DShomshak

If she absorbs light, she might appear as a black silhouette when her powers are active -- which would make it easier to maintain her Secret ID. (Maybe with a halo of Kirby dots, a la Sunspot from the New Mutants, to add visual interest.) In that case, her costume might be very simple, with no logo as such -- much of the time, it wouldn't be visible. Following Greywind's sketch, it might be a leotard in one color, with two vertical arcs from shoulder to waist facing each other. Dean Shomshak

Admittedly, the result would have been the same if the boats had flown Biden or Black Lives Matter flags. As King Canute reminded us, the natural world doesn't give a rat's ass about mortal desires. The tide will come in; plagues will not magically disappear; and stormy lakes will sink open-sided boats. But Trumpists do seem unusually determined to ignore reality. Dean Shomshak

Yeah, I also get calls from South Asia claiming to be Microsoft tech support, Apple tech support, IRS threats, yadda yadda, a few times a month. The first time they almost got me, because I*was* having problems with Wibdows, so it seemed plausible that the program had contacted Microsoft to report the problem. But the request to get access to my computer smelled fishy, and wasn't possible anyway because I'm stuck with dial-up. Can't give them access and stay on the phone. Since then, I just hang up. Every few months, I also get calls from someone who says, "Hey Grandpa." This never fooled me ofr a second because I don't have children, let alone grandchildren. I did once try stringing the guy along to hear what the scam would be, by putting a slight quaver in my voice and asking, "Jason? I almost didn't recognize your voice." And got the spiel about being in an accident that wasn't really his fault but he was arrested anyway, and needs money to make bail. I tried taking the scammer down the rabbit hole by saying that he shouldn't diappoint the family like this, he dowsn't want to be left with the humans when our masters return and THE HARVEST begins... No use; he had his script and ignored whatever I said. He tried calling again after I got bored and hung up, practicalloy weeping about the trouble he was in, but I told him to solve it himself and hung up again. So yeah, there's really nothing to be gained by trying to have fun at a scammer's expense. Dean Shomshak

Looking over the list, I can't see any events that would impel Chrysaor to go back in time. As a hero, he is willing to defy the Fates... but as a scion of the Greek gods, he will not do so lightly. Especially after seeing the trouble caused by his teammate Emanon, whose powers all involved changing history. (Like when another teammate, Golden Bear, found that as a side effect of something Emanon did, his hippy-dippy sister Sunflower was now his supervillain arch-nemesis.) Quake notices the various earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, but though his earth control powers are vast they don't operate on that scale. He can cause earthquakes, but not stop them. So he'd probably try to stop the Deepwater Horizon disaster (April 20), as the greatest help he can give using his powers. Repaorman is a street hero with a trick gun and gadgets. He'd try to stop the May 20 robbery at the Musee d'Arte Moderne in Paris. Morningstar's hell-spawned powers are not well suited to dealing with natural disasters, riots or airplane crashes. He'd probably go back to try stopping the May 28 Ahmadiyya Mosque massacre in Lahore, Pakistan, even though it means going on holy ground. Dean Shomshak

Apparently the problems could arise from all the coral larvae and other plankton getting sucked in -- enough that it could seriously impact the coral reefs in the Gulf of Aqaba, which are important for other reasons. The marine biologist who discussed this says the ecological impact could be minimized by placing the intake pipe more than 400 feet deep. This would cost more and take longer -- think construction workers in diving suits -- but this project is already projected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. The added cost should not be that great, compared to the total cost. But one must never underestimate the short-sightedness of government budgeters. Dean Shomshak

Oh, and the NOVA episode was quite interesting, and had political aspects. The problem: The Dead Sea is shrinking rapidly, because Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians are all pulling water from the Sea of Galilee and Jordan River. They are also pumping water out of the Dead Sea directly and evaporating it for salt, magnesium, bromine, and other chemicals. The sea's shrinking is also causing hundreds of sinkholes to open around its shore every year, and wrecking the tourism industry around the Dead Sea. (Including medical tourism, as the super-salty and chemical-laden waters have therapeutic uses.) Jordan is building a delination plant on the Gulf of Aqaba, and plans to pipe the leftover brine to the Dead Sea, restoring it. However, this requires cooperation between Jordan, Israel and the Palestinians. This has been difficult, but some political leaders are optimistic it might happen and lead to a wider peace because everybody needs water, and everybody has a financial stake in the Dead Sea. However, some scientists are dubious. The Red Sea brine will have a different chemical composition than the existing Dead Sea water, which could cause some pretty spectacular changes. There could also be ecological impacts on the Gulf of Aqaba. I recommend this episode. Dean Shomshak

The Tacoma News Tribune reports this morning that employees at the Tacoma, WA mail sorting center have defied orders and put some sorting machines back together again. Because it was too slow to truck the mail to the Seattle center, sort it, then truck it back again. Another attempt by the Deep State to sabotage the Trump agenda, and Gods bless 'em. Dean Shomshak

