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The latest thing that Youtube recommended was Batman TikToks. Basically you do something bad in Gotham like cutting the queue, stealing, taking more than one piece of Halloween candy or not putting the weights back in the right place in the gym and Batman turns up, tells you off and then beats you senseless. It is fun.

Earlier this week I finished The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. Yes, I know that Atwood herself calls this "speculative fiction"* rather than science fiction. But one of the recurring tropes of science fiction is the examination of what constitutes a "person". And this book has that in spades. I won't attempt a detailed plot summary or analysis, but I will say that this is one of the most disheartening and challenging books I've ever read. Atwood's world-building of a society that has reduced half (or more) of its population to possessions and/or tools is depressingly thorough. The world is a nightmare, and there's really no way to fight against it. There's little freedom and less hope, and any indiscretion could lead to a horrible fate. And the saddest part is how much of all of this seems to be creeping into our society today. “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum”, indeed. -- * Isn't all fiction speculative by definition?

I'm glad to hear that. Maybe it helps that it is free. Yes, that has always been a problem. I do miss the time when you can count at least two products every 30 days, with at least one of them an adventure. We can only hope. But if it isn't free, will it turn people away?

That article doesn't even make sense. Best case scenario is they pay Cousins $50M and take a $50M cap hit, and that's if he doesn't play a single snap. And it doesn't even mention what Penix costs. From what I read, Falcons fandom is less than thrilled with the pick--why draft a QB with that injury history to back up another QB with an injury history?

Turns out that there is a wishful-thinking sort of scenario where Atlanta saves money, assuming they deal Cousins promptly. I find it more than a little implausible, but it's there.

I read the first book between Part I and II and I discovered that I'd forgotten how important the fanaticism was to the plot. Paul spends a significant amount of time and energy trying to avert the inevitable jihad. That said, there was a lot less open worship of Paul in the book. In the movie there's so much rapturous "Lisan al-Gaib!" that it's become a meme. I don't mind this change, but it is a change. I do wonder what the implications are for Part III, since I haven't read Messiah yet. Villeneuve is a brilliant cinematographer. Every frame of the movie could be printed and mounted on a wall. Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, and Sicario were likewise. If you want to see a jarring directorial change, watch the Villeneuve-directed Sicario and then watch its not-Villeneuve-directed sequel.

That would explain it, but they had several hours last night after the pick. You'd think, the trade would have to be VERY close...and thus, get announced last night...before they'd risk wasting the 8th pick. Also: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/falcons-gm-explains-shocking-selection-of-michael-penix-jr-that-left-kirk-cousins-disappointed/ So, doesn't look to be the case.

We belong together And you know that I'm right Why do you play with my heart ? Why do you play with my mind ? Said we'd be forever Said it'd never die How could you love me and leave me And never say goodbye ? When I can't sleep at night Without holding you tight Girl, each time I try I just break down and cry Pain in my head Oh, I'd rather be dead Spinnin' around and around Although we've come to the end of the road Still I can't let go It's unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you Come to the end of the road Still I can't let go It's unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you Girl, I know you really love me, You just don't realize You've never been there before It's only your first time Maybe I'll forgive you Maybe you'll try We should be happy together Forever, you and I Will you love me again like you loved me before This time I want you to love me much more This time instead just come to my bed And, baby, just don't let me down Although we've come to the end of the road (End of the road) Still I can't let go (The end of the road and I know I can't let go, baby) It's unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you Come to the end of the road Still I can't let go It's unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you Maybe I'll forgive you Maybe you'll try We should be happy together Forever, you and I I'm so lonely (lonely) So lonely (lonely) So lonely (lonely) Lonely This time instead Just come to my bed And, baby, don't let me down Although we've come to the end of the road (end of the road) Still I can't let go (and I don't know what can I do) It's unnatural (I can't let you go), you belong to me, I belong to you Although we've come to the end of the road (Oh, my God) Still I can't let go (Oh, my God, help me out a little bit, baby, baby) It's unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you We've come to the end of the road Still I can't let go It's unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you Come to the end of the road Still I can't let go It's unnatural, you belong to me, I belong to you

