, Seventh and Gabe (will get you on audio next month!) ~ thanks for answering the call! As a mini aside, YouTube is constantly removing my posts or content without warning due to the nature of my channel and it’s community warning status. So please forgive me if “phantom” notifications happen to you if you’re a subscriber or turned on that function. Sometimes posts get deleted in 1 minute, sometimes it takes up to an hour. Either way know that it’s equally frustrating for both parties involved (me and you) and I just wanted to note a small hiccup in the system. It seems that the automated bots that censor or remove my posts can’t seem to recognize anthropomorphic characters. In other words, it has a hard time discerning what’s human and what’s clearly a caricature or cartoon. So sometimes I have to post monster / furry / abstract waifus in place of regular anime waifus to bypass the system. It’s just something fun I thought you would all like to know. The picture above of Eimi from Blue Archive was instantly banned when I tried to upload it once as an example.

Every single time I take a look at my analytics for website visitors, I’m always shocked how many of you are not from within the United States. All of you come from all over the world, and it’s humbling as well as baffling how my site ended up being “popular” with folks outside of my own birthplace. None the less, a common thread that binds young modern society is pop culture, memes and social media. And even as a middle aged man far removed from most of these things, I understand the value it has being a lexicon of understanding across cultures. The Simpsons is a rather popular pop culture series across the globe, watched in over 100 countries and is familiar enough to be recognized by most people in the last 2 decades. More importantly however, it’s a symbol, representation, and satire of America; something often overlooked at first glance or face value. When you dive deeper into the meanings of the episodes produced, you get a lot more than you bargain for. I came across (what I thought at first) a look into a particular Simpson’s episode that was well received by fans. It turns out the episode was far more reaching than I had ever imagined, and YouTuber EmpLemon does a fantastic job dissecting what makes it one of the most memorable (if not impactful) to date. The video is a long one (as all of my links this month) so get comfortable before you set off. For those who want to dive right into the philosophical / sociological portion of the video, it beings at 14:24 chapter “My name is Frank Grimes”.

Also a helpful tip for those who aren’t fluent in English, YouTube CC (closed captions) now can auto translate to the best of its ability. Simply select it via the “settings” button when you’re watching something on YouTube. It’s not perfect, but it may help those who might struggle with English words not commonly used. The above picture I created should help illustrate further how to turn it on. Finally I would highly recommend you check out other recent videos done by EmpLemon as he’s fantastic at talking about in length on completely arbitrary factoids about the world around us.

Moving onto a mainstream gaming topic, I once again can’t stress how something on the surface looks self explanatory ends up being something else. Star Citizen is a topic in gaming that needs no introduction. I’ll spare you the drama around it. I’m more focused on the reason “why” the game even exists, and more importantly how it affects a wide range of emotions in both players and developers alike. To the point, the video I’ve linked above is more an outline on “Star Citizen” and a commentary on the relationship between players and developers. If there’s anything I want you to take away from watching it, it’s that every story is a lot more complicated than it seems, especially when it involves much more than its premise makes it out to be. For all of you who have visited this site from my YouTube channel or are a “gacha” style gamer yourself, I want you to really pick up on the parallels expressed in the video to “our own” genre. I hope you realize it’s eerily a lot more alike for comfort.

This is the real meat and potatoes of the June blog. I was absolutely blown away from this documentary on the history of MMA since it was so different from what I was expecting. It really dives into the philosophy and nuance of the sport. As someone who has a sister-in-law that dabbled in MMA, and 3 years of Taekwondo myself when I was younger; I always had a respect for people who dove into the deep end of combat sports (including boxing). But this particular documentary really combines a lot of historical aspects of the sport that cumulate into its evolution (and subsequent devolution). Get comfortable and put on a good pair of headphones, this video runs 2 hours long and it’s worth every minute. Ironically, those who never had a single interest in MMA (or combat sports) should also watch this documentary as it specifically breaks down the “human” side of why we do such things in life. I can’t stress enough how well done this was made; credits to Felix Biederman, Jon Bois and the channel Secret Base for their hard work.

