Fear of the Shapeshifter

We, as a species, are pretty obsessed with form. Appearance is everything to us. We judge people based on uniforms more than actions. We judge animals based on how vaguely their proportions mirror that of our own offspring rather than their ecological role. We are so convinced we can…

Kirby Series Primer and Playlist

Kirby may seem at first glance to be an odd choice for this kind of article. Kirby is hardly an unknown property, easily being Nintendo’s 2nd or 3rd most successful franchise only behind Mario and Zelda. Kirby’s aesthetics have gone on to influence a great deal of media…

Final Fantasy X’s Generational Conflict or “I Hate You (Really) Big Daddy”

Moominvalley in November

Moominvalley in November is a book I’ve been wanting to write about some November for a few years now. Yet…

Harvest Moon Primer and Playlist

When the first Harvest Moon came out, the press generally marveled both at how unexpected a game it…

Anthropology of the Mushroom Kingdom

The so-called “Mushroom Kingdom” is a hotbed of biological discovery. We’ve already covered the…

How do you solve a problem like the Ancient One?

Pokemon 20 Years Later

Ash Ketchum peeled himself out of his sleeping bag. He vaguely remembered when the sight of the sunrise over Kanto was still inspiring to him. Now he just thinks of each new stiffness in his joints. Each morning the routine is the same, and each morning he is able to force down any…

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Star Trek is finally getting a new television series again. With that in mind, it’s a good time to revisit Deep…