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Here’s a complimentary video to the one I shared last week.
I just offended someone again, didn’t I?
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The Ixitxachitl Lich #science #biology #gaming #DnD #ADnD #ixitxachitl
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Sundays now are lazy days for me. I either post something silly or other people’s work. Usually both. Today, it’s (loosely) using science to imagine a D&D creature.
Funny story. I never thought I’d ever be able to spell ixitxachitl, and only recently did it stick in my brain. Now I can spell it at will. Small victories, huh?
Now, someone stat this thing.
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Dungeons & Dragons is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast, LLC, who neither contributed to, nor endorsed, the contents of this post. (Okay, jackasses?)
Shishi @ShangChi #Caturday #ShangChi #MCU
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Yesterday, I posted about Shang-Chi, which inspired a conversation with my friend, Tanya. All of this centered on the fact that there are tons of stories from mythologies beyond Western Europe that we don’t generally see in American art. Leave it to the MCU to take that step with Shang-Chi. Well, today is Caturday, so let’s go back to Shang-Chi.
Guardian Lions (Shishi)
Shang-Chi displayed a host of animals from Chinese legend. Two that stood out were guardian lions.
In a language I don’t speak, they’re called shishi. Needless to say, the west has its own term for them: foo dogs. Yeah, we named them after dogs. We can’t even put them in the right taxonomical suborder.
Shishi traditionally guard places as a single, mated pair, one male and female, with a connection to the concept of yin and yang. There were only two in Shang-Chi guarding Ta Lo, so it looks like the MCU did at least a little bit of homework. They’re said to have the power to ward against things as threatening as disease and evil spirits to things as mundane as crowds and shar corners. Their role in the battle of Ta Lo is also consistent with legend. There isn’t a lot they could have done beyond that, but it’s good to see that they’re staying close enough to the legends as you can expect from cinema. Close enough for government work. (That’s a dig against Tanya.) 🙂
You can see this as introducing American audiences to other cultures; I see it as proof cats rule the world.
Shang-Chi Re-watch, CGI, and the Eternals @MarvelStudios @shangchi @TheEternals #ShangChi #MCU
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I watched Shang-Chi again Thanksgiving morning before 9 hours of football. It’s still really good. The one consistent criticism I’ve heard is that the final battle is CGI. I don’t have a problem with that at all. In fact, I think the MCU uses CGI battles in a powerful way.
Chinese mysticism is hokey nonsense, but so is Norse mysticism, Greek mysticism, etc. As an amateur student of mythology (and legacy D&D player), I may appreciate eastern mythology more than most Americans, and I can assure you that those stories are a generally untapped resource. The MCU is the perfect universe to capitalize on that resource. Shang-Chi was just the start. If you can suspend your disbelief with superheroes, you can accept giant dragons, hokey martial arts moves, and magic in general, and those things often require CGI.
Some of those stories involve creatures that simply don’t exist in the real world, and to do things as grandiose as the MCU does, CGI is a requirement. If you don’t like it, that’s fine, but you’re being a bit unfair if you claim that the CGI dominates the scene. As large as it was (spoiler alert!), the good dragon didn’t win the day. He was defeated. He was about to die. Human beings with whom we can relate, Shang-Chi and Katy, made the difference. If you want to criticize something, criticize that Katy managed an impossible shot with less than one day’s training with a longbow. Many of you have. I’m with you on that.
Side Note: I’d love it if Thor used the Bifrost to take Shang-Chi to visit Shang-Ti in later movies. We’re now dealing with celestial-level threats. We need an Odin equivalent. They should also use Black Panther to introduce Egyptian (Bast) and other African (Shango) mythology.
Tie in with the Eternals?
I had a thought. The ten rings looked remarkably similar (spoiler alert!) to what Phastos used in the climax of Eternals. Moreover, the mid-credits scene of Shang-Chi tells us that the ten rings are a lot older than 1,000 years, and the fact that the MCU has so far faced only titan-level threats, not celestial-level threats, is consistent with MCU characters having not yet dealt with that sort of energy signature. A quick search on Google reveals that my idea isn’t novel, <whining voice>but I wanted you all to know that I thought of it all on my own</whining voice>.
So when does Eternals come to Disney+? 🙂
Shang-Chi and the Eternals were fun. I have high hopes for the next few phases.
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Happy Thanksgiving! (Star Trek Style) #Thanksgiving #StarTrek
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At least I’m not posting what everyone else is posting today.
But in all seriousness, I’m thankful for the time I got to spend with Alissa. That’s the best time I’ve ever had.
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Happy Thanksgiving! (Star Trek Style) #Thanksgiving #StarTrek
Happy Thanksgiving! (Star Trek Style) #Thanksgiving #StarTrek
Who Are the 7 Archangels & What Do They Represent? @MythsExplained #MythologyMonday #MythologyMonandæg
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I just offended someone, didn’t I?
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Genesis, Capital One Arena, 11/18/2021 @PhilCollinsFeed @tonybanksmusic @officialmatm @genesis_band #music
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With recent events sending me into a tailspin, I needed a distraction. Coincidentally, I got one. After 53 years, I finally got to see one of my favorite rock bands, Genesis. I took only two videos, and they’ll leave you wanting more. Sorry, but I went there to listen and watch, not to videotape.
As I’ve told you, while Genesis isn’t my favorite band of all time, their album, Duke, is my favorite album. The concert began with some of that album as follows . . . .
I took this video because I liked that they were displaying the spines of cassette tapes for all of their albums.
One of the songs didn’t serve as a distraction, but rather a reminder, but that’s not a bad thing. I don’t think I want to see some more concerts, but unfortunately none of the bands I’d want to see are currently on tour.
Only my 12th concert.
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Underneath @Djantoine #music
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Today is the song attached to the most painful memory I have of her before last week. The first time I heard this song was on my car ride back from Phoenix to Tucson to catch my flight home. It was on this trip home that I realized I had lost her forever — all my own doing — and this was the first song I heard on that trip, and the only one that I had never heard before. Today was her memorial service, which solidifies the fact that I’ve lost her forever.
Seems appropriate.
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Play What You Want 