Terran year 5201 - 12th of September.
First / Previous
Species: Grogs - Emperor Reith the Third.
I'm currently going to the Galactic Federation Center, we will arrive there in 1 day, and although the Grog Empire has already assembled its fleets, and I'm being escorted by one of them...
In the last few days, the Human factories have been working nonstop to assemble their ships, the majority of them weren't ready when I was last informed, they didn't let me see them sadly, but I was also occupied preparing our economy to the war, so it wasn't like I had the time to contemplate the human ships...
In 1 and a half Galactic Day, the Cleyk Empire will declare war upon us and Humanity, and the worst of all? 8 galactic days ago, our sensors have already detected a war fleet going in direction of Nyrda.
I'm really worried, the fleet is gigantic, the Grog empire doesn't have the time to get there to avoid the conflict, I can only hope that the statement made by the commander Harry, that their first carrier would be ready by tomorrow, and in his words, "we can handle it, don't worry"...
1.4 Galactic Day time skip - 1 Terran hour before the declaration of war.
I was quick to exit my shuttle as soon as it landed. I was anxious and worried, the last war was 70 Galactic Cycles ago... I was not even an egg, yet, here I was, about to be declared war upon....
Everyone glared at me when I entered as usual, I quickly went to the discussion position, where the Cleyk ambassador was already waiting me...
"Well, tomorrow we enter war, how do you feel about that, Reith the Third?" - He asked in a mocking tone
" To be honest, you are making a big mistake..." - I said while looking down...
"The Cleyk Federation does not commit mistakes, also, I summoned this meeting to make a voting of the other species on the war, if they are against it or in favor, or neutral, well then, members of the Galactic Community, you can vote!" - He said in a happy one.
I watched as the big majority voted to stay neutral, some voted against, some in favor, but out of the 1029 members, 938 voted to stay neutral, as if they knew that two titans were about to fight in a fierce battle.
It took a few dozen stricks for the result to be declared, and the Cleyk clearly didn't expect that many to stay neutral..
"Well then, Reith, your empire has chosen the war path, expect us to destroy any military ship of your kind to be destroyed, that's all I have to say, you are all dismissed! - He said with a happy tone...
I really wished they knew what they were about to fight with.....
_____________ UNCS Brazil is ready, war fleet detected, engaging interception maneuvering.... ____________
The War is declared, the 2th Cleyk Attack and Raid Fleet approaches the system of Nyrda (Plok for Terrans).
____________
Species: Cleyk - commander Yuok - commanding the 2th attack and raid fleet, aboard the CFCS Hutylid.
I was anxious for the start of the conflict, it would be a massacre, I didn't expect much resistance from these so called humans, they are greatly weakened.
"Sir! Our long range sensors have detected an Unknown vessel on our path, we will arrive in communication range in 15 galactic time units!" - My Sensor observation officer said.
"Prepare the weapons and arm the shields" - I responded.
I ordered him to arm the shields, something is wrong, no species would send one single ship to intercept a war fleet...
My suspicions were confirmed when we got in visual range, the Vessel that we detected was gigantic, 3 times the length of our carriers, I was impressed, and so was my crew, we were speechless...
"Sir! They are hailing us! Should we let them through?" - My communication officer said.
"Let them through, I want to see what these humans look like."
A few galactic time units later, our translation software finished the translation, and the screen lit up. A pinkish creature, with white and gray hair on the top of his braincase and face, using a suit of green color, with yellow and blue stripes, on the left side of his body, a name, which was translated to 'Fernando da Silva Magalhães', he was clearly tired, a lot wrinkles around his eyes and mouth,2 eyes, 2 appendages for manipulation, bipedal, very different from us, as it's common for species to have 4 eyes...
Then, it spoke in a coarse, low voice, I expected it though, as this individual was clearly old...
"My name is Fernando da Silva Magalhães, commander of the UNCS Brazil, Is this the fleet that's supposed to kill humanity? - he asked.
"Greetings, human, my name is Yuok, commander of this fleet, I offer you a deal, surrender immediately and I promise that your extinction will be quick and you will not suffer with pain." - I said with a serious voice.
Then, something that I wasn't expecting happened, the human started to tear up...
"This is so heart wrenching, kid, you are clearly so young, yet, your leader sent you and dozens of other individuals of your species on a conflict that could be avoided all together, and solved with diplomacy, may I ask you, do you have a family back home, waiting for you?" - He spoke, with more tears forming on his eyes...
