tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73436832849460294862024-03-05T09:10:22.422-05:00What's on my MindMy blog is mostly movie reviews and whatever random story idea I post a chapter at a time. Though sometimes I also talk about politics, my dreams, or anything else on my mind.Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.comBlogger578125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-37265416637620154062023-08-06T12:58:00.004-04:002023-08-06T12:58:53.357-04:00 Civics Tests and American Fascism<p><span style="font-family: georgia;">This is all going to be in response to this political news,
“<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/vivek-ramaswamy-wants-civics-tests-young-voters-18-to-24/?ftag=CNM-00-10aab7e&linkId=228478790">Vivek
Ramaswamy, the youngest GOP presidential candidate, wants civics tests for
young voters 18 to 24</a>”. Feel free to read that, but I am going to jump to
the core of all this and then editorialize a bit. This is a blog and not
perfect, but feel free to correct me in the comments.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">There are dozens of layers to this, but I have to start somewhere,
“(<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivek_Ramaswamy">Ramaswamy</a>)'s proposing a constitutional amendment that would require citizens
18 to 24 to pass a civics test in order to vote — the same one immigrants take
to become naturalized U.S. citizens. Under his proposal, young Americans could,
as an alternative, perform six months of military or first-responder service.
But if none of these requirements are met, they would have to wait until they
turn 25 before they could vote in their first election.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">What he is describing is a Literacy Test, which was part of
an arsenal of legal bear traps used by Southern States to bar non-whites from
voting and prop up white supremacy as an institution for decades longer than it
should have been stomped to death by Union Soldiers, “<a href="https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/elections/right-to-vote/voting-rights-for-african-americans/#:~:text=Poll%20taxes%2C%20literacy%20tests%2C%20fraud,of%20slaves%20out%20of%20elections.">Poll
taxes, literacy tests, fraud and intimidation all turned African Americans away
from the polls. Until the Supreme Court struck it down in 1915, many states
used the "grandfather clause " to keep descendants of slaves out of
elections.</a>”</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Times New Roman"; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="292" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1YRUUFYeOPI" width="520" youtube-src-id="1YRUUFYeOPI"></iframe></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Remember this part of "Selma"? Literacy tests were what was happening.</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I guess I have to commend Ramaswamy for acknowledging that
he will need a constitutional amendment to allow this sort of thing to exist.
Really wish he would acknowledge WHY he would need an amendment. You know, the
voter suppression on behalf of White Nationalism. But then he would open
himself up to the obvious criticism, “This is voter suppression and would
DEFINITELY be used for boosting White Supremacy”.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">If you are unaware, voter registration varies by state. For
instance, whether you have a political party when you register can dramatically
affect your ability to participate in primary elections. This quirky variation
between states would mean that the citizenship test standard would be the
baseline certainly, BUT! Once you open the door to allowing testing there is no
reason why “citizenship” can’t be played with.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Think about the massive calls for <a href="https://www.edweek.org/leadership/what-is-critical-race-theory-and-why-is-it-under-attack/2021/05">Critical
Race Theory</a>, a law school topic, to be banned from public schools. Then
think about Florida’s “<a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/28/1089221657/dont-say-gay-florida-desantis">Don’t
Say Gay</a>” bill. Most recently at time of writing, the push to say “<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-florida-standards-teach-black-people-benefited-slavery-taught-usef-rcna95418">Slaves
benefited from slavery</a>” should also be looked at. What if a state decides
to put this question on the test, “"T/F: Slavery benefited the
slaves?"<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Following all these converging points you can see how
“teaching to the test” becomes an absolute nightmare as non-white students
might have to say, “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_as_a_positive_good_in_the_United_States">slavery was good actually</a>” in order to vote. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Really, I feel like I could end it right there. This is a
tool of White Power being brought back from the dead to serve the interests of
White Power. I am sure the extreme irony of a man campaigning on his youth and
vigor with a non-white name like Ramaswamy trying to block young people from
voting (and let’s be clear it won’t stop with young people) to help bolster
white nationalism is completely lost on Ramaswamy. But then, he is just the
token brown guy they are going to put on stage at the debates. The Republican
party is not going to vote for him and many of them would see him forcefully
relocated out of the States before ever voting for him.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here is where I segway to an important point, you do not
have to be white to be a tool of White Supremacy. You don’t have to be rich to
be a stooge for Capitalism. You do not have to be male to be a tool of
Patriarchy. You do not have to be Heterosexual or Cisgendered to be a tool of…
Well, those would also be factors of Patriarchy. Ramaswamy is a tool of White
Supremacy, he is like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candace_Owens">Candace
Owens</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_Yiannopoulos">Milo
Yiannopoulos</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaire_White">Blaire
White</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Shapiro">Ben Shapiro</a>,
and other provocative tokens that will be around as long as they are useful and
then dropped the moment they are not.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="301" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RM7lw0Ovzq0" width="516" youtube-src-id="RM7lw0Ovzq0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You do not have to be white to be a tool of White Supremacy.</div><span style="font-family: georgia;"><p class="MsoNormal">Let’s not pretend it is anything more than that for this
guy. He is either tremendously stupid or so far gone that trying to treat him
as a serious person is just a giant waste of time and mental energy. I will
break out this surprisingly evergreen quote that sums up this situation and so
many before.</p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“<i>Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware
of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous,
open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary
who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The
anti-Semites have the right to play.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">“<i>(The anti-Semites) even like to play with discourse for,
by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their
interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to
persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them
too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase
that the time for argument is past</i>.” ― <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7870768-never-believe-that-anti-semites-are-completely-unaware-of-the-absurdity">Jean-Paul
Sartre</a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I call out to people to recognize this for what it is, but
if you need more convincing, I will further point out the absurdity of all
this. The qualification is a citizenship test that is updated to reflect some
impermanent current factoids like the name of the Vice President, <a href="https://www.boundless.com/immigration-resources/citizenship-test-questions-and-answers/">but
it also has a bunch of random factoids</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">You can pick almost any of them to illustrate how hollow it
really is, but I think a good one to call out is, “67. Name one of the writers
of the Federalist Papers”. This is the only section that references the
Federalist Papers. It does not ask what the papers are. Does not ask what any
of them said. Does not ask you to have one thought in your head about anything
other than who wrote them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I don’t think people understand how damning that really is.
To quote the CBS article again, “The campaign told CBS News the amendment is
part of Ramaswamy's central campaign message calling for a revival of civic
duty for young people and renewed national pride. He thinks civic engagement
among young people is too low and believes this can be reversed with more
knowledge about the country and Constitution.” Civic duty is not an act of
thought and consideration. It is not spiritual, it is not patriotic, it is not
action, what civic duty is to them is performance. You know the right trivia
and you don’t think about it. It is resuscitation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">Here is another one, “92. Name one state that borders Canada”.
Do you know the answer? That is right, the answer is WHO CARES THIS HAS NOTHING
TO DO WITH VOTING. You desire to want a higher minimum wage or whether police
can use no knock warrants should not ride on a game of Trivial Pursuit. The
fact that this test could be easily dunked on by the vast majority of young
people… assuming they aren’t poor, it is rather hard to recall bullshit trivia
when you haven’t had anything to eat or you haven’t had time to study up
because you were <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/05/03/1173535647/schools-ended-universal-free-lunch-now-meal-debt-is-soaring">too
busy working to pay off lunch debt</a>. You know, poverty, something they might
have an opinion they would like to express via voting.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">But whatever. Like I said, Ramaswamy is a tool of White
Supremacy. This isn’t going to get traction. For now. But then, give it a couple
of years and an amendment won’t be necessary. The Supreme Court in the last
decade killed <a href="https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-xpm-2013-jun-25-la-na-court-voting-rights-20130626-story.html">the
Voting Rights Act</a> and undid <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/06/24/1102305878/supreme-court-abortion-roe-v-wade-decision-overturn">Roe
v Wade</a>. Poll Taxes and Literacy tests might be right around the corner, and
this is just the GOP telegraphing their next big power grab to keep Generation
Z from tipping things slightly more progressive.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtdnI8sSFBdkviomYMVa7sSi3-HBQaq6YswAWi8VLFKtc7xPx_TW8dvXXDx9LEWM60bc-tXfZ_7PYTnoWFspRfDTChU1EIn4_G6Fbu03c9kOBe5qe4ObDxH9lV3OGnh_yI6Z-UYoYVTGN0S3Q6pufnGVzzFXWetDp7e0rtjxKDrnXHLJ2x3SfipZ8yXM/s1920/Uncle%20Sam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjtdnI8sSFBdkviomYMVa7sSi3-HBQaq6YswAWi8VLFKtc7xPx_TW8dvXXDx9LEWM60bc-tXfZ_7PYTnoWFspRfDTChU1EIn4_G6Fbu03c9kOBe5qe4ObDxH9lV3OGnh_yI6Z-UYoYVTGN0S3Q6pufnGVzzFXWetDp7e0rtjxKDrnXHLJ2x3SfipZ8yXM/w400-h225/Uncle%20Sam.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This movie is <a href="https://youtu.be/Kl0mJKF_o78">somewhat underrated</a>. Its opening credit sequence is perhaps one of the best I have ever seen and should be shown in social studies courses all over America.</td></tr></tbody></table></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">No. I am sure there are no long-term plans for taking away
more and more access to voting. I am sure we’ll all be fine, and we aren’t
living thru the Electric Boogaloo of the Weimar Republic as President Biden
continues to means-test to death anything remotely impactful, don’t want to
upset the white supremacists after all.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: georgia;">I do not look forward to saying, “I told you so” as they
black bag me to some undisclosed location.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></span></em></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal;">If you like or hate this please take the time to comment, share on <a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: windowtext;">Twitter</span></a> (click that link to follow me), </span></em><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313" style="color: #cc6611; text-decoration-line: none;">Tumblr</a>,<em><span style="font-style: normal;"> or Facebook, and otherwise distribute my opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.</span></em></span></span></p>Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-29996708542322382672022-04-27T14:25:00.002-04:002022-04-27T14:25:58.992-04:00Dungeons and Dragons, "The Church of the Trinity"<p><b><u><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Gods of Dungeons and
Dragons</span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> I
have over the years put out several entries on the topic of fictional
religions. I never really went anywhere with <a href="http://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/05/dungeons-and-dragons-setting-part-3.html"><span style="color: #cc6611;">my discussion of Religion as an aspect of settings that I
wrote about years before that</span></a>, but since then I have tried to come
at the topic in ways that would make it interesting for someone who had been
playing Dungeons and Dragons for a while or someone new.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> In
each instance I have tried to either go in an entirely new direction like
with <a href="http://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/08/dungeons-and-dragons-religion-of-orcs.html"><span style="color: #cc6611;">my unique take on Orcs a while back</span></a>. I
then did a short follow up to that with <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2019/06/dungeons-and-dragons-character-ideas.html"><span style="color: #cc6611;">a pair of orc characters in that context</span></a>. There
was also a more traditional pantheon of deities that act in concert with one
another, "<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2018/01/dungeons-and-dragons-five.html"><span style="color: #cc6611;">The Five</span></a>". I did a follow up to
that one in which I created <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2019/02/dungeons-and-dragons-character-ideas.html"><span style="color: #cc6611;">a team of characters that each serve as an exemplar of
the various members of The Five</span></a>. Then there was “<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2019/08/dungeons-and-dragons-preserver.html"><span style="color: #cc6611;">The Preserver</span></a>” which was my attempt to graft a
messianic style belief system onto environmentalism-oriented religion. My last
entry was the “<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2020/05/dungeons-and-dragons-high-arcana.html">High
Arcana</a>” a religion based on Tarot Cards.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This will be the first blog
entry for me in quite a while, and the first on DnD in even longer… But I wrote
most of this material back when 3.5 Edition was still the primary edition, so
there might still be some language in there that suits that type of setting
better.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6IjLaPoMWXc1FEuFvsCrKxmONPie5CWGcY5kfOmSeSNs7YCpUMtjTAofIwGHgS9EolUNSoC8Wo-9cO82Hye-c2XHxD8mC6DLyxmFWbUdhx2CvROH7rZlAC0BFJJY0vkvuO5aPbuM48rkgUjaeBkkbbXJ6_AdK0zRNuxDOLdSQftNxJha6OR3TKy0T/s1597/Triforce.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1597" data-original-width="1594" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6IjLaPoMWXc1FEuFvsCrKxmONPie5CWGcY5kfOmSeSNs7YCpUMtjTAofIwGHgS9EolUNSoC8Wo-9cO82Hye-c2XHxD8mC6DLyxmFWbUdhx2CvROH7rZlAC0BFJJY0vkvuO5aPbuM48rkgUjaeBkkbbXJ6_AdK0zRNuxDOLdSQftNxJha6OR3TKy0T/s320/Triforce.JPG" width="319" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.neatoshop.com/product/The-Tribal-Triforce">This is an excellent rendition of the Triforce</a>, which manages to include additional imagery from the games in each part, further illustrating the use of 3 in each sub-symbol.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
Trinity<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Holy
Symbol</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">: Triangle (sometimes a Key or Doorway)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Divine
Domains</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Gaia: Forge, Life; </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Isis: Knowledge, Tempest; </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Ishtar: Nature, Peace</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Favored
Weapon</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Gaia: Mace; </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Isis: Spear; </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Ishtar: Bow</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">World
View & Mythos</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">: In ages past before the world had formed three goddesses came
from the void and created the world.
Gaia, created the earth, rolling the lava, sand, soil, stone, clay, and
metal that upon all else would be built.
Isis, poured from the heavens the rains which filled the open chasms to
make the seas and oceans, and cut fine lines thru the earth to form the rivers
and ponds. Last came Ishtar, who
breathed out the wind which carried with it the seeds of life. It was then, as the spirits of life took hold
that the trinity returned to the heavens never to return.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Beliefs</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">:
It is most often believed than when creating the world the goddess imbued the
world with a set of natural laws which favor strength, contemplation, and
tenacity. It is the role of the living
to use these virtuous qualities to tame the wilds, dream of grand designs, and
build great works. Large cathedrals,
gilded and lit with the light of gloriously ornate windows define the great
architectural vision that the followers of the Trinity believe to be the
natural order of things.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There are 3
primary holy books, each devoted to the study and philosophy that each god
supposedly represents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first book is
the Tenants of Gaia, and emphasizes how to live a stable life and emphasizes
strength and the harvesting of natural world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The second is the Wisdom of Isis, which speaks of the flow of time and
the changing world and changing self, it teaches about meditation and
contemplation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last is the Teachings
of Ishtar, which speaks about the importance of growth, that growing as a
person thru new experiences, growing one’s community thru procreation, and
growing the wealth and bounty of the world thru constructive action.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">It is not uncommon for a cleric to
emphasize the teaching of one goddess and seek to emulate that particular
goddess’ role, picking for their domains the favored element.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Practices</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">:
Those who follow the Trinity favor matriarchal social orders, with women taking
the role of teacher, religious leader, and administrators, these roles seen as
a natural extension of their position as mothers who create and cultivate
life. Men are seen as laborers and
soldiers whose strength constructs and protects the homes and fields of the
people.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Superstitions
and Taboos</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">: Followers of the Trinity take <a href="https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/cottage-hospitality-150833">Hospitality</a> very seriously, to the
point of having numerous inns and shelters founded in their name. To harm a guest or host is one of the direst
of sins. They are very much in favor of
civilized life and are the favored faith in many major cities lending a study
of architecture to the cities defenses in the form of walls and gates.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0M9c_Mo7emRdayDMuwT1PPvfSIh7bl9256fiy6ElCiSlwObzvUHVBQLHZ8ASpPJQgFPYUknH5X_KnzNbeuFLY09epBfYWoV8PmO_-qFk3KghBfe8tdqYb-1ns_EY8JXZUcj7nW6M-4iTKs-i4T67cOkKGSoaTaPLmiu1ihWvZLmJOMUKgnkXh0p6F/s1200/Hospitality.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="903" data-original-width="1200" height="359" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0M9c_Mo7emRdayDMuwT1PPvfSIh7bl9256fiy6ElCiSlwObzvUHVBQLHZ8ASpPJQgFPYUknH5X_KnzNbeuFLY09epBfYWoV8PmO_-qFk3KghBfe8tdqYb-1ns_EY8JXZUcj7nW6M-4iTKs-i4T67cOkKGSoaTaPLmiu1ihWvZLmJOMUKgnkXh0p6F/w477-h359/Hospitality.jpg" width="477" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Churches
and Denominations</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">: the Trinity is worshiped in numerous communities and nations and
is often recognized as being a de facto state church. However it is a polyglot of a religion. Originally there was a single church which
still exists, it split into two denominations based on the role the church
would have in the politics of nation states.
