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Sep. 27th, 2013 01:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwydion* 10 are dead in another violent incursion on the Kashmir border. It is thought the militants timed it this way in the hopes of derailing talks between India and Pakistan. Fingers crossed that they don't succeed, as I'd love to see progress towards improving relations between the two. There is a long, violent and bitter history on that border and the countries both have nuclear weapons.
* 348 are known to be dead in that earthquake in rural Pakistan. Hundreds more are injured. It is expected that the death toll will continue to rise as they are still checking villages in remote areas and thus keep finding more.
* Remember how I said don't hold your breath on major diplomatic progress with Iran? Even with Kerry's photo op, Iranian state media is rewriting their president's speech and interviews today to claim their own translator was lying about their president condemning the holocaust and calling for nuclear disarmament despite him repeating and confirming it today. The hardliners back home seriously constrain the substance of what he can achieve.
* The US and Russia signed a binding agreement about removing Syria's chemical weapons stores. *fingers crossed for it working out*
* Merissa Alexander, the woman sentenced to 40 years for protecting herself and her child from a violent, abusive husband by firing a warning shot into the air, is getting a new trial.
* "Why Ted Cruz Should sit down and Shut Up: Countries with Social Safety Net Happiest:" http://www.juancole.com/2013/09/countries-social-happiest.html
* "Subsidizing Farmers But Not the Poor Still Evil:" http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/09/subsidizing-farmers-but-not-the-poor-still-evil.html
* "Colorado Lawmaker: Democrats Using 'Mind Control' to Make People Accept 'Homosexual Marriage':" http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/colorado-lawmaker-democrats-using-mind-contr
Add mind control to time travel and weather control to the list of superpowers mainstream Republicans attribute to Democrats.
* "Motorized Bar Stool Was "Not Road-Legal," Say Police:" http://www.loweringthebar.net/2013/09/motorized-bar-stool-was-not-road-legal-say-police.html
* "Thousands of Dino Tracks Found in Alaska:" http://news.discovery.com/animals/dinosaurs/yukon-dinosaur-tracks-130925.htm
* Fobok found, "Teaching Children In This Awful Way Is Like Helping A Person Who Is On Fire By Drowning Them:"
Most of you have already read my rant about Education Reform ruining teaching and the hash it's made of ESL. I second all of the above.
* If you are gender policing people in a bathroom, you are straight up an asshole. Gender policing in general is an asshole maneuver, but people need to pee, damnit. Mind your own business in the toilets. Quadruple asshole points if you are gender policing in an LGBTQ safe space.
* "Feminist Dictionary: Privilege:" http://becauseiamawoman.tumblr.com/post/60385802703/feminist-dictionary-privilege
* Today was a rest day. The senior beasties and I got lots of sleep and they soaked up pettins while I read all of "The Ocean at the End of the Lane." It was chore night for Squirrel, which meant I did a bunch of light chores too, but it was at my pace. Yesterday, I had to take the serious meds as my hips were that bad; today, it's a distant memory. I moved things around on my desk to better accommodate the new keyboard, and it's more manageable. I've been playing with options for Constantinople. (My flexible GMing style means, I put a variety of things in place and let the players decide what they interact with. If they miss a few layer, they can always come back maybe years from now and maybe discover them then. Also, the characters can trigger events, or chaotically effect events in motion. They can change history or strike out in random directions in ways that change everything. I actively reward them for surprising me with character logical solutions or choices I didn't anticipate, and am always readjusting in real time based on character telemetry. Squirrel's been startled by how comparatively softball the plotting has been. This is because the characters are cooperative with each other, prone to problem solving with words and brains, and aren't going around performing atrocities. As a result, the world they play in is not trying nearly as hard to crush them, if that makes sense. They've made enemies, but comparatively few if you look at other groups I've run.) Anyway, I have enough breathing space to think seriously about North Africa and am planning to start seeding hooks appropriately.
