#that occurs like 200 years post current events

[moa-sting]

i didn’t “finish” the qiao story but nano saw me add 20k words and an extra side storyline so I’m pretty proud of myself.

main problem now is that I’m kind of stuck as to where to end the first book/if I want to do the whole publishing rigamarole again or if I want to keep posting it online.

Given that I’m at 72k words, the ideal ending would be at the current generation leaving the narrative, with the sword being handed off from the eagle family to the snake’s daughter.

BUT, the generation after the snake’s daughter sees the sword truly lost and feels like a more definite ending ending with a lot of old characters getting their denouements, but it’s like, a full character lifetime’s worth of story left to write

lastly I have no clue how to sell this story. “it’s about building a good home for children and losing it, and then one of the children avenging its loss” is kind of the basics but also the revenge plot is barely the focus? it’s more about the people left to the wayside, but that kind of narrative depends on strength of characters and idk how pitchable that is

[baldursyourgate]

Minthara Lore Masterpost

Just putting things in one post so I could come back to it later I guess.

Name: Minthara Baenre - Min/Ran - lesser, minor, second. thara/tar - glyph, marker, rune -> drow name meaning post

Age: estimated born sometime in late 11XX or early 12XX, referred herself to be young when Viconia DeVir was exiled from house DeVir, which occur sometime before 1297 when house DeVir fell. The events of Baldur's Gate 3 take place in the year 1492 -> Estimated she's around at least 200 and no more than 300 years old.

Lineage: Noble of house Baenre, mother unknown. Mentions that mother is alive and remarked "If the world were to end, I think my mother would survive to rule over the ruins.". Speculations ->

Early days: Survived an assassination attempt as a baby. Own mother tried to kill her when she came of age. Expectation of greatness was put on by others since birth. Trained to be a soldier in Lolth's service - while most noble houses seems to largely employ male soldiers, house Baenre has many elite female soldiers/fighters. Lived a life of many luxuries and dangers.

Events that she (could have) witnessed when she was still living in Menzoberranzan: the exile of Viconia DeVir (canon) (happens sometime before 1297 - the fall of House DeVir after Matron Ginafae aided a deep gnome and lost Lolth's favour, destroyed by the Do'Urden), matron Yvonnel Baenre's reign and her death (1358), matron Triel Baenre's reign and her death (1383), matron Quenthel Baenre's reign (1383).

Sos'Umptu Baenre became the current Matron Mother as of the end of Lolth's Warrior, third book from "The Way of the Drow" trilogy. The exact year was not stated, but it happen sometime after 1490 stated in the first book of the trilogy, so the timeline narrows down a little more... The events of BG3 take place in 1492, so she possibly could have been there when Sos'Umptu became matron. Or had missed the entire thing, which could potentially be very hilarious if she went back.

Siblings: unknown, mentioned that her own sibling would've slain her if she set foot back to Menzo, so she must've had at least one. If her name is any indicator (Min means lesser/second), might be a second child.

Relationship: complicated relationship with her own mother. Recognises her mother's abuse, but begrudgingly respect and admire her still - the woman taught her how to survive the ruthless, unforgiving life in Menzoberranzan. Nevertheless, Minthara wants a matricide.

First romantic relationship was with a high priestess of house Vandree. Poisoned her when was ordered to do so, but stayed and "whispered words of comfort as she slipped away". Does not like wizards.

Feel free to add more in the reblogs or replies, I'll update the post when new info comes up!

[scotianostra]

February 7th 1603 saw the Battle of Glen Fruin the battle that led to a ban on MacGregors.

This Clan battle was fought primarily between Clan Gregor and Clan Colquhoun, the latter being associated with the area around Luss. A nearby cairn in a field was long thought to mark the burial place of the Colquhouns who had died in the battle, but it turned out instead to be of Bronze Age date.

Like all good, or bad fights there are two versions to the story, there are also two dates, nothing unusual in my posts! The other date is the 8th, so we aren't out by much, I've plumped for the 7th.

Fought near Loch Lomond the Battle left at least 140 men dead and led to an unparalleled campaign of punishment against the MacGregors with the name banned in Scotland for a total of 150 years. The battle was supposedly fought on a large flat piece of ground near Auchingaich with the members of the poorer Clan Gregor pitched against their wealthy and influential Colquhoun neighbours.

The two clans had history. Clan Gregor, which was stripped of much of its land by Robert the Bruce , frequently raided their neighbour’s property. Tradition dictates that the battle was sparked after two MacGregor men were refused shelter on Colquhoun land and resorted to sleeping in an outhouse and slaughtering a sheep. Walter Scott wrote about it in the introduction to his novel Rob Roy.

After being discovered by the Laird of Luss, they were sentenced to death with their kinsmen mobilising in furious response. However, some believe this version of events has been fancified over the years with no evidence that the executions occurred. Scott hasn't helped in his book which says "two of the Macgregors being benighted, asked shelter in a house belonging to a dependent of the Colquhouns, and were refused. They then retired to an outhouse, took a wedder from the fold, killed it, and supped off the carcase, for which they offered payment to the owner. The Laird of Luss, however, unwilling to be propitiated by the offer made to his tenant, seized the offenders, and by the summary process which feudal barons had at their command, caused them to be condemned and executed. The Macgregors verify this account of the feud by appealing to the proverb current among them execrating the hour (mult dhu an earbail ghil), that the black wedder with the white tail was ever lambed".A wedder is an old Heilan term for a castrated sheep.

Others have argued that the Battle of Glen Fruin began with just another MacGregor raid. Similar plundering expeditions were launched in the weeks before with two Colquhoun men allegedly killed at Glenfinlas a couple of months before. The difference was that on this day 1603, the Colquhouns were ready to protect themselves with permission granted by James VI to pursue their foes. The Colquhoun ranks were swelled by men from Dumbarton and Cardross, with the clan marching into the glen with as many as 500 men on foot and 300 on horseback.

Clan Gregor had around 350 men ready to fight and showed no mercy for their foes. The MacGregors launched a downhill surprise attack on the Colquhouns, which drove them back in the direction they had come, namely the Auchengeich Glen. Unfortunately for the Colquhouns the second part of the MacGregor force was lying in wait for them there. Just as there are doubts over the numbers in the two opposing forces, so there are also doubts as to how many were killed. A fairly commonly accepted figure is that 140 of the Colquhouns and their allies were killed, although some accounts have put the number as high as 200.

Eighty horses, 600 hundred cows and 800 hundred sheep were taken in the aftermath of the battle with houses and corn-yards burned. Following the bloodshed, James VI, in a bid to dismantle the clan, forced MacGregors - and Gregors - to drop their name or risk punishment by death, I posted about this a few days ago.

A royal warrant was signed by James VI on February 24, 1603, accusing the MacGregors of attacking members of Clan Colquhoun at Glen Fruin “without pitie or compassion” or regard for young or old. Their deeds were “barbarous and horrible” with this “wicked and unhappy” race to be “exterminat and ruttit out”.

Less than two months later, around April 3rd, James VI ruled the name MacGregor should be “altogether abolished” and that all people of the clan should renounce their name and take another, under the pain of death. Aliases, including Grant, Stewart and Ramsay were used. Rob Roy MacGregor himself is known to have taken his mother's surname, Campbell when this happened.

Around a year later, Alastair of Glenstrae and 11 leading clan figures were hung at the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh, with the leader hoisted above his men before being drawn and quartered The MacGregor name was restored in 1661 by Charles II but disallowed once more in 1693 by William of Orange.

It was not till 1784 that the MacGregors were allowed to resume their own name, and were restored to all the rights and privileges

The memorial stone in the photo stands in Glen Fruin to mark the Colquhouns that died.

You can read much more on this here http://glendiscovery.com/glenfruin-geography.html

[tokiro07]

Did a Medaka vs. Andy post a while back, now it's time for Hitoyoshi vs. Fuuko

First off, I think it's important to establish what everyone's working with:

We'll be assuming they're at their peak, so L101 Fuuko and post-Ajimu Hitoyoshi

Fuuko's got G-Liner, her two guns, and 200+ years of Shin Hakkyoku experience

Hitoyoshi has up to 20 years of Savate experience, Devil Style and Altered God Mode: Model Zenkichi, but consequently does not have Parasite Seeing, as it was changed from a skill that let him see from other's perspectives into a skill that lets him see his own limitations. He also does not have access to Contradictory Conjunction Style, as that was a temporary ability that he was essentially borrowing

With this in mind, I think we can get a good idea of the flow of the battle

As demonstrated in his fight with Munakata, Hitoyoshi is skilled in disarming and dismantling guns, so we can reasonably assume that the moment Fuuko brings out the guns, she's losing them

Hitoyoshi is able to keep up with Medaka physically, who we can reasonably assume is above world-champion-level fighters given The End, so even if he needs to use AGM match her actual strength, Hitoyoshi should feasibly be able to fight on par with Fuuko, who is able to defeat world-champion boxers and kung-fu masters

If their physiology and technique lead to a stalemate, the battle comes down to their powers - Unluck vs. Devil Style

Immediately, Devil Style counters Unluck by negating Hitoyoshi's luck preemptively: under its effects, no good or bad luck can occur around Hitoyoshi, meaning that no matter how much affect Fuuko feels for him, there will not coincidentally be a source of Unluck to draw in

Even if there was, the current interpretation of Unluck is that it takes away the luck that a person has within them; if Hitoyoshi has "zero" luck rather than, say, 10 luck to prevent disasters, then his existing luck cannot be taken away and he cannot be made vulnerable to the disasters summoned by Fuuko

However, if Fuuko were to realize that Hitoyoshi's view of luck is "good luck=positive, bad luck=negative" rather than her interpretation of "good luck = >1, bad luck = 0," she could theoretically use Unluck to drag Hitoyoshi into the negative

Moreover, since Devil Style merely prevents acts of fate, it has no impact on the direct results of deliberate actions - in other words, if Fuuko does not rely on the random factor of Unluck and instead sets up a specific sequence of Unlucky events to draw in, then her efforts to enforce Unluck on Hitoyoshi will be rewarded so long as he himself is unable to thwart them

While this makes Unluck like meteors or earthquakes much more difficult if not impossible, it makes sources like slipping on liquids that Fuuko purposefully spilled in the vicinity very plausible and simple to execute so long as she already has access to them

Of course, we have to consider Hitoyoshi's interpretation of Unluck as well - if Fuuko's efforts to draw in Unluck are to be rewarded, then the mere existence of meteors should make them something that she can reasonably incorporate into her strategies. Since Hitoyoshi isn't the type to accept a handicap in a fight, he would likely never deliberately prevent Fuuko from fighting to her full capacity. He may need to learn the mechanics first to allow it to happen, but since Devil Style is meant to be a way for him to prove that he's capable of overcoming foes on his own and without relying on nebulous concepts like fate, then defeating an enemy who manipulates fate would be the ultimate proof of his fighting abilities

From there, it's just a question of what the writer in question wants: do they want Fuuko's ability to understand others to win the day, or Hitoyoshi's ability to overcome any obstacle under his own power? Either way, it's unavoidable that by the end, Fuuko's Unluck would be in full swing, it's just a matter of whether Hitoyoshi can personally find a way to avoid it. Perhaps he'd manipulate Fuuko's Unluck against her, deliberately taking a second dose to summon another meteor that would collide with the first and destroy them both?

Again, like with Medaka vs. Andy, pick your favorite to win, but know that in my head, they both come out of it as friends because of how hard they pushed each other

[mariacallous]

On Oct. 25, U.S. President Joe Biden said something so extraordinary about the current Israeli-Hamas conflict that, had he really thought it through, he might have seriously reconsidered saying. “There’s no going back to the status quo as it stood on Oct. 6,” Biden said.

It was a simple line, but one with breathtaking scope.

Was it a throwaway talking point or a determined commitment for the ages? Did the president understand that, having tethered the United States to Israel’s war aims, when the dust settles, he’ll be expected to play a lead role in creating a new reality both in Gaza and on Israeli-Palestinian peace? Or does he believe that he can unload most of the post-conflict work to a group of regional and international actors that will somehow shoulder the responsibility for Gaza reconstruction and whatever performative peace process might follow? And does he fully grasp that the proverbial “day after” is likely to be more like the year (or years) after?

Every breakthrough in the Arab-Israeli conflict that occurred within the conflict zone has been preceded by violence, insurgency, and war. Indeed, severe crisis can produce opportunity because it breaks the status quo and injects pain that can produce urgency. But that pain must be married to the prospects of gain—usually but not always generated by an outside mediator. Whether the Biden administration is willing or able to play that role remains to be seen.

