DShomshak

Just to be obtuse, I'll note that according to Nathan Sivin's translation of an old Chinese alchemy manual, the "potions" (all immortality elixirs, the Chinese didn't care about anything else) took the form of powders produced in a crucible, then mixed with jujube pulp and molded into pills. Sort of alchemical gumdrops. These would be far less bulky than the D&D standard potion. But the image might be a bit less romantic. (The elixirs were heavy on mercury and arsenic compounds. Well, eating a handful would ensure you'd never get sick again... They have extremely cool names, though. For a sample, see page 124 of Ultimate Mystic.) Dean Shomshak

Whatever I may think of Johnson's policies, I grant he at least has the political sense not to go out of his way to antagonize Democrats as McCarthy did. Dean Shomshak

No. Appearances too brief, small screen too low-res, and credits too small to be legible. And I don't look up whp played what. Dean Shomshak

Last week I finished Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season Two. Much of it is quite good. "Those Old Scientists," the crossover with Lower Decks, manages to be at once very good SNW, very good Lower Decks, and just plain very good Trek overall. It also gives "payoffs" for plot points in previous episodes, such as operating as a counterpoint to La'an's time travel adventure, and Number One learning that she goes from defending her place in Starfleet to becoming the literal poster girl (ahem, woman) for the organization. This would go on my list of Ten Best Trek Episodes Ever, if I ever complied such a list, which I won't. "Subspace Rhapsody," the musical episode, was an engagingly wacky romp with a substrate of important character development. The only way it could have been better came in Spock's explanation of why they keep bursting into song (with music from nowhere): After the technobabble, he could have added, "Or some unknown but nigh-omnipotent entity is... messing with us." Kirk groans, "Again?" Spock" "Indeed. If so, we can only hope the situation -- absurd as it is -- operates according to internally consistent principles by which it may be resolved." OTOH some episodes relied on Trek-tropes I find irritating, such as the hitherto-unknown form of radiation that has bizarrely specific effects. (And associated with unknown elements, to boot.) Or Dr. Mbenge telling Uhura she might be hallucinating from "deuterium poisoning." Deuterium is just a heavier isotope of hydrogen, and I'm pretty sure that a whiff of hydrogen won't sicken you in any way. I can acc ept some technobabble, but don't say things about real things that aren't true. "Under the Cloak of War" was searing, but IMO fell down slightly at the end. I can't believe the Federation would let the death of an ambassador pass as lightly as it seemed. "Changes" was the only episode I actively disliked, though. As for new characters, Pellea the engineer is a delight. I am grateful for every episode in which she appears. And while I am still not entirely happy at bringing in the Gorn, which I think undercuts the Original Series episode "Arena," I will admit they are impressively scary enemies. Dean Shomshak

I do this, too. (In fact I have several binders just for villains: one for teams and solo villains, one for the campaign's top-tier Master Villains and their teams, a slender one for the VIPEResque group CROWN, and another slender one just for demons since I write up a lot of demons. Only the villains I need for the current adventure go in the main binder.) Keeping lists of names to draw on for unexpected NPCs is a good idea. Dean Shomshak

But of course. If Coastal City is "Alternate Providence" the way Gotham City and Metropolis are both "Alternate NYC," then I presumed there might be an alternate Lovecraft, too. If Coastal City is in addition to Providence, then there's no need. HPL would certainly have visited, though, what with the two cities being so near to each other. Dean Shomshak

Was Coastal City the home of an early 20th century horror writer who lived in obscurity but is now well known? ADDENDUM: With tours of locations he adapted into his fiction, as he was a bit of a local-color writer as well. Dean Shomshak

WASHINGTON ZEBRA CRISIS -- DAY THREE! Hunt for zebra that escaped its trailer and went on the run (msn.com) (Reports differ as to whether the man who captured two of the zebras was a rodeo bullfighter or a rodeo clown. He could be both, I suppose.) Dean Shomshak

