See, I actually LOVE when it gets pointed out that the Civil War had a fair sized group of Southerners stay as Unionists.. THOSE are the guys we should have statues of up more often in our parks etc.
"One day soon, man is going to be able to harness incredible energies – maybe even the atom; energies that could ultimately hurl us to other worlds in some sort of spaceship. And the men that reach out into space will be able to find ways to feed the hungry millions of the world and to cure their diseases. They will be able to find a way to give each man hope and a common future… and those are the days worth living for."
See, I actually LOVE when it gets pointed out that the Civil War had a fair sized group of Southerners stay as Unionists.. THOSE are the guys we should have statues of up more often in our parks etc.
See, I actually LOVE when it gets pointed out that the Civil War had a fair sized group of Southerners stay as Unionists.. THOSE are the guys we should have statues of up more often in our parks etc.
Hermit, is this a repetition of something they screwed up before, against your advice? If it is, they're just going to keep on using you to help save them, unless you draw the line.
I don't know your specific situation, so it probably isn't my place to give advice. But you warned them, again. They ignored you, again. They screwed up, again. It's not your responsibility to always clean up the mess they made that you told them how to avoid. I know standing your ground is tough to do when it involves family, but they'll never change their pattern unless they face the consequences. If that makes them angry with you, well, maybe you're better off parting ways.
Yes, with Aaron Taylor Johnson as Kraven. Not close to the first person I would have thought of to play the part, but we'll see.
But that's another beef I have with Sony: Taking characters who are outright villains, or at best anti-heroes, and making them the protagonists of superhero movies, mainly because they have the rights to the character. They don't understand what the genre is about and why it was popular for so long. To be fair, most creators of comics today seem to suffer the same deficiency.
Okay. I should let this drop but my brain came back to it and I got a few ideas for a timeline. Obviously, I am no proper history student of Canadian history, so this is more conjecture, liberal skimming from various sources applied in a slap dash manner, and whimsy. All of this is subject to change and I am sure there will be much "Mmmmph that isn't how it would have happened" inserted by our Canadian allies on the board. And I'm good with that, but it's my hope some of these ideas will be considered worthwhile with a bit of tweaking. Some I'm sure, will need flat out correction.
You may notice there is no mention of the War of 1812. Honestly? I could joke about Americans always forgetting that one, but I think the existing Canadian Champion source books cover it better than I could and I couldn't think of the best 'Northgate focus' on it.
As of this point, I've only gotten to the Golden Age
*******
Northgate timeline (History continued)
In 1741, the first Fort Bourbon was established, but due to “small pox” of unusual nature and virulence in the area, was later moved. Trade continued, of course, though Cree and French alike were careful to avoid the deserted fort for a decade and despite the promising river path now open for even greater exploration. Actual settlement in the area was discouraged for a time but eventually, the area would lure others who either were brave enough to risk rumors of curses and plague, or ignorant of them entirely.
In 1763, the British, victors of the Seven Years War over France led to the formal claiming over the area of Manitoba, and, a decade later, the famous North Brothers discovered that, contrary to outdated records, the area here was to put it in their findings “Uncursed, Unplagued and relatively unpopulated by civilised men”. True, there were Cree and Métis as neighbors, but they had avoided enough of the area to give a foothold for a settlement. Indeed, one of the North Brothers, overstepping his bounds, even brought some respectful tribute to the tribal elders. Some historians think that’s why things went a bit smoother for this settlement than they would for Winnipeg, at least at first.
While the brothers continued to explore and survey, somewhere a government official, in a hurry to get his paperwork done, simply labeled the proposed area for a settlement “North’s Gate” and this would, more or less, stick. It would be a long time before the name meant anything of importance to most though.
1783, The American Revolution was, in many ways, not of import to most in Manitoba, at least, not at first but the areas around “North’s Gate” would be affected by it thanks to one man named Philoman Portendorfer. A prestigious and wily conman, Portendorfer could see the panic in the eyes of the loyalists as they found themselves in a land where the ‘traitors’ had won. Philoman had taken no sides, but approached many a loyalist pretending to be one himself. He spun elaborate tales of the vengeful nature of the revolutionaries and how Loyalist land was to be seized by them. Why he himself was driven from his home, and it was “only by a kindlier god than an old sinner such as myself was fortunate enough to have land up north”. The loyalists who took the bait and inquired would be spun an elaborate story of land near the most beautiful river you ever saw, perfect for fishing, trade, and why yes, farming too.