Serious challenges stand in the way of a more hopeful, let alone transformed, future. And much of what will confront any effort to alter the Oct. 6 status quo remains largely outside of the president’s capacity to control.

Biden will confront two badly traumatized societies that will each in their own way enter a period of prolonged political reckoning. When Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog said that Israel was one country on Oct. 6 and a different country on Oct. 8, he was not exaggerating.

The most severe terror attack in the nation’s history; the bloodiest single day for Jews since the Holocaust; the greatest intelligence failure since the 1973 Arab-Israeli War (and perhaps much worse given the civilian death toll of the Oct. 7 attack); and the taking of more than 200 hostages have stunned and shocked a country somewhat conditioned throughout its history to cope with terror and violence. The Hamas attack added to Israelis’ existing fear of incoming rockets the new fear of cross-border massacres—not just near Gaza but also along the Israeli-Lebanese border and in the West Bank, too.

The events of Oct. 7 also undermined the essence of the contract between the governed and those who govern—a government’s commitment to guarantee the safety and security of its citizenry. The average length of an Israeli government since independence is about 1.8 years; and the emergency coalition that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu formed after the attack will almost certainly be replaced. Whether that will be with a more right-wing or centrist coalition is hard to say.

In the wake of the 1973 war, a state committee of inquiry found the Israeli military and intelligence elites responsible for the failure and didn’t address then-Prime Minister Golda Meir’s role. In 1974, she resigned under public pressure. Yet the real earthquake would not come until three years later, when Menachem Begin’s right-wing Likud party came to power and reshaped Israeli politics for decades to come. In one of history’s great ironies, it would be the right—not the left, which had dominated Israeli politics since independence—that would benefit from Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s war-then-peace strategy.

This time around, however, Israelis likely won’t be challenged by a charismatic, transformative Egyptian leader boldly seeking peace. And the Israeli public, still reeling from the events of Oct. 7—suspicious, worried, and embittered—will be in no mood for far-reaching concessions on a Palestinian state so close to their borders.

For Palestinians, the reckoning will be much harder. The death and destruction Israel is visiting on Gaza will leave Palestinians in Gaza angry, impoverished, and leaderless. Should Hamas or an Islamist successor survive and be able to mount an insurgency against either an Israeli occupying force or a multinational one in Gaza, then the Palestinian national movement will remain divided—split between Hamas or its successor in Gaza and the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank, with two different visions of where and what Palestine should be.

The PA—led by an aging Mahmoud Abbas, who is now in the 18th year of a four-year term—will be further tarnished by its inability to do anything but watch as Palestinians are killed by the thousands in Gaza or to protect Palestinians in the West Bank from attacks by Israeli soldiers and settlers. Armed groups of young Palestinians such as the Lions’ Den or Nablus Brigade—some independent, others influenced by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad—will carry on the struggle against the occupation as Israeli encroachment on Palestinian land continues. Having postponed elections in 2021, Abbas will be under immense pressure to hold them for both a new legislature and the presidency. But what about Gaza? Can elections be held there? And as happened in 2006, might Hamas again win a majority?

New leadership and reform of the PA’s authoritarian and corrupt practices are clearly required to replace the aging Abbas and the Fatah establishment. But from where will it come? Once again, there’s talk of the most popular Palestinian leader, Marwan Barghouti—who is currently serving five life sentences in an Israeli prison—coming to the rescue. A poll of Palestinians in Gaza taken shortly before the Oct. 7 attack on preferences for president should elections be held had Barghouti at 32 percent; Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s political head, at 24 percent; and Abbas at 12 percent.

Leaders need not be born to lead; often, they emerge in response to the direst of circumstances. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is one such leader who comes to mind. But if the Biden administration has any hope of trying to push for a credible process to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it will need leaders on both sides with the capacity and desire to make and sustain very tough—even historic—decisions. Right now, it’s hard to see those kinds of leaders emerging quickly in the wake of this crisis.

Any postwar effort will need to prioritize rebuilding a destroyed and traumatized Gaza. Physically reconstructing and repairing homes and infrastructure; supporting a displaced population of what may eventually be almost half of Gaza’s residents; and psychologically rehabilitating a traumatized populace, especially children, will be a gargantuan task. Who or what will assume responsibility for this effort is an open question.

But it will be taking place in a post-conflict environment in which Israeli forces may still be present in Gaza until some transitional mechanism to ensure security and order has been worked out. And Netanyahu’s comment last week that Israel may have to stay in Gaza for an “indefinite period” suggests an even more complex situation. To prevent a Hamas resurgence, Israel is going to demand influence in the temporary governance of Gaza, which will make any reconstruction effort much more difficult—or, perhaps apart from tending to the immediate needs of the population, hard to begin at all. Israel will almost certainly want to inspect construction materials—any of which might be used for tunneling or manufacturing weapons. And Iran will be looking for opportunities to provide money and resources to feed an insurgency.

The question of who will ultimately govern Gaza further complicates the situation. Key Arab states such as Qatar, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia can play a critical role in this process by providing financial and political support, though it’s hard to imagine an Arab peacekeeping force patrolling Gaza and doing counterinsurgency against Palestinians or having much legitimacy with Israelis still occupying Gaza.

The most logical and feasible solution is Palestinian governance legitimized by elections. As evidenced by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent meeting with Abbas, the Biden administration is clearly thinking about the PA as a key ingredient in Gaza’s future governance. Indeed, the secretary called for an “effective and revitalized” PA. But this is far easier to describe than to actualize. Abbas and his Fatah colleagues have little legitimacy in the West Bank and none in Gaza. And after 16 years of absence, the PA cannot reenter Gaza on the back of an Israeli Merkava tank and expect to be welcomed by the people of Gaza.

Empowering the PA—if it can be done at all—will require linking reconstruction and governance in Gaza to a serious and credible process to address the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In short, legitimacy for the PA in addition to holding elections will need to be tied to a real effort to negotiate an end to Israel’s occupation, presumably based on two states. To make this credible, there would need to be front-loading with any number of steps to build up the PA, including restricting if not ending Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank. Right now—and certainly with this Israeli government—such a step seems far away.

The biggest question is whether Biden has the bandwidth to take on such a colossal endeavor—especially as he heads into what is likely to be a closely fought presidential election in 2024. Or is that more likely an assignment for a second Biden administration, if there is one? Either way, unless the administration plans to get serious this coming year about at least laying the foundations for new realities in Gaza and the West Bank, very little is going to move.

Governing is about making difficult choices, and it’s not as if there are no other foreign-policy challenges to absorb the U.S. president’s time. Competing priorities abound, each tied to complex domestic politics. Biden has tethered the United States to Ukraine’s fight with Russia, and the reality of what is likely to be a very long war resourced by his administration has begun to sink in amid growing Republican doubts about long-term support.

Biden has also committed the United States to defending Taiwan against China, even if what that defense would look like in the event of war remains ambiguous. If there is an inside-the-Beltway consensus on any foreign-policy issues in Washington, it’s on pursuing tough policies against China and Iran, especially as the Israel-Hamas war has brought the United States much closer to the possibility of a conflict with Tehran.

Pursuing Middle East peace isn’t for the fainthearted or those who aren’t prepared to spend the energy and time. Much of the effort can be offloaded to a secretary of state and a special envoy. But even with husbanding the White House’s time, it will require a good deal of presidential focus. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter not only had to convene a presidential summit but also embarked on a shuttle diplomacy trip in 1979 to conclude the Egypt-Israel peace treaty. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton traveled extensively in the region and called at least four Middle East summits as part of his peacemaking efforts.

Nor can one ignore the domestic politics that can drain a president’s political currency—and those domestic politics on the Israeli-Palestinian issue are fraught indeed. With the Republican Party emerging as the Israel-can-do-no-wrong party and a divided Democratic Party with a progressive wing that’s pushing for Biden to impose accountability on Israel, Biden will need to navigate a perilous course. Invariably, pushing for Israeli-Palestinian peace will mean friction or worse with Israel. Will the president be up to it?

In tying the United States to both Israel’s trauma on Oct. 7 and its resulting campaign to eradicate Hamas in Gaza—and all the death and destruction that is causing—Biden now shares direct responsibility for the fate of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Biden has committed himself publicly to a fundamental change in the status quo. If that’s going to happen, first and foremost there will need to be Israeli and Palestinian leaders committed to that objective. But even with those kinds of leaders, Biden will need to own this, too.

And even if he does, the risks are great. If the past is prologue, as it’s been so many times when it comes to U.S. peacemaking efforts, the chances of success are small. Walking away or pursuing a performative policy in the wake of the horrors we’ve witnessed will undermine the president’s personal credibility—as well as America’s—in the region and the world. And it will cost him politically, particularly in a state such as Michigan, with Arab Americans as well as with progressives and younger Democrats. Biden may very well be remembered as the U.S. president who presided over the bloodiest phase of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and, most likely, the death of the only pathway that offers a hope of ending it: the much-maligned two-state solution.

The stakes are enormous, especially for a president who cares deeply about Israel, Palestinian suffering, and the United States’ leadership role in the world. But it remains to be seen whether his stunningly powerful pledge not to return to the status quo of Oct. 6 was merely a throwaway line and a performative talking point or a serious and determined commitment to finding a solution to an excruciatingly complex conflict that has eluded all of his predecessors.

[12thperigeeball]

Hi! I'm so sorry to bring this up but I have some questions/concerns about this year's voting process. I know that this is the first time we have tried this out in two brackets and the first time tumblr has had polls but I have 3 things to bring up.

1. We (currently) have 3 very clear leaders and no one even close to their votes in each category, why not let that stand if it remains like that until voting closes?

2. I'm worried not enough people will remember/see the second poll since they voted already and many aren't used to having two poles. I personally almost didn't even see that there were going to be two rounds until a while after I voted and won't be around much the rest of the weekend since the ball is over. I never would have know. (Also many don't know characters by name only so will there be accompanying pictures?)

3. If we are lengthening the voting can we maybe lengthen the Yule Ball itself to the whole weekend? That way it gives people more time to join in, especially weekend workers. Nominations can still end Sat at midnight, but maybe we could even have voting occur on the theoretical Sunday as an actualy event in the ball that people can react to.

Hi anon! No worries, we're happy to help clarify things.

So first and foremost, I do want to clarify that the voting process this year is a cumulation of different decisions that all three of us have discussed and agreed upon, based off of last year's voting concerns of the community and our experience with the ball theme voting process this year.

One major issue that I know concerned people last year was cheating - and our Google forms runs on an honor system. Doing a no sign in required voting form with no results showing has been the way the ball has worked for ten+ years now, but we can tell when the times have changed and the community asks for more accountability.

Secondly, one concern we heard from the ball them voting from earlier was the amount of options and the votes being more spread out. If you have 200+ votes but the 'winning' option only has 50, then that's an issue, isn't it? And when you toss in the option to see results without having to vote for a nominee, well, that skews things as well. A trade off for accountability, but one we can work with. We did feel like the second round of voting went much smoother than expected and still got an incredible amount of engagement from our user base! We were pretty worried it wouldn't, but it proved otherwise.

So, to answer your questions directly: 1) It has been two hours since voting began (from the time of receiving this ask + writing it. It is now 12 hours since receiving the ask as of posting). In previous years we've seen nominees come out strong out the gate and then fall behind as the process went ahead (in the past 10~ hours we can see that starting to happen now). Making a call about letting votes stand at this time would be putting the horse before the carriage, without factoring in our desire to reduce cheating as mentioned before. Our attempts to reduce vote fixing is our main priority. Also, as of 12PM 12/17/2023, our current queen and couturier winners are 'see votes', lol. Not logging names/emails and showing results have to have a trade off somewhere, and the trade off will require a round 2 of votes.

2) This was also a concern of ours, but our previous ball theme voting rounds and the amount of participants on tumblr itself has assuaged our fears of it being missed. I know having two polls isn't the norm, but we feel confident that we will still get a great turnout as we did before. We try our best to spread the poll around by reblogging it multiple times so people can see it during different times of the day. As for the not knowing characters by name - that was one of my biggest concerns with tumblr polls too! I believe we should be able to attach pictures to poll posts above or below the poll to help as a visual guide, howeverrrr it will stretch the post out significantly. It's something we're still considering the best possible way to show this without clogging dashes from constant reblogging.