Music is a very personal thing, so I do my best not to impose my particular tastes on anyone. But to those who share a similar appreciation of the same beats, you will often find an ally like no other. But beyond the tracks, sometimes we find another genuinely good person along the way that we can relate to, and that makes the entire experience even more uplifting than the chords and beats we’re already bobbing our head to. Enter Jonathan Belle, a fascinating person I came across randomly one day searching the great archives of YouTube for some new tracks to listen to. His YouTube channel focuses on community voted tracks that he checks out on a pretty regular basis. But if you take a moment to visit his website, you’ll find out what makes the man tick should you so be inclined. If anything, I really want you to read his essay on kindness. It’s a respite of good vibes from an increasingly negative and cynical online world. I can only hope my website gives off the same positive vibes Jonathan’s does.

Artist is Krokobyaka

That’s it for this surprisingly long update. Knowing my track record, next month is going to probably be content thin, but I’ll take my victories when I can. As a reminder once more, due to my current YouTube situation, you may all see more monster / anthropomorphic / furry girls in the future whenever I post music updates. Don’t read too much into it, I enjoy waifus from all walks of life, but YouTube (for now) doesn’t have enough culture to recognize those particular types. Therefore if they’re able to bypass the censorship filter, than so be it. See you next month, take care of yourselves!

Chill Relax Reflect

Audio Blog

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Audio Blog ♪

It’s time for the most laid back blog I’ve ever done on my site. This relaxed attitude also includes you as well, so make sure to check out the many resources I’m going to be throwing your way on every topic I cover this month. Since so many of you are visitors from around the world, I encourage you all to look into VPNs just in case any of my links are blocked or unavailable in your country. Let the chilling out begin!

It is estimated the world over that 10 to 30 percent of the population suffers from some time of insomnia or sleep disorder. That means 1 to 3 out of every 10 people (on the planet) have a hard time getting a good night’s sleep. I’m unfortunately in that statistic, as all my life I’ve had a hard time getting more than 6 hours of sleep on any given night. Napping therefore has become my crutch for the last decade of my life, and I’ve done my best to make sure what little sleep I get is quality. Although ASMR has been a relatively “newer” concept to help people relax and feel better overall, it also has been influenced to the point of making it a stimulant rather than a depressant. In other words, it’s hard to relax if you’re also horny, the byproduct of overzealous social media fad chasers and content creators. Thankfully before the influx of such content, white noise was a long established recommendation for helping to calm you down and help you relax or go to sleep. Therefore I’m recommending you a few YouTube channels (pictured above) to help bring that peaceful ambient sound into your bedroom, living room, and life so that you can perhaps find some more relaxing things to listen to while you wind down for the day. Although I don’t personally use social media myself, I know how it can keep people up for hours on end going down rabbit holes they never intended to go down. I humbly suggest my alternatives of watching a still scene with some beautiful rain sounds, or a person wandering aimless in the quiet outdoors as your new night time phone habits. You’re probably going to want to get a good pair of wireless earbuds to help facilitate this, which leads me to my next topic.

You ever heard of that prolific company that shall not be named on a random YouTube channel talking about how great their new wireless earbuds sound? If so, you also probably know those particular buds are awful for the price you pay for them. There are much better alternatives, and luckily for you there is a hard working individual out there that reviews these things as they are. He goes by the handle Scarbir and he has a website dedicated to TWS (Truly Wireless Stereo) reviews, specifically earbuds that have become commonplace all over the world now. What’s nice about Scarbir is that he keeps his site up to date and talks about products that cover a variety of use cases and not just overall sound. More to the point, he isn’t endorsed or sponsored by any one particular brand, so his reviews can be a little bit more open on flaws or points of criticism. It also helps that his product reviews are on buds that are on sale mostly on Amazon, so those who are interested in them can potentially have them delivered in a few days should the need arise. I’ve been using him as a source for TWS reviews for quite some time now, and for the purposes of white noise or ASMR, I highly suggest you take a look at his “most recommended for sleep” buds since they’re fit for that very purpose.

Some people like to relax by watching… other people. Strange as it sounds, sometimes loneliness can be a stressor to some individuals, and I understand that the feeling can be especially tough for extroverts out there. If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that some people who are forced to be indoors for the vast majority of the day can get a little bit stir crazy, leading to all types of strange behavior that manifests itself in an unconstructive manner down the road. Thankfully as the world opens up a bit more and travel loosens up a bit, you can take solace that people half way across the globe are living their lives normally. The two live webcams I’ve linked you above are in real time, meaning what you see is actually what is happening at that very moment at their respective locations (if the video glitches out, just watch it on the YouTube channel instead for the latest feed). Why I linked you to these specific web cams is that they’re the only ones I found to be of high quality as well as intimate enough to see the expressions of people’s faces doing their day to day. I also found it occasionally humorous as you can sometimes find the random tourist, drunkard, prostitute, or wild animal in the shot. Humor in the absurd can sometimes being equally relaxing after all!

