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Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, there has been a series of “repatriation flights,” which are flights organized by the U.S. Department of State (in the case of America) to bring citizens stranded in other countries back home. This is done where there are no commercial flights due to borders being closed. However, some Americans are noticing, according to NPR, varying levels of health screenings at U.S. airports, not all of them equally rigorous.

Dan Honig, for example, was one of some 150 passengers who were brought back to the States from Senegal, on a repatriation flight that landed in Washington Dulles International Airport on April 3. He observed that, while the group took protective measures during the flight, which was staffed by medical workers in hazmat suits, the group didn’t go through a final health screening as they disembarked, went home, or went to other domestic flights.

“I expected that my temperature would probably be taken, as it had been when boarding the flight,” says Honig, yet that didn’t take place because Honig and the others were traveling from a place on which the U.S. hasn’t placed travel restrictions. Right now, Customs and Border Protection says that when international flights from China, Iran, the U.K., and the European Union come in, they are taken in groups of 50 in order to test for COVID-19.

“I didn’t know if we would be given self-quarantine orders,” Honig said, “but I thought, at the very least, we would be kind of recommended to do so.”

When NPR asked Customs and Border Protection about Honig’s experience, seeking clarity, the response from a spokesperson said the agency is “following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” Considering we have seen the government struggle with resources and knowing how to communicate facts to the American public, I’m not surprised they are trying to be frugal with this, but considering that all air travel has potential risks and most people are asymptomatic, it does seem reckless—especially for those who have seen what happens in other countries.

People began responding to Hoing’s tweets and sharing their experiences of returning to the U.S. through commercial flights and their experiences in other countries:

I arrived in America April 3 on a State Department medical evacuation flight. No medical check; no data collection; no instructions. A very critical month later, and the US still seems to be behind where Senegal had been a month prior on systems/policies. 20/

— Dan Honig (@rambletastic) April 7, 2020

Same thing. We arrived from Cambodia on April 2nd. No checks, questionnaires or anything else. The US “response” is a joke and if it’s wasn’t so serious it would be a comedy. For the so-called greatest country on earth what an embarrassment.

— Phil Butterworth (@ChopperPhil) April 8, 2020

Over the next 14 days, as I continue to quarantine, I’ll share my first-hand experience of how the South Korean government is thinking out of the box to fight the COVID-19. I hope the rest of the world will observe, learn and step up to fight this global pandemic together /4

— Heidi Shin (@heidishin) April 8, 2020

It is alarming how, despite the hard-working people in the medical field attempting to help, there are still a lot of potential holes in the system.

(via NPR, image: Skitterphoto from Pexels)

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Today sees the release of the highly-anticipated Nioh 2. Team Ninja’s answer to Dark Souls is one of the toughest games of 2020. It is so challenging that it makes FromSoftware’s infamous franchise seem like it’s on easy mode. That’s not hyperbole on my part. Nioh 2 will kick your butt without a hint of mercy or compassion. Given the insane difficulty, this isn’t a game for everyone. Only the most committed (and masochistic) gamers need apply. But no matter how bad-ass you think you are, you are not ready for the horrors in store for you.

To help ease you into Nioh 2, we’ve listed 10 tips every beginner should know. Note that this knowledge won’t help you master the game overnight. You’ll still need practice and patience to persevere. With that said, these tips will give you an edge and keep you (mostly) alive during the early hours.

Choose your weapons wisely

Nioh 2 features a wide variety of weapons. Every weapon controls and feels different, making it hard to choose the right one for you. If you’re brand-new to the series, it’s best to go with a weapon like an ax that hits hard and a weapon like a katana or a dagger for faster (albeit weaker) hits. You can always go to the training ground (covered below) to see which weapons suit your playstyle best.

Train, train, train

There is an almost overwhelming amount of combat techniques to use, even from the beginning. Sure, you can learn the basics by continuously dying. Or you can train somewhere safe. The training ground is an option under Dojo (selectable from the starting point on the world map). Here, you can try out all the moves you’ve unlocked against a myriad of foes. This is also an ideal spot for mastering your stances and demonic abilities. Don’t be afraid to visit the training ground often to keep your skills sharp.