3) This is a pretty good idea and one I have already been considering recently! The two day format has been a holdover from the Taima days and while none of us have ever stopped people from continuing to post or rp past the ball dates and never require people to role play out the nominations, the dances, or any other aspect, it still does limit how much time people have. The logistics of it may mean some more thought of course, because we try very hard to be considerate of the holiday by having the ball happen the weekend before Christmas, so we may have to adjust the ball happening earlier in the month to give users a larger cushion to enjoy themselves. You know, convention logic for four days instead of two! We'll keep you guys updated on this for next year, so feel free to let us know how you guys feel about this idea.

[mxstball]

[HEADCANON] The Three Main Worlds

As you watch this blog, you'll likely see mention of three worlds that are referenced in this blog: Elysium, Ruined Kingdom, and Gaia. These terms can get a little confusing, so I wanted to unpack them a little for clarification.

The three main worlds are separate worlds / dimensions where, between them, all of the major muses originate from and that all minor muses either come from or are tied to in some way.

Elysium

Status: Active

Creator: Izanami

Current Arceus: Heidi

Homeworld of: Leaf, Zinnia, Rayquaza, Hilda, Serena, Lati

Elysium is the main world of the blog. It's the Pokémon world that we all know and love. This is the world where most of the events of the blog take place. Unless stated otherwise, assume that a post or thread is here.

The canon of the main games happened in this world with little changes (although insert a few small additions for Galar and Paldea). In addition, this world was mostly separated from other worlds for a very long time until the events of Sun and Moon.

The creator of the world is an Arceus by the name of Izanami; however, after her passing, Heidi now takes the place as the Acting-Arceus of the world.

Ruined Kingdom

Status: Destroyed

Creator: Friede

Current Arceus: Unknown

Homeworld of: Heidi, Melony, Nergal

Ruined Kingdom is another world on the blog, and is Heidi's homeworld. Things were a little different in the world and the world is technically 200 years ahead of time (i.e. the events of Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue in that world occurred 200 years in the past). 

The canon of the main games did not quite happen in this world from Generation IV onwards. Friede, the Arceus of the world, created an entire city within the Hall of Origin for people and Pokémon to live in; however, due to this, Team Galactic attempted to further their plans by attempting to subdue Friede herself. This event led to a downward spiral for both Friede and the city as a whole. Eventually, 100 years ago, Friede destroyed the world in the start of a crusade to purge the multiverse of humanity.

The world is a desolate land with only very few Legendary Pokémon remaining. Time does not flow, and space is only being maintained by Eden, the Palkia of the world. With Friede gone, it is not known how the world is still standing.

All Legendary Pokémon that originate from Ruined Kingdom only have human forms. Heidi is the sole known exception to this rule. It is not known why this is the case, nor why Heidi is the exception. In addition, while Legendary Pokémon from the Ruined Kingdom are technically catchable, all Pokéballs / Beast Balls that do not exclusively use Ruined Kingdom materials have only 10% of the intended catch rate. Heidi is the sole exception to this rule.

Ruined Kingdom is the homeworld of the following minor muses: Jörmungandr, Meredith, Tor, Morgan, Leifi, Icathia, Naresa, Eden, Eir, Aegir / XD001, Nyx, and Arya.

Gaia

Status: Semi-Destroyed

Creator: Morrigan

Current Arceus: Morrigan

Homeworld of: Lauren

Gaia is a mentioned world of the blog, although it'll likely be more prevalent soon. It's a world where Mega Evolution never existed (ex. Ruby and Sapphire instead of OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire). Mega Evolution doesn't work in the world and is incompatible in the blog. Those who come from this world are also incapable of performing Mega Evolution.

This follows the canon of the main games up until Generation V. Kalos and the other regions do exist; however, they have not undergone the events of their associated games.

Heidi lived in this world for 1,000 years. She was transported here from Ruined Kingdom until soon after Elysium's events of Sun and Moon. The Ultra Wormholes that were summoned from the Aether Incident caused her and Lauren to be sucked out of Gaia and into Elysium, which is why they live in Elysium to this day.

The world no longer has humans*. A year after Heidi and Lauren disappeared, Friede commanded Morrigan, the Arceus of the world, to destroy all of humanity. Morrigan agreed and kicked off a civil war between the Legendary Pokémon in her world that wanted to save the humans and those that did not. Those that wanted to save the humans all lost and were killed alongside the humans that they tried to protect.

Pokémon from this world have the normal catch rate.

Currently, the only known minor muse who comes from Gaia is Chrona, the Dialga of the world and Lauren's ex-girlfriend.

* if you know, you know.

[sweetkoalastarfish]

People and Pesos: The Story Behind the Names on Philippine Currency

Philippine money, known as the Philippine peso, has a rich history and has undergone significant changes over time. The country's currency design has reflected its colonial past, Independence, and the personalities who have shaped its history. Let's explore the evolution of the Philippine currency and the prominent figures whose names and likenesses are inscribed in it.

Early Philippine Money

Before Spanish colonization, the Philippines used various forms of trade and barter, with gold as a common medium of exchange. Spanish colonization brought coins and currency from Spain and its colonies. The Spanish introduced coins like "cons", and later "dos mundos" or "pieces of eight", which widely used in the region.

American Period

After the Spanish-American War, the United States, established the Philippine peso as the official currency of the Philippines. During this period, coins and paper bills with American designs were circulated, often bearing the seal of the U.S. Bureau of Insular Affairs.

Post-Independence Currency

After gaining Independence from the United States in 1946, the Philippines began to issue its own currency reflecting its identity and history. The Central Bank of the Philippines (now Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) was established in 1949 to manage the country's currency.

Current Philippine Peso

The current series of Philippine peso banknotes and coins feature a variety of historical figures and symbols that represent the nation's history and culture. Here are some notable figures and symbols on the currency:

. 500 Peso Bill: This bill features former president Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., a prominent opposition leader during the Marcos regime. The reverse side depicts the EDSA People Revolution , a significant event in Philippine history .

. 200 Peso Bill: This bill has Diosdado Macapagal, a former Philippine president known for his efforts to improve the country's economy.

. 100 Peso Bill: Features Manuel A. Roxas, the first president of the Independent Republic of the Philippines.

. 50 Peso Bill: Includes Sergio Osmena, a key figure in the country's transition to Independence.

. 20 Peso Bill: Features Manuel L. Quezon, the first president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, who played a role in establishing the national language.

The transition from banknotes to coins for certain denominations, such as the 5- peso coin, typically occurs for a variety of practical and economic reasons like @ Durability- coins are more durable than banknotes, especially for smaller denominations that are frequently used in transactions. Coins can withstand more wear and tear, making them cost-effective in the long run. @@. Cost-Efficiency- producing and maintaining coins can be more cost-effective than printing and replacing worn-out banknotes. This helps reduce the costs associated with currency production. @@@. Convenience- coins can be more convenient for everyday transactions, such as paying for public transport, parking, and small purchases. Their durability allows them to circulate for extended period without significant damage.

The 5-peso coin in the Philippines has undergone several redesigns over the years. It features the portrait of Andres Bonifacio, the founder of the Katipunan and one of the country's national hero. The Reverse side typically displays the "Republika ng Pilipinas" inscription, the year of minting, and other national symbols like the BSP logo or a historical landmark.

The Philippine peso has played a role in the country's economic development and trade. Although not a reserve currency like the U.S. dollar or the Euro, it is used in various International transactions and has impact on regional economies. The figures and events featured on the currency symbolize the Philippines' journey from colonization to Independence, illustrating the country's rich history and its contributions to the world.

Overall, the transformation of philippine currency reflects the nation's history, culture, and the significant contributions of individuals who shaped its identity. These changes represent the country's progress and commitment to honoring its past while looking toward the future.

Thank you for reading. Until next time, salamat and see you soon!

[martin-presid]

Undestanding before acting - Vespa Club / Eurovespa / Vespa World Days:

As announced by my previous post, I like to clarify (again) a bit the background of THE annual gathering of the Vespa Clubs, the Vespa World Days (previously named Eurovespa)!

First of all and most important, I have to highlight it here again: it is a Vespa Club gathering! From members for members!

The Eurovespa started as a simple event with the aim to meet other Vespa Club members abroad - to meet members from other nations! This was, next to the good advertisement for Vespa (brand and product) and the Clubs itself, in particularly an important reason after the world war with it's social impacts. People who are able and willing traveled now with Vespa and as friend (not as enemy) trough Europe. And because of that, the gathering of Vespa Club members, the dinner ("gala dinner") became most important! You can image how important, if you picture for yourself, the (bad) roads at this time, the 8inch wheels, the low power, the mostly far distances, the bad equipment, clothing and inconveniences on route - and no-one appeared at the gala dinner without suit, shirt and tie or evening gown! (Who is doing that today?!?) Doing so was a sign of respect and pleasure towards the other Club members. The goal was to establish relationships and find new friends - that was and is very important and we are still successful with it! And beside the dinner there where mostly not much - they needed their vacation for travel tour-/retour and the dinner/meeting was the reason for.

To share the "burden" for organising the event, every year another Nation and Vespa Club organized it. So, one Vespa Club organised the event and invited all other Vespa Clubs to this event! And relating to this important fact, let me clarify another huge misunderstanding: Due the fact that a Vespa Club (Club!!) is always voluntarily and on their own (personal) risk/costs organised it, all Vespa Club members who were willing to attend, CONTRIBUTED with their registration and an upfront (min. 6 months before) registration payment for/to the event! A non-refundable(!) fee from a club member to the organising VC to enable them to organize the event! The participants never paid for entertainment! They never bought a "ticket"!! They simply shared the cost for organizing the place and dinner to be able to meet their - the entertainment were always the participants itself!

It is crucial to understand this to understand the current discussion about this event. We still hold that event and I was focused between 2007 and 2020 with the VWC board, to evolve the event without to loose the sense and soul of the event. But despite all my efforts, unfortunately the knowledge why we do this disappear more and more. And yes, it was easier to organize such an event for 200 to 600 participants in relation to the nowadays few thousand participants. I.e. it is de-facto impossible to get a gala dinner for more than 2.500 people (for the money which our club members like to spend for), but the majority of organisers and members stick to the old format, without to really know for the origin goal. Other ways to achieve the origin goal will be not used, because of this circumstance. A lot of senseless discussion occurs out of that, instead to focus on real solutions.

So, as summary:

Every year another national Vespa Club organize for all Vespa Club members around the globe our annual global gathering - the Vespa World Days! The aim of the event is to make sure that our members have once the year the possibility to meet club members from abroad, establish and maintain relations, find new friends, celebrate public the Vespa Club community, advertise the Vespa Clubs and the Brand (the Vespa).

The Vespa World Days (formerly Eurovespa) are THE global Vespa Club event - public visible, with public impact and public visitors (visitors, not participants!)! To strengthen the global aspiration, we decided a few years ago, to implement a rotating rule between our 3 global regions (Americas,APAC and Europe) and whenever the Vespa World days are hosted in one of the regions, the other two regions can hold "regional" Vespa Days (because of the demand of our members).