Over the last month, Freakonomics did a series on the US immigration system, all the ways it's messed up, how it got that way, and what might be done to fix it. The trilogy ended with a look at Canada's immigration system, which works better (almost anything would), though it does have problems in implementation and consequences. Anyway, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wanted to add his own two cents. So here's a chance to spend an hour with the guy at whose desk the buck stops (or the loonie, I suppose). If nothing else, Mr. Trudeau proves he can speak in paragraphs, which is more than one can say about many American politicians. https://freakonomics.com/podcast/a-social-activist-in-prime-ministers-clothing/ Or to let the Freakonomics program/podcast speak for itself, here's the episode blurb and introduction: Miller’s point was that Canada, like many high-income countries, has an aging population and a need for more workers in many sectors of the economy. We did ask Miller about the pressures that immigration is putting on Canada, especially when it comes to affordable housing, access to healthcare, and potential mismatches between immigrants and jobs. But after we put out that episode, a lot of our Canadian listeners wrote in to say the pressures were even greater than we knew — especially because Canada wasn’t taking in just a half-million new permanent residents a year, but nearly 700,000 international students and 750,000 temporary foreign workers. So we decided to revisit some of these questions — not with the minister of immigration, but with his boss, the prime minister: Justin TRUDEAU: You can invite half a million people into your home every year, if you’re Canada. Today on Freakonomics Radio, my conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. And we go way beyond immigration — we discuss whether to drill, baby, drill; we talk about how Canada is reconciling its brutal history with its Indigenous population; we hear why Trudeau isn’t a big cannabis user, even though he legalized it; and: what he might do if he loses re-election next year. TRUDEAU: I’m ultimately a social activist who’s going to look to how I can have a positive impact on the world. No specific point of agreement or disagreement, I just think it's worth hearing. Dean Shomshak

Translated from the Greek roots, I would guess "Deuterostomia" means "Two Mouths." Stoma being often used for any opening in a body, such as the pores on plant leaves. Everything in the RL Chgordata phylum is basically a tube with a mouth at one end and an anus at the other, with the surrounding tissues variously elaborated. So are arthropods, annelids, and unsegmented worms, for that matter, but I don't suppose the players really want a taxonomy lesson. Dean Shomshak

The US has a Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Canada has a Strategic Maple Syrup Reserve. Update about the latter: Lowest it's been in 16 years, but not yet cause for panic. Well, I hope not. The sap must flow. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-68657703 The Economist also has an article about the subject, but it's not yet available in full to non-subscribers. Dean Shomshak

Nitpick: RL cephalopods are mollusks. The inner anatomy of an octopus is more like that of a snail or a clam than it is like a lobster, bee, or any other arthropod. But thank you for the background information. And some of the "alternate" phylum names are rather clever. Dean Shomshak

I would qualify this article's claim: Conspiracy theories existed long before Paul Linebarger, a.k.a. Cordwainer Smith. But it does show an unsettling link between conspiracy theory, fantasy/SF, and propaganda. The Sci-Fi Writer Who Invented Conspiracy Theory (msn.com) Storytelling is powerful. Use it responsibly. And some people use that power with malicious intent. Dean Shomshak

So, propaganda rather than art. It will not endure. I have my suspicions, but this is likely not the thread to discuss them. Thank you for the warning. And it is sad, because the magic system does sound interesting. Dean Shomshak

So, this is apparently transplanting D&D races into a space setting. OK, why not. But do goblinoids have some distinct common origin that distinguishes them from other "bumphead" aliens? (I suppose that's implicit in the original "goblinoid" descriptor, but it doesn't hurt to check.) *Are* there other bumphead humanoids who aren't obvious animal-people or D&D expies? Dean Shomshak

NASA engineers repair Voyager 1 from billions of miles away, because they're just that smart. They hope they can keep it running and sending back useful data until the 50th anniversary of its launch. https://www.npr.org/2024/04/23/1246682946/good-news-from-voyager-1-which-is-now-out-past-the-edge-of-the-solar-system Dean Shomshak

A lawyer who used to work for the Manhattan DS office gives his take on the 'Hush Money' (reallyElection Interference) case: https://www.npr.org/2024/04/22/1246429903/the-prosecutions-case-in-donald-trumps-hush-money-trial Big takeaway: Pundits who say the case is shaky or unprecedented don't know their legal history of the Manhattan DA's office. Falsified documents cases are bread-and-butter for this office; and some have involved politicians trying to influence elections -- just at much lower levels. Well, I hope it's as strong a case as he suggests, since it's the only one that's actually made it to trial, or is likely to before the election. Dean Shomshak

