The 'Shroom:Issue 150/Pipe Plaza

Director’s Notes
Written by:

Let's do this one last time. For real, this is the one.

Well, readers, I made it- despite the last year or so, it's time for me to head out. I hope you're prepared for an unforgettable leaving speech. I am pleased to announce that will be my successor, starting from Issue 151 onwards. While I'm sad to let this team go after 4, 5 years of being led by Englishmen, I'm confident in Zange's capabilities and I'm excited to see what she can do with Pipe Plaza.

Looking back to the end of 2017 when I was appointed as this role, I had no idea where I would take it or what heights or depths it would reach. I'm delighted to see Pipe Plaza being voted as the second favourite 'Shroom Team in this year's awards, and consistently presenting 8 teams for what felt like many many months was a pleasure. And this month is not just a celebration for the past 20 issues of my iron leadership, but also for a special milestone for the paper and community as a whole. So, we did it; we reached 150 issues, and still growing. The fact that we've reached this number without showing any signs of stopping is just phenomenal- I'm just amazed. Thank you all so much for supporting this paper and helping it grow, and I hope you take the time to go through all of the special projects we've put up today.

A special thank you goes out to Alex95, Superchao (and all of his interviewees), LudwigVon, Lakituthequick, Hooded Pitohui, Raregold, Yoshi876, GPM1000, and the Poll Committee for contributing to this team. You're the ones who make this page what it is and I'm truly grateful for that.

I'll be back. In what form, manner and date is up to me, but I'm not forgetting this team or community and I hope that the same could be said of the reverse. For one final time, enjoy the read. It's a small one today, but I know it's going to grow under its new monarch.

Section of the Month

Anniversary Announcements
Written by:

Good day dear folks, to the last Anniversary Announcements of the season! And a small one at that, only tournament information this month. The last Committee Interviews are below those though, check them out!

Tournaments
In the table below, you will find the last information about the remaining tournaments.

Committee Interviews
Welcome to Committee Interviews! In this part of Anniversary Announcements, I will do short interviews with the members of the Awards Committee, so you can get to know them a bit better! This month, the other two of our newest members: MsRetroGeek and Roserade!

Roserade
Again, it shows that being new to the Awards Committee is in no way a hindrance to performing well. People with varying backgrounds and interests are right at home here.

And with that we have reached the end of the season! I hope you enjoyed this run, and I hope to see you again, next year. Bye!

All information above was correct as of 2019-09-21. Sprite credits: Daniel Sidney, Jefelin, Tailikku (tSR)

Interview
Written by:

Hello, 'Shroom readers! September has killed your lovely Director dead. Rest in peace. Yet I come back from the grave to bring you an interview with Hooded Pitohui. Enjoy!

