#Spirit Of The Century

[haveyouplayedthisttrpg]

Have you played SPIRIT OFTHE CENTURY ?

By Fred Hicks, Rob Donoghue, and Leonard Balsera

The deadly Doctor Methuselah seeks to unravel time itself with his solution to the Eternity Equation… Gorilla Khan stalks darkest Africa from conquered Atlantis… Mad scientists, strange sorcerors, and power-hungry dictators all seek to undo the fate of humanity. It's the final century of the second millennium-and you are our last hope! Spirit of the Century is a complete, stand-alone pulp role-playing game based on the award-winning Fate system (Indie RPG Awards include: Best Free Game of 2003, Best Support, and Andy's Choice). Spirit features a heavily revised, revisited, and reimagined vision of Fate. Character creation can be done as quickly as a few minutes, or expand to take up an evening; adventure design is a snap with three methods for creating relevant, flavorful, player-focused stories at a moment's notice. Spirit's mission is to deliver an evening of fun, a "pick-up" game that requires little preparation, but provides hours of entertainment. All you will need to play are some friends, some dice, and this book. 2006 Indie RPG Award for Independent Game of the Year 2007 Silver ENnie Award for Best Rules

[krispyweiss]

Quarter Notes: Blurbs & Briefs from Sound Bites

- In this edition: Billy Strings & Chris Thile; Blind Boys of Alabama; Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros featuring the Wolfpack; & Joni Mitchell

STRINGS AND THILE ON TV: Billy Strings and Chris Thile will perform together on the Feb. 3 broadcast of “CBS Saturday Morning.”

BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA BOOK ON TAP: “Spirit of the Century,” the Blind Boys of Alabama’s first book, will be published in the spring.

WEIR WITH THE ORCHESTRA: Bobby Weir & Wolf Bros featuring the Wolfpack will perform with the National Symphony Orchestra Aug. 28 and 29 - with unique sets each night - in Virginia.

Ticketing info here.

JONI IS GOING TO CALIFORNIA: Joni Mitchell and the Joni Jam will play the Hollywood Bowl Oct. 19. It marks Mitchell’s first L.A. performance since 2000.

Ticketing info here.

2/1/24

[soulmusicsongs]

Just Wanna See His Face - The Blind Boys Of Alabama ( Spirit Of The Century, 2001)

[chiptrillino-art]

In the Spirit World, roughly 400 years ago.

When you are just a little blue guy. But the greater gods found a liking in you. And then you ended up as chewtoy for Koh.

Spirit shenanegans at their finest.

[avaisdramatic]

Putting this comment on here because I feel like I’m actually going insane…

It seems like nobody in the comments even watched the video, complaining about how paying for content is difficult in this economy, like, that's why they are doing this! They cannot continue to make the content they want for free based on ads and sponsors alone. If you have paid attention to the "Making Watcher"s of recent years, their company is not, and has not been profitable. They are so dependent on advertisers for funding that it is becoming a restriction to the content they want to make (y'a know, like Buzzfeed was), so they had to find a solution. I don't know why you all seem to think you are entitled to free content, I understand not everyone can afford it but Watcher doesn't owe you content personally. Frankly, I doubt they wanted to put their content behind a paywall, but if it's that or not make content at all, of course they are going to try to find a solution. So no, they aren't "turning into Buzzfeed” because the massive problem with Buzzfeed was its restrictions on creative freedom and exploitation of its workers. If Watcher wants to produce fulfilling content that gives their editors, designers, producers, etc full creative freedom and a livable wage, this is the best option. If you want them to pay their workers the bare minimum and tailor their content to advertiser interests just so you can watch it for free, that's fine. Just don't pretend that they are some evil media mega-corporation and you are the anti-capitalist shining hero for saying it. You don't have to like it, and you don't have to continue to support them, but don't try to shame and demonize them for making an already difficult decision.

Many of you DO have an understanding of the difficult position our current economic system puts people in because you have experienced it, but you are so unable to extend that understanding beyond your own point of view. Look past yourself for a moment and think critically, and maybe you will understand their perspective. Much love for all of the talented people within Watcher who are doing their best.

And just to add, their format going forward is almost IDENTICAL to CollegeHumor-Dropout's streaming service format (even down to the free premieres and advocating for sharing accounts with friends), which most people praise to high heaven as "the only ethical streaming service." As a huge fan of both companies the stark difference in response here is actually astounding...

[crystal-mouse]

guys i just had such a big brain thought i needed to share,,,

what if the bridge crew all had communicator charms like the 00s flip phones,,

DO YOU SEE MY VISION

[fangrurin]

Fashion of the Great Houses of Westeros: House Tully of Riverrun

[weirdlookindog]

Tony Robert-Fleury (1837-1911) - Alix apparaissant au masque (Alix appearing to the Mask), 1890-91

illustration for Victor Hugo's unfinished play 'Les Jumeaux'

[surreal-duck]

es rarepair week 2024 day 1 | AU/future

lil ghostic au of mine!!! yuzuru and the rest of fine are long since trapped souls in an abandoned mansion of which rst come across while looking for shelter during a storm :] it doesnt um. particularly end well

[heybiji]

dandelion talks about how when he died it was like he was floating in a sea of black, and the paladin, lafavel, tries to talk him into finding a deity because he's worried about this warlock's soul*

*it doesn't work. dande gets defensively antagonistic

[enlitment]

TAG YOURSELF AS A MEMBER OF THE GENEVA SQUAD!