It fissured again over the role of the church hierarchy itself, and has
subsequently fractured numerous times based on several prophets that have
followed after.</span></p></o:p></span><p></p>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">1) The Inclusionists are considered the original church, it was
their practice to assimilate religious practices from those they converted and
incorporate the local folk heroes and gods into the myths and legends of the
church as a whole.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Their art is
exceptionally varied and it looks at the world in a global context, doing its
best to not involve itself in the political affairs of nations except to offer
aid to those in need.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">2) The Politicos were the first group to break from the
Inclusionists 1300 years ago.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">They saw
it as not only excusable but necessary to align themselves with various
governments and political groups within nations to exert change, seeing
politics as a reality that must be dealt with in the pursuit of spiritual
truth.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">This group has fractured and has separate
but related churches in each of the nation states on the continent and holds
varying levels of influence within each.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">3) The Exclusionists broke from the Inclusionists 500 years
ago.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">They wished to return to a purer
form of the original faith and began destroying and excising rituals, saints,
and practices that were not a part of the original texts from the church’s
founding.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">They too take a global view of
the faith, and aside from taking combative stances against the other churches
as quasi-heretics, they mostly do not involve themselves in the political
affairs of the world.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">4) The New Dogmatists is an umbrella term that captures all small
churches that have fractured off from the Exclusionists since their
founding.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">These groups followed one particular
prophet or guru to create a new church with a new holy text to annotate the
original holy texts.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">The three largest
were the Wanderers, who believed that the Goddesses are still in the world,
wandering among us either guiding or judging our behavior and meeting out
lessons; then there were the Exiles who believe that the Goddesses created this
world to house evil spirits and only thru self-purification could one cleanse
their would and float up to the heavens to join the Goddesses in paradise; and
the Lamp Lighters, a group that believed in the claims of four prophets that
they were sent by the Goddesses to found a new church in the world, this
movement was the first and only group to dogmatize a crusade for the faith, all
previous crusades for the Trinity are seen more as state action on behalf of
the various churches; the Lamp Lighters nearly swept the continent before
devolving into infighting and eventually being put down, they currently exist
in very small groups that “keep the lamps lit” for the return of their now
vanished prophets.</span></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Social
Organization</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">: Traditionally there was no martial tradition in the faith, and
holy war is not a concept backed by dogma or faith in any of the churches. There
have been instances in history where a “Liberator of the Throne” position has
been created to protect the faith via force of arms especially in the context
of a Politico denomination’s efforts within a nation. Otherwise there are two
major groups within the religion. </span></p>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1) The Builders/Laborers, men who devote their lives to the
Trinity further the cause thru the construction of buildings, the production of
food and goods, and the tilling of fields.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Men are rarely seen in positions that require extensive academic study,
instead vocational training is taught to them from a young age in communities
where the Trinity is the primary religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435922">Architecture</a> and engineering are the rare examples of tasks that require
much greater study.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2) The Scholars, devout women by contrast are taught art,
literature, history, and music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are
seen as the cultural and spiritual heads of a community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They contribute to the intellectual pursuit
of such communities, with the only labor intensive practices taught to them
being sculpture or ornate metal work.</span></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyp_qHMpq0BvAmIdX35znmpCChrYcRE9Dcz93TCHLcbDVpRYz7Oj9rs0JDut3ZuoH_GeXTX8oB8qyTz1VhhOsBpzaHxfbpKcLlR82TzNPF8TF1rp_YSq7B5MEhLo5ggzq1lqnlYsenax_vkvyxh21Bru31d8Cm4RvXmtvXckerTV7C_UthlxKi8dYd/s1200/Cathedral.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="946" data-original-width="1200" height="315" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyp_qHMpq0BvAmIdX35znmpCChrYcRE9Dcz93TCHLcbDVpRYz7Oj9rs0JDut3ZuoH_GeXTX8oB8qyTz1VhhOsBpzaHxfbpKcLlR82TzNPF8TF1rp_YSq7B5MEhLo5ggzq1lqnlYsenax_vkvyxh21Bru31d8Cm4RvXmtvXckerTV7C_UthlxKi8dYd/w400-h315/Cathedral.jpg" width="400" /></a></b></div><b><br /><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></b><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cults
& Heretics</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">: There exists two offshoots of this faith that stand in direct
conflict with it.</span></p>
<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1) The Church of the Creator Above believes that the Trinity are
secondary agents to a greater more powerful being, that this being is the true
font of creative energy that allowed for the formation of the world and
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They see the worship of the
Trinity as heresy and seek to appeal to a deeper and more true alliance with this
greater being they call Ptah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That there
is no archeological record to support some more ancient form of the religion
that had a singular creator at work has done nothing to deter them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Often they are seen less as a danger and more
as a contrary and strange group that exists as a harmless counter culture.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2) The Trinity of Kings is a dangerous cult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They believe that the goddesses were actually
gods, and that the myth that women as the wiser sex is a lie spread by the
insidious conspiracy that is the Matriarchy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>While some defend them as having legitimate points that gender should
not exclude a person from a life of vocational or scholarly pursuits, the truth
runs much darker. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The Trinity of Kings cult believes in the violent
subjugation of women, that they should be confined to the role of slaves and sexual
toys.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Women have been kidnapped, raped,
and ritualistically murdered by this group.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Their violence is not limited to women, as many men who work for the
faith have had their hands cut off or been blinded.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The gods’ names are Cronus, Set, and Anu.</span></p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Heretical
Symbol</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">: <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Ptah: Circle; </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Trinity of
Kings: Phallus</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZacW4sA43z8brV9kTDDPH3d4lpTt2JGBPMh3lm3WO6UocOt2n8Nd_CuE0X_R5vI3ZeWlCRb1KIzzGfy_37ovkejrqRQLPxpISIzCDNLtko9RFLTvbmK3ITODJ2PLlaTTFiYFuauSaBvBI-ntwmeDfF7CQWG2uPuk9Jd2vdlkjc9gvPIZDx8Y2Z9W/s1177/Ptah.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1177" data-original-width="904" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZacW4sA43z8brV9kTDDPH3d4lpTt2JGBPMh3lm3WO6UocOt2n8Nd_CuE0X_R5vI3ZeWlCRb1KIzzGfy_37ovkejrqRQLPxpISIzCDNLtko9RFLTvbmK3ITODJ2PLlaTTFiYFuauSaBvBI-ntwmeDfF7CQWG2uPuk9Jd2vdlkjc9gvPIZDx8Y2Z9W/s320/Ptah.JPG" width="246" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Ptah">I enjoy this 2e rendition of Ptah</a>, the 3e version looks, sad, tired and confused.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Heretical
Domains</span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Ptah:
Creation (Forge); </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Trinity of Kings: Life, Order, War</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Heretical
Favored Weapon</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Ptah:
Warhammer; </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Trinity of Kings:
Longspear</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Inspirations</span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> This
is going to be pretty obvious, but the big inspiration here are the Three
Goddesses of “The Legend of Zelda” and the concept of the Trinity in
Western Religion, primarily Christianity. <a href="https://youtu.be/xdRG0443jYE">I highly recommend this video which
discusses with real sincerity the religion of Hyrule</a>, and there are other
videos I will link that talk about the trinity and other concepts as I feel
they can be interesting.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As for the
heretics, the primary concept there is a gender flipped version of the <a href="https://study.com/academy/lesson/mystery-cults-and-the-early-mother-goddess.html">Early
Mother Goddess concept</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The name <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptah#:~:text=Ptah%20%2F%CB%88t%C9%91%CB%90%2F%20(,father%20of%20the%20sage%20Imhotep.">Ptah</a>
is an obscure Egyptian creation deity whose name fits the renaming scheme I
used, replacing the three goddesses of Hyrule with real life goddesses that I
felt fit well enough.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Trinity
of Kings is a parody of the fascist/misogynistic group/movement of “<a href="https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Return-of-Kings-blog-website-hiatus-roosh-misogyny-13276041.php">Return
of Kings</a>” and by extension the online communities of <a href="https://youtu.be/_pEfhgG3Ocw">Pick Up Artists</a> and other <a href="https://youtu.be/EzKpR2J5tQY">creepy dipshits</a>. This is taking their
crap and drawing it out to a medieval/dark age style monstrous level of
behavior beyond even <a href="https://youtu.be/pZMWQDvZQZs">the sad and
dangerous material of today</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Aside from
those factors the idea that a religion incorporates material from the various
cultures and communities it attempts to convert is a well-known history in
Europe, as the source of numerous rewrites of mythology into folklore-history, <a href="https://youtu.be/uROtbSbkaq8">this is especially the case with Celtic
Mythology</a>. Beyond that a big part of Protestantism was a departure from a perceived
idolatry of the Catholic practice of adopting those pagan symbols and traditions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As always I
wanted to create prompts to allow someone using this material to shape it into
their own world, so the various splits of Politico and New Dogmatists could
allow for logical permutations within the world while keeping this vague outline
as a referential core that can be reinterpreted by the players, “I want to be
the <a href="https://youtu.be/Pl8B55MqOQo">Joseph Smith</a> of this world” as a
character motivation could be useful.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Remember, the
goal is to have fun while learning about and exploring ideas from the real
world with fun permutations. Just like with all fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If you like or hate this please
take the time to comment, share on <a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></a> (click that link
to follow me), </span></em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313">Tumblr</a>,<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> or Facebook, and otherwise distribute
my opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.</span></em></span></p><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><p></p>Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-41561818141445892942021-07-09T21:57:00.005-04:002021-07-09T21:57:55.759-04:00Writer's Block Review: "Lake Mungo" (2012)<p> To help me
break with some writer’s block I have been suffering from since the large
amount of writing I did for my finals in the middle of May, I am going back to
basics. You might be saying, “you
haven’t updated this blog in months.” To
which I must replay, “yeah, I had other shit going on.” </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A large
amount of this blog is just me writing about movies I have seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a time I would rank/review all the movies
I had seen from a given year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stopped
emphasizing movies for whatever reason and now my brain is tired from thinking
bigger thoughts about the world and suffering and how people in power know
exactly how to fix it all, but they don’t.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Today I am
going to write on here something simple, much like how I started simple when I
went back to the gym following Covid.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><b><u>Lake Mungo (2012)</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Written and Directed by <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1757667/">Joel Anderson</a> (who is known for
this and that is it)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Currently available on Tubi.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp8mzFjSJqMU__h_tR5DKu09_cI3aXwQeqefwwMvWbjP10Wu3asyxS4yMztcd6lEoloBrtMgBzHeuE0I_hJBlk_m8MBfLpfDTuARnAzi_T2OvWxTiMMrRuIp-Uu1TJfAGxbsawuoPGsfs/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="378" data-original-width="263" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp8mzFjSJqMU__h_tR5DKu09_cI3aXwQeqefwwMvWbjP10Wu3asyxS4yMztcd6lEoloBrtMgBzHeuE0I_hJBlk_m8MBfLpfDTuARnAzi_T2OvWxTiMMrRuIp-Uu1TJfAGxbsawuoPGsfs/w278-h400/Lake_Mungo_Official_Poster.jpg" width="278" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Premise<o:p></o:p></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is a fictional-Documentary
about the events surrounding the death of a young woman and the subsequent
haunting of her family by that young woman.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Good<o:p></o:p></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I found
out after the fact that the actors adlibbed most of their dialogue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea being that they would sit down, be
told what the idea of the scene was, and just to act it all out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This strategy sounds like it would be a
fucking disaster but turned out quite well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The reason I found out about this is simply because I found the acting
strong enough that I was intrigued with the behind the scenes.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
haunting material is solid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea of
someone appearing in footage or in pictures is a classic “Ghost” thing in
folklore/media and it is presented well almost every time (there are some
instances in which the ghost is supposed to go unnoticed till a reveal and you
are left going, “I saw that earlier”).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
mysteries and secrets that get revealed are intriguing and spooky in equal
measure.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Bad<o:p></o:p></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Um… I mean,
I already mentioned the few instances in which you will see the ghost before
they intend you to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It happens.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It is a
little slow and I think the most interesting bits could fit into a 60 minute
format, but compared to the bloated nightmare that is modern true crime
documentaries on streaming where 1-2 hours of content is spread over 4-12
because god forbid they cut the fluff… “Lake Mungo” is tight as a drum by
comparison.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I guess
the only “complaint” I have is that it is far more sad than scary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is perhaps the nature of ghost stories
that “grief was the real ghost the whole time”, but this one especially.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u>Conclusion<o:p></o:p></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>“Lake Mungo" is a good, sad, short little ghost story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is worth watching.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p> </o:p><em style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">______________________________</span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> If you like or hate this please take
the time to comment, share on </span></em><a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><em><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Twitter</span></em></a><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (click that link to
follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext;">Tumblr</span></a>,<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> or Facebook, and otherwise distribute my
opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.<br /><br /></span></em></p>Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-12216850609954584952021-06-22T18:39:00.004-04:002021-06-22T18:39:58.490-04:00Writer's Block Review: "The Possession" (2012)<p>To help me
break with some writer’s block I have been suffering from since the large
amount of writing I did for my finals in the middle of May, I am going back to
basics. You might be saying, “you
haven’t updated this blog in months.” To
which I must replay, “yeah, I had other shit going on.” </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A large
amount of this blog is just me writing about movies I have seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a time I would rank/review all the movies
I had seen from a given year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stopped
emphasizing movies for whatever reason and now my brain is tired from thinking
bigger thoughts about the world and suffering and how people in power know
exactly how to fix it all, but they don’t.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Today I am
going to write on here something simple, much like how I started simple when I
went back to the gym following Covid.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><b><u>The Possession (2012)</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Written by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliet_Snowden" title="Stiles White">Juliet
Snowden</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stiles_White">Stiles
White</a><b><u><o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Directed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_Bornedal" title="Ole Bornedal">Ole
Bornedal</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Currently available on Netflix.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj20cTFpPfeHWes8DKAxCeAs4sy0Bsl9z7cUSnqtpnd0vdunWZ0CGL6JiGMiK4S6HWPX-hMeEufkRN5kv-qQR_5zc2-7o1RGnMwd3HLgdPaUmnPgICECCjtXFlhGr2BQWetfdvIaMZwfdE/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="574" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj20cTFpPfeHWes8DKAxCeAs4sy0Bsl9z7cUSnqtpnd0vdunWZ0CGL6JiGMiK4S6HWPX-hMeEufkRN5kv-qQR_5zc2-7o1RGnMwd3HLgdPaUmnPgICECCjtXFlhGr2BQWetfdvIaMZwfdE/w400-h223/possession.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><u>The Premise</u><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After a
cold opening that makes no sense based on the mythology explored later in the
movie and which completely gives the game away on their being some kind of
telekinetic ghost/spirit/demon being in a box… we get a movie about a troubled
family that buys said haunted box from a yard sale.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This movie
is “based on actual events” in that there is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dybbuk_box">a supposedly haunted box</a>
owned by notorious ghost hunter and notable fraud <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zak_Bagans">Zak Baggins</a>… maybe that is too
harsh… let’s change it to alleged fraud.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The actual object It is one of those things that is obviously bullshit
but it is fun to pretend, we all need a little magic in our lives.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Good</u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The child
actors in this work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kids often have a
hard time putting forth a believable performance, but these kids hit the
mark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no complaints about their
performances or their roles in the story.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jeffery
Dean Morgan is fantastic in this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is
so much better than the material that I am vexed as to why he is even in this
movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just a paycheck?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was he taken in by the “based on actual
events” tagline?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently, in an
interview he shared some of the weird events that happened
on set, maybe he is into ghosts?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The use of
moths as the signature animal associated with the demon/ghost is different, and
I appreciate different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are images
of the monster as seen in an MRI image that is legitimately creepy to point
where I feel a better movie would have used such a scene to elevate itself to “great”.<o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="364" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hpkOr6xdZZ4" width="489" youtube-src-id="hpkOr6xdZZ4"></iframe></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Bad</u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The
previously mentioned opening is crap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
cannot stress enough that having a ghost/demon that can kill and maim people
while still in its prison undermines the entire point of the story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the box does the same sort of violence
later in the movie (I have to imagine a producer said, “you need and action
beat”) it again pushes the story away from spooky to goofy.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is
not hard to fix.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the opening have
someone OPEN THE BOX, and then refusing the demon/ghost’s attempt to possess
them (let us say the person is an adult and knows not to let themselves be
possessed) then the demon uses some kind of power to hurt them. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the midpoint have the person killed by the
demon be killed… BY CHILD WHO IS POSSESSED.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That ups the stakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That the
monster is able to use their power because they are now free and anchored into
a willing host.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Having a third-party
victim killed by the possessed person will make the audience worry more for the
family members, setting up an internal tension for the little girl who is
trying not to hurt her family, but… you know… possessed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could even have a scene like the one at
the end of “The Exorcist III” where the possessed person fights thru and helps
to defeat the demon.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwLpyTDhSu1U94AAWMJNHFuoj5G58ChL4cgqAgc8faHRDuXkEJ-_gBDR8maCiQ3W53zf6QHU1SrGYg2JQeHaNChhhFFWiTUM5hrpZRFzhV32WCSMAb8GvVPC3AJlqOwbsfelym9kEpfrw/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwLpyTDhSu1U94AAWMJNHFuoj5G58ChL4cgqAgc8faHRDuXkEJ-_gBDR8maCiQ3W53zf6QHU1SrGYg2JQeHaNChhhFFWiTUM5hrpZRFzhV32WCSMAb8GvVPC3AJlqOwbsfelym9kEpfrw/w400-h266/whats_in_the_box.0.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another big failure of this movie is how they show you the contents of the box almost immediately and there is very little mystery to the box itself. <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2020/9/22/21449898/seven-whats-in-the-box">Weak</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Let’s also
talk about the monster, I am always a little iffy when it comes to
appropriating other cultures to pepper your ghost movie with some exoticism. In this case the demon is a creature of
Jewish folklore that speaks in Yiddish and is defeated by the drafting of a hip
young rabbi who is willing to go outside the rules to help battle the
demon. That is a weird choice. You don’t often see in the movie, “I must
consult with a mystic to battle this evil, gonna have to catch the train to the
Bronx.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So, here
is an obvious idea to help reform the plot, why not make the family
Jewish?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shocking to realize that the
family is not Jewish (at least not ostensibly) considering the subject
matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But religion is a thing that can
bring people together or be a wedge in a relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could have the mom be Jewish and she is
trying to reconnect to her roots (maybe in response to a family tragedy, maybe
there used to be three kids, hell the ghost could pretend to be the third kids
ghost making it easier for it to possess the younger sister who is not haling
the death of the sibling well).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This
commitment to her religion in the wake of a family tragedy could be why the mom
and dad broke up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea that he no
longer fit with her increasingly conservative outlook fits better than the “we
broke up… for… reasons…” material that is there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As is, the mother being just pointlessly
hostile, petty, and too quick to believe bad things about her ex-husband makes
her real hard to root for.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Then you
have another interesting way to take things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That the dad has to embrace Jewish mysticism to defeat the demon/ghost,
but the mother thinks he is mocking her or trying to get back with her via some
kind of manipulation of her beliefs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is real drama.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then, just
like the ending to “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286106/">Signs</a>”
you can have the family come together at the end having had their faith
confirmed and tried by horrific circumstances.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp1BsNKwVW7-4Cns5xd6v-QGdcW7GAe4QiCWEEU-DyxbTtJtVnRlE4kMQmnvIhGuixsyTHYtcZ2fX2BtjCGoOr-dhCV7TCvWFQ1ElmPMP3oGSE8PBjRXzXEpHjWECwf5YjYMFt7tS43KE/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1200" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp1BsNKwVW7-4Cns5xd6v-QGdcW7GAe4QiCWEEU-DyxbTtJtVnRlE4kMQmnvIhGuixsyTHYtcZ2fX2BtjCGoOr-dhCV7TCvWFQ1ElmPMP3oGSE8PBjRXzXEpHjWECwf5YjYMFt7tS43KE/" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remember "<a href="https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/signs/">Signs</a>"?<br />Remember liking Mel Gibson?<br />Is it disrespectful to bring up Gibson when talking about a movie that centers on Jewish mythology?</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Really the
ending is weird. I was expecting a super
dark ending, in which the demon jumps to possessing the other daughter; then
kills the mom, younger sister, and rabbi; and then frames the dad for it all. Super downer endings were the family gets
murdered by the demon have been shown to work, look at “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1922777/">Sinister</a>”. As is, the ending peters out on a vaguely
happy ending… BUT OH NO THE DEMON BOX ESCAPED.
Weird and not as fulfilling or scary as it should be, just stuck in the
middle.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To come
back again to the Jewish mysticism angle, this is not the only Jewish exorcism
movie I have seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139668/">The Unborn</a>” also did this and
these movies are a study in contrasts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
find “Unborn” has the better thrust, because the ghost in that story is an
unborn twin, and they manage to weave that idea into the <a href="https://www.history.com/news/nazi-twin-experiments-mengele-eugenics">Nazi
twin experiments</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Using material
from the Holocaust is a lot of borrowed pathos to bring into the movie, which
is <u><b>crass</b></u>… but it is also SOMETHING.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe I should have made this a double feature to compare and contrast
the two?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jazz up this review.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh well.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFTWG6T6JDQvNk1J4i_QOe-T268-PYjBBwnB3zLJ7mC0UHX-NfDhyY4sT0ZwfOLdh_h5AtUgfZEYhCYEuuNQmX8dZeEgUrg5eBi7xeArhdhjz0lES6O3yBDeQa1gubX_VDhoKukkvjIM/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwFTWG6T6JDQvNk1J4i_QOe-T268-PYjBBwnB3zLJ7mC0UHX-NfDhyY4sT0ZwfOLdh_h5AtUgfZEYhCYEuuNQmX8dZeEgUrg5eBi7xeArhdhjz0lES6O3yBDeQa1gubX_VDhoKukkvjIM/w300-h400/Unborn+Crass.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It is cr-<a href="https://www.primevideo.com/detail/The-Unborn/0NLOLV65ONFABS3QGONB5ARLTP">ASS</a> on the movie poster for sure.<br />Holy moly is it tasteless to have this be such a selling point <br />for a movie about the specter of the Holocaust.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u>Conclusion<o:p></o:p></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">“The
Possession” is a hacky bit of forgettable flotsam in the ocean of content that
the world has to offer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not bad;
it is just typical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best scenes in
it deserve to be in a better movie, while most of the material is so ‘meh’ you
have to wonder why they bothered.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I cannot
emphasize enough that the “oops, I bought a ghost” premise is fantastic not
just for horror but also comedy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
solid gold and if they had chosen to go the route of emphasizing characters
being funny/witty like “<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2021/06/writers-block-review-hatchet-200607.html">Hatchet</a>”
had done for slasher movies, they could have turned this forgettable story into
something interesting.</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If you like or hate this please take
the time to comment, share on </span></em><a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><em><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Twitter</span></em></a><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (click that link to
follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext;">Tumblr</span></a>,<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> or Facebook, and otherwise distribute my
opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.</span></em></p>Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-11790922176725927132021-06-15T19:08:00.006-04:002021-06-15T19:08:55.854-04:00Writer's Block Review: "Hatchet" (2006/07)<p> To help me
break with some writer’s block I have been suffering from since the large
amount of writing I did for my finals in the middle of May, I am going back to
basics. You might be saying, “you haven’t
updated this blog in months.” To which I
must replay, “yeah, I had other shit going on.” </p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A large
amount of this blog is just me writing about movies I have seen. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a time I would rank/review all the movies
I had seen from a given year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I stopped
emphasizing movies for whatever reason and now my brain is tired from thinking
bigger thoughts about the world and suffering and how people in power know
exactly how to fix it all, but they don’t.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Today I am
going to write on here something simple, much like how I started simple when I
went back to the gym following Covid.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qzZipXqVy2xYyr9sJB0e-E1F9NrSpNcbjDAzyFIAGT3-zZxfZ60zF-Fvfiti1TwrcKU4qW5IJ_-NveYtuqo9T19nWzHtYOTIWr4GmgGYTIs6gUSbaa-iDfXDmetNkHqwhIXFTDYul88/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="445" data-original-width="313" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4qzZipXqVy2xYyr9sJB0e-E1F9NrSpNcbjDAzyFIAGT3-zZxfZ60zF-Fvfiti1TwrcKU4qW5IJ_-NveYtuqo9T19nWzHtYOTIWr4GmgGYTIs6gUSbaa-iDfXDmetNkHqwhIXFTDYul88/w282-h400/Hatchet.jpg" width="282" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Hatchet (2006/2007)</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Written and Directed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Green_(filmmaker)">Adam Green</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Currently available on Amazon Prime.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Premise</u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A boat tour of character actors sinks in the swamp near a haunted(?)
