I spend a LOT of time on the internet. Sometimes in my travels I read and watch some fascinating and informative things. Sharing is caring, so here are some of my favorite things from the past week or so:
Links
Anime and Mental Health: The Connection – There are a surprising number of anime that feature characters with various mental illnesses. PTSD and depression seem to be the most common mental ailments, but there are others and one of the things that I like about anime are the variety of characters with which I can identify as someone who suffers from anxiety and depression.
I agree with the author’s choice of Shinji Ikari as an expression of depression and I think Shinji gets unfairly hated by people who don’t have a lot of real-life experience with depression. Some examples I might add to the discussion are Mirai, the main character of Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, who loses a close family member during a huge earthquake and spends the back half of the anime series struggling with accepting their death, and Yuki from Tsuritama who deals with social anxiety.
The Rise of Masashi Ishihama: From the New World to Garakowa – Kevin Cirugada has written some great articles so far at Anime News Network that focus on the actual animators that help bring our favorite series to life. This article focuses on Masashi Ishihama who directed the TV anime adaptation of From the New World, one of my favorite anime series, and has a new movie called Garakowa which is avialable at Crunchyroll. I haven’t watched Garakowa yet, but being reminded of From the New World makes me want to carve out some time.
Minnesota Conventions to Cosplay at in 2016 – Are you a cosplayer local to the Twin Cities? Here’s a handy-dandy list from Twin Cities Geek of all the local conventions coming up this year.
An Unbiased Look at the Best Picture Nominees of 2016 – I’ve been making an effort to see all of this year’s Oscar nominated films, but this article sums up a lot of my feelings about the one’s I’ve seen so far, as well as some I haven’t.
Innocent World is having a Winter Sale! – Any other fans of lolita fashion out there? Innocent World is in the midst of their Winter Sale at this very moment. They had a couple of flash sales prior to this, but I’m guessing this sale page will stay up now until things are sold out. I grabbed a few accessories earlier in the week, and there are still some dresses/coats/larger pieces left too!
Videos
Cooking With Dog makes homemade cheese from yogurt, milk, and cream – This is one of my favorite Youtube channels, and not just because it features a cute dog as a narrator. In this week’s cooking video, Chef creates fresh cheese spread from some very basic ingredients.
Maangchi’s Korean Fermented Soybean Paste and Soup Soy Sauce – Maangchi is a Korean home cook with a great Youtube channel. She’s also come out with a really excellent cookbook, a copy of which I received for Christmas. In this video, she demonstrates how to ferment soybeans to create both soybean paste and soup soy sauce. The process took a year to complete, and this video (which clocks in at nearly half an hour) recounts the whole thing and contains some nice video of places in and around New York City, where Maangchi lives.
Princess Jessie-Kate’s Review of Yumetenbo (Dream V) purchases – Lolita fashion can get expensive, but Dream V (a Rakuten Store) contains some really cute, loli-able items that won’t break the bank. Vlogger and lolita fashion enthusiast Jessie-Kate reviews some of her recent purchases from the store.