My favorite salt is coursely ground sea salt. The larger granules make it taste much more potent than normal table salt while actually having less sodium.
Many foodies will insist on pink Himalayan sea salt, but don't be fooled--there is nothing nutritionally or texturely different from pink Himalayan and other sea salts. The pink coloring is due to mineral impurities, and what is essentially a marketing ploy to imply its better / "prettier" than normal sea salt drives its price higher.
I'm a cook and honestly most salt isn't very different. Table salt is lower grade than most and shouldn't be used for cooking, but all the other fancy salts react with the food the same way.
Of the decorative salts all have their place I find the charcoal black salts to be particularly striking in garnishing dishes.
I enjoy online MTG way more than in real life. It attracted some very loud, angry, fragile men. When I was collecting and playing I moved to 3 different cities and the results were always the same. I didn't like going to events because these guys dominated everything by shouting and being generally creepy. I think the moment I quit playing was when I played a card this other guy didn't like. He started screaming (in the middle of a college cafeteria) about how OP'd the card was and was literally spitting on my cards while doing so. After he calmed down he proclaimed that the elf on the card was at least very f#$*-able.
Long story short, the MtG crowd isn't exactly pleasant from my personal experience.
Nr.5: „On your note that card art isn't just a product on the company.. it really is."
No. It isn't
I'm currently studying Graphic Desing. One of the first Things they tell you is, that the Works that you produce for Agencies/Companies/etc. are an extremely Important Part of your Portfolio. You need a Portfolio to be able to apply for a Job as Designer/Artist. Yes, you can't sell those Pieces (usually), but you are more than allowed to show these publically and promote yourself that Way. A great Example for this is ArtStation. There you can find a lot of Concept Art, 3D, etc. You can even find official Artwork on there, like from HS.
And also, if the Card Art does not belong to the Artist, then why do they get Credit for it on the Cards themselves?
You are credited and have some ownership (depending on contracts) of your own work, but you have absolutely no control of what the company does with it unless you specify that in your contract. Most artists can't make this demand as they need a lot of leverage to pull it off.
But you're missing the point of ownership in this case. MtG commissioned the piece, they have paid for it. What they do or do not do with it at that point is up to them. It is their product. If you want to show it independently go ahead, but it was created for the customer. They can't make you stop showing it but they sure as hell can pull it from their product line.
Ok, let's have a talk about what is and isn't censorship. Censorship on a government level and corporate level are two different things.
Government Censorship: In the US true censorship (IE removal and destruction of something) is reserved for what is only dangerous. This includes things like instructions on how to make weapons, art that promotes violence, and incendiary statements that can cause harm. The ol' 'shouting fire in an empty theater' example. This should almost never be done except with damn good reason.
There's another level here about limiting access, but not censoring. Think the rating system on movies, FCC control of airways, and limiting age limits on access to material such as pornography. This isn't censorship, but instead acting in the public's best interest. The extent of the restrictions and government controls are highly debatable.
Now let's move on to what we're actually talking about, corporate censorship. There are government regulations that are generally covered above, but mostly it's up to a business to decide what it displays and how it represents itself. They are then responsible for whatever comes of what they've produced. So if I have my card game called and made a card, "THE KKK is A-OKAY" then I'm responsible for the demonstrations, loss of funding, and boycotting that results. I am also fully allowed to rescind and apologize for the card. This isn't censorship in the way you are portraying it, it is a business decision.
They can also control what people do with their product. This means they are fully able to monitor forums and censor as needed to keep things in their age bracket. They can create specific forums and move your posts around or remove posts and problematic posters. Is this censorship? By your definition it is. They can also use the legal system to go after people who use their intellectual property in damaging ways. Most companies encourage fan art, but they will also shut down companies that benefit of unlicensed use of their content. They can also petition to have fan art that they feel is harmful to their brand removed. Example: Blizzard is constantly chasing down Overwatch porn.
Let's talk about the way Blizzard 'censored'. They evaluated past card art and decided they felt it was excluding or offensive toward potential clientele. They also changed art to accommodate different government censor rules, especially that of China. I stopped buying from Blizzard because I felt that their decision to go after Hong Kong protesters was an ethical violation of human rights. I feel like instead of choosing a path for their clients, they bent the knee for fear of Chinese retribution.
