Michael Hopcroft

I am celibate and not quite by choice, but I don't go around blaming women as a whole for my lack of romance. That's on me.Given my situatiopn it would besurprising that I would have received the soprt of attentions taht these guys believe is their birthright. Which makes cases like this all the more disturbing to me.
 
Women exist for themselves, not for so-called "men" who assume every woman who dresses "attractively" is on display for them. A real man understands that.

I am celibate and not quite by choice, but I don't go around blaming women as a whole for my lack of romance. That's on me.Given my situatiopn it would besurprising that I would have received the soprt of attentions taht these guys believe is their birthright. Which makes cases like this all the more disturbing to me.
 
Women exist for themselves, not for so-called "men" who assume every woman who dresses "attractively" is on display for them. A real man understands that.

I am celibate and not quite by choice, but I don't go around blaming women as a whole for my lack of romance. That's on me.Given my situatiopn it would besurprising that I would have received the soprt of attentions taht these guys believe is their birthright. Which makes cases like this all the more disturbing to me.
 
Women exist for themselves, not for so-called "men" who assume every woman who dresses "attractively" is on display for them. A real man understands that.

If I can bring some fictional insight into the discussion, I have postulated a micro-cosmology shown to my readers by an Angel character in a different world. At one point, she describes in some detail the funeral rits fo an alien culture, and the religion behind them, then dismisses them, saying "It's a lie, of course.". It is a matter of record for her that her Goddess is the true Goddess and the others are "lies" oir "untrue".
 
Maybe she has only experienced that single deity, or maybe that being is also lying to her, about possibly many things. In the Western worldview of today, the idea of a God who lies is almost inconceivable.  So too with this angel -- she cannot concieve of her Goddess deceiving her or anyone else. At ther same time, she views otherfaiths as false by definition.
 
But it is possible -- likely, in fact -- that she may be wrong. Perhaps there are other true gods she has yet to encounter. Perhaps her Goddess can be a bit flexible when it comes to telling the truth.
 
And even though there likely won't be PC Angels, the reality or unreality of the various pantheons your PCs experience could be interesting.
 
The original Pantheon, by the way, was a Roman structure where images of all the officially-sanctioned deities from across the Empire could be worshiped. Of course, Judaism and Christianity were excluded. When the Chiristians came to power in the 4th Century, they took all the idols out of the Pantheon and replaced them all with images of the Chiristian Saints. I do not know what happened to the original statuary, but I doubt any of it survived.

Governor Abbott is, as far as I can tell, a science-denying Right-wing nutjob conspiracy theorist jackass who sees himself as a possible heir to Donald Trump's followers. I believe the school district was not just right, but morally obligated to try to find a way to defy the order. I applaud them for doing so.

It bears an astonishing resemblance to a handbasket.

Interesting!

"Welcome to Theater Writing 401."
"But sir, aren't you a science professor who hasn't been to a play in twenty years?"
"Yes, and that will be in the final"

One must imagine Sisyphus funny.

May we all agree that it doesn't take many little gray cells to recognize Suchet's brilliance? He inhabited Poirot, after JEeemy Brett was such a good Sherlock Holmes that he might have actually been Sherlock Holmes transported forward in time.
 
The Joan Hickson Miss Marple series from the same period was just as superbly acted by the lead. Hickson captured the physical and mental characteristics of the spinster lady with the keen powers of observation and the knowledge to come of having "plumbed the depths of human depravity". Did Agatha Christie ever give Jane Marple a real backstory?

"How do you allow Klingon peta'Q to walk around in a Starfleet uniform?"
"You are lucky this is not a Klingon ship. We know how to deal with spies."
"Remove this tohzah from my sight!"
"Your knowledge of Klingon curses is impressive. But, as a Romulan might say, only a veruul would use such language in public."
 
