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Portrait of Crystalis
The biggest challenge with her portrait was to walk that fine line of keeping her design interesting while keeping it relatively simple and true to the character and her position within the temple. Crystalis was a tragic 3E human monk/cleric character who served as a priestess for a heretical goddess (the goddess of water) in a homebrew setting. After serving as a slave in the fire temple she was rescued by those who served water, setting off her dedication and conversion from the typical D&D pantheon to that of the elements. She eventually ended up in an arranged marriage to a representative of the earth temple and it turned into a love match. Despite this happy development, more tragedy would follow due to both her own poor decisions and those of a higher power. To be continued.
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Long cat is long. Dog bed is superior to cat bed.
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Hoppity Hippity here is a WIPpity!
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The Best News of Last Year
1. Belgium approves four-day week and gives employees the right to ignore their bosses after work
Workers in Belgium will soon be able to choose a four-day week under a series of labour market reforms announced on Tuesday.
The reform package agreed by the country’s multi-party coalition government will also give workers the right to turn off work devices and ignore work-related messages after hours without fear of reprisal.
“We have experienced two difficult years. With this agreement, we set a beacon for an economy that is more innovative, sustainable and digital. The aim is to be able to make people and businesses stronger,” Belgian prime minister Alexander de Croo told a press conference announcing the reform package.
2. Spain makes it a crime for pro-lifers to harass people outside abortion clinics
Spain has criminalized the harassment or intimidation of women going for an abortion under new legislation approved on Wednesday by the Senate. The move, which involved changes to the penal code, means anti-abortion activists who try to convince women not to terminate their pregnancies could face up to a year behind bars.
3. House passes bill to federally decriminalize marijuana
The House has voted with a slim bipartisan majority to federally decriminalize marijuana. The vote was 220 to 204.
The bill, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, will prevent federal agencies from denying federal workers security clearances for cannabis use, and will allow the Veterans’ Administration to recommend medical marijuana to veterans living with posttraumatic stress disorder.
The bill also expunges the record of people convicted of non-violent cannabis offenses, which House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said, “can haunt people of color and impact the trajectory of their lives and career indefinitely.”
4. France makes birth control free for all women under 25
The scheme, which could benefit three million women, covers the pill, IUDs, contraceptive patches and other methods composed of steroid hormones.
Contraception for minors was already free in France. Several European countries, including Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway, make contraception free for teens.
5. The 1st fully hydrogen-powered passenger train service is now running in Germany. The only emissions are steam & condensed water.
Five of the trains started running in August. Another nine will be added in the coming months to replace 15 diesel trains on the regional route. Alstom says the Coradia iLint has a range of 1,000 kilometers, meaning that it can run all day on the line using a single tank of hydrogen. A hydrogen filling station has been set up on the route between Cuxhaven, Bremerhaven, Bremervörde and Buxtehude.
6. Princeton will cover all tuition costs for most families making under $100,000 a year, after getting rid of student loans
In September, the New Jersey Ivy League school announced it would be expanding its financial aid program to offer free tuition, including room and board, for most families whose annual income is under $100,000 a year. Previously, the same benefit was offered to families making under $65,000 a year. This new income limit will take effect for all undergraduates starting in the fall of 2023.
Princeton was also the first school in the US to eliminate student loans from its financial aid packages.
7. Humpback whales no longer listed as endangered after major recovery
Humpback whales will be removed from Australia’s threatened-species list, after the government’s independent scientific panel on threatened species deemed the mammals had made a major recovery. Humpback whales will no longer be considered an endangered or vulnerable species.
Climate change and fishing still pose threats to their long-term health.
Some other uplifting news from last year:
A Cancer Trial’s Unexpected Result: Remission in Every Patient
California 100 percent powered by renewables for first time
Israel formally bans LGBTQ conversion therapy
Tokyo Passes Law to Recognize Same-Sex Partnerships
First 100,000 KG Removed From the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
As we ring in the New Year let’s remember to focus on the good news. May this be a year of even more kindness and generosity. Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2023!
Thank you for following and supporting this g this newsletter
Buy me a coffee ❤️
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Posting this on more than one social media site is giving me......WIPLASH. :D Eh? Eh? No?
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X-Men is about civil rights. If you didn’t get that, you didn’t get X-Men.
Black Panther is about civil rights. If you didn’t get that, you didn’t get Black Panther.
Captain America literally fought Nazis. He is the embodiment of fighting the alt-right. If you didn’t get that, you didn’t get Captain America.
The Empire in Star Wars is fascist. The Rebel alliance are Anti-Fascist. If you didn’t get that, you didn’t get Star Wars.
