Ragitsu

I dreamt that I was Merlin.
 
More accurately: I was myself - this body - but with Merlin's soul/mind inhabiting the seat of consciousness. We were this gestalt (my knowledge of the present combined with his magical prowess). Although he knew more about contemporary times than he would have had he been instantly transported to the here and now, there were some...interesting gaps in his knowledge.
 
Anyhow, I started the dream in these spacious castle chambers. Apparently, the castle was either a structure imported from Europe OR a highly convincing recreation presumably constructed with modern materials. Either way, it was located in a rather extensive theme park (the medieval/Middle Ages portion being a full-sized attraction unto itself); however, the section I was in happened to be out of commission (closed for renovation?).
 
If I had to guess, I (myself, as this otherwise mundane performer?) was hired by the park owner (unaware that I had the actual essence of Merlin) and allowed to live on the premises until it was open for business. Within the chambers was an assortment of clothes (although - curiously - entirely contemporary). There were also three men that would hang at a table near an open window; in retrospect, they were likely park employees of some sort (other performers? Actors? Medieval experts?). Soon enough, the Merlin part of this mental union wanted to find the king as soon as possible. Yeah...for whatever reason, he thought we were still in the old times. Dissatisfied with my current apparel, he went through the available clothes before settling on black sweatpants, a black hoodie (the closest analog to a robe with cowl he might have worn?) and one black (winter) glove. Strangely, he was okay with the white tennis shoes I was currently wearing. The men seemed to approve of his new look, so, with that, we exited the chambers in search of the monarch.
 
Unable to turn up anything, we left the castle in hopes of finding something that could point us in the right direction (at this point, Merlin was at the wheel and drawing from some - but not all - of my experience). We eventually found ourselves in a information/"help" center on the property. Merlin!Me asked a fetching young lass with short black hair if she could direct him to the "royal court"; she must have thought he was either joking or crazy, because she chuckled and turned to assist someone else. Only briefly nonplussed, Merlin!Me began to look around the center until he found some bulletin with an advertisement for one of the many roles in the park. Satisfied he found something to get him moving again, he passed by the counter and thanked the lady for putting up with his trouble; with a flick of his right hand, he produced a flower from thin air and left it directly in front of her before departing. Other women - fellow coworkers - loudly remarked "Oh, he's a magician!" and "It's a carnation." (to me, it looked like a generic white flower) as he stepped outside.
 
As we wandered the grounds, we came across a water attraction where people were riding these blue and white dragon boats on artificially produced rapids. While passing by, a bit of caprice struck the mage and so he animated the boats in order to enhance their amusement. That's right: the visitors were soon riding actual living dragons that flew several feet above the water's surface. Random tidbit: these dragons were serpentine...like an Oriental variety.
 
Right after this, I awoke from my slumber.

"I never thought it possible to have one's head in the sand and up their ass simultaneously, but you've managed quite a feat."

"I never thought it possible to have one's head in the sand and up their ass simultaneously, but you've managed quite a feat."

"I never thought it possible to have one's head in the sand and up their ass simultaneously, but you've managed quite a feat."

--- --- ---
 
 
That reminds me of "Cherokee" from GURPS.

Going along with this concept,  I have played with the idea that some native tribe from the Americas were able to develop a real power during the colonial era.  As a result,  today the U.S.A. is divided into the eastern portion that is European and the western portion that is the native country.  Both have a kind of cold war that actually works into both of their benefit. 

"I never thought it possible to have one's head in the sand and up their ass simultaneously, but you've managed quite a feat."

Al meal planner app suggests recipe that would create chlorine gas

I live in the north of Canada and now with out really hot and dry summer we have had more than our share of wildfires.  
 
One community called Enterprise was completely wiped out and the surrounding forests are black, soot covered and desolate.
 
My community called Yellowknife underwent a forced evacuation.  Twenty thousand people (yes 20000) were ordered to vacate the city within 48 hours.  (cut off was Friday August 18 noon).
Reason: a wildfire fifteen (15)  outside city limits.  Oh and the only road going OUT of town heads right through that fire.  (I wish I were making this up as a hollywood screen writer would be laughed at if he came up with this story)
 
So packing the barest essentials (cell phone + charger, camera + charger, External Hard Drive for my desk top I had to leave behind, Work related lap top, clothing for 5 days, three books, and essential ID material) I managed to hitch a ride with a friend and we left on Thursday. 
 
Finally as of 5 pm my time, I arrived safely in Calgary.  For now I am going to stay with my friend's family until I get an idea of how long we will be out for.
 
I will say it has been an interesting experience, but once in a lifetime is more than enough!

A couple of old anime OPS from my memory of the 1990s. (And it makes me feel old that the groundbreaking Gundam Wing is almost thirty years old).
 
First a series few would remember by now -- Sorceror Hunters, about a luckless, lecherous lycanthrope loved by two very possessive and very dangerous sisters and on a quest to rid the world of wicked socerors.
 
 
 
Speaking of Gundam, I was one of the few admirers Turn A had at the time before its long-delayed licensing tyo the States, I guess it canbe best described as "Gundam by Studio Ghibli", mainly due to the character designs. But it's quite a story, in which warriors from a Lunar colony invaded an Earth that had regbressed to 1910s kevek technology -- with Earth's main hope being a long-lost mobile robot suit called Gundam. It runs out that the daughter of a tycoon on Earth bears an astonishing resemblance to the Moon's revered monarch, to the point that when they meet they decide to swap places back and forth for the rest of the series. 
 
 
And speaking of Wing, the OP was quite impressive -- and initially unseen by US audiences. But the show brought the sort of grey morality to a "Cartoon" that had not been seen by North Americans in forever. Are the Gundam Pilots heroes, terrorists, murderers, or saviors? Perhaps they were all of the above. Oh, and this was one of the most notable early series to be "shipped" among the male cast, even though each had a female love interest, in a triumph of "subtext" that would forever alter fandom not just for anime but for just about everything else.
 
 
Now I feel incredibly old.

Here's a hidden gem from 1986. Some of the stuff is dated but still funny. My favorite part plays from 10:41 to 13:01.
 
 

I'm sure that they'll leave the Bible off the list of books to be analyzed due to complaints.

After being pulled for an "offensive image" revealing Nazis behind the thin blue line, in a story about Nazis infiltrating the police, Poisoned Apples II is back on DriveThruRPG. It took us a few days and a new cover, but we are there. as with our other heavier topic adventures, adventure includes references. 
 
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/447634/Poisoned-Apples-Part-II-The-Iron-Hand--A-Metahumans-Rising-Adventure

#Metahumans #Superheroes #TTRPG #TTRPGSolidarity #TTRPGRising #LawEnfrocement

Which is why I think the combination of increasing observation of classic entertainment, and increasing rejection of garbage entertainment, will motivate the creation of new content toward the former.

de·sid·er·ate verb ARCHAIC verb: desiderate; 3rd person present: desiderates; past tense: desiderated; past participle: desiderated; gerund or present participle: desiderating feel a keen desire for (something lacking or absent). "I desiderate the resources of a family"

another one:
 
https://twitter.com/MemesDnd/status/1435161645190369288/photo/1

Asian MIT grad asks AI to make her photo more ‘professional,’ gets turned into white woman