Sometimes these decisions are based on actual ethics, I know this is crazy. You go back and look at your past work and apologize and remove it even without a protest. You can feel like this left a bad taste in your mouth and your employees aren't proud of it and remove it. Times like these can make you really look at your old work and decide it's not up to par. That's what MtG has done here. Some think it's pandering, but time will tell on that. The art style over the last few years has been a lot more inclusive and had more types of human races depicted which is great.
On your note that card art isn't just a product on the company... it really is. They are commissioned and paid for. That's the way the gig works. Some contracts allow the artist to have some use of the image but generally after being paid for the submitted work in now way belongs to the artist. If someone buys your painting and takes it home you have no say in if they display it in the living room or burn it in the fireplace.
Actually they have made a lot of effort in the art to make the actual skin tones of humanoids not tied to the color of mana. They started including a lot more people of color in white and less dark skin tones in black. This was a response to years of people pointing out that all the good characters were white (in skin tone, not just thematically).
So barely racist is good enough for you? And yes they did. I know your school glanced it over but look up the Redemption movement in American history. The movement that laid the groundwork for the KKK and other racist groups to seize power. "Cleansing the Black Scourge" is literally a rallying cry of the times.
And don't tell me a hooded figure in a card called 'Invoke Prejudice' isn't exactly what it's meant to be. These cards aren't randomly assigned art, this wasn't a mistake.
Historic connotation of cleansing in the South. The 'Redemption' movement in the American South was a Reconstruction era ideal to remove Black voices and rights so that the white people could take their 'rightful and ordained place' on the top. There was a large push to 'cleanse' the politics and policies, IE remove all Black representation and eliminate (Lynching) Black leaders. Although many have forgotten this movement (note taught it schools like it should be) it's effects remain throughout America and the Black community still knows and shares the stories of being 'Cleansed' and the South being 'Redeemed'.
Oh for God's sake, it's not censoring. It was a representation of their companies products and they decided they didn't want it to be. By your definition painting over swastikas in a bathroom stall is censorship and wrong.
Most MtG news.... 1-4 comments. MtG announces it's banning cards with problematic art or names: Deluge of complaints. Ok, these are mostly 30 year old cards that no one plays. This is like when Disney went back and said, "Song of the South... not really something anyone is itching to watch but we should acknowledge there are problems here."
None of these are popular cards or ones that I've seen played. Crusade was a good beginner card when I started for people learning the ropes. So what's wrong with taking this moment of social movement to acknowledge mistakes of the past? For the people that own the cards... congrats this actually increased their value. You weren't playing them anyway and now the odd social context makes them relevant to collectors.
WotC have been dealing with a diversity problem. This is something they acknowledged. So while working on that they have found some immediate items they can address. If these bans are the only action they take then it's an empty piece of lip service. If they continue to pursue the issues our times have brought up they'll be a better company for it and perhaps find a new and more diverse player base.
To those defending the cards... what are you defending? A tortured black slave? KKK imagery? Real life racial slurs? How many of these cards do you own, do you play with? What sort of fragility are you operating on that banning things you never heard of in a game you don't play creates anger toward a company you don't support?
Cleanse- I dunno honestly. The art is tiny, wondering if it's something in there that's racist. *Update: Cleaning the Black Scourge was part of the Redemption movement of racist white Southerners and the KKK.
Stone-Throwing Devils- Racial Slur
Pradesh Gypsies- Racial Slur
Jihad- Real life religious term and problematic art
Listen, as someone who's been saved by a rescue dog this is exactly how it works. The rescue dog dug me out of the snow, I prepared the forbidden circle and produced my knife. After drinking his blood I used his body like a sled to slide to freedom. And I did in fact feel indestructible.
Take out a key card from an opponents deck. The zombie is also not guaranteed. You could just remove the cards from their graveyard and library without creating the tokens.
