Apparently a bunch of layoffs occurred at "Game Informer" yesterday. It sounds like the cuts were due to GameStop's bigger-picture issues-- yet at the same time, part of my wonders if it was an example of "go woke, get broke"; regular readers will remember me pointing out how the magazine has become overly politicized. I'd be interested to see their subscription numbers over the past couple of years.
It's weird to think of how divided the country is today. I actually met Andy McNamara a couple of times in the 90s, and I never would have known he and I were on the opposite sides of a political schism-- we were just two dudes who liked games. Yet today, he's turned a video game magazine into a veritable extension of CNN-- to the point where I think it would be difficult for he and I to get along, trying to avoid the elephant in the room.
In other news, I was reading the other day about the roles which hormones play in the development of facial features: higher testosterone leads to more square and defined jaws, closer set and smaller eyes, larger noses, and a more pronounced brow line-- lower testosterone, the opposite. I've been paying close attention to that whenever I see a picture of a Left-leaning male, and almost without fail they have the pointy chins, larger wide-set eyes, and weak brows.
At the same time I'm not saying you can predict someone's political affiliation just by levels of testosterone: I was analyzing the player's faces on the sideline during the last Vikings game, and many of them-- especially the black players-- were almost at parody levels of the above male-typical features: oozing testosterone! And yet, most of those black players are probably liberals. Still, I'm sure there is some correllation between these traits and political outlook, even if it's one set of factors among many.
But back to the topic: I've never been to art school, but it looks like they teach artists these things: I was paying close attention to the character portraits in "Fire Emblem: Three Houses", and the facial traits mirror the apparent mascuilinity of femininity of the character's personalities and voice actors! For instance, Ashe is pretty effeminate and passive-- take a look at how they drew him! He even has freckles, which is usually a trait of thin, more feminine skin. Next, take a look at Dedue: smaller eyes, square jaw, brow-line. Then at Flayn. The best one-- since they're related, but of opposite sex!-- are between Gilbert and his daughter Annette.
As for me, I've always had pretty masculine hobbies: sports (playing and watching), cars, and military stuff like tanks and airplanes. As for my face, I have a strong square-like jaw, a big nose, small eyes (my tiny eyes have always been a running joke with my wife), and a pronounced brow (to the point where one eye examiner's equipment couldn't reach my eyeball from my brow, so deep was the set). Then again, I do have a higher-pitched voice, although part of that is due to constant nasal drip. So does Mike Tyson incidentally, and I don't think anyone would call him feminine. To be fair, I do have some less masculine hobbies too: reading classical literature, and working indoors on computers.