cabin and the various colorful characters are killed off in gruesome fashion by
the <a href="https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RevenantZombie">deformed
revenant</a> that stalks the marshland.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Good</u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">While not everyone in the movie is a great actor even that
kind of works as it is more of a comedy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The dialogue is frequently good, with quips and acting beats making it
feel true to the various characters in the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is really no conversation or line that
feels like the wrong person is talking.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The make up and gore effects capture the goofy tone that the
dialogue does, and it all fits together quite well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They go for over the top and a few of them
shoot the moon.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Maybe I am shallow in that I consider the presence of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes_McNab" target="_blank">Mercedes McNab</a> to be a
<a href="http://www.sweetandtalented.com/mcnabphoto.php" target="_blank">highlight</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is gorgeous and has
perhaps the best comedic timing one could hope for in a bimbo character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I loved her as Harmony on “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer">Buffy the Vampire
Slayer</a>” and here she is elevating the dumb bimbo role to an artform.<br /><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am not going to call out all the actors or the
cameos/small roles for horror icons, but they all work well enough for this
movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just some are better than others.</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk1GSE7LI4JMZOj0giFCRgxiH4vJrcCPZk3keqbBpYVaKOMJ6PUyM9Rmmk2-fDHyYg169eWZugfcRcHUz9_NIUWA3ytjkXCe0922Oq1ExKmKAP29_NQGeFK1Vo_B9OK4JaMjbzy3ovis4/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1227" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk1GSE7LI4JMZOj0giFCRgxiH4vJrcCPZk3keqbBpYVaKOMJ6PUyM9Rmmk2-fDHyYg169eWZugfcRcHUz9_NIUWA3ytjkXCe0922Oq1ExKmKAP29_NQGeFK1Vo_B9OK4JaMjbzy3ovis4/w400-h327/mcnab09.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Bad<o:p></o:p></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I am glad they leaned in on the comedy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Holy hell is this one of the most derivative outlines
o a script you can get.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is exactly
the sort of cliché riddled movie that “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cabin_in_the_Woods">Cabin in the Woods</a>”
was mercilessly mocking and if they had tried to play it completely straight it
would have been complete garbage.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Bigger issues come with the shoestring budget, as Saturday
Night Live has more convincing swamp sets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Worse for the horror side of the story, everything is lit to a comical
level… At one point they find a flashlight and its beam is completely drown out
by the lighting they just have as the default.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Keep in mind this is supposed to be night, in a foggy swamp, it should
be dark as hell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t help but
imagine how you could light the woods in a way that makes it visually
interesting without completely breaking the conceit, but you would need a
lighting guy who costs money and they don’t have any of that.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">As far as acting, unfortunately the worst performance is the
movie’s final girl, played by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamara_Feldman">Tamara Feldman</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is playing this role way too straight and
comes off like someone from a more serious iteration of this material who got
lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bad direction?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe she just wasn’t into it because she did
not reprise the role for the sequel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either
way it is the weakest acting on the character with perhaps the 2<sup>nd</sup>
or 3<sup>rd</sup> most screen time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">My biggest issue is with the ending, which I guess will be a
spoiled here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ending feels like a
cheat on the characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are clever
earlier in the movie trying to concoct a plan that played on what they knew
about the monster’s origins, “let’s light him on fire, because his tragic
death involved him trying to escape a burning cabin” and their plan is foiled
by rain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This plan is good. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And how it is foiled is also good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That should have been the climax and ending of
the movie, but that is instead the end of act two.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The ending comes when the characters have a protracted chase
thru a graveyard and seemingly defeat the monster by stabbing it in the
face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stabbing in the face is not any
more effective than the myriad of other bullets, stabbings, and other harm they
have visited upon the monster and yet they think they beat it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The characters are surprised when the monster
shows back up and ostensibly kills the remaining characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Downer ending, perfectly fine for this kind
of movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BUT, that feels like a
betrayal of the characters who were previously shown to at least be trying to
get a handle on things.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To fix this I would have moved the chase scene to act 2, the
characters realize they can’t get away after being chased in a circle back to
the haunted cabin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They then try to use
the fire plan on the monster back at the haunted cabin, and then their plan is
foiled and they all die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ramp up the
character’s knowledge and insight in how to fight the monster as time goes on,
make the audience feel like the characters are going thru an arc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Currently their knowledge goes up and then crashes
down.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">For an example of how to do this well I have to point to the
first “Nightmare on Elm Street” movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nancy
forms a plan on how to defeat Freddy Krueger by pulling him out of the dream
world and into her house full of traps, it ostensibly works… but the twist
ending shows that Freddy was not actually defeated and the characters die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Elm Street” ramped up to the twist ending,
it felt like a surprise and it doesn’t feel like the characters failed to try
everything they could.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The ending kind of ties into one more issue, there is no
<a href="https://www.socreate.it/en/blogs/screenwriting/how-to-write-character-arcs" target="_blank">character arc</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You usually want to show
your protagonists dealing with some kind of trauma or weakness over the course
of the narrative, and by overcoming the weakness they help to overcome the
monster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this instance the main
character is dealing with a breakup from a previous relationship and the final
girl is trying to investigate what happened to her brother and father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Logically, neither of these tie into fighting
a revenant… The best I could think is that during some key moment the Final
Girl’s father and brother could rise up as revenants to try and help her
escape?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And logically the main guy
getting over his breakup by getting with the final girl would be the other side
of things, you would have to establish that she left him because he was not a
take-charge kind of guy and by the end of the movie he is a take-charge kind of
guy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just… Something.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18BpTyFuW3edPR8C3jIrVipKZO0FlYgFVsgfcJUUI0WOcOdGOriDCZYZItWeiRDJpltGO55h9APK29XoqIG86xaZf9ZsdQhi2HB3UNJmxdz59j8X31DyLrSOVSmopmia-8SwhhZ7PtLQ/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="860" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg18BpTyFuW3edPR8C3jIrVipKZO0FlYgFVsgfcJUUI0WOcOdGOriDCZYZItWeiRDJpltGO55h9APK29XoqIG86xaZf9ZsdQhi2HB3UNJmxdz59j8X31DyLrSOVSmopmia-8SwhhZ7PtLQ/w400-h243/Character+arc.jfif" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u>Conclusion<o:p></o:p></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I don’t hate this movie, it is watchable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The humor elevates in enough that the
derivative elements and low production values are mostly forgiven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t help but wonder if they could have
done something more creative with the backstory?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe if they had the budget to make the presentation
of the setting actually scary?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is strange that <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2011/05/30-day-movie-challenge-day-2.html">one
of my oldest movie reviews</a> on this blog is for “Phantasm” which was similarly
low budget but was far more creative with the premise… and I still like this
one more because the acting and dialogue is better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe give Adam Green some money to work with
so that he can escape the horror-ghetto his career seems to be in and see what
he could do with something bigger and stranger? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could see him <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>doing episodes of “Creepshow” or other horror
anthology series without breaking a sweat.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">This is not the first movie by Adam Green I have seen. “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digging_Up_the_Marrow">Digging up the
Marrow</a>”, which is sort of a cross between a mockumentary and the movie “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightbreed">Nightbreed</a>” was, and it is
better than “Hatchet”… and better than “Nightbreed”.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">(Sidenote on “Phantasm”, I no longer consider it the worst
movie I have ever seen by a long shot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That title went to “<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2015/02/movies-of-2014-worst-movie.html">Boyhood</a>”.)<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUGhsyIgbVEW6zubhRbpmtMea1hU5y99E2DzUSXD8ANk2cmxKEZK-QCb5IJ_OyxCPqIm2BjcJ6Ik4d_NPC7ag5VH2kyDjIaClGCckwLWfQ8fbcxf5tdDyDYacs_w7E5ix6fZ_nByEYRg/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiUGhsyIgbVEW6zubhRbpmtMea1hU5y99E2DzUSXD8ANk2cmxKEZK-QCb5IJ_OyxCPqIm2BjcJ6Ik4d_NPC7ag5VH2kyDjIaClGCckwLWfQ8fbcxf5tdDyDYacs_w7E5ix6fZ_nByEYRg/w400-h225/maxresdefault.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If you like or hate this please take
the time to comment, share on </span></em><a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><em><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Twitter</span></em></a><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (click that link to
follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext;">Tumblr</span></a>,<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> or Facebook, and otherwise distribute my
opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.</span></em></p><p></p>Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-70454659575704684562021-01-27T13:41:00.001-05:002021-01-27T13:41:53.804-05:00The Inauguration of President Biden: Some Thoughts From Last Week<p> I am
writing this a little over 24 hours after President Biden has been sworn into
office and a series of executive actions and policies are being reversed. Criminals previously in control of government
departments are being dismissed and the first of a handful of candidates are
being reviewed for confirmation into cabinet positions.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mood is
akin to the relief felt by the survivors of a slasher movie just before the
masked killer jumps up from his prone state for another attack on the hapless
sex positive teenagers that think it is all over… Maybe my cynicism is too
much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know, logically that the future
is marching on, but I am also acutely aware that Donald Trump did not storm the
capital by himself January 6<sup>th</sup>, which will end up being some sort of
parody holiday in the future akin to <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2013/04/4-20-my-opinion-on-marijuana-politics.html">4-20</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Wars_Day">May the 5<sup>th</sup></a>.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p> No matter
<a href="https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/orange-man-bad">how orange he is</a>, Donald Trump will not magically turn back into a racist
pumpkin just because the clock struck 12 yesterday. The various crooks and schemers that he gave
power and influence are still skulking in the shadows, they did not turn back
into mice. Things are still bad. Trump was not only a culmination of a great
many awful things in this country, he was just the latest and he <a href="https://www.pexels.com/@bertellifotografia">will not be the last</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_Z3VVMN7WfQTNrAvh2JOzLa_Z4qYtqBVutnQ6NiW756gRNCH18mkMTKuwDTS4YxmN6Yz_T35fOytXHhI95ZofuqnCPe79D45OuhS5zq1Dv20Ikg4SCihiE8T1LojQ0KfCO3nU7mIQ1A/s1300/Pumpkin.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="867" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj_Z3VVMN7WfQTNrAvh2JOzLa_Z4qYtqBVutnQ6NiW756gRNCH18mkMTKuwDTS4YxmN6Yz_T35fOytXHhI95ZofuqnCPe79D45OuhS5zq1Dv20Ikg4SCihiE8T1LojQ0KfCO3nU7mIQ1A/s320/Pumpkin.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"> It is
troubling that Joe Biden ran on the “Build Back Better” slogan that is… nakedly
synonymous to the phrase “Make Great Again” and no one seems to care. Both political parties ran on a message of
returning to a prelapsarian past. And
when the restoration of the relatively not-evil political party only takes you
back 4 years to the same paradigm that led to the rise of the fascist pumpkin
to begin with I have to ask why everyone is so relieved.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p> Why is
everyone so relieved?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p> There is
so much pageantry and performative “change”.
You would have thought that <a href="https://youtu.be/LZ055ilIiN4">a young woman reading a poem</a> had cured Covid
for all the people weeping over it. I
get it, I do. It is not for nothing that
the first non-white VP is a thing, a woman likely to be running for President
in 4 years. That is good in the nebulous
way all breaking down of color barriers are good. But that doesn’t actually fix the underlying
alienation and toxic bullshit that gave birth to the <a href="https://youtu.be/XJgX20S0Zdg">QAnon death cult</a> or the
Nazis-in-all-but-name jerk offs like the <a href="https://youtu.be/pZMWQDvZQZs">Proud Boys</a> or the <a href="https://youtu.be/9TMBhcOca1g">Boogaloos</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p> I actually
expected worse. I had expected the
capital to be attacked. I had expected
mass shootings in the inner city on election day as a small army of white
nationalists would make the drive to non-white areas and stop voting. I expected assassinations of Democrats and moderate
Republicans. I expected state capitals
to be attacked, the logical escalation of <a href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/8/7/21357400/anti-mask-protest-rallies-donald-trump-covid-19">the various “protests”</a> that took
place over <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/04/trump-supporters-protest-coronavirus-orders">Covid last year</a> which I said at the time signaled to <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/08/diversity-in-my-life-and-my-thoughts-on.html">white nationalists</a> that they would not be treated harshly by law enforcement.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am
thankful that many of my doom saying did not happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But to call back to my horror movie monster
metaphor from earlier, it is not that the masked killer is about to get up for
one last attack, instead the camera is panning from the house full of sobbing
survivors out into the dark of the woods where an entire cadre of masked
killers stands in waiting for some unseen signal at which time to strike.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p> The sequel
to this horror show is going into pre-production as we speak. And it looks like <a href="https://youtu.be/kEIbyuKRXko">this franchise will have legs</a>.</p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></em></p><p class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> If you like or hate this please take
the time to comment, share on </span></em><a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><em><span style="color: windowtext; font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Twitter</span></em></a><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> (click that link to
follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext;">Tumblr</span></a>,<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> or Facebook, and otherwise distribute my
opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.</span></em></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-70164352479321694592020-12-05T13:36:00.003-05:002020-12-05T21:28:37.614-05:00I am Working on the Topic of Racism<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I work as a
university researcher while studying as a PhD student.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last couple months my research has focused
on Racism in K-12 education.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea
being to see how various factors of racism are discussed in the field of
education and how it might be applied to Public Policy or Administration.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Shockingly,
researching this topic for numerous weeks left my brain feeling like it had
been beaten with a cudgel.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It was a
strange arc to the whole process too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The first half dozen sources I worked thru I could immediately see a
larger narrative (one that held steady thru the remaining research) and enjoyed
the act of learning for its own sake.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Then as I
read the next half dozen I started to think, “Oh good, a lot of these
literature reviews see policies in action, and it seems like they know how to
fix many of the underlying problems.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During
this time is where a normal undergraduate would be able to write a paper
spelling out numerous issues and numerous solutions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I kept going…<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The refrain
of racism became an earworm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>20-25
sources reviewed and all I could see is the long pattern stretching back thru
American and world history and it leading to the current state of things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The attempts to fix it, the constant push
back, and the half-hearted attempts to dig out the infection of systemic racism
and cultural bias, it was the arc of history and while things are better, they
still suck, and it is too easy for them to get worse.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwr_9yqW7_hzAk53-f8_IywevEgp4LlmVAUuYTQ7Y-7VJ3s_DzYX3M9QyJgghRtquw8qHRRP40XOUvU2NwHFrL0_GLUD0hLnnhs61YhpBwbzK1fzM6af14SbujFX2TE6d8YjQB1IgEXZM/s500/book-address-book-learning-learn-159751.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwr_9yqW7_hzAk53-f8_IywevEgp4LlmVAUuYTQ7Y-7VJ3s_DzYX3M9QyJgghRtquw8qHRRP40XOUvU2NwHFrL0_GLUD0hLnnhs61YhpBwbzK1fzM6af14SbujFX2TE6d8YjQB1IgEXZM/w506-h337/book-address-book-learning-learn-159751.jpeg" width="506" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Conversations
with people at the dog park were a treat for them I am sure. As puppies played and older dogs sat on benches and
got head pats from the various lounging dog owners, I turned conversations with those who would listen to me into town halls. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There a bunch of people listened to me explain
how subtle racism permeates every aspect of the primary education system. And then went on to explain how that racism is part of the legacy of segregation and white supremacy that is
as baked into the apple pie of America alongside patriarchy and heteronormativity.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I was being a bit
of a downer.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>By the time
I had finished summarizing and organizing more than 30 of these papers (each in
turn a literature review or meta-analysis of numerous other studies) I had been
thinking about racism constantly for a month… and I stupidly didn’t stop there.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am an
avid user of audiobooks and I had been listening to some of the free titles
offered via my audible subscription on history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What were two titles I had picked?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“<a href="https://www.audible.com/pd/A-Concise-History-of-the-Haitian-Revolution-Audiobook/B00BQHERAK?ref=a_library_t_c5_libItem_&pf_rd_p=85df3330-9dc4-4a45-ae69-93cc2fc25ca4&pf_rd_r=74HDN5GRZE15FPW0FY4E">A
Concise History of the Haitian Revolution</a>” and “<a href="https://www.audible.com/pd/Reconstruction-and-the-Rise-of-Jim-Crow-Audiobook/B00E8LYGZ2?ref=a_library_t_c5_libItem_&pf_rd_p=85df3330-9dc4-4a45-ae69-93cc2fc25ca4&pf_rd_r=74HDN5GRZE15FPW0FY4E">Reconstruction
and the Rise of Jim Crow</a>” as my stupid ass had decided without really
thinking it out, “Hey, I have been wanting to learn a little more about these
topics” and ended up reading about a whole other dimension to racism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Both of those titles are quite informative; I
am not slighting them in the least, do pick them up if you are a fan of history.)<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Racism was the
hobgoblin of my thoughts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You might be
saying, “what about your classes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Didn’t
studying for those take your mind off of it?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Well, one of them deals with philosophy and certainly did, the other… It
deals with Welfare Programs in the US and HOLY SHIT is it just racism all the
way down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kind of lost my mind at some
point when we were having class discussion where people were trying to give the
benefit of the doubt to… let’s politely call it, “the other side” by spelling
out their fiscal conservatism and romanticizing of the Protestant Work Ethic.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yeah, I
decided not to give the same benefit of the doubt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ending up on a mini rant about how we all
need to stop giving them credit or listening to them lie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spelling out how persistent racism has been
the guiding star of so many “reforms” and so many abuses within the American
welfare system (and America in general) that we have to stop treating the other
side as acting in good faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At a
certain point you have to come to the realization that you and the public you
serve are in danger, that the other side is not acting in good faith, that the
other side does not tell the truth, and that if you don’t start acknowledging all
that you are going to allow great harm to come to the most vulnerable.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Regardless
of all these attempts to kill my own soul by burning away what little remained
of my own ignorance (keep in mind, I am not learning too many new things about
racism, it is the wallowing in the subject matter that is getting to me) I did
come out the other end and will continue to work on the material.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I talked to
my supervising Professor about how draining it has been to bathe in this topic (it
is interesting at least to see which authors look at things with a cold
detachment, those that feel a sense of sad pity, and those that have some real
fire to their writing) and the professor suggested to distance myself from the
material a bit, focus on putting out a useful policy message and maybe making a
positive change.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The
professor also made the suggestion to go back over the reading list he had
given his students earlier in the semester which included the titles, “<a href="https://www.audible.com/pd/White-Rage-Audiobook/B01GU9G6BG?ref=a_wl_c5_desk_pg1_10&pf_rd_p=400b1420-4f6a-4b9e-bcc9-3211081ebfe1&pf_rd_r=6C0NJ9PVMAPZFG6NR8VR">White
Rage</a>”, “<a href="https://www.audible.com/pd/White-Trash-Audiobook/B01H62F8G0?ref=a_wl_c5_desk_pg1_18&pf_rd_p=400b1420-4f6a-4b9e-bcc9-3211081ebfe1&pf_rd_r=6C0NJ9PVMAPZFG6NR8VR">White
Trash</a>”, and “<a href="https://www.audible.com/pd/White-Fragility-Audiobook/B07D6XN8RJ?ref=a_wl_c5_desk_pg1_19&pf_rd_p=400b1420-4f6a-4b9e-bcc9-3211081ebfe1&pf_rd_r=6C0NJ9PVMAPZFG6NR8VR">White
Fragility</a>” and not read those titles for a little while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The university and our department in
particular had been trying to position themselves as “Anti-Racist” (something I
support) and that had led to many such reading lists to help the student body
understand the context of the university’s work on the subject.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I previously discussed the book “<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2019/07/audio-book-discussion-blindspot.html">Blindspot</a>”
for this very reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Professor saw
that I was already knee deep and needed a bit of a mental break.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Good news is
that I might be able to publish some of my work from this and that might do
some good in the future.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Maybe.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Maybe it
will just be the latest in a long line of papers saying, “Here is the problem,
we all see it, here is a possible solution, please don’t ignore it” and then it
getting filed away to only be referenced by other academics and ignored by
policymakers… Cause racism.<o:p></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If you like or hate this please take
the time to comment, share on <a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><span color="windowtext" style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></a>
(click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313">Tumblr</a>,<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> or Facebook, and
otherwise distribute my opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.</span></em></p><p></p>Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-45367375850309098022020-10-27T11:21:00.001-04:002020-10-27T11:21:10.238-04:00Halloween Watching Suggestions<p> I figured
for Halloween I would do one of the easiest hack blog entries a person can do,
a series of movie recommendations based around Horror.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p><b><u>Franchise to binge: “Nightmare on Elm Street”</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I don’t
think I am ruffling any feathers in the horror community to say that the
Nightmare franchise has the highest overall quality, ESPECIALLY for a series
with as many entries as it has.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A special
commendation has to go to the second entry as being the one with the best
themes and best blend of creative dream nonsense with actual horror elements,
but I am betting that number 3 is the one that most people will list as the high-water
mark of the series.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fifth entry is
perhaps the worst, a shame because I feel it brushes against greatness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is just something off about it which
kills it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>With 9
entries it is enough for a whole Halloween, and I think that Freddy the
character, the implied mythology, and the various missteps I see in the series
could fill a book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have talked about
the franchise <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/03/my-thoughts-on-freddy-vs-jason.html">some
before</a>, but it was only <a href="https://filmartgallery.com/products/a-nightmare-on-elm-street-2-freddys-revenge" target="_blank">last year that I finished watching all of it</a>.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHajmGxIu2_fTPxhpZws23oZvsuq1mq_Hfcro84P_XfBBPx_sBdSRwTxZFJt-Ou2PQbfXSrd0M2zPy_Dmnq1eu-JxRUy-1BCJ3UaiGnuayM47znN8_Stb7Zi6nqq5SPkRv4O4cSl-pNmo/s2048/Freddy+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1551" data-original-width="2048" height="435" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHajmGxIu2_fTPxhpZws23oZvsuq1mq_Hfcro84P_XfBBPx_sBdSRwTxZFJt-Ou2PQbfXSrd0M2zPy_Dmnq1eu-JxRUy-1BCJ3UaiGnuayM47znN8_Stb7Zi6nqq5SPkRv4O4cSl-pNmo/w575-h435/Freddy+2.jpg" width="575" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>TV Shows to Watch</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As a
Netflix and Amazon guy there is a lot of stuff on Hulu that I am not able to
access (but there is still stuff I would recommend).<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The first
pick would be “Hannibal” which is a series I watched on a lark thinking, “A
prequel series to Silence of the Lambs…. I bet this is a cash grab mess.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Turns out it is one of the most visually
arresting series I have ever watched, and I consider the heroic protagonist
Will Graham to be a character I identify with to a shocking level (like, while
watching the show, I would finish the character’s sentences).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first season is fantastic and will hook
you for the second.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOZxFwJ-UhzuLKNjBw-JCDbdHLeabrB1Th8uk-lKKWiaam99NemWLwmUeT3fL_HyeyPj3183yez-3VB2v9jPw9cXxQ2NwXKm5YSRA9P2mRnXCzsdyTSBgp05NOcKsm2mLARvXBmTLk8ZE/s1280/Hannibal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOZxFwJ-UhzuLKNjBw-JCDbdHLeabrB1Th8uk-lKKWiaam99NemWLwmUeT3fL_HyeyPj3183yez-3VB2v9jPw9cXxQ2NwXKm5YSRA9P2mRnXCzsdyTSBgp05NOcKsm2mLARvXBmTLk8ZE/w529-h298/Hannibal.jpg" width="529" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"> The second
is one people have probably already seen, “The Haunting of Hill House” (I did a
review of the <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2020/01/audio-book-review-haunting-of-hill-house.html">audiobook</a>). Mike Flanagan is a creative person who has
instantly entered into my “I will consume anything and everything they make” category. And as soon as I have more time I will be
binging his latest series, “The Haunting of Bly Manor”.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Cartoons Series and Animated Movies</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
talked before about my infinite love of the “Ghostbusters” franchise, and I can
point to two opportunities to experience underappreciated aspects of the
