DShomshak

On 11/18/2023 at 4:45 PM, Duke Bushido said:

 

Ah, we'll then:

 

Chris:  no; I don't think it's something I care for.  Thank you though (referring to Moxie).

 

Hammerhead:  yeah; it'a really hard to find.  Dad uses to have to ride to Maine to get it!

 

Chris: really?

 

Hammerhead: yeah!  Not any more, though.

 

Chris:  so where do you get it now?

 

Hammerhead:  they have it at Cracker Barrel now!"

 

Chris: Cracker Barrel?

 

Noisy:  you know-  where white people respawn.

 

Duke:  [damned near dies laughing.]

 

 

Duke, you raised your kids right.

Dean Shomshak

This item just turned up in my internet front page newsfeed. A secret library walled away decades (centuries?) ago should be good for a Fantasy scenario or two. Plus it's in Tibet, for extra mystical glamor.

Unveiling the Unseen: 84,000 Unread Manuscripts Discovered at Monastery (msn.com)

Dean Shomshak

A recent article in The Economist pointed out that several developing South and East Asian countries are among the most rapidly 'aging,' demographically... without having first attained the degree of affluence enjoyed by, say, Japan. This will make supporting a large elder population even more difficult.

One solution might be to import labor. In a few decades, countries that are now freaking out about unplanned immigration from the Middle East and Africa may be actively courting such immigrants as a supplemental labor force, because those regions are the demographically 'youngest.' As a lover of irony, I find some piquance in this.

Dean Shomshak

18 hours ago, Rich McGee said:

On a less literary note, the old Sinbad films with SFX done by Ray Harryhausen are chock full of fine evil magicians who could easily be reskinned for use outside of their Hollywood Arabian setting.  I'm particularly fond of Tom "Doctor Who" Baker's Prince Koura, whose magic is just the right level of "this clearly isn't healthy for the user" to explain why magicians are so rare.  The fact that Caroline Munro is also in the film might make me a little biased, though.   

It's The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and yes, it is excellent!

EDIT: Oops, should have checked the next page before responding. But it's still a wonderful, and wonder-full, movie.

Dean Shomshak

People snarking on Twitter (pardon me, "X") over something a politician said isn't usually worth sharing here, but this is just too funny because it's so true.

Far-Right GOP Lawmaker's Question About Republicans Backfires Spectacularly (msn.com)

I'd suggest to Mr. Roy that he should switch parties and join the Dems. Even if his policy goals are anathema to most Democrats, he'd be in a party whose members actually want to legislate, and he would be in a position to attempt rational persuasion.

Dean Shomshak

2 hours ago, unclevlad said:

There's still an open question how long Johnson can go, before forced to survive a motion to vacate.  The rule for that is, as far as I know, still the Gaetz rule...any one member is all it takes.  There is move to change it, but I don't see anything beyond that it's been introduced.  I don't think anyone will try it...because I suspect the Dems will vote against removal this time.

I am reminded of Liz Truss and the head of lettuce.

Dean Shomshak

Never had it (yet), though my brother did. I had to bring him his meals at the far end of the house, both of use masked, and do his covid tests until we were sure he was over it.

I was pretty seriously worried after spending a few hours unmasked among hundreds of people to visit a Lovecraft=themed Hunted House attraction in Tacoma, then out to a Lovecraft-themed bar afterward for nachos. (Devil's Reef, also in downtown Tacoma. Tki bar, but the drinks all have names inspired by "The Shadow over Innsmouth." Proprietor recommends you not have the Third Oath of Dagon.) But it's ten days out and I've still shown no symptoms and my tests are negative.

I live with and help care for my very old, very frail mother. If she caught covid, it would certainly kill her. So I dislike taking chances.

Dean Shomshak

Vide Doc Democrqacy's admonition, here's All Things Considered's recent interview with an Oregon Representative who seems like a very earnest public servant. His special interest is public transportation and making cities more walkable and bikeable. Naturally, I'd never heard of him before this, because loudmouth lunatics hog all the media attention. And the media usually let them.

