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ABC13 to host town hall exploring hate crimes against Asian Americans

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Author: Miya Shay

This post originally appeared on ABC13 RSS Feed

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — As concern grows nationally amid rising violence against our Asian American and Pacific Islander community, experts say data from Houston recording these hate crimes could be skewed.

ABC13, Houston’s news leader, is hosting a one-hour town hall Wednesday (7-8 p.m. CDT), highlighting how acts of violence, discrimination and microaggressions against the AAPI community have unfolded across southeast Texas.

Eyewitness News reporter Miya Shay is gathering a panel of law enforcement and community leaders, and getting answers to your questions about this important issue.

Panelists for Wednesday’s town hall include:

  • Bobby Singh, Sikh community activist
  • David Shin, Korean community activist
  • Rogene Calvert, OCA Houston board member and community activist
  • Houston Police Department and FBI representatives

Viewers are urged to submit their questions for Wednesday’s town hall here:
(On mobile? You can open our form by tapping here.)

Stop AAPI Hate, a nonprofit organization which advocates on behalf of Asian crime victims, reports out of nearly 4,000 hate incidents in the U.S. since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 100 happened in Texas.

In the aftermath of the Atlanta spa shooting that killed eight people on March 16, HPD said the department had “not seen an increase in hate crimes toward the Asian community.”

Experts, however, believe Houston and other cities could be underreporting crimes against the AAPI community, where some segments of the population are less likely to report hate incidents, according to AAPI Data, a California-based policy and research nonprofit.

About 5.3% of Texans identify as Asian, while 7% of Houstonians are in the AAPI community, according to the U.S. Census.

The virtual town hall will stream exclusively on ABC13.com and ABC13’s apps for your smartphone, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, and Google TV devices. Just search “ABC13 Houston.”

ABC13 to host town hall exploring hate crimes against Asian Americans

Editor’s note: Video above is from a previously published story.

Copyright © 2021 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.

Gaming

Exploring the Forest with Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia

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Author: Bartek Kossakowski, Marketing Manager, RedDeerGames
This post originally appeared on Xbox Wire

Summary

  • There are hundreds of beautiful illustrations in the game.
  • The game seems like an old-school cartoon, but you can easily recognize all the plants and animals.
  • After playing Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia, visits to the forest will no longer be the same.

Today Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia debuts on Xbox consoles. The kids of our team members had a great time playing it. That’s obvious. However, I was strongly surprised by how much this game helped me to appreciate a trip to a real forest.

First Contact

When I was around 5-10 years old, I enjoyed trips to the forest, but if I couldn’t see much depth there.

The appearance of some animal was certainly an exciting event, but I used to just divide trees into deciduous and coniferous, and other plants – into those with which you can get stabbed and those that are relatively safe.

Little Mouse's Encyclopedia

The Mad Botanist

When we started working with Circus Atos on the Xbox version of Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia here at RedDeerGames, one of my first tasks was to go through all the illustrations that are in the game.

These are hundreds of leaves, stems, flower buds, roots, trunks, and branches. I viewed them under close-up and with great interest, feeling a bit like a mad botanist.

Little Mouse's Encyclopedia

Bringing Images to Life

Tereza Vostradovská, the author of the illustrations for the game, did an amazing job. The game seems like an old-school cartoon, but at the same time you can easily recognize all the plants and animals. They are full of details and quite realistic.

“I was trying to find some simple way to present nature as a recognizable system,” Tereza explains. “But still with some stylization point in it. This was the hardest thing. The main influences were some Czech animators and artist like Bedřich Pojar, Zdeněk Miler or Jiří Trnka.”

“Also, we have a big game background like Amanita studio that is for me a big inspiration,” Tereza adds. “All illustrations are handmade, it is watercolor on the paper. I painted all the animals, plants, and backgrounds on a separate layer then scanned it and made the whole scenes on my computer. Kind of demanding technique.”

Little Mouse's Encyclopedia

Forest meditation

My next visit to the forest, after playing Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia, was not the same as the previous ones. I found myself slowly exploring the place. I started paying attention to the smells, to the textures of the plants, and I realized that I’m listening to individual sounds of nature with my eyes closed.