franchise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<a href="https://youtu.be/DEpCUB8IjzM" target="_blank">Extreme Ghostbusters</a>” (It has one of the best theme songs ever) the 90’s
animated sequel to the 80’s “The Real Ghostbusters” cartoon is probably the most
underrated cartoon of the 90’s (plenty of people would point to “Freakazoid”,
but that show has gotten a lot more love in the years that followed).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is currently on Hulu, and I love it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Continuing
with ghost busting, there is “<a href="https://youtu.be/r5jcJ6mtg7s">Filmation’s Ghostbusters</a>”, which aside from
having a talking TV, Car, and Gorilla on the team is also one of most fever
dream of all the cartoons I have ever seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I wish, in the depths of my soul that Filmation had been less of a shit
about “The Real Ghostbusters” because I think a crossover animated movie would
have been a delightful relic of the late 80’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What could have been.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As far as
movies, I have talked about my <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2015/02/movies-of-2014-top-films-3-2-and-1.html">love
of stop motion before</a>, and this is going to be a case of me vigorously
pointing at the work of Studio Laika and saying, “Watch their stuff!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But start with “Coraline” an adaptation of
the <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-5-favorite-books.html">Neil
Gaiman</a> novel of the same name (and I love Neil Gaiman).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then move onto “<a href="https://www.laika.com/our-films/paranorman" target="_blank">ParaNorman</a>” a movie that
gets the tears welling up at the climax every time I watch it. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-NzLi75yu4zrJnY7Pc5bjrvmmyJNT6vFv1byGK5O7LpD7mIJ6J_O6ywUHnhQpqUVZmsvV8mAZ3qfu38husyzqd_qW9flwkIjy_4drjNirVQvJYMM1ILuKMO6evrEppgpaGkfkFJqrfxM/s1024/paranorman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="576" data-original-width="1024" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-NzLi75yu4zrJnY7Pc5bjrvmmyJNT6vFv1byGK5O7LpD7mIJ6J_O6ywUHnhQpqUVZmsvV8mAZ3qfu38husyzqd_qW9flwkIjy_4drjNirVQvJYMM1ILuKMO6evrEppgpaGkfkFJqrfxM/w553-h311/paranorman.jpg" width="553" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>Most Under Rated Movie<o:p></o:p></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I find
myself mentally revisiting the movie “Underwater” all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a mix of science fiction and horror
tropes that speaks to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The acting is
great, the use of claustrophobia and aquaphobia are fantastic when coupled with
the simple plot of, “We are being hunted and we have to get out”.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It has
perhaps the coolest monster reveal at the films climax I have ever seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was legitimately filled with dread and awe
when watching Kristen Stewart trying to deal with these horrifying things in the
dark.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I would
also say that this movie benefits from the audience going into it knowing as
little as possible to help preserve some of the set piece moments and plot
developments.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> Give it more of a shot than the studios did, when they
released it to no fanfare, little promotion, and after having shelved it for
years.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlc7CW9K2mv8VU3Uiz0KwVvYNIZU26B8Ha_E1RJoXsykSR66DYT8YdmzXYRnUk3aXvF6qsbd-4sG-aGRn8yjqlBek9YU7GhrUsV_I0mILoClX1XRwDhcyT6pZ__XAierNDQ_J-I5XzEA/s928/underwater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="523" data-original-width="928" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlc7CW9K2mv8VU3Uiz0KwVvYNIZU26B8Ha_E1RJoXsykSR66DYT8YdmzXYRnUk3aXvF6qsbd-4sG-aGRn8yjqlBek9YU7GhrUsV_I0mILoClX1XRwDhcyT6pZ__XAierNDQ_J-I5XzEA/w546-h307/underwater.jpg" width="546" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If you like or hate this please take
the time to comment, share on <a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></a>
(click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313">Tumblr</a>,<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> or Facebook, and
otherwise distribute my opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.<o:p></o:p></span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p> </o:p></span></em></p>Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-23998122975152785132020-08-26T12:49:00.002-04:002022-05-01T14:38:30.444-04:00Dungeons and Dragons, "Tomb of Annihilation" ep. 1<p> Continuing
with my first real attempt to run a published Dungeons and Dragons adventure
(and planning to use additional adventures from <a href="https://koboldpress.com/kpstore/product-category/all-products/dungeons-dragons/5th-edition/?utm_source=localiq&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=searchkoboldpress&scid=3912590&cid=3119392&tc=CjwKCAjwkJj6BRA-EiwA0ZVPVhFOzMd3KL1Z1F_rS2toyn8iUHeWZjA2tZyMpg4oAsNgslUWFLFzHRoCBdcQAvD_BwE&rl_key=75f986d93a64b990b888ad3694579034&kw=33863430&pub_cr_id=459541390935&dynamic_proxy=1&primary_serv=koboldpress.com&device=c&network=g&targetid=kwd-341257665119&loc_interest_ms=9007639&loc_physical_ms=9008163&rl_track_landing_pages=1&rl_retarget=1">Kobold
Press</a> to make things more weird and interesting). This is going to cover the first two sessions
(you know, with a lot of superficial details cut to keep things manageable)
which together form a sort of prequel to the actual adventures in Chult.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Characters</u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have 3
players currently, with a half dozen others in the wings dealing with life
event stuff like children and the plague.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ultimately a strength of “Tomb of Annihilation” is that players can make
new characters without too much difficulty, and new players can enter the game
without much trouble, “we are also on jungle safari trying to find the cause of
the Curse of Fatal Death” or “I am a big game hunter in the jungle to get at
dinosaurs, but I could join your team to save the world”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are plenty of options.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The first
member of the team is a Tortle Barbarian following the Ancestral Guardian path
from “Xanathar’s Guide to Everything”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He took the Anthropology background from “Tomb of Annihilation” and
decided to make himself quirky by being a food tourist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He plays him as a good-natured bumbler with this<a href="https://www.artstation.com/artwork/1xWdL"> delightful character
illustration</a> he found online (which has disappeared, so it is no longer featured here).</p><p class="MsoNormal"> The second
player decided to go with a Tabaxi Monk, with the Drunken Master path… except
instead of booze the cat-man uses catnip to get wasted and fight. The first thing that jumped to mind when I
looked over his character was the Kajit from Skyrim and their use of
Skooma. Beyond that his backstory
involves being trained for ages to combat a prophesized great evil that
threatens the world.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Lastly is
the party’s human wizard using transmutation magic and is based off the
villainous wizard from “Conan the Destroyer” who talks like a raving lunatic
but is highly knowledgeable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is an
egomaniacal shouty guy who believes his power comes from the spirit of his dead
wife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His wife having died in Chult
years back and now he believes that he should go to the continent to
investigate her death.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nqF0yFLjiXs" width="320" youtube-src-id="nqF0yFLjiXs"></iframe></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><u>The Adventure</u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I may have
mentioned this in past entries, but I am a frequent user of Humble Bundle when
it comes to them releasing a bunch of digital 5e content, mostly in the form of
adventure modules, so much so that I now have many more adventures than I could
ever expect to use, and those I do use I will be modifying the heck out of
because I also have lots of books that have monsters and NPC’s that I want to
use.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/images/86/247186.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="619" height="596" src="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/images/86/247186.jpg" width="461" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"> I settled
on “<a href="https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/247186/Castles--Crusades-The-Hallowed-Ring">The
Hallowed Ring</a>” a 5<sup>th</sup> Edition Adventure by Stephen Chenault. Overall I found the premise quite solid, and
it would serve as a great introductory adventure for most Dungeons and Dragons
games, as it presents a fully fleshed out location to serve as an adventure
hub, the Gum Log Inn and Tavern, while at the same time having plenty of lore
and hooks to help set up the rest of the campaign: a cult, a legendary heroic
duo of a dwarf and giant, a stone book that traps evil outsiders, and a potent
magic item that I don’t feel is unbalanced and fits surprisingly well as a
useful tool in Chult which involves Giants and Dwarves. There is even a cool monster, the Flesh
Crawler, which I was able to tie into the lore I added to the “Tomb of
Annihilation” background in my own game.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>For the
stuff I added I pulled on <a href="https://koboldpress.com/kpstore/product/creature-codex-for-5th-edition-dnd/">Kobold
Press’ Creature Codex</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a
robust and well-designed collection of monsters that I highly recommend, so
much so that I contributed to its sequel’s Kick Starter campaign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The “Megapede” a giant acid spiting
caterpillar which destroys weapons was a good addition to the theme of “Worm
Monsters” and I threw in the Void Cultists as part of the ongoing story (I plan
to play up the worm monster theme as the machinations of a great classic
Dungeons and Dragons bad guy, <a href="https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Kyuss">Kyuss</a>).<o:p></o:p></p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/f/f3/Kyuss.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20170126063650" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="479" data-original-width="477" src="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/forgottenrealms/images/f/f3/Kyuss.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20170126063650" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal"><u>How it Went</u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I fault
myself for putting too many monsters up front and playing them a little too
well, a few bad rolls and I had almost steamrolled my players.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unexpected because they are level 3, even
with me pumping up the encounters they still should have had an easier time.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That being
said the theming and lore went over well, I was able to give them several
useful magic items, and their success in the dungeon ultimately introduced them
to the lore I wanted to introduce and gave them a logical reason to be
recruited to go to Chult by the “Tomb of Annihilation” NPC, Syndra Silvane.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I also
added another element, that the cultists of Kyuss had been growing something in
the dungeon the group had ventured into, a massive (like the size of a
refrigerator) purple heart that had tendrils of violet cartilage reaching out
thru the whole dungeon and bleed a thick, stinking, and sticky fluid when
cut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They ultimate took a sample and
told Syndra Silvane about it before leaving for Chult, with her assurances that
she would look into it.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u>Recommendations to Others</u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have a
feeling that some DM’s will look at my additions quizzically, but I have to
say, putting in a bunch of weird elements and allowing the players to fixate on
certain elements while the rest fades into the background is a good way to keep
them interested over the long haul.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
answers for what the big Purple heart is, I have an answer for what Kyuss has
to do with things, and I have ideas for how it fits in with Chult, but those things
can change to better fit the story as it evolves with my player’s actions.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>You might
consider that sloppy, but I find games with too much information and too many definitive
answers to be inflexible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A big problem
I had with playing “Curse of Strahd” was how there is always one (and precisely
one) answer to a given mystery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
possible for the players to guess the right answer easily or for them to wrong
foot the whole thing because the clues are too obtuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there are 3 possible bad guys and
depending on what clues the players find the bad guy can change (like old
adventure game logic on computer) then it allows for twists in the narrative.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Don’t write
out and decide everything ahead of time.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If you like or hate this please take
the time to comment, share on <a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><span color="windowtext" style="text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></a>
(click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313">Tumblr</a>,<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> or Facebook, and
otherwise distribute my opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.</span></em></p><p></p>Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-40881216569222730282020-08-12T10:01:00.001-04:002020-08-12T10:01:41.369-04:00Dungeons and Dragons "Tomb of Annihilation" ep. 1/2<p> Leading up
to my first game of “Tomb of Annihilation” I did what I think many good DM’s
should do, lay out ground rules, explain the premise of the campaign, and creating
places where all of those things can be easily kept for reference.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Let’s start
with the most basic thing I just mentioned, creating a place to keep
things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My group is playing on Roll20,
using the digital items that come default with the program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Additionally I have numerous maps and other
items gotten from Humble Bundles over the years (more on them later).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition to setting up the character
sheets and some maps (not enough, my fault) I made use of something that has
been my default for years, the Facebook group.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have real
problems with Facebook as a company, but they are my default way of keeping in
contact with people I know, far more than email or texting, and the group
feature allows for the posting of documents for easy reference later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If your group needs to keep track of a lot of
information finding a social media platform you all share and creating a group
within it may prove to be the best option for you, but Facebook is…. Sadly… the
default.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpqu5dlzm2-0U4zN_2xFB7s0w4aUVHevKBt3HjwFaMJUpifZ8Dv84WhyjQBA7t4XWu4XdEYKjTmxixRY1sqM-GYufk7HU_sssmddRR5XayqTpbVk85Lql5PiDDcSDR3wyADLhes_q6BBA/s2048/314016-The-Jungle-of-Chult.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1237" data-original-width="2048" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpqu5dlzm2-0U4zN_2xFB7s0w4aUVHevKBt3HjwFaMJUpifZ8Dv84WhyjQBA7t4XWu4XdEYKjTmxixRY1sqM-GYufk7HU_sssmddRR5XayqTpbVk85Lql5PiDDcSDR3wyADLhes_q6BBA/w640-h387/314016-The-Jungle-of-Chult.jpg" title="The Art in this book is rather top notch." width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Art in this book is rather top notch.</td></tr></tbody></table></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">Ground Rules, Guidelines, and FAQ’s</span><o:p></o:p></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> So let me
show you the other two items that might give you an idea of how to run a game
in the future. Let’s start with the
Crunch, that is to say, relevant rule changes that will crop up in the
campaign, both at the stage of creating characters and those that are more long
term. These are “The Guidelines” more
accurately described as “Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)”.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->1)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->I ask that you not look up spoilers for the "Tomb
of Annihilation". Even tho I plan to change a few things, adding some
monsters from the various supplements I own and throwing in NPC's from my own
campaign setting I plan to use the puzzles and traps provided, so don't try to
cheat.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->2)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->We will be starting at Level 3, this will allow every
to start off as a somewhat established adventurer being recruited to go on a
dangerous journey to a foreign land full of danger, rather than a bunch of
Level 1’s who would make as much sense going into this situation as throwing a
handful of corn at a charging dinosaur as a means of stunning it into
submission.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->3)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->You all will be using the Elite Array for your stats,
15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8. You can then add
a +1 to any of those numbers in addition to your racial statistics or any
bonuses you might get from feats.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->4)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->You all are going to start off as an established group
of adventurers on a short adventure at the beginning. The success of this short adventure is what
gets the attention of the NPC who is doing their best to coordinate teams and
send them to Chult to combat the Curse of Fatal Death.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->5)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->You are going to have the sort of boring equipment a
level 1 party would have; you will get more stuff over the course of the first
introductory adventure.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->6)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->I plan to use <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/09/dungeons-and-dragons-healing-items.html">my
kind of healing items</a> for this adventure.
Which means cheap healing potions that can be used as a quick bonus
action… but that expire over time, and other healing items that work slower but
keep for much longer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->7)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->We’ll be using the various religions I have cooked up
in the past, <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2018/01/dungeons-and-dragons-five.html">the
5</a>, the 3 (I will post a long blog about it, just like the others, I have it
written it will be on the way), <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2019/08/dungeons-and-dragons-preserver.html">the
Preserver</a>, <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/08/dungeons-and-dragons-religion-of-orcs.html">Orc
Maltheism</a>, the <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2020/05/dungeons-and-dragons-high-arcana.html">High
Arcana</a>, and the local religion of Chult which worships several regional deities
after their chief creator and protector god abandoned them in ages past. If you would like to create an off the beaten
path custom religion I am welcome to hear your input.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->8)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Please write up a character background (Good to note
this is <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2019/02/dungeons-and-dragons-character-ideas.html">roughly
the same setup I use in my own neglected blog series about creating characters</a>),
try to include:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 85.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Name</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 85.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Class</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 85.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Race</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 85.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Background</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 85.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>History</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 85.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Goals</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 85.5pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Methods</b><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->9)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span><!--[endif]-->More rules might be added to this as time goes on, I
will try to keep things consistent, but as always, I lend toward “Rule of Cool”
which means if you have a good idea I am inclined to let you go for it, rather
than simply saying “No”. I am also more
of a roleplaying guy rather than contriving combat… but this is a much more
savage environment, combat will be more typical. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->10)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Lastly,
there is a story in this, and I plan to give you guys a chance to make some
decisions during this, rather than just jumping thru the hoops, you guys can
gather more resources and allies along the way until you have a lot of power
for the final boss fight, I find that kind of adventuring rewarding.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Premise</span><o:p></o:p></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am going
to go on the record as saying that the premise of “Tomb of Annihilation” that
people who have died are not coming back to life… To just be an inherently silly
idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://youtu.be/gAYL5H46QnQ">Welcome to the REAL-WORLD JACKASS!</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is why I titled my campaign the joking
name “The Curse of Fatal Death” which is a reference to a Doctor Who comedy
sketch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That being said, I attempted to
write all of this <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diegesis">diegetically</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr91BDgc8M6-SGn3NMUN6geq1aYkyje0KwYQHPRtQV1nEt81hLtr-4Bh0Qhz9ETHJ_SFVRZrruoY_sUkAH6wFF0gGqYEhQWbM6dZqFgxMzeGhnfPyjdjOMThtZvuEjOxEe7VtKl-8BqPc/s1500/tomb1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="1500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr91BDgc8M6-SGn3NMUN6geq1aYkyje0KwYQHPRtQV1nEt81hLtr-4Bh0Qhz9ETHJ_SFVRZrruoY_sUkAH6wFF0gGqYEhQWbM6dZqFgxMzeGhnfPyjdjOMThtZvuEjOxEe7VtKl-8BqPc/s640/tomb1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;">Something
terrible has started to assault the peace and security of the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People who die, cannot be brought back from
the dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the common people of the
world have hardly noticed the difference, the rich and powerful see this
development as a major crisis, as they now might suffer the same mortality that
the common folk have always experienced.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>At first
this might not seem like a massive issue, but there is an additional problem,
those who have been brought back from the dead before are now wasting away,
slowly being consumed by whatever horrible force that has made death final.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This too
may not immediately seem like a massive difficulty, until you realize how many
of the various super powerful and capable heroes in the world have been brought
back to life, and all the various horrors that exist just outside of our plane
are readying themselves to attack our world the as its defenses and champions
begin to wither and die.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Expeditions
to oracles, divinationists and other seers have resulted in conflicting
messages about what the cause of the curse is, only that its power is growing,
and more death will begin to creep in around the edges of the world until
everything is swallowed.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Adventurers
of all stripes not yet affected by the Curse have begun scrambling to locate
the source of the problem and currently the best leads have taken many to the
land of Chult, a savage land of dinosaurs, undead, and barbarism that has
pushed their great people to the coasts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Deep within this continent is the promise of combating the Curse of
Fatal Death.</span></i> </p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If you like or hate this please take
the time to comment, share on <a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></a>
(click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313">Tumblr</a>,<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> or Facebook, and
otherwise distribute my opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.<o:p></o:p></span></em></p>Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-82255011995570303062020-07-27T18:51:00.000-04:002020-07-27T18:51:15.557-04:00Dungeons and Dragons, "Tomb of Annihilation" ep. 0<p class="MsoNormal">As I have mentioned on this blog MANY times before I play
Dungeons and Dragons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided that I
will try to DM the “Tomb of Annihilation” in the near future (along with a
large number of modules I got from Humble Bundle).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like the premise, the tone, the setting, and
the promised final confrontation sounds exciting.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">To get my players in the mindset for playing the game I
thought to throw together a recommendation list of movies to watch to help get
them thinking in terms of that setting. So undead lords, jungle adventures,
untrustworthy guides, and exotic cults.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After throwing out a short list on Reddit I received a
handful of suggestions, unfortunately I have not seen all of the movies on the
list (they are either not streaming on service I have or I don’t have the DVD),
but I have seen most of them.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So here is the list, they are presented in order of release
and contain a short description along with a link to where it is streaming or
where it can be purchased… Which is a real waste of time now that I think of
it, as the streaming options change so quickly that some of these changed while
I was making this list.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><u>THE LIST</u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Apocalypse Now (1979) sent on a mission to kill a rogue
military leader who has set himself up as a minor warlord in the heart of the
jungle, a team of soldiers must journey down the river deeper into the heart of
darkness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of little episodic
adventures and encounters along the river before the ultimate confrontation in
the middle of a jungle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Streaming on <a href="https://www.hulu.com/movie/apocalypse-now-760c88ba-9b0d-4f08-8788-596c697049e5">Hulu</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Conan the Barbarian (1982) seeking to avenge the deaths of
his family and his enslavement, the warrior Conan and his allies must learn the
secrets of a dangerous snake cult and destroy its sorcerer leader.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s be clear, this movie could be suggested
FOR EVERY DND GAME EVER.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is perhaps
the best single film in the genre and with the amount of snake men in the “Tomb
of Annihilation” it fits thematically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is for rent from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Conan-Barbarian-Arnold-Schwarzenegger/dp/B0026IYLS6">Amazon
Prime</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) the titular
adventurer is stranded in a jungle village and must unravel the machinations of
a death cult to rescue sacred relics and enslaved children and return them to
their village. This movie is underrated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The idea of breaking the seeming deathly curse put upon the village
after their relic is stolen easily fits with the looming Death Curse in “Tomb
of Annihilation” but the presence of a goofy cult and an iconic villain with a
trap filled tomb… <a href="https://www.meijer.com/shop/en/movies/action/indiana-jones-2-temple-of-doom-dvd/p/9736132834">it fits</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is on <a href="https://www.netflix.com/watch/60010488?trackId=13752290&tctx=0%2C5%2C1ab95c677c48841f3e78d81ecf5a0c0538f8a2d6%3A3e4690e8811e8986c7d7e3d4d4963bc1983cffb4%2C1ab95c677c48841f3e78d81ecf5a0c0538f8a2d6%3A3e4690e8811e8986c7d7e3d4d4963bc1983cffb4%2C%2C">Netflix</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLxeGsrtQ0Xne47AVfvixRpqVpYX8faSGCSoRnMs-DTV2SxvgKB3xzbJNNLoqVfYX3BKL4qAxr9e02VlrgOdlVPcP0-gImtmcTewZsEAilzPvf9mxUvsebO6X5KlUlH5CE00kWPApWUmc/s1200/Temple+of+Doom.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1200" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLxeGsrtQ0Xne47AVfvixRpqVpYX8faSGCSoRnMs-DTV2SxvgKB3xzbJNNLoqVfYX3BKL4qAxr9e02VlrgOdlVPcP0-gImtmcTewZsEAilzPvf9mxUvsebO6X5KlUlH5CE00kWPApWUmc/w500-h500/Temple+of+Doom.png" width="500" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Predator (1987) a team of adventurers on a hostage rescue
mission are being stalked by some mysterious monster thru the jungles, picking
them off one by one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jungle setting,
check; team of adventurers, check; and a looming doom set to pounce at any
time, check!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Possibly on <a href="https://www.hulu.com/movie/predator-784d3d44-0cf3-429c-a372-bbf8ecbedba7">Hulu</a>?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a Starz trial thing…</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) on the search for the
component to a local drug for potential use as a pharmaceutical, the
investigator is drawn into the machinations of a local hoodoo cult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not really an adventure movie, but
more of an exploration and mystery movie with lots of horror elements.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It definitely plays on the same tropes of
journeying to a mysterious tropical land with the threat of “undeath”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For rent on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Serpent-Rainbow-Bill-Pullman/dp/B000I9S686">Amazon
Prime</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Jurassic Park (1993) one of the wealthiest mad geniuses on
earth brings dinosaurs back and seeks to create a theme park on a remote jungle
island. It is dinosaur necromancy in a thematic setting, hitting multiple
concepts at a time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rentable on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Jurassic-Park-Sam-Neill/dp/B008YI91HS">Amazon
Prime</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Congo (1995) group of adventurers journey into the jungle
for a variety of reasons but find a lost city of diamonds and killer gorillas.
