deerstalker
https://www.blackenterprise.com/fox-news-black-athletes-ben-watson/
The Washington Post reported that Fox News immediately cut to a commercial when New England Patriot player Ben Watson didn’t exactly agree with a sentiment they were discussing.
As they approached the subject around an article written by Jemele Hill (called It’s Time for Black Athletes to Leave White Colleges), Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked Watson his opinion on the matter. What Ingraham didn’t expect was Watson agreeing with the sentiments of Hill. At this juncture, a commercial break was warranted as the host was visibly shocked when Watson gave an opposing view.
Watson and Ingraham spent the majority of the discussion talking about New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees’ involvement with anti-LGBTQ group Focus on the Family, as well as the Christian initiative for kids to “Bring Your Bible to School Day.” When that subject ended, Ingraham, anticipating Watson’s agreeance, then broaches the article by Hill stating her preference for college-bound black athletes attending HBCUs instead of the white universities they help stay rich.
Ingraham asks Watson, “What’s your reaction to this?” Watson’s response? ” What [Hill] was saying was simply, if we are trying to pump money and revenue into some of these communities that there is still this big disparity, this may be a way to do it. Obviously, that’s in a vacuum, there are other factors that figure into that, but when you read her argument, she lays it out very cleanly and it’s actually something that I agree with.”
“Well I think Duke would have not been thrilled about you’re not being there, but we will leave it at that,” Ingraham says. “College sports would certainly be a lot different today if we went down a color-coded way of figuring out college admissions. That’s like re-segregating the country! Why do we want that?!”
“Segregation, as you know, is government-mandated. This is not segregation. If you read the article…” as Watson was trying to emphasize, she cuts him off and ends the segment.
“I read the article. I read the article. All right, we have to go.” was Ingraham’s response before Fox News cut to commercial.
Jemele Hill, not known to shy away from anything, offered this on her Twitter feed, “What’s so hilarious about this is that on an almost nightly basis Laura Ingraham bitches and complains about how white people are being replaced, and how diversity is bad for America.”
Game of Thrones is over, but there are more stories to tell: A new prequel series focused on the Targaryens is reportedly in development and George R.R. Martin hinted that we can expect to see more fire-breathing creatures on the new show.
Martin recently published a post on his blog, which responded to news of the prequel series. In the blog post, Martin briefly discussed the series’ plot, including how it’s based on his novel Fire & Blood and said dragons will play a major role in characters’ interests.
“I can say that there will be dragons,” Martin wrote in the post. “Everyone else has said that, so why not me?”
The prequel series will take place 300 years before the events of Game of Thrones and focus on House Targaryen, ComicBook.com noted. Aegon the Conqueror, who created the Iron Throne, will also reportedly be part of the show and it will be interesting to see how this figure is connected to the past and future of Westeros.
Meet the “Game of Thrones” dragon designer, Dan Katcher pic.twitter.com/STWlHJjAGh
— Insider (@thisisinsider) September 16, 2019
Martin wanted to make it clear though that no moves have been made on the prequel series’ pilot order yet.
“I do want to point out that “moving closer to a pilot order” is NOT the same thing as “getting a pilot order.” Would that it were. This is encouraging, this is exciting, but don’t buy the couch just yet. When HBO actually gives us a pilot order, you will hear me shouting it from the rooftops,” Martin explained. “A series order, and I’ll be shouting even louder. But we’ll see. Right now all the signs are good, but nothing is confirmed.”
More on Geek.com:
- ‘Game of Thrones’ Targaryen Prequel Series Is Reportedly Coming to HBO
- ‘Game of Thrones’ Star Kit Harington Joins Marvel’s ‘The Eternals’
- George R.R. Martin Says Having ‘Game of Thrones’ Finish Is ‘Freeing’
PixelPop 2019 marks my third time at the gaming festival, and my second time that I have covered officially for Black Nerd Problems. It’s one of my favorite events to attend for a variety of reasons. The fact that it’s in my adopted hometown of St. Louis. The fact that it’s an inclusive space that makes a concerted effort to make sure that its attendees feel comfortable. But mostly, it’s a very passionate community who want nothing more than to share their creations with other passionate folks.
As someone whose primary gaming focus can be a little bit myopic (okay, maybe I’m very very myopic), it sometimes feels weird attending. But the instant I get my press badge, wrist band, and pronoun button, there’s something about it that just makes the anxiety fade away. Between the wide variety of talks and panels on the Main Stage and the wonderful menagerie of games and game-like experiences in the Expo Hall, I guarantee you could have found something to latch on to whether you were an aspiring game dev or gamer.