Sure that they were about to lose their lands in the newly minted “United States of America”, more than a few loyalists give their land in exchange for the promised “Loyalist Utopia” to the far north. It was, of course, a swindle. It is estimated that roughly a hundred and twelve men, their wives and children, went North only to find the forged papers they had were as false as Fool’s Gold. By the time they arrived, Philoman, who had stayed behind to ‘help other true sons of the crown’ had sold their old homes and made quite a tidy fortune.
This particular group of settlers, sometimes referred to by those hunters and trappers in the area as “Portendorfer’s Pinhead Pilgrimage” had a rough time of cold winters, hard men who did not care what paper you waved in their face, and indigenous people who weren’t thrilled to have yet more pale strangers tromping around lost. Some turned back, some, well, they died, but a stubborn chunk actually made a go of it and held on forming their own small settlement that would be eventually absorbed by the city to come.
It should be noted that in modern Northgate, there is more than one statue of Philoman Portendorfer and he is seen more with interest and even a bit of admiration than old rancor. Nothing like a century or two to help develop a sense of humor in a people.
Of course, many loyalists moved to Canada without aid of swindle. This influx of newcomers would alarm the remaining French speaking residents who felt increasingly pressed. The tribal lands had to deal with an influx of colonizers who did not know, nor respect already agreed upon boundaries and behaviors. These seeds of tension would sprout and bloom in what would later be known as the Red River Rebellion.
1869-1870 The Red River Rebellion was a Métis uprising that lead to the creation of the province thanks to the Manitoba Act of May 1870. Despite having many demands met, the Métis would in time find themselves disadvantaged to the point many would move to the Northwest. Indeed, with Northgate far more prosperous in this timeline than the area would be otherwise, the pressure of an English speaking White population was even more intense. Nevertheless, a substantial and stubborn Francophone minority would always be a part of the area.
1876, The area was finally and officially incorporated as a city. It was named Northgate, in honor of the Brothers that explored the area a century before, as well as how fitting it was for the city’s growing purpose as a true trading passage to the north. Of course, the fact it also required minimum paperwork was, as many point out, just a byproduct of Canadian Common Sense.
1894, Steamship transportation had come into its own and then some, offering new opportunities for transport through Canada’s waterways. At this time, Northgate had a very prosperous harbour, called Colville Landing. It was run and operated by the HBC (Hudson’s Bay Company) which had quite the influence in the young city. Alas, one of the largest steamships of the time, caught fire while in in port, and a great blaze consumed the docks and many of the buildings on it. This crippled the economy for a period of time and Winnipeg benefited from Northgate’s loss but the river and rail trade were simply too valuable not to reinvest in and repairs went forward with gusto. The rebuilt district was renamed New Colville Landing.
It should be noted that, much like the great Chicago Fire of 1871 (albeit on a much smaller scale), the Colville Landing fire of Northgate lead to stricter safety codes, and a historically well trained department of Firefighters that the modern city would take great pride in.
1914-1920 The Great War/WW1 led to an action that would shape the demographics of Northgate beyond conscription. In the ‘War Measures Act’, the Canadian Government classified immigrants with Austro-Hungarian citizenship/heritage as “aliens of enemy nationality”. Thousands of Ukrainians (Among others) were interned at camps and work sites. One of the larger camps was in the then outskirts of Northgate. It was only after a year after the treaty of Versailles that this policy ended. However, many Ukrainian-Canadians (To use a modern term) would choose to stay in the area either lacking resources to move back to their old locales, or the desire.
While one can dwell on the sins of governments in war, Northgate would, a century later, make a kind of restitution by opening it’s doors to Ukrainian refugees (mostly women and children) fleeing Russia’s invasion.
1930s- While the first discovery of Uranium in Canada was actually in 1930 in the Northwest territories, a few years later studies of the areas near Northgate later on stumbled onto a much nearer supply of Uranium, Radium and some other materials that, at the time, defied classification. Unbeknownst to most, the great meteor remnants of the area, long altered by pressure and time, were just now being reached again. There would be ramifications.
Unfortunately, at the time, the Great Depression hitting North America was no kinder on Canada than it was the U.S.A. so slightly radioactive rocks were hardly of major concern. People wanted jobs, fair wages, and more. Long rivals, the workers of Northgate and Winnipeg united in great demonstrations and protests. Times were lean and hard. The pulp heroes appearing in other cities of Canada were absent in Northgate, leaving a sense of despair as crooked men sought to make bank on the misery of the time.