Wasn't that from Ask Doctor Science? ("He has a Master's degree... in Science!") I'm sorry to say I can't remember anything that happened in 2010. Some of my PCs might want to mitigate the covid-19 pandemic by encouraging virology research in the area, but I doubt 10 hours would be enough to set up anything useful. Now, if it were 20 years some of my PCs might try preventing the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Prep bygathering a dossier of news reports from late 2000, early 2001, on unusual but not important events, and get them to Proper Authorities as proof that the 9-11 warning is valid. (Though Chrysaor would go looking for Mohammed Atta et al to deal with them directly. Being a god from the Greek mythic realm, he's a bit impulsive and prone to think he IS the Proper Authority.) Dean Shomshak

Well, that's the first night of the Republican convention. I'll admit that Sen. Tim Scott actually brought up a few achievements that, if true, could be rational grounds for voting Republican. Though Trump has then been the world's worst salesman for, say, encouraging inner city investment. But most of the speakers before him ranged from the doomy to the utterly unhinged. The McWhatsTheirNames' (sorry, I've a bad memory for names) blatant scaremongering about colored hordes coming for white suburbanites was disgraceful. The attempt to rewrite history to make Trump a hero of Covid response would be laughable if it weren't for the 170,000 dead and counting. The attempt to "humanize" and "empathize" Trump by having him talk with ordinary people he's helped was cringe-oinducing, as he kept rather obviously asking them to praise him. But I must say, conservatives do outrage better than liberals. OTOH... Nobody is this angry unless they know they're wrong. Dean Shomshak Addendum: I don't think I'll watch tonight. NOVA is on, and I'd rather learn about attempts to save the Dead Sea.

This shares many elements with the Satanic Cult Panic from the 1980s-90s, though with more politics and less preschool and Multiple Personality Disorder. Well, as it notes with regard to the linkage between QAnon and anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theories tend to follow the same pattern. QAnon draws on Satanic Cult Panic; Satanic Cult Panic draws on past subversion myths about Jews and Catholics; which copy witch fears from the Renaissance. On a recent All Things Considered interview, "QAnon Anon" podcaster Travis View said QAnon is spreading like wildfire among American Evangelicals, to the point of becoming practically an alternate religion. Again no surprise, given the similar cosmic war, apocalyptic worldviews. Dean Shomshak Addendum: But I'm disappointed the Snopes summary doesn't mention Reptoids. Someone needs to tell the QAnon folks that it just isn't a proper conspiracy theory without Reptoids. Dean Shomshak

I'm actually a bit curious how the Republicans will do the convention, because an all-video format actually could work to Trump's advantage -- he's always been so much a creature of media illusion. Like, they could CGI in whatever backdrop he wants, add cheering crowds, a "yuge" golden throne with Nancy Pelosi chained to it like Leia to Jabba the Hutt, an honor guard of warrior angels with flaming swords, and Jesus Christ Himself appearing to proclaim him the New Messiah! Anything at all that Trump's ego demands, or that might appeal to his base. Dean Shomshak

Washington, of course, has scads of 'em. I expect that Republican zealots *will* try interfering with mail-in ballots as Archer has described. Maybe even trying to rip out and destroy drop boxes in Dem-friendly regions. But I also expect attempts to thwart in-person voting, such as groups of armed men outside polling places demanding to see voter registration cards (according to a recent newspaper article, the law against this sort of blatant voter intimidation was repealed). I have also heard the suggestion that Putin may try interfering by blacking out cities on Election Day, so people will be reluctant to leave their homes and electronic voting machines can't run until generators are hooked up. (it's already established that the power grid's security is grossly insufficient.) It's also possible that voter rolls are being hacked into, to cast further doubt on the results. It's why Dems need massive turnout, big enough to overcome the likely fraud and suppression. Trump will still claim fraud, but but with a big enough, clear enough loss, his own attempts to rig the vote just become more indictments. No sitting out this election because no candidate is precisely what you wanted. Dean Shomshak

Biblical reference, 6th chapter of Genesis, IIRC. I don't have the King James Version to hand, but it tells how the sons of God married daughters of men and their offspring were the Nephelim: paraphrasing, "And there were giants in the Earth in those days, the mighty men of renown." So, a phrase for legendary heroes. Dean Shomshak

Michael Walzer, Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations, 5th ed. Superb, and has helped me clarify my thinking on politics as well as war. In brief, an exploration and a defense of "Just War" theory. It necessarily discusses some alternative theories of war and the state of current international law. Even a summary would be very long. 5th edition introduction updates the discussion to the "War on Terror." Gaming application: The discussion of attitudes and practices of war around the world and through the centuries could be used in designing cultures with conflicting attitudes, or war gods embodying different approaches to or aspects of war. Also, historical incidents that could be used just by filing off the names, such as the Athenian ultimatum to the people of Melos. Dean Shomshak

This is a publication thing rather than a content thing, but I'd go back to giving every character three plot seeds. I think it's an excellent way of showing how to use the character -- more concrete than the "Campaign Use" section of the character sheet. Dean Shomshak

