Gromnir

likely not for the same reasons as Gromnir, but am in agreement. 'tween normalization o' relations with china, passage o' epa/clean air and water legislation, the first real Presidential advocacy o' universal health care as well as the being the guy who got the fed involved in finding treatments and cures for cancer, not to mention numerous other nixon achievements, is fair to say we got mixed feelings 'bout nixon. is impossible to overlook vietnam dishonesty as well as watergate, and his Presidential campaigns were embracing vile racist elements, but he also increased the bia budget by more than 200% and did more to support tribal sovereignty legislation than any other President... maybe john quincy adams were an exception, but adams were a one-term President in large part 'cause his position on indian relations were so unpopular. nixon did not deserve to be President and his party rightful kicked him to the curb, but nixon were an effective chief executive with a whole lotta positive accomplishments studding his resumé. am not conflicted 'bout nixon, but more than just a little positive were the result o' the nixon admin. our mixed feelings is heavily weighted negative, but that don't mean we need ignore the accomplishments. trump don't have nixon's positive qualities. HA! Good Fun!

am suspecting trump tries to draw out the appeal process as long as is possible, so am predicting he is gonna request en banc review by the dc appellate circuit before trying to get SCOTUS cert. deadline to request appeal is this coming monday. ... there is no unique and novel legal issues for the Court to resolve( edit: for those unaware, this is hardly the first time a President has attempted to claim immunity to avoid dealing with actual or potential litigation/prosecution. not ancient history neither as both nixon and clinton tried the immunity angle and were excoriated by the Court for their temerity. the only thing new 'bout the trump situation is he went further than clinton or nixon in his demand for unqualified blanket immunity,) so if SCOTUS decides to hear trump's presidential immunity argument, then we would be a smidge concerned. am also honest not sure what is the timeline for en banc appellate review with dc-- can be quick or slow depending on any number o variables and am certain trump is hoping for slow. additional edit: the request for en banc review and SCOTUS cert happens simultaneous and not sequential, but as a matter o' practicality, SCOTUS can grant an indefinite stay and while we do not expect such a result given the implications for election uncertainty, am admitting to having having been wrong 'bout this Court more than once. a spring trial remains possible. HA! Good Fun!

how positively volesque. ... would be perverse to pretend to know your specific concerns based on such a generalization. regardless, a bit more context would help unless the point were to shout into the void and then wait for echoes. HA! Good Fun!

and am having some regret that our 80s self weren't appreciating stewart copeland in a manner befitting his contribution to the police. at the time we thought mr. copeland good drummer. fool. HA! Good Fun!

not that it makes one movie better than another, but roald dahl's book were more creepy than the burton movie. in his movie adaptation, burton added a bit o' character development insofar as family interactions which were not in the book, but many o' the creepier scenes left outta the 1971 film were included by burton. maybe not too well known nowadays, but something like a half-dozen dahl stories were used by alfred hitchc0ck for his tv series and dahl rare pulled any punches when writing for a younger audience--creepy and dark even by 2024 standards. dahl's book were also a bit less cultural sensitive than either movie depiction. fair or not, burton's film were predictable measured by the 1971 film standard but am suspecting the director were more interested in adapting the dahl book than remaking the 1971 movie. master of the obvious observation: roald dahl's book were not a musical. the 1971 movie included numerous tunes which is pop culture mainstays even after 50 years. HA! Good Fun!

am s'posing you have never taken a graduate course. spend more than twelve hours on a chapter from gravity's rainbow is hardly out o' the norm... and is not just 'cause pynchon's work is so much more complex. is hardly outliers neither. one case study on the development o' saturn auto. one film by orson welles. one scene from a shakespeare tragedy. is not a matter o' quality neither. phantom menace got a large cast o' divisive characters, and lucas can't help self but do significant and trivial homage to past films, so is hardly a shortage o' material for film geeks to obsess 'bout. HA! Good Fun!