Masticore is honestly not a great card in my opinion. Artifact, good stats, and an effect that absolutely squashes Plainswalkers. I think it's one of those cards that are really going to limit competitive decks and be in most side boards. Only time I don't think you would run this in at least the sideboard is for pure aggro.
Sits on the loader for about 5 minutes for me. Also about every week or two it 'patches' but it re-downloads the entire game for the patch. I don't know if it's the most inefficient patches ever if it's a bug.
I'm a cook and honestly most salt isn't very different. Table salt is lower grade than most and shouldn't be used for cooking, but all the other fancy salts react with the food the same way.
Of the decorative salts all have their place I find the charcoal black salts to be particularly striking in garnishing dishes.
Dildos and Dangers
I enjoy online MTG way more than in real life. It attracted some very loud, angry, fragile men. When I was collecting and playing I moved to 3 different cities and the results were always the same. I didn't like going to events because these guys dominated everything by shouting and being generally creepy. I think the moment I quit playing was when I played a card this other guy didn't like. He started screaming (in the middle of a college cafeteria) about how OP'd the card was and was literally spitting on my cards while doing so. After he calmed down he proclaimed that the elf on the card was at least very f#$*-able.
Long story short, the MtG crowd isn't exactly pleasant from my personal experience.
You are credited and have some ownership (depending on contracts) of your own work, but you have absolutely no control of what the company does with it unless you specify that in your contract. Most artists can't make this demand as they need a lot of leverage to pull it off.
But you're missing the point of ownership in this case. MtG commissioned the piece, they have paid for it. What they do or do not do with it at that point is up to them. It is their product. If you want to show it independently go ahead, but it was created for the customer. They can't make you stop showing it but they sure as hell can pull it from their product line.
Ok, let's have a talk about what is and isn't censorship. Censorship on a government level and corporate level are two different things.
Government Censorship: In the US true censorship (IE removal and destruction of something) is reserved for what is only dangerous. This includes things like instructions on how to make weapons, art that promotes violence, and incendiary statements that can cause harm. The ol' 'shouting fire in an empty theater' example. This should almost never be done except with damn good reason.
There's another level here about limiting access, but not censoring. Think the rating system on movies, FCC control of airways, and limiting age limits on access to material such as pornography. This isn't censorship, but instead acting in the public's best interest. The extent of the restrictions and government controls are highly debatable.
Now let's move on to what we're actually talking about, corporate censorship. There are government regulations that are generally covered above, but mostly it's up to a business to decide what it displays and how it represents itself. They are then responsible for whatever comes of what they've produced. So if I have my card game called and made a card, "THE KKK is A-OKAY" then I'm responsible for the demonstrations, loss of funding, and boycotting that results. I am also fully allowed to rescind and apologize for the card. This isn't censorship in the way you are portraying it, it is a business decision.
They can also control what people do with their product. This means they are fully able to monitor forums and censor as needed to keep things in their age bracket. They can create specific forums and move your posts around or remove posts and problematic posters. Is this censorship? By your definition it is. They can also use the legal system to go after people who use their intellectual property in damaging ways. Most companies encourage fan art, but they will also shut down companies that benefit of unlicensed use of their content. They can also petition to have fan art that they feel is harmful to their brand removed. Example: Blizzard is constantly chasing down Overwatch porn.
Let's talk about the way Blizzard 'censored'. They evaluated past card art and decided they felt it was excluding or offensive toward potential clientele. They also changed art to accommodate different government censor rules, especially that of China. I stopped buying from Blizzard because I felt that their decision to go after Hong Kong protesters was an ethical violation of human rights. I feel like instead of choosing a path for their clients, they bent the knee for fear of Chinese retribution.
Sometimes these decisions are based on actual ethics, I know this is crazy. You go back and look at your past work and apologize and remove it even without a protest. You can feel like this left a bad taste in your mouth and your employees aren't proud of it and remove it. Times like these can make you really look at your old work and decide it's not up to par. That's what MtG has done here. Some think it's pandering, but time will tell on that. The art style over the last few years has been a lot more inclusive and had more types of human races depicted which is great.