"...yes..." - I answered hesitantly.
I then noticed that my had crew stopped what they were doing to listen to him...
"I'm giving you one last chance, kid, please, spare your life and the lives of your crew, I've seen what my species is capable of, I've killed many in the past as part of my job, and it hurts to know that I killed people that had a family, that had someone waiting for them back home, please, if you want to see your family again, go home, don't start a war that isn't needed..." - He asked, almost begging me, while whipping his tears from his face...
I was confused, it was the first time that I thought about it, however, I knew that my family would suffer great consequences if I refused to fight..
"I'm sorry sir, but retreat is not an option for my species." - I spoke
He sighted.
"I'm extremely sorry for what is going to happen now, may the best fleet win."
Then he cut contact
"Sir, we are detecting a big energy surge coming from the enemy! - one of my crew yelled."
When I looked back, I could see thousands of Magnetic cannons charging up and 26 fighters detaching from the vessel, then, the cannons fired.
"ENGAGE EVASIVE MANEUVERING NOW!" - I yelled.
Our ships broke formation, we managed to dodge the majority of the rounds, but some of our ships still got hit, luckily, our shields held up.
Our fighters were struggling to keep their fighters away from us to, I was starting to get worried
"Shields at 50% sir! we can't afford another hit-" my Shield Controller said, before she got interrupted by the computer.
"Multiple nuclear warheads inbound"
They are going nuclear already? damnit!
"Redirect engine power to shield and weapon systems, engage EMP Machines!" - I ordered.
However, it was too late, some of the warheads got destroyed, but the majority of them managed to hit, depleting the shields of the majority of the fleet.
"We lost the CFCS Huoloiyd sir! Our Ships's FTL Core has been damaged! Engines compromised! 2 of our destroyers Reactors detonated! Our anti Projectile defense is crippled!" - One of my crew said, panicking.
I was thinking, how could a single ship dish out so much firepower? But before I could order the remaining ships to rearrange, another alarm appeared...
"Multiple Anti-matter torpedoes inbound, heading for the battleships and the Bridge of the CFCS Hutylid, engage evasive maneuvering, anti projectile defense system offline."
"ENGAGE EVASIVE MANEUVERING, ORDER THE BATTLESHIPS TO FLANK WEST AND EAST, GET OUT OF THE WAY OF THOSE TORPEDOS, IF THEY HIT, WE WILL LOSE THEM!" - I yelled as I started to panic, that's when I failed to realize, that a torpedo was in the direction of our bridge...
When I realized, I just stood there, I knew it was too late to save our ship, I then did something that the Fleyk Federation hadn't done in Hundreds of Galactic Cycles...
"ABANDON SHIP, I REPEAT, ABANDON SHIP!" - I yelled again.
Me and my crew ran through the smoke and fire on the halls to the escape pods, suddenly, the entire ship jerked violently, as the anti matter torpedo collided with us, we fell but quickly resumed running after getting up, I could feel as the atmosphere started to vent out of the hull breach where the torpedo had hit, I failed to notice the glass shard on my arm and the serious bleeding..
When we got the pods, we ejected, knowing that we would probably be killed as well, but,,
We didn't get hit.
I watched as our fleet got destroyed, ship by ship, the enemy vessel, not even a visible dent or scratch on its hull...
I didn't take long for some of the other ships to get abandoned as well, hundreds of escape pods floating as the main ships got destroyed...
Sadly, many didn't make it to their pods before their ships exploded or got destroyed...
Then, the 23 remaining fighters started to collect our pods, I knew that we would get slaved, at least it was what I thought..
Then I faded due to the loss of blood....
When I woke up, I noticed I was in a white room, in a bed, connected to some machines, a weird black blob stuck in my arm, and a weird thing on one of my ears...
I tried to get out of bed, but then, I heard a voice, speaking in perfect Cleikdian...
"You might want to stay in bed, let the nanomachines repair your wound." - A female human in white clothing with a red '+' in his arm said from a chair in the same room, while reading something in a type of data pad, while another, heavily armed human sat besides her, with a type of kinetic weapon on his lap.
"Where am I? - I asked, looking at them
"You are aboard the UNCS Brazil, in the infirmary section, your crew is being treated for their wounds, all of you are now prisoners of war, you will be given a room with a bathroom, 3 meals a day according to the types of food you can consume, and a television with human programs and movies." - the armed human said.
I sighted in relief when he told me that humanity wouldn't turn us into slaves, I guess that they have laws of war, but I still had so many questions...
​
This was long, hope you guys like it

