Tag: Essay

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Anime Reviews Reviews

Playing in Another’s Sandbox – “Wonder Egg Priority” and Finding Personal Meaning in Messy Storytelling

As I sit here once again looking forward toward a new anime season (October is coming up faster than you think, friends), I find that more than anything about to show up on my streaming services in the coming weeks, I’d rather look backwards. Several weeks ago the long-awaited (and troubled) finale to the Winter 2021 season anime Wonder Egg Priority was released, and while I was looking forward to finally being able to watch the remainder of that story, my weak, indulgent nature exposed me to some of the internet blowback it was getting. On the whole it hasn’t been particularly complimentary to the work. I gave myself the luxury of a few days away to allow the furor to calm before I watched the episode myself.

I should really say “episodes,” because I’m perpetually behind and I heard about the delay of the finale before I’d gotten around to watching the 12th episode. I figured that it would be helpful to have a bit of a lead-in rather than attempting to go in cold after months of waiting. Whether that was a better choice or not I can’t say; at the very least it kept me from having to wait and hope for weeks on end without knowing the outcome. Needless to say, after watching the episode(s) I ended up on an emotional journey that I didn’t entirely expect.

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Miscellaneous Reviews Reviews

Infrastructure Run Rampant – Yokohama Station SF

This essay contains spoilers for the novel Yokohama Station SF by Yuba Isukari

In Minnesota there’s a saying – there are only two seasons: Winter and road construction. The weather in our region does a real number on the quality of our roads; the freeze-thaw cycle leaves us with potholes the size of moon craters that are the first flowers to bloom once the snow melts. Soon after, the streets are dotted with orange traffic cones as machines dig and scrape and patch until our thoroughfares are passable again.

Sometimes these projects are more long-term. Every weekday I hop in my car, driving from South Minneapolis into downtown via interstate 35W, which has for months been a winding maze of diverted lanes, temporary partitions, and signs warning motorists to slow down and heed the construction workers. This has been ongoing for almost four years and will soon be completed; the rebar and concrete that for weeks could be seen just over the concrete barriers, as well as the shiny new bus station that will accommodate a new high speed bus line along that corridor, speak to the project’s imminent completion.

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Personal

Blue Blazes and Attempting to Tame the Imposter

This essay contains spoilers for the Japanese live-action series Blue Blazes.

I’d wager that most of you reading only know me for my writing here and perhaps from my occasional self-inflicted speaking engagements at local Minnesota conventions. Part of my day job involves providing specialized onboarding and ongoing training in a professional setting. It’s a job I sort of fell into after a while, but I enjoy being able to help people along in their learning processes, and it’s also nice to be the person with all (or at least most) of the answers.

One thing I’ve learned over the years as I’ve tried to independently become a better trainer, is that adult learners tend to operate on a fairly predictable continuum when it comes to learning a new task or process. Before they start hands-on training, most folks are eager and willing to learn a new task. It’s kind of an “ignorance is bliss” state of being, because whether or not they’ve done any pre-reading or observation before embarking on their learning process, they still don’t always have a full picture of what the upcoming task entails. Once they’re actually starting to perform the task is when vulnerability and self-doubt creeps in – they’re confronted by portions of the task that they didn’t expect or don’t understand right away, and their confidence dips. This is natural and expected; most folks go on to build their skills and become proficient in time. However, the time period while they’re still learning can be a struggle, especially for those of us who are prone to self-doubt. It’s the feeling of being a sort of imposter, fooling everyone around you into believing that you’re good enough to do something that you’re still unsure of.

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