The Punisher isn’t meant to be a role model for police or armed forces. So much so that the writers of The Punisher made him actively speak out against it in a comic. If you didn’t get that, you didn’t get The Punisher.
Deadpool is queer. He’s pansexual. Fact. If you didn’t get that you didn’t get Deadpool.
Star Trek is about equality for all genders, races and sexualities. As early as the mid-60s it was taking a pro-choice stance and defending women’s right to choose. One of its clearest themes is accepting different cultures and appearances and working together for peace. (It’s also anti-capitalist and pro-vegan). If you didn’t get that, you didn’t get Star Trek.
Superman and Supergirl (and a whole host of other superheroes) are immigrants. The stance of those comics is pro-immigration and pro-equality and acceptance. If you didn’t get that, you didn’t get Superman or Supergirl.
Stan Lee said “Racism and bigotry are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today.” If you’re bigoted or racist, you didn’t get any of the characters Stan Lee created.
The stories we grew up with all taught us to value other people and cultures and to treasure the differences between us. Only villains were xenophobic, or sexist, or racist, or totalitarian. I can’t understand how anyone can have missed that.
If you’re upset that there’s a black Spider-Man, or a black Captain America, or a female Thor, or that Ms Marvel is Muslim, or that Captain Marvel was pro-feminism, or any of the other things right wing “fans” say is “stealing their childhood” - you never got it in the first place. The things you claim are now “pandering to the lefties” were never on your side to begin with.
If you consider yourself a fan of these things, but you still think the LGBTQ+ community is too “in your face”, or have a problem with Black Lives Matter, or want to “take the country back from immigrants”, then you’re not really a fan at all.
Geek culture isn’t suddenly left wing... it always was. You just grew up to be intolerant. You became the villain in the stories you used to love.
****
Kenny Boyle - Actor and Playwright
07 June 2020
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It's been a whole god damn week and I'm going to need the people being absolute fucktrumpets in my inbox over my "fuck Audible post" to simmer the fuck down and stop telling me "I have other options" when I'm already utilizing every option available to me and that it's my own fault for using Amazon.
I have gone wide with global distribution for my titles since day one. I have every global retailer available to me as an indie author listed here and on my website. People still choose Amazon because it is cheap and convenient. Removing Amazon listings won't drive people to the other retailers, it'll just mean I won't get 80% of my sales which I rely on to pay bills and help put food on the table.
Also to the people absolutely jacking off in my inbox over how I should just use Scribd because it's superior to Amazon for authors, I'm going to need you to show your sources, because here's mine:
ID: A screenshot of my royalty report from Scribd for the month of June 2022. It reports the "sale" of 2 units for a total profit of $1.18. /End ID.
This is a great example of why when authors tell you they can't afford to not sell on Amazon, this is why. If I'd sold 2 copies of that title on Amazon, I'd have made roughly $2.10+ (depends on currency).
Don't get me wrong, I'm still absolutely thrilled people are using paid services like Scribd to access my work. I'd rather you did that than pirate it. And by all means, keep using Scribd if that's what works for you. I'm not here to shame anyone for enjoying things however they can afford to. But don't come onto my post or into my inbox and spout bullshit about how it's "morally superior to Amazon."
Newsflash, there is no ethical consumption under mainstream capitalism. Scribd is not Amazon, and that is to its credit, but that doesn't mean it's "better for authors." It just means it's not Amazon.
Anyway, support indie authors direct where you can, order through a local indie store, ya-da-ya-da.
Fuck I'm tired.
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May 16 is Romani Resistance Day, which commemorates the uprising of Roma and Sinti prisoners at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
In May of 1944, Roma and Sinti prisoners staged an armed resistance against the planned "liquidation" of the gypsy camps, which would have led to the mass murder of approximately 6,000 Romani. Thanks to the efforts of the Roma and Sinti interned at Auschwitz, these execution plans were staggered and delayed for several months. We hold this day to honor their bravery, mourn their deaths, and memorialize that which the Romani community endured under the Nazi regime.
You can learn some more about Romani Resistance Day, and the ongoing effort to preserve the Berlin memorial to murdered Roma and Sinti against Deutsche Bahn's railroad development, by listening to this episode of Smith's Kushti Podcast.
The ERRC's Romani Tea Room has also put out an episode collecting stories from descendants of Romani Holocaust survivors.
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Miniature chess set ring by Joe Turner, 2015
Fossil ivory and ebony chessboard set in a silver ring. The pieces are cast in silver and fit snugly into a leather case inside a hinged compartment.
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Simple emojis I made of my D&D characters for a personal Discord server. Had a lot of fun with these and used them to learn CSP.
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