Stand your ground

Your character can assume three different stances. A low stance facilitates quick attacks and fast dodging. It is perfect for dispatching small enemies and for quickly dodging attacks. Mid stance is the one you’ll use most of the time. It works great against most enemies and provides a perfect balance between offense and defense. Lastly, high stance utilizes hard attacks that break past enemy Ki. This stance provides little defense and a missed attack can leave you wide open. Mastering the different stances is essential.

Manage your Ki

Performing most actions (attacking, dodging, running) depletes Ki. If you’re not careful, you’ll find yourself winded during the most inopportune moment. Because of that, you’ll want to be mindful of your Ki at all times.

White light leaks out of your character whenever you attack. Pressing R1 concentrates this energy, thus recovering your Ki via a Ki Pulse. You’ve successfully performed a Ki Pulse when a circle of light bursts from you. It’s possible to gain a significant amount of Ki depending on your timing. I don’t need to tell you how important it is to maintain a healthy amount of Ki, especially during boss fights.

Performing a Ki Pulse isn’t always easy. A great alternative is the Running Water skill found in the Samurai branch of the skill tree. Instead of performing a pulse by pressing R1, you do so by dodging. Each weapon stance has its own version of Running Water, so be sure to snatch them all. Using this technique along with the normal Ki Pulse ensures you never run out of Ki at the wrong time.

Yokai abilities and Soul Cores

New to Nioh 2 are Yokai abilities. Releasing a Yokai Burst can stop and counter enemies surrounded by a red aura. The trick is performing a burst just as the enemy strikes. If performed successfully, you’ll deal massive damage and leave your foe open to continued attacks. You get three Yokai (in the form of spirit animals) from the jump and each has its own Yokai Burst window. Try them all out and see which one you like best.

Stronger foes drop Soul Cores, which you can use to perform special Yokai attacks. Soul Core attacks correspond to the enemy that drops them. For example, an ape-like creature you fight early on gives you the ability to fling a spear at enemies. Upon getting a Soul Core, it’s best to get to the nearest shrine to purify it. Should you die in transit, you’ll lose the Soul Core unless you’re able to retrieve your Guardian Grave. You can fuse Soul Cores of the same type to make them stronger. Try to collect as many cores as you can and experiment with their abilities.

The Dark Realm

Early in the game, you’ll find an area enveloped in Yokai energy. This Dark Realm presents a unique challenge for the player. For starters, one’s stamina regeneration is severely hampered. Enemies are tougher, and you cannot access any Shrines within. It is also possible for yokai to drag you into the Dark Realm.

The only way to escape the Dark Realm is defeating the yokai that dragged you in or the one who rules the area. If you see a yokai surrounded by red flowers, that’s your target. But as I mentioned before, enemies here are no push-overs. Thankfully, you can use your own yokai abilities much more efficiently here. This serves as a way to even the odds against the deadlier foes you’ll encounter.

Visit Shrines

Shrines are safe havens from the hellish world around you. They provide a number of useful functions, including replenishing your items, restoring your health, and acting as a respawn point. You can also use amrita (obtained from killing enemies) at Shrines to level up your character’s core attributes, receive blessings from Kodama spirits, and summon players to help you. The main drawback of using Shrines is that doing so resurrects all regular enemies you’ve defeated. This isn’t a bad thing, as we’ll see in the next tip.

Grind on

You will die and die often. Thankfully, you can use the game’s own systems to your advantage. Specifically, the aforementioned Shrines.

Since enemies return whenever you use a Shrine, you can repeatedly fight them and grind for amrita. Do this long enough and you’ll amass plenty of amrita for leveling. While this may sound like cheating, it’s a perfectly viable option to help you move forward to the next Shrine and grind spot. Yes, fighting the same foes over and over again can get tiresome, but the results speak for themselves. Want to stay alive longer? Get used to grinding.

Skill tree

Nioh 2 features a robust skill tree. At a glance, it is easy to get overwhelmed by all the options available. The best approach is to decide what kind of character you want to build early on. Do you want to face foes with katanas and spears or do you want to attack using deadly magic? The choice is yours. You’ll eventually get to completely respec your character if you feel you’ve gone down the wrong path. This is great, but don’t become over-reliant on respec-ing since it costs 10,000 gold each time. You’ll gain a lot of experience points, especially if you level grind early on. If you do things correctly, you’ll have created a truly formidable demon slayer.

