FlintlockJazz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSUIPp45DpI[/video]

This is what went through my head when I read the title of this thread... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As0v-tzU-PY

But there's so many of them to send back, plus I can't really be bothered. Maybe we could find some other Solution? You know, one that will solve the problem for Final? Ooo maybe we could get some free labour out of them too...

You do know that you'll explode eventually don't you? Don't worry, I resumed farting shortly after that post.

Yeah this was what I noticed too, that he actually mentioned how they realised many of the things like the descent into madness of the Watcher not being put across properly.

I have farted but once today. Progress!

Yep, and his mum got the telegram telling her of his death on Armistice Day while everyone was celebrating!

Implying that every the foundation of any civilization is meaningless, heritage meaning nothing and cohesion of a society is not based common virtues and values of it's people. National identity as we understand it hasn't really been a thing for much of human history. Implying that a rejection of nationalism is synonymous with a rejection of the basic building blocks of society is woefully ignorant at best, and outright manipulative at worst. Your claim, prove it. //EDIT: Wait, what am i quoting here? Did you edit your post? //EDIT2: nvm As you should prove your claim to be fair. Saying that nationalism is needed for social cohesion sounds a lot like saying religion is needed for morality. I could go into how while humans have a drive to join together on the small scale like you said it doesn't really work on the large scale, the history of it such as how England and France would go to war despite the fact that their leaders had more in common with each other than they did with their people (the nobility of England being Norman after all), and the definition of just what nationalism actually means but I am at work at the moment so don't have the time unfortunately so will hope someone else will and instead post this poem that I feel is apt to this situation both in our conversation and what is going on in the world: Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs, And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots, But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of gas-shells dropping softly behind. Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time, But someone still was yelling out and stumbling And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.— Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,— My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori.

The stigma is due to how it is caught and spread. There is the implication that if you caught HIV that you are a sexually active and 'loose' individual which may not be true but is how it is due to the method of transmission and the first groups of people it struck when it was spread to the west. There is always the fear of catching it from people with it too, a sense of 'Unclean!' that surrounds them, and people who are known to have it find it hard to get laid even with protection (something I'm sure is important to Charlie considering his reputation). People will always try to blackmail celebrities for money, if it's not over their medical condition then it's about their sexual orientation, money always brings out the worse in people.

Washington and his ilk wanted independence purely to continue taking the land from the natives. Oh, and were afraid that the British government was about to outlaw slavery (which it did). You have to take some responsibility when, during the twentieth century, you took the children of Native Americans from their parents in order to bring them up 'white' and destroy their culture (along with sterilising the mentally disabled against their will). Oh, I can list off the horrendous things we did too, but I'm not the one trying to white wash history here or pass the blame onto others for the actions of my culture. You need to accept that your culture is just as horrible and nasty as everyone elses in the world, that it was based on lies, and that at the end of the day Nationalism is Bull****.

Just seen this, he mostly talks Pillars but also talks about other things like other Obsidian games such as Alpha Protocol and the Aliens RPG, and he also mentions his tabletop characters. http://www.ragequit.gr/specials/item/josh-sawyer-obsidian-interview-ragequit

Yeah, I've been trying to work out where Ashfall is supposed to be. Be interested to see more up to date maps of the erldoms and a look at the power structure of the nobility.

Yeah, as Infinitron said he just means he ain't an engineer or weaponsmith, nor makes the actual gunpowder himself. He can still fire a gun without knowing how it works, just like how your average person can drive a car without having a clue on how they actually work.

Interesting, I kinda figured Raedric had no Erl over him, hence why he was able to get away with the stuff he was doing. If the Erl of the Grasp had laid claim to the area then it makes you wonder what he was doing while the game's events take place, you'd think he would have some interest in what was going on. Maybe his claim basically a second Erldom meant that he was stretching himself too much and didn't have as much control as he should?

Interesting, I knew Raedric didn't have an Erl he answered to, so there is currently seven erldoms with an extra two erldoms worth of thayns lying around unclaimed... *plots to take over those Thayns* I find it interesting that they use professional soldiers rather than the usual method of 'military service in return for land' they used for knights, that implies that they don't actually have knights at all then.