I think this movie is highly underrated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Jungle setting is one aspect here, but the bigger element is the
team of adventurers searching for a <a href="https://professionalmoron.com/2019/07/11/congo-stop-eating-my-sesame-cake/">lost city</a> and hitting threats along the
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Currently on <a href="https://www.hulu.com/movie/congo-46e44aa2-a4cf-4e74-b845-15225f425010">Hulu</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZdmDzxWpu6JV6xdXTZZV3KZmFEGulWc9ydkc9TWOvIGNeJXBVPPILtcAcVtO873CQwOHCUly3UzqGXv1N82ttvugzfZGk-4oOgl5PIOMktp40ShMcWRpa5O0UjBcm2UKg_b_axD6T5PM/s839/congo-1995-film-poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="839" data-original-width="600" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZdmDzxWpu6JV6xdXTZZV3KZmFEGulWc9ydkc9TWOvIGNeJXBVPPILtcAcVtO873CQwOHCUly3UzqGXv1N82ttvugzfZGk-4oOgl5PIOMktp40ShMcWRpa5O0UjBcm2UKg_b_axD6T5PM/w358-h500/congo-1995-film-poster.jpg" width="358" /></a></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Anaconda (1997) a team of explorers must battle a giant
snake along a jungle river with the help of an untrustworthy guide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is now on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Anaconda-Frank-Welker/dp/B000I8ERYY">Amazon Prime</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Mummy (1999) a team of archaeologists unlock a long-forgotten
menace into the world from a hidden city. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While not set in a jungle, it has pretty much
everything else, a lost city, an undead lord, and a team of adventurers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I have not seen the Tom Cruise one, I hear it
is better than one would expect, but not great.) To rent on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mummy-Brendan-Fraser/dp/B000IEVW6E/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+mummy&qid=1594524412&s=instant-video&sr=1-1">Amazon
Prime</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Road to El Dorado (2000) two rogues get possession of a
map that will take them to the lost city of gold where they must successfully
navigate the politics of the city thru an elaborate ruse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jungle and lost city are the only elements
here, but the movie has an adventurous feel to it that is also a lot lighter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Currently on <a href="https://www.hulu.com/movie/the-road-to-el-dorado-4d57cb6a-cb8c-4846-8c76-5539c34a0302?&cmp=7958&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=BM%20Search%20TV%20Shows&utm_term=&ds_rl=1263136&gclid=CjwKCAjwxqX4BRBhEiwAYtJX7UnxpnaBoCCawMvBC8BG5dTlalCuuElekHsLIxd4PmTDOSi7h8UhRRoCdeUQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds">Hulu</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Rundown (2003) a bounty hunter must locate a treasure
hunter lost in the jungle. The area is dominated by the tyrannical diamond mine
owner who is being opposed by a local resistance movement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Comedy action film that I think captures a
certain play style of goofing along as the game unfolds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is on <a href="https://www.hulu.com/movie/the-rundown-438cb540-7530-4dde-acb7-47ffa6a0ca91">Hulu</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Apocalypto (2006) Jaguar Paw must flee thru the harsh jungle
to evade being sacrificed to the blood thirsty Aztec gods and return to his
wife and family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is different in
that it is fleeing from the city of evil cultists rather than going toward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it does capture a level of <a href="https://www.joblo.com/movie-news/the-best-movie-you-never-saw-apocalypto">dread and horror</a> that is at least interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
is on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Apocalypto-Rudy-Youngblood/dp/B087CJQM7J/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1OFT0Q1I5RXIE&dchild=1&keywords=apocalypto&qid=1594524086&s=instant-video&sprefix=apoc%2Cinstant-video%2C150&sr=1-1">Amazon
Prime</a>.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCmhRLPn0VFP5miPafSnAbJ9460HVT_BBt-T_XNAHcB7llGcherKOairmA298xeEGuhOTbiv2FkerKMhZdr0IyD2DLb-qQmtAX2Lb_fBUxq1ZSW-VAATace1tg-odop6lJuwNLY8_HazE/s850/apocalypto-ban2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="850" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCmhRLPn0VFP5miPafSnAbJ9460HVT_BBt-T_XNAHcB7llGcherKOairmA298xeEGuhOTbiv2FkerKMhZdr0IyD2DLb-qQmtAX2Lb_fBUxq1ZSW-VAATace1tg-odop6lJuwNLY8_HazE/w500-h255/apocalypto-ban2.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><p class="MsoNormal">Tropic Thunder (2008) a group of actors are left stranded in
the jungle during the botched filming of their latest movie and must contend
with the dangerous local warlord. I
would say this has the fewest elements from “Tomb of Horror” but judging by how
players typically play a Dungeons and Dragons adventure, this goofball behavior
is where we all know it will end up.
Available to rent from <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tropic-Thunder-Ben-Stiller/dp/B001O6W9QC">Amazon
Prime</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Kong: Skull Island (2017) a group of adventurers must
journey to the savage Skull Island to unravel the mystery of ancient monsters
and giant beasts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is the most
entertaining movie with King Kong in it, but you could easily throw in any of
his movies at still have some of the elements from “Tomb of Horror” be
recognizable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This one is stupidly hard
to rent or stream.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Lost City of Z (2017) a true story about Amazon
exploration looking for evidence of a lost advanced civilization. It is on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lost-City-4K-UHD/dp/B0722HZ2TW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=326JOESP14DA4&dchild=1&keywords=lost+city+of+z&qid=1594524847&s=instant-video&sprefix=lost+city%2Cinstant-video%2C177&sr=1-1">Amazon
Prime</a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">----------------------------------<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That is the list.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some good, some really good, some … that are not to everyone’s
tastes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you have your own suggestions
leave them in the comments, I get so few from actual people and only a couple
from bots selling garbage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My comment
section is lonely.<o:p></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If you like or hate this please take
the time to comment, share on <a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></a>
(click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313">Tumblr</a>,<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> or Facebook, and
otherwise distribute my opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.</span></em></p>Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-29474367759713350922020-06-30T04:57:00.002-04:002020-06-30T04:58:48.689-04:00Medicine<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It is odd
to go on medication and realize how long you have been unable to properly feel
things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That for so long you were
hollowed out like a melon rind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t
know how long I was hollow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know
how long the color was turned down on the screen of my life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe I just thought the slow decline was
part of getting older.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I remember
being happy in the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Able to laugh
to myself about some joke that came to mind for no other reason than I wanted
to make myself laugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been doing
that again as I pace around my apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I have gotten silly songs stuck in my head and then remixed them with
dirty lyrics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have messaged people
nonsensical silly images.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have managed
to be witty or perhaps just enthusiastic.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>My sleep
schedule is all over the place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
something to work on with exercise, which doesn’t help, and with supplements,
which hopefully will help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But even then
my dreams are different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I remembered
two dreams over the last few years, and both were nightmares.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They weren’t the worst nightmares I had ever
had, but they were bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now I have had
fun dreams about helping Dwayne Johnson run for Congress or getting into an
argument with a school of fish who were in my shower.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And when I
wake up from dreams both aspirational and strange I have the strangest
sensation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can feel so much more
intensely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My fingertips feel more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t want to describe it as tingling, but
there is no other word for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
fingers feel so much more that they seem to be tingling.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I let
myself daydream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My daydreams used to be
a blending of frustration and grey resolve.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I used to buzz with anxiety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That
was the words I used to describe it to the doctor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was constantly buzzing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other times it felt like something alien was
within me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Drinking me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That a vine was growing or creeping up the
length of my body just beneath the skin and sapping my blood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t feel that anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not buzzing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am going un drank.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Instead, my
daydreams let me think of aspirational things that will probably never happen
but make me happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They let me reminisce
about missed opportunities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And rather
than lament those misses they let me turn the event around in my hands like a
crystal bobble to see all the angles to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I understand my past better and can envision my future better.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I can lay
in bed and feel relaxed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can listen to
music.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I can
daydream about silly things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I listen
to music I can picture myself talking to the singer in a casual environment and
being the 10,000 person in their life who was nice but got nowhere with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can think back to the various women in my
life that I felt for and learned from and how I wasn’t ready to be anything for
them because I was somehow hollowed out.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I feel more
alive and awake than I have in a decade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And let’s ignore the irony of my saying that during a global
pandemic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was the thing that
finally pushed me over to try something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The buzzing had reached new levels and I just could not focus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Looking into the future was a blur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only thing I could see looking into the past
was my mistakes, that glowed like lighthouses in the haze.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Couldn’t dwell on those, the light told me to
steer clear.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Why did I
let myself be sick for so long?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why did
I let this get so bad?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe I was worried
that what I was feeling was as good as it could be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could you imagine a worse diagnosis than, “That
is just how things are”?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How damning
would that be? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That there is nothing
wrong and that is just how bad it is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The buzzing will never stop, the vine will keep drinking, the haze will
not lift, and that is as good as it will get.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That must
have been it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The thing that kept me
from trying to fix it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I worried about
hearing the words, “Nope, that’s normal”.<o:p></o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYlp6m0jobZIGkgVV5qZ0vpmuXHfutiaNUWUruB2o3shoPuEvQlgxqiXryW58ZQ0qD6o67BuPDo016eqhOy23vNWzlqoYGhEaI-L2O3FJU8xm8dOQ6UUGoS1dW_kNp0aEysRRi0SLR3L8/s1920/Medicine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1920" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYlp6m0jobZIGkgVV5qZ0vpmuXHfutiaNUWUruB2o3shoPuEvQlgxqiXryW58ZQ0qD6o67BuPDo016eqhOy23vNWzlqoYGhEaI-L2O3FJU8xm8dOQ6UUGoS1dW_kNp0aEysRRi0SLR3L8/s320/Medicine.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kind of wish this website did a better job of labeling which images they would charge for.<br /><a href="https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=24314&picture=various-tablets">This one was free</a>.</td></tr></tbody></table><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></em></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If you like or hate this please take
the time to comment, share on <a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></a>
(click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313">Tumblr</a>,<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> or Facebook, and
otherwise distribute my opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.</span></em></p>Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-43272803124749526632020-05-31T14:15:00.000-04:002020-05-31T14:15:11.728-04:00Dungeons and Dragons, "The High Arcana"<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Gods of
Dungeons and Dragons<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have over the years put out
several entries on the topic of fictional religions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never really went anywhere with </span><a href="http://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/05/dungeons-and-dragons-setting-part-3.html"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">my discussion
of Religion as an aspect of settings that I wrote about years before that</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, but since
then I have tried to come at the topic in ways that would make it interesting
for someone who had been playing for a while or someone new.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In each instance I have tried to
either go in an entirely new direction like with </span><a href="http://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/08/dungeons-and-dragons-religion-of-orcs.html"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">my unique
take on Orcs a while back</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">. I then did a short follow up to that with </span><a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2019/06/dungeons-and-dragons-character-ideas.html"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">a pair of orc
characters in that context</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was also a more traditional
pantheon of deities that act in concert with one another, "</span><a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2018/01/dungeons-and-dragons-five.html"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Five</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">".
I did a follow up to that one in which I created </span><a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2019/02/dungeons-and-dragons-character-ideas.html"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">a team of
characters that each serve as an exemplar of the various members of The Five</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My last entry was “</span><a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2019/08/dungeons-and-dragons-preserver.html"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Preserver</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">” which was
my attempt to graft a messianic style belief system onto environmentalism
oriented religion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> To
continue with this I am going to write up more of my stranger and off the
beaten path religious aspects of my own campaign world and see what
people think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will kind of be a
series, much like my attempts to write characters for all the class and
background combinations it is something that is informal and rarely done… I am
a surprisingly busy person…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWPli9soZT6ww1GohuRo5H-ayFlEEIh-YMvCCk0ArYrpl8Oyb_26fcFwNJYDUsznYb4S2uRniiAJb3eCpiHXqg_h-tEOWFxbEKMwHJEv28lkYznr5dXLgGJL_lMsfpRt_cIVwjAP_4Ic/s1600/High+Arcana.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="447" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXWPli9soZT6ww1GohuRo5H-ayFlEEIh-YMvCCk0ArYrpl8Oyb_26fcFwNJYDUsznYb4S2uRniiAJb3eCpiHXqg_h-tEOWFxbEKMwHJEv28lkYznr5dXLgGJL_lMsfpRt_cIVwjAP_4Ic/s320/High+Arcana.JPG" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It is important when making a symbol for a fictional religion, to keep the iconography simple enough for people to draw.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The High Arcana<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Holy Symbol</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Lines on either side of a pentacle
above a curve, the “Wand, Sword, Pentacle, and Cup”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cleric Domain</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Arcana (Sword Coast Adventurer’s
Guide) or Knowledge (PHB).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There are also some sects that
ascribe different domains based on how they worship.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">World View
& Mythos</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The universe is chaos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From that chaos emerged the Arcana.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Arcana is the living energy that empowers
all things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is knowledge and
imagination.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The arcana is a concept beyond
mortal reason and cannot be perceived or understood by mortals and instead is
perceived in various facets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>22 “gods”
form a sort of pantheon, when acolytes seek to understand the arcana or see the
future they evoke these gods and attempt to divine the answer to their
questions via which gods appear and in which order those gods make those appearances.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Linked below are the 5 blog entries
that give names and identities to all 22 of these “gods”. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is more an overview to see the religion
from more of a birds’ eye view and the idea of them being gods in the
traditional sense of a pantheon of beings with genders, goals, and personality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(COMING SOON; turns out writing 22 of these
things takes more time and creative energy than I realized, and I stalled out
in the middle of the pack).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Part 1: The Leaders: Empress,
Emperor, High Priestess, Hierophant, and Magician.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Part 2: The Adversaries: Fool,
Hanged Man, Death, Devil, and Wheel of Fortune.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Part 3: The Virtuous: Strength, Temperance,
Justice, and Judgement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Part 4: The Cosmos: Star, Moon, Sun,
and World.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Part 5: The Others: Lovers,
Charioteer, Hermit, and Tower.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1aXKE8bxfTcNf22W_1xxb16Xw-0gyosbVZVUldVmJsjYhlSkJJzZrJ6wj_1nNQ26H_s0HaldXlJAmpoPm5IXOqdci_oU79eY-Wa0HbQhtin3uTpTvS5pvwYqRYiqXp0GPxZL_NO7WUko/s1600/stylecaster-tarot-cards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1aXKE8bxfTcNf22W_1xxb16Xw-0gyosbVZVUldVmJsjYhlSkJJzZrJ6wj_1nNQ26H_s0HaldXlJAmpoPm5IXOqdci_oU79eY-Wa0HbQhtin3uTpTvS5pvwYqRYiqXp0GPxZL_NO7WUko/s400/stylecaster-tarot-cards.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For those who don't know what this is a reference too from this opening, <a href="https://stylecaster.com/tarot-decks/">here is an additional clue</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Beliefs</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The High Arcana does not listen to prayers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are not a “they” but simply many
different faces of a higher form of knowledge and energy that exists beyond the
mortal ability to perceive time and space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is mercurial, uncaring, random, and often capricious… from the point
of view of mortals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Followers seek foreknowledge
and truth by channeling the arcana, but the replies come in such a cryptic
manner that divining what they mean is often an exercise in futility.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As a religion they are (at best)
something a “worshiper” tries to listen intently to and decipher in hopes of
gaining some kind of edge on the tumultuous circumstances that constantly
assault people’s lives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They might
reveal the key to casting a spell, a coming storm, or simply hint at the mood
and focus that will be needed in the coming days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Practices</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>To the world at large the most
common practice associated with the High Arcana is prominence of oracles and
divination utilizing </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartomancy"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">cartomancy</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, the use of
cards to predict the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each of the
22 images of High Arcana are dealt out and the meaning associated with each of
the images is interpreted based on where it falls in the chain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As the cards never deal out the same
way twice, a common criticism of this practice is, “if I were to ask the same
question twice in a row, why would I receive different readings?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This question has created the main schism
with currently divides the religion based on how they answer this question
discussed in “Churches and Denominations”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Holy symbol represents the
Lesser Arcana, the meaning varies depending on who you ask within the
faith.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The most common answers to tend
be some variation of, “They represent positive actions taken in the material
world based on the guidance of the High Arcana.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is to say, attack, cast, heal, or learn…
But even that varies and some people in larger churches think that the symbols
should be discarded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2mfv459lFolaF40w4QnvcYhNVsCRgx92UkuawmZdxs0ZAIHmX60DtvPHr0ApaMSpnsq6DZnEpP7NsAiSnhgOIVi4lEWao_qB1726qWPw7fKE4u7SPZ-U5EaF8Riwda8vPfU9NsLHFFg/s1600/tarot-cards-2843275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA2mfv459lFolaF40w4QnvcYhNVsCRgx92UkuawmZdxs0ZAIHmX60DtvPHr0ApaMSpnsq6DZnEpP7NsAiSnhgOIVi4lEWao_qB1726qWPw7fKE4u7SPZ-U5EaF8Riwda8vPfU9NsLHFFg/s400/tarot-cards-2843275.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thank you to <a href="https://www.pexels.com/@lucaspezeta">Lucas Pezeta</a> for the free stock photo from Pexels.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Superstitions
and Taboos</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">:
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The faith has a 22-month calendar, 9
of months having 16 days, the other 13 having 17 days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They do not have weeks or weekends and see
the calendar strictly as a means to keep track of holidays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each of the months is associated with 1 of
the gods and it serves as a zodiac.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There is division in the faith between those who believe that one’s birthday
can influence one’s persona or one’s relation with the arcana, some holding so
true as to not associate with people who are born in certain months because they
assume those individuals have conflicting personality traits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Social
Organization</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Generally speaking there is no
prescribed social order in the belief systems of the High Arcana.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Implicit in the belief system are certain
virtues and social roles, but they are descriptive rather than prescriptive,
that is to say, the reason one of the gods is “The God of Emperors” is not
because there should be emperors, but because the word “emperor” best describes
his role within the pantheon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Churches and
Denominations</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The two largest groups were split
over the question, “if I were to ask the same question twice in a row, why
would I receive different readings?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
first group are called Refractory Readers, they have the easiest explanation to
understand and as such are the more widely understood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their explanation is, “The first reading was
the ‘correct’ reading, and as it has not resolved itself another reading cannot
be taken yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second time you asked
the question you were just getting psychic noise from the High Arcana.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Second group is more esoteric
and are called Infinite Readers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their
explanation is as follows, “whenever you ask a question you are only seeing a
small amount of an answer, the first few cards, in reality the answer is not
cards but an unknowable glimpse into the High Arcana.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You could ask the question an infinite number
of times and you would get a different answer each time, but they are all the
same answer, one long stream of information that is simply too much for you to
take in and interpret.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Essentially they are giving the same
answer, “too much information for the person to process” but there is a nuance
to each’s explanation that has spawned their own canon to be explored and
contrasted by the various followers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>As for formal organizations, there
are two exceptionally large churches that have formed, and they are in tension
with one another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first is the Order
of the Oracles, which focus on trying to see the future of the material world
and provide such services to communities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Oracles have their own missionaries and often study other forms of
divination in addition to cartomancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Oracles ascribe to the Refractory Readers explanation and are more
generally accepted by the public at large.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3eF_Z9ShyphenhyphenXdlQNOIUx9O-PGHUpDorD2gHgMwlA764hcg9_TUnuonaaMaS1gIpMoXMktX0WeqPQ4m3E8dTv1BcN1MfWDRoSVTKgEQNO1KOYmwjGgD9Df7yim33yuDp_SsHXcoZbNq74BI/s1600/the-hanged-man-card-2843273.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3eF_Z9ShyphenhyphenXdlQNOIUx9O-PGHUpDorD2gHgMwlA764hcg9_TUnuonaaMaS1gIpMoXMktX0WeqPQ4m3E8dTv1BcN1MfWDRoSVTKgEQNO1KOYmwjGgD9Df7yim33yuDp_SsHXcoZbNq74BI/s320/the-hanged-man-card-2843273.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The other group is the Church of the
Highest Arcane and prescribe more to the Infinite Readers explanation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They do not feel the material world is of
interest and spend most of their time seeking out a greater understanding of
the higher dimensions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Astral Plane,
the Ethereal Plane, and the Dream Plane take special interest them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are favored by Wizards, Warlocks, and
others that value Knowledge perceived to be beyond ‘typical’ people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are seen as elitist, aloof, and as
unproductive intellectuals.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There exists a third group which is
growing in size and influence called the Pantheists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They believe that the High Arcana should be
seen and worshiped as a traditional pantheon of gods with temples to each,
pilgrimages, holidays, and each having their own holy symbols.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This group tends toward traditional cleric
practices of picking one god to follow with a domain suited to that god, these
clerics are often call themselves “Embodiments”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Cults &
Heretics</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The “Literalists” are a small
faction of the faith do believe that these concepts should be applied more
literally to the world and have tried in small utopian communities to create a
social order based around the various symbols, appointing people to fill each
role which can be seen as a person, codifying ideas like Temperance and Judgement
into the law, and creating actual Wheels of Fortune that people may gamble
upon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>These groups are viewed by the
larger faith as missing the forest for the trees to a comical degree and
derided as misrepresenting the faith to the outside world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Another group are the “Charlatans”
which is a term used for anyone who pretends to practice the art of divination
with a set of High Arcana cards but does so without faith or purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are seen as false prophets and are
shockingly common because the cards are often sold or given away as tokens of
the faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidhslNpW_qkwvELP-uubljMlMShNwDUPaLHyRtkmepsv9j4Cso3fzbIiLEWD69Ld4zCR-IqiAORvGTHnQ2aWLrmv4pgS8LjV2dqAGn0U5qJzT98COSlaf6GVNM3nOAPUSPmYQouwm085I/s1600/scott-rodgerson-owZA77rRAic-unsplash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1065" data-original-width="1600" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidhslNpW_qkwvELP-uubljMlMShNwDUPaLHyRtkmepsv9j4Cso3fzbIiLEWD69Ld4zCR-IqiAORvGTHnQ2aWLrmv4pgS8LjV2dqAGn0U5qJzT98COSlaf6GVNM3nOAPUSPmYQouwm085I/s400/scott-rodgerson-owZA77rRAic-unsplash.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And thank you to <a href="https://unsplash.com/@scottrodgerson">Scott Rodgerson on unsplash</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Heretical
Symbol</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">:
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Literalists use the same symbol,