The Interview: maroon Hello, 'Shroom readers! Welcome to the interview, yet again one more time! Great to have you here, assuming you actually read this. maroon Anyhow, this time around I co-opted current Strategy Wing guy, Hooded Pitohui. navy Hello, hello. It's a pleasure to be joining you for this Interview. maroon So, let's start at the beginning. How'd you, personally, find the community? navy Ah, yes, that's a fine place to start, and I could easily recount the whole story in great detail, but, to keep it short, I was about seven or eight and on high speed Internet for the first time (we had dial-up at home), I tried to think of Nintendo things to look up on Google, ended up searching up "Gooper Blooper" because it was easy to spell, and I found the article on the Wiki and I was immediately hooked by just how much information there was. maroon How long ago was this? navy Why, I don't recall the exact month or anything that specific, but, given the timeframe, it would have been some twelve or eleven years ago, now. Of course, that's only when I discovered the Wiki. It was about another two or three years before I realized there was a whole community behind it when I found The 'Shroom and dove headfirst into watching the people and community behind the Wiki, behind The 'Shroom, and on the Boards. maroon I'm guessing that really changed your perspective on things, huh? When you had just originally thought it was an information resource. navy Oh, absolutely! It was such a moment when I realized that not only was this a collaborative project and I started looking into the Recent Changes and Userpages, but when I realized just how strong the sense of community is around here. This wasn't just a place built by some transient editors. There were people who cared about each other and worked on this project while being extremely close. The 'Shroom really helped in that regard. I think the first 'Shroom article I ever read was Edo's "World of Mushroom" in Fake Games, and, ah, let me tell you, that was a good place to start realizing the diversity of the community and how people could joke with each other. maroon And that's how you accidentally doomed yourself to (eventually) working on the 'Shroom someday, right? Right. navy And, yes, little did I know that those simple discoveries would lead me down such a long and winding road to be here today! maroon I... don't remember that one. I am the worst director!!! navy Issue 38 and 39, I believe, for when you want to go into the archives. maroon So, is the 'Shroom what really kept you around? navy You know, I think I'd say that The 'Shroom had a strong role in it, but, honestly, I'd have to give that credit to the people here more than any given project. Don't get me wrong in that regard. Awards Ceremonies become my favourite event of the year, and I religiously to this day read The 'Shroom cover to cover the day it comes out. But, really, I think much of my interest came from following the people here as closely as I could and keeping up with them because, even as an outsider, I felt like there was such a strong sense of community here that it was hard not to think of myself as a part of the community... though, hmm, that may not be the right phrasing. maroon Yeah, considering none of us knew you existed for a decade! navy But it became a part of my average day to check in on this place, and to get to know - from my perspective as best I could - the people here. navy Everything from reading Walkazo's fanfictions to laughing at forum threads to - and this one I prominently recall for some reason - watching this little new user named Goomba and then Mr. Game and Watch join on board, get used to the Wiki, start one of those talk page shops, then have to abandon it. navy I lost track of him for a long while, but then it was eventually you who told me it was the one and only LB I had watched enter the community once upon a time. maroon What made you want to watch from the sidelines rather than ever participate, though? navy That's a grand question, actually, and I wish I had an easy answer. I think, honestly speaking, it really comes down to fear and hesitation. Early on, I rationalized it off as "this Wiki stuff looks pretty serious, so I'll wait until I'm older," and that did make some sense, since I always thought back then that one day I'd join the Wiki and - because I really do enjoy all of that policy and bureaucracy and documentations - work my way up through the ranks to become a Bureaucrat one day. But that never really precluded me from joining the community in general or being on the forum. navy So, honestly, much of it comes down to me just not being willing to jump into new things without the right push, and, well, I didn't have that right mix of circumstances that let me overcome my apprehension until a certain Pokémon tourney came up, some other factors aligned, and I convinced Raregold to take the plunge with me. navy And then... I promptly did nothing but appear for the tournament for like two years. maroon Makes sense! And then if anything he was the more active one for a while there, wasn't he. maroon Yeeeep. navy But what pushed me forward after that was actually LB and the first Killing Game, here. navy Well, that and Mario's Boombox, I should say. navy One day, I just decided to look up Luigi's Mansion songs on YouTube, found this one called Something Strange by a fellow named Mandopony, and I fell down a rabbit hole of videogame-inspired music. navy And, let me tell you, I was so excited by the prospect that I could not only share these excellent songs and artists I was finding, but that I could bring back one of my favourite 'Shroom sections of all time to do it. navy So, I ultimately swallowed my fear and I applied for The 'Shroom. I don't know now why I was so incredibly nervous when I did it, but, ah, it turned out to be an excellent move. maroon It really, really did, that's for sure. navy So, being there to start my time with The 'Shroom and having such a good time watching the glorious mess which was 20 people trying to navigate a KG for the first time, I realized that