There is a lot of more to say, but that would blast the space here 😉

[ailtrahq]

Bitcoin analysts eagerly scrutinize the charts as November approaches, hoping to gain insights from past cycles. Historically, November has always been significant for the cryptocurrency market, as BTC usually gains value, affecting other coins.  According to crypto analyst Miles Deutscher, November promises to be a pivotal month for Bitcoin enthusiasts and investors. Bitcoin’s Ongoing Sideways Trend Hints At Potential Bullish Shift In November Market experts suggest that Bitcoin’s stagnant price movement might transition to a bullish trend in November. According to them, this could occur if it behaves similarly to past cycles before a halving event.  For instance, on October 10, cryptocurrency analyst Miles Deutscher referenced a chart from CryptoCon. In the X post, Miles highlighted the parallels between Bitcoin’s recent patterns and those observed in earlier cycles. #Bitcoin’s recent price action is still mirroring the last 2 cycles. This is typical sideways price action that occurs from Q2-Q4 in pre-halving years. November 21st has historically been the key pivot point for a bullish shift. Will be interesting to see how $BTC responds. pic.twitter.com/zP9vlG31Qc — Miles Deutscher (@milesdeutscher) October 10, 2023 He added that around November 21, the price of Bitcoin usually starts going up a lot, getting ready for the next halving event. This date holds significance as a turning point in Bitcoin’s price trajectory. For instance, in 2015, when Bitcoin’s price was ranging for about six months, it began to go up in November. Similarly, in 2019, the price of Bitcoin didn’t change much for most of the year, but then it started to increase towards the end of the year. Bitcoin’s price currently hovers at $27,568 in the daily chart. | Source: BTCUSD price chart from TradingView.com Other Crypto Analyst Predicts Similar Price Projections Another prominent crypto trader and analyst, Mags, noticed something interesting in Bitcoin’s chart. According to the analyst, Bitcoin’s price is about 60% lower than the highest price it ever reached. This happened around 200 days before its previous halving, just like in 2015 and 2019. The analyst wrote: In 2016, BTC was -65% below its ATH. In 2019, BTC was -60% below its ATH. In 2023, BTC is currently -60% below its ATH. So, even if it seems like Bitcoin’s price isn’t moving much, it’s following a similar pattern to previous cycles. Another crypto analyst, Galaxy Trading, posited a similar prediction for Bitcoin’s price move. The analyst drew attention to 2018-2019 when Bitcoin’s price hit a significant bottom. He noted that Bitcoin could dump or bottom around Nov 10-15 this year if we see a similar price move. Additionally, lead researcher at Matrixport, Markus Thielen, said that Bitcoin’s price might go up massively by the end of 2024. However, he thinks it will happen for different reasons than what we’re seeing now. He drew attention to some critical areas in August 2012, December 2015, May 2019, and August 2020. According to him, the bullish market commenced within 12 to 18 months in each case. However, the Bitcoin halving is around six months away and might occur in late April or May, depending on your countdown timer. The analysis from different observers is signaling a positive outlook for the price of Bitcoin before the next BTC halving. Meanwhile, today, October 10, BTC trades at $27,568, indicating a slight gain in 24 hours with a volume of $12,189,678,605.

[masterofd1saster]

CJ current events 27oct22

Susan Sarandon is famous for being a bleeding heart liberal, but she posted

https://twitter.com/SusanSarandon/status/1581991330812551169

a video of Oakland, California.  She’s not calling for lock them up; I suspect she genuinely wants to take care of the homeless and clean up the mess.  Frankly, Baghdad looked better and cleaner in 2007.

***

UCLA’s Nassar

A jury convicted UCLA campus gynecologist Dr. James Heaps of sexually assaulting patients.

Heaps was indicted on 21 sex-related counts involving seven patients. He has been convicted of five counts and acquitted of seven.

He was found guilty of three counts of sexual battery by fraud and two counts of sexual penetration of an unconscious person. He was taken into custody over the objection of his defense attorney, who wanted him to remain free on bail. Judge Michael Carter declared a mistrial on the nine counts on which jurors were deadlocked.

The split verdict means that the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office could bring Heaps back to court on the nine counts that the jury could not make a decision on.

More than 500 women have accused Heaps of sexually assaulting them during his tenure at UCLA, spanning from 1983 to 2018. At one point, he was the highest paid doctor in the entire University of California system.

A report released by the UC system earlier in 2022 found that UCLA repeatedly failed to properly investigate abuse allegations, allowing him to remain in practice even during an internal investigation.***

In February, the school agreed to pay $243 million to settle 200 lawsuits brought against UCLA by women.***

In May, that total was raised to more than $700 million, with an additional 112 women being paid out as a result to accusations and lawsuits against Heaps.

Sentencing is set for Nov. 17, and a prosecutor said Heaps is facing 28 years in state prison. Prosecutors say that if the sentence is satisfactory, it's unlikely they'll bring Heaps back for another trial.*** https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/ex-ucla-gynecologist-james-heaps-indicted-on-21-sex-related-counts/

***

Watch suspect fatally shot

CENTENNIAL – The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office is releasing the body worn camera video of three deputies involved in an officer-involved shooting that occurred at the Ivy Crossing apartment complex at 7545 E. Harvard Ave. The shooting happened on March 3, 2022, at approximately 7:40 a.m. The Sheriff’s Office is releasing the body worn camera recordings pursuant to Colorado Revised Statutes § 24-31-902(2)(a). The video footage has been redacted in part to protect the privacy interest of the suspect.***

around 15:00 https://youtu.be/QW3GH24OLPM

DA is investigating.

***

Wheels of justice....

The man accused of killing 10 people at a Boulder King Soopers last year remains incompetent to proceed in a criminal trial, but a judge said he will likely be restored in the near future.

Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, 23, remains hospitalized at the state’s mental health hospital in Pueblo.

Prosecutors, defenders and Boulder’s chief judge have received more than 2,200 pages of records and details about the hospital’s work to restore him to competency. When that happens, Alissa can assist in his own defense and understand the more than 100 criminal charges he faces in connection to the shooting.

Alissa was admitted to the Colorado Mental Health Institute in Pueblo last December after being assessed by four different doctors. Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty said the defendant has shown improvement in his hospitalization, at times, but it hasn’t been maintained.

“According to the doctors, there is a reasonable likelihood he will be restored to competency in the near future,” Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougerty said. “People want to see justice in this case. That will happen, that day will come.”

Roughly 10 family members of victims sat silently in the seats behind District Attorney Michael Dougherty, who told the judge they were frustrated with the state hospital.*** https://www.cpr.org/2022/10/21/victims-of-boulder-kings-soopers-shooting-say-theyre-frustrated-after-alleged-shooter-ruled-incompetent/

***

Left to spend more time with his jail family

The campaign manager for former Democratic Florida Rep. Charlie Crist's bid to unseat incumbent Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appears to have been arrested in Maryland this week, before the campaign said he would leave to handle a "family matter."

Austin Durrer, who has worked for Crist since 2016, was arrested Tuesday in Cambridge, Maryland, on second-degree assault charges in a case classified as "domestic violence," according to Dorchester County court records obtained by Fox News Digital. Durrer was released on $10,000 bond after his arrest, and the court ordered him to surrender firearms and vacate his home.

Durrer's trial is slated for Dec. 7. Based on the charges in the case, he faces up to 10 years' imprisonment.*** https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fl-gov-candidate-charlie-crists-top-staffer-left-campaign-citing-family-matter-he-was-actually-arrested

***

Exceeding the limit on little old right wing nuts

IONIA — “I didn’t shoot her on purpose. She was a right wing nut. I’m sorry I shot her.”

These were among the comments made by Richard Harvey, 74, of Lake Odessa while speaking to a 911 operator just moments after allegedly shooting Joan Jacobsen, 83, of Lake Odessa in the shoulder after an alleged dispute over Michigan’s Proposal 3 ballot proposal.

Joan Jacobsen, 83, of Lake Odessa testifies on Wednesday in Ionia County District Court about being shot on Sept. 20 while she was going door-to-door to talk to absentee voters about Michigan’s Proposal 3 ballot proposal. — DN Photo | Elisabeth Waldon

Harvey appeared for a preliminary examination on Wednesday in Ionia County District Court alongside his defense attorney, Ionia County Chief Public Defender Walter Downes.

After nearly two hours of testimony, Judge Raymond Voet bound Harvey over for trial in Ionia County Circuit Court on all four charges — assault with a dangerous weapon (felonious assault with a rifle), a possible four-year felony; weapons firearms careless discharge causing injury, a possible two-year high court misdemeanor; and weapons firearms reckless use, a possible 90-day misdemeanor.

Voet noted that he took into consideration Jacobsen’s age and stature (she is 4-foot 11-inches tall and weighs about 119 pounds) as factors when determining whether to bind over the matter for trial.

“It’s clear to me that Mr. Harvey did fire a warning shot to send a message to Ms. Jacobsen, and then he also shot her,” Voet said. “Thankfully he didn’t kill or paralyze her considering how close it was to her spine. We’re lucky that no one was more seriously hurt.

“The court could ask why there isn’t a felony firearm charge as well, but that’s not my business.”*** https://www.thedailynews.cc/articles/i-didnt-shoot-her-on-purpose-she-was-a-right-wing-nut/

Only four years?

***

Why was he ever out of prison?

*** Raymond Moody, 62, pleaded guilty to murder, rape and kidnapping for the slaying of 17-year-old Brittanee Drexel.

Before the attack on the teen, he had already served two decades in prison for raping an 8-year-old girl in California.*** https://www.foxnews.com/us/sex-offender-raped-murdered-teen-says-monster-he-gets-life

Is there some shortage of child rapists?  Will the economy collapse if we don’t have enough child rapists walking the streets?  

until today, this Court has not held that capital child-rape laws are unconstitutional, see ante, at 428 (Coker “does not speak to the constitutionality of the death penalty for child rape, an issue not then before the Court”).  Consequently, upholding the constitutionality of such a law would not “extend” or “expand” the death penalty; rather, it would confirm the status of presumptive constitutionality that such laws have enjoyed up to this point.***

With respect to the question of moral depravity, is it really true that every person who is convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death is more morally depraved than every child rapist? Consider the following two cases. In the first, a defendant robs a convenience store and watches as his accomplice shoots the store owner. The defendant acts recklessly, but was not the triggerman and did not intend the killing. See, e. g., Tison v. Arizona, 481 U. S. 137 (1987).  In the second case, a previously convicted child rapist kidnaps, repeatedly rapes, and tortures multiple child victims. Is it clear that the first defendant is more morally depraved than the second?  J. Alito, dissenting in Kennedy v. Louisiana, 554 U. S. 407 (2008) at 465, 466.

***

Holy smokes!

A Washington state woman escaped after her estranged husband allegedly kidnapped her from her home in Lacey, stabbed her and buried her alive in the woods earlier this week, according to court documents.

Police responded to the Rossberg Street home of Young An, 42, on Sunday afternoon after a dispatcher answered a call and overheard "muffled screaming and sounds of a struggle," the Lacey Police Department said in a statement. "There was just constant screaming, and it was unknown if it was medical or not," according to court documents. The dispatcher also overheard banging and a barking dog — but then it got quiet.

An later told police she dialed 911 from her Apple watch after her hands were bound behind her back with duct tape, according to a probable cause statement obtained by Fox News Digital. She said her estranged husband, Chae An, eventually smashed her watch with a hammer and dragged her out of the home.*** https://www.foxnews.com/us/washington-woman-escapes-buried-alive-husband-police

***

America’s crime problem

DALLAS — A suspect was shot and arrested by Methodist Hospital police after he fatally shot two hospital employees Saturday morning, hospital officials have confirmed.

Police say the suspect, 30-year-old Nestor Hernandez, has been charged with capital murder. Hernandez is currently on parole for aggravated robbery and was wearing an active ankle monitor.

"The Methodist Health System Family is heartbroken at the loss of two of our beloved team members," Methodist Health System Executive leadership said in a statement. "Our entire organization is grieving this unimaginable tragedy. During this devastating time, we want to ensure our patients and employees that Methodist Dallas Medical Center is safe, and there is no ongoing threat. Our prayers are with our lost co-workers and their families, as well as our entire Methodist family. We appreciate the community’s support during this difficult time."

At about 11:15 a.m., Dallas officers responded to Methodist Hospital in the 1400 block of N. Beckley Avenue after reports of a shooting, according to preliminary reports.*** https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/crime/suspect-in-custody-after-two-shot-at-dallas-hospital/287-cdd33e2a-bbd8-4f00-adcd-9f0c4e383cfc

***

Good advice. https://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2022/10/23

***

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Days after Wawa announced two Center City locations are permanently closing for safety concerns, CBS3 has learned nine Wawa's in Northeast Philly and Bucks County are shutting down overnight following a pair of armed robberies.

On Thursday night, that suspect remains on the run.

The robberies happened in Bucks County but a store in Somerton is on the list. The Wawa is open to customers until about midnight, but the store will then close and it won't reopen until 5 a.m.

"Safety comes first before your coffee," Kim Dorman said.  *** https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/wawa-close-stores-armed-robberies-philadelphia-bucks-county/

***

https://abc7chicago.com/video/embed/?pid=12363238 

***David Martin, 32, is a lifelong New Yorker who has taken the subway since middle school and was taking it to work on Friday when he was attacked at a Brooklyn station for no reason, by someone he barely saw.

"In the blink of an eye, I was pushed with full force into the train tracks," said Martin.

Police say the attack was unprovoked. While Martin says he may not have made contact with the train or the third rail, he is still badly hurt.

"People were told that I had no injuries, but I am laying in bed with a broken collarbone and my face is so swollen. And mentally I don't know how to even get through this," he said.*** https://abc7chicago.com/man-pushed-on-subway-tracks-nyc-caught-video-crime-surveillance-camera/12365588/

***Tues

Merely an accusation

LOUISIANA, Mo. — The police chief in a small Missouri town has been charged with felony drug crimes after his girlfriend’s brother was found dead from an apparent overdose in the official’s home.