Hey Sportsfans — it's time for Week 9 of baseball Power Rankings: It may be Tuesday, but still thought about how much we dislike your favorite team 8 Days a Week. Also pool side blackjack is now my favorite part of Las Vegas. John Fisher, please ignore.
Every voter has their own style / system and the only voting instructions are these:

"To an extent determined individually, you must take into account how strong a team is right now and likely to be going forward. You must, to some degree, give weight to the events and games of the previous week."

TRANSPARENCY: This link will show you who voted each team where and has added neat statistics!
New Voter Chance: Are you a fan of the Dodgers? Why? We have a new voter oppening. Please see the info in threa ddetails that will be posted shortly and a link added here. when up.
If something is a little messed up, feel free to pester me let me know.
Total Votes: 28 of 29. So close.

#		Team	Δ	Comment	Record
1		Rays	0	Everyone's favorite myliobatiformes played another good week of baseball with the return of Tyler Glasnow. The Rays took an exciting series against the Dodgers after recharging during a weird mid-series rest day against the Blue Jays. Wander Franco is making his case to be starting SS in the All-Star Game, just make sure you don't accidentally vote for one of his brothers. It's still super weird to watch the offense carry while the bullpen struggles, but with guys coming back it should be f--, wait, Fairbanks is hurt again.	39-17
2		Rangers	+1	Series wins against both the Pirates and Orioles the last week has the club holding the 3rd best overall record in the majors. Go Stars. We're still having fun.	34-19
3		Braves	-1	3-4 last week and we started this week off with a loss against the Oakland "Triple A's" which is not good Bob. On the VERY brightside, we saw Soroka pitch from an MLB mound for the first time in almost 3 years. He pitched well and we need him to perform as we are absolutely depleted by injuries. Riley is starting to come to life. We hold a 4 game lead on the scond place MARLINS. Our division doesn't want to take advantage of our recent struggles, that's fine by me.	32-22
4		Dodgers	+1		33-22
5		Orioles	-1	A few weeks ago, I said if the Orioles can go at least .500 in May then they are for real. They wrapped up a winning month yesterday and have three games to go. They continue to play well, even though they lost the series against the Rangers, and seem to play better away from Camden Yards. They did, however, send Grayson Rodriguez down this week to AAA. He just has some stuff to figure out. He was getting crushed in his past few starts, and it was the right move to make. This solidifies the fact they need a frontline starter if they are going to make a serious push to get to and make noise in the post-season.	34-20
6		Astros	0	Jose Abreu finally hit a home run. All is right with the world. Unless the world's name is Lance McCullers Jr., who had another discomforting setback and we have no idea when we will see him this year. I still blame his hair. Anyway, our other Jose hit a grand slam at MMP this weekend. Where have we heard that before?	31-22
7		Yankees	0	It certainly would’ve been nice to take 2/3 from Baltimore, but it’s very hard to be mad at the Yankees’ month of May. Since May 1, the Yankees are 18-9, a huge turnaround from a .500 April. As we enter the dog days of summer, the top of the AL East is tightening up, but the Yankees don’t face either of the teams ahead of them again until July. The Yankees have to keep playing at this pace, and a Stanton (and maybe Rodon??) return could seriously help that.	33-23
8		D-Backs	+1	The Diamondbacks had a decent week, barely missing out on a sweep of the Phillies before dropping a series to the Red Sox. The offense gets on base but has been allergic to driving in RISP, and the starting rotation continues to be a merry-go-round, as none of the rookie pitchers on the team seem to be able to string together several good starts in a row without getting blown up once or twice.	31-23
9		Blue Jays	+1	The Jays' first series win since May 14th pulled us out of a bad-vibes tailspin the likes of which this fanbase hasn't seen since, well, the last time everybody freaked out over a losing streak. The usual suspects' continued confounding slow starts (Manoah, Kirk, Varsho, etc) have dropped us 10 games back from TB, last place in the best division in baseball. And YET, hope springs. Berrios (3 or fewer ER in 8 of his last 9 starts) finally appears to be pitching to the level expected of him when he was signed, and is pumping out quality starts along with Gausman and Bassitt. Kikuchi has slipped as Kikuchi does but has been very solid for a #5. We don't have the depth to send Manoah down for some needed alone time, but he's pushing it. Vladdy has been scuffling, Springer is heating up, and Bichette is an MVP candidate. With a little bit of lucky regression to the mean with abysmal RISP numbers, this team is just a few turns away from being very good. As long as we don't have to play too many games vs AL East teams. That should be fine.	28-26
10		Twins	-2		28-26
11		Mariners	+4	Just what the doctor ordered - 6-1 in the homestand so far. Some momentum is just what this team needs before two big series with teams they're chasing for playoff spots. If the M's can handle business over the next week, they'll be right back in the thick of it. Bryce Miller, do your thing. Up next: 3 vs. Damn Yankees, 3 @ Globe Life ParkFieldStadiumGardensArenaDomewhatever they're calling it these days	28-26