getting in on the next KG would be a perfect way to start building up relationships in the community. maroon And was it? navy Well, ehehehe... no and yes. I sure came in and made a mess of things with my first KG. I can tell you I was absolutely mortified when I found out I had broken a rule by fullquoting my results. My heart felt as though it was going to jump out of my chest. But, ultimately, I moved on past that, and... maroon I remember I was really pushy about punishing you for that! Wild that our first real interaction was so negative navy Well, I have to admit, I think Raregold made the better impression and I often tagged along with him, but, soon after that, I was invited to a few Discord servers, and I started talking to people more, and I made some really close friends through that. maroon That's probably the weirdest part of it. You definitely started as the "afterthought" but sure aren't like that anymore. navy So, all in all, yes, 'Shroom KG did make for an excellent entryway into the community! And then I was able to redeem my game performance in Awards KG II, and since then, I've made numerous other connections in the community. navy Yeah, I still can't believe that was our first notable interaction. Funny how things work out, isn't it? I mentioned it to you a while back in conversation, but it's such a wild thought now to look back and realize I used to think of you as an intimidating user. navy That's certainly the furthest possible position from my opinion today! maroon I remember you telling me all that and me going "what the fuck". That was a ride and a half, for sure. maroon Awards KG 2 helped because now I permanently associate you with a bloodthirsty psychopath! navy I could go into a whole list of reasons why my decision to roleplay Pitohui in Awards KG II ranks among one of the best decisions I've ever made. I could never have told you back then how many things it would lead me to - I've really jumped into quite a few things because of that roleplay. navy And to think that it all started as a joke about a character's name and I only knew what I could gather on her from a cursory reading on TV Tropes and looking over what pictures I could find on Tumblr and GIS! maroon You have. Probably more than even I'd expect, huh? maroon So, would you say AKG2 was the real turning point? navy Yes, I'd say so. I didn't know how many different links that was going to end up connecting me with - which is why, I think, despite it not being a particularly groundbreaking series, AGGO in general and Pitohui in particular are always going to be on a bit of a pedestal for me. But, ah, speaking to your other question, I would certainly cite AKG2 as the event which really propelled me into the community in a way I had never joined it before. navy After AKG2, I was applying for 'Shroom Staff positions, running in the Director elections, joining PC and AC, making Awards presentations, and doing much more than I had even to that point. navy Raregold never lets me live down the fact that I applied for 'Shroom Staff and actually became a member of The 'Shroom Staff because, back when I was just pushing for him to join 'Shroom KG with me, I told him it would "probably be about seven years before I was on the Staff" navy And, well, I've done much more in a single year than I expected to accomplish in seven, and I have absolutely loved every moment of it. maroon >seven years maroon cannot even imagine you taking that long! maroon you're just too good at this navy Awwww, you make me blush! That's an overstatement of things, truly, but I appreciate your confidence. navy Thankfully, I have had an mentor par none, and everyone has been supportive and helpful in their one ways. navy There's many people here I owe a major debt of gratitude to, chief among them yourself and Rose, but including many others from all sectors of the community. maroon I've noticed you and Rose feel like an equal-level team of sorts, as opposed to me being more of your mentor type. navy That's something Rose and I have spoken about before, actually. And, ah, I don't want to speak for him, so I'll only speak from my experience here, but, I have found him an excellent colleague and friend to lean on for support and advice. He's reliable, level-headed, and observant to a great degree. I'm lucky to have had someone who has taken on more and more roles in the community at the same time as I have. We, if I might say so myself, make an effective team, and he's become someone I have absolute trust and faith in. There's few people I could have chosen who would have made as good a partner to host a KG, and I can only hope I've been as helpful to Rose as he's been to me. maroon We will be very afraid if you ever play in a KG together, that's for sure. navy Perch... we have to team up for a KG... you know that it is law. One day we must have the Monika and Pitohui dream team to reflect the partnership between myself and Rose. maroon alternatively it's the you/me/rose team maroon and nobody ever survives. navy A truly unstoppable team, we could be. Of course, we must ensure that you deliver the killing blow on Shoey. maroon look, if the last kg is any indication maroon it's going down like that whether i like it or not navy That is true, isn't it? Ah, accidental kills were one of the most frustrating pieces of hosting AKG3. They were so difficult to balance. Thankfully, that's one of the many things we're looking to fix for future games. There's always something to improve. maroon So, what draws you to the 'Shroom? navy What draws me to The 'Shroom...? Hmm? That's a fair question. That's not something I've had to really think about in a long while. It's become so much of a regular part of my life at this point that it's almost just habit, but I wouldn't stick with it if there wasn't something that drew me to it. navy I think... perhaps it's just the variety of interests and styles that are on display, along with the general sense of this being a volunteer-based community project. navy LTQ asked me what my favourite aspect of Awards is, and I focused on how astounding it is that people