William Jones, 50, was charged Wednesday with second-degree drug trafficking, possession of a controlled substance and tampering with evidence. He was jailed on $150,000 cash-only bond.

Jones is the police chief in Louisiana, Missouri, a town of 3,200 residents along the Mississippi River, about 90 miles north of St. Louis.

Jones’ girlfriend, Alexis Thone, 25, also was charged with second-degree drug trafficking and possession of a controlled substance. She was jailed on $100,000 cash-only bond.

Pike County Sheriff Stephen Korte said an off-duty Louisiana police officer called authorities just before 10 p.m. Tuesday to report a death at the home occupied by Jones and Thone. Responders found Gabriel Thone, 24, dead.*** https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/missouri-police-chief-charged-drug-trafficking-overdose-death-home-rcna53206

Ed Buck says “only one overdose?  How posh.” ***

subway thug caught

A Brooklyn career criminal has been busted in Friday’s caught-on-video subway shoving — and the suspect’s kin say they were even so fed up with him that they posted signs outlawing him from their home.

Lamale McRae — who previously did 20 years behind bars for attempted murder — was identified as a suspect in last week’s attack with the help of the surveillance footage and facial-recognition technology, police sources said.

The 41-year-old suspect was arrested by the Queens Warrants Squad on Monday near his Brooklyn home, sources said.

Relatives told The Post that they were already far too weary of McRae’s antics and finally posted a sign on the stairwell in their Brooklyn building urging anyone who spotted him to call the cops.

“If you see a brown skin guy sleepin [sic] in the hallway please call the police he is trespassing,” the sign reads.*** https://nypost.com/2022/10/24/career-criminal-busted-in-random-brooklyn-subway-shove/

>24 arrests.

***

Was America a civilized, western democracy before March 1, 2005?

Ethan Crumbley, the Michigan 16-year-old accused of gunning down four Oxford High School students and injuring seven others in a November 2021 shooting, has entered a guilty plea Monday to all the charges facing him.

Crumbley, appearing at the Oakland County Courthouse in Pontiac, faces a total of 24 charges, including murder and terrorism charges.  

Judge Kwamé Rowe accepted the plea and said a sentencing hearing will take place after the next in-person hearing, scheduled for Feb. 9, 2023.***

Crumbley's parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, also face four counts of involuntary manslaughter each.

Prosecutors argue that the couple should be held responsible for the shooting because they had bought Ethan a gun on Black Friday, Nov. 26, 2021. In a motion filed earlier this year, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald referenced a social media post from Jennifer Crumbley in which she said that the parents had purchased the pistol as a Christmas gift for their son.

"He didn't just snap," McDonald wrote in a Sept. 9 motion to admit evidence, "he followed a pathway paved for him by prior shooters, and enabled by these defendants."*** https://www.foxnews.com/us/oxford-school-shooting-ethan-crumbley-pleads-guilty-charges

***

Surprised? Suspect charged with murdering 2 healthcare workers at Dallas hospital has a long criminal history

***According to the 2015 indictment, Hernandez and a female suspect attacked a woman who was returning home from work. The victim had her hands taped together and tape put over her eyes, while Hernandez took her phone, car, and $3,000 in cash from a school fundraiser. The victim sustained a broken nose and a fractured eye.

Hernandez pleaded guilty in May 2015 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison. 

He was released on Oct. 20, 2021 on parole with a special condition of electronic monitoring, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Hernandez was granted permission to be at the hospital to be with his significant other during and after delivery, according to TDCJ.

FOX 4 dug into Hernandez's criminal history and found violations for robbery, possession, theft, burglary, assault of a public servant and more in Dallas County alone.***  https://www.fox4news.com/news/suspect-charged-with-murdering-2-nurses-at-dallas-hospital-has-a-long-criminal-history

***

“I can tell you this: political violence should not be tolerated by anyone. Our side or their side, we don’t tolerate political violence. In this country, we decide who governs not by street mobs, we decide who governs at the ballot box,” Sen Marco Rubio https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/article267779722.html

A campaign canvasser for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) was attacked and seriously injured late Sunday night by an assailant who told him Republicans weren’t welcome in his neighborhood, Rubio and local police said Monday.

Javier Lopez, 25, of Hialeah, was arrested at the scene by responding cops who found the unidentified victim with cuts and bruises.

Hialeah police said the victim was distributing campaign materials in the Miami-area city when Lopez approached him and said “he was not allowed to walk on the sidewalk and pass out fliers in his neighborhood.”

The canvasser walked across the street to avoid Lopez, but Lopez followed him, officials added.

“Mr. Lopez then struck the victim multiple times in the face causing the injuries,” a police spokesperson said.*** https://nypost.com/2022/10/24/rubio-canvasser-brutally-beaten-by-man-who-told-him-gopers-not-allowed/

***

Sort of like mentioning Voldemort

Earlier this month, San Francisco Mayor London Breed was asked in an interview about her pledge to crack down on the crime, drugs and lawlessness that have plagued her city for the last several years. In her response to the question, Breed asked in exasperation, “Why do people who deal drugs have more rights than people who try to get up and go to work every day and take their children to school?”

The line received some applause. Asked to elaborate, the mayor said this:

Let’s talk about the reality of this situation. There are, unfortunately, a lot of people who come from a particular country—come from Honduras—and a lot of the people who are dealing drugs happen to be of that ethnicity. And when a lot of the arrests have been made, for people breaking the law, you have the Public Defender’s office and staff from the Public Defender’s office, who are basically accusing and using the law to say, ‘You’re racially—you’re racial profiling. You’re racial profiling.’ Right? And it’s nothing ‘racial profile’ about this. We all know it. It’s the reality. It’s what you see. It’s what’s out there.

Breed’s comments did not go unnoticed. Soon after, the San Francisco Latinx Democratic Club put out a statement condemning her “racist and xenophobic comments.” The club described her remarks as “appalling” and demanded an apology.

That apology was, unfortunately, forthcoming***

The mayor shouldn’t have said anything of the sort. She said nothing offensive or inaccurate in her original comments. In fact, it’s her critics who are being dishonest about what’s happening in the open-air drug market of San Francisco’s Tenderloin District and who are doing a disservice to the poor, immigrant communities on whose behalf they claim to speak. And by conflating professional drug dealers with regular immigrant families, it is they who are being xenophobic and racist.***

The professional drug dealers who work in the Tenderloin and the adjacent SoMa neighborhood are all Honduran nationals. This is because Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, which does not practice Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in its hiring practices, recruits the dealers from Honduras and smuggles them into the United States. So, if you arrest any number of these dealers, they’re all going to be Latino. This is not “racial profiling.” This is just a fact. ***

They’re known to carry guns and machetes, and to threaten users who owe them money. Jacqui Berlinn told me that her son, Corey, an addict in the Tenderloin, was attacked by a drug dealer with a machete and hospitalized from his injuries. Another mother, Gina McDonald, told me that her daughter, a recovering addict, was threatened by her dealer with a knife over $100.  These dealers are not victims of society. They’re victimizers. ***  https://www.commonsense.news/p/san-franciscos-mayor-apologizes-for

***

Jury issue

Harvey Weinstein’s defense told the jury that there is absolutely no evidence against their client and that every woman who will testify in his trial is an actress who will be playing a role on the stand — all to fit the narrative of #MeToo, which they characterized as an “asteroid” of a movement that “burst forth like a supernova” with Weinstein as the poster child.

Weinstein’s attorney Mark Werksman told jurors that they should prepare to hear a “firehose of false and unprovable allegations” from women who agreed to have consensual sexual interactions with Weinstein, but years later, are now embarrassed and lying about what really happened.

“Look at my client,” Werksman said, pointing to Weinstein. “He’s not Brad Pitt or George Clooney. Do you think these beautiful women had sex with him because he’s hot? No, it’s because he’s powerful.”

Weinstein’s attorney told the jury that Hollywood has changed today, but back in the day, “transactional sex” was par for the course. “Sex was a commodity” for “rich and powerful men, like my client,” Weinstein’s attorney said, even getting its own nickname: the casting couch.

“Transactional sex … it may have been unpleasant … and now embarrassing,” Werksman said. “[But] everyone did it. He did it. They did it.”*** https://variety.com/2022/film/news/weinstein-lawyers-metoo-jennifer-siebel-newsom-bimbo-1235413157/

*** wed

You know you’re a sociopath when....

Jefferson County’s district attorney on Monday filed charges against two pit bull owners after their dogs killed an 89-year-old woman and seriously injured a 12-year-old boy last month.

Kayla Mooney, 33, faces four counts of unlawful ownership of a dangerous dog, while Victor Bentley, 29, was charged with two counts of the same offense, the district attorney’s office said Monday in a news release.

Mary Gehring, 89, and her grandson were allegedly attacked by the two dogs Sept. 14 in the 15000 block of West 1st Avenue in Golden. Gehring was taken to the hospital, where she later died, while her grandson was flown to Children’s Hospital.

Both dogs were euthanized after the incident.***https://www.denverpost.com/2022/10/24/golden-pit-bull-attack-charges/

***

Don’t be stupid

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — A jury must decide whether or not a man obstructed police officers when he pulled out his phone and livestreamed the deadly shooting at a King Soopers in Boulder last March.

Dean Schiller's trial for police obstruction charges started Tuesday. During court, the jury heard testimony from three officers who responded to the scene.***

Prosecutors said Schiller was distracting police officers when he had his phone out and was recording the scene. In court, prosecutors played the livestream video taken by Schiller and in it, you can hear police officers repeatedly telling him to back away or leave the scene.

Schiller would often times yell back. In some cases he would move back but did not leave the scene.

The defense argued that Schiller was listening to police officers and backing away from them when they ordered him to. They said he was not preventing officers from doing their job and said even though Schiller's actions may have been abrasive they did not rise to a criminal level.*** https://www.denver7.com/news/boulder-king-soopers-shooting/jury-trial-begins-for-man-who-livestreamed-king-soopers-shooting

*** 

Would you ever have heard of her if she were not a WNBA star?

A Russian court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner of her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession, a step that could move her closer to a possible high-stakes prisoner swap between Moscow and Washington.

The eight-time all-star center with the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.

Griner, 32, was not at the Moscow Regional Court hearing but appeared via video link from a penal colony outside the capital where she is held.***

Reflecting growing pressure on the Biden administration to do more to bring Griner home, Blinken took the unusual step of revealing publicly in July that Washington had made a "substantial proposal" to get Griner home, along with Paul Whelan, an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage.

Blinken didn't elaborate, but The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Washington has offered to exchange Griner and Whelan for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. and once earned the nickname the "merchant of death."*** https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brittney-griner-wnba-appeal-russian-court-against-9-year-sentence/

***

good deal

----  News ----

Fresh Start - Help with Outstanding Warrants

People with active warrants for non-violent, non-VRA, low-level misdemeanors, traffic charges, and some probation felonies in Jefferson or Gilpin counties have an opportunity to resolve their case or get a new court date without being arrested. The first-ever Fresh Start event in Colorado’s First Judicial District was held in August 2021.  It was held again in April of 2022.   The event will be held again on November 5th,  2022  at the Jefferson County Combined Court in Golden CO.  Click The link below for more information:

Fresh Start Event

_________________________________________________

Kevin Klinkerfues - 1st Judicial District Probation Manager      720-772-2300 or email at 01Probation@judicial.state.co.us

Eric Peratt - 1st Judicial District Probation Manager 720-772-2300 or email at  01Probation@judicial.state.co.us    

***

100?

A woman in southeast Washington, D.C., was hospitalized Wednesday after being wounded in a shooting in which up to nearly 90 shots were fired, according to authorities.

Reports that the woman is pregnant have yet to be confirmed, Washington Police Cmdr. John Branch said in an afternoon briefing with reporters. The shooting came from multiple vehicles, which are still at large, at around 3 p.m., he said.***

Police recovered approximately 90 shell casings from the scene, according to Branch, who also noted that the woman who was hospitalized was a property manager where the shooting took place.

So far, no witnesses have been identified.*** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/courts/shooting-southeast-dc-leaves-woman-hospitalized

***Thurs

Rising Crime Rates Are a Policy Choice

By William P. Barr

Oct. 26, 2022 12:18 pm ET

The violent crime surge was preventable. It was caused by progressive politicians reverting to the same reckless revolving-door policies that during the 1960s and ’70s produced the greatest tsunami of violent crime in American history. We reversed that earlier crime wave with the tough anticrime measures adopted during the Reagan-Bush era. We can stop this one as well.

