This was a fun game. Proud of myself for this one. https://lishogi.org/uOtToLiQ Ended up just winning on an illegal move though. But getting his gold stuck and forking the rook was nice.

Reminds me of a comment I saw a while back. Do the Russians make movies depicting their Tsars as Africans? Are their national sports teams reflected in a similar way? Does their media praise BLM and pit minorities in Russia against the rest while constantly harping on about the evils of their empire? Do their cities burn as a result of this? Do they embrace open borders and globalism and have role models like Cardi B and Caitlyn Jenner?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/02/zelensky-signs-law-lowering-draft-age-bid-boost-military-ranks/ Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), while on a visit to Kyiv last month, also called on Ukrainian lawmakers to pass measures that would widen the field for mobilization. He was quoted as: “I would hope that those eligible to serve in the Ukrainian military would join. I can’t believe it’s at 27,” he told reporters. “You’re in a fight for your life, so you should be serving — not at 25 or 27.

This is quite a good movie. It’s a movie about suffering. People are dealt with harshly in a cruel world. I think I had two gripes about this movie though. The first one was kind of the hero worship of the doctor. He’s the one pure one who could do no wrong in a corrupt world. I think I could’ve let it go if it wasn’t for the part where he single-handedly takes out about a dozen men.

I had the opportunity to go to Japan recently. Compiled a list of pros and cons I thought of on the spot concerning the country. Pros: Public transportation is amazing Cheaper than America Japanese people have higher cultural expectations for themselves in general Less cultural enrichment than America has Streets are cleaner Much, much safer Less of a shame culture People don’t possess opinions about every dumb thing under the sun People are less degenerate than Americans (though, trending worse) Government isn’t as stupid as the American government (again, trending worse) Convenience stores are very nice Having shogi being widely known and played is nice Japanese people are generally better educated Cons:

Background 1: The Jurchens were an ethnic minority within China. They lived in northeastern China, which is today known as Manchuria. There were different Jurchen groups which existed and lived as hunters-gatherers, semi-nomads, or sedentary agriculturists. They had little central authority, along with little communication between the different groups, throughout much of history they tended to fall under the influence of neighboring dynasties. Paying tribute and chiefs holding posts as effectively border guards.

The school year was coming to an end and summer was right around the corner. Our school, like schools all across America, was planning a rally to commemorate the year and to see our 12th graders off. The day came around and me and my advisory dutifully marched out to the football field where it was to be held. Since we were upperclassmen we got to sit in the bleachers instead of on the field like we did back in our freshman and sophomore year.

We need to establish what we mean by immortality. The concept itself can be seen from two different lenses, that is both divine and worldly. Divine being the experience after death. This is much more literal. We can get an idea of the religious beliefs of the cultures from all four of these works. Worldly is fame among men. Which means that in asking the question we are asking what did these cultures value.

The largest difficulty for me which I encounter is simply finding a reason to write. Writing is no longer the single form of stored communication. Namely video/audio recordings and online websites. Probably the single largest disadvantage of writing is the audience. For propaganda purposes videos are a much better form. It’s easier to passively consume a video than it is to passively consume a book. One requires more effort. Putting it succinctly—if you want to get a message out a 10 minute video with shiny graphics is much superior than boring text.

Frankly, this seems like a movie for older Chinese women. Unless you fit in that demographic or enjoy Chinese family drama for some reason, can’t say I really recommend this one. I mean it isn’t bad, it just never really captivated me. The artsy Japanese guy was amusing. I’m almost convinced the actor wasn’t actually Japanese, something felt a bit off about him. Ting-Ting was an interesting character. Starting to get a little sick of these movies though, they all feel the same.