The Importance of The Legend of Korra and She-Ra

Audiovisual representation on children shows is always important, I have to say you know who you are when you are younger, sometimes it can take longer to realize who you are but at the moment you do, you know it's fine to be queer, is part of your identity and you are your own special creation and that's something no one can't take away from you.

The problematic goes on how the evolution of representation in cartoons came to be, because the prime time media set stereotypes on the community, i.e. SOAP and Billy Crystal back in 1977 and in 43 years we finally got two action oriented shows, that is child friendly and sport in a positive matter relationship between same sex individuals but also on how straight characters interact with the queer setting and the results are fantastic because it expose a positive light in which civilization didn't collapsed because two characters are in love are the same sex and even so shows trans and non binary characters as well.

The two shows I am mentioning are the Legend of Korra and She-Ra & Princesses of Power importance relays on how much a positive impact can be generated in the youth but also adults who watch these shows and feel represented by.

These two shows especially within women demographics are a ground breaking point, because on prime time media there hasn't been something as that before but with the reboot of She-Ra, it took everything tgo a whole new level because everything on the show is just phenomenal within the the LGBTQ+ but also it empowers women with strong role model and breaks the dynamics that an action show can be lead by a women and deal also with complex topics that mirror our world versus the animated universe.

Let's think towards the 80's and 90's cartoons all of them followed the same precepts on tropes: there were no relationships or little relationships at all, there was no queer representation, there was only good guys versus bad guys and that was essentially it, adding occasional musical numbers, David the Gnome was probably an exception back in the day and still because there aren't shows were the main character is an elder individual and there is a teaching about respecting nature,

If you are straight and cis, you probably will think that we don't need to put identity politics in cartoons, reality is you had swalled bullshit propaganda that deny identities of people like me, we were there in the 80's , 90's and is refreshing to see something that is so different from the same shows and formulas that were exposed back in the 80's, 80's and 2000's. Yes, there were shows as Mission Hill and somewhat The Simpsons who showed same sex couples, but on my memory it was Mission Hill with Gus and Wally that on an honest level show a functional elderly gay couple who weren't a pastiche of what is to be in a same sex relationship.

It's incredible to think that only in a lapse of 20 year queer characters are the ones being the leads on shows and Korra even being the lead her orientation wasn't openly spoke or shown, but even with Korra there was a four year gap to have a full representation within She-Ra; you are maybe thinking about Marceline and Princess Bubblegum? Even if they were there they were side characters, which happens with Steven Universe, it was Steven the main character and even if there was a deep background towards the Crystal Gems they were relegated on the background much of the time.

Which is why She-Ra is important, because it gives representation to the youth (as well the adults) that they aren't alone and there is a vocabulary to what they are feeling, but also within these two shows they set an example that action shows can be led by women but with She-Ra was it exceptional is since episode one there is a clear representation of the dynamics within lesbian, pansexual, bisexual, asexual female characters in the show and that hasn't been seen in any other cartoon.

The Importance of Steven Universe

The show wasn't perfect, but it became a milestone within the line-up of Cartoon Network as essentially it had somewhat developed characters that reached the LGBTQA demographics but also didn't showed them withing the classical cliche type, but I am not going in to a deep analysis as much of the points I am writing they were already wrote by many other people.

The importance of Steven Universe relies that for the first time in Cartoon Network there was this show created by a non-binary person, it set a fictional group of superheroes that were agender and queer as you can get, it explored loss and grief, it explored happiness between same sex couple and abuse, the list can go for a while but to make it concrete it explore topics that aren't common with children's cartoon but still using metaphorical elements which is one of the reason the show became popular with adults alike.

I am not going to bash the show, the show wasn't perfect but it exposed the vision of Rebecca Sugar  and that's important enough, I am not going to say how the show could be written because that would be a fallacy as I am not a critic or anything, just some random guy with too much time on his hands; I am not going to say how the show could be perfect through some idilic fantasy where toxicity doesn't exist because in the "real world" we are complex humans that talking beyond your feelings and thinking everyone react the same way as you is just childish.

We have to think "how we as members of a vast communities as well the allies, could give representations to the demographics that are in risk but also to the children and teens that need it" and after Adventure Time where there were hints about Marceline and Bonibell relationship, Steven Universe was open and frank since the beginning.