Bastet Statue (Venrose Design)

Artist is Kardie

Artist is Oughta

Last thing I want to mention about relaxing is creating a space in your house to unwind in. You can start off with a little corner of your bedroom, or you can do the entire room if you please. Personally I would recommend making a small “shrine” area to put things of interest you have as a focal point. You can always go back to this place whenever you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed or lacking focus to re-center yourself a bit. This probably sounds crazy to some of you I know (and I don’t blame you!) but you can totally make this a fun thing to do without going overboard into the superstitious realm. As a matter of fact, a lot of nerds for a long time now have “waifu” shrines in which they display their figurines as a sort of “trophy case” of their collections. I try to ground myself just a little bit to mainstream history stuff, so I recently updated my shrine area with a figure of Bastet. The point of all of this is to give yourself a visual (and tangible) new hobby unbound from the digital world that you can see and feel in the real one. I say this chiefly since I hear stories of folks dropping serious money into things they can’t even touch with their fingertips, and to me that might be a sign to take a step back and look elsewhere for “healthier” habits.

That’s a wrap for the “chill out” update! I’ll be back next month with some minor gaming stuff and hopefully more weird and interesting stuff around the web for you all. Take care and relax!

Sometimes Video Games And Japan Stuff

I’m not going to mix words with this month’s update; it’s going to be 95% primarily focused on video games and not much else. The reason being is because as a whole, March was filled with a lot of world news (recently in fact) that most people can’t stop talking about. And because I try my best to insulate this site from all of that, it’s near impossible to find the “good” stuff that I usually can share around the internet without running into a wall of commentary on subjects I have zero interest in. So what little I can talk about this month, I’ll do my best to make it as thorough and entertaining as possible. I promise next month’s update will be more diverse; hopefully as long as the world can just calm down for 2 seconds.

While doing my best to come up with stuff to talk about this month, I came across a YouTube channel called TokyoLens which has a lot of fascinating videos on various Japanese topics. Without diving into only pop culture related things, it was refreshing to see content that revolved around oddities and weird stuff that had to do with day to day life. Leave it Japan to make mundane things seem rather uplifting. So I’m going to be recommending a few videos from the channel your way with what I found interesting.

I’ve spoken upon the death of traditional arcades for quite some time now, and I’m not a “doomer” by any sense of the imagination. I’ve long accepted that time marches onward, the world keeps turning, and things change for better and worse. Still I am a sentimental fool for the days long gone, and the slow decline of arcades is a topic I revisit once in a while to see the progress of it all as it unfolds. Japan has always been the last bastion of traditional arcades, and even then the country has been slowly closing down its iconic game centers on a yearly basis. The following video will highlight some of the most dramatic closures of recent times, and even though the video itself is not even a year old - I’ve heard on the grapevine that even more places have closed since the start of this year (2022). Either way if you’re too young to know what an arcade is or too old to care anymore and have moved on with your life, I invite you to take a look at a “thing” that was once at the center of gaming culture.

I recently got into (and finished) my participation in the Nikke Closed Beta test I mentioned in my last mini post. The audio portion of the blog has the significant details of my adventures in it, but for brevity let’s just say I’m now even more hyped for this game after having my hands on it for a week. For everyone who just wants my impressions on it, the vided posted below by YouTuber SeanB mimics my sentiments about the game exactly. So in other words, he’s already done the work for me so I don’t have to. For the few folks that asked questions in my AMA post about the game, I’ll be answering them in detail on the audio portion of the blog. I have A LOT to say about this game, but not much to write about it since it would take an incredible amount of effort to get into writing all the little nuances of thought. So in other words, take a listen to the audio portion if you really care about Nikke at all.

Although Nikke is going to probably eat up all my time once it releases, there are still other games on the horizon that seem to hold promise. One of those games recently went into closed beta called Alice Fiction and there is a webiste you can visit for more information here. Video from some folks playing the CBT are below as well.

That’s it for this very (admittingly) strange update for April! Since it’s Easter month, I need to make sure to include some type of bunny or rabbit. So here’s Carrot from One Piece!

Artist is Tsampikos