Tune for Tuesday for Week of 5/14/2024: "Tarm Ruins Orchestral Remix" as performed by RebeccaETripp

This week's Tune for Tuesday, an orchestral remix of "Tarm Ruins" as arranged by RebeccaETripp, is a great take on one of my favorite songs from The Legend of Zelda, Oracle of Seasons. On this date 23 years ago, both this game and its sibling Oracle of Ages were released in the USA, and while I enjoy both games immensely, Oracle of Seasons would go on to mark a major turning point in how I viewed myself as a gamer. Unsurprisingly, this is what inspired what would become my primary online handle LinkSeasonMaster and thus it felt only natural to pay tribute to the source of said inspiration.

Tune for Tuesday for Week of 5/7/2024: "Gardenia" by MALICE MIZER

This week's Tune for Tuesday, "Gardenia" by MALICE MIZER, is in honor of a dear friend whose birthday passed recently. Said friend has introduced me to many amazing pieces of media over the years, including this group's work back in high school (as well as the genre of visual kei), and continues to do so to this day. Thank you so much!

YouTube restores video & removes copyright strike nearly two years later

I don't enjoy making videos like this. I never will. But this is something I need to talk about, and get word out there as much as possible. Nearly three years ago, I created and uploaded a video compilation for Season 1 of The Mysterious Cities of Gold, an old animated show that had fascinating trivia segments at the end of every episode. I thought it would be neat to put together a video of all the segments and share it with people. For over a year, the worst that had happened was getting some copyright claims when I first uploaded the video, but I was fine with that since I never intended to make a profit off the video nor claim the content as my own. All I cared about was that any one who wanted to watch it could do so. But in August of 2022, a company called Newen randomly decided to have Blue Efficience ask YouTube to take down my video and issue me a Copyright Strike. While Newen does have a hand in later seasons of The Mysterious Cities of Gold, said seasons are not available for online viewing in my region and thus were completely absent from my video. That apparently didn't matter, and thus I was given a strike that prevented me from uploading content for a period of time. Eventually, the strike expired, and I was able to continue uploading new content. However, I refused to delete the video altogether, because not only was there no real alternative website for me to upload the video, but neither Blue Efficience & Newen had any right going after the video in the first place. Earlier this week, however, I get an email with a subject line reminding me all too much of this incident. But when I opened said email, it said that the takedown request for my Mysterious Cities of Gold video had been deemed invalid, the video had been reinstated, and the associated copyright strike had been resolved. I SHOULD have been ecstatic that my video was viewable to the public again, but instead I felt angry and confused by their wording and timing. WHY had it taken them this long to realize that Newen didn't own any of the content in my video? WHY had it taken them so long to reinstate my video? WHY were they acting as though I was still suffering from a copyright strike that had expired in 2022? WHY was there no mention of any consequences to the complainant for issuing a copyright takedown under false pretenses in the first place? And if there is no punishment for them or any other companies doing this sort of behavior in the first place, is there anything stopping me or other victims in similar situations from issuing copyright takedowns to them in turn, since it appears only those accused suffer consequences? I would be AMAZED if YouTube would bother to answer any of these questions.

Tune for Tuesday for Week of 3/12/2024: "The Fall" by Laura Shigihara

This week's Tune for Tuesday, "The Fall" by Laura Shigihara, is a downright heartbreaking vocal remix of "Corridors of Time" from Chrono Trigger. In other words, what happens when someone with a penchant for songs and games that tug at the heartstrings does their own take on an already spellbinding piece of music. Which is sadly appropriate, given that one of the people responsible for this masterpiece of a video game and many other influential works recently passed away. Rest in Peace, Akira Toriyama. Your incredible artwork, characters, and stories left an enormous impact on countless people over the years and across the globe. Thank you so much for the joy you have brought to not just me, but my friends and fellow fans the world over.

Tune for Tuesday for Week of 2/27/2024: "JACK DA FUNK" by Hideki Naganuma

This week's Tune for Tuesday, "JACK DA FUNK" by Hideki Naganuma, is just one of MANY phenomenal tracks I've had the pleasure of listening to while enjoying Team Reptile's amazing Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. I cannot recommend this game enough to people, so please check it out if you haven't already!

Tune for Tuesday for Week of 2/6/2024: "Hey Kids!!" as performed by AmaLee

This week's Tune for Tuesday, "Hey Kids!!" as performed by AmaLee, is a fantastic cover of an amazing song I happened to hear performed live at an anime Valentine's Day event this weekend. I always thought Noragami had great opening themes, but I still never expected to hear a band perform one of said openings in person. It was such a treat!

Tune for Tuesday for Week of 1/9/2024: "Plumbershop Quartet" by Matthew Taranto

This week's Tune for Tuesday, "Plumbershop Quartet" by Matthew Taranto, is a charming tribute to the amazing voice actor Charles Martinet. Thank you both for providing me with such wonderful memories over the years, and I look forward to seeing what else you each do from here on out.