I searched for what I remember from the game. I looked around for anthills. And I thought how beautiful it is that it houses more than 1 million ants. I looked for male ferns and mosses. And I really enjoyed their presence.

Young explorer

There are some games that I have a lot of fun with, but I finish them and forget about them. Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia stayed with me for a long time, and after I turned off the console the experience was still going on – in the real world.

For more details on Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia follow us on Twitter!

Little Mouse's Encyclopedia
Xbox Live

Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia

RedDeerGames

☆☆☆☆☆ 1
★★★★★
$ 12.99 $ 10.39
Xbox One X Enhanced
INTERACTIVE ENCYCLOPEDIA Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia is perfect for born explorers. Wandering around the lively boards, you’ll find animals and plants by yourself. Using a magnifying glass, you can reveal cards that contain interesting information and drawings. GEORGEUS ILLUSTRATIONS The graphic style of Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia was inspired by classic fairy tales and… children’s encyclopedias. This enchanting and original style makes the exploration even more enjoyable, and various animations breathe life into the surroundings. RELAXING MUSIC While playing, listen to pleasant, relaxing music and the sounds of nature, such as birds chirping or frog toads. EXPLORE THE WORLD With a brave mouse you’ll explore the area around its burrow, walk through the forest, sneak through the garden and swim in the pond. In each of these places, unique species of animals and plants await you. SO MUCH TO DISCOVER! During your wandering you’ll come across over 160 unique species, about which you can learn something interesting. AVAILABLE IN MANY LANGUAGES Little Mouse’s Encyclopedia is available in 18 languages, including English, Japanese, German, Spanish and French. Immerse yourself in the extraordinary world of nature today with the brave little mouse!
US

Caitlyn Jenner Is Exploring a Run for Governor of California

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Caitlyn Jenner Is Exploring a Run for Governor of California

Caitlyn Jenner, a former Olympian and prominent transgender activist, is exploring a run for governor of California against Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, who is facing a possible recall election[1] later this year, according to people familiar with her thinking. She is currently leaning toward running if an election is held, the people said.

Ms. Jenner, a longtime Republican, is being advised by Brad Parscale[2], Donald J. Trump’s former campaign manager, according to a person familiar with their discussions. Mr. Parscale would not manage Ms. Jenner’s campaign but is guiding her on who to hire for key roles.

Ms. Jenner is also said to be working with Caroline Wren, a prominent G.O.P. fund-raiser who was a senior adviser on the Trump presidential campaign last year and whose name was on a permit for events leading up to the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. According to Axios, Ms. Wren connected with Ms. Jenner through a Republican nonprofit working on L.G.B.T.Q. issues.

The California secretary of state is expected to announce soon that the Newsom recall effort has officially qualified for an election; the recall organizers say they have exceeded the 1.5 million signatures needed. Such an election would likely be held later in the year.

So far, the effort to replace Mr. Newsom does not appear to mirror the 2003 recall election in California that ousted Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, and elected Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican. Despite criticism for Mr. Newsom’s handling of the pandemic and other controversies[3] he has faced, a recent poll[4] found that just 40 percent of the state’s voters would support a recall of the governor.

Mr. Newsom is also helped by the fact that no major Democrat has joined the race. While Ms. Jenner has name recognition, she would be a first-time candidate, and the other Republicans expected to run are not seen as likely to get much traction.

If she runs, Ms. Jenner’s past ties to Mr. Trump would likely complicate her bid, given his deep unpopularity in the state. She supported Mr. Trump early on when he ran for president, but rescinded her support in 2018[5] after his administration repeatedly attacked transgender rights.

Another person with ties to Mr. Trump’s world, Ric Grenell, who served briefly as the Acting Director of National intelligence, is said by Trump allies to be considering a run of his own for the governorship.

References

  1. ^ election (www.nytimes.com)
  2. ^ Brad Parscale (www.nytimes.com)
  3. ^ the pandemic and other controversies (www.nytimes.com)
  4. ^ a recent poll (www.ppic.org)
  5. ^ rescinded her support in 2018 (www.nytimes.com)

Maggie Haberman