World War II – The second world war was a different kind of misery for all. Economically, it proved to be a shot in the arm for Northgate, as it applied itself to providing resources to the Allies overseas. But, it would also lead to the loss of several sons of the city. Even before conscription, it must be said that Northgate sent more than its fair share of young men for its size, earning Northgate the honorific “City of the Bold”, sadly with the honorific, came the sound of cathedral bells tolling in mourning. Yet there was pride when news of how more than one Northgate native helped free Holland.
Of special note, though often neglected in history, was the contributions of the Cherry Top Angels. The Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps ended up with several volunteers from the ladies as well, women who signed on as Nurses to tend to the many wounded overseas, and at home. A military hospice for long term recovery was actually set up inside Northgate, a precursor of a medical industry that would swell in time, but those that would be known as the Cherry Top Angels were never too far from the front line, working in tents overflowing with wounded. Of course, that was not their official name, but they had been given berets of that hue and the name stuck. Perhaps the most famous of these nurses was Lt. Linda Diana Yardlie, who stopped a medical outpost in the pacific from being overrun by shoving a gurney down hill on an imperial Japanese squad coming up to capture or kill HER wounded charges. The gurney in question, being loaded with unpinned grenades, proved to be quite the game changer. She got a promotion, two medals, and five offers of marriage when news of her courage came home to Northgate. Of course her real contribution was the many lives she and her fellow nurses saved by care and healing, but the story does stick out.
A note on Golden Age Superheroes- During World War II, the Fifth column was quite infused with superpowered Axis members hoping to wreck havoc on this or that city in North America. Northgate was no exception. A Nazi saboteur dubbed Baron Von Verwüstung briefly became a major threat to Northgate’s factories and training centers. He was foiled by Northgate’s first superheroine Shadfly. Somehow possessing the powers of flight, super-strength, and shrinking, Shadfly routinely held any and all 5th Column foes from completing their plans, while also coming down hard on war profiteers and plan old criminals. Most assumed she took the alternative name of the short lived Mayfly to add extra insult to the Axis goons she protected to the city from, but in the end, it was revealed she’d chosen all too accurately. Born Victoria Garson, the daughter of a famous chemist and no slouch herself, She had developed a formula using local radium admixtures to grant herself superpowers, knowing that it would shorten her life span to a handful of years.
In May 1945, Shadfly pulled a sinking ship off the river to safety, and then finally died before the very people she had saved, the formula at last demanding its due. She took the secret of the formula with her to her grave, but there are rampant conspiracies that her body was dug up by this or that shadowy organization for study.
Their first line of defense is fair use, but I seriously doubt they have a snowball's chance of that holding up.
https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-fairuse.html#:~:text=Under the fair use doctrine,news reporting%2C and scholarly reports.
They're trying to use the ambiguity WRT the amount that can be used, but my understanding is they're ingesting entire catalogs of writers, composers, and musicians. Basically, anything published conventionally, physically or electronically, that is covered by copyright...they can't do that. In music, this applies to specific recordings of public-domain material...the DG collection of all 9 Beethoven symphonies, with von Karajan conducting the Berlin Phil is from the early 60s, and is still, I believe, considered one of the seminal versions. The sheet music? Public domain. Those performances? Copyrighted.
I think they're desperate, as much as anything. They view AI as the goose that lays the golden eggs, but the goose has to be fed to do so. So, I see some of this as corporate greed, some as technocratic arrogance...AI will advance the world, so what's good for AI is good for the world. And season it with "you can't do that, you can't take my toys away!"
At this point, I don't see any way the AI companies win in the end, nor do I think they *should* win, generally.
It would not be that unreasonable to expand the destruction to both Windsor and Detroit. You can look north across the river from Windsor and see Detroit. If it were not for the international border, they would likely be one city already.
A high-tech city in two countries would make for some interesting politics.
Hermit got a reaction from Pariah in Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)
Hermit reacted to Duke Bushido in Restricted power origins campaigns
Hermit got a reaction from Ranxerox in Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)
Hermit got a reaction from Cygnia in Political Discussion Thread (With Rules)
Hermit got a reaction from Lord Liaden in Question for Canadians: Where could one put a Fictional City in CU Canada ?
Hermit got a reaction from DentArthurDent in Jade Mask Of the Mysterious Maya King Found
Hermit got a reaction from ArmlessTigerMan in Jade Mask Of the Mysterious Maya King Found