Though Mr. Blumenauer has also decided not to seek reelection.

https://www.npr.org/2023/11/09/1211949662/an-exit-interview-with-democratic-rep-earl-blumenauer-of-oregon

Dean Shomshak

Restrainable was my first thought as well.

However, if the weapons created are *exactly* the same as the 'mundane' versions except for how they are created (psionic energy instead of a weaponsmith), perhaps the Power you're looking for is a Physical Transform: Weapon from Nothing. Expanded Results Group, to make any kind of weapon (I'd set that at +1/2 for any weapon, +1/4 for a limited selection). Limited Target Group (Only from Thin Air, -1/4), because you can't use the Transform to change ogther objects into weapons -- meaning you can't use the Transform to get rid of, say, an opponent's armor. Likely All-or-Nothing (-1/2) so a few dice are enough to make hand weapons but the character won't use it repeatedly to create Mind Trebuchets. Then whatever other Limitations you think are appropriate -- maybe Concentration and a Phase of Extra Time?

The "reversal condition" might be when the character no longer needs the weapon or the weapon is off his or her person for more than a Turn. No equipping armies with materialized weapons!

Dean Shomshak

From my frontpage newsfeed. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, given the sheer number of state legislators, that one would suggest flat-out ignoring initiative results they don't like. Direct democracy, boo! ...As long as it gives the wrong result. So, eyeroll.

Republican Pushes to Overturn Ohio Election Result (msn.com)

Dean Shomshak

Yesterday's episode of "The Daily" reported on Donald Trump, Don Jr. and Eric Trump testifying in the NY fraud case. Reporter's takeaway: The prosecutors in Trump's criminal trials will try their darndest to get Trump himself on the stand. On trial for lying, he repeats the lies, under oath. Plus raving at the jusge, which for some reason judges do not take well to.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/08/podcasts/the-daily/trump-trial.html

As one recent op-ed put it, Trump finally faces people he can't bully, bribe, or bury in lawyers. And it's driving him crazy. (or revealing the crazy that was always there.) Don Jr, by comparison, merely displays the same blithe conviction that laws and facts are for other people.

Dean Shomshak

Oh -- speaking of Earth history, the science program NOVA just finished a four-part series called "Ancinet Earth" that follow the Earth's development from coalescing from cosmic dust to the present. Earth has been very different planets throughout its history, which would make excellent models for alien worlds.

Dean Shomshak

My newsfeed says Democrat Andy Bashear won re-election as governor of Kentucky.

Dean Shomshak

Oh, I don't doubt the moral panic is completely sincere. The rules are changing quickly; people like them feel, correctly, that they no longer have the social privileges they once enjoyed. Of course they're lashing out at anything that offends their sensibilities.

It's Fundamentalism 101. When you're about to lose everything, you can't give an inch on anything. Double down, even.

I am told this is how American Christian fundamentalism came about. (Warning: I recount what I read; I am not myself an expert.) The late 19th century was another time of rapid changes that some Christians thought threatened the underpinnings of their faith and their notions of social hierarchy. So, they doubled down. One result was a redefinition of the Bible: no longer a complex text whose truths might be obscure and subject to re-interpretation, but *inerrant* in every word and *self-evident* in its truth.

This created problems because the Bible manifestly holds heaping helpings of poetry, metaphor, parable, dubious history, and outright contradiction. So fundamentalists qualified their claim: The absolute truth of the Bible becomes self-evident to anyone who reads it if they have the Holy Spirit in their heart. Anyone who points out problems like Genesis giving multiple versions of the Creation merely prove they lack the Holy Spirit. In fact, that they are deceived by the Devil.

Only this makes further problems, because people will still read this complex and difficult text and reach different conclusions. So who has the Holy Spirit and who is deceived by the Devil? Reason and historical and linguistic study having been ruled out, such contests become political. And this is how the Baptists, who began with the libertarian premise of each believer reading the Bible for himself, ended up with completely authoritarian dogma.