having done just that, stacking azata attribute and mind effecting boosts as well as all the enchantment/illusion gear in the game w/o resorting to expanded arsenal quirks, am less ambivalent than @majesticabout viability. am assuming azata kineticists remain kinda op. is more than a couple skald/bard builds we used for every hard and unfair boss battle, but regardless, an enchanter/illusionist is more than viable on any difficulty even without the expanded arsenal schtick. aside: is not to0 much undead in the game, but we nevertheless take the undead in addition to the functional requisite fey bloodline. sepentine might make more sense, but undead is typical our choice. (edit: you do not need play as a sorcerer caster to make an op azata enchanter work, but am highly recommending at least one level o' crossblood sorc if you choose to go wizard or whatnot.) furthermore, am gonna suggest that folks reflexive using unfair as a yardstick for mythic powha is misleading. @majestic is no doubt keen aware that the most difficult unfair content is early game and before you acquire mythic path specific powhaz, particularly ambush encounters pre mythic. insofar as late game, any mythic path has at least a few op builds. angle and lich (and only merged spell book angel and lich is arguable broken op) is not making the most challenging early content any easier, and by late game the angel and lich relative advantages decrease substantially. late game aeon and demon has a few builds we would place on par with merged spellbook angel or lich. the main advantage o' lich and angel for unfair runs is they do not require you to follow an uncompromising build path or discover every bit o' build-specific loot needed to achieve requisite ab or dcs. angel and lich has spells and abilities which ignore sr or obviate the chore o' generating improbable dcs. play angel and you don't need to consider adding a court poet companion to buff your caster, or adding the madness domain to sosiel. merged spellbook angel and lich make the game far more simple, and there is a mid portion o' the game where they is undeniably op. even so, every mythic provides possibility o' op builds capable o' roll-stomping unfair late game, and no mythic makes early game easier. as an aside, and for any who hasn't played the game in awhile, am suspecting a few folks is gonna be surprised by a recentish playful darkness change--like ulbrig, playful darkness is now equipped with a swarmbane clasp. HA! Good Fun! ps we did go with a merged spell book angel build for the inevitable excess dlc but less 'cause it were so powerful (although it certainly was a powerful choice) but 'cause encounters were simplified by having a functional immortal character able to one-button wipe the screen o' opponents w/o any o' the rock-paper-scissor considerations which is ordinary the cornerstone o' overcoming difficult d&d/pathfinder opponents.

giving our self a much needed rest from family after making jibarito for a troop. is a fair amount o' effort for a sandwich, so is a once-or-twice a year event, but is worth it. admitted we didn't think the meal through as we got young relatives visiting and they always hang out in our kitchen while am cooking. ordinary we avoid anything requiring a deep fry when kids is underfoot. that said, nobody suffered 3rd degree burns today, so am calling it a win. last night we had chicken vesuvio. (edit: we use yukon gold potatoes even though russets is traditional. yukon gold is a better braising potato. also, we hate when the peas in this dish is over cooked, so we add 'em near end of oven time.) the chicago inspired menu theme were coincidental. ... maybe we make brownies for our young cousins. am not much into baking, but is easy and the kids can help. also, as the brownie were invented in chicago... HA! Good Fun!

maybe just a little bit different as peacekeepers remain members o' their original national military or police force even if the UN has operational control. *shrug* the following is not directed @Elerond is always good to wait for info, but the fact the UN ain't denying allegations and they has public condemned the actions o' more than a handful o' staffers should give a few obsidian board champions o' the oppressed pause. and again, we are contemplating the possibility that multiple UN personal were somehow embroiled in a terrorist attack... is a fair bit different than one-off acts o' unforgivable moral turpitude. the defense is that so far less than two dozen un staffers has been fired? serious? if more than a dozen un personnel were having organized sex slave rings servicing un peacekeepers, then maybe we are getting a bit closer to analogous and is pretty terrible regardless. so ask self if the current kerfuffle were genuine analogous but it involved the malfeasance o' uk diplomats, cia agents, catholic priests or some other group you is justifiable suspicious 'bout. would you be defending all the innocent cia agents who the cia did not immediate fire when the story went public? would you be defending the larger organization who fired the folks caught doing something wrong? is ok to admit the situation looks terrible. is ok to admit that given the lack o' un defense o' those staffers accused it is likely those folks did more than make mistakes or blunders. is ok to admit that oct 7 was pretty f'ing terrible and that if multiple unrwa employees were somehow involved... you folks do realize that if you admit the situation looks absolute fubar for the UN, it doesn't mean you need sudden support israel, right? when a similar situation arises and is handful o' bad israelis, US intelligence agents or new england patriots fans, are you gonna rush to defend? is a not zero chance some will recall and remind. HA! Good Fun!