f I tell you, if I tell you now Will you keep on, will you keep on loving me ? If I tell you, if I tell you how I feel Will you keep bringing out the best in me ? You give me, you give me the sweetest taboo You give me, you're giving me the sweetest taboo Too good for me There's a quiet storm and it never felt like this before There's a quiet storm that is you There's a quiet storm and it never felt this hot before Giving me something that's taboo (Sometimes I think you're just too good for me) You give me the sweetest taboo That's why I'm in love in with you (with you) You give me the sweetest taboo Too good for me (Sometimes I think you're just too good for me) I'd do anything for you, I'd stand out in the rain Anything you want me to do, don't let it slip away There's a quiet storm and it never felt like this before There's a quiet storm, I think it's you There's a quiet storm and I never felt this hot before Giving me something that's taboo You give me the (you give me, you give me the) sweetest taboo That's why I'm in love with you (with you) You give me, keep giving me the sweetest taboo Too good for me You've got the biggest heart Sometimes I think you're just too good for me Every day is Christmas, and every night is New Year's Eve Will you keep on loving me Will you keep on, will you keep on Bringing out the best in me

Well it is clear that Hero is not in a great place right now. In your local friendly neighborhood gaming shop, is there a single Hero Games product on the shelf? I mean, there's probably no Cyperpunk or Call of Cthulhu stuff up either, but you get the point. But this kind of project is exactly meant to address that. Champions Begins is, according to Jason, doing really well, its being downloaded a lot. That's a start: get people to learn the system. Champions Rises is meant to take that to the next level, by adding more content and showing how to make a campaign work in Hero. That can only help with sales and visibility for the brand. Further, if we do this right it shows how to do a pathfinder-style campaign series for Champions, proven very popular with people. And finally, it puts more adventures on the market, which while never huge sellers is important for a game system and in my opinion long a weakness for Hero in general over its history: a lack of adventures. All of that can only help the game out and grow its awareness with players.

...yes. recovery is still a thing in 6th edition.

Frankly, yes

I wonder if they don't already have a trade with someone else almost but not quite completed, so what they were really drafting is a QB for another team, maybe who drafts later, that has a couple players they want.

Me and Mrs Jones We got a thing going on We both know that it's wrong But it's much too strong To let it go now We meet every day at the same cafe 6:30 I know, I know she'll be there Holding hands, making all kinds of plans While the jukebox plays our favorite song Me and Mrs, Mrs. Jones Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones We got a thing going on We both know that it's wrong But it's much too strong To let it go now We gotta be extra careful That we don't build our hopes up too high Cause she's got her own obligations And so, and so do I Me and Mrs, Mrs. Jones Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones We got a thing going on We both know that it's wrong But it's much too strong To let it go now Well, it's time for us to be leaving It hurts so much, it hurts so much inside Now she'll go her way And I'll go mine But tomorrow we'll meet the same place The same time Me and Mrs, Mrs. Jones Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones We got a thing going on We gotta be extra careful We can't afford to build our hopes up too high I wanna meet and talk to you At the same place, the same cafe, the same time And we're gonna hold hands like we used to We gonna talk it over, talk it over We know, they know And you know and I know it was wrong But I'm thinking strong We gotta let 'em know now That we got a thing going on, a thing going on

Think about it, there must be higher love Down in the heart or hidden in the stars above Without it, life is a wasted time Look inside your heart, I'll look inside mine Things look so bad everywhere In this whole world, what is fair ? We walk blind and we try to see Falling behind in what could be Bring me a higher love Bring me a higher love Bring me a higher love Where's that higher love I keep thinking of ? Worlds are turning and we're just hanging on Facing our fear and standing out there alone A yearning, and it's real to me There must be someone who's feeling for me Things look so bad everywhere In this whole world, what is fair ? We walk blind and we try to see Falling behind in what could be Bring me a higher love Bring me a higher love Bring me a higher love Where's that higher love I keep thinking of ? Bring me a higher love Bring me a higher love Bring be a higher love I could rise above on a higher love I will wait for it I'm not too late for it Until then, I'll sing my song To cheer the night along Bring it... Oh bring it... I could light the night up with my soul on fire I could make the sun shine from pure desire Let me feel that love come over me Let me feel how strong it could be Bring me a higher love Bring me a higher love Bring me a higher love Where's that higher love I keep thinking of ?

