Joe Walsh

Oh, they have a whole menu to choose from based on the draft. Gay marriage, anti-sodomy laws, interracial marriage, contraception...
It seems clear to me that, if they aren't stopped, they'll get to them all, in time, and more.
And Democrats, in control of the other two branches of government, aren't even talking about eliminating the filibuster, let alone expanding the court.
All they're saying is to send them more money and vote harder (curiously, voting rights are another issue they've refused to use their power on).
Dems have had 50 years to codify abortion rights into law, but never did so.
Now they're saying that if we just wait until the next election and give them more money and vote for them, then this time surely they'll do what's needed.
I don't have a lot of hope for avoiding an increasingly fascist, anti-democratic future.

Possibly of interest as another case of, "Um, that wasn't the plan": Some in the British Parliament want to reform libel laws that make it very easy for well-heeled malefactors to squelch inquiries into them and their ill-gotten gains -- laws that Russian oligarchs use with great enthusiasm.
 
https://www.marketplace.org/2022/04/29/brits-push-back-against-slapp-lawsuits-that-gag-critics-of-oligarchs/
 
Linked from this, an interview with a sociologist who studies oligarchs. He says the sanctions are hitting the oligarchs a lot harder than the mere financial impact -- because the world of the giga-rich is a lot more like middle school than you may have thought.
 
https://www.marketplace.org/2022/03/11/russian-oligarchs-elite-sanctions-sociology/
 
Dean Shomshak

And right on cue, our BA.2 wave is kicking off.  Cases have tripled since last week (the state now only reports case counts weekly), test positivity has skyrocketed to over 9% (after most of the drive-thru testing clinics have shut down; it's practically impossible to get a test on a Sunday), and local epidemiologists report that the real count is probably 7 times the official number (because of the lack of testing and the fact that home tests are not reported).
 
It's almost what you would expect if you relaxed all protective measures in the face of a virus with an R0 of 12.
 
The governor responded to this news by holding a press conference to formally surrender to the virus. 

Since the science is making it ever more clear that covid can cause permanent cardiovascular damage, brain damage, diabetes, and infertility, I mean to continue masking indoors in public for the foreseeable future.  I intend to do my part to prevent transmission of a disease that is literally more contagious than measles.

I wear a mask more for fear I may be infected and not know it, and I do not want to be responsible for infecting others.

An unexpected silver lining during the height of the mask wearing/everybody obsessively washing their hands days was that the incidents of ordinary colds and flu plummeted. Now that people (including myself) have been slacking off they are returning to normal levels.
   I mention this because I currently have a bitca of a cold, and with my respiratory problems it’s a real pain in the a$$.
Keep wearing your masks, friends. 

Sounds great!
 
And as a fellow married man, I completely understand. We have to plan in years what others plan in months or days. 😅

Sounds great!
 
And as a fellow married man, I completely understand. We have to plan in years what others plan in months or days. 😅

Guys:
 
Spence sent me,a debound 4e,for making high-res scans akin to what I did for 4e Western HERO.  I had intended,to get them scanned over the Christmas break and soend the next couple,of monrhs cleaning then up.
 
Unfortunately, I am married, meaning I havent had a day off in twenty-odd years.  Off from work?  Yes.  A day of my,very own?  No; not really.    western HERO got done when she was working nights.  She dowsnt work nighta anymore. 
 
still, it will get done; just bear with me.
 
 

Joker has always been a prime candidate for "harmless-looking but deadly" thematic gimmicks, and various incarnations of the character over the decades have actually used them: lethal-voltage hand joy buzzer, acid-squirting lapel flower, thrown bladed playing cards, exploding juggling props or party favors, gun that projects a "Bang!" flag but then shoots the flag stick for lethal penetration, and of course several delivery methods for his trademark "Joker venom" that makes its victim literally die laughing.
 
Once you accept the premise of a guy fighting crime in a bat suit, all that other stuff is just extension of the convention.

I've been running uBlock Origin and Adblock Plus so long I forgot YouTube had ads.
 
Then again I don't watch Beau's unwatchable videos either.

Marlon Wayans Presents The Headliners (HBOMax): This one-hour comedy show presents five standup comedians and gives each the time for a short set. The laffs vary, of course, but four of the five had me wanting more. Worth a watch.
 

Thanks to streaming it on Warner, I could split up watching “The Batman” over two nights. I thought it was decent, but some of the plot elements padding it’s time should have been removed. Catwoman was not really needed.
 
I’ve been noticing that Batman movies have been steadily ramping down the campiness of the character since Adam West played him. A lot lingered in the 80s movies and a bit still remained in Nolan’s films. There’s even less in the current offering. The current version of the Riddler is about where Nolan’s Joker was at.

It's hard for me to care TBH. I don't much like the character, and the seemingly interminable reinterpretations of him have become boring to me. As you might imagine, I won't be seeing this movie regardless. But I don't object to anyone else enjoying it. 

It may be the way it was entered into the Store. Note PRIMUS has a 'in stock number' while Road Kill doesn't.
 

The degree to which Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield are major supporting characters with stories of their own was a welcome surprise. And Willem Dafoe almost steals the movie, magnificently.

I have finally gotten around to seeing No Way Home. It was excellent. Brilliant writing as usual, and Tom Holland and Zendaya are very good at their jobs. 

This is more about them out there than us in here.  “Is calling it an Arena Game really a bad thing for them?”
  For a very long time I’ve been noticing/complaining to friends about/ranting about the glacier slow change from games that were about interacting with friends around a table pizza & beer style with a game that had human (Elf, Orc, Dragon, Alien, etc.) emotional responses built into it.
   From the first time someone tried to get me interested in World of Warcraft, I looked at it and said “I go gaming to be with people.” Talking through a headset to strangers and thinking it’s a relationship is like calling the people on FaceBook your friends. I had seen Magic:The Gathering start to come up but everyone still had to sit around the same table for it back then.  All I see now are new ways to keep yourself amused while you’re alone at home. Even what’s called RPG’s now like Arkham Asylum contain no actual roleplay. Only chasing around on a preplanned story you can only win or lose at.   Try having your Batman call a temporary truce with Penguin and Two-Face so the three of you can go after the Joker. It can’t be done. The human element has been eliminated.
   Marvel’s new game could do very well with players who only want to match up stats and not have to/get to portray the characters they are representing.
    I feel like a dinosaur looking up at the pretty comet about to hit and wondering how much time there is left.

(thread necro)
 
Gizmodo has reviewed a preprint of the upcoming Marvel TTRPG.  Tl;dr: The ruleset is long on combat crunch and short on roleplaying and storytelling (to the point of calling it an "arena game").  It's not a positive review.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/21/us/reedy-creek-walt-disney-florida/index.html
 
 

It’s possible some people might be just throwing a buck or two at it in a custom pledge. You can support a Patreon campaign without selecting a tier.

The Republican politicians have no fear of electoral reprisal.  ESPECIALLY in Florida, where the electoral map is being structured to make the state government assuredly Republican.  One would hope their district map will be overturned by the courts, but this can't be considered a given now.

Spoilers for Moon Knight episode 4 callbacks:
 
 
I didn't even realize the fifth one!
 

If anyone is on the fence about the Patreon, the first two manuscript sections are interesting reads, although a bit frustrating without the bits which will be along later.

Gaslight has potential, although the section by itself felt a bit waffly. Imperial Throne is downright weird.

I definitely want more.

And the Patreon is cheap.

Recommend.