have come together year after year and put so much voluntary effort forth to keep a grandiose event going year after year. navy And, I think part of it is the same for The 'Shroom. It has grown from a simplistic collection of tiny articles filled with typos and cobbled together by a handful of young teens to a much more organized publication with a strong team of Staff and writers behind it and increase standards. navy Yet, as much as it has grown, it's never lost that sense of being, ultimately, a community project, Why do people write and read The 'Shroom? It's a community tradition and it's an enjoyable experience to contribute to it and see it come out with new content month after month. navy And, as for why I continue to write for it and I want to remain on the Staff as long as I reasonable can, well... navy I'd be lying if I denied that there's still not a little sense of childhood wonder in it all. The Mario Wiki and its community was easily my favorite website and one of my favourite places on the Internet through all of my childhood. To this day, there's still some times where I'm working on a 'Shroom project and I just step back and think navy "Look at that, I actually went and joined this community I admired for so long and now I'm productively contributing to it and I can give back to it all those things it gave to me for so long." navy And I know that's an odd view of things, but, ah, I was a young child and it calls back to that. It just feels good to be a part of something I admired so much through my youth. maroon Heheheh, I can't blame you. I've been there with things like that myself! maroon Any particular Shroom sights you have in your crosshairs in the future? navy Well, I've had plenty of plans made and shelved or put on the backburner just because I didn't realistically have time for them, but, for now, the biggest things I would like to do are continue with Mario's Boombox as long as I can, get Recap back off the ground because I've missed writing that section so badly, and, if possible, I think I'd like to revive a version of 876's Monthly Thoughts. As much as I read and collect BBC News articles, I feel like it would be a pretty decent Critic Corner section for me to tackle using somethings I already read regularly. maroon It's pretty crazy how much stuff you take on. And if anything, you're probably going to take on more! navy That's the plan, certainly. I'd like to contribute in as many areas as I can. I had to step away from the PC this year just because I knew I would be a little more crunched for time this year during the most important periods, but I plan to return to it next term! navy The only place I don't do much on is the Wiki itself, unfortunately. maroon Soon, you'll find something, and your reign will be perpetual navy Mayhaps! I used to think I'd get really involved on the Wiki, but between not having the time and there usually being someone better equipped to do it and faster in getting it done, there's just not much I find I can do. That said, I do get myself excited when I find something I can help out with, especially through Spotlight. navy I'm an avid collector of English language strategy guides, so I at least can sometimes fill in a missing reference or check a dubious claim against those. maroon I've never been able to identify why it feels so difficult to break into the wiki, just that it does. navy That's more or less my sentiment, too. There's areas I could help, I'm sure, but I've just never been able to find those long-term or large-scale projects to contribute to regularly that I have the passion and the means to contribute effectively. navy Clearly, you and I just need to take a month going through the Mario Golf games together so we can both kick each other into gear on that particular project. maroon Sounds like a genius plan to me maroon Speaking of Mario, though, do you have a favorite Mario game navy Ahhh... an excellent question. Hmm, there's a few which come to mind as potential favorites. Mario Supper Sluggers is always a good time, Super Mario World is a top-tier Mario platformer in my eyes, and Galaxy and Odyssey are great, too. Buuuut, if I had to pick a favorite... navy I'd say it's a toss-up between Sunshine and SMW2: Yoshi's Island navy Sunshine in part for the nostalgia factor, but also because I think it does the 3D Mario formula the best maroon Someone else who thinks that! Please, do go on. navy I like that its levels all manage to be focused - they don't leave you directionless like too many of the 64 levels do or suffer from having too many goals like Odyssey - while still being open for player-directed exploration. navy On top of that, there setting and characters really stand out, especially with the generic NSMB slump the series has been in lately navy Okay, so all the settings are fit into one tropical island, and most of the NPCs are only Nokis or Piantas, but every NPC in the game has personality you get to see develop by speaking with them over the course of an area's episodes navy It may not be much of a personality, but it's a personality nonetheless maroon That's one thing I always liked - the way that the Sunshine levels actually change somewhat over eight episodes. navy Yeah! Exactly! And the cohesiveness of the setting ends up actually making each area more unique and memorable. navy In any other game, a place like Noki Bay or Gelato Beach could be forgettable. They're standard water/cliff and beach levels, But in Sunshine? In Sunshine they make sense. They have a purpose. And it helps to flesh them out, too. maroon There's a reason I feel like people wanted Delfino DLC for Odyssey. navy Just the simple change of "here's a generic tropical beach" to having a fruit cabana and a juice bar (overlooking a coral reef) for the tourists, and to having a Watermelon festival sponsored by the juice bar, and the entire celebration of the Sandbird... it all comes together to give the setting some character, and I appreciate that. maroon What about... Mario games you don't like? Truly, blasphemy. navy Oh, a sideswipe of a question, eh? NSMBU and NSMB2 weren't