d. salas

This was the origin of the character

Two big macs for $2 … im sayin the pledge of allegiance

More of this, less of the rest of <waves hands in general direction of the world> please

Hold on now. They’re worse

That’s all the pig butchers catfishing retirees with celeb deepfakes

The Capitol Steps "One Bush Two Bush Old Bush New Bush" cd (2001)

We used to have actual, brave political comedy in this country

This is such a good point, and it just also illustrates the racist double standards where Mamdani continues to be vilified no matter how much he works on outreach, while for Plattner, there are endless supplies of grace.

naming a character markwayne and your editor hits you with “that’s an anti white caricature”

lol

Genre and Generic Why There are No Magicians in Pendragon I have seen a number of comments concerning the Pendragon roleplaying game (as well as others, especially Ars Magica) where people have complained about the narrowness of the game, and that it ought to allow for squires, thieves or other non-noble professions. Arguments sometimes get insistent, hence this explanation. What we are looking at are two different game design styles (and play) which most people do not seem to be aware of: genre and generic. A genre game player wishes to imaginatively experience a limited and specific setting, within its own context and rules. Pendragon is this kind of setting. It is about knights in a pseudo-medieval setting that includes the fantasy and legend that is (more or less) appropriate to that setting. A generic game may use a specific genre as a basis, but the players want to expand it with the modern experience of open, freewheeling experimentation. Not just knights, but druids and wizards and thieves and ninjas in a King Arthur-like setting. Not just traditional knights, but women knights, Beowulf-era warriors, and Sigurd and Theoderic and El Cid too. Not just native British folklore, but kobolds and nagas and deep ones too. The generic game is about expansion; the genre game is about limitations. Both have their place. So why the argument?

It appears to me that many people have entered into roleplaying (indeed, into fantasy in general) through D&D, and simply do not know that the fantasy established by that fine game (and imitated by many others as well) is actually an indiscriminate mishmash, hodgepodge, scrambled-together collection of bits and pieces from everywhere and every time. This is, in a way, a particularly modern and American perspective, much like us Americans who are a mishmash, hodgepodge, scrambled- together collection of people. It is a place where imagination reigns, where speculation rages wildly and where surprises are the norm. It is free and unlimited, boundless and crazy and inclusive. I mean, what’s not to love about a ninja hobbit and an Apache astronaut armed with Stormbringer fighting against Darth Vader and his minions of dragonewt shamans who are living in a castle that’s a gigantic shaped gelatinous cube? Who among us has not spent time debating who was tougher, Thor or Superman? This is great stuff, both challenging and funny. Yet, some people don’t like that. To some this open-ended gaming lacks the intense focus of a limited genre. It equalizes things that are actually different. It is a forced clash of types and genres, which diminishes the uniqueness of the limited genres from which it springs.

The genre type involves getting into the mindset of the period, to experience something that is NOT familiar. It challenges us because it IS limited, and perhaps most important – it gives us an insight into something other than the world where anything goes. It offers an experience where people must meet their expectations with the disappointments and problems of limitations. Pendragon is much closer to genre than generic. Of course, it does stretch the genre, providing pagan knights (never happened), women knights (rare, if ever) and a legendary environment where adventure is an acceptable way of life (rare, once again). And I want to point out that the expansions from the core rules bend the genre into generic. Supplements for magicians, Scandinavian characters, even native Irish and Pictish knights expand the genre to include people’s desires and expectations. And I have no objection to that. But whereas it may be a type of broad medieval gaming, it is not really Arthurian roleplaying.

Yes king

Probably easy if you don’t have interests, hobbies, etc

Happy birthday, Ghana. The country's independence in 1957 marked marked a new era in the history of the continent and the world - a Second Emancipation, one might say.

Maduro also liked to say he was of jewish descent

"Seduction lies in the transformation of things into pure appearances."
- Seduction

Brett Ewins

#oldhammer

I had a big arch in France last summer. Pretty good!

jersey mikes twice this week … “the kings pilgrimage” ..

could be a nothing burger...but it could also be an everything bagel

Probably coulda gone with a different verb

Wars are extremely hard things to justify. It is intrinsic to what they are that they tend to death, destruction, and misery. Given this and some knowledge of history, one's default attitude towards powerful people purporting to do the world some great benefit by war should be extreme scepticism.

this is making me laugh so hard

Quoting from the original Sanskrit

Flavor text on a box of ronzoni cavatappi pasta: cavatappi brings elegance and fun. Twirly and tubular, the celebratory one. It embraces all sauces, from light tosses to rich bakes. Elevating each meal With fanciful friendliness.

Twirly and tubular, the celebratory one

As the late Steve Horwitz put it, the real price of civilization is in tolerating inframarginal externalities.

Congrats..?

Blue sneaker shoes

Brown sneaker shoes

What are we calling these? Dad pumps? Business runners? Foot jalopies?

Christopher Priest - Indoctrinaire

William S Burroughs - Nova Express

Robert E Howard - Solomon Kane

Whispers III edited by Stuart David Schiff

Four random genre paperbacks from my library