12		Red Sox	-1	Scoring four runs total while getting swept by the Angels isn't a great look. This team is in many ways aggresively mediocre, always making sure that every win streak is followed up by an equally painful gut-punch. This is mainly due to the reliance on the offense to carry us to victory (2-17 when scoring <=3 runs), when the bats get cold, you're safe to turn off the game. Whitlock returning from injury and Bello/Sale both stepping up their game in May (2.74/2.42 ERA respectively) are good steps towards this team becoming Actually Good™ though. We'll see what June brings us...	28-25
13		Brewers	-1	Taking two of three from the Astros was nice. Barely avoiding a sweep from the Giants was not so sweet. Milwaukee has some issues with hitting in "close" situations. The Brewers either lose after having multiple opportunities to tie it up, or get absolutely blown out.	28-25
14		Angels	0	Did I travel out of state and all the way to Anaheim just to watch the team get swept by the Marlins? Perhaps. Was that objectively worse than what the Reds voter is going through? It's impossible to say.	29-26
15		Mets	-2	The Mets, who I proclaimed to be "good at baseball" last week, ended up dropping 2 of 3 against the Cubs and doing the same against the Rockies. I just don't know what to believe anymore. The only thing I know for sure is that Francisco Alvarez has got that fucking dawg in him, he's GOATed, he's him, he's on fleek, he's poggers, he's a proper legend, he's got an .885 OPS, he's a top bloke, he's got swag, he's fresh, he's Gen Z Mike Piazza, he's lit, he's making me feel old because he was born after 9/11, he's Francisco Alvarez.	27-27
16		Gigantes	+4	The Giants won yesterday, but strictly talking about last week, they went 5- 2 on an extremely acceptable road trip without any off days. Defeating two competent teams like the Twins and Brewers should feel good. On both losses, they gave up 7 runs, on every win they gave up 3, 1, or 0 runs. So, they threw two games out of 7 – that’s allowed. In the bad news department, Joc, Joey, and Thairo all not expected back until June 6th. I think we’re okay with more Bailey Patrick and this also means another look at unpredictable slugger David Villar. Slater continues covering for Joc. Let’s look a the numbers: 13th in MLB in Run Diff (+6 spots), 12th in RS / G (+6), 15th in RA / G (+2), 23rd in Bullpen ERA (+5). All of that is good and especially the bullpen is promising recently. The Giants continue at home vs the Pirates and wrap the homestand with 3 against our orange and black brothers in Baltimore.	28-26
17		Pirates	-1	Would I have been happy to learn on Opening Day that the Pirates would be around .500 at the end of May? Yes. But if you told me they got there after starting 20-8 I would be pretty disappointed. Here's hoping the pendulum swings the other way in June.	26-27
18		Marlins	+3	Yet another appearance of sweepy, the meme that was promised. After a rough series against the rox, we sweep the angels to settle into the third NL wild card spot. Our starting pitching is coming along after a bumpy start to several of our starters. Eury perez is gonna be a stud, just wanna remind yall. Also, shout out to Jorge Soler, who has been crushing baseballs the last week and change. In other miami sports related news, boston is the first city ever to lose two game 7s at home in both the NHL and NBA playoffs in the same year. Go Heat and go Panthers!	28-26
19		Phillies	-2	After losing 2 to the Diamondbacks and going down 5-0 in the 3rd game, the Phillies season looked as bleak as it could in late May while only being 4 games under .500. However, the team rallied and Trea Turner tied it in the 9th before going onto win it in 10. Then, they went down to Atlanta and split a 4 game series. It could've gone far worse. The Phillies most pressing need is now seemingly a 5th starter who isn't a guaranteed loss, as this week they trotted out Dylan Covey, who hadn't started a game since 2019. He got 2 outs and gave up 7 runs. He took the spot of Bailey Falter who, after a surprisingly productive 2022, started the season 0-7. Falter is the far better option, but Dave Dombrowski will likely be looking to upgrade until Andrew Painter can finally return. This week, the NL East road trip continues with their first 3 games against the Mets and 3 in Washington. Here's hoping June Schwarber shows up again this year.	25-28
20		Padres	-1	My Dad tells me it’s ok that the Dad’s lost 2 / 3 to NY; the Dodgers lost 2 / 3 to the Rays! The Pads aren’t in the same stratosphere as the Dodgers right now, though. 5 games under .500, 10th in the NL standings, 3 games out of the last wildcard slot. Of course there’s quite a bit of time to change it, there’s plenty of time to go on a run, or a slow and steady good month to gain ground. With every day that passes however, that goal becomes a bit harder to reach; I don’t think Pads fans were hoping for a wildcard spot by the end of this season, but that’s the position the team has to get to before even thinking of catching LA. The Padres are 4th in the NL West, and only a half game out of last.	24-29
21		Cardinals	-3	2-2 @ CIN; 1-2 @ CLE; 0-1 v KCR; another struggle week for the Cards. The fandom's been a bit kneejerk because of two good weeks before this. Their mistake. I'll say it a third time, the Cards playing at or beyond their expected level doesn't change the rotten FO. Yeah Marmol's pretty close to being fired, that's not a fix when the problem is John Mozeliak.	24-32