My only two issues with the show itself were the sparsity between episodes and how the story doesn't connect on occasions, but overall I never really minded either because as I said before is just a children's show and myself being an adult is not to critic the show unless it expose something inappropriate but rather find a way to support the youth of the community and their development, knowing that beyond representation there are allies everywhere because beyond the queerness of most of the characters Steven itself was represented as straight and he supported everyone.

Beyond that, I never minded the show it was fun to watch and it was cute, it gives me hope towards any more LGBTQA representation in a children's network as within time people will have representation, representation matters because it gives exposure and it can empower individuals but also as a race of storytellers the impact of a medium as television or web series can help a lot people to know they aren't alone and how to face life, because life is far more complex than a kumbaya bonfire and stories as the one from Steven Universe can help future generations.

The Sheikas - Between Blood, Magic and Technology

At first I was trying to write an article on genome and hereditary traits towards the Sheika's, but the only ending I had was their "red eyes and seemingly long life spans" then I thought why not to talk about a more applied concept towards the characters development in the real world and that has been the Sheika's influence in Hyrule technology, socio-political history and how they used magic as a natural resource to boost their discoveries. So, this is just the first entry of a few to explain how can a tribe implement a change within their cosmos.

To place a real world example the influence of the Sheika's mimic the rise of superpowers after World War 2  (1) in which an economical power rise and other whiter after an economical crisis that is tied to social problematic; historically speaking in our world an empire has a duration of 80 years which is also linked to how the world goes into crisis or recessions within a similar time-frame.

Generational speaking, within 3 generations we are destined to repeat mistakes that were on the time of our great-grandfathers but if we go on a more contemporary example right now we are repeating mistakes saw within the generation of the 20 which encompass our grandparents. If we analyze the Sheika's behavior towards their world events, they'd been there within almost every crisis.

We are going to place the Sheika's within every possible scenario with the new converged timeline and we are going to place the structure of the classic feudal Hyrule into a constitutional monarchy as it's the idea I could observe within Breath of the Wild because there were hints on how each dependency or province ruled their own land but ultimate they were influenced by the Royal Family of Hyrule.

The Sheika's power within the kingdom of Hyrule was merely economical, within a context they could be seen as some form of Silicon Valley (2) but also besides being the guardians of the royals they were also the people who influenced the political, mercantile and technological advances of the entire kingdom, we can see they were even more powerful in terms of influence than the Royal Family.

The most crucial aspect on their hegemony were their technological development such as the Gossip Stones (3) which they can decode, transmit information but also self-destruct if the situation is need thus keeping the information safe from the hands of the enemies of the Kingdom, in terms of warfare the Sheikas were ruthless and also could had seize the control of the Kingdom because at least in theory they were more powerful than the Royals but it would lead to a paradox what if you defy the reincarnation of the Goddess you swore to protect? Probably the best answer would be in the creation of the Yiga clan.

Why do I mentioned Silicon Valley before? Because the similarities are there, the two with their interaction on technology influenced politics but also on how the kingdom or the country developed (4) towards politics; politics are usually interlinked with how much you can lobby towards an ideal but also how can you benefit from the ruling class of the country.

Silicon Valley as a PR move they usually present themselves as more of nerdy influencer in which they are usually the first ones that give an idea that everyone should take on their homes or the latest technology, but reality is far macabre because we can look at the scandals of Facebook and Cambridge Analytica (5) in which information became the prime treasure in terms of technological warfare.

Talking about Breath of the Wild, we continued with on how the Sheika's are the protectors of the Goddess, but also through the game experience we are shown as spectators on how the influence technology over the millenia with the creation of the Divine Beasts in which it consolidated them as a race devoted to warfare; a hypotethis I have is that the Royal's didn't placed their power based solely on magic or Triforce but on war games.

In terms of military expansion, natural resources are usually the main objective on war declarations or conquest of territories, geographical outpost and appropriation of information tends also to be the related to reasons of war, because with information, with natural resources and conquest of territories you can become richer, lets think of oil but also precious mineral as our in our world and in between all of that the Sheika's where always there and they are the reason why the Hyrule Royal Family became extremely powerful.