And now time for something completely different... Thinking of trying to put together what we know of the nobility in Defiance Bay and Aedyr Empire. We know that they are mostly the same, with Thayns and Erls existing in both in pretty much the same role. Aedyr is ruled by a Ferscönyng, hereditary king, while DB is ruled by an elected Duc. A gref is an Aedyran Governor. Any idea on the size of domain a Thayn typically rules? How many Thayns does an Erl typical have in his/her Erldom? Are there the equivalent to knights in the game or is that what Thayns are supposed to be? In which case are there landless Thayns as well? Unless this information is in the game (in which case I apologise for wasting time) I naturally don't expect definite answers, more what people estimate to be the case based on what we know and lots of fun theorycrafting. :D

Some in the USA tend to rally and shout at stuff - even stupid stuff. Its part of the freedom of speech/assembly/association thing. And just because people can do it doesn't mean they're not rejected as silly extremists and dismissed by the larger population. But understand just because we allow someone to act a fool in public doesn't mean we condone foolishness. It may seem a subtle distinction, but it is a distinction. Is this your precious Free Speech? What's the difference between this Free Speech and Muslim mobs shouting "death to America!"? i see no difference there...but the Muslim mobs are portrayed as "terrorists", yours portrayed as "hero of freedom" Whose portraying them as such. Here at least anyone doing that would be branded a BNP member (British Nationalist Party, basically Nazi racist bastards) and an islamophobe. All nationalities, ethnicities, and religions have their scum, they also have their good stuff too. Although it doesn't always work we also have the idea of democracy, while some would argue we still have a long way to go we also have women's rights (and in fact many of the concerns people have about things like the burka is whether it is a sign of oppression to women, it is a debate that is always ongoing), protection for ethnic minorities, etc. It's not perfect but nowhere is, we all have our good bits and bad, and we are all trying to find our way.

Isn't it exactly what you're doing right now too? If the west don't start it, i won't That's a weak excuse for labeling hundreds of millions of people. Really? How about hundereds of millions and millions others the west have portrayed as savages, barbarians, terrorists, and millions who killed and sold as slaves by western colonizations and war on terror? Don't believe the media portrayal, they love to put things in a way that stirs **** up. I live in the UK, most people I know don't think of muslims like that, on the contrary most of the debates I see are about how the media is lying to us or how it's all about the oil, or how the government is trying to drag us into yet another war.

I want to second this for what it's worth. You got to remember that the media is trying to 'sell' you an ideal, one that usually has very little to do with reality. While you (Qistina) was trying to be 'white' over here in the UK you got women putting on fake tan or using sunbeds to give themselves a 'healthy' tan (and skin cancer). As Gorth mentioned the fashion industry is driving anorexia and low body image. This happens anywhere, if it wasn't Western media it would just be someone elses. The key is finding the ideals you want, not what they want to sell you, and to not let them drive a wedge between people, it's the guys at the top you need to detach yourself from, not others from other cultures are in the same boat you are (a colleague had a saying that I feel is appropriate, "Oppression begins at home", those nations that are oppressing people start off oppressing their own people first), and we need to do the same thing, not let them twist our perceptions to suit their agenda.

No one is perfect. Put them on a pedestal and you are setting them up to disappoint you. Doesn't mean you can't share ideals or need to detach yourself from them, pick the ones you like, the ones you believe in, and don't let others tell who that so-and-so ethnicity or religion is evil or bad. The governments are complete ****, but the people in general not, they are just people and you would probably get along with and enjoy meeting them. Funnily enough people here view the Middle-East as romantic and exotic, or at least they used to, not sure now, governments and terror groups seem intent on ruining good perceptions of one another. Don't let the current badness make you reject things you like or detach yourself from other cultures, that's kinda what they want.

The only real downside of moving to an open plan office. Downside? Not at all! In fact, people like me are doing you a service for your health!! http://www.newsner.com/en/2015/11/research-your-farts-can-prevent-cancer-and-are-actually-good-for-people-around-you/ So I, and people like me, are doing you a duty (doody? *chuckles* )!

What am I doing today? Farting like a trooper at work. Seriously, I'm so full of wind today, and a lot of them have been pretty loud (along with a few silent but deadlies).

Correction: power corrupts and absolute power is a whole lotta fun!

Story mode? Colour me worried. Does sound very Biowarian, almost expect a 'press button to skip battles' option.

Yeah I noticed this, didn't really think much of it at the time, I automatically assumed it was because my mechanics character was picking it up without putting any thought into it. Now I think about it I'm not really sure if it is intentional or not, Oralaina mentions a patch note so I might look into it, as it could be either a feature or a bug...