bad, but they didn't impress me. I've just never been able to get into SM64 or its remake. Ultra Smash was a low point for the Mario Tennis series. And Sticker Star and Paper Jam are best described as mediocre... navy But I don't know if there's any that I would really say I disliked, exactly. navy I even liked Mario Pinball Land well enough. navy Honestly, though, my standards for enjoying media tend to not be that high. There's numerous games, shows, books, and the like which I would describe as being just okay without actually going so far as to say I disliked them. maroon SM64 is not that much of a surprise! Not even the first time the 'Shroom itself has dunked on that classic. navy It's rare that I actually walk away from a piece of media disliking it and feeling like I was worse off for having interfaced with it. Usually I find at least some positive to take away. maroon Have you disliked anything? navy In terms of the Mario series or more generally? Because if we're speaking more generally, then, yeah, there's plenty I've disliked. navy Though if we mean Mario specifically, I can't really think of any, no. Albeit, I haven't played some of the true "classics" like the CDi games or some of the more obscure titles. maroon More generally, yeah. To follow on what you said. navy Ah, yeah, then in that case, there's been plenty of it. I don't know why they immediately come to mind, but any number of movies which rely heavily on making "edgy" sexual or toilet related humour, for one thing. The first example which comes to mind is the movie Grown Ups" navy I think there's certainly a place for humour of that variety, and, when used within the context of a narrative which actually has other points to move the plot forward and other jokes to get humour from, it can actually be a good addition. navy But if that's the entire basis of whatever narrative you're trying to tell... well, then it's really just not an experience for me. I wouldn't say it's objectively bad, because there are people out there who like an abundance of it in their media, but it just isn't for me. navy Of course, there's really a fuzzy line in terms of what feels excessive, there. I feel like I've tried to articulate this point to some people before and they've taken it to mean I'm a prude who doesn't tolerate even a little innuendo. navy But that's not really the case at all. I welcome that kind of humour as long as it's clever, as long as it has a purpose. navy Besides those types of comedy movies and shows, there's been some books that just bored me enough I put them down, and there have been games I never ended up finishing, but, beyond that, there's not really anything I'd say I dislike. maroon Hmm! Interesting to hear. Thanks for sharing! navy If I'm not liking it, I tend to just put it down and move on to something else, you know? If I'm not really enjoying Ocarina of Time, I'm not going to take my time to force myself to keep playing it when I can move on to something else, to cite an example we discussed before. maroon And yeah, I've met an actual prude or two, and you're not it. maroon What about things not Mario that you are a huge fan of? navy Yeah, the way I see things is that people ought to enjoy what they enjoy, you know? Some things are going to be for me, and some things aren't. it's going to be true for everyone, and it's just a matter of respecting what different people like. navy Not everyone need consume the exact same media - what a boring world that would be! navy Ah, what else besides Mario...? navy Well, there's certainly the other franchise I was hooked on at an early age - Pokémon. I've been deeply entangled with that franchise since I was three. And, as I grew older, Mario and Pokémon springboarded me into Smash Bros navy Which then went on to spring me into about every other major Nintendo series, and even a number of non-Nintendo series! navy And, well, outside of Nintendo and videogames, well, there's quite a bit. I think Raregold could tell you well, but, as soon as I find a piece of media I enjoy, even if it's only a little interest, I just about never let go of it. navy But for some of the most prominent examples... navy I think, in the realm of videogames, I've also expanded into indie games in recent years, and I cannot recommend enough Baba Is You, as an example. navy And over the past year, I've expanded my horizons into the realm of anime, manga, and light novels. navy Raregold is probably completely sick hearing me talk about Alternative Gun Gale Online and the Spice and Wolf franchise now. maroon To think, the former only happened because of killing game... navy Indeed, indeed! It wasn't long ago that I ended up on Japanese Wikipedia with Google Translate just because I was desperate for information on the rest of the series. Sometimes you just have to look up and question what you're doing with your life navy And that was one of my moments, you know? And the answer - living it quite well and happily! maroon Heh heh heh. maroon So, more specificialy, anything you'd want to recommend to others? navy Oh, oh! You've done it now, you've opened the floodgates! I... I only half-kid, actually. I could be here all day recommending things, but I'll try to limit it to a few things for now. maroon Yeah, just stick to the really big ones! maroon Gotta have room for other stuff in the interview. navy I tend to prefer to tailor recommendations to an individual when possible. I may really like AGGO and Octopath Traveler, but I wouldn't recommend them for people who don't like action anime or standard JRPG fare. Anyhoooow... moving on to a few recommendations.... navy I would certainly recommend Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness as a too often overlooked gem, I would recommend Octopath Traveler as a great RPG experience on the Switch, same with Baba Is You as a top-tier puzzler. Undertale is pretty well known at this point, but worth a mention.... and in the anime realm navy Please everyone go right now and watch Kino's Journey (2017) (Sub) maroon Why am I not surprised you recommended that one? maroon Oh wait, because I know