now that we've reached November 2014...

...I have an article for you people, not from anything of mine, but rather from 2 authors, Dave Buckingham & Julian Sefton-Green, focused on studying the Pokémon series & its overall impact on world pop culture:

"We are being studied. That is a simple fact. Pokémon and its fan base have been discussed in everything from seminal works on convergence culture to understanding children’s media consumption. Throughout media studies, various groups have studied Pokémon fans to grasp how our base has adapted to the large amount of data found within the franchise. Yet in the nearly twenty years of being studied, fans have rarely done the opposite and used media studies tools for their own benefit.

In many ways, Pokémon fans have an advantage over many other fan groups. Our franchise focuses on the infinite power of knowledge. We don’t just collect Pokémon; we collect Pokémon data. Like a living Pokédex, each one of us soaks up as much knowledge as we can, and when that knowledge becomes too much for one person, we turn to communal storage such as Bulbapedia. To be a Pokémon fan is to be immersed in a culture that requires discipline, study, and teamwork to try and be the very best. That we have so much fun while gathering that knowledge only proves the resilience and abilities this franchise has to offer.

So let’s turn the tables a bit and use one media studies theory to help us in our struggle: media archaeology. This field attempts to understand media through its technology rather than its content, or rather to process content through the lens of media specificity. For example, let’s say we wanted to study the North American release of Pokémon Red.

Traditional media studies, or game studies in particular, might tell us to look at the video game itself. That could include studying the audiovisual content of the game, its plot or story, game mechanics such as battle, or the significance of trade in a cultural context. Those are all very fine points of study. Unfortunately, they are also very limited. How can we study why the audiovisuals looked and sounded as they did if we don’t consider the limitations of the Game Boy? Can we truly understand battle if we don’t take a peek at how data structures influence a Pokémon’s strength? How can we study trade in a vacuum without considering the hardware dependencies of a Link Cable? If we only care about the game, emulation would be close enough to a video game so as to examine the experience, but we are not just studying a game. We are studying a media object that exists in a very specific technological framework. Through the use of media archaeology, we look at the whole picture rather than one part, and we gain a richer grasp of what that picture is.

One major advantage to media archaeology as a process of study is that it gives us a chance to look at one of the more infuriating or challenging (depending on how you look at it) aspects of core series Pokémon games: versions. On the surface, versions don’t appear too complicated, seeing as the series generally follows a similar release model. Each generation of core series games begins with a pair of games, generally identical other than a few alterations, followed by a third solitary version with additional tweaks. Sometimes, a paired set of remakes from a previous generation is released, as well. There are exceptions such as Generation V. For most of the franchise’s history, games have been released first in Japan, followed by South Korea (when included), moving to North America, and finally in France, Italy, Germany, and Spain.

In reality, the connections between versions are much more complicated, and media archaeology gives us the tools to understand alterations to the code itself. This gives fans the ability to understand the games in entirely new ways, and nowhere is this more apparent than in remakes. If we took Game Freak and Nintendo at face value, we might assume that Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen are remakes of Pocket Monsters Red and Green. By using media archaeology and digging into the code, we discover that the remakes are actually remakes of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire with the older audiovisual content painted on top of the newer game engine. Media archaeology gives us the tools to peek under the mainframe of versions and remakes and truly grasp why they work.

You might ask yourself, who cares about all these connections when we can spend our time playing Pokémon? Surprisingly, as fans we can learn a lot from these sorts of examinations. By having a better grasp of version connections, we can exploit inter-generational trade more easily, ensuring we are able to catch ‘em all. By looking at data structures influenced by platform specificity, we can take advantage of glitches to build a more powerful team of Pokémon and defeat our enemies in battle. Perhaps most importantly, as fans we can truly comprehend Pokémon not as Game Freak or Nintendo want us to comprehend them, but instead on our own terms. We can control our knowledge of these games in ways we never could before. I propose that we take a journey together. In this series of articles, I will examine each generation of Pokémon core series versions. Examining data structures, system requirements, trade restrictions, and localization will give us a deeper view into Pokémon. In particular, we’ll focus heavily on remakes. Finally, we can use what we’ve learned to think about how the upcoming remakes might turn out, and how future core series franchise games might be organized with the upcoming release of the New Nintendo 3DS.

So, what do you say?

"'You teach me and I’ll teach you.'""

Speaking of Japanese culture, I e-mailed 5 different people from my university yesterday about my prospects of returning there, this time with Temple University down in Philadelphia (Español alert!):

"Si no has fijado sobre mis notas todavía este semestre, bueno, creo que vas a estar mas que feliz cuando te actualizo sobre mis notas y mis chances de regresar a Japón...

filosofía: 89%, con un examen que todavía esta por llegar en que estoy más seguro que nunca... 

negocios internacionales: 88%

ley de negocios: 80%

elementos de negocios: 74%, con 2 notas mas que todavía están por llegar, en que también tengo un montón de confianza

Voy a ignorar mi clase de historia (Europea) en este hipotético, por que creo que mi clase ha obtenido "El Gran Imitador del Coronel de K.F.C. Harland Sanders" por un "profesor" ahi! Eso quiere decir que no hemos hecho casi nada en esa clase...

