I've Been Playing A Lot Of "Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom" And This Is My Idea Of What A "Bionicle

Who is to blame?  It's an interesting question especially when there are multiple parties are involved.  On top of this is the "Scapegoat mentality" people have.  i.e.  If we can blame one person, then everyone else is in the clear.   But the answer to this is both simple and nuanced:  They are all to blame, but not equally.  

First is the Network.  Networks are responsible to make sure their content isn't dishonest or dangerous; that it isn't breaking the law or causing harm.  Many networks already have rules and regulations to guard against these problems, and can ban individuals or companies who break those rules.  Networks have a responsibility to keep their costumers/ viewers safe and they should be accountable if they didn't take or enforce precautions.  I'd say Networks have a Medium level of blame.  

Second, the Content Channel, Creators, or Content Farms have a very high level of blame, and should be accountable to both the networks and the viewers.  They are the source of the problem, and are directly responsible for the injury and harm they cause.  Even if they don't create the content themselves, they are still promoting it and have an equal share in the blame.   Networks on the other hand are only responsible if they didn't try to prevent hazardous content, or if they promoted it.  

Lastly, we have the viewers.   There is an old saying:  "Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me."   Most of the victims fall into this first part, and are often the young or unexperienced.  Unless a person was intentionally being stupid, you can't blame them for getting coned.   A thief is still responsible for their actions, regardless of how many precautions the victim makes.  

The Viewers have a very low amount of blame, but the do have a responsibility.  A responsibility to blow the whistle on these dishonest and dangerous content.  A network isn't all knowing, and it relies on heir viewers to help them find rule breakers.  Networks and victims will sue, but the rest of us can be the eyes in the sky.  Viewers can and should call out bad content, warn their neighbors, and hold these creators, channels, or even networks responsible for their actions.  

Sorry, I just couldn’t resist.  

Avatar Kuruk:  Failure or Retcon?

WARNING:  Minor Spoilers for the Kyoshi Novels.  

Avatar Kuruk was the Water Tribe Avatar before Korra and is considered by many to be a failure of an Avatar.  He was brash and was more interested in personal pleasure than keeping balance.  

The recent Kyoshi novels explain that Kuruk wasn’t a failure.  Rather, he spent his life fighting dark spirits which most people were unaware of.  The Kyoshi novels suggest that he was a good avatar even though public opinion was very much against him.  

However, this new information feels like a retcon to me for one specific reason:  

Everything we know about Kuruk doesn’t come from a third party account, it comes from Kuruk himself.  

Other than the novels, our info on Kuruk comes from the season 2 “Escape from the Spirit World” game, and the episode 319.  Kuruk himself recounts that he wasn’t the best Avatar and spent most of his time goofing off.  

However, if Kuruk wanted to explain he wasn’t a complete failure, then he had apple time to do so.  Plus, as our main source of info he had full controlled how the fans viewed him.  

I do not think the dark spirits were an original part of his character.  I think it was a much later addition after dark spirits were introduced in Korra.  I believe this retcon existed because Bryke didn’t want fans to think Kuruk was a total failure.  

But a retcon is still a retcon.  

And not all Avatars did a good job.  

Fairies and Conspiracy Theories

For a high school art project I made architecturally sound fairy house.  It was big, it was beautiful, and I was very proud of it.  Eventually, my mom convinced me to make a Fairy House Kit because so many people liked it, and I sold them for a while at fairs and stuff.  

However, I would occasionally have Adults customers come up and ask me, "Do you believe in Fairies."   Now, whether Fairies exist or don't exist is something I really don't care about.  I made the fairy house because I thought is was cool and beautiful, not because I believed in fairies.  Hence, whenever someone asked, "do you believe in Fairies,"  It would get really....  Awkward.   I have a similar reaction to conspiracy theories.  I couldn't care less about them, so talking to people who are really invested is really.....  Awkward.   Now there are plenty of things wrong with conspiracy theories.  They have little to no evidence.  Most of them revolve around speculative reasoning.  And they generally involve some power trying to suppress the "Truth".   But in reality, people really just don't care.  

Flat Earther:  "The Governments don't want you to know the world is flat." Me:  "And why would anyone care about that?"

Aang VS Korra - Avatar: The Last CATbender - Fan Animation

My pamphlet for earth bending.   Air still to come.  

Feel free to ask questions.  

Epic Fail.  

Before you watch “The Legend of Korra”

Before you guys watch Korra you should know a few things, or maybe you've already started.  Don't worry, this is spoiler free.  

Avatar and legend of Korra are made by different people.  Yes, the "creators" worked on both shows, but surprisingly few others did.  If you look at the head crews of both shows, you'll notice they are very different.  

Why this matters is because Korra is a very different show from Avatar, by virtue of being made by different people.  A number of things from the original show get retconned, and some characters even get different personalities.  This is because there are different people that are making the show, and this is their interpretation.  

This issue isn't unique to Korra,  many shows/movies/series change when they get a new director, producer, or if they're bought by a different company.  (Like how StarWars was bought by Disney.)  Some of these changes you might like; others you might not.  Just don't feel you have to blindly accept whatever happens. 

The Cycle of the Fire Lords AKA Generational Daddy Issues

You know how in the series finale Ozai declares himself the Phoenix King? I’ve always found that odd, since dragon seems to be the prestige animal of the Fire Nation. However, once I realized what the phoenix in Avatar actually was, it all clicked.

The “phoenix” that Ozai is referring to is the “Vermilion Bird” or Zhūquè (朱雀). The Vermillion Bird is a mythological bird that is portrayed as bright red and perpetually on fire, basically the closest equivalent to a phoenix in Chinese culture. The Vermilion Bird also represents fire and the season of summer, the two most defining attributes of Sozin’s Comet.

So, essentially, Ozai is declaring himself the king of fire and summer and Sozin’s Comet and all things Fire Nation-y. We all could’ve figured that out without the cultural context, but it goes much so much deeper.

The name of Ozai’s father is Azulon, which I mentioned in an earlier post means “Azure Dragon”. The Azure Dragon is associated with spring. When Ozai declares himself “Phoenix”, he is basically calling himself the “natural” successor to the Azure Dragon. Summer comes after spring, after all.

Think about that. Ozai has been Fire Lord for 5 years already and he’s still obsessed with proving that he deserves the throne. That he was “destined” to have it. He knows he isn’t a dragon like Azulon or Iroh, so he decides he’ll be be even better than that: A phoenix! The ruler of summer! He’s the embodiment of fire—Yup, Mr. Fire Lord, the most Fire Lord man to ever Fire Lord, coming through. It’s all so very dramatic and pathetic and reeking of insecurity.

And if Azulon is spring, and Ozai is summer, then Zuko is autumn. Which makes sense, since Zuko’s reign is defined by the dismantling of the Fire Nation empire; the branches of their imperialism withering away. In Chinese culture, the season of autumn is represented by the element of Metal. The-Hot-Zone, @the-hot-zone, put it best:

For Zuko to also be associated with metal is… pretty fitting. Metalbending is an entirely new style of earthbending, and it completely changes how people view earth. This can symbolize the shift Zuko will bring to the Fire Nation: re-associating fire with life, with passion, with light. It’s about the new understanding of an element.

Also, the animal associated with fall is the White Tiger, which is pretty rad. Zuko’s fierceness is very tiger-like.