you well. navy I cannot tell you how gooooood that show is. I loved every moment of it and then the two penultimate episodes came and smacked me in the jaw and tore my heart out. navy And the whole show had a great philosophical undertone to it, an exploration of human nature that doesn't feel overbearing or pretentious. navy Though I will say you have to get about five episodes in before you really get to the show's core. navy If you just watch the first few episodes, you might think it an action show, and it does have action, but that's faaaaar from the focus. navy And I recommend the 2017 edition specifically because it involved the original author and his input made the show's structure just excellent. navy I could go on and on about the show, but I'll leave it off by telling people to talk to me if they want me to rant directly about it more. navy And eventually, when this awful September crunch clears up, maybe I'll finally get around to reviving my Ask Thread, too! maroon I want to go back in time and prevent the three skipped issues for the sole reason of not having to deal with Issue 150 in September because fucking christ goddamn. navy It's been awful, just absolutely awful. maroon At least whoever has to deal with Issue 200 in four years doesn't have this issue! navy I had such ambitious plans for this issue, but I've had to push all of them back because of university and just this month being really busy for personal reasons. maroon That's what December is for, clearly. navy I do plan to bring all the plans back to the forefront eventually, especially the big Recap special Raregold and I were going to write - though it will just be me, since I'm officially taking the section over in full for now (though... if anyone out there is interested in writing a section feature for Recap...) maroon Haha, yeah, you get big dreams and then things just put you in the backbreaker. maroon It feels like 'Shroom in recent years (post-SMB) has been "smaller pool of contributors but a more intense pool" at times? navy I think that's a fair way to characterize it. It may not have as many people contributing to it at one time, and it may not be going for as ambitious and broad a scope, but those have not in the slightest diminished its quality. maroon Heh, that's true. maroon No attempts to get interviews with Grant Kirkhope here! navy You get a smaller number of contributors who put a great deal of effort into the work they do. I mean, just look at lengthy and polished sections like Half-Baked Reviews or Mach Speed Mayhem. Those are two sections which never disappoint - it's consistent quality navy And then on the other end, you have a small section like TV Tomorrow which still manages to deliver some quality jokes and has a writer who has been at it every month for, what, three years now? Or has Quizmelon been around longer? maroon Speaking of, go vote for Mach Speed Mayhem! navy Always vote in MSM and read Strategy Wing! navy Actually, come write for Strategy Wing! maroon Direct Strategy Wing! maroon Wait, that one might be a bit tough. navy Yeah, might be a bit harder to pull that off. navy It's okay, though! I'll be glad to help anyone with Directing aspirations on their way, if they're willing to learn! One day someone else will have to take over, after all. Hopefully not for a long while, though! maroon Of course not. You have to be there when I finish MSM so I can give you the title of Captain 'Shroom. navy I fully plan here to the end of MSM, even after it gets extended for a year when they finally give us F-Zero NX. maroon To quote that one meme video, NEVER GIVE UP! navy Meme videos, you say? Is this where I get to put a plug in for "Junta! A Junta Musical" and begin my three hour lecture on Latin American History? maroon No, that's after the interview. You've got me intrigued now. navy Latin American history and culture is one of my favorite topics and if I weren't going into biology I'd probably be going into that. maroon How is the biology going, anyway? navy It's going really well, actually! I've taken particularly keen interest into evolutionary biology and physiology. Though, I have to admit, though, I don't know exactly what I hope to do in the field. There's too much of it that interests me. navy Probably not going to be a field biologist or zooolgist, though. I like nature but we don't tend to mix. maroon Are we talking "it assaults you" mix or... navy I still think one of my favorite phenomenon in biology is the whole deal with transposons, though. A gene view of competition and evolution is what made me passionate for biology long ago, and it has never left me. navy I was once trapped in a car by a rabbit and once chased around the park by a squirrel. navy Squirrels are awful beasts, I swear it. navy I'm also clumsy and accident-prone, and the number of times I've managed to inexplicably injure myself doing fieldwork for my classes might surprise you. maroon Trapped by a rabbit? That sounds like a story. navy Raregold and I have a morbid joke about how one day I'm actually going to go to New Guinea to observe live Hooded Pitohuis for myself and that's where my grave will be made. With my poor fortune in nature, I wouldn't doubt it. navy Oh, the rabbit! I swear, that awful thing would not leave no matter what I tried. navy We slammed the doors, we flashed the lights, we played sounds on our phone, shouted, threw coins at it, and did everything we could, but the thing would not even flinch. navy And, uh, I'm not going to be the one to approach an unusually fearless rabbit and find out it's rabbit or something. navy And, while it happened two years before I found the show, AGGO showed us just what happens when a little rabbit goes up against a Pitohui - it doesn't end well for the bird! maroon Ah, that makes sense. Nature truly has it out for you navy I'm not going to air the details out here, but anyone who is interested should ask me about the salamander story sometime. navy It was... interesting and involved the loss of clothes. maroon Lewd! navy It did not feel far from it for one of the people involved! navy Heavens, now you