the “Wand, Sword, Pentacle, and Cup” and see themselves as the true faith.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Charlatans also use the “Wand,
Sword, Pentacle, and Cup”, it would dispel their ruse if they used a different
symbol.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Heretical
Domain</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">:
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The Literalists tend toward Order
(Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica) or Knowledge (PHB) while Charlatans use the
Trickery (PHB) domain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Heretical
Texts</span></b><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Often these small groups will be
founded by a leader or group of leaders who wish to set themselves up as the
Emperor of their own community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
will frequently write their own holy text which serves as a supreme and final
word on how the high arcana should be interpreted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Often times they will rename the
gods, create dozens of new gods, or make themselves the 23<sup>rd</sup>
god.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ironically, none of this behavior
can be called “heretical” in any meaningful sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The existing names of the gods are
placeholders for larger inscrutable concepts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>More gods are just as likely and 22 that exist currently were part of
previous generational efforts to codify various ideas, the last to be added was
the Charioteer, and there are still debates on whether that god should be split
off to a 23<sup>rd</sup> in the form of the Paladin, to say nothing of
splitting the “Devil” into multiple devils representing sins as they are
commonly understood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Even the idea of adding one’s self
as another god is strange, as that is what the card “World” is often
interpreted as.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not the literal world,
but the world as a person perceives it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The larger religion is flexible and
contains no supreme “Evil” that can be called to as exists in many other
faiths, the closest being those who wish to worship the Devil as a means to
gain power thru misdeeds, but even that is atypical, because the Devil is
rarely seen in those terms by others within the faith, instead seeing him as a
source of knowledge (often forbidden) or the embodiment of personal drive
(often leading to self-destructive ends).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Inspirations<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is going to be pretty obvious,
but </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot_card_reading"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">the big
inspiration here is Tarot Cards</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> and their presence in the pop culture as a form of
divination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I find them somewhat
entertaining in the same way I find all real-life expressions of the occult to
be entertaining.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This was also inspired in Dungeons
and Dragons by two things the first is obviously </span><a href="https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Deck_of_Many_Things"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Deck of Many Things</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, an </span><a href="https://medium.com/@christian.malleck/the-deck-of-many-things-the-campaign-killer-a478628b1805"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">iconic magic
item</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
which… inexplicably is not just a Tarot deck in spite of it having 22 cards in
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqsPRwkC-0JDEnLH0px1lnwdQNlxcLb8JZbT-oqlePC9ZSyHd-NC5yFjZXdxY6X2niggl5v7VV1Op8r1npZs8zJVLD9SEx0NeQw74zRoS3LVChse4r65Kpda87o4BcpGzSkAGYihyh-8/s1600/Deck+of+Many+things.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqsPRwkC-0JDEnLH0px1lnwdQNlxcLb8JZbT-oqlePC9ZSyHd-NC5yFjZXdxY6X2niggl5v7VV1Op8r1npZs8zJVLD9SEx0NeQw74zRoS3LVChse4r65Kpda87o4BcpGzSkAGYihyh-8/s400/Deck+of+Many+things.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love this art style for the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hitpointpress/the-deck-of-many-animated-spells-dnd-5e-spell-card?fbclid=IwAR1ecRUFTv0PNAWhvsfRR6V0Ai4d4bDnf1_al5AUlUxTe7q0lhGTTy1DuZo&ref=af297v%E2%80%AC">third party publisher</a> trying to release this as a game supplement.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Seriously, </span><a href="https://www.realmshelps.net/magic/items/deck1.shtml"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">if you look
at the list of tarot cards they suggest using for the various Many Things</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> they suggest
using numbers from the cups, swords, pentacles, and wands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is just weird.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why not just make the Deck of Many Things the
Tarot cards?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just straight up make them
the same things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is all nonsense
anyway…. What is really weird is one of the suggestions they use is for the
“Idiot” in the Many Things deck should align with the “Juggler” in a normal
tarot deck…. There is no “Juggler” in a typical tarot deck!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is the Magus or Magician, both things that
belong in DnD more than a Juggler.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Also, why does the Deck of Many
Things need an Idiot, a Fool, and a Jester?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Those are too close together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
is dumb.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The other inspiration was the </span><a href="https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/tarokka-deck"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Tarokka Cards</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> which were
an add on to the recent Ravenloft “</span><a href="https://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/curse-strahd"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Curse of
Strahd</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">”
adventure for 5e Dungeons and Dragons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Having looked thru the cards I found a lot of their theming to be off
and weird.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are clearly ordered with
the basic fighter, rogue, cleric, wizard arrangement in mind, but aside from
the wizard I think that the archetypes on the others were not entirely right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is another instance in which
they could have just used a Tarot Deck and published a Dungeons and Dragons
themed deck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would have been much
more accessible and sold to people who don’t play DnD, instead it was so niche
as to be a waste of money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will say
that I LOVED the art in the Tarokka deck, as the black and white portrayals are
cool enough that it could have easily served as a sort of Gothic/retro style
for some kind of collector’s edition of the Player’s Handbook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I will say, that if they were to do some
kind of “Ravenloft Player’s Handbook” with this style of art thru out, and
adding a half dozen new options for players (maybe just a beefed up version of <a href="https://media.wizards.com/2016/dnd/downloads/Plane_Shift_Innistrad.pdf">the
Innistrad options they put on the internet</a>), I could imagine the thing selling
a lot better than the decks.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBI_K4eC-702stXB-kX4nxqdfb4UCGfpEuUxmi1157jIMtQTdPRUONYAXs_iLGt5IwlWwnMBczieSr3NZNB1JaNq9UqIECtFnNP7MMfPyRBs2TquVzp5twOSBCLaEA4E3oxCk_K-xaThY/s1600/Hooded+one.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="840" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBI_K4eC-702stXB-kX4nxqdfb4UCGfpEuUxmi1157jIMtQTdPRUONYAXs_iLGt5IwlWwnMBczieSr3NZNB1JaNq9UqIECtFnNP7MMfPyRBs2TquVzp5twOSBCLaEA4E3oxCk_K-xaThY/s320/Hooded+one.png" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seriously now, the art looks moody and great.<br /><a href="https://www.enworld.org/threads/this-is-the-full-set-of-54-tarokka-cards.475697/#post-6802621">Check out each</a>.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">In regard to the church
denominations, the Order of Oracles was inspired by the Oracle of Delphi, the
most famous organized practitioners of divination in Western history, and there
were many other oracles both in Greek myth and in the real Greece, to say
nothing of all the shamans and oracles that exist in nearly all cultures.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The other, Church of the Highest
Arcane is a sort of parody of any religion that keeps secret knowledge for the
highest of their members.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In general I
am not a believer in any supernatural power, but I find those groups which
deliberately keep information hidden from worshipers to be particularly
insulting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://youtu.be/xSlYVGNQiFs?t=1006">If you think your mythology is too
silly or strange for a layman to just not “get it” you may have to rethink
whether you believe in it at all</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The idea of utopian cults forming is
pretty easy to find in real life, but they are most often centered on doomsday,
</span><a href="https://youtu.be/mP8hyAv50i8"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">this video by Jack Rackam</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> explores one such group, and </span><a href="https://youtu.be/PbBDP1Elbbg"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">this video by Crash Course European History</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> discusses
one such “utopia” founded on Calvinism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I am sure that you reader can conjure in your memory any number of
groups and communities that have been created by an exceptionally literal or
particularly esoteric interpretation of religious text.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Charlatans really require no great
explanation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are any number of
false prophets back thru history and in the modern world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="https://youtu.be/7y1xJAVZxXg"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Those who
perform a religion for profit to bilk the trusting of their money and futures</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And </span><a href="https://youtu.be/Gh581gMSZY0"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">those who turn</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> such </span><a href="https://youtu.be/P5bnTvzfUYE"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">performances
into</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> industries
</span><a href="https://youtu.be/XilvAwjjVCs"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">unto themselves</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">, when they are not </span><a href="https://youtu.be/7Kj8rX_5qmc"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">scheming
people in other ways</span></a><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>There is always a danger in pulling
inspiration too directly from real world sources, and I have talked about that
before in my creation of the “<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/06/dungeons-and-dragons-wild-elves.html">Wild
Elves</a>” which I based on the Sioux Indians, and specifically looked at via
the lens of racial bias.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However… there
really is no other way to make things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We exist in the real world and our
personal perceptions of the world, what we learn, and how we learn it, limit
our ability to understand greater concepts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The best we can do is take those elements we “know” and remix them into
something that feels familiar but is still original.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dungeons and Dragons, and genre fiction in
general allows us to explore concepts like this and I feel allows us to
understand something better via such distortions, by shuffling disparate
elements together we see their similarities and contrasts all the better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Maybe, when I finally finish this
series of entries it will ultimately be seen as entertaining, and even
something a person might want to include in their own game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regardless, I hope it was entertaining to read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have fun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If you like or hate this please take
the time to comment, share on <a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></a>
(click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313">Tumblr</a>,<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> or Facebook, and
otherwise distribute my opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-8032637359596569032020-04-08T17:24:00.001-04:002020-04-08T17:33:54.301-04:00My Sad and Frustrated Acceptance of Joe Biden<br />
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A few weeks ago numerous people were calling for Senator Bernie Sanders to drop out and fall into line behind Biden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because contrary to them saying they want to be the Democratic nominee (Democrat being taken from the word “Democracy”) the idea of everyone voting just struck them as a pointless ritual before appointing Joe Biden as the nominee.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
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I want everyone to take a good long look at the states (in light grey) that haven’t even had the chance to vote in their primaries yet. <a href="https://t.co/Fe5UYGhbRj">pic.twitter.com/Fe5UYGhbRj</a></div>
— Melanie Gill Man (@melgillman) <a href="https://twitter.com/melgillman/status/1247916294806163460?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>To understand a few things about Joe Biden I would recommend this video from last year that actually called on Joe Biden to primary Donald Trump, as Joe was actually more of a liberal 80’s Republican than a Democrat.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Regardless, it was during the calls for Bernie to stop running that I wrote a little diatribe on some news article, or a comment section, or wherever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/08/politics/bernie-sanders-drops-out/index.html">anticipating someone dropping out</a> I decided to keep the text and just tune up that instead of writing something entirely original.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Even if Bernie does not get 1 vote more, you should still want the process to run its course completely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It builds engagement, calling on people to do their part, and have their voice heard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if Bernie does not win, him winning delegates illuminates how different demographics feel and signals to Democrats what they should prioritize in the future.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>A primary that is run to completion puts information out into the public, so the public has time to process and find the nuance to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For instance, <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/02/25/bernie_sanders_defends_parising_castro_regimes_literacy_programs_truth_is_truth_all_right.html">Bernie saying that Cuba has good healthcare and literacy programs</a> being twisted to say he was praising autocracy in the most bad faith horseshit I can recall happening in my lifetime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or… You know… The rumors of deteriorating mental health and <b><a href="https://www.salon.com/2020/03/31/a-woman-accuses-joe-biden-of-sexual-assault-and-all-hell-breaks-loose-online-heres-what-we-know/">Rape Accusations</a> </b>that have come out about Biden.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Beyond anything else... In a democracy you want people to <a href="https://www.vox.com/mischiefs-of-faction/2018/10/30/18032808/what-good-are-elections">VOTE</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It creates <a href="https://www.nonprofitvote.org/benefits-voting/">legitimacy for the candidate and the system</a>.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtRczlIkDlRuICDYrSyLWUkSjhGcYT2N2-JkTtE1PsC_L__2uod6PERZLi414Mj6iybFOfS_id7L_KktWLTKtow8M-pc3UlCufQg5tECkjS2MNFusGSmjpRyP0tu5vYC3GR7o-sjZxEB4/s1600/pexels-photo-1550337.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtRczlIkDlRuICDYrSyLWUkSjhGcYT2N2-JkTtE1PsC_L__2uod6PERZLi414Mj6iybFOfS_id7L_KktWLTKtow8M-pc3UlCufQg5tECkjS2MNFusGSmjpRyP0tu5vYC3GR7o-sjZxEB4/s400/pexels-photo-1550337.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://youtu.be/hx6MgBjR4K0">Yeah</a>, I would not have expected the position of "Voting is Good" to be so controversial.</td></tr>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>The more Bernie talks about his policy stances the more normalized they become.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The more likely they will be mainstream in the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every day he is in the race is another day getting us all closer to universal healthcare, living wages, and many-many-many other important reforms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was why I liked Andrew Yang running on Universal Basic Income, and why I wanted Pete Buttigieg to run if for no other reason than having a Gay Man doing so well in this contest does crack these sorts of glass ceilings.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>People talk about how the Democratic debates were crowded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They would call them clown cars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they were also diverse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Full of candidates with a variety of perspectives, personal histories, and (in many cases stupid) ideas (seriously, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/31/kamala-harris-has-student-debt-forgiveness-plan-but-its-complicated.html">Kamala Harris’ plan for debt forgiveness</a> reads as a parody of means testing in America).<o:p></o:p><br />
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Can’t wait to hear crowds chant “STUDENT LOAN DEBT FORGIVENESS PROGRAM FOR PELL GRANT RECIPIENTS WHO START A BUSINESS THAT OPERATES FOR THREE YEARS IN DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES! STUDENT LOAN DEBT FORGIVENESS PROGRAM FOR PELL GRANT RECIPIENTS WHO START A BUSINESS THAT OPERATES...” <a href="https://t.co/FRkNUszr4s">https://t.co/FRkNUszr4s</a></div>
— Andrew Littlefield (@FSUAndrew) <a href="https://twitter.com/FSUAndrew/status/1155494170636763138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2019</a></blockquote>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Joe Biden is the sort of boringly “competent” old elected official that is running entirely on a return to the pre-Trump world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/01/various-thoughts-on-donald-trump.html">He is and would be better than Trump</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will begrudgingly vote for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will allow this regressive and boring message that basically boils down to “Make America Great Again” in blue font.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So that now both major political parties in the United States will be crowing about some pre-lapsarian vision of America.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One hailing back to when whites ruled it, and the other hailing back 4 years to when whites ruled the country, but a black guy was president.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>You know what we got out of the pre-Trump world?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trump.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know what we will get out of a return to the pre-Trump world?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another “Trump”, and the next time it will be someone who is canny enough to know what being president can really do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It won’t be some dullard who just wants to spend his days <a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/03/president-trumps-golf-handicap.html">playing golf</a> knowing he is making a killing selling ball-caps and bumper stickers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It will be someone with real sinister motivations and it is not something that can be thwarted by Joe Biden’s plan of conceding to the Republicans before the debate even begins.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Bernie was running on more than that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And you all should be glad for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is not pulling the party apart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is not leading an army of trolls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is doing what he has been doing for decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is advocating for programs that are good for people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is being mostly right on most things, which is a hell of a lot better than Joe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am legitimately sad that Joe Biden is going to be the nominee.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If you aren't, then from my perspective you live in a world where gruel is a full meal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That is what Joe is offering.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Gruel.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And hell… <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/biden-consolidates-support-trails-badly-enthusiasm-poll/story?id=69812092">Trump may still win</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
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Joe Biden is officially the Democratic Nominee for President<br />
<br />
Congratulations President Trump! <br />
<br />
<a href="https://t.co/NHPfInicMx">pic.twitter.com/NHPfInicMx</a></div>
— Graham Allen (@GrahamAllen_1) <a href="https://twitter.com/GrahamAllen_1/status/1247992200258031617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If you like or hate this please take
the time to comment, share on <a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></a>
(click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313">Tumblr</a>,<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> or Facebook, and
otherwise distribute my opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<br />Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-26665697984872777832020-04-01T15:23:00.000-04:002020-04-01T15:23:41.359-04:00Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque of the Red Death"<br />
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"> In the Past, I have done small
rewrites of the words of HP Lovecraft. This
is a minor writing exercise that I chose to do because… I don’t it is something
to do. Considering the world wide
pandemic I figured I would do a slight redux of Edgar Allan Poe’s “<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1064/1064-h/1064-h.htm">The Masque of the <span style="color: red;">Red </span>Death</a>”. It is a pretty good
story. If I had any real criticisms they
would be he uses too many instances of “and” or “but”, and he definitely uses
the phrase “to and fro” far too often. Really
long paragraphs and run on sentences… Edgar, buddy, I love the semi colon too,
but maybe just rework things… Just give my mortal eyes a break in the text
please.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"> I kind of wish he had worked
this all into a poem like “The Raven”, and I am uncertain as to whether he
intended any symbolic motif with the color rooms. I could look up some interpretations, but I
did not want to spend more than a couple hours on this as a break from doing
actual work. If you haven’t read the
story before, please enjoy. If you have
read the story before but found the language choice a little off for a modern
reader, try mine and see if you like it.
I mean it is still English, it is not that hard to touch up.<span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>The Masque
of the <span style="color: red;">Red</span> Death</b></u></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
"<span style="color: red;">Red </span>Death" had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, so
hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its
seal—the redness and the horror of blood.
Sharp and sudden pains, dizziness, and then the bleeding from the pores.
The scarlet stains upon the body and face
of the victims, were the mark of death shutting him out from the aid and sympathy
of their countrymen. From seizure to
termination, took as little as half an hour.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But Prospero,
the happy Prince, when his dominions were half depopulated, summoned to his
presence a thousand vigorous and light-hearted friends from among the knights
and dames of his court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With these revelers
retired to the deep seclusion of one of his vast manors.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This was a
magnificent structure. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The creation of
the Prince's own eccentric and august taste. A strong and lofty wall girded it
all in with gates of iron and the visages of angels, muses, satyrs, and nymphs
gazing down on the revelers. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Having
entered, the courtiers brought furnaces and hammers to weld and clasp the
bolts. Resolved to leave no easy ingress nor egress to the sudden impulses of
despair or of frenzy from within. The Manor was amply provisioned. With such
precautions the courtiers would prove defiant to the contagion. “The external
world will take care of itself.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“They
shall learn cleanliness and godliness.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“And
those with faith will be kept pure.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the
meantime it was folly to grieve, or to think. The Prince had provided all the
appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were dancers, there were
musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were
within. Without was the "<span style="color: red;">Red </span>Death".<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was
towards the close of the fifth or sixth month of this seclusion, and while the
pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that the Prince Prospero entertained
his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was a voluptuous
scene, this masquerade held in 7 rooms of the manor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An imperial suite allowed passage to each.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike those found elsewhere, as in many
palaces such suites form a long and straight vista with folding doors sliding
back nearly to the walls on either hand, so that the view of the whole extent
is scarcely impeded. Here in the manor of Prince Prospero, the case was very
different, as one might have expected from the host’s love of the bizarre. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
apartments were arranged irregularly that one’s sight embraced but little more
than one at a time. A sharp turn every twenty or thirty yards made each view
its own contained vision. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each turn
promising a novel effect.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To the right
and left, in the middle of each wall, a tall and narrow Gothic window looked
out upon a closed corridor which pursued the windings of the suite. These
windows were of stained glass whose color varied in accordance with the
prevailing hue of the decorations of the chamber into which it opened. The
eastern extremity was hung in blue and vividly blue were its windows. The
second chamber was purple in its ornaments and tapestries, and here the panes
were purple. The third was green throughout, and so were the casements. The
fourth was furnished and lighted with orange, the fifth with white, the sixth
with violet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The seventh apartment
was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling
and down the walls, falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material
and hue. But in this chamber only, the color of the windows failed to
correspond with the decorations. The panes here were scarlet, the deepest color
of slow flowing blood. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In not one
of the seven apartments was there any lamp or candelabra.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No tool to shed light was part of any
profusion of golden ornaments that lay scattered to and fro or hung from the ceiling.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But in the corridors that followed the
suite, there stood, opposite to each window, a heavy tripod, bearing a brazier
of fire, that projected its rays through the tinted glass and so glaringly
illumined the room. And thus were produced a rainbow of gaudy and fantastic
appearances. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But in the
black chamber the effect of the firelight that streamed upon the dark hangings
through the blood-tinted panes, was ghastly in the extreme.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It produced so wild a look upon the faces of
those who entered, that there were few of the company bold enough to set foot
within it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xhycg_dT_6BTRYGRcHlhaq4u8LovNjIu7UFxlMyL1I_jlv3qnFWVh-6eoNq_xwNO7YkbZFfyIbwHbHCfZ7RRKCK0IVe7oFI654f0DZSFfXlkXJ1LmIaw78LaG7eD4gomb_1TXlY_sf0/s1600/Red+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="867" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xhycg_dT_6BTRYGRcHlhaq4u8LovNjIu7UFxlMyL1I_jlv3qnFWVh-6eoNq_xwNO7YkbZFfyIbwHbHCfZ7RRKCK0IVe7oFI654f0DZSFfXlkXJ1LmIaw78LaG7eD4gomb_1TXlY_sf0/s320/Red+1.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was in
this black apartment that there stood against the western wall, a gigantic ebony
clock. The pendulum swinging with dull, heavy, monotonous clang. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the minute-hand made the circuit of the
face, and the hour was to be struck, there came from the brazen lungs of the
clock a sound which was clear, loud, deep, and exceedingly musical.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">That musical
sound struck each hour was so peculiar a note and emphasis that, at each lapse,
the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause in their performance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just for for that moment to harken to the
sound. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The waltzers ceased mid step,
conversation hushed, and there was a cold pause. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While the
chimes of the clock rang, it was observed that the giddiest drained of color,
and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if lost in
thought or waking from a dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when
the echoes had fully ceased the warmth of light laughter returned the assembly
to life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At once the musicians looked at
each other and smiled as if at their own nervousness and folly and made
whispering vows to each other that the next chiming of the clock should produce
in them no similar emotion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And then,
after the lapse of sixty minutes, 3,600 seconds that flew by, there came yet
another chiming of the clock, and then were the same paleness on faces, the
same stillness, and the same meditation as before.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In spite of
these things, it was magnificent revelry. Prospero’s peculiar tastes on full
display. He had a fine eye for colors and effects and disregarded mere fashion.
