Movie: Penguin’s Memory
For anyone who grew up in the 2000s, you probably remember Club Penguin. I certainly remember playing Card Jitsu, taking care of my puffle, and trying to tip the iceberg. While Penguin’s Memory looks like a fan creation of the popular MMO, it was actually made more than 20 years before. The movie is really interesting; imagine a cross between Club Penguin and a Vietnam War drama and that’s pretty much this movie. It’s about a Vietnam war veteran penguin named Mike who has to deal with civilian life and PTSD after his service. The Club Penguin aesthetic is really the only fun thing about this movie but if you’re looking for something poignant with a hint of 2000s nostalgia, look no further.
Wikipedia: Kaktovik Numerals
I’ve been into learning about different scripts and fonts lately and I came across this numeric system used by some Alaskan natives. The Inupiaq language counts in a base-20 number system making conventional Arabic numerals difficult to use. Apparently a class of middle schoolers created this number system to make it easier for Alaskan natives to learn math. It’s an ingenious system for vigesimal counting and looks really cool.
Podcast: Nury Turkel
Anyone who has been keeping up with world news has undoubtedly heard about China’s Uyghur Genocide. Regardless of whether you have, this is a good podcast episode to get a deeper understanding of what is happening and why it’s happening. What Turkel said about how hair products made from shaven Uyghur hair is sold to Black Americans is harrowing and ironic. And just how widespread forced labour supply chains are is astounding. The CCP implementation to the Xi Jinping’s Document Number 9 reminds me of when Chairman Mao told the Dalai Lama, “Religion is a poison.” I appreciate Turkel having the strength to advocate about the injustices in China. Warning: this is not a happy episode.
YouTube: Insect Tier List
As a Pokemon fan and animal lover, I adore TierZoo. I love the combination of educational and entertaining. Despite what entomophobics will say, insects are really cool. I learned some interesting things from this video; I didn’t know that termites are more closely related to cockroaches than ants.