just have me thinking of all of my poor experiences with animals. navy Dogs, spiders, snakes, cats, squirrels, rabbits, deer... there's been plenty of times I have had to barricade myself or run from animals. navy And I don't even do anything to provoke them, at least not intentionally. navy I know animals dislike me so I try to give them a wide berth and bother them as little as possible. maroon Maybe stop being you navy I would try if it made all of kingdom animalia more amicable to me. maroon What made you go into bio in the first place, anyway? navy I think that from an early age, I just admired to complexity of it all. You have so much going on at every level of organization, but there's a beautiful order to it all. While I may not be fond on animals in person, I do have to admire the endless forms most beautiful from afar navy I mean, from the functions of a simple bacterium to the fact there's a poisonous bird or we can harvest an explosive powder from the genus Lycopodium... it's grand navy But, as I grew, I think two big sources of inspiration I can pinpoint are... navy First, learning about the theory of evolution in middle school and for the first time really understanding what it meant - the simplicity of its argument and the great meaning of its conclusions. navy I know it may be cliche to describe a theory as "elegant," but the way it brings together all of the disparate fields of biology and the diversity of life we see and synthesizes an explanation for all of it, that's stunning to me. navy And the second, more pinpoint sources, were reading Matt Ridley's "Genome" and Richard Dawkins' "The Selfish Gene" in middle school, as well. navy They are far from perfect books, but heavens did they get me interested in a gene-centered view and understanding of evolution. navy They hit me at just the right time to make me think, "hey, this whole biology thing is wild and fascinating at a deeper level than I ever thought and I want to study it" maroon Pretty nuts, huh! maroon Actually, that's a good segue in terms of: maroon What kind of offline hobbies do you have? navy Oh, well, honestly, I've always been a bookworm, more of an academic than the type to go out and do things. Albeit, I tend not to be a bookworm in the same sense you are. I tend to read non-fiction, though there is the occasional novel or fanfiction thrown in there. And at other times, I browse Wikipedia or read BBCNews when I have the free time and little else to do. navy As for, like, actual activities, I'm an avid walker. navy I try to go once, sometimes twice, on the weekends for at least an hour walk in the park, sometimes closer to two or three hours. navy And, when weather and time permit, I find other venues for walking. navy I've always wanted to join in on some kind of hobby group or club, especially for something Nintendo related, but there's not much out here. maroon Move to New York! We've got all sorts of those things! I think. navy NYC has all sorts of everything, from what I can tell. navy If you come here we have trees and cows maroon But lots of them!! navy We do have lots of them. I will say, the one thing this area has is some gorgeous scenery, especially in the fall. There's one trail you can really see the mountains in the fall, and, wew, if you ever make it down here at the right time, I have to take you maroon Perhaps I will. I've been in NC a gazillion times, after all. navy I'll make you the same promise I make others - come and I'll have lunch prepared for you and we'll plan out your stay from there! navy I have a feeling that you might get bored here, unfortunately. It's a slow life around here. maroon Alas. maroon One thing that's got me curious. maroon As someone who's been, in a way, around so long maroon Do you prefer the community of then or the community of now? navy You know? I don't think I can answer that, honestly. It feels like it's been one continuous development. Users have left, users have joined. Memes have transitioned from pie proposals and Loic and Pirate Goomba to Welcome with Bibbangs to Counting Sand. navy There's things to miss about the spontaneity and loose feel of the community of old navy But there's also a lot in the community in recent years I would never trade for the past navy It's always changing, and, so long as it stays vibrant and keeps its character, I think it'll always feel like a second home of sorts maroon congrats, you just summed up my thoughts on the matter too navy I feel more and more that you and I are just kindred spirits, of similar minds on too many matters navy When do we convince the world that biting into an onion like an apple is a great move when you want a snack? maroon See, that's the one thing we can't agree on: maroon I'm still going with the layer-by-layer method. maroon Onion chips! navy Nothing wrong with that, either! I've done that plenty of times as a side with my sandwhich or as a snack on its own maroon Excellent, now we just have to convince everyone else. navy There's very little that onion doesn't pair well with, in my opinion. maroon The few things red onion doesn't match with, that's what green onion is for navy Leeks, too! Ah, leek in the slow cooker, what better recipe? maroon I have a great leek recipe, I'll need to share it later for sure. navy Oh, please do! maroon Anyhow, I'm curious. maroon Would you say this is the last question? navy Well, I should hope not! Perhaps the last for this interview, but it certainly best not be the last for all time. You have at least a few more months, no? And when you tire, it will be time to take over Interviews myself. Between it and Recap, I can cement my status as community historian! maroon Very true, very true. Good luck picking your own subjects to torture information out of! navy But, ah, to bring those to a close - as reluctant as I am to see it end - let me take a moment just to thank you for your time, both your time interviewing me tonight and all of the time you've put into this community over the years. A true role model you are. navy That said, I shall take my leave. You have a grand evening! maroon Goodniiiiight!