It also follows that reading the Bible also no longer becomes necessary. The text is no longer a text: It is a talisman for evoking the Holy Spirit. I suspect the people who mock Speaker Mike Johnson for his Biblical/political claims miss the point. He doesn't need to cite a verse to explain his stance about, say, tariffs or aid to Ukraine. He's guided by his idea of the Bible, which he knows is true because the Holy Spirit tells him so.

And I suspect the Moms for Liberty don't need to read the books they want banned, let alone read them critically, because those texts are also seen as talismans -- but for invoking the Devil. But that's just my own guess.

Dean Shomshak

On 10/28/2023 at 8:29 PM, Cancer said:

My brother-in-law says, "I want one!" Not paranoid AFAIK, but he likes fedoras. Has 2 from the 1940s.

Dean Shomshak

Four-Eyes updated. Here's a bit of new text that incidentally addresses one of my pet peeves with the Champions Villains trilogy: A tendency to present all characters as experienced and in a sense "finished," with little uncertainty (or freedom) in what way they'll go. Sometimes I think characters should specifically be *new* villains, giving the PCs a chance to shape their destinies.

Quote

Campaign Use: As presented, Marvin is a new character. The PCs are the first heroes to encounter him. He’s a “supervillain” only because he cannot control his powers. The first challenge is double: How do they stop Marvin’s accidental rampage? And how do they respond to panic-driven mobs trying to kill him? Even his parents are now terrified of him. GMs decide for themselves what happens after that — but Marvin’s youth makes him malleable, and therefore a temptation to people who want to exploit his power. Marvin’s powers can trap PCs in scenes of terror; but he can also become the focus of stories of social horror, as the heroes see what people can do to a child out of blind fear or ruthless ambition. And if someone can’t find a way to give him some sort of positive life example, he’ll grow up as a true monster at war with the world.

 

Four-Eyes does not Hunt anyone. Since his Powers are supposed to be overwhelming, they should not be weakened. If PCs have high DMCV or Mental Defense, scale up his mental attacks as needed to make them dangerous. He’s also supposed to start out as physically incompetent. That may change as he grows up.

Dean Shomshak

The Economist has of course run editorials urging Israel, Middle Eastern leaders, and American government to be reasonable and seek a long-term, peaceful solution that will make the Middle East better for everyone. Unfortunately, none of those parties are prone to be reasonable.

I could go on to discuss Israel's foundation, history, and exaltation of 3,000-year-old mythology at the expense of real, present people, but many people cannot distinguish between criticism of Zionism (a political program) and anti-Semitism (hatred of a people and religion). So I'll stop now\, and merely say that modern Israel's history has been a graphic demonstration that two wrongs still don't make a right.

Dean Shomshak

4 hours ago, Bazza said:

As Bolo posted, it is an Aussie novelty pop song. 
 

Thank you, I knew I'd heard it before on a comedy-song program but had no context. So I made up one as silly as the song.

(Though now I wish someone would do a Southern parody of Tosca.)

Dean Shomshak

9 hours ago, Bazza said:

What's-a matter you? Hey! Gotta no respect?
What-a you t'ink you do, why you look-a so sad?
It's-a not so bad, it's-a nice-a place
Ah shaddap-a you face!

Ah, Vinnie's aria from Act III of "Bubba" Puccini's operatic masterpiece Toscaloosa! I Will never forget tyhe first time I heard Pavarotti's magnificent rendition. (Though some people say Ray Stevens' is better. I grant you, it's a tough choice.)

Dean Shomshak

No legal eagle here, but it occurs to me that lawsuits do not have to target actual persons, nor be brought on behalf of actual persons. Corporations have only a legal fiction of quasi-personhood, but they get sued all the time. And environmental laws have resulted in lawyers bringing suits on behalf of rivers, forests, and other natural phenomena on the grounds that human activities have damaged them. So even if undead (or nature spirits, or whatever) are not legal persons, they still might be subject to civil law and use it themselves. -Just to add another layer of complication.