22		Tigers	+2	The most fun part of this past week has been watching the resurgence of Akil Baddoo. His energy is infectious and adds an exciting dimension to the lineup. As we head into the last few days of May, Baddoo has sported a .302/.405/.508 slash and a 155 wRC+ this month. Although he's still been hitting mostly in the 6 hole, if this keeps up he might find himself much higher in the order real soon. This week: 2 more vs. TEX and 3 at CWS.	25-27
23		Guardians	0	The Guardians won a series this week. I would like to see them win some games by more than one run, but it's clear this season, we have to take what we get.	24-29
24		Cubs	-2	Another terrible week for the Cubs, as a promising series win against the Mets was followed up by an embarrassing sweep against the Reds. The starting rotation was terrible, and the bullpen was somehow worse. Fans have had enough of David Ross, and Jed Hoyer is starting to come under pressure. Barring a dramatic turnaround, the Cubs will be sellers for the 3rd trade deadline in a row	23-30
25		Reds	+1	Okay guys, I’m here to be calm this week. I have been told by my wife’s attorney, Tom, that they are “aware” of my online activity regarding our impending divorce, so today let’s have a nice, calm, relaxing, perfectly fine, good old fashioned talk about Reds baseball. The Reds are just sorta middling. They’re not great but they’re not horrible. Unlike my marriage. Our starting pitching has resgressed, just like my marriage, and it’s very unfortunate to see, because our bullpen has been quite reliable unlike my wife. We still can’t hit home runs for some reason, but overall unlike my marriage the Reds on the upturn. There, are you happy Tom? I didn’t mention all the crap that’s been going on lately. I didn’t mention how I had to leave the Motel 6 I was at because I found a used needle in the bathroom, and by the way Tom, I know that you’re trying to use that as evidence that I can’t take care of my kids. I don’t even know who’s needle it was, it was like wedged behind the toilet. Believe me, I only found it because I dropped my phone while using the toilet. It wasn’t even visible, I had to like get on my hands and knees and crawl behind the toilet to grab my phone. So it puts the image in my head of some heroin addict or whatever sitting behind a toilet at a Motel 6 trying to get high, which honestly that just seems like an even worse situation than the one i’m in. Do I think it’s a coincidence that the day after I left the Motel 6 because of this, you’re requesting a drug test from me before I can see my kids? Huh Tom? How did you know about this incident Tom? The only people that know are the Motel 6 staff I notified, I don’t think any police showed up, so either you questioned them like i’m some criminal, or you’re following me. I know you’re reading this Tom, you’ve made several references to my posts on the baseball power rankings insinuating it’s me writing them, and yeah Tom you’re right it is me, can everybody in the comments give praise to Tom for being a regular Sherlock Holmes? Yeah everybody come on, Congratulations Tom! You’re the man! I’m gonna let you go home and fuck my sister, oh wait Tom I forgot, YOU ALREADY ARE. When you get home tonight tell Caitlin her brother says hi. Alright, I think I got that out of my system. Anyway, I think once more of our prospects are called up, probably around June or July, we may get hot and finish more closely to .500 than initially thought, and if this division stays like it is, and those prospects can deliver on their promise, it's entirely possible we could be in contention for the division. But a lot of this is gonna depend on if our Starting Rotation can get things back under control. Also we swept the Cubs so lol.	24-29
26		Nationals	-1	Week after week, I expect this Nats team to take a nose dive. I expect them to crumble and slip into a double-digit losing streak but it just isn't happening. They lead the NL in batting average (.267), are third in OBP (.330) and have the lowest strikeout rate in MLB. They still have their own troubles, but this team is alive (4 games out of a WC spot)	23-31
27		Rockies	+1	I don't have time to write a real blurb this week so you don't have to print this. Actually, you probably don't read these, I'm not sure anyone really reads them anyways besides the Reds guy's life breaking down, and this will probably get printed regardless.	24-31
28		White Sox	-1	Liam is back. I can't overstate how great that is to hear. He is one of the best people in the game and it's nothing short of amazing for him to be pitching in May. If you missed it, it was recently revealed that he had stage 4 lymphoma, not an early stage. He started treatment just over 3 months ago! Nothing on the field matters for this team, but at least there's that silver lining.	22-34
29		Royals	0	As of the time that this blurb is being written (Monday at 11:39 AM), only two teams in the majors have a record below .400. Yup, the Royals are there with the A's. I suppose the positive is that the team figured out that they can get rid of useless players in Hunter Dozier, but they still have a lot more work to do.	17-38
30		Atléticos	0	The A's have given up 10+ runs in a game 7 more times than they've won. It's a mix of bad roster building (the bullpen), under-preforming vets (Ramon Laureano 74 wRC+, Tony Kemp 38 wRC+), injuries (Seth Brown and Paul Blackburn are just now returning), and no fans in the stands since 2019. It's soul crushing to watch and the national media's constant condecention toward this particular poor team and it is even more annoying this year.	11-45