Probably at the end of the converged timeline there wasn't too much information, but there are hints on why the empire fall and that's the lack of coordination to keep the socio-economical power of the kingdom at check   

References:

1. https://medium.com/@ntsikayezwefakude/rise-of-the-superpowers-the-united-states-vs-russia-f298ce3767ca 
2. http://www.csun.edu/~hfspc002/foucault1.pdf
3. https://zelda.gamepedia.com/Gossip_Stone
4. https://www.thenation.com/article/how-silicon-valley-hacked-the-economy/
5. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/19/technology/facebook-cambridge-analytica-explained.html

Why is Important to take a Stand against people as Pewdiepie

To understand about Piewdiepie or Felix Arvid Kjellberg racist tirades or as he mentioned "slips or oopsies" is necessary to understand the historical background that Nazis planted on Sweden and how over the decades their influences never diminished but instead thrived.

Furugard

Sweden has turned into one new centers for the radical European right, is quite weird to say because even with the social equality and the country democratic values and human rights; is a contradiction because for almost a century, Sweden has been the epicenter of a large excesive amount of racists, nationalists and fascist factions.

Albeit we don't need to go far away, in Sweden getting the ability to congregate in public spaces regarding your political and ideological  you need a permit of the local police department which on the first week of July of 2018 the Nordic Resistance Movement found a spot to spread their hate on public space because they obtained a permit to congregate.

There were critics towards the demonstration but it opened a window towards the racism in the Nordic regions to the world, which even with the lax laws towards public gatherings it has shown that life ain't perfect in Sweden or Norway, that even with the equality that is sold as a form of branding there are several social issues as inequality and the lack of government control to put a hold on xenophobia and hate groups.

Felix or Piewdiepie, or whatever you want to call him is a product of the society he lives (just like many of us) but also over the last decade he has become one of the biggest influencers of the world by his Lets Play channel which let him appear on pop culture media and gain a massive 70 millions followers, but also the media itself are the ones who keep defending his behavior on their vast majority, as if you type down on Google Pewdiepie racist much of the cases focus him as "troubled" and a few actually dare to say his racist tendencies and the shallow apologizes he creates.

(Screenshot / YouTube.com)

One of the most recent cases was the endorsement of E;R a content creator that is wide known for their antisemitic and vitriolic content and E;R's channel grew almost 15K suscribers since the shutout. A problematic that is extremely concerning is that Youtube biggest content creator has become some sort of unofficial poster boy for the white nationalists across the globe but also he can become a key figure into indoctrination of younger audiences.

Usually within the communication theories, leaders of opinion or as they are called lately "influencers" can execute a power over a demographic that is extremely "innocent" due the lack of critical thinking and analysis of world politics and socio economical impacts that are tied with violence and movements of the masses.

One aspect that is good to know is when Felix started or at least if he was already the person that showed toxicity on his videos, my bet he was already as that when he started his channel, a mere reflection of what the gaming community is. The toxicity on the gaming community is widely known such as the case of Feminist Frequency, just to name one of many in which the fragility of the "bro's" egos tend to be extremely fragile that they can't take any criticism or any commentary that breaks their xenophobic bubbles.

Why is important to take a stand against people as Pewdiepie? Because you can't let someone promote hate, even if people will say everyone is entitled to free speech there are also consequences when you promote hate and if you as a person stay quiet then you are being an accomplice of hate.

References:

1. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/pewdiepies-excuse-for-promoting-racist-youtube-content-includes-more-racist-content_us_5c1027e4e4b00e17a533cb0d
2. https://www.newsweek.com/pewdie-youtube-nazi-t-series-racist-anti-semitic-youtuber-subscribers-1252695
3. https://www.newsweek.com/pewdie-youtube-nazi-t-series-racist-anti-semitic-youtuber-subscribers-1252695
4. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/apr/05/whats-up-pewdiepie-the-troubling-content-of-youtubes-biggest-star
5. https://wccftech.com/pewdiepie-controversy-recommends-racist-channel/
6. https://mashable.com/2017/09/12/pewdiepie-n-word/#ZfTR78bjMiqy
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazism_in_Sweden
8. https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/.premium.MAGAZINE-how-sweden-became-a-thriving-base-of-neo-nazi-ideology-1.5629892

Why Equality Should Finally Be Recognized in Florida

http://equalmarriagefl.com/

Beyond marriage, this is an issue of human dignity that shouldn't be placed in the middle of a debate that has religious overtones. All men are created equal, yet the Constitution seems a document that was made to be adjusted to the some people, and not everyone that wants to improve their community.