Speaking of scenes that look a bit more, hm, dubious to 2020 sensibilities, last night I watched :Dagger of the Mind." Kirk wants to test the mind machine MacGuffin, rightly thinking the insane asylum doctor is not being truthful with him. The lady scientist he's drafted to help him tries implanting a false memory that they had a passionate one-night stand. Um? If a guy did this to a woman, we'd probably call him a sexual predator. Dean Shomshak

A friend of mine says that people are making homemade ST eps and posting them online. (Legal, as long as you don't try charging money, apparently.) One posits that Trelane is a Continuum child... and Q gets tasks as his babysitter. In desperation, he turns to the best-functioning adult he knows: He appears on the Enterprise, begging, "Picard, you've got to help me! This brat is driving me crazy!" And Picard laughs... Dean Shomshak

For me, the definitive Captain America moment came in Mark Gruenwald's run, during the Scourge of the Underworld story arc. The Water Wizard (fairly obscure villain) finds Cap and takes him to The Bar With No Name, where the Scourge has massacred more than a dozen third-string super-criminals. "You have to be our hero," the Water Wizard says. Even most of the supervillains trust that Cap will do right by them -- now that's a hero! Dean Shomshak

An important point! So much depends on who's writing the character. The latest run of Doctor Strange was painful and I had to quite several issues in, as the writer seemed determined to wreck and reject everything established about the character and, indeed, how magic works in the Marvel Universe. OTOH the Sorcerers Supreme limited series was interesting (though flawed). One of the best moments came at the end, when all the students of the Ancient One ome through time, space and dimension to help him do something very important... and though it isn't called out, Baron Mordo is there in the background. In the Mystic World, the bond between mentor and student is stronger than the conflict between hero and villain. Thor is high on my list for the reasons LL described, and I might nominate Walt Simonson's tenure as one of the best runs in comic book history. Dean Shomshak

Doctor Strange. That he earned his powers through study. The phantasmagorical alien dimensions. The really cool house. I imprinted on him early, thanks to a few raggy old comics from the first run (early first run) I found in a box in my attic. Between those and Yellow Submarine, it became nigh inevitable that I would write The Ultimate Supermage. After that, probably Captain America and the Flash (hm, another hero I encountered early... with the issue holding Doctor Alchemy's first appearance. I am seeing a pattern.) For all I've enjoyed Kurt Busiek's Astro City, I can't really nominate any of the heroes in it, because they are secondary to a larger theme and narrative. Oddly, with DC I have mostly preferred the new characters such as Blue Devil and Starman (Will Payton), which resulted in frequent disappointments when their titles were cancelled. The "Old Standbys" just had too much baggage. Dean Shomshak

Postal Service is also removing boxes and offices in Montana: ATC interviewed Montana Senator Jon Tester (D) about it, and he's not happy. The reason given is that these branches handle so little mail they aren't profitable. Sen. Tester points out that that they are also necessary for the lives of many Montanans, and that the Postal Service is not a for-profit company. Even more sinister, the Postal Service has removed hundreds of sorting machines around the country, which will slow mail delivery, thus ensuring that mail-in ballots arrive too late. Dean Shomshak

Getting back to the CU: While I personally prefer real cities for the wealth of detail and local color they provide, from a publishing standpoint it's probably better for a superhero game setting to create a fictional Standard Campaign City (or several, for different styles and subgenres). It lets you do whatever damage or make up whatever history you want, put together all the desired elements and settings, and not have to worry so much either about "getting it right" or preempting a GM who has a different vision for the city but wants to play a more or less as-published CU. (Though for GMs who want to use real cities, I'd hope that somewhere there would be suggestions on how to do this.) Incidentally, while we're mentioning real cities, one of my Supermage playtest adventures took the PCs to Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Which I found is ridiculously historic, mythic, and all-around Supermagey. I could never have invented anything cooler and stranger than what I found. We travel not for trafficking alone; By hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned: For lust of knowing what should not be known, We take the Golden Road to Samarkand. James Elroy Flecker, Hassan Dean Shomshak

I do hope a Biden Administration can find a role for Yang. His interviews on ATC and other programs, as well as his debate appearances, impressed me with his intelligence, coherence, public spirit and originality. I mean, I don't know if Universal Basic Income is a good idea or a bad idea, but it's an attempt at a practical solution and escape from ideological/cultural trench warfare. Dean Shomshak

The most interesting attack on Harris, I think, came from Trump himself: He accused her of being disrespectful" in her grilling of Bret Kavanaugh... and in her debate attack on Joe Biden. I mean, that isn't even dog-whistle subtext, it's standing on the porch with a bullhorn yelling, "Here, Fido!" How dare the woman of color not show deference to the white man? Even when the man is trying to push Trump from office? Dean Shomshak

"As usual for the by Night supplements, we do not guarantee absolute fidelity to the real world. No doubt readers who live in Mexico City will discover many amusing or infuriating differences from the city they know. Some errors are unavoidable errors of research; others are deliberate simplifications to make the city easier for outsiders to understand." -- from the intro to "A Flower Growing in Poison," the geography chapter I wrote for Mexico City by Night But I did try, especially to find the places and conditions that would be cool for gaming. And Mexico City gave me an embarrassment of riches. Dean Shomshak