Studies have repeatedly shown that most predatory crime is committed by a small, hard-core group of habitual offenders. They are a tiny fraction of the population—I estimate roughly 1%—but are responsible for between half and two-thirds of predatory violent crime. Each of these offenders can be expected to commit scores, even hundreds, of crimes a year, frequently while on bail, probation or parole. The only time they aren’t committing crimes is when they’re in prison. For this group, the likelihood of reoffending usually doesn’t recede until they reach their late 30s.

The only way to reduce violent crime appreciably is to keep this cohort off the streets. We know with certainty that for each of these criminals held in prison, there are hundreds of people who aren’t being victimized.***

Progressives say we can’t afford to keep violent predators in prison. On the contrary, we can’t afford not to. A 1992 Justice Department report, “The Case for More Incarceration,” showed that the cost of keeping a chronic violent criminal in prison is small compared with the costs of letting him roam the streets.***

https://www.wsj.com/articles/safe-streets-are-a-policy-choice-incapacitation-incarceration-state-federal-prison-violent-crime-1990s-reagan-bush-barr-obama-sentencing-bail-11666785403

***

The one place you should be safe

The Diocese of Buffalo has settled a two-year-old lawsuit with New York Attorney General Letitia James over charges that it covered up sexual abuse cases involving priests.

The deal doesn’t include any financial penalties but institutes structural reforms and appoints the state to exercise some oversight of the diocese.

The 2020 lawsuit accused the Buffalo Diocese of covering up sexual abuse cases involving more than two dozen priests. The suit charged diocesan leaders of failing to report the accused priests to the Vatican and of misappropriating charitable donations to support their defense.

The agreement between the diocese and the attorney general’s office directs the diocese to appoint a child protection policy coordinator whose responsibilities include making sure the diocese’s child protection policies are abided by, an Oct. 25 press release from the Diocese of Buffalo said.

A former assistant district attorney, former criminal defense attorney, and former parish life coordinator at a local parish, Melissa Potzler, has been appointed to the role. *** https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252654/new-york-state-to-assume-some-oversight-of-buffalo-diocese-in-sex-abuse-settlement

***

Back so soon?

Senator Robert Menendez, D-N.J. faces a new federal investigation, according to two people familiar with the inquiry.

Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have contacted people connected to Menendez in recent weeks, the sources said. They have sent at least one subpoena in the case, according to a person connected to the inquiry.***

Menendez and a Florida eye doctor, Salomon Melgen, were indicted in 2015 for an alleged arrangement under which the doctor provided flights on a private jet and lavish vacations in exchange for the senator’s help with government contracts and other public favors. Menendez’s lawyers argued that the two men were simply good friends. The inquiry ended in a mistrial in 2017 after the jury failed to reach a verdict. (Melgen was convicted in 2017 of medicare fraud, and received clemency from President Donald Trump in 2021.)*** https://www.semafor.com/article/10/25/2022/senator-robert-menendez-under-investigation-again

*** 

Another reason why the 1st Amendment is important

Russian President Vladimir Putin was dubbed a "fighter of the Antichrist" by a top religious figure as rhetoric referring to the war in Ukraine as a "de-Satanization" operation escalates.

Russian pundits and media presenting the invasion of Ukraine as a holy war are not new, with Russian ideologues frequently portraying the conflict as a struggle between the religious and traditional Russia versus the decadent and secular West. Russian Orthodox Christians and Muslims in the country have united in their opposition to the progressive values of the West, which they view as symbolized in the post-Maidan government in Kyiv. But recently, rhetoric from these camps has escalated into describing the West as "satanic," starting with Putin's use of the term in his speech announcing the annexation of several eastern Ukrainian territories, which has since been widely adopted by his key allies and Russian state media. *** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign/putin-fighter-antichrist-desatanization

***

Son, I’m disappointed by your behavior

The mother of a suspect accused of thrashing a canvasser for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) over the weekend is refusing to bail him out, insisting he take responsibility for his actions.

Diana Rosa Lopez, a registered Republican whose son Javier Jesus Lopez, 25, was arrested Sunday for the canvasser beat down, condemned her son's actions and revealed that he has voiced remorse for the brutal beat down.*** https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/mom-rebuffs-rubio-claim-politics-motivated-attack-canvasser

***

Killed boy & the Dancing Grannies on camera

A jury found Darrell Brooks Jr. guilty on several criminal charges, convicting him of killing six people after driving an SUV into a crowd at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, last November.

The jury found Brooks guilty on all six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, facing a mandatory life sentence on each count. Brooks was found guilty on every criminal charge brought against him, totaling 76. Brooks is set to reappear in court on Monday to schedule sentencing.***

The jury reached a verdict in Brooks’s homicide trial Wednesday morning, coming to a decision in just over three hours. Brooks had pleaded not guilty to all counts against him.

Brooks attempted to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, but he withdrew the insanity plea last month. His attorneys then filed a motion to remove themselves from the case, prompting Brooks to ask to represent himself instead. Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Dorow granted the request last week, ruling that Brooks possessed "the minimal competency necessary to conduct his own defense."***

The verdict comes less than a year after Brooks crashed through a crowd at Waukesha’s Christmas parade on Nov. 21, 2021, killing an 8-year-old boy who was in attendance as well as several members of the “Dancing Grannies” group.  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/courts/jury-convicts-darrell-brooks-in-waukesha-christmas-parade-attack-trial

***

Harriers are old & busted, but

A former U.S. military pilot and flight instructor who ran an aviation consultancy in China is in custody in Australia awaiting an extradition request from his homeland on an undisclosed charge, officials said Wednesday.

Daniel Edmund Duggan, who says he is a former U.S. Marine Corps major, was refused bail when he appeared last Friday in Orange Local Court in the New South Wales state rural town of Orange northwest of Sydney, court records show.

Australian Federal Police arrested him that day “pursuant to a request from the United States,” a police statement said.*** https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/veterans/2022/10/26/former-us-marine-pilot-who-worked-in-china-arrested-in-australia/

Former members of friendly nation militaries are also way too helpful to CCP.

18 U.S.C. §794. Gathering or delivering defense information to aid foreign government (a) Whoever, with intent or reason to believe that it is to be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of a foreign nation [gives them], either directly or indirectly, any ... information relating to the national defense, shall be punished by death or by imprisonment for any term of years or for life, except that the sentence of death shall not be imposed unless....

Statute does not use the word classified, just nat'l defense info.

***

[thegrandimago]

Colombia’s rainforest looked very different 66 million years ago. At present, the humid and biodiverse ecosystem is jam-packed with plants and is covered in a thick, light-blocking canopy of leaves and branches. Notably, there are no dinosaurs. But prior to the dinosaurs going away with the Chicxulub impact, signaling the end of the Cretaceous Period, things looked very different. The area’s plant coverage was relatively sparse, and a bevvy of conifers called it home.

Using the fossilized remains of plants, a team of researchers studied the past of the rainforest and how the asteroid gave rise to the rainforests of today. The study, published in Science on April 1, was led by scientists at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama and supported by scientists at the Negaunee Institute for Plant Conservation Science and Action at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

“Forests disappeared because of the ecological catastrophe... and then, the returning vegetation was mostly dominated by flowering plants,” said Mónica Carvalho, first author and joint postdoctoral fellow at STRI and at the Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, in an interview with Ars.

A change of scenery

The research began 20 years ago, with parts of the team collecting and analyzing 6,000 leaf and 50,000 pollen fossils from Colombia. Looking at these fossils allowed the team to get a sense of the types of plants present both before and after the asteroid struck the planet. This sequence represents the region's biodiversity between 72 million and 58 million years ago, covering both before and after the impact. “It took us a long time to gather enough data that we could have a clear picture of what was going on during the extinction,” Carvalho told Ars.

While the study deals with Colombian fossils, Carvalho said the researchers can get a fair idea of what happened in rainforests elsewhere in Central and South America, though the effects of the asteroid's impact are somewhat variable from region to region. “It's a little bit variable. We still don't know why some places were affected more than others,” she said.

After the asteroid hit the Earth, nearly half of the plant species in Colombia perished—the pollen fossils for those species stopped appearing past that point. The rainforest began to be taken over by ferns and flowering plants that, while present pre-impact, were less common than they are today. The coniferous trees, by comparison, effectively died out.

Beyond the presence of conifers, the rainforests of the past were likely much sparser than their modern counterparts. Current rainforests have thick canopies, and the plants within them are spaced closely together, meaning more plants are transpiring water into the atmosphere. This leads to higher levels of humidity and cloud coverage. According to Carvalho, the relative lack of humidity in earlier forests means that the regions were likely much less productive than they are today.

But the lower-productivity forest remained in place until the asteroid hit. “It was only after the impact that we see the forests change their structure,” she said.

Explaining the changeover

The researchers have some hypotheses about how this change occurred. The first is that the demise of the dinosaurs caused the forests to grow more dense—there could have been fewer animals consuming the plants or stomping through the brush, allowing foliage to grow relatively unchecked. The second idea is that, shortly after the asteroid collided with the planet, there was a selective extinction of conifers in the tropics—they could have simply fared less well than their flowering peers post-impact.

The third is that the aftermath of the catastrophe could have fertilized the soil. Tsunami events that occurred after the impact could have carried debris and sediment from carbon-rich, shallow marine areas nearby. Burning wildfires could have sent ash into the atmosphere, and when it finally settled on the ground, it could have acted as a kind of fertilizer. Flowering plants tend to grow better than conifers in high-nutrient soils, Carvalho said. She also noted that all of these hypotheses, or any two of them, could simultaneously be true.

“This is something we continue to explore as we search for more fossil sites and when we keep on studying the tropics,” she said.

After the massive dinosaur-killing catastrophe, the rainforests also began seeing an increase in legume plants (which includes everything from trees to peas), both in terms of raw amount and biodiversity. Legumes are particularly good at fixing nitrogen into soil, thanks to symbiotic bacteria that associate with their roots. This added nitrogen could have given the plants an edge as the rainforests began to grow again and, in turn, could have made the soil more fertile, benefitting other types of plants and making the region richer for animals.

Carvalho said that this research can also provide a glimpse into the future of anthropogenic climate change. Around 10 million years after the Cretaceous ended, the world entered the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a period in which the atmosphere was inundated with carbon dioxide and the world saw a warming of 5°C.

Comparatively, the extent of greenhouse gas production and warming the world is seeing now leaves conditions like those of the PETM still a ways off. However, the PETM lasted around 100,000 years, and humans have made headway on this path in the past 200 years, which is incredibly short in geological terms, Carvalho said.

“The changes we are seeing today in relation to climate and deforestation are so rapid that we haven't really seen them in any other scenario in the history of the planet,” she said. “Extinction is something that occurs really fast.”

[scotianostra]

February 7th 1603 saw the Battle of Glen Fruin the battle that led to a ban on MacGregors.

This Clan battle was fought primarily between Clan Gregor and Clan Colquhoun, the latter being associated with the area around Luss. A nearby cairn in a field was long thought to mark the burial place of the Colquhouns who had died in the battle, but it turned out instead to be of Bronze Age date.

Like all good, or bad fights there are two versions to the story, there are also two dates, nothing unusual in my posts! The other date is the 8th, so we aren't out by much, I've plumped for the 7th.

Fought near Loch Lomond the Battle left at least 140 men dead and led to an unparalleled campaign of punishment against the MacGregors with the name banned in Scotland for a total of 150 years. The battle was supposedly fought on a large flat piece of ground near Auchingaich with the members of the poorer Clan Gregor pitched against their wealthy and influential Colquhoun neighbours. The two clans had history. Clan Gregor, which was stripped of much of its land by Robert the Bruce , frequently raided their neighbour’s property. Tradition dictates that the battle was sparked after two MacGregor men were refused shelter on Colquhoun land and resorted to sleeping in an outhouse and slaughtering a sheep. Walter Scott wrote about it in the introduction to his novel Rob Roy.

  After being discovered by the Laird of Luss, they were sentenced to death with their kinsmen mobilising in furious response. However, some believe this version of events has been fancified over the years with no evidence that the executions occurred. Scott hasn't helped in his book which says  "two of the Macgregors being benighted, asked shelter in a house belonging to a dependent of the Colquhouns, and were refused. They then retired to an outhouse, took a wedder from the fold, killed it, and supped off the carcase, for which they offered payment to the owner. The Laird of Luss, however, unwilling to be propitiated by the offer made to his tenant, seized the offenders, and by the summary process which feudal barons had at their command, caused them to be condemned and executed. The Macgregors verify this account of the feud by appealing to the proverb current among them execrating the hour (mult dhu an earbail ghil), that the black wedder with the white tail was ever lambed".A wedder is an old Heilan term for a castrated sheep.