* "Kabu-Kabu by Nnedi Okorafor:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2013/09/kabu-kabu-by-nnedi-okorafor.html
* "The Twisted Trees of Slope Point:" http://www.kuriositas.com/2013/09/the-twisted-trees-of-slope-point.html?
* The Clutch:
* 348 are known to be dead in that earthquake in rural Pakistan. Hundreds more are injured. It is expected that the death toll will continue to rise as they are still checking villages in remote areas and thus keep finding more.
* Remember how I said don't hold your breath on major diplomatic progress with Iran? Even with Kerry's photo op, Iranian state media is rewriting their president's speech and interviews today to claim their own translator was lying about their president condemning the holocaust and calling for nuclear disarmament despite him repeating and confirming it today. The hardliners back home seriously constrain the substance of what he can achieve.
* The US and Russia signed a binding agreement about removing Syria's chemical weapons stores. *fingers crossed for it working out*
* Merissa Alexander, the woman sentenced to 40 years for protecting herself and her child from a violent, abusive husband by firing a warning shot into the air, is getting a new trial.
* "Why Ted Cruz Should sit down and Shut Up: Countries with Social Safety Net Happiest:" http://www.juancole.com/2013/09/countries-social-happiest.html
* "Subsidizing Farmers But Not the Poor Still Evil:" http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/09/subsidizing-farmers-but-not-the-poor-still-evil.html
* "Colorado Lawmaker: Democrats Using 'Mind Control' to Make People Accept 'Homosexual Marriage':" http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/colorado-lawmaker-democrats-using-mind-contr
Add mind control to time travel and weather control to the list of superpowers mainstream Republicans attribute to Democrats.
* "Motorized Bar Stool Was "Not Road-Legal," Say Police:" http://www.loweringthebar.net/2013/09/motorized-bar-stool-was-not-road-legal-say-police.html
* "Thousands of Dino Tracks Found in Alaska:" http://news.discovery.com/animals/dinosaurs/yukon-dinosaur-tracks-130925.htm
* Fobok found, "Teaching Children In This Awful Way Is Like Helping A Person Who Is On Fire By Drowning Them:"
Most of you have already read my rant about Education Reform ruining teaching and the hash it's made of ESL. I second all of the above.
* If you are gender policing people in a bathroom, you are straight up an asshole. Gender policing in general is an asshole maneuver, but people need to pee, damnit. Mind your own business in the toilets. Quadruple asshole points if you are gender policing in an LGBTQ safe space.
* "Feminist Dictionary: Privilege:" http://becauseiamawoman.tumblr.com/post/60385802703/feminist-dictionary-privilege
* Today was a rest day. The senior beasties and I got lots of sleep and they soaked up pettins while I read all of "The Ocean at the End of the Lane." It was chore night for Squirrel, which meant I did a bunch of light chores too, but it was at my pace. Yesterday, I had to take the serious meds as my hips were that bad; today, it's a distant memory. I moved things around on my desk to better accommodate the new keyboard, and it's more manageable. I've been playing with options for Constantinople. (My flexible GMing style means, I put a variety of things in place and let the players decide what they interact with. If they miss a few layer, they can always come back maybe years from now and maybe discover them then. Also, the characters can trigger events, or chaotically effect events in motion. They can change history or strike out in random directions in ways that change everything. I actively reward them for surprising me with character logical solutions or choices I didn't anticipate, and am always readjusting in real time based on character telemetry. Squirrel's been startled by how comparatively softball the plotting has been. This is because the characters are cooperative with each other, prone to problem solving with words and brains, and aren't going around performing atrocities. As a result, the world they play in is not trying nearly as hard to crush them, if that makes sense. They've made enemies, but comparatively few if you look at other groups I've run.) Anyway, I have enough breathing space to think seriously about North Africa and am planning to start seeding hooks appropriately.
* "Kabu-Kabu by Nnedi Okorafor:" http://www.fangsforthefantasy.com/2013/09/kabu-kabu-by-nnedi-okorafor.html
* "The Twisted Trees of Slope Point:" http://www.kuriositas.com/2013/09/the-twisted-trees-of-slope-point.html?
* The Clutch: