WHAT

Hey animals! Sorry about neglecting to post yesterday. As a consolation, I'm gonna pack as much as I can into this one to make up for it! 

Like many other days before this one, the item of the day follows the Egyptian Theme. With this ongoing motif, you can always expect color, gold, and an unusually large array of nonmember items!

Maybe AJHQ is trying to make up for the new member-only chat limitations. Hm. I see you.

This is actually really pretty! I love these bright colored items. Best yet, it's nonmember! Again! 

Moving on, if you've been paying attention you'll have already found out about a new "Animal Jam's Greatest Hits" album coming out for iTunes.

wait what

what

what

There's Sir Gilbert with a mixmaster... Liza with an... Electric guitar? And why is Tavie in the middle, she only just got here... This whole cover is too confusing.

I know, I love Animal Jam as much as the next person... but why someone would buy this is beyond me. It costs money! To listen! To the soundtrack! You always do! For free! On AJ!

Unless they made some new songs. I'll pass on those, but for you people who want to buy or sample this album on iTunes, click here.

Stay tuned for a new Nonmember Clothing Idea post!

~DoomyPanda

So Many Mysteries...

Hey jammers! The new item today is being sold in Jam Mart Furniture. Just like the last one, and the one before that. *Sigh*

There's not much more news for today, I'm afraid. It's going to be one of those boring days! But have no fear, I've found a cute new feature from one of the newer items, the Papyrus Scrolls!

Ever wonder why some Jammers have a magnifying glass floating by their head? It's because they were looking through some papyrus scrolls and couldn't read the tiny print! Click a papyrus scroll item to get a magnifier. 

You're welcome. :)

Next up for today is something to think about: 2012 Top Hats. 

For one day (January 1st of 2012 most likely) regular top hats did this when you put them on (only the hat!) and slept. I forget if it only worked for tigers, but from what I'm hearing this was a one-time-only thing. It never happened before or again and wasn't publicized much when it did. It obviously wasn't a hack, but why never again?

I think this falls into the category of "Why's" that probably have no answer– such as the removal of never-changing fact buttons, and why nonmembers can't read the chat log or get 100% free chat anymore. It's all a mystery–

Up until someone asks AJHQ themselves!

To email Animal Jam to ask a question or make a suggestion that wouldn't fit into any button categories, send a message to support@animaljam.com. You may get a copy-and-pasted response, so be as specific as possible.

That's all for now, Jammers–

See you in Jamaa!

~DoomyPanda

Just a Reminder...

I love it when you comment! I love it when you share your voice and opinions on posts. I don't care if they're a paragraph, or start to go off track towards the end... I love it! This blog is a positive space for anyone to share their voice and all voices will be heard!

That is all. ^_^

The Importance of Understanding

Hey animals! Before I begin this half info post, I'll share with you the new item. Whew, two nonmember den items in a row!

"Egyptian" rug, "Egyptian" cat... "Egyptian" this, "Egyptian" that...

Regardless of how pretty the virtual rug is, what if someone had no concept at all of Egypt? Or at least, didn't have a very good teacher and saw Egypt as more of a concept than a real place? What if this was the first thing they saw, the first opinions stored into their head? You'll understand me as I go through this post.

If someone– a child, in this case –had only the vaguest understanding of Egyptian history and culture, they would look at all of these items and come to believe Egypt isn't known for much else aside ornate decoration. This understanding comes with say, the typical caricature medias paint of Cleopatra, as an overly-romanticised, possibly dehumanized light-skinned halloween costume idea. This is of course not true in the least. This is not Egypt.

The problems I have with AJHQ with this new item-theme are that they show the outside of Egypt– the media-influenced side we all tend to see in those really bad movies. The gold. The ornate outer shell of cat statues and gold scarabs, that while aesthetically beautiful is given no background.

AJHQ doesn't talk about the meanings behind these items, the history of them and the Ancient Egyptian people. Being an educational site, I'm honestly surprised. What's so bad about giving much needed background?

I know AJHQ may have made one post on the Daily Explorer– but let's face it, no one reads the Daily Explorer except for AJ bloggers looking for screenshots. Use a more accessible means to talk about it, like the Jamaa Journal.

It really all boils down to this: you can't show a culture's aesthetic without the culture. Even though it's an old one, today we know much more than is given with these items. There's really no point in shutting it out. 

Besides, I'd like to learn more about Ancient Egypt!

See you all in Jamaa! :)

~Doomy

All Bow to the Cat!

Hey Jammers! The new item of today is thankfully, nonmember and is being sold in Jam Mart Furniture along with the other Egyptian Treasures–themed items.

All bow to the Egyptian Cat! Is their a difference between an Egyptian cat and the cats we know today?

One of the few facts that is wide spread about Egypt is that they regarded cats highly. Anyone whose cat died would have to shave their eyebrows off! The respect ran deep, but sometimes in war the enemy would release cats onto the field to distract. 

Now, some notices...

The monthly Berry the Koala story will soon be published.

and

There will be a 6,000 views celebratory party next weekend (weekend after the one of this week) IF and only IF from Wednesday to Friday this blog gets at least a hundred views a day. It seems harsh, but really unless that happens I won't have time. School became busier than I thought. 

That's all for now, see you in Jamaa!

– DoomyPanda