Parts of it are very cringe but parts of it - well, still cringe, but worth sharing I think

[cuties-in-codices]

pentecost

miniature from the "bamberg apocalypse", reichenau, c. 1000-1020

source: Bamberg, SBB, Msc.Bibl.140, fol. 73r

[mycorrhizastar]

If you pull this thing outta her noggin' you get to keep it.

[stigmatam4rtyr]

Spirit (1885, oil on canvas) | George Roux

[pmamtraveller]

KINDRED SPIRITS /1849/ by ASHER B. DURAND

This artwork was a last tribute to Thomas Cole, the founder of the Hudson River School of Art, who passed away unexpectedly at 47. Commissioned in the year of Cole's death, 1848. It was meant as a gesture of appreciation for the poet, William Cullen Bryant, who spoke at Thomas Cole's memorial service.

The painting shows the poet William Cullen Bryant and artist Thomas Cole at the Catskill Mountains. Cole holds his painting portfolio on the right side. Cole established the Hudson River School of Art, showcasing the American landscape through Romanticism principles highlighting the picturesque, pastoral, and sublime.

Durand made a combined scenery incorporating Kaaterskill Clove and Kaaterskill Falls, which were sources of inspiration for both artists. Durand skillfully merged these two well-known spots to create a stunning scenery. Cole and Bryant's surnames are depicted as though engraved on a tree in the front of the painting on the left side of the canvas.

William Cullen Bryant was an American poet, author, and publisher. He is seen as a poet who focused on important themes such as nature and morality, known for his Fireside style. The artwork was titled after a phrase from the seventh sonnet of English Romantic poet John Keats, called "O Solitude."

[burst-of-iridescent]

not to beat the "sokka's misogyny" disk horse even further into the ground, but while i agree with the take that sokka being sexist logically doesn't make sense, i would go further to say that the water tribes themselves being sexist is both illogical and thematically contradictory.

the flaws of each nation in atla have always been linked to their element, and specifically what those elements represent. fire is the element of power; power, left unchecked, leads to imperialism and authoritarianism. earth is the element of substance and stability; stability, prioritized too highly, creates and justifies the rigid class system and rampant corruption of ba sing se. air is the element of freedom; freedom, taken too far, becomes irresponsibility and abandonment.

meanwhile, water is the element of change... therefore the water tribes cling to antiquated ideas about gender roles instead of adapting with the times (especially when the times involve a fucking war going on).

not only is this unrealistic, it also breaks the thematic pattern of the nations' flaws being virtues taken to extremes, and how this dovetails into the show's overall message about the importance of balance. if we're keeping with the pattern of virtue and vice being two sides of the same coin, then the flaw of the water tribes has to be related to change. and here is where some of the (badly executed) ideas in the comics and legend of korra could have come into play: change, left uncontrolled, can lead to progress... but at the cost of tradition and spirituality.

(imagine a nwt cut off from the world and forced to rely solely on itself, ingenuity and creativity flourishing out of sheer, desperate need. imagine a nwt where waterbending is nothing more than a tool, used to build and defend and maintain a fortress always at risk, its spiritual origins slowly lost to time. imagine a nwt more military than community, whose architecture and technology far exceed anything the world has ever seen, who look down upon their less advanced sister tribe, and see no need for the avatar - after all, where was he when they had no one but themselves for the last 100 years?

when warned that the fire nation is coming, they show no fear; they have held strong on their own for the last century, bolstered by their weapons and wits, and will continue to do so. you need the spirits, aang implores, and is met with derision, for there is no place for spirits in a society always chasing more, greater, better. the spirits have not helped us before, avatar. why would they now? we are all we need.

when the moon spirit falls, unprotected and forgotten in an abandoned, rundown spirit oasis - so do they.)

not only would this fit better thematically, it would also ensure that the nwt's flaw plays a role in its own downfall. where the fire nation's warmongering resulted in the poverty and suffering of its own people, and the earth kingdom's corruption led - at least in part - to the fall of ba sing se, the misogyny of the water tribes is never shown to negatively impact them in any way. the north isn't defeated by the fire nation because they relegated half the population to healing. the south doesn't suffer raids or lose their waterbenders because they (supposedly) didn't let women fight. this lack of narrative punishment means that - outside of a few girlboss moments for katara - the sexism of the nwt isn't significant to the overall story whatsoever.

furthermore, while the ba sing se arc last almosts half a season, and the fire nation's actions drive the entire show, this supposed systemic oppression of women shows up for one episode in the first season before disappearing entirely. pakku is reminded of his lost love, magically turns into a feminist, and somehow the entire tribe follows suit? no one else protests, not even the other students or the chief?

and yet, though there are still no female waterbenders other than katara, or agency for kanna in her relationship, or any indication that women stopped being forcibly betrothed - the entire issue is simply swept under the rug and never brought up ever again in the show. i understand this was a children's cartoon made in 2005, and that even having female characters openly speak about and challenge misogyny was a radical feat for the time and genre, but the reality of patriarchy is that it's structural, sustained and immensely difficult to resist - if the show was going to depict that resistance, it should have done so with greater depth and nuance, as it did for many of the other difficult topics it tackled.

ultimately, handwaving misogyny away like it never existed is far more disrespectful to katara's character, her fight against injustice, and the girls who saw themselves in her, than simply toning it down or removing it could ever be.