Hand me down my walkin' cane, hand me down my hat Hurry now and don't be late 'cause we ain't got time to chat You and me, we're goin' out to catch the latest sounds Guaranteed to blow your mind so high, you won't come down, no Hey, you all prepare yourself for the Rubberband Man You've never heard a sound like the Rubberband Man You're bound to lose control when the Rubberband starts to jam Oh Lord, this dude is outta sight Everything he does seems to come out right Once I went to hear them play at a club outside of town I was so surprised, I was hypnotized by the sound this cats put down When I saw this short fat guy stretch a band between his toes Hey, I laughed so hard 'cause the man got down When he finally reached his goal Hey, you all prepare yourself for the Rubberband Man You've never heard a sound like the Rubberband Man You're bound to lose control when the Rubberband starts to jam Got that rubber band up on his toes And then he wriggled it up all around his nose Guaranteed to blow your mind Playin' all that music yet keepin' time Where in the world did he learn that, oh Lord Oh, help him get away Hey, y'all prepare yourself for the Rubberband Man You've never heard a sound like the Rubberband Man You're bound to lose control when the Rubberband starts to jam Rubberband Man, Rubberband Man How much of this stuff do he think we can stand? So much rhythm, grace and debonair for one man, Lord And then he had the nerve to wiggle his left toe To his knee got the feelin' in his head, y'all, ah, come on, baby Hey, you all prepare yourself for the Rubberband Man You've never heard a sound like the Rubberband Man You're bound to lose control when the Rubberband starts to jam Rubberband Man starts to jam Movin' up and down across the land Got people all in his ways Everything about him seems outta place Just move it, just move it, just move, move, move it, just Rubberband, Rubberband Man Just move it, just move it, just move, move, move it, just Rubberband, Rubberband Man Get down, oh, get down, lover

First round draft picks get paid by the slot they're drafted. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-how-much-money-the-top-2024-nfl-draft-picks-will-earn-on-their-rookie-contracts-ff3edc7d This is why it's so foolish, and why the rookie contract years for a QB represent a special window of opportunity. What it means is, they basically had no first round pick in this draft. Oh, and they never told Cousins about this, so reports are, HE isn't happy either. The look is...ok, we'll groom Penix for 2 years, then boot Cousins once the guaranteed money's paid out, according to CBS Sports.

Todd Benedict The biggest ambulance chasing lawyer in Coastal City is Todd Benedict. Loathed and despised by the insurance industry and also on occasion by the police, Todd's success as a lawyer is infamous not only in the State but on the entire East coast. Some would argue even across the country. Todd has two toll free lines 1-800-WRECKIT and 1-800-WRECKEM and he uses these to take on 'those who have hurt the common man'. His adverts show what many would say is the classic Ivy League stereotype, square jawed, shiny white teeth and immaculate short hair. His clients are usually the poor and he makes a substantial amount of money from the claims he makes on their behalf. He gets on well with the people he has represented in the past and has saved some of them from scam artists and blackmailers. His office is modest as are his house and car which infuriates his critics who would love to portray him as a soulless shallow creature. (a lawyer with Luck ? Inconceivable !)

Sounds more like Tokosatsu Hero (Tokosatsu is the Japanese word for live action special effects, and is used to describe live action giant monsters, robots, and things like Ultraman, Super Sentai [known to us as Power Rangers] and other similar shows...heck even the live action Sailor Moon show falls under Tokosatsu and there is no giant robot or monster in sight). And forgive me, I did misspell Tokosatsu.

“____, I chipped a nail” Danny Galieote https://dannygalieote.com/femme-fatale-series/

I'll confess that when I read this my first thought was "The Raiders QB room is so FUBAR that they're starting a Congresswoman from New York?" But hey, I'm not here to judge. Of course, the Broncos QB room now sounds like a personal injury law firm. "Did you or any of your loved ones watch Broncos football between 2016 and 2023? You may be entitled to financial compensation! Call the law firm of Stidham, Wilson, DiNucci and Nix for your free consultation today!"

Nope, I guarantee Vegas would have taken Nix if Denver hadn't. Because... ...they obviously had no plan for both Nix and Penix being unavailable, so they panicked and drafted a third TE. With the 13th overall pick. My Raiders do not disappoint! What they should have done was flip the script and picked up one of the elite defensive players that were still on the board as a result of the QB run. If you have to go into 2024 with AOC under center, build around Maxx Crosby and make a truly fearsome defense. If we can't score, no one will! Oh well, missed opportunities. I actually kind of understand this after a season of Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke. Problem is with both Cousins and Penix on the roster they won't be able to afford any other players.