I wrote a letter to the FAA complaining about the relatively new noise created by NextGen. The noise (airplanes on a rail flying over my house) has been around for about a decade. Here is the response from the Federal Aviation Administration, Office of the Regional Administrator, Western-Pacific Region.
In your complaint, you stated that the aircraft were not a problem when you first moved into your home. However, the construction of the airport preceded the construction of your home, and the west downwind itself is driven off of the geometry of the runway. Your residence has been under the west instrument downwind since it was built in 1960.
The regional office is pointing out the airport was there before my house was built. That is correct. I would point out my house was there 50+ years before the FAA implemented NextGen. The FAA ignores this fact! So using the FAA arguments they have NO precedence for implementing NextGen and making my home miserable for me. My home was there before NextGen.
What a disaster NextGen is. It is making millions of people miserable.

The island of Lacana is settled in the center of a small archipelago. This island's vast landscape is home to many creatures from all walks of life. Together they coexist in order to survive the many dangers that threaten them. New arrivals are rare, but once they enter these waters, there is no leaving. Will you be the next soul to stumble upon this island? Can you brave the steep mountains and dense jungles to uncover- The Secrets of Lacana Island

Hello everyone, I’m one of 3 DMs for an online dnd campaign that is looking to add players! This is a West-Marches-style 5e game that’s just getting started. We don’t have a set schedule as each session will be individually scheduled based on the players who sign up.
The campaign will be heavily exploration and storytelling-based! Combat will of course be present but will be more of a supplement to stories and quests! Think of it as an open-world-style video game. There will be a number of quests available for sign-ups at all times so there are always options (a quest = 1 session).
The whole campaign will be based on Lacana Island and the surrounding archipelago, a homebrew location set in a world of our creation. We care more about having fun than sticking to RAW word for word, so be prepared for homebrew rules. Starting out, players will be level 3, but we can get into character creation at a later point.
Important to note, we heavily focus on kindness and inclusivity, as we believe no one should ever feel unwelcomed or uncomfortable at our table. If you’re still interested after all of this, we’d love for you to join us. Before you can set sail on this adventure, we do require you to fill out a New Player Questionnaire. As a pre-warning, it is lengthy, but we want to make sure we’re the right fit for you. We do not ask for any personal information other than your name and email.
Folks from all walks of life are welcome and encouraged to apply, but we do require our adventurers to be 18 or older due to mature topics and language.
Player Questionnaire: https://forms.gle/G4sPj7vPhXimJjeq5

As I was building my kingdom in the East I was increasingly worried about war with the Vlandian juggernaut that kept amassing power in the West. The positioning of their faction is just amazing, keeping their prosperity safe in the rear while maintaining a singular battle front with great geographic chokepoints.
But I realized there's nothing really stopping me from marching a high mobility army deep into their territory and draw in forces from their front lines, essentially opening up a second front. I would bounce between sieging Galend and Pravend, their most valuable cities, up until a doom stack showed up. If it was small enough to take on, then I would gobble up that army. If it was too big, that's fine too because that's very slow army that not being used on the front lines.
After some attrition and my vassals fighting basically unopposed on the front line I could finally take a city and devastate it. This automatically added 2k/day to the peace negotiation and with the few dozen lords I had captured brought it to 5k/day. We'll go to war again but the first thing they will do is recapture Galend, further wasting their time and money sieging their own capital.
What else do people do to wear down the 800 pound gorilla?
Note: I used a 450 man Elite Cataphract/Khan Guard as my mobile personal royal guard. Very fast and can take on most armies and garrisons.