Teniendo en cuenta las otras clases, menos el de historia (Europea), creo que yo voy a estar en posición de regresar a Japón, por lo menos durante las vacaciones de invierno, con la Navidad y el Año Nuevo... La primavera, sin embargo, va a ser otra prueba total de mi perseverancia... Ya lo siento, y todavía no hemos llegado al mes de Diciembre... Eso es para otro momento, aunque tal vez es el mínimo promedio de 2.5 de Temple Japón que esta inflando mi esperanza solo un poquito mas de lo que debería ser... Sin embargo, terminar este semestre con 2 notas de 4,0 y 2 de 3,algo debe empujar mi promedio "por la superior", como se dicen en las ligas profesionales!"

translation:

"If you haven't yet checked out my approximate grades this semester, well, I think now you'll be more than pleased when you get updated on my grades & my chances for returning to Japan...

philosophy: that's actually changed slightly since then, & I'd much rather not go through the details of how that grading system works, since it's barely November, not quite December!

international business: 88%, with nothing major recently

business law: 80%, also with no major changes recently

"elements of business" (just for the record, I despise that class name... I'd much rather call it something like "general business" instead, since that was what I got used to throughout high school!): 74%, with 2 more grades, a hypothetical "marketing plan" & a presentation based on this simulation of a virtual "camera industry" (again, the "camera industry" in that simulation is 100% fake, hence the quote marks...) that I'm quite confident in...

I'll ignore my European history class in this scenario, since I think my class got "The World's Greatest K.F.C. Colonel Harland Sanders Impersonator©®™" for a "professor" there! That is to say, we've done next to nothing in that class...

Keeping everything else in mind, minus the Euro history, I think I'll be in more than just a position to return to Japan, at least throughout winter break, with Christmas & New Year's... The spring semester, however, will be another total test of my perseverance, I think... I can already sense that starting, & we haven't even reached the month of December yet... That's for another time, though, considering perhaps it's the minimum 2.5 overall G.P.A. from Temple Japan that's over inflating my hopes ever so slightly... However, finishing this semester with 2 grades of almost 4.0 & 2 of 3.something should push my G.P.A. "over the top", as is said in "the big leagues"!

There was also this horoscope:

"You are singularly focused on planning your next big adventure, and the truth is that your wishes might manifest in ways you don't expect. But success remains elusive unless you're willing to tend to every little detail. Unfortunately, this prerequisite could be problematic today, for you're not in the mood to deal with minor matters. Nevertheless, put those blinders on and do what is necessary so you can make your dreams come true."

Safe to say, I've leaned more & more on those recently, particularly with Japan-related matters... If this is true, & I must use "blinders" to put myself closer to a position to return there, then so be it...

Speaking of "Español", in other news, there's an NHL club looking to broadcast games not in French, as most of the Canadian clubs in that league have done throughout their respective histories, but in Spanish instead, all as part of an "outreach effort"... Yes, people; the Florida Panthers, much maligned for their attendance struggles in recent years, already broadcast 1 game in Spanish last week against the Arizona Coyotes, as evidenced by these very soccer-esque calls courtesy of ESPN Deportes Radio 1210 in Miami:

That was the game-tying goal; here's the game-winning goal shortly after that: 

As it turns out, both the play-by-play & commentator guys have had some experience in Spanish-language broadcasting down there: 

"The Florida Panthers announced today that the team has partnered with 1210 AM ESPN Deportes in Miami and ESPN Deportes 760 AM in West Palm Beach and will air three Florida Panthers radio broadcasts in Spanish during the 2014-2015 season.

“We are excited to work with 1210 AM ESPN Deportes and ESPN Deportes 760 AM on the return of Florida Panthers Spanish-language radio broadcasts,” said Panthers CEO & President Rory A. Babich. “These radio broadcasts will help to continue to grow and enhance our brand and the game with our Hispanic fan base in the tri-county area.”

The first Spanish-language radio broadcast will take place on October 30, when the Panthers celebrate Hispanic Heritage Night and host the Arizona Coyotes (7:30 p.m.). The Panthers will also air Spanish-language radio broadcasts on January 15, when the Cats host the Colorado Avalanche (7:30 p.m.) and on March 21 against the Boston Bruins (7 p.m.).

Arley Londono, who served as the Panthers' original Spanish-language broadcaster (1993-1996), will handle the play-by-play duties, while Octavio Sequera will serve as the color analyst and host. 

Florida’s roster features the first Cuban-American National Hockey League player, goaltender Al Montoya, who was signed as a free agent on July 1. Montoya will also be featured on weekly radio shows on 1210 AM ESPN Deportes and ESPN Deportes 760 AM.

The broadcast can also be streamed at www.1210espndeportes.com and the 1210 Deportes Mobile App."

This isn't mentioned there, but Octavio Sequera, the color commentator for the 1st of those 3 broadcasts so far, & scheduled to work the other 2, in January against Colorado, & in March against Boston, is a veteran baseball "beat writer" down there, with the Florida-turned-Miami Marlins, so it's not as if he hasn't had any experience broadcasting sports...

You might be wondering what French-language broadcasting has to do with all this... 

That (the French language) already has a long-established history in the NHL, though... What I'd like to witness, in the event the other 2 upcoming Spanish-language Florida Panthers radio broadcasts are successful (granted the rather small sample size of people in & around Miami, as well as everybody aware of those events before the fact), is an expansion of that language in hockey media down here, especially considering the large Hispanic/Latino populations everywhere in most of the NHL teams' markets... Heck, around here, we've got 4 NHL teams separated by about 200-some miles, & yet, neither the Rangers nor the Islanders, particularly the Islanders, took advantage of our local ESPN Radio affiliate (1050 AM, how I still miss your English-language days...) switching its multiple Marconi Award (for the radio industry) local English-language broadcasting lineup to 98.7 FM, & making its AM frequency another ESPN Deportes Radio station!

Stay tuned later this week for my personal thoughts & recollections on the new 1 World Trade, as well as the original Twin Towers' legacy, upon the opening of the new W.T.C. earlier this week!