Others have argued that the Battle of Glen Fruin began with just another MacGregor raid. Similar plundering expeditions were launched in the weeks before with two Colquhoun men allegedly killed at Glenfinlas a couple of months before. The difference was that on this day 1603, the Colquhouns were ready to protect themselves with permission granted by James VI to pursue their foes. The Colquhoun ranks were swelled by men from Dumbarton and Cardross, with the clan marching into the glen with as many as 500 men on foot and 300 on horseback.

Clan Gregor had around 350 men ready to fight  and showed no mercy for their foes. The MacGregors launched a downhill surprise attack on the Colquhouns, which drove them back in the direction they had come, namely the Auchengeich Glen. Unfortunately for the Colquhouns the second part of the MacGregor force was lying in wait for them there. Just as there are doubts over the numbers in the two opposing forces, so there are also doubts as to how many were killed. A fairly commonly accepted figure is that 140 of the Colquhouns and their allies were killed, although some accounts have put the number as high as 200. Eighty horses, 600 hundred cows and 800 hundred sheep were taken in the aftermath of the battle with houses and corn-yards burned. Following the bloodshed, James VI, in a bid to dismantle the clan, forced MacGregors - and Gregors - to drop their name or risk punishment by death, I posted about this a few days ago.

  A royal warrant was signed by James VI on February 24, 1603, accusing the MacGregors of attacking members of Clan Colquhoun at Glen Fruin “without pitie or compassion” or regard for young or old.  Their deeds were “barbarous and horrible” with this “wicked and unhappy” race to be “exterminat and ruttit out”.

  Less than two months later, around April 3rd, James VI ruled the name MacGregor should be “altogether abolished” and that all people of the clan should renounce their name and take another, under the pain of death. Aliases, including Grant, Stewart and Ramsay were used. Rob Roy MacGregor himself is known to have taken his mother's surname, Campbell when this happened.

  Around a year later, Alastair of Glenstrae and 11 leading clan figures were hung at the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh, with the leader hoisted above his men before being drawn and quartered The MacGregor name was restored in 1661 by Charles II but disallowed once more in 1693 by William of Orange.

It was not till 1784 that the MacGregors were allowed to resume their own name, and were restored to all the rights and privileges

  The memorial stone in the photo stands in Glen Fruin to mark the Colquhouns that died.You can read much more on this here http://glendiscovery.com/glenfruin-geography.html

[ledenvs3000f21]

Volcanic Lightning: Pretty Amazing

The most amazing thing I know about nature has to be volcanic lightning. Volcanic Lightning is a super rare phenomenon that occurs after a volcanic eruption. Oddly enough, the volcanic lightning is not produced from the atmosphere like regular lightning storms, rather the eruption itself produces an electrical discharge which leads to lightning. After a volcanic eruption, a giant, cloud-like structure called the volcanic plume rises into the atmosphere. This volcanic plume contains volcanic ash and a rougher material known as tephra. Within this plume, the ash and tephra are rapidly colliding and exploding, and have the ability to generate static electricity, which can result in lightning (Lipuma, 2016). This particular mechanism is called frictional charging and is the most common way that volcanic lightning happens. It is worth mentioning that just because collisions and explosions are occurring in the volcanic plume and creating electricity, it does not mean that volcanic lightning has to occur.

Personally, volcanic lightning is so amazing to me because of two factors, rarity and beauty. Volcano eruptions in general are pretty rare, with the general estimate that anywhere from 60 to 80 occur every year. Just being able to witness a volcano erupt is quite the feat. Volcanic lightning as a result of an eruption is even more rare, with approximately 200 reported sightings in the last 200 years. The earliest ever recording of this lightning was by an ancient Roman, Pliny The Younger, as he described the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D (Oregon State University, 2018). This eruption was better known for being one of the deadliest volcanoes in history, and the eruption which buried the city of Pompeii. Part of me feels jealousy towards the people who got to personally experience the lightning, but part of me also knows how scary it would be to be near an active volcano. It is human nature to want to experience the unexperienced, it seems as though everybody wants to be the first to see something unique, or the first to travel to a certain place. Look no further than the people who complete wicked treks up Mount Everest, just to be a select member of the prestigious summit club. Oftentimes, the rarity of an event or feat is what makes it so enticing to see or complete. In the case of volcanic lightning this rings true, seeing volcanic lightning firsthand, knowing that not many other people can say they have seen it surely makes it more surreal. However, rarity is only one aspect. Once you get over the initial thought of how rare it is, you are faced with a beautiful, crazy nature phenomenon. Lightning exploding out of volcanic clouds, sign me up!

Check out this volcanic lightning picture. Talk about breathtaking!

My current understanding of volcanic lightning stems from pictures, videos, and reading stories about it. Maybe one day I’ll randomly stumble onto a volcanic lightning storm. For now, I am more than alright checking out images of it on my phone. Hopefully reading this post you learned something new. If you happened upon a volcanic lightning storm, how would you react?

Cheers,

Lucas

Lipuma, L. (2016, April 12). New studies uncover mysterious processes that generate volcanic lightning (plus video). Geo Space. https://blogs.agu.org/geospace/2016/04/12/new-studies-uncover-mysterious-processes-generate-volcanic-lightning/

Oregon State University. (2018). History of Volcanic Lightning. https://volcano.oregonstate.edu/history-volcanic-lightning

[undiscovered-horror-icon]

SlipKnot Histrory

[This was from a french blogging website, post original publish in 2009. I think it’s instresting; All credit goes to the original poster. Posted linked at the bottom of this post.] 

[Post copy and pasted below]

Note: This is a long hauled description of events; it shows how fate has brought Slipknot together and how this makes Slipknot more than an everyday band; the music is their life not just a ploy for fame. Slipknot are hard core expression and emotion that WILL rock the music industry! They are a band with an undying passion! Slipknot formed in the year of 1995 as a result of the work of Paul, Shawn and Anders Colsefni (ex-vocalist). (They had originally played with the idea of making a band as early as 1993 and even began writing songs; however the project fell through when Shawn became busy with his welding occupation.) These three along with guitarists Donnie Steele (ex- Body Pit guitarist) and Quan Nong began practising under the name of Meld. However, at some point Quan Nong left, this time is uncertain, but is expected to be following the first six practices due to his following of a more Alternative/Punk style. Following his departure the band started anew, with a project named, "The Pale Ones". During this period Shawn (a.k.a Clown) was the lead drummer. Paul was determined to get Joey involved with his new project, despite failing to receive his interest in earlier projects such as Body Pit. Paul met up with Joey at Sinclair's where Joey worked nights, there he tempted Joey to watch rehearsals within Anders' basement. Joey reluctantly agreed and despite missing two rehearsals due to work priorities, eventually made it down to the basement to view a practice session. This basement, was "largely, open spaced", not only was the area so small and cramped but for soundproofing the members used carpet samples and scraps from a nearby pet grooming centre, these made the whole basement smell of Cat piss. The first song that Joey heard them play was a song known as "Slipknot", followed by "Gently" and "Fur". Joey soon realised that he had to be in this band and soon began to play the drums; pushing Shawn onto percussion. A band had formed. Within the cramped basement new songs were being turned out by the minute, including titles such as "Killers Are Quiet", "Bitchslap", "Do Nothing", "Confessions", "Some Feel", "Part of Me" and "Tattered and Torn". Paul, Shawn and Joey also began to meet up at Sinclair's to discuss ideas and plans for the future. Here they planned everything, here they decided the rules that define the current Slipknot. 1. "We do not answer to anyone" 2. "We do not worry about trends" 3. "We play what we want" 4. "We would not allow people to have any sort of influence on the band" Shawn and Joey also decided that the band would require three drummers to provide a hardcore audio assault. Shawn wanted a drummer to the left and right with one at the back controlling it all, creating a wall of power, a fist layer... . Joey plays the main set and as a result is the main drummer who holds the band together. Shawn is the "Total Power Drummer" and is all aggression. The third element of percussion was often performed by Anders. Within Sinclair's Shawn and Joey also realised that the band would need another guitarist. Josh formerly of Modifidious and Inveigh Catharsis was called and he soon added himself to the band. Now there were six. Soon the band decided on a new title for themselves, they toyed with the name of "Pyg System" however agreed on the more simple name of "Slipknot", the title of their first song. The people of Des Moines knew that a new band was forming and they knew who was in it. However no one had heard or seen them. Soon a small performance was given, the band suited in Kiss styled makeup, fitting the music perfectly with the green glowing lights. This spawned the idea of the masks. This idea evolved and following discussions and Shawn turning up to a practice wearing his legendary Clown mask, the sextet decided almost unanimously, with the exception of Donnie, that masks should be worn. Joey came fully equipped with his moulded and expressionless Kabuki Mask and despite difficulty within practices the idea took off, the whole anti-image appearance which fitted so well with their rule of ignoring trends had a great appeal. Soon Shawn contacted Mike Lawyer, due to an interest in recording some studio work. Mike got an engineer/producer of his named Sean Mcmahon to meet up with them during a practice session. Sean, not only stunned by the wolf skin attire of lead singer Anders, was also blown away by the sheer sound of Slipknot. The band soon started work on their first project, dubbed, MFKR. "Mate Feed Kill Repeat". The band grabbed every available moment to practice, perform and record within the SR Audio Studios, customising the room with posters, lights and many other objects. Many happenings occurred around this studio, including the drawing of corpses on the road outside and a performance in the nude by Joey. Sean Mcmahon: "I was contacted by former members of a band called Body Pit to check out their new band at their rehearsal space. I did. I was Floored! That band was Slipknot." Within February of 1996 a great change occurred within Donnie Steele; he found God. He realised that he could not be within such a band as Slipknot with the beliefs he held and as a result withdrew himself from the group, the others respecting his descision. At this crucial point in time a new member was called up; a former member of Joey's band Modifidious, his name was Craig. He had been recommended by Jordison. During his arrival the MFKR album was already in its mixing stages. The mixing of MFKR was anything but smooth. Each song being remixed many times. Strain was added by different view that each member held and things often got intense. Not only was their problems with the mixing but the band was also unhappy with the mastering that was done on the CD, hence they insisted that Sean should do it. Slipknot's first major show in which they would unveil themselves to the people of Des Moines became booked for the 4th April 1996 at the locally known meeting place pronounced, "The Safari". On the day's arrival the room was packed with 200 people. The band arrived in Joey's car and each member sported their individual garments. Paul with a wore wrapped around his head, weaving in and out of his piercings, Josh showing off an executioners hood while Craig had placed pantyhose on his head. Joey and Shawn each used the masks they had always worn, the Clown and Kabuki. Before the band began to play Joey began to incessantly shout, "I need a little Christmas in my drink" repeatedly with each new phrase increasing in volume, energy and power. The band then slammed into their debut song, "Slipknot". By Slipknot's second performance at the club Paul had found a new "Pig" mask. Within this show the band played with another band named, "Stone Sour", Corey Taylor was the lead singer. The band played a total of seven shows at the club in one month alone. The band carried on playing their shows which were much more "insane" than we see these days (taming of the media,etc...), rather than the same uniform jumpsuits and regular masks the band played in different things, for example Shawn rented out a large purple "Barney" suit and others wore Nun dresses and even ballroom dresses or a Little Bo Peep outfit. The shows were really dark, underground and scary however they still carried an element of humour. The shows would start with strobe lights flashing and a sample from Craig, usually of a mad laugh and "ice cream" man chimes, Shawn would drop a power saw to create a series of sparks to fly over the crowd. Joey still felt that the band was incomplete. He wanted more; a different sound and a greater variety. Craig was promptly shifted onto samples, leaving an empty vacancy. Hence Mick arrived. MFKR was eventually finished on Halloween, 1996. The party had began and 400 people turnt up. The album was sent out to many people and a person named Sophia at a local station managed to hear it and liked it. This lead to the arrangement of Slipknot's appearance in the local battle of the band's contest. The on air tournament that spanned across several weeks soon began with the individual heats. Slipknot faced Corey's band; Stone Sour - they won. Slipknot also defeated "Maelstrom" and "Black Caesar" who came second. Slipknot conquered all. This was one of the band's highlights that fuelled them to their current stardom. The money from the win helped fund the heavily in debt band's new projects and demos. By this time several record companies had investigated the band, one of these being Roadrunner who felt that they should not pick up Slipknot due to their thought that the vocalist required more melody. This rejection continued and no where could they be signed. Sophia became their first manager due to her contacts and love for this new band. Things then seemed to get worse; Shawn bought the Safari which took time away from the band despite being a good investment. The band could no longer play in Anders' basement and things were falling apart. There were often tensions between Joey and Shawn and "Slipknot" had no where to play. However they still managed to make it onto the bill for the local "Dotfest" in June. There they played to the largest crowd in their history, a crowd of 12 000, containing many industry people. Not only was the sound dodgy and kept going out but the crowd began to throw chicken bones on stage. At the show Slipknot came out throwing Tampons into the crowd and had several "gimps". This was the first and last time for the "gimps". The gimps were Frank with a gas mask, Lanny with tribal markings in liquid latex, Greg covered with liquid latex and a ball gag in his mouth and Greg's friend Slick Rick in a latex hood. Slipknot had the original idea of having a professional stunt man, Rick, come out dressed as Shawn and then Shawn would come out and set him on fire. They had all the things to do it (for a long time it set in the cooler at Safari) but the city would not issue the permits to perform it so the event had to be abandoned. The set ended with them being cut off and an almost riot breaking out as Andy cut open his arms and tossed CDs over the fence to the fans. Joey quit. But he reconsidered and came back. Some good things did come out of this though, their performance left a mark, they made new fans and most importantly they discovered Sid Wilson (even though they did not speak to him). Slipknot looked for the success they were not getting and decided to enlist Corey Taylor of rival band Stone Sour, to join the line up. Joey, Shawn and Mick confronted him with the an ultimatum at his work place, "The Adult Emporium". They said, "Join the band or we will kick your ass!" Slipknot provided an opportunity not present in Stone Sour; the band could go places. The music over image policy also appealed. Corey began practising with the band and the first lyrics he wrote were to be used in the song, "Me Inside". This was a very experimental move and everyone was wondering how it would turn out. This change resulted in Anders being pushed back to percussion and back up vocals. Soon this new breed of the Knot performed a show; it turned out it was a charity event for a local hospital. The Safari was packed to the brim. Corey came out wearing a large amount of makeup that gave a dark appearance, this was added to by two latex crosses marked over his eyes. Despite this excitement the show was riddled with technical problems and was the show that resulted in Joey's nickname, "Superball". Their next show was on 17th September, again at the Safari. This show was a great improvement however nearly a year on from the MFKR release an announcement was to be made. Just before Slipknot were about to storm into their final song, "Scissors", Anders made an announcement, "This will be my last show" he stated. This stunned both band members and the audience. Following this sudden change the band returned to the studio to re-record the songs on their untitled second CD - minus Anders' vocals. Of these songs included, "Gently", "Do Nothing", "Slipknot", "Tattered and Torn", "Me Inside", "Carve", "Coleslaw", "Scissors", "Windows" and "May 17th" a song written by Shawn. To cope with Ander's departure a new member was brought in, he was named Greg a.k.a Cuddles (a tattooist @ axiom piercing). Cuddles was extremely insane and very much like Slipknot's DJ, Sid. He would smash up the sets and even throw his drum kit into the crowd. Cuddles joined the band despite warnings from family and friends and he is also responsible for the tribal "S" tattoo on Anders' leg. Cuddles had previously drummed for the "Havenots" a band which Joey and Paul had been in. Cuddles is the naked guy in the MFKR inlet. Cuddles played his lst show in the Summer of 1998, he was the only member of Slipknot to be sacked, this was due to his lazy attitude towards the band. He moved to South Dakota and started up the tattoo parlour, "The Ultimate Prick", this has since been shut down. Following Cuddles' departure there was one show in Malibu which took place wile auditions were occurring, hence there was a replacement and that was Brandon, he played one show and wore the "liar" mask. One night Joey and Shawn checked out a clan named "The Sound Proof Coalition" at the Safari containing the DJs, A-Rock, Loodachris, Phase II, Rek, Sub Two, Iniversoul and Starscream. Starscream, a.k.a Sid Wilson introduced himself to them and told them they rocked at Dotfest, Shawn said they needed a DJ, Sid said he was the man. Following pestering by Sid he was allowed to view a practice and following a session of head butting it was decided he was fit to be part of the group. Auditions were being carried out for a Cuddles replacement, these auditions brought about a person named Chris Fehn, he had seen the band played and had previously asked to become a roadie. He was soon added to the group, despite being put through a vigourous ordeal. This included his initiation test commonly known as the secret track on the self titled album. Soon after this event Slipknot came up with the barcode, number and coverall ideas. A new song was also written; it was called, "Spit it Out". Slipknot now had offers flying in from mainly internet reports. However the band really wanted Ross Robinson to work on the project and he was contacted through Sophia. Robinson checked out the demo tape and flew into Des Moines to view a practice session and a live show. After watching the practice (which very few are aloud to see) he knew the band would go far. Ross not only felt the vide of the music but the vide of the passion; a passion he himself had felt. This was the beginning of a wonderful creation. He then saw Slipknot perform live at the Safari on 2nd February 1998. Word soon got back to Slipknot that he was willing to record the album, label or not. Ross later signed them onto his own label, "I am recordings". Ross then got in touch with Roadrunner and the band publicly signed to Roadrunner Records outside of the Axion Studio (tattoo parlour) in Des Moines. Following a call on the 23rd September, Slipknot drove out to LA to begin the recording of their album. The band practised solid for a week and soon began the recording that left the band sore. They then travelled upto the legendary Indigo Ranch to carry on the recording. To add a necessary expression to this music, Ross got Corey to explain his lyrics to all the other members, so they could "feel it". This took the music to a higher level; it made it raw expression and emotion, it added an element not seen before. Despite the many changes that had occurred within the Knot, another was to occur. This time it was Josh's time for departure, he left due to "family life" and would not have been able to cope with the extensive touring that lay ahead. The band knew instantly who they wanted to replace him, the Atomic Opera star, Jim Root. Jim originally said no to the offer due to his desire to stay true to the band he was currently working in. However after a bad show he called Shawn and essentially joined the band.