Part One:
https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/comments/13v4lju/please_help_me_i_think_im_being_stalked_by/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
Part Two:
It came again. Last night at exactly 10pm.
I don't even know how I'm going to tell you what happened. Or why I'm telling you. I guess I'm just hoping that somebody somewhere will help me to find a way to make it stop.
I packed my bags last night, shortly after writing to you guys on here. I thought that if I could get away from this place before 10pm, I would be able to find sanctuary away from this 'thing'. It took me ten minutes to grab everything that I own, shove it in a suitcase and throw it in the back of my truck, but deep down I knew it wouldn't let me leave.
The tyres on my banged out fiesta had been slashed completely. All four of them! Ripped to shreds like a beast had used them as a chew toy. There was an overwhelming smell of petrol as I walked around the car, desperately thinking of what I could do. Not wanting to admit the real and present danger of the situation I was in, I retreated back to the cabin and searched for my phone. It wasn't much use as I hadn't been able to get any signal at this place for the last three months. It really was an 'unplugged' adventure.
There's a land line in the Main Reception!
Resisting the urge to cry, I forced every bit of bravado I could muster up inside and walked slowly to the Main Reception building, giving every faint noise my complete attention.
The door was locked.
In my haste to leave my cabin today, I had totally forgotten that the season was now at an end and that all of the teens would have been packed on to the coaches earlier this afternoon ready to depart their woodland adventures. This would only leave myself, Roger and Pendle, as skeleton staff for clean up and pack away.
Maybe Roger will have a key?
Walking to Roger's cabin would be no small feat. He preferred to be sited in the more secluded area of the forest, away from the 'reckless, annoying brats' as he called them. Making the journey to his cabin would take at least half hour and there was no obvious path through the trees. It was already 9.30pm and that would mean that I would be getting there just before that 'thing' comes. I know Pendle, our caretaker, didn't sleep on the grounds on the night. He preferred to make an hours commute down the mountain to the little shack that he called home. He was dead against staying overnight, even when we were short staffed and he was offered double pay to be Night supervisor. I thought that was weird at the time, but now I'm wondering if he knows more than he is letting on?
I grabbed my torch and decided that I'd walk to Roger's cabin. I would be safe there and if I was quick, I would get there in good time. Roger wasn't a big man, but he was still company and if I needed anything, I needed company.
About ten minutes into the walk through the overgrown pathway to Roger's cabin, I began to feel myself trembling. The air seemed to be cooler in amongst the trees and I found myself making small clouds of steam with every breath. I folded my arms in front of me and cursed myself for not dressing more appropriately for the cooler temperatures. My ripped jean shorts and vest top were more suited to a summer beach party than a late night hike and I looked like one of those ladies that would offer to wash your car at a service station for charity. It's funny, even when you're in the midst of the most dangerous situation you've ever been in, you still find yourself judging your own aesthetics.
As I walked deeper into the forest, I started to feel like the trees were getting closer to me, enveloping me in an abyss of darkness. They seemed to be growing larger, making me feel small and isolated in their shadows. I quickened the pace, noticing that it was now getting closer to that dreaded time.
Then, in the distance, I saw a welcoming orange glow from the window of Roger's cabin. For a moment I felt safe. Untouchable. And I smiled.
I ran the last 150m or so and began frantically knocking on Roger's door. It didn't take long for him to open the door and pull me inside, with a look of deep concern on his face.
"What's going on? Are you Ok? What's happened?' He blurted out questions with such urgency and such genuine concern, that it made me cry. I seriously opened the floodgates and grabbed on to him with every bit of strength that I could find within me. I didn't realise just how much these past few occurrences had exhausted me. Now that I was safe, I didn't want to explain, I just wanted to stay safe.
Somewhere along the line, Roger had realised that I wasn't ready to divulge the reasons as to why I had turned up hysterically at his cabin door at night, and he stopped asking questions and just hugged me. I wanted that moment to last forever, however my eyes deceived me and began to search Roger's lounge area for a clock. And when I found it, that all too familiar sharp stab of fear penetrated through me. It was 10pm.
Roger must have felt my body tense up completely as he grabbed my arms and held me outstretched in front of him.
"Please tell me what is going on. I can help you", he said in such a calm, soothing voice. He forced a smile through the worry as his eyes pleaded with me to let him in.
Just as I was about to explain, there was a sudden loud bang from the kitchenette area.
"IT'S HEREEEEE, IT'S HEREEEEEEE......." I shrieked as I grabbed on to Roger's arm and pulled him towards me.
Another loud bang drove through the silence. This time from down the hall.
"Oh God, Roger, you need to HELP MEEEEEE!"
An even louder bang came from the bedroom...then another...then another....until bangs surrounded us, each from different areas of the cabin. Sometimes on the wooden walls, then on the windows, then on the roof. It was as though a buffalo stampede was encircling the house and even running over the roof.
I screamed and held on to Roger so tightly as he began to shake and look in the direction of each bang. Then there was one final bang and the front door flew open.
It was the 'thing'. He stood right in front of us and stared, as if he was calculating his next move. His head twitched rapidly from side to side as a foamy substance fell slowly from his drooping lips. His pale, elongated face almost shone through the darkened background of the forest behind him and I found myself staring at his long, thin limbs and his spiny stature. I didn't dare move a muscle as I felt Roger's grip on my arm become tighter.
The 'thing' glided slowly towards us until his face was mere inches away from mine, then he quickly shot his head in Roger's direction and slowly opened his mouth. An extremely high pitched scream-like noise was unleashed from the blackness of his mouth, making Roger fall to the floor in fear.
I just stood there. I didn't help.
I didn't help as the 'thing' raised it's long bony arm and then thrashed down against Roger's skull, tearing away a strip of flesh from his forehead that dangled around his eye socket.
I didn't help as Roger screamed, as the second blow ripped his eye ball out of the socket and tore away two of his fingers that had been used as a shield from the attack of the unnaturally sharp talons.
I just stood there as Roger crawled on the floor, gargling on his own blood and gripping his neck after that humanoid creature has buried it's nails into his throat and scraped through his jugular.
Before he died, he looked up at me. He looked right into my eyes and it looked like he was asking 'why?'
I just screamed. And screamed. And screamed.
The 'thing' didn't even look at me. It just turned away and glided out of the front door. Before it exited completely, It raised its arm in front of it and I could hear what sounded like a slurping noise. I didn't even want to think about what it was doing, but I'm sure that what I heard was that humanoid freak sucking Roger's blood off it's claws.
Then it was gone.
I don't know how long I stayed there, but I must've said sorry a hundred times. I didn't mean for this to happen. I didn't understand why it was happening. I still don't.
But I do know that I can't get anyone else involved in this nightmare. I need to deal with this myself. I can't risk anyone else getting hurt.
But maybe Pendle knows something?