In the litigation-prone US, at least, judges and legislators might not want to open the cans of worms implied by super-powers and nonhuman intelligences, but lawyers will probably force them to do so. If for no other reasons, lawyers with a hunger for publicity would probably try bringing test cases to see if some existing law or precedent could be contorted to fit the situation.

Dean Shomshak

On 10/26/2023 at 3:38 PM, Cancer said:

Meanwhile, front-runner in Argentina's election wants to "privatize science"

 

I.e., end public funding for it.  Even though Argentina is near the bottom in GDP percentage spent on science world-wide.

 

Go ahead.  Eat your seed corn.  Just do it.  You know you want to.

I just checked, and Argentina has defaulted on its sovereign debt 9 times since its independence in 1816, 3 times in the last two decades alone. Nigh-suicidal economic mismanagement isn't an aberration, it's tradition. Making it even more difficult for a sci/tech sector to develop, moving away from the boom-and-bust economy based on commodity export, seems quite in character.

They've been eating the seed corn for *decades.* But the IMF keeps supplying more seed corn in the form of debt restructuring and making more loans. As the third largest economy in Latin America (after Brazil and Mexico), I suppose Argentina is "too big to fail."

The same sources say that 100 years ago, Argentina was in the top 10 countries for per capita GDP. Which shows that any country can ruin itself with sufficiantly bad leadership, maintained long enough.

Dean Shomshak

If you want a guide to Earth's past geography, the man to consult is geologist Christopher Scotese. Even more so if you want a guide to Earth's future geography -- AFAIK he's the first to try running plate tectonics forward, though after about 50 million years the continents might follow different courses. If you want to send characters back to the Permian (c'mon, everybody does Age of Dinosaurs, stretch yourself) or forward 100 million years, Scotese has made maps for you. Here's his website's Earth History section:

http://scotese.com/earth.htm

And here's that map of the Permian:

Scotese also has a Youtube channel with plate tectonic animations.

And here's a PDF atlas of the future, with maps at 25-million year increments, with brief explanations of what the continents are doing and what the climate is probably like.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323511465_Atlas_of_Future_Plate_Tectonic_Reconstructions_Modern_World_to_Pangea_Proxima_250_Ma

Dean Shomshak

The reasoning I've heard is that while Republicans from districts Biden won might have less fear of being primaried out, they must expect they'd replace any support from the national party with active hostility. Certainly lose any financial backing, increasing the chance of losing in the general.

I still think it gutless. If they worked really hard for their constituents, they might still have a decent chance of winning, forst against whatever hard-right loon the national party propped up against them and then in the general. If necessary, declare themselves independent -- IIRC the House and Senate have a few who caucus with one party or another without claiming membership.

The analyst on ATC said that Johnson has, somehow, avoided making any real enemies in any of the GOP factions. Beyond that, his success may have been the result of sheer exhaustion.

At leaast he spoke one nice sentence about looking forward to working with Hakeem Jeffries, which is more grace than I would expect from, say, Jordan, Gaetz or Boebert. And more basic political and media sense. We shall see how much real cooperation actually develops.

Dean Shomshak

12 hours ago, Pattern Ghost said:

Sorry for the negative reply, but I think it's important to try to look at all of the information received on the key events in this conflict as objectively as possible, especially since objectivity in the matter has been historically difficult to come by.

 

No no, if there's better information, I want to hear of it. I posted because this was the first I'd heard of any acoustic analysis (or that there was any acoustic evidence at all).

Thank you for the link.

Dean Shomshak

All Things Considered: Hamas blames the explosion at the Gaza hospital on an Israeli airstrike. Israel blames it on a misfired rocket from Islamic Jihad. Some outside analysts study the publicly-available evidence and find both claims dubious.

https://www-cf.npr.org/2023/10/23/1208061552/what-new-analysis-shows-about-the-gaza-hospital-explosion

Dean Shomshak