Experimentation For All
Carol Mertz, the Executive Director of PixelPop, talks about how the last three years PixelPop has focused on becoming a festival that embraces the “experimental side of games.” This was omnipresent in the Expo Hall. The tables featured board games, tabletops, and video games that cross and transcended conventional genres. We should talk immediately caught my eye with its unique take on dialog-driven narrative story telling, while other games were attention grabbing due to their unique controllers including, but not limited to: a fish, buttons and a turntable, and a whole couch.
It's getting intense over here at @PixelPopFest. The slamming will continue on Sunday, see you there! #PixelPopFest pic.twitter.com/SfmFXNb3iL
— Sashimi Slammers ? BitBash (@SashimiSlammers) September 14, 2019
Summoned by @carolmertz & @ceschiii – once you sit on this possessed couch, it’s your duty to perform the sacred butt ritual to release the demon from its cozy couch prison, or keep it inside the Hellcouch for eternity! Play at #PixelPopFest Get tickets: https://t.co/JqdK6vbfeW pic.twitter.com/EGJNKdOEf4
— PixelPop Festival (@PixelPopFest) September 12, 2019
The Flow Gallery set up an entire art exhibit in the back corner of the venue called “Rules to Play By.” The installation featured a series of odd, interactive experiential games, ranging from meditations on permanence to walking games moderated by their artists to chess variants.
Hello PixelPop!!! I've been set up for a while and I forgot to tweet about it :/
Ossia Glow is on the far back wall to the left (next to the wonderful Bitsy Zone) and Everything is Connected is in the Rules to Play by section in the back left corner!! Come say hi!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/bcWzJBRIEI— R25th ? PixelPop!!! (@R25th) September 14, 2019
Come figure out the rules for 8 unique variations on chess, in @pippinbarr's Chesses. Now at #RulesToPlayBy @PixelPopFest ! pic.twitter.com/LD37mwMrIZ
— theflowgallery ? PixelPop! (@theflowgallery) September 15, 2019
I even got to witness the return of some of my favorite games from last year back on the floor, namely Starcrossed (which in the intervening time had been successfully funded on Kickstarter) and Nour (which is still as wild and fun as last year).
Panels For All
Just wandering the floor was an experience unto itself. It’s very clear that PixelPop has fostered a community of gaming developers who are searching for their niches, making games that they want to play on their terms, and sharing their love and joy of games. But beyond that passion, there is also a strong drive to teach and inspire others. I spent most of my time at PixelPop 2019 listening to all of the talks in the main hall and it was refreshing in a way that I wasn’t ready for. As I was telling one of my friends, one of the best things for a creative is seeing another creative talking and doing what they love (and it’s not lost on me that this isn’t the first time this exact theme has come up this month). PixelPop’s panels were specifically curated to be an educational experience.
- Anya Combs, the Director of Games Outreach at Kickstarter, gave a brilliant overview of the inner workings of Kickstarter as well as fascinating statistics about board game and video game funding.
- Akash Thakkar, audio designer and industry vet, gave a candid talk about fickleness of passion and motivation, and how true success requires a level of resolve and perseverance.
- Tanya DePass critiqued the current usage of diversity in the gaming world and pushed the audience to think of ways for us not to be allies, but accomplices to other marginalized folks and go beyond the 101 level talks of inclusion and representation.
- In a similar (yet drastically different) vein, Bahiyya Khan presented her experiences as a WoC game developer in another country and the inherent bias of our western/white perspective.
- And to close out of the conference, Carol Mertz moderated a panel about Experimental games with Bahiyya Khan, Adam Schroeder, and Tj Hughes that just encapsulated the spirit of PixelPop.
These were just a few of the talks that I attended. With a mix of 20 minute and 1 hour long talks on the main hall, it made it easy to expose myself to a diverse list of speakers talking about an equally diverse range of topics. And the best part is all of the panels and presentations are going to be available online at a later point in time.
Gaming For All
I’m not a game developer. I’m a gamer with a very singular focus. But there’s something about PixelPop that excites me to my core. Something about being on the ground floor of experimentation, of the clash of ideas, and willingness and drive to be better. If you are a lover of games or a game developer, make it a point to find your way to St. Louis in 2020 for the 7th Annual Pixel Pop Festival. Make it a point to be inspired, to learn from a kind, nurturing community. You’ll find out a lot about games and yourself in the process. I did this year. And I almost certainly will next year as well.
See more about Pixel Pop here on their website.
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The post PixelPop 2019 – The Ground Floor of Experimental Gaming appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.