HA! Good Fun!

https://www.facebook.com/NASAJPL/videos/thanksingenuity-nasas-mars-helicopter-team-says-goodbye/258448413947046/ HA! Good Fun!

am not a fan o' this guy's showmanship, and for some reason his voice is like nails on the chalkboard for us, but in spite o' those negatives, he does an excellent job o' presenting legit Italian dishes in a manner which is not difficult to replicate. HA! Good Fun!

excellent animation with a unique style. the narrative might not work for everybody and we got plenty o' complaints, but is worth seeing just 'cause o' the animation efforts. however, and perhaps unfortunate, am recollecting mfkz also bombed. c'est la vie. HA! Good Fun! ps after @Agiel recommended, we saw dofus and the animation were indeed manifique. perhaps oddball videogame origins explains some tonal quirks, and the fact the title were planned as a series might explain why the raison d'etre for major character motivations and plot events were sadly left as macguffin. maybe. even so, the film looked and sounded great. too bad it bombed.

gonna post here 'cause is less football... but not politics either. whatever. if mods move the post, am not gonna complain. HA! Good Fun!

am realizing some hyperbole is being indulged in your response. after all, and is indeed ironic, most maga folks believe trump is their last best hope for a champion who will fight for them against tyranny, and the laundry list o' hobgoblins trump convinced them they is needing to fear-- illegal immigrants, globalists, mail-in voting, windmills, etc. sure, they believe trump needs to be strong to take on the deep state and the corrupt system, so they is ok with trump breaking norms, but maga unironic sees itself and trump as the last gasp hope for american democracy. is kinda a shame that many o' the trump voters disappeared from this board following the election and insurrection, 'cause am certain they would pushback on your simple (and slight tongue-in-cheek) dichotomy. that said, imagine same absolute immunity statement by trump in 2015, during his first campaign, and even during the first couple years o' his Presidency. of course maga folks woulda' made excuses for trump's embrace o' dictatorship, or they woulda' suggested he were joking, but the reaction from maga folks to the above tweet would not have been same even in 2018... and libs also woulda' been vocal outraged by such a statement in 2018. today? a collective sigh from the left and a hearty cheer from the faithful. Gromnir couldn't figure out why so many libs shrugged off the trump muslim ban promise in 2015, and has been a whole lotta shrug moments since then. it took hundreds o' thousands o' unnecessary US covid deaths, and trump's arguable criminal mishandling o' the pandemic to convince democrats and left-leaning independents to vote for an uninspiring biden -harris ticket in 2020. does @Bartimaeusfeel confident that the above tweet, and so many others similar signs that trump is looking to shatter whatever illusions people got left that US republican democracy will prevent 45 from doing the previous unthinkable, and convince enough people to vote against him in 2024? how many will just shrug? am genuine baffled by how easy post ww2 US norms has been subverted since 2015. a c-list tv huckster selling fear and grievance to working class whites evoked shrugs and maybe even mild laughter from libs in 2015. how many collective shrugs led to this point, 'cause recall that while trump beat clinton, the 2016 election saw extreme low voter turnout and exit polls showed that many who voted for trump did so not 'cause they liked him but 'cause clinton were such a terrible alternative. the don't blame me, i voted for kodos joke were funny in 2015? the truth is most libs didn't bother to vote for kodos, so kang didn't need many votes to win. pretend it didn't really matter if clinton or trump were possible 'cause people shrugged at muslim ban, pu$$y grab, attacks on gold star families, etc. the old quote attributed to ben franklin feels more apt today than at anytime since the civil war. the thing is, americans were a smidge more engaged in 1787 and 1861... recognizing how only the opinions o' white and male americans mattered at the time. HA! Good Fun!

is it possible a post from the star trek mirror universe slipped over to this side? then again, this don't seem out of character for 2023 trump, many o' his maga adherents, and a few obsidian board posters. near as bad, many people will read and just shrug off the fact that the former US President, likely gop nominee for the Presidency and possible future President just suggested he should be able to do crimes while in office with no possible future repercussions. trump also has a curious notion 'bout cop legal responsibility. gerald ford took considerable heat for pardoning nixon. sucker. as an aside, the original post from trump were time stamped at 2:00 am. HA! Good Fun!

first time we played wotr, we kept camellia in our party through her entire story arc. our certainty we were watching a trainwreck occur in slow motion were not enough to overcome our completionism. our dogmatic playthrough o' rogue trader is an almost unique exception to the manner in which we typical play crpgs with joinable companions, but we just couldn't bring our self to suffer xenos or those who has already succumb to warp madness. purifying fire is our solution when confronting the enemies o' humanity and agents o' the archenemy. HA! Good Fun!