Share the suffering

You don’t have to face the terrors before you alone. You can call for help two different ways. One is by resurrecting NPC allies at blue Benevolent Graves. Using ochoko cups, you can also call in up to two other players at Shrines. The NPC mostly serves as a distraction that keeps enemies from focusing all their aggression on you. Player-controlled characters are much more useful since they’re actual people. Allies remain at your side until either you or they die.

Bloody Graves are the opposite of Benevolent Graves. By interacting with these red markers, you’ll summon a formidable opponent. What’s the advantage of taking on a spirit that’s potentially harder than a boss? The sweet loot they drop. Stronger weapons and better armor are always good to have. With that said, it’s best to tread carefully when interacting with Bloody Graves. After all, you may lose hours of hard work if you fall in battle.

Alan Yang is a funny guy.  He has written and directed some of the funniest episodes for hit comedy series like Parks and Recreation and The Good Place. He also co-created the award-winning comedy, Master of None, winning both a Peabody and Emmy for his work on the acclaimed series.  Now, Yang is about to […]

It’s still weird that Disney owns The Simpsons. It will probably always be weird. But despite the studio change, the show is still in the same hands: those of Al Jean, one of the original writers who served as co-showrunner for the series’ iconic third and fourth seasons. After leaving the show for five seasons to create The Critic, he returned to The Simpsons as a writer in 1998 and became showrunner again in 2001, and has held that position since.

Most recently, Jean had his hands in the first special project featuring Springfield, USA to be produced by Disney. The Maggie Simpson-centric short “Playdate With Destiny,” which premiered in theaters before Onward, is coming to Disney+. Nerdist got a chance to talk to Jean about the short before its debut on the site, along with how things will (or won’t) change for The Simpsons under Disney, living up to the series’ legacy, old fans versus new, and more.

Hit Fix

Was this the first Simpsons project you’ve done for Disney?

Al Jean: Yes, but the origin was that it was an episode we didn’t air two years ago by Tom Gammill and Max Pross. Jim Brooks said, “Hey this would be a great short if we just lifted it from the episode.” So we were working on it and then got bought by Disney.

We showed it to them and they really loved it. They thought it’d be perfect to put in front of one of their movies. Obviously our first wish was Pixar, and we were thrilled they put it in front of Onward, which I think is a great film. Of course, the opening “Walt Disney Welcomes The Simpsons” was added, but [the short] was actually in the works two years ago. And the episode it was taken from, which is now a sequel episode with Hudson the Baby, is going to air April 19th.

What was your favorite part of the short?

AJ: I pitched the scene where you see the babies on the beach at Santorini. My wife is Greek-American, so I thought it was a really beautiful shot. And I’m glad it became a publicity still for the short. And I love the ending. I don’t want to give it away, but the little twist ending is great.

Did you have to make any changes to the actual story itself since it was going to air before a Disney movie?

AJ: Nope, none. It was the same as it was. It’s funny; a couple reviews said, “They Disney-fied the show.” It was exactly the same even before we knew we were owned by Disney. The opening joke and the Mickey at the end were put in. But the basic short? No.

Disney

Has Disney talked to you about how the show might change under their banner? Or do they just want you to keep doing what you’re doing?

AJ: The latter. They just say, “Do what you do, there’s a place for you here.” I know The Simpsons is doing very well on Disney+. They want the show to have the same edge. We had the Mark of the Beast in the Halloween show and it was Mickey Mouse’s head, so they’ve been great.

Have you found that you’re finding a whole new generation of fans because it’s on Disney+?

AJ: Some, and I think we’ll get some because of the short. Because I think it does appeal to the very youngest. And I’m thrilled that we’re on it. It was great, and of course during these terrible times it’s going to be seen even more. So we’re very, very thrilled we’re on Disney+. And very, very excited the short did get a theatrical release in front of a Pixar movie.

I read that you like to watch old episodes. Have you found yourself going back and watching them because the show is on there now?

AJ: To be honest I’m still working on the show. We do it via Zoom. It’s intense, and I’m very glad and lucky to be working, so that’s enough Simpsons for the day. [Laughs] Doing the work. Some day I’ll go back and look at everything.

How do you make sure you’re not redoing ideas you did 20 years ago?

AJ: I’ll put it like this: “We never repeat ourselves. We never repeat ourselves.” [Laughs] The truth is we do at least “rhyme” with previous episodes—intentionally, in the sense that if it’s a Homer and Lisa episode, there’s going to be some notes that are the same, because it’s a great relationship. But we’re looking at how they bond in today’s world. So we had a recent episode where they were bonding in a Halloween episode, which was great, just as we had them bonding like they did in the “Moaning Lisa” episode years ago.