The Republican plan for entrenched minority rule was in action long before Trump and will outlast him... though his reelection would turbocharge it: Fresh Air for April 22, 2024: How 'Minority Rule' threatens democracy : NPR Though the author interviewed notes the pushback has already begun in some states. For instance, Wisconsin voters shifted the balance of power in the state Supreme Court, in turn bringing a challenge to the extreme gerrymandering that gave Pubs their majorities in the state legislature. All is not yet lost, though hm, we do seem to be in the bottom of the 9th and the other team has the bases loaded. (I hope I got that right, sports metaphors are not my usual thing.) Dean Shomshak

A small note on ST: SNW's episode "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow": I liked the little exchange about, no, they aren't in New York City, they're in Toronto. I've heard that Toronto is often called upon to stand in for other cities; it's nice to see it on TV as itself. (Though IIRC "Forever Knight" was set in Toronto, so it does get to shine under its own name now and then. I still found it amusing. I also appreciate any acknowledgment by TV that North America consists of more than New York and California. It would have been even funnier if they'd filmed somewhere else and said it was Toronto. But IMDB tells me that Strange New Worlds is filmed in Ontario. Dean Shomshak

You're welcome! DeanShomshak

An excellent case for the honor of Neville Chamberlain. Perhaps MTG's office space would better be named for Lord Haw-Haw. Though I am told the Congress of that time held several members who used their free franking privilege to mass-mail Nazi propaganda to Americans. AFAIK Greene has not yet reached that level of open advocacy for a hostile power. But I do not trust her loyalty to the United States of America that actually exists, as distinct from the fantasy America of far-right imagination. Dean Shomshak

Update on my other project, The Sylvestri Family Reunion. HERO Patreon backers had their chance for a few months to comment on the manuscript, but Jason says they pretty much didn't. I choose to interpret that as the book being so good that no one thought of anything to add or change. Our colleague Lord Liaden also gave it a test read and offered suggestions, but please don't pester him for spoilers. He's sworn to secrecy by dreadful oaths. ("Don't talk about it, okay?" "Sure, whatever.") The manuscript and illustrations have gone to Jason, who will see to it that it will be assembled using actual pagemaking software, not just a simple pdf conversion. He also promises cover art. I'm thinking maybe just the Sylvestri achievement of arms, but there may be time for people to offer suggestions. There will be a disclaimer for people who have difficulty telling reality from fantasy: Dean Shomshak

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season Two finally came in at the library. I've seen the first three eps and Im impressed. Season One was pretty good overall, but no eps I would call really great. Season Two is starting strong, with three eps I rate as very good. The actors seem more comfortable in their roles, and the writers are daring to push the characters harder. "Ad Astra Per Aspera"deserves special mention as the best attempt at courtroom drama I've yet seen from ST, with a wily lawyer actually finding a way to use Federation law and Starfleet regulations to get the result she wants. Considerably better than "Cpourtmartial" (TOS), "The Measure of a Man" (TNG), or the TNG one with Ardra (though that was still a pretty good story). Dean Shomshak I look forward to the rest of the season.

My last Champions adventure was a fill-in because we didn't have the players for either the regular campaign's ongoing story, or the backup campaign's ongoing story. So we had two members of the Avant Guard hero team, plus a guest hero. Regular member Night Train was out bec ause he caught Covid, and a dragon robbing a biotech supply company in Buffalo, NY didn't seem apocalyptic enough to require his presence. Supers getting sick is something that happens offscreen. Dean Shomshak

For a little better news: The March 23, 2024 issue of The Economist examines immigration in the UK and argues that the country assimilates its immigrants remarkably well. For all the hyperventilating of politicians, immigrant ethnic ghettos where white Britons dare not go are a myth: Britain's immigrants mix thoroughly with each other, and rapidly spread to mingle with the general population.* And, well, the Prime Minister and the Lord Mayor of London are both South Asian chaps. They call it "Britain's Superpower" and suggest the rest of Europe could try learning a thing or two from the British example. Leader: https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/03/21/britain-is-the-best-place-in-europe-to-be-an-immigrant In greater depth, with charts: https://www.economist.com/britain/2024/03/18/without-realising-it-britain-has-become-a-nation-of-immigrants A letter in a more recent issue suggested one reason the UK might have an easier time assimilating people from other lands: A national identity as "British," separate from traditional ethnic identities such as "English" or "Welsh." Perhaps our resident Brits can comment? Dean Shomshak * No more Limehouse? No dark and mysterious enclave of sinister Orientals? I am almost disappointed, the place loomed so large in the stories of Sherlock Holmes and Fu Manchu. I suppose it would be culturally insensitive to re-create it as a theme park.