His plans were bold and fiery, and his conceptions glowed with barbaric luster.
There are some who would have thought him mad. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But those he had gathered there for so many
months in his pleasure palace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His island
in a sea of plague, they did not see him as mad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They could see him move from guest to guest,
with jokes and pleasantries, drawing in close the girls and ladies for kisses, clasping
hands with the men and boys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was not
mad to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Radiantly alive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Prospero had
conducted the embellishments of the seven chambers, more couches, more beds,
more blankets to facilitate this great fête; and it was his own guiding taste
which had given character to the masqueraders. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There were
delirious fancies such as the madman fashions. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were much of the beautiful, much of the
wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of
that which might have excited disgust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be
sure they were grotesque, but with a strange sense of humor to them. So much
glare and glitter and piquancy and phantasm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And so much flesh on display, as guests shed garments till little aside
from mask, boots, and maybe a matching hat and belt. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thru the
seven chambers there came a multitude of dreams, writhing in and about taking
hue from the rooms, and causing the wild music of the orchestra to seem as the
echo of their steps. And then it came, the striking of the hour by the ebony
clock which stood in the hall of the velvet. And then, for a moment, all is
still, and all is silent save the voice of the clock. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Frozen stiff
are the dreams and the echoes of the chime die away. They have endured but an
instant when the giggles and nervous laughter floats after them as they depart.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now again the music swells, and the
dreams live and writhe more merrily than ever, taking hue from the many tinted
windows through which stream the rays from the tripods.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But to the
most western chamber of the seven, there are now none of the maskers who
venture. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the night is waning away;
and there flows a ruddier light through the blood-colored panes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The blackness of the sable drapery appalls;
and to him whose footfalls upon the sable carpet, there comes from the near
clock of ebony a muffled peal more solemn and emphatic than any which reaches
their ears who indulged in the gaieties of the other rooms.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfoRRe_75OHvJYcnutgpryviNjrKRj3hLDpjDbVxf5Skn2SxypWjGOwzJCDcSLrmo8CEavP6tIoLTIP7p3h0lLmtXpi715igoJcNEwzvZxSmdflupLOHM1_VnF4ELDS3pvrVQj-85LW8/s1600/Red+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1300" data-original-width="1282" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfoRRe_75OHvJYcnutgpryviNjrKRj3hLDpjDbVxf5Skn2SxypWjGOwzJCDcSLrmo8CEavP6tIoLTIP7p3h0lLmtXpi715igoJcNEwzvZxSmdflupLOHM1_VnF4ELDS3pvrVQj-85LW8/s320/Red+2.jpg" width="315" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But these
other apartments are densely crowded, and in them beat feverishly the heart of
life. Debauchery goes whirlingly on, until at length there commenced the
sounding of midnight upon the clock.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The music
ceased. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The movement of dancers
paused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was an uneasy cessation of
all things as before. But unlike before there were now twelve strokes to be
sounded by the bell of the ebony clock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And in that time it happened. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps
with that moment more, thought crept into the meditations of the thoughtful
among those who stood masked and naked.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thus too, it
happened that before the last echoes of the last chime had utterly sunk into
silence, there were many in the crowd who had become aware of the presence of a
figure who had gone unnoticed before. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A murmur
of rumor of this new presence whispered around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A buzzing of nerves as many in the party drew back from this
figure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At first it was curious surprise, then unease then,
finally, of terror, of horror, and of disgust.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In an
assembly of phantasms such as I have painted, it may well be supposed that no
ordinary appearance could have excited such sensation. In truth the masquerade license
of the night was nearly unlimited; but the figure in question had out-Heroded
Herod and gone beyond the bounds of even the prince's indefinite decorum.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are
chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without
emotion. Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests,
there are matters of which no jest can be made. The whole company, indeed,
seemed now deeply to feel that in the costume and bearing of the stranger
neither wit nor propriety existed. The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded
from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave. The mask which concealed the
visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse
that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat. And
yet all this might have been endured, if not approved, by the mad revelers
around. But the mummer had gone so far as to assume the type of the <span style="color: red;">Red </span>Death.
His vesture was dabbled in blood—and his broad brow, with all the features of
the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Prince
Prospero’s eyes fell upon this spectral image which glided with a slow and
solemn movement, as if more fully to sustain its role, stalked among the dancers.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prospero was seen to be convulsed, at
first with a strong shudder either of terror or distaste, but then his brow
reddened with rage.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"Who
dares," Prospero demanded hoarsely of the courtiers who stood near him. "Who
dares insult us with this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This blasphy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This mockery? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seize him! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seize and unmask him!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That we might know whom we are going to hang!"<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was in
the eastern or blue chamber in which stood the Prince as he shouted these
words. Causing the guests to shrink from him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The words rang throughout the seven rooms loudly and clearly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Prince was a bold and robust man, and the
music had become hushed at the waving of his hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It was in
the blue room where stood the prince, with pale courtiers by his side. At
first, as he spoke, there were halfhearted movements in the direction of the
intruder, who turned with deliberate and stately step. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The guests fell back as the figure made closer
approach to the Prince. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">From nameless
awe the intruder had inspired the whole party, there came none who would or
could put forth a hand to seize him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unimpeded,
he passed within a yard of the Prince's person and then stood with their back
to the Prince and then strode deeper into the party. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While the
vast assembly, as if with one impulse, shrank from the centers of the rooms to
the walls, he made his way uninterrupted, but with the same solemn and measured
step which had distinguished him. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thru
the blue chamber to the purple, the purple to the green, the green to the
orange, on to the white, and even then to the violet.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There in the
violet room a decided movement had been made to arrest him. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prince Prospero, maddening with rage and the
shame of his own momentary cowardice, rushed hurriedly through the six chambers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While none followed him, he snatched up a dagger,
and approached with all the courage being armed afforded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The figure
was on the cusp of the black room as Prospero approached with rapid steps to
within three or four feet of the figure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then the intruder turned suddenly and confronted his pursuer. There was
a guttural cry and the dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet, upon
which, instantly afterwards, fell prostrate in death the Prince Prospero. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Intruder stepped backward away from the
body of the Prince and into the black room.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Summoning
the wild courage of despair, a throng of the revelers at once threw themselves
into the black apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The figure
stood tall and motionless within the shadow of the ebony clock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They grasped at him and then in unutterable
horror found the garments, the grave cerements and corpse-like mask pulled away
in their hands and where a man should be, there was nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And now was
acknowledged the presence of the <span style="color: red;">Red</span> Death. He had come like a thief in the
night. And one by one dropped the revelers in the blood-bedewed halls of the
manor they died each in the despairing posture of his fall. The life of the
ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the
tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the <span style="color: red;">Red </span>Death held illimitable
dominion over all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPPhfWBMUAZG7dBXdwriiLaDuR2F-mr0RkvbdHG9YGONBz4zxBn0T4TdhDVaspBJ5_qVHuR4h7ePB6y4KsBWgIGcaF0R3aJbRU0d75Eekf9bzyEKuHQOFQfCwM1G2obRruonf4vLLYR8/s1600/The_dagger_dropped_gleaming_upon_the_sable_carpet_-_Harry_Clarke_%2528BL_12703.i.43%2529.tif.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1081" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAPPhfWBMUAZG7dBXdwriiLaDuR2F-mr0RkvbdHG9YGONBz4zxBn0T4TdhDVaspBJ5_qVHuR4h7ePB6y4KsBWgIGcaF0R3aJbRU0d75Eekf9bzyEKuHQOFQfCwM1G2obRruonf4vLLYR8/s400/The_dagger_dropped_gleaming_upon_the_sable_carpet_-_Harry_Clarke_%2528BL_12703.i.43%2529.tif.jpg" width="295" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Masque_of_the_Red_Death">This illustration is over 100 years old</a>. Honestly it is kind of crummy.<br />The entire damn story is about color, this is black and white.<br />I have no idea what is happening with the design elements here.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Here are some links to the HP Lovecraft stuff I mentioned at the top,</span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-terrible-old-man-by-hp-lovecraft.html">HP Lovecraft's "The Terrible Old Man"</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/06/memory-by-hp-lovecraft.html">HP Lovecraft's "Memory"</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/06/hp-lovecrafts-azathoth.html">HP Lovecraft's "Azathoth"</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/08/hp-lovecrafts-secret-cave-part-1.html">HP Lovecraft's "The Secret Cave" part 1</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2017/08/hp-lovecrafts-secret-cave-part-2.html">HP Lovecraft's "The Secret Cave" part 2</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
Stock photos from <a href="https://www.pexels.com/@jarosz">Pexels by Zach Jarosz</a> and photo shopped <span style="color: red;">red </span>by me.</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> If you like or hate this please take
the time to comment, share on <a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration-line: none;">Twitter</span></a>
(click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313">Tumblr</a>,<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> or Facebook, and
otherwise distribute my opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.</span></em></div>
Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-21768204178038269762020-03-24T06:31:00.002-04:002020-03-24T06:31:27.998-04:00Social Distancing is not a Vacation: The Corona Virus<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>It is unusual
for me to write on this blog about something I am capable of having a
professional opinion on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To establish myself
(or I will tell you my credentials and you can choose to believe me or not, I
will remain mostly anonymous on this blog), I three master’s degrees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first is in Applied American Politics and
Policy, focusing on election politics, mostly from the 20<sup>th</sup>
century.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second is in Urban and
Regional Planning, having to do with lesser developed nations,
community outreach, and self-driving cars (of all things).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lastly, I have a degree in International
Affairs, dealing with international relations and development in lesser
countries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Degrees 2 and 3 were highly
related.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am going
to talk about the current global pandemic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I will be doing so in a manner highly critical of existing US politics
and response.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will not be going into
great technical detail, please follow medical professionals for advice on that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead, I will be pointing to how the US political
system is failing to react to the inputs of this disaster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I were being paid to do this, I assure you
this would have citations and diagrams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead,
it will just have speculation and complaints.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5WTcB2BjBb8OyF_IabEBi6xDDRiqduGgnrU9wVq-63SG-bLrDzpg_XGFNB3HDcBPS0ltIaxaMni6p7F3HWiJKe6oB8QazghIe2u0_5WbcP4J_ic8SuiAuocqtVCmPF_HO0i9V1LRZgPg/s1600/Virus.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5WTcB2BjBb8OyF_IabEBi6xDDRiqduGgnrU9wVq-63SG-bLrDzpg_XGFNB3HDcBPS0ltIaxaMni6p7F3HWiJKe6oB8QazghIe2u0_5WbcP4J_ic8SuiAuocqtVCmPF_HO0i9V1LRZgPg/s400/Virus.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u><a href="https://www.pexels.com/@shvetsa">Social
Distancing</a> is not a Vacation<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Since the
wide spread catastrophe called the Corona Virus, AKA COVID-19, the patchwork
response has been social isolation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A self-quarantine
procedure which involves people working from home, avoiding public spaces
(including government buildings like schools and libraries being shut), the
closing of businesses (especially those in the food services industries), and
the truncating of travel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This has
been incredibly disruptive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I typically
work from home, my job being research and I still find the ambient stress and
uncertainty of the situation to be killing productive drive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can only imagine how people used to compartmentalizing
their lives into work and home are dealing with suddenly having to do office
work while their pets and children surround them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How difficult it will be to just sit down and
work when you are so close to your bed, your TV, or your fridge.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>That all
being said, this is not a vacation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No
matter how unproductive this time is, it is not downtime spent relaxing,
exploring, or adventuring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one is (or at
least no one should be) enjoying their time “off from work”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reason I bring this up is simple: I
think business owners are going to try and screw their employees over by docking
sick pay, vacation time, flex time, and any number of other mechanisms that are
supposed to be for employees to take a break.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>You can
picture this too, “You just had two weeks at home.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is going to be a mass turning of the
screws on the working class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To say
nothing of all the firings, “In this economy we don’t need you.” While ignoring
how a person’s health insurance is tied to their job and how a firing will
leave them in the cold just as a global pandemic is about to hit the gas (watch,
<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/the-cure-not-worse-than-disease-971808/">as the President and other GOP led governments around the country decide that the risk of millions of people dying is not as bad as the loss of business revenue</a>,
this is going to take off).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I bring
this all up to lead into this next point, this should have been a time for real
substantive change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A political window
thru which massive policy could have and should have been pushed for by
numerous political entities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Are there
going to be massive layoffs?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Guess a
<a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-why-the-uk-needs-a-basic-income-for-all-workers-134257">Universal Basic Income</a> will be a good welfare system to keep people fed and off
the street till businesses wheels are turning again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Better <a href="https://time.com/5807383/medicare-for-all-coronavirus/">start expanding Medicare</a> so that
people can keep going to the doctor without having to worry about dying poor,
every person who doesn’t get themselves checked during a pandemic is a
potential plague carrier on the move.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Beyond that
jobs that are derided and demeaned as “low skilled” are now being seen for what
they truly are, FOUNDATIONAL.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/03/low-wage-work-is-essential-work.html">People need their paperwork filed, groceries stocked, and a clean world</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These things are not grunt work to be paid a wage that does not provide
a prosperous living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The classist veneer
we have cultivated that allows us to bilk the middle class without them
noticing is about to wash away as they see how important all the people we have
taught them to look down on really are?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
guess we should raise the minimum wage and worker protections to keep the revolts from happening.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
I am betting rich people are
breathing a sigh of relief there is not a grocer or truckers union in place
that could demand permanent increases to pay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sure striking right now would be unthinkable, the President would fire
them all and call in the army to do the job of shipping things nationally (see
<a href="https://millercenter.org/reagan-vs-air-traffic-controllers">Ronald Reagan's treatment of air traffic controllers</a> to see how that would work, the union busting bastard),
but the fact of the matter is, if there were a national unified group to
advocate to the press and to Congress their needs and political demands… things
would change. Pay would go up. Vacation time would go up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
This event also perfectly
illustrates how critical the internet is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/karenweaver/2020/03/23/is-living-without-the-internet-possible-in-this-coronavirus-world/">It is a utility and should be treated as such</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All utilities should be seen as public trusts
and not for profit enterprises.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can
see the failings of the gig economy, as Airbnb has had such a wash of
cancellations we are able to see how much potential housing in major cities <a href="https://bangordailynews.com/2020/03/02/news/midcoast/airbnbs-and-short-term-rentals-are-inflating-rocklands-housing-market/">has been swallowed up as profitable rental property</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The massive and unsustainable distortions in
the housing market are coming home to roost, as people who live paycheck to
paycheck may not make rent next month.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
The virus is not the chain reaction
currently destroying the US economy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
is a fire that is hitting the numerous bags of gunpowder and kindling the
economy is built on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is late stage
capitalism, one that focuses on constant growth of numbers on paper but has no
ability to anticipate or plan for catastrophe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One that sees no value in people beyond their use as labor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A system that can be devastated by a
sufficiently wet cough.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">______________________________<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If you like or hate this please take
the time to comment, share on <a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></a>
(click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313">Tumblr</a>,<em><span style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"> or Facebook, and
otherwise distribute my opinion to the world. I would appreciate it.<o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<br />Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-37570621961962820752020-03-17T10:34:00.002-04:002020-03-17T10:34:28.349-04:00Senior Seminar, Part 12 of 12<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Introduction<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is the
unedited paper I wrote for my senior seminar back in 2007.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am posting it as a sort of trip down memory
lane during our current apocalypse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become a better writer since creating this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become much better informed since writing this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am a very
different person than when I wrote this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2020/03/senior-seminar-introduction.html">Full
Introduction Here</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">------------------------------------------------</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<u><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Conclusion<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It is my conclusion that War no longer exists
as it once did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>War is no longer an
action of the state that can be resolved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>War is not declared, War is assumed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is also my conclusion that the office of the President has become far
too powerful to be trusted at its current levels and there needs to be an
effective check implemented in order to stem the tide of assumed powers, and to
limit the scope and use of the current assumed powers of the office.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">It is my final conclusion that Congressional
oversight in the current venue of armed conflict does not rest in the symbolic
function of non-binding resolutions, it instead relies entirely within the
capacity of the Congress to withhold money from the process of military
exercise and to communicate that intention in a timely enough fashion that it
will be considered a reasonable response when the Congress initiates it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am effectively asking the United States
Congress to use foresight and reason to approach a major responsibility that
they have ham fisted in the past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Moral imperatives being directed at the
President through non-binding resolutions are ineffective, and historically have
not been used to any effect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Congress’ ability to function in concert with the President is limited by the
ability of the President to completely control the nature of the encounter
through his assumed powers and this being the status quo must be ended in the
near future with expediency.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Viet Nam was the defining conflict of the
last fifty years and the modern Congress shrinks back from the imperative that
conflict granted them to seek control of military affairs in a substantive
fashion now, this is a mistake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if
this mistake remains uncorrected it will mean the gradual decay of the United
States Congress as a governing body, and the exaltation of the President as the
sole driving force for American interests in the world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">______________________________</span></em><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
you like or hate this please take the time to comment, share on </span></em><a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><em><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext;">Tumblr</span></a>,<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> or Facebook, and otherwise distribute my opinion to the world.
I would appreciate it.</span></em></div>
Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-63248821370801500062020-03-17T10:33:00.001-04:002020-03-17T10:33:23.631-04:00Senior Seminar, Part 11 of 12<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Introduction<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is the
unedited paper I wrote for my senior seminar back in 2007.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am posting it as a sort of trip down memory
lane during our current apocalypse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become a better writer since creating this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become much better informed since writing this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am a very
different person than when I wrote this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2020/03/senior-seminar-introduction.html">Full
Introduction Here</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">------------------------------------------------</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<u><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">How will Congressional budgeting remain the best avenue to control of
future conflicts?<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The core reason that this method cannot work
is that it was not advertised as a political recourse from the beginning of the
Iraqi conflict.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Congress failed to
communicate their intentions to be strong legal authorities and participants
within the conflict, and failed to frame for the public the exact method of
their recourse should they find the conflict failing to meet with expectations,
or if the conflict becomes too great a burden for the United States
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Congress neglected a
preemptive plan of political recourse in this instance and to that end have no
recourse now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">If however the United States Congress becomes
more involved in actively checking the movements of the President through use
of language, and their greatest Constitutional power in the overseeing of the
military, the military’s budget, then they will in the future be able to
effectively check the President.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simply
utilizing the responsible language of “we will not let this become another Viet
Nam, and if we see the President leading us to ruin we will pull the plug,”
that phrase if stated by a strong Congressional leader at the outset would have
saved the significant political quagmire that is currently forming from having
ever existed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In reality the removal of money worked in Viet Nam,
but there are methods the military could have utilized, if so ordered, that
would have patched the logistical hole, and while the idea of American Troops
pillaging conquered countries does not mesh well with a romanticized view of
history, it is hardly a leap from current activities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Utilizing the resources found in the areas
they are in would allow a least temporarily for a military to function beyond
the means so provided by Congress, and in effect slip this particular
Congressional lead, it would rarely work in the extreme long run, but it is a
possible outcome of budgetary constraints.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>So this must be considered as a possible venue the President could use
to avoid the collapse of a Military Conflict if the Office Holder so wished.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p> </div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">______________________________</span></em><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
you like or hate this please take the time to comment, share on </span></em><a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><em><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext;">Tumblr</span></a>,<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> or Facebook, and otherwise distribute my opinion to the world.