Original Post: slipknotmetalmusik. skyrock. com /2381521055-slipknot. html 

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The Bromacker Fossil Project Part X: Tambaroter carrolli, an amphibian with a wedge- shaped head

Thomas Martens at the construction site for a new store in Tambach-Dietharz where he found fossils by checking loose pieces of rock on the excavation floor. Photo by Stephanie Martens, 2008.

Paleontologist Thomas Martens has an amazing ability to find fossils. After he discovered the first vertebrate fossils at the Bromacker site in an abandoned commercial quarry in 1974, he and his father Max found additional fossils in the bottom of a deep pit they’d dug with hand tools, an excavation that Dave Berman, Stuart Sumida, and I fondly dubbed the “elevator shaft.” Years later, Thomas used funding from the German federal government to drill rock cores in the field surrounding the Bromacker quarry to help understand the geology of the fossil deposit. Amazingly, at one of the spots Thomas had selected, the drill core penetrated a skeleton of Diadectes absitus. So, it wasn’t surprising that in 2008 Thomas found a skull and partial skeleton of D. absitus and a small skull of a fossil animal new to science at a construction site for a new store in the nearby village of Tambach-Dietharz.

Dave Berman (left) and Stuart Sumida (right) pose with a shopping cart in front of the Netto Discount Store, which was built in the excavation site where Tambaroter was found. Rocks of the Tambach Formation can be seen behind the retaining wall. Photo by the author, 2008.

It makes sense, however, that vertebrate fossils were found close to the Bromacker quarry. Fossils from the Bromacker were preserved in the Tambach Formation, a 200–400-foot-thick unit of sediments that were deposited in the small intermontane Tambach Basin about 290—283 million years ago during the Early Permian Epoch. The Tambach Basin covered an area of about 155 square miles and was internally drained; that is, there were no rivers or streams flowing into and out of the basin. During periods of extremely heavy rain, water and mud would flow down the basin sides in what are called sheet floods and pool in the basin center, which is where the present day Bromacker quarry and Tambach-Dietharz are thought to be located. Any animals killed during these events would be carried by the sheet floods to the basin center where they’d have been quickly and deeply buried in mud settling out of the ponded water and later become fossilized. It is assumed that animals captured by the sheet flood events inhabited the Tambach Basin, because carcasses couldn’t have been carried into the basin by rivers and streams.

Map of Germany with inset showing the Bromacker locality and the nearby town of Tambach-Dietharz. Although the Tambach Basin in which the Tambach Formation was deposited covers about 155 square miles, outcrops of the Tambach Formation today occur in an area of only about 31 square miles.

While preparing Bromacker fossils, I’d typically read literature related to the fossil I was working on, write notes on what I thought were important features in the fossil, and give my notes to the person leading the project. When Dave was the lead, we’d typically have lots of discussion about certain features preserved in the animal, conversations that often directed the course of preparation. This time, in addition to preparing the new find, I was designated as the lead author for the publication that would name and describe it.

View of the underside of the skull of Tambaroter carrolli before preparation. The shiny area surrounding the skull is glue, which I applied to a crack to stabilize the specimen before preparation could begin. I had to free the skull from the surrounding rock before exposing as much of it as possible through preparation. Photo by the author, 2008.

Tambaroter is a member of the Microsauria, a diverse group of small amphibians that were once thought to be reptiles, a hypothesis that some paleontologists are currently revisiting. Microsaurs inhabited a variety of habitats and exhibited a range of body forms. Some were highly terrestrial with limb proportions similar to those of lizards, whereas others were aquatic and had elongated bodies and reduced girdles and limbs. Still others were adapted for burrowing or rooting through leaf litter. Tambaroter belongs to this latter-most group, which is named Recumbirostra for their recurved snout, in which the front of the mouth is overhung by the snout.

Photographs and line drawings of the skull of Tambaroter carrolli in (clockwise from upper left) dorsal (top), ventral (underside), and left lateral (side) views. Photographs by the author, 2008 and drawings by the author and modified from Henrici et al., 2011.

Tambaroter is member of the recumbirostran subgroup Ostodolepidae. I coined the name Tambaroter, which is derived from “Tamb,” for the Tambach Formation, and the Greek “aroter,” meaning plowman, in reference to the snout shape. Two previously named ostodolepids, Micraroter and Nannaroter, have the “aroter, suffix in their name, so usage of the “aroter” suffix was a continuation of this. The species name, carrolli, honors microsaur expert Robert Carroll (then Curator Emeritus at the Redpath Museum, McGill University, Montreal, Canada).

Skulls of representative ostodolepid microsaurs from geologically oldest (left) to youngest (right). A reconstruction drawing of the skull of Tambaroter was used instead of a photograph for comparison because the original fossil skull is extremely flattened (see previous image). Photographs, except for that of Nannaroter, by the author, 2009. The photograph of Nannaroter was modified from Anderson et al., 2009. Tambaroter skull reconstruction by the author and modified from Henrici et al., 2011. Scale bar of the tiny Nannaroter and other ostodolepids equals 1 cm.

When Tambaroter was published on in 2011, it was the first ostodolepid to be found outside of the USA (the others are from Oklahoma and Texas) and is the oldest one known. Other, possible ostodolepids have since been described from the American Midwest and Germany. All ostodolepids have a wedge-shaped skull and recumbent snout, which is accentuated in Pelodosotis. Based on these features, scientists think that ostodolepids burrowed or searched for worms and other prey in leaf litter. Remarkably, the skull of the tiny Nannaroter is so strongly built that it could have withstood burrowing headfirst into the ground by using its shovel-like snout to loosen dirt and its broad, flat head to push soil against the burrow ceiling. Because the sutures between individual skull bones in the Tambaroter type specimen are not tightly fused together, we think it belonged to a juvenile, so we don’t know if the adult skull would’ve been as strongly built as that of Nannaroter.

Life drawing of the ostodolepid microsaur Pelodosotis elongatum, which is known by a nearly complete specimen. Tambaroter probably had a similar body shape, though its skull would not have been as strongly wedge-shaped. Drawing modified by Carnegie Museum of Natural History Scientific Illustrator Andrew McAfee from outline drawing in Carroll and Gaskill (1978).

Stay tuned for my next post, which will feature one of the Bromacker’s top carnivores. To learn more about Tambaroter, read the publication that described the animal here. 

Amy Henrici is Collection Manager in the Section of Vertebrate Paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Museum employees are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.