Do you ever think about what it would take for you to actually say, “You know what, maybe it’s time for the show to end”?

AJ: Well, it wouldn’t be my call. In no way would it be my call. And we’re just a little tiny part of the world. But the way that times are, suppose I had said six months ago, “Oh maybe we’re running close to the end.” I’m glad we kept going. I’m glad we’re still doing it. I would miss it if were gone right now, even if I wasn’t still working there.

Disney

I think the first eight seasons are the best television show ever. Do you find that older fans like me, who got away from the series over the years, are coming back to it now that all the episodes are on Disney+?

AJ: I’ve heard every sort of thing. I’ve heard what you said quite a bit. And I’ve heard people younger than you who say the best years are seasons one to 16. Or another date, probably depending on when the person went to college. I’ve heard people say they came back to them and liked them. And some have said they came back to them and didn’t like them.

It’s very hard for me to be objective. I just know we work as hard and try as hard. And everyone cares about it as much as we did on season one. I will point out we did win the Emmy last year for Outstanding Animated Program. So I would say that if the standards of The Simpsons have declined, so have the standards of the Emmys.

The one remark I don’t pay much attention to is people who go, “It sucks, I haven’t seen it in years.” I say, “How do you know?” When I was, say, ten, for me to enjoy something that was 30 years old, it would be a Mickey Mouse cartoon from World War II. Thirty years is a long time, but [The Simpsons] definitely seems to be evergreen. The thing I do know is if you have kids and you show them The Simpsons, they get into it right away. To them it’s new and to them it’s fresh. Like I said, I know it’s doing quite well on Disney+, and a lot of that is a new audience.

Now that you are under the Disney umbrella, what opportunities does that provide you and the show that maybe you wouldn’t have had before?

AJ: It’s a weird time to discuss it, but Disney has so many avenues where you can do things. We have done an amusement park ride. But to be able to do something with, say, Hong Kong Disneyland would be fantastic. To do a feature, or to have Disney Animation do a feature with us, or another short. There’s so much that they do and so many great things that they have, and Disney+ is certainly one of them. We had just started getting into it and talking about it when [the COVID-19 pandemic] hit, and I have no doubts when things are up and running there will be a lot of different stuff we can do with it.

Lots of old shows are coming back. Any chance we could ever see more of The Critic?

AJ: I would like to. I can’t say for sure that it would happen. It would be great to see how Jon Lovitz’s character would be in today’s world. And I think he would be very interested. So, it’s definitely not a no. I would love it.

Sony

You’ve worked on The Simpsons for so long and in different eras, but there are a lot of people who think the two seasons you ran were the best seasons of television ever. How do you continue to make episodes decades later when that’s the standard some people are holding you to?

AJ: It’s kind of you to say that about those years. I was there, and nobody at the time thought we were living through this golden age. What happened was, when I saw the first episode, the Christmas show [“Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire”] that I worked on and put together, I thought, “Oh my God, this is the best thing I’ve ever worked on.” Then [The Simpsons] became such a big hit. So when we took over, I was terrified. I thought, “I don’t want to let people down and ruin this thing that everyone loves.”

Season four, a lot of the original writers’ deals were up. As they deserved, they got really good offers from other places. We were terrified season four was gonna be a disaster, and we hired this new guy Conan O’Brien. And he was great, and we did the best we could. Now I do hear sometimes people say season four of The Simpsons is one of the greatest seasons of anything ever. And I’m amazed having been there at the time. If you told me that while we were pitching it out I would have said, “No. You’re nuts.”

Do you feel any pressure from that as you work on the show now? Or does it not have any influence on you?

AJ: I always try to remember the roots of the show, the characters and their relationships. We just did an episode that I co-wrote called “Better Off Ned.” It was trying to hearken back to the way the show originated. But in terms of how we work on it, I just would say we always approach it the same as we always have. I’m not more daunted than I ever was. Which was quite a bit, in that I always wanted it to be good and I always wanted it to be the best. To me, I’d say it’s less season four than just trying to uphold the fans’ appreciation for it from season one. We just didn’t want to let anyone down.

Featured Image: Disney

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