#112: Hades
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Werty: Hi! Let me tell yâall about my latest obsession - the newly-released video game Hades. Before I go any further, please enjoy these trailers.
You play as Zagreus, son of Hades, trying to escape the underworld. You will die along the way, and return back home only to try again. Along the way, you unlock new weapons, upgrade skills, and deepen your relationship with a cast of characters.
As a Greek mythology nerd in my younger days, this premise was absolute catnip. Not to mention the satisfying gameplay, compelling storytelling, interesting characters, A+ voice acting, amazing art style and an absolute banger of a soundtrack - all hallmarks of Supergiant Games, the small indie studio that produced Hades. (All three of their previous games - Bastion, Transistor and Pyre - also come highly recommended. Easily among the best video games of the decade.)
Just to reiterate, the music is truly one of the best parts of their games. You can have a listen on Spotify. Itâs so good that it has spawned multiple concerts over the years, including full orchestral covers.
And in the year 2020, there is something fitting about trying to escape an inescapable hellscape, failing, getting a bit stronger and wiser and trying again. It almost sounds, dare I say⊠Sisyphean?
Also, did I mention that you can pet Cerberus in this game? 10/10.
How kids bully each other can shed light on our reactions to societal injustices
Bullying creates a moral drama in which the manner of the victimâs reaction to an act of aggression can be used as retrospective justification for the original act of aggression itself.
Not only does this drama appear at the very origins of bullying in early childhood; it is precisely the aspect that endures in adult life. I call it the âyou two cut it outâ fallacy. Anyone who frequents social media forums will recognize the pattern. Aggressor attacks. Target tries to rise above and do nothing. No one intervenes. Aggressor ramps up attack. Target tries to rise above and do nothing. No one intervenes. Aggressor further ramps up attack.
Once again, David Graeber, may he rest in peace, pulls back the veil.
When estranged parents take a child across borders, a shadowy industry of 'recovery agents' can get them back - for a fee
But the sight of two foreigners removing a small child caused alarm at Holy Redeemer. Taweerart Nilda had taught at the school since Ms. Atchariya and her older brothers attended decades earlier, and she followed Mr. Dempster and Mr. Stilla as they hurried out. She tried to ask what was happening, but Mr. Stilla brushed her away. âThey walked in as if they had authority,â she recalled. âThey did not care about anything.â
Indonesian herbal tea is getting the artisan cafe treatment
Premium liang teh boba when?
Success addicts choose being special over being happy
Imagine reading a story titled âThe Relentless Pursuit of Booze.â You would likely expect a depressing story about a person in a downward alcoholic spiral. Now imagine instead reading a story titled âThe Relentless Pursuit of Success.â That would be an inspiring story, wouldnât it?
Does this sound like anybody you know?
The Western elite from a Chinese perspective
The doctrines that shape the worldviews and cultural assumptions at elite Western institutions like Cambridge, Stanford, and Goldman Sachs have become almost religious. Nevertheless, I hope that the perspective of a candid Chinese atheist can be of some instruction to them.
My week of radical transparency in a Chinese business seminar
For all our obsession with self-help books and motivational videos, Americans often emphasize âfeeling goodâ about ourselves; we pull off this delicate act by redefining our flaws as something to be embraced. Self-help exists to uplift. It traffics in empowering messages. It tells us that our only flaw is negativity. We must put positive energy out in the world, or celebrate our inner goddess.
In China, the message is bleaker, but also more bracing: Of course you are flawed, and of course you want to fix those flaws. Suggestions to lose weight, comments on physical appearance, gender stereotypes, discussions of net worth, are not only commonplace, they're considered motivating exhortations. There's no expectation that society will change, so the responsibility is on you to get with the program.
Taiwan's new passport design could have featured bubble tea or braised pork rice
The Girl Scout uniform got an update for Gen Z
A vest designed for the modern Girl Scout must have pockets, and those pockets must be large enough to fit the largest model of the iPhone.
The eco-yogi slumlords of Brooklyn
âYou white liberal phony fake selfish motherfucker!â a Connecticut College professor who had biked to 1214 screamed at Brooks-Church during the protest. âYou belong in a Charles Dickens novel!â
This digital art project collects comments posted on gofundme.com's medical fundraisers
These messages express care, well wishes, sympathy and generosity in the face of personal adversity and systemic failure. This is an archive of mutual aid in response to a ruthless for-profit health system. It is an archive that should not exist.
Netflix is making an adaptation of Three-Body Problem, but Chinese fans are worried
Why do we love judging other people's home renovations?
'Kettle chips are overrated.' Discuss. [25 marks]
While some might find it a sensory pleasure to chew on handfuls of spud shards that jab at their gums, I confess I do not. Kettle chips are too hard, too edged, too committed to a brutality of texture to deliver a balanced gustatory experience. No matter the flavor of the chips, the taste nearly always smacks overwhelmingly of oil.
Understanding the Obama Portrait
The US presidential line of succession is⊠a hot bureaucratic mess
Time to get creative in your emails?
(Iâm stealing that last one.)
Anyway,
Werty & Yuni