our jae was dual wield deadly... until the most recent patch. we were having her use overcharging plasma pistols which were great as long as party members stayed a square distant. gunslinger jae were almost as effective as our argenta sniper for dps. 'course now jae is as likely to self immolate as kill heretics and xenos. *sad face* am gonna have difficulty doing anything but sniper for argenta in future runs as she makes early game encounters a breeze, and early game is, as is typical for crpgs, the most challenging content. quit on our officer and started over with a dogmatic, fortress world, ministorum priest leaning hard into flame weapons. is kinda over-the-top fun, but am definite doing iconoclast next so am able to keep a few more party members alive past the early portions o' the game. HA! Good Fun!

am not having confirmed the source, but if true this is intriguing, however... on january 7, 2021 am betting few would guess another battleground nailbiter 'tween trump and biden were gonna be how one would describe the 2024 Presidential race, but here we are. a percentage point or two in georgia, pennsylvania, michigan, arizona, wisconsin and a couple other states is gonna decide the Presidency, so is gonna be a tendency to read too much into the poll du jour. is far too early to make grand predictions based on curious data points, and am having no idea what were the actual question asked in the des moines poll, but we were nevertheless surprised by the info. take for what little the linked tweet is worth. did we add enough qualifiers? HA! Good Fun!

so is an open-face gyro on pizza dough instead o' pita bread? sure. why not? ... chances are we would do chicago tavern style 'stead o' typical pizza dough, 'cause if am gonna have a gyro then why not just use a pita? am doubtful anybody is curious, but tavern style is easy to make at home 'cause the curing o' the dough is pretty much fool proof and you cook at 500 fahrenheit, so no need for a special oven. for the tavern crust, you is for all intents and purposes making failed bread, and is nothing more simple then failure. once you get a little practice at making the tavern-style dough (which admitted does involve at least an overnight step, but am finding that letting the dough over ferment/rest three days in the fridge is ideal,) you may use the resulting crust for pretty much any topping you can imagine... much like pizza, but far more simple. btw, tavern style is a guarantee win with guests who will think you did something complicated and special when in reality you chose a path o' least resistance. HA! Good Fun!

... we had same reaction to the patch as bruce campbell's character did to peter parker's diamond in spider-man 3.. what genuine shocked us were an owl cat person reacting to queries in the steam thread for the patch. is nice to see that imperial world characters, including companions, not getting the benefit o' common talent attribute improvements were addressed, but am thinking am gonna wait a bit before we go beyond chapter two. am gonna take two dogmatic and one iconoclast characters to near end o' chapter two and then wait for a couple more patches. HA! Good Fun!

will check it out... but isn't a french person reaching for a bottle of wine to solve a problem kinda cliché ? just sayin'. HA! Good Fun!

highly recommend the following: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC122061BDC373B4B not all in the playlist is win, but is fantastic production at work and the pop song covers which typical leave us flaccid is intriguing to us precise 'cause o' masterful contributions o' artists whose instruments and voices go largely unheard by Gromnir in his everyday music selections.... and 'cause is so many cameo contributions from giants o' music. HA! Good Fun!

yeah, that aligns with our earlier observation, though am most definite not a pro cook or chef. the reason why am disappointed when family or friends ask us to cook well-done is cause doing so makes cut/grade choice and skill o' the preparer largely irrelevant. those prime cut ribeyes is wasted on cousin bobby (much like from goodfellas, all our east coast male relatives has names which end in a hard "e" sound--paulie, bobby tommy, etc.) who asks for well done. coulda' given him a select grade chuck steak and grill it to death and it would taste same as our careful prepared ribeye. in fact, chuck on the grill might taste better well done than our pan sear and infrared broiler efforts. at least the grill might add a smokey flavour to the meat. HA! Good Fun!

actually, is multiple becauses. yeah, we mentioned the sauce in your pictured steak appeared to be ketchup, but perhaps a year latter when we shared an atk video, you brought up the ketchup on steak guy all by your lonesome. have personal shared the dirty harry clip regarding ketchup on hot dogs a couple times. the curious fascination o' scandanavains with ketchup has occurred multiple times on this board, usual with @Azdeustaking a few well earned shots regarding what foods is so not improved by ketchup and resulting in numerous tangential ketchup observations-- we did share our personal and labor-intensive ketchup recipe. collectively we can be a bit predictable at times. HA! Good Fun!