Nuca Pararayki Rekte Kane An. Upopo Ne.

Nuca pararayki rekte kane an. <Karinka> upopo ne.

(Playing a Russian balalaika. Song is <Kalinka>.) Of course it isn’t me playing this, but another person doing this.

Pre video game Nintendo’s mainstay brought back from the dead in one form.

Ainu playing cards by Nintendo, 1979. 52 cards + 2 jokers. There are two different decks of Ainu cards; this deck is sometimes referred to as “Ainu I” to distinguish it from the second deck, sometimes referred to as “Ainu II.” The court card designs are different in the two decks. 

Images courtesy Rex Pitts. http://www.wopc.co.uk/japan/ainu-culture

How do I get these in my hands rn

Бид ЗХУ-ын хиймэл дагуулын төрийн (1990 он хүртэл байсан) байсан үед бид коммунист байсан, сайн заасан, гэхдээ ЗХУ үндсэндээ бидний соёл үед хол тайрч байна. ЗХУ-ын задрал ирсэн гэж бид жил ардчилсан засалд үед бид маш муу болсон. Гэсэн хэдий ч, бид хурдан манай хойд, өмнөд хөрш нь маш их тусламжтайгаар бидний хөл сэргэж байна.

Do you think that if the monarchy and nobility of Equestria was replaced with a straight democratic voting process that was strictly popular vote without representatives that Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Shining Armor and yourself would hold similar high positions in the government to what you currently hold?

Well, regardless of who are declared the official rulers, the alicorns are the ones with de facto power. Thus if the alicorns are not elected, you would have a dual power situation.

Now, division of power isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and one may argue that it simply functions as checks and balances, where the alicorns could veto any decision made by the government. However, we could also overthrow the government, which means the officials would only rule as long as the we let them.

Note that I’m not saying we would just disregard everypony’s wishes and seize power, but a democracy which did not elect the alicorns would constitute an unnecessary bureaucracy since those with the power to affect change, defend against threats, even raise the sun or moon would have to take orders from others instead of acting on their own initiative.

That last paragraph is especially important, since when a threat or crisis would arise, the alicorns, not willing to doom Equestria, would rather act than await orders. In doing so, we would render the chain of command irrelevant and essentially commit a coup. And ponies, wanting to save their home, would follow.

In conclusion, it’s irrelevant what the voting results would be. Either the alicorns are elected every time, and thus the democracy is only a formality, or the system would crumble at the first crisis.

You may be stuck with me, but I swear I will not let you down.

With me being a Mongol by bone (through my father’s line), some of you may be wondering how I view Pan Mongolism. My view is that while this would be pretty nice for us to gather our fellow groups, we’re sandwiched between two powerful nations, with most of our kind being in these countries. I needn’t remind you that we should focusing on building ourselves up from the inside first through integration of our already existing minorities, especially the Kazakhs. There are Khalkha centric nationalists among us, but I’m not one of these kinds. With my two neighbors being as strong as they are, I wouldn’t like for those of our stock to secede from their existing countries, or even try to separate from them simply so they can join our administration. However, I would like to help host a few inter Mongol festivals in hopes of building a sense of unity & bridging among us even through borders or political affiliations. I hope you guys will have a good Bituun & more will come on Tsagaan Sar if I can update by then.

Nenoan keraan kuwas poronno ne. Kuani ipe=omap as.

(A lot of truly tasty snacks here.) I hope to find or post some more recipes from the cultural gem soon, especially considering how much I love food. (I love food.)

Ainu Recipes: Kombu Sito

From Hokkaido Magazine Kai website blogpost, Learning Ainu Cooking from Kaizawa Yukiko, written by Yajima Azusa. Photographs by Tsuyuguchi Keiji.

A dumpling made using proso millet and rice flour, a sito is an Ainu food handed down since ancient times and eaten at ceremonies of important ceremonial occasions for family relations and iyomante (the Ainu Bear Festival) ceremonies. Yukiko Kaizawa, the leading person involved in the weaving of attus, a textile made from tree bark, taught me how to make sito.

Keep reading

The Trans-Continental Railroad would not have been built without the labor of Chinese immigrants. When faced with the daunting task of laying tracks over terrain that rose 7,000 feet in ten miles, the Chinese workers introduced techniques that they had used in China. They were lowered in baskets and chipped away at granite in order to lay explosives that were used to blast tunnels. Many perished, but the remaining laborers soldiered on.

Gracie Galloway, Asian Americans make great contributions to our society (via diaryofanangryasianguy)

I guess that’s props for my southern neighbors.