I would appreciate it.</span></em></div>
<br />
Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-16763111342188631952020-03-17T10:32:00.000-04:002020-03-17T10:32:03.358-04:00Senior Seminar, Part 10 of 12<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Introduction<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is the
unedited paper I wrote for my senior seminar back in 2007.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am posting it as a sort of trip down memory
lane during our current apocalypse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become a better writer since creating this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become much better informed since writing this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am a very
different person than when I wrote this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2020/03/senior-seminar-introduction.html">Full
Introduction Here</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">------------------------------------------------</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<u><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Why would the process of budget removal not work in the armed conflict
in Iraq?<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Currently the citizenry of the
United States believes that whether they wish the conflict to end in Iraq, they
are there and will utilize all of their resources to stabilize and exit the
area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea that any resources are
being with held is not perceived as a political move against the war, as it
would be intended, but might be interpreted as an irresponsible neglect of the
military forces already present in the nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To promote the removal of money from the conflict, the loss of armor,
medicine, or even basic entertainment devices for the troops would be political
suicide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regardless as to whether the
President has an incredibly low approval rating or not, the message of “support
the troops, not the war” has permeated the American psyche, and no politician
has the political strength of voice to clearly explain the reasoning behind the
pulling out of money, and still have enough of an audience left to explain why
they didn’t just remove the troops. </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<u><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Why the process of budget removal work effectively in the ending of the
Iraqi conflict<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The President lacks the political strength to
maintain the current status quo of the Iraqi conflict.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The American people have grown so tired of
the current conflict that they would have patience to hear all relevant
political strategies, and blaming the President has become such a common
strategy that people can listen to how the Congress removing money is the only
way to assail the problem, and it is the President who is not ordering the
troops home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People would be able to
understand the removal of money as a political strategy to end the conflict.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<u><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Pillage<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The conflict in Iraq is not the conflict in Viet Nam,
the United States military is sitting on piles of unused weaponry, old but
functional, the entire country has oil flowing out of it, so the militaries
vehicles could run nearly indefinitely, and the military could take from the
populace to satisfy their own needs as occupiers that, if the President saw it
as a true need for the US military, he could order them to confiscate from the
local population all that was necessary to maintain current troop operations,
and then, the President could order more troops into Iraq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Congressional removal of funds cannot stop
the President from ordering subsistence combat from the military, and doing so
would be within the Constitutional power of the President as Commander and
Chief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would destroy the President
politically, but the next person to take the office would never hesitate to use
the same powers if he or she saw fit to do so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The failure of Congress to financially support the army could lead to an
escalation of conflict rather then an end to it as the occupation turns into
conquerors.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p> </o:p> </div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">______________________________</span></em><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
you like or hate this please take the time to comment, share on </span></em><a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><em><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext;">Tumblr</span></a>,<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> or Facebook, and otherwise distribute my opinion to the world.
I would appreciate it.</span></em></div>
<br />Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-7679247089656523802020-03-17T10:30:00.001-04:002020-03-17T10:30:27.886-04:00Senior Seminar, Part 9 of 12<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Introduction<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is the
unedited paper I wrote for my senior seminar back in 2007.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am posting it as a sort of trip down memory
lane during our current apocalypse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become a better writer since creating this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become much better informed since writing this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am a very
different person than when I wrote this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2020/03/senior-seminar-introduction.html">Full
Introduction Here</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
------------------------------------------------</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Non Binding Resolutions<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A current moral fad within the current
Congress is the non-binding resolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A subject so historically absent and forgotten I actually had to search
multiple Congressional dictionaries to find the term defined. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">A Non binding resolution is an expression of
general opinion within a body of Congress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The opinions can concern political issues, internal issues, or a goal of
the House.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%209.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea of ending poverty or drug use in
America would be an example of a goal oriented resolution, though since these
are not recorded thoroughly, I have been unable to find evidence that this has
ever happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In serving the American
public more constructive forms of use also occur through resolutions, as they
can be used to the appointment of special and short term committees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">As there is no legal weight the function of
the Resolution is to be symbolic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However since they do not actually do anything, and the Congress is able
to do actual functions with the considerable power they yield as it springs
forth from the Constitution, more often when non-binding resolutions are looked
at, they are at best seen as scarecrows by the American public, taking on the
appearance of a threat or the pledge to explore more activity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When viewed most negatively, they are seen as
false posturing, an attempt to use a current issue to gain a quick political
boon without any substantive effort toward forming a solution.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I can not find a single target of these resolutions in
my research.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this leads me to
conclude one of two things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either they
were not used in the past, or they were not considered worth analysis in modern
times, and forgotten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the long run of
history it could be said that such resolutions lack any symbolic weight at all,
serving solely as holograms of actual political maneuvering.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<u><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">How does Congressional budgeting affect the process of making war?<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">One of the functions pertaining to the
military most clearly defined within the Constitution related to the actions of
Congress is the maintaining of a Navy, and the supporting and raising of
armies.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%209.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are the providers of the military for
which the President is the decider.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
the United States Congress wished it could choose not to raise or maintain a
military, and could withdraw funds from the current military.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No gasoline for tanks, no bombs for the
aircraft.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Warfare could be halted
because the Congress does not provide the equipment necessary for the conflict
to take place.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">During the Viet Nam Conflict, or as it is
known in the popular vernacular the Viet Nam War, Congress used their ability
to neglect the military to end aggressive movements into the nation of
Cambodia, a boarder nation of Viet Nam and a haven for forces that were
striking against American forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
attacks on Cambodia were seen by the Congress as an unnecessary escalation of
conflict within the War, and they chose not to support such efforts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This removal of funds is the only instance I
could find of Congress using this ability to proper effect.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Though this tightening of money expenditures
was successful in Viet Nam, the effort was a rare occurrence and serves more
appropriately as an anomaly in procedural structure than an example of
governance working correctly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">______________________________</span></em><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
you like or hate this please take the time to comment, share on </span></em><a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><em><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext;">Tumblr</span></a>,<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> or Facebook, and otherwise distribute my opinion to the world.
I would appreciate it.</span></em><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%209.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
American Congressional Dictionary<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%209.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Constitution Article I, Section 8<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-23360132658876543382020-03-17T10:29:00.000-04:002020-03-17T10:29:06.258-04:00Senior Seminar, Part 8 of 12<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Introduction<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is the
unedited paper I wrote for my senior seminar back in 2007.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am posting it as a sort of trip down memory
lane during our current apocalypse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become a better writer since creating this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become much better informed since writing this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am a very
different person than when I wrote this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2020/03/senior-seminar-introduction.html">Full
Introduction Here</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">------------------------------------------------</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Current Congressional
Relations<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The current President
Bush has utilized all of the previous powers assumed by the office of the
Presidency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the wake of the September
eleventh attacks by the terrorist organization Al Qaeda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As there was no definitive state controlled
by the organization, and the United States wanted to be clear that its position
was the elimination of the Organizations members and not the people and culture
which the organization had grown within, war was not declared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead a massive bombing campaign against
the chief residence of Al Qaeda, the nation of Afghanistan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After failing to eliminate the organization
and establishing a regime in the nation that was friendly to the US, the United
States left a significant population of military and Federal Investigators in
the nation and left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All of this was
done without declaring war on anything but the concept of Terrorism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">President Bush did
convince Congress in both that military conflict and the following conflict in
Iraq to back military action, but there is a question of ethical behavior in
this convincing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Congress does not
have the same military intelligence that the President does, and they rely on
the President to act in their stead as leader of the military, all of which I
have previously mentioned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, when
the invasion of Iraq was formulated and the justification explained, the idea
that there would be weapons of mass destruction in a hostile, terrorist
friendly, and tyrant ruled Middle East nation that we had previously engaged in
armed conflict, there is some question as to the validity of the reports of
whether the intelligence was credible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">When it turned out
several months later that the levels of weapons found in Iraq was vastly below
the number that were theorized to be present, and the actual relationship
between Iraq and the attacks on September Eleventh were contrived from piece
mail evidence, the question of how much trust can be placed in the President
was raised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The question as to the
current President’s validity remains, but the question that no one bothered to
ask, whether or not the office of the Presidency is the issue, was never
raised.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Most currently the relationship
between the two branches of government has shifted significantly, where as
before the Vice President was seen as lording over the Congress.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%208.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>VP Richard Cheney made full use of the access
granted to him by the Constitution.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%208.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This access was never before so thoroughly
explored by a Vice President, however the Vice President currently has reined
back in the face of a less welcoming overall body.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">______________________________</span></em><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
you like or hate this please take the time to comment, share on </span></em><a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><em><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext;">Tumblr</span></a>,<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> or Facebook, and otherwise distribute my opinion to the world.
I would appreciate it.</span></em><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%208.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
General mood felt by Congress within the Article by Robert Kuttner<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%208.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Constitution Article I, Section 3<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-88673236332444212262020-03-17T10:27:00.001-04:002020-03-17T10:27:15.855-04:00Senior Seminar, Part 7 of 12<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Introduction<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is the
unedited paper I wrote for my senior seminar back in 2007.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am posting it as a sort of trip down memory
lane during our current apocalypse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become a better writer since creating this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become much better informed since writing this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am a very
different person than when I wrote this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2020/03/senior-seminar-introduction.html">Full
Introduction Here</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">------------------------------------------------</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Why Presidents Lincoln
and Roosevelt were not exceeding their authority.<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">During times of war the President
does gain an exceptionally large amount of power necessary to effectively
command the populace toward victory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Both of these instances were taken as part of much larger conflicts, and
in such instances were the correct thing to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As both were taken in the context of war, neither action can be said to
be used as precedence to take action in the bounds of peace time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The absence of war from practice also
prohibits such expansions of power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>These are not citable as true abuses of power.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Perpetual War<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Currently the United
States is engaged in multiple armed conflicts throughout the world, the
President uses the word war to describe actions against drugs, poverty, and
terrorism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are cultural wars, wars
of spirituality, and numerous instances of such conflicts turning into real
violence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The United States has stopped
declaring war, but in doing so we have not stopped being in conflict, and over
tie through a loss of epistemological and legal context have entered into a
perpetual state of perceived and actual war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It is not uncommon to see the President justify actions taken in regards
to nearly anything by using the phrase “we are at war” when we are not legally so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Since we are perceiving our
selves as being in war even when not legally in such a conflict, the
distinctions cease to exist, and the capacity to assume additional powers in
order to properly address conflict persist regardless of Congress’ having
declared anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So the President
detains people, the President uses Executive Privilege and bombs keep
dropping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The United States holds
position a hairs breadth away from the President simply assuming all military
powers he could assume during war time, and then expanding those powers to suit
additional goals of the United States.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">______________________________</span></em><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
you like or hate this please take the time to comment, share on </span></em><a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><em><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext;">Tumblr</span></a>,<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> or Facebook, and otherwise distribute my opinion to the world.
I would appreciate it.</span></em><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<br />Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-11457154711649915992020-03-17T10:22:00.003-04:002020-03-17T10:26:07.822-04:00Senior Seminar, Part 6 of 12<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Introduction<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is the
unedited paper I wrote for my senior seminar back in 2007.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am posting it as a sort of trip down memory
lane during our current apocalypse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become a better writer since creating this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become much better informed since writing this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am a very
different person than when I wrote this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2020/03/senior-seminar-introduction.html">Full
Introduction Here</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">------------------------------------------------</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Congress and the
President: Wartimes Past<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In an opening period of
the Civil War the United States Congress was not in session, and half of its
regular members were no longer acknowledging the authority of the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Numerous persons within the bounds of
Washington were potentially tied to the southern states, or were at the very
least sympathetic to the cause of the Confederate States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a defensive measure President Abraham
Lincoln suspended the Writ of Habeas Corpus, and began to detain people who
were under suspicion of treason and insurrection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem with this practice is that the
Writ is specifically cited within the section of the Constitution under which
the duties of the Congress are addressed, and is not mentioned within the scope
of Presidential powers or duties.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%206.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The President had fully exceeded his
authority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The President did
explain this away once the Congress managed to reconvene months later, and few
could have disagreed with the immediacy of such a function needing to be
carried out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It cannot be believed the
Framers of the Instrument intended that in every case, the danger should run
its course, until Congress could be called together; the very assembling of
which might be prevented, as was intended in this case by the rebellion…”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%206.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And its continued use throughout the war went
unchallenged until the practice had already begun to include those who
supported piece with the Confederacy and dissolution of the Union, and wasn’t
stopped until the war was ending.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Essentially the
President can justify assuming powers of the Congress in the case of
immediacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But since immediacy is not
clearly defined there is nothing to prevent the President from assuming other
duties of the Congress if they are in need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One could say that the ability to appoint members to positions when
Congress is out of session could be expanded to include emergency appointments
and executions of all Constitutional duties when the Congress is out of
session.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%206.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How this would work is that the President
perceives a vacancy in law that requires immediate consideration, and an
immediate solution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since the Congress
is out of session, the President creates the law, mandating that the legal
position needed to be filled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The law
will expire when the Congress returns to session, but then there exists
potentially a political momentum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the
Congress says that the President exceeded his authority and squashes the
emergency law, then the President could frame the argument that the Congress
fails to act in the best interest of the American people and has forced the
President to take action, gaining a political win which could be turned into
another emergency legal appointment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Alternatively if the Congress sees the potential effectiveness of the
new law, they could simply endorse it, and cement this emergency law
construction as an assumed power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None
of this has happened, but it could happen using the idea that the President
assumes Constitutional powers from the Congress when they are out of
session.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One might question then why the
President does not use this assumed position of additional authority to declare
war, and the answer is that it is not necessary for the President to declare
war to order military forces into armed conflict.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The President does not want to use a taboo
subject such as war, when he is under no legal obligation to do so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The ability to assume
additional Constitutional power also comes with the process of waging war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the beginning of the Second World War,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the Congress that price control over
domestic products was imperative to prevent the spiraling fall of the United
States economy and an explosive growth in the cost of living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Addressing Congress, who had at this point
already declared war, the President stated “In the event that the Congress
should fail to act, and act adequately, I shall accept the responsibility, and
I will act.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%206.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This is an instance that the President
has threatened to assume Congressional powers under the need of immediacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was as I have stated before done during
a time of war, a special set of circumstances that President FDR underlines as
giving him authority to assume such powers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“The President has the powers, under the Constitution and under
congressional acts, to take measures necessary to avert disaster which would
interfere with the winning of the war.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%206.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The aforementioned Constitutional powers are
assumed under an incredibly wide interpretation, and I have been unable to find
such Congressional acts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>President FDR
is ordering Congress to follow his directions, or they will be superseded by
the immediate needs of the war.</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">______________________________</span></em><em><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
you like or hate this please take the time to comment, share on </span></em><a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><em><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; text-decoration: none;">Twitter</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext;">Tumblr</span></a>,<em><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> or Facebook, and otherwise distribute my opinion to the world.
I would appreciate it.</span></em><em><span style="font-family: "calibri" , sans-serif; font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%206.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Constitution Article 1, Section 9<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%206.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Abraham Lincoln, Message to Congress in Special Session<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%206.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Constitution Article II, Section2<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%206.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Message to Congress<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%206.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Franklin D. Roosevelt, Message to Congress<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-3253053094353768742020-03-17T10:21:00.000-04:002020-03-17T10:21:05.813-04:00Senior Seminar, Part 5 of 12<br />
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Introduction<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is the
unedited paper I wrote for my senior seminar back in 2007.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am posting it as a sort of trip down memory
lane during our current apocalypse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become a better writer since creating this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become much better informed since writing this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am a very
different person than when I wrote this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2020/03/senior-seminar-introduction.html">Full
Introduction Here</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">------------------------------------------------</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Executive Privilege: an
Assumed Power<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The President through
broad interpretations of the Constitution has assumed numerous duties, and
created positions in that line of thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One of the rights that the President has assumed in recent times to
insure the confidentiality of units under his command and the safety of covert
agents in the power of Executive Privilege.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is the ability of the President to simply withhold testimony,
documents, and participation in Congressional probes under the guise of
national security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Short of the Congress
ordering the release of documents, and even this ability is unenforceable due
to this assumed power, the Congress has no way of accessing the inner workings
of the President.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Unfortunately the power of
Executive Privilege remains even though it has proven to act as a cover for
illegal activities in the past, through the efforts of President Richard Nixon,
and it has been used to obscure unethical activities in the office of President
Bill Clinton.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As such Executive
Privilege has been tainted and simply cannot be trusted as a legitimate use of
Presidential immunity to authority.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
it remains.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Should Executive
Privilege Remain?<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Executive Privilege
flows from a decision made by the Supreme Court preceding the resigning of
Nixon from the office of President.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>President Nixon was ordered to allow a lower court judge access to the
confidential tapes of the Presidents conversations and reveal only those
pertinent to the investigation of the President’s involvement in the Watergate
scandal.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%205.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The problem is that the
President could have simply refused to comply asserting that the Supreme Court
had no authority to review the President on his performance of his duties in
the realm of National Security, and since they had no purview there, then they
could not order review of any of his conversations, as they all could relate to
national security issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since this can
be verified only by review, a review that will not be granted, then such a
position cannot be over ridden, essentially, since the benefit of the doubt is
granted to those under investigation, including the purview of the Fifth
Amendment of the Constitution, the tie goes to the runner, and the President
can choose not to comply with the attainment of any documents in his office as
they all could be said to interrelate to national security, and are beyond the
reach of the courts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">This is not conducive to a
socially responsible government.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Government requires transparency, and accountability.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ambitions of political beings cannot
check each other if an office is unassailable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Executive Privilege is not protected by the Constitution and should be
removed as an ethically questionable source of power for the office of the
President.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<u><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Need for Executive Privilege<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
you were to strip away the President’s ability to withhold documentation,
making their every consideration public it would be impossible to address any
number of issues in a candid and direct manner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The President is elected not to sit in a clear plastic bubble and be
analyzed, he is elected to be the nimble enforcement branch of the government,
and the fact that the modern media systems work at fantastic speed to distribute
considerations, possibilities, and even speculations, the idea that actual
military and political planning would be distributed in such a fast and context
free environment would be politically, and even literally, damaging to the
United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it was reveled that
the President was given a list of potential nuclear strike targets within a
nation that could be invaded for failure to fulfill treaty obligations, the
ramifications would be unimaginable, regardless of whether or not the nuclear
option was being thoroughly explored or considered only as a last resort, or
even if such projections were included to complete a policy of thorough
strategic planning on part of the military.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>News like this causes havoc, and the President is elected to act as an
agent of the public and insulate them from these considerations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Opaque
is a necessary quality of the President’s work, for security reasons, and for
political reasons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This privilege could
be abused, but if it were, a rational actor of the United States Congress or
Court system could see through it and act accordingly against the President.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">______________________________</span></em><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
you like or hate this please take the time to comment, share on </span></em><a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><em><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext;">Tumblr</span></a>,<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> or Facebook, and otherwise distribute my opinion to the world.
I would appreciate it.</span></em><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
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<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%205.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region></st1:place>
vs. Nixon<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7343683284946029486.post-1712599827989444972020-03-17T10:18:00.004-04:002020-03-17T10:18:53.318-04:00Senior Seminar, Part 4 of 12<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<u>Introduction<o:p></o:p></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>This is the
unedited paper I wrote for my senior seminar back in 2007.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am posting it as a sort of trip down memory
lane during our current apocalypse.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become a better writer since creating this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I have
become much better informed since writing this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I am a very
different person than when I wrote this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://rocketboy1313.blogspot.com/2020/03/senior-seminar-introduction.html">Full
Introduction Here</a><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%;">------------------------------------------------</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Congressional Role in
War<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">There is in theory to be a cooperative or
even dependent nature on the issue of foreign policy between the President and
the Congress, with the Congress putting their final approval on the subject,
and the President being the initial arbiter of the process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is stated in the Constitution </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The President
shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make
Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%204.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it is possible to have agreements that
exist entirely off paper, free of congressional approval, cease fires being a
very obvious example of this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Since the Congress can make laws
to enforce their role as declarers of war, something which has essentially become
meaningless as it is very clear that military force requires no declaration of
intent in order for it to take place; the Congress has made attempts to
reinsert themselves into the position.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;">
<u><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">How does the
effectiveness of this Congressional role define the Presidency’s relation to
Congress concerning war?<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The War Powers
Resolution passed in 1973 over Presidential veto.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was vetoed by the President who cited
constitutional issues, and since that time this resolution has never been
checked by the Supreme Court for constitutional legality. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regardless of the acts actual testing, it is
seemingly the only foothold Congress has left on the process of war waged by
the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Basing its arguments,
as it so states within its first operative clause, on Section 8: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="A1Sec8Cl18">“To</a> make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for
carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by
this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department
or Officer thereof,” and also most clearly on the power “<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="A1Sec8Cl11">To</a>
declare War.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%204.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">The Resolution states that the
President must make the Congress active consultants and participants in the
process of armed conflict, in effect restoring their position of declaring war
in a less traditional channel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However
as no President has accepted this interpretation the Congress has not been used
it the full capacity described within the resolution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And since the Congress has yet to bring
impeachment charges against any president for not following this law, it would
seem that the Congress does not believe in the validity of the work either.</span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">______________________________</span></em><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>If
you like or hate this please take the time to comment, share on </span></em><a href="https://twitter.com/Rocketboy1313"><em><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Twitter</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> (click that link to follow me), </span></em><a href="https://www.tumblr.com/blog/rocketboy1313"><span style="color: windowtext;">Tumblr</span></a>,<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> or Facebook, and otherwise distribute my opinion to the world.
I would appreciate it.</span></em><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-style: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></em> </div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%204.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Constitution Article II, Section 2<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/Joshua/Documents/Blog/2020/3%20March/2020-3-17,%20Senior%204.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
The War Resolution Act 1973<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
<br />Rocketboy1313http://www.blogger.com/profile/08319848550470396208noreply@blogger.com0