It's not difficult to feel as you are a second class citizen everywhere, even if some jurisdiction of Florida had created laws to favor the LGTBQ population; but it shouldn't be laws to favor, there should be laws to show that are citizens are equal, not only here in Florida (hypothetically speaking) but everywhere.

The problem started when we became more oriented towards a theocracy, I am not attacking religion but America is not a Christian nation we are far away to be an homogenize society, as we are plural and not even on the Constitution of the United States says anything towards more support a national religion or any sect.

I guess we can blame the Red Scare of the 1950's as well the terrorist attacks of 9/11 that shocked different two different set of generations, due the proselytistic efforts of the different religious sect that found their way to place themselves not only in the masses imageries but as well into the secular world by inserting In God We trust everywhere.

But what God.? There are different interpretation of the concept and at the humanity is just humanity playing with divinity, only to find several excuses to discriminate whoever doesn't believe into what they believe or what the world should be.

Florida itself has an imagery towards the LGTBQ culture that goes as a tourist destination from inspiration in the audio-visual media, such as A Florida Enchantment one of the first films in modern history that represents (not in a realistic way) the concepts of bisexuality as well transgenderism into the American mainstream culture; up to Le Cage Aux Folles from 1996 where has been one of the first films that play on a more positive light same sex oriented relationship, as they can be functional and experience a set of similar problems.

The list can go and go, even from the sociohistory point of view towards how the Pride Parades tend to boost business and how the different gay villages which do the insertion of creative people, they can improve the local economies as well the neighborhoods. Miami Beach, Ybor City, Thornton Park just to name a few around.

Ybor is one unique case on how the insertion of a more diverse community, essentially has placed the location back on the map, little by little; as many people on the Central Florida region will remember that neighborhood had a decline after World War 2 and in between the beginning of the Cold War; but thanks to two factors which are the urban renewal program on the 1960's and a slow but steady influx of artists and bohemians started the revitalization of the area in the 1980's.

Now in the second decade of the second millennium, the recovery of the area as well the adjacent neighborhoods had started to recover the spaces as well.

There is no reason to debate, but a lot of reasons to finally say yes that humanity is not black and white but a multicultural rainbow. At the end we are just humans, and there shouldn't even be a list on why something positive for us should be given, is an innate right since we are a born. We are all created equal, but yet equality seems to be favored for a few self described righteous individuals who in a mix of faith and hate, they think the world is theirs.

Equality should recognized because we all want the best for our families, for our friends, for ourselves and for our communities, the same communities that we work towards everyday. Prejudice will be always be there, is a part of human race but also compassion and happiness; and beyond any divine reasons we are all made of flesh and bones, we are not Gods themselves, we are just humans and justify hate through something holy we are just showing the prejudice aspect that we justify as if the word of  a God of hate.

A Practical Use for Businesses who Accept BitCoin in Tampa Bay

Flame Stone Grill by: Carloseatsworld

As I was reading in the Tampa Tribune, on the 5/04/2014 edition. It made think about the different faces of creating, and the uses that a not centralized system could bring to the economics, being local or international.

In Oldsmar (a Tampa district) a well known restaurant in the area named Flamestone Grill; whose owner Nick Pappas, a technology enthusiast, decided to implement the technology into the business. To understand bit-coin, the user have to know that is an unregulated peer to peer, where no single entity controls the flow of cash with the exception of the users themselves.

After Nick investigated on 2013, he bought an unit for US$20, and the value as of 2014 goes around US$500. But, probably the trend is still new America, because according to the Tampa Tribune the number of customers who had paid with Bitcoin had been two, whose transaction were two US$50 in gift cards.

"If the customer wants to pay that way, why not make life easier for them.?" He said; the problem is not to make life easier for the customers, but to put the right decisions to generate revenue without creating a risk for the business. Yet, there is a side aspect on why business are attracted to Bitcoin users; and, the reason it can be used instead of credit or debit and it has no fees (which is one side, the banks and financial institutions get their interests from) but because the lack of security on the new system, many companies are hesitant into placing it on use. Which makes me think, why not to use cash instead,? is still less problematic than digital money.