Conclusion: I'm very tired, so the Interview will speak for itself this month. Thanks for reading!

Poll Committee Discussion
Written by:

You know who I am, and you know what I do. Archagent Everlasting here with some exciting poll content! As if you didn't get enough of me already with the analysis, am I right?

Poll Committee News
The Tenth Poll Commitee has finished our incredible series of Awards Analysis, which most of were contributed by yours truly. I know, I know. Hold your applause. Let's get right into the polls!

Would you like new characters introduced in Super Mario Odyssey (i.e. Cappy, the Broodals) to appear in more future Mario games? (, August 25, 2019)
====Would you like to see the Mario franchise to crossover with other series outside of Super Smash Bros., in a similar fashion to the Mario & Sonic series? ( (That's me!), September 1, 2019)====

Analysis

 * Would you like new characters introduced in Super Mario Odyssey (i.e. Cappy, the Broodals) to appear in more future Mario games?: Of course, us wiki people are fans of our continuity, especially with keeping every character ever into the next game. So, it was only natural that the highest vote would be that people want these characters to appear more in future Mario games, something that I wholeheartedly agree with in spite of my satire of the topic. I'm surprised anybody voted that they didn't want to see these characters reappear. If they reappear, the world feels a lot more vibrant and connected. It just makes the game experience more cohesive overall!


 * Would you like to see the Mario franchise to crossover with other series outside of Super Smash Bros., in a similar fashion to the Mario & Sonic series?: Something else that I found pretty obvious and predictable. The wiki loves the idea of a bunch of Mario crossovers. However, this one was voted for less, probably because there are some more discerning people who find the idea of a lot of crossover games. Crossovers can saturate a series (hard to imagine a series such as Mario becoming more saturated than it already is) but I think that the area of crossovers is one that has still much room to be explored.


 * What is your opinion about the Nintendo Switch Lite?: The Nintendo Switch Lite is not very popular with the Mario wiki crowd, but it's not completely villified, as we can see here. Some people think that it's actually worth a purchase! I find this interesting.

That's about it for this segment for this month. This your favorite host, Archagent Everlasting, signing off. Auf wiedersehn!