"We have everything we need for our report. Your prisoner has been returned to you. You have a decision to make: either try to force them back or welcome them home. In your own words, this is not our affair. We cannot interfere with the natural course of your society's development and I'd say it's likely to develop significantly during the next several minutes."
 
"They took everything I was. They used me to kill and to destroy and I couldn't stop them. I should have been able to stop them. I tried. I tried so hard. But I wasn't strong enough. I wasn't good enough! I should have been able to stop them. I should... I should..."
"So... my brother is a human being after all. This is going to be with you a long time, Jean-Luc. A long time."

Exactly what happened in the last Suicide Squad movie.
 
NT: World's Worst Supervillain Disguises.

Sliced Banana Bread.
 
NT: Petey the Stone Cold Penguin (Mascot of the sport of Curling) couldn't get in to see any of the Olympic events live after all. What does he do with his time while stranded in Tokyo for 21+ days?

All the progress at my mother's senior apartment complex has been erased with a "Breakthrough" case of Covid that got past the Pfizer vaccine. The buildign is under a sort of quaranitn and Mpm is in a self-imposed lockdown for the next two weeks, regardless of what happens.
 
I don't have Covid fatigue so much as outrage. I know there is no consciousness behind a virus and cannot be assigned blame or praise. It mutates because that's what viruses do. I'm just scared that this might never end, and thjat the consequences of its not ending are potentially terrifying. What if people decide "If it' going to  mutate soon, why vaccinate now?"

"Robin Hood and Little John runnin' through the forest, jumpin' fences, dodgin' trees and tryin' to get away. Contemplatin' nuthin' nut escape and finally maskin' it.  Oo-de-lally oo-de-lally golly what a day"

You should see the beautiful stop-motion version of Wind in the Willows produced by Britian's Cosgrove-Hall studios (most famous in the US for the brilliant spy satire Danger Mouse). Aside from the superb voice work (Sir David Jason inhabited Toad), the art was a combination of precision and inspiration that may have inspired some of the people who went on to work for places like Laika. It is underseen, difficult to find today, and worthy of being seen. There wasn't just the traditional sections used to make movies; they also made a full season of TV episodes that started with the original novel and moved in other directions. ("Wayfarers All", for example, concerns a seagoing relative whose stories of the sea utterly seduce Ratty's imagination and compel him to go to sea himself. Suddenly the tables are turned and Toad has to help save Ratty from himself.)

Curating a wicked-cool playlist on YouTube!
 
NTL Subtle signs you shouldn't have shown up at the GenCon Champions tournament with a character sheet for Underdog.

Having numerous Facebook conversations with his new online friend, Petey the Stone Cold Penguin (Macot of the sport of Curling). They politely disagree on everything.

The PGA's attempts to enforce a dress code have gone horribly, horribly wrong.

Miles Morales, life-long Mets fan, scored tickets in a school raffle. His parents were afraid to let him go because it's expensive to fly to Colorado during a Pandemic, but a mysterious benefactor who claimed he was with the school offered to pay for the airfare. What nefarious purpose does this mystery person have for getting the new Spider-Man in to see Jacob DeGrom? Excelsior!f

"Robin Hood and Little John runnin' through the forest, jumpin' fences, dodgin' trees and tryin' to get away. Contemplatin' nuthin' nut escape and finally maskin' it.  Oo-de-lally oo-de-lally golly what a day"

"Robin Hood and Little John runnin' through the forest, jumpin' fences, dodgin' trees and tryin' to get away. Contemplatin' nuthin' nut escape and finally maskin' it.  Oo-de-lally oo-de-lally golly what a day"

That is so disturbing on so many levels. I mean, it's his money and he can do what he likes with it, but how did he get that money and are there better used for it he didn't even consider?

There was some really good acting on early DS9, form Odo looking out into space asking "Home. Where is it?" to Kira questioning a Cardassiab prisoner who was accused of war crimes. Good stuff all around.

It's hockey, I tell ya! All these Canadian and Russian guys with their ice and skates brought their weather with them!