The Syntax of North Korea and Airstrip One

On a micro-scale based on mere observations as well reading the blatantly mis-information of the Rodong Sinmun, is almost as seeing an aspect of the Ministry of Love taken to life, where they instill love of the supreme leader, of the Big Brother into the peoples' mind. The speech has to make sense, the magnitude of the mental domination goes beyond generations, and the control is so great that history is re-written in order to keep the Ill-Un as heroes or Gods of the people.

The theocratic idea itself, it is not that weird to appear in the real world, as political leaders can overthrow the organized system in order to position themselves, almost on the borderline of a Messianic level. Political religion could be the best phrase to describe the theocratic concept organized in salvation to a group of family, or individual that is in the power. Much as it happens on Venezuela with the imagery of the late Hugo Chavez, who achieved in less time that the Ill-Un dynasty in three generations.

Historical revisionism has been a major player, as well crimes against the free think; is almost a crime to think different or otherwise you are sent to the reeducation camps or the room 101 in order to learn love the country as well the leader. The Ministry of Truth is probably one of the fictional examples that can be brought to the real world, in the situation of the Rodong Sinmum, the official newspaper of the party.

Rodong Sinmum  is a clear example on how the media can lose their voice and become a mere instrument of the party, it can happen anywhere, where the official source of communication can be used to justify and glorify the claims the party are making, even if they are just mere bullshit toward the progress of the country. Such as saying Fruit Trees on Thousands of Hectares but there is no direct information, to as who this program is going to be benefit for; where are going to be planted, jobs and what benefits the investment is going to have in the areas.

How to keep re-writing history.? How the lies keep getting perpetuated. The scenarios are not different between the countries. As in Korea, and in the Americas there are people dedicated just to modify or to avoid teaching them to new generations; yet, on a circumstantial level they vary according to the socio-political examples.

While in North Korea they are in the need to keep the cult of personality alive, and as that many citizens don't have access to Internet, they can't compare the truth that is sold by the government to the truth, to the different perspectives. That little but big point, is also happening on the educational system on North America, where national studies are being ignored in order to avoid offending people or avoiding a lawsuit, such as schools aren't studying on a critical level the ineptitude of the Republican Party since the fall of the Berlin Wall (i.e. The government of George Bush and how they perpetuated the war in Irak for economical interests) or how the congress and and the Obama administration aren't that different from their predecessors in order to keep the war going.

Not many people can say it out-loud, as re-indoctrination is inevitable to whoever dares to defy the status quo.  The Goldsteins and the Big Brothers keep the world order according to their own interests.

Yet, whoever dares to say, that this is just a way to keep the messianic imagery open and that there is nothing that is going to happen, that person is going to be executed. Much as it happened to Winston, where is death became on his persona after taken by O'Brien. That idea is not strange even in America, as the government itself has perpetrated some extreme racist stereotypes towards foreigners, and who ever dares to question that Freedom is not Free can be deprived of their liberty.

Maybe, the world has turned into a Ninety Eighty Four; as at least here in America we cannot question that "2+2=5". Far away from North Korea, Americans had found their own Ministries where they take the liberties away, as there is no need for people who can question that these war has become eternal, almost on a modern concept 60 years. The Cold War and World War 2 placed several Emmanuel Goldstein's on this side of the world as well quite a lot of Big Brothers.

The Big Brothers at least in North America, can be seen as the Bush and Clinton families, that had perpetuated the theocratic approach on what side of the coin to vote.? What is a vote.? What is a vote that at the end has no value because the coins have the same face. It is a sad reality, where the world is playing the same scenarios over and over, only with different puppets.

At the end war is just a business, and to who controls the power will have the adoration. How the Il-Jongs had perpetuated their power on such extreme.? With no fear of being overthrown; the answer is simple, mere manipulation through fear, cutting every single possible tie with the outside world and forfeiting technology that will allow people to wake up from their dream like state, as they need to be seen as godly image, but at the end even the gods fall.So as one day, when the theocratic cult that Kim Jong-un is surrounded by, breaks, it will be the beginning of a new era.