On your note that card art isn't just a product on the company... it really is. They are commissioned and paid for. That's the way the gig works. Some contracts allow the artist to have some use of the image but generally after being paid for the submitted work in now way belongs to the artist. If someone buys your painting and takes it home you have no say in if they display it in the living room or burn it in the fireplace.
Actually they have made a lot of effort in the art to make the actual skin tones of humanoids not tied to the color of mana. They started including a lot more people of color in white and less dark skin tones in black. This was a response to years of people pointing out that all the good characters were white (in skin tone, not just thematically).
Weird, all those people who are so concerned with banning 30 year old cards for racism aren't interested in discussing new cards...
On topic...I'm liking the theme of Beefy Boi Garruk. Probably too slow for competition but it'll be fun to toy around with.
I love that mutt art. Adorable. I like that a new white theme seems to be "Look at these good boys! Their such good boys!"
I love the way the art and thematic mechanics of the card go together in Conspicious Snoop.
So barely racist is good enough for you? And yes they did. I know your school glanced it over but look up the Redemption movement in American history. The movement that laid the groundwork for the KKK and other racist groups to seize power. "Cleansing the Black Scourge" is literally a rallying cry of the times.
And don't tell me a hooded figure in a card called 'Invoke Prejudice' isn't exactly what it's meant to be. These cards aren't randomly assigned art, this wasn't a mistake.
Historic connotation of cleansing in the South. The 'Redemption' movement in the American South was a Reconstruction era ideal to remove Black voices and rights so that the white people could take their 'rightful and ordained place' on the top. There was a large push to 'cleanse' the politics and policies, IE remove all Black representation and eliminate (Lynching) Black leaders. Although many have forgotten this movement (note taught it schools like it should be) it's effects remain throughout America and the Black community still knows and shares the stories of being 'Cleansed' and the South being 'Redeemed'.
It's easy to say when you're skin tone isn't the color constantly associated with evil.
Oh for God's sake, it's not censoring. It was a representation of their companies products and they decided they didn't want it to be. By your definition painting over swastikas in a bathroom stall is censorship and wrong.
Most MtG news.... 1-4 comments. MtG announces it's banning cards with problematic art or names: Deluge of complaints. Ok, these are mostly 30 year old cards that no one plays. This is like when Disney went back and said, "Song of the South... not really something anyone is itching to watch but we should acknowledge there are problems here."
None of these are popular cards or ones that I've seen played. Crusade was a good beginner card when I started for people learning the ropes. So what's wrong with taking this moment of social movement to acknowledge mistakes of the past? For the people that own the cards... congrats this actually increased their value. You weren't playing them anyway and now the odd social context makes them relevant to collectors.
WotC have been dealing with a diversity problem. This is something they acknowledged. So while working on that they have found some immediate items they can address. If these bans are the only action they take then it's an empty piece of lip service. If they continue to pursue the issues our times have brought up they'll be a better company for it and perhaps find a new and more diverse player base.
To those defending the cards... what are you defending? A tortured black slave? KKK imagery? Real life racial slurs? How many of these cards do you own, do you play with? What sort of fragility are you operating on that banning things you never heard of in a game you don't play creates anger toward a company you don't support?
When your card game depicts the KKK...
Listen, as someone who's been saved by a rescue dog this is exactly how it works. The rescue dog dug me out of the snow, I prepared the forbidden circle and produced my knife. After drinking his blood I used his body like a sled to slide to freedom. And I did in fact feel indestructible.
I hate this card, such a poor design. Getting steamrolled after only having 3 turns isn't fun. It's way to much of a high-roll card.
Take out a key card from an opponents deck. The zombie is also not guaranteed. You could just remove the cards from their graveyard and library without creating the tokens.
Masticore is honestly not a great card in my opinion. Artifact, good stats, and an effect that absolutely squashes Plainswalkers. I think it's one of those cards that are really going to limit competitive decks and be in most side boards. Only time I don't think you would run this in at least the sideboard is for pure aggro.
Sits on the loader for about 5 minutes for me. Also about every week or two it 'patches' but it re-downloads the entire game for the patch. I don't know if it's the most inefficient patches ever if it's a bug.
If I wanted mass manipulation I would turn on Fox News. HEEEYOOOO!