Media - "Fun"

 Media - "Fun"

I had an interesting interaction with sending a trailer for something to a friend, to which they responded with a very simple "This looks fun".

And I sat down with them to unpack that when I would not have used 'fun' to describe something so kinetically energetic and violent.

Despair - On Race

 Despair - On Race

I am thinking a lot about how to get people excited about learning and exploring other cultures. Because so far I feel many of my attempts with peers have been generally abysmal.

They are uninterested, their bubbles are too tiny, and the task for them appears daunting.

We are 8 months now into one of my largest undertakings as a creative force, and I feel smothered beneath the weight of their indifference.

Or worse yet, their constant comparisons to Western storytellers, characters or art.

As though anything and everything I reference is only best revealed through the lens of comparison to Tolkien, Rowling, Martin, King, or Jordan.

Always white creators. Always white writers. Always white historical touchpoints, or art, or people.

I think a lot about how their priority for learning about it is a privilege of their position. They don't have to. They don't have to welcome or embrace any other culture that is not their dominant one. They can step back when it is inconvenient. They can walk away until another night, push it off until next week.

My parents had no choice, when they arrived in Canada. They had to learn white cultures, pizza, and mac and cheese. They had to raise children listening to rock concerts, driving cars, staying out late, and all that. They had to raise me and work in and amongst, even worship in a system entirely of Western design.

I had no choice either. I grew up with this colour skin and this black hair, and the name "Lee". I had my attitude and capabilities determined for me before I met people, in every career, vocation, and hobby.

And my friends know none of that. Sympathize with none of it. To be straddling two worlds where you fit in neither. Never shall I actually be accepted. I am too Canadian to be Chinese/Malaysian. I am too Yellow to be White.

They nod with 'empathy'. They say..."Yeah that sucks" and then politely look away until it is appropriate to comment on the weather or what's on TV.

I think my soul is filled with a lonely longing because their silence is deafening.

Games - Language

Games - Language

I was asked during a game of Wire Run about how a player might instantly learn a language. There are provisos for it before. In Shadowrun, a player could download a langsoft, that is, a digital encyclopedic knowledge of a language (they are expensive) and in Matrix-esque "I know Kung Fu", simply immediately be aware. Heck, even in basic D&D a sorcerer or wizard can cast Comprehend Languages and simply be done with it.

Life - Culture and Games

Life - Culture and Games

I've been thinking and writing a lot of late about the intersection of culture and games. It has been a lasting series of thoughts upon which I have many ideas.

I've been working on Wire Run, my latest universe on and off for years. This is our second foray into it for the RPG table. This 'campaign', I have been working on for about 6 months. During my time creating it the first time, I spent a lot of time building my own lore. Basically taking what was existing, and doing my best to both remove problematic parts of what I perceive as being at odds with a modern Sci-Fi, and also laying foundation work for a sandbox world to play in.

That first campaign was set in Vancouver, about 60 years into the future. It was easy. From a design perspective, it was a simple crutch. The players were familiar with the locations, if not the history. They understood the geography, the places, the people. They know what it means to live in a slum section on the lower East Side. They know what the travel time is between Downtown and North Van. They have a cultural appreciation for what it means to live in Surrey, vs Kits.

It was so easy.

Tragedy - Anthony Bourdain

Tragedy - Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain.

I watched a lot of his shows, and I thought that one of the best things about him was how he talked honestly, and passionately about elevating the idea of experiencing culture and other humans. He talked about travel, about living, and about listening.

I really can't overstate just how incredibly 'honest' Bourdain was on his traveling shows. He chose to explore and engage, and fearlessly try things without portraying himself as having 'discovered' customs. He went off the beaten path. It wasn't about 'tourism', it wasn't about self-gratification of himself as a tourist.

It was about meeting people, hugging people, smoking with people. It was about talking and going over things he himself loved and hated, what things offended him, and why that might've been legitimate or awful. How he responded to things that were frightening or strange, and why more often than not they actually weren't.

It's a tragedy, and a reminder that you can 'have it all' but the insidious nature of depression, mental illness, and suicide means little in the face of that. We need to find more ways to engage, encourage, and uplift one another. We need to find better ways to protect the people that need protecting.

Rest in Peace Bourdain.

Quotes - Kimchi and Cool

Quotes - Kimchi and Cool

“I see a lot of white guys making Korean food, and I’ll be honest, it pisses the shit out of me, because it’s everywhere now: kimchi this, kimchi that. I’m like, ‘You weren’t ostracized in elementary school because everyone thought, when they visited your house, it smelled like garbage.’ They didn’t have to endure emotional hardship, and now it’s cool.” — Chang, Ugly Delicious "Fried Chicken"

Racism - On Hollywood and Whitewashing

Racism - On Hollywood and Whitewashing

Originally I wrote this rant about Hollywood, and whitewashing stories. It was angry, and inspired by the most recent stab in Ghost in the Shell, where they've decided to cast Scarlet Johansson (whom I love as an actress) as the quite Japanese Mokoto Kusanagi.

Then I thought about my rant. It's not just that I'm angry, but actually, it is more that I'm hurt. And I'm hurt not only for Hollywood, which I'm angry at, but I'm hurt for everyone culturally that shares the plight with me. I'm hurt for everyone who has gone before me and seen mainstream media evolve this way. I'm hurt for my generation, caught in this weird precipice of knowing better and not being able to express ourselves on what we want or how to get it.

And I'm hurt for the generation that is coming after mine, that deserves better.

Notch - Leaving

Notch - Leaving and Minecraft

Notch wrote this post this morning, in light of the recent news that his company Mojang, and Minecraft are being purchased by Microsoft for 2.5 billion dollars.  I mean, superficially that's a lot of money, because it is.  But it's not just about the amount of money.  I've seen a tremendous number of posts this morning about the purchase and how Microsoft is never going to make that money back, that it's a poor business decision, that Minecraft only made 120 million dollars last year and it'll take more than ten years to see profitability after that...

But I think people are wrapped up in the fiscal numbers and have forgotten a few profound things about Minecraft, about Mojang and about Notch.