Ballots Here

1980-1984	1985-1989	1990-1994	1995-1999
2000-2004	2005-2009	2010-2014	2015-2019

The initial nomination round has finished, the ballots have been prepared, and the next stage of the indieheads Essentials Chart update begins.

What is this?

We are updating the sub's essentials list for the first time in several years. Following an initial nomination round, this first round of community voting is the next in a lengthy process of selecting albums for the essentials chart, reflecting the styles and attitudes of the community.

What is being voted on?

This round will determine which albums move on to the second round of voting for the chart, and more importantly, it also determines which albums will NOT move on. There are literally thousands of albums here, quite a few of those will not be advancing.

How will voting work?

Voting for the first round opens today, May 30th, and all ballots will close midnight CST on June 30th.
In each half-decade ballot, there are hundreds of albums which were nominated by the many members of this community. For convenience, albums have been organized alphabetically.
You DO NOT have to vote on every single album on the ballot. You are free to vote for or against as many, or as few, as you like. You are absolutely allowed to skip ones which you are ambivalent or unsure about, or haven't listened to before.
For every album, there are two choices;
YES (I believe this album is significant to the canon, the community, and/or influential in the scope of alternative, experimental, or independent music. It fits the criteria of being "essential.")
NO (I don't believe this album is significant enough in the scope of alternative, experimental, or independent music, to the community, nor fits the requirement of "essential.")
After submitting a ballot, you are free to return to it and edit your responses at any time, however much you want, as many times as you want, until the ballots close on June 30th. Since there are so many nominations, we want to encourage users to go back and revisit albums, check out some new stuff, debate and discuss certain bands or records, and overall take their time with every ballot.

How many albums will make it through to the next round?

Not sure yet. It depends entirely on how the results for this first round go-- who knows how positive or negative the voting will be! With this in mind, there's currently no set number of albums that will move on, and will be determined at a later time once all the ballots are locked in.

What's already locked in?

As stated in the original announcement thread, 20 albums from the past iterations of our Essentials Chart were identified as being "indiessential" auto-locks for the final results, and will not be voted on during this process. These albums are:

• Bjork - Homogenic (1997)
• The Cure - Disintegration (1989)
• Fiona Apple - When the Pawn (1999)
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven! (2000)
• Joanna Newsom - Ys (2006)
• Joy Division - Closer (1980)
• Kate Bush - Hounds of Love (1985)
• LCD Soundsystem - Sound of Silver (2007)
• The Microphones - The Glow pt. 2 (2001)
• Modest Mouse - The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)
• My Bloody Valentine - Loveless (1991)
• Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)
• Pixies - Doolittle (1989)
• Radiohead - OK Computer (1997)
• Slint - Spiderland (1991)
• Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation (1988)
• The Strokes - Is This It (2001)
• Sufjan Stevens - Illinois (2005)
• Talking Heads - Remain in Light (1980)
• Wilco - Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)

We've also implemented a rule allowing only one album from an artist per decade for the final chart. If you're wondering why, for example, The Bends aren't on the ballot, that's because OK Computer already has that spot taken.

Other plans for the first round

This thread will act as a main hub thread for the first round, and will be stickied as often as it can to the front page throughout the month of June. It will also be easily located in the header announcements, in the Daily Music Discussion threads, in the search bar with the [ESSENTIALS] tag, etc.
Throughout June, discussion threads will be posted. These threads will range from focusing on the different decades, to providing soapboxes for users to champion certain albums, trading recommendations from the ballots, etc. Discussion in the Daily Music Threads and elsewhere is, of course, highly encouraged.
Good luck, and happy voting!

The island of Lacana is settled in the center of a small archipelago. This island's vast landscape is home to many creatures from all walks of life. Together they coexist in order to survive the many dangers that threaten them. New arrivals are rare, but once they enter these waters, there is no leaving.
Will you be the next soul to stumble upon this island? Can you brave the steep mountains and dense jungles to uncover- The Secrets of Lacana Island

Hello everyone, I’m one of 3 DMs for an online dnd campaign that is looking to add players! This is a West-Marches-style 5e game that’s just getting started. We don’t have a set schedule as each session will be individually scheduled based on the players who sign up.
The campaign will be heavily exploration and storytelling-based! Combat will of course be present but will be more of a supplement to stories and quests! Think of it as an open-world-style video game. There will be a number of quests available for sign-ups at all times so there are always options (a quest = 1 session).
The whole campaign will be based on Lacana Island and the surrounding archipelago, a homebrew location set in a world of our creation. We care more about having fun than sticking to RAW word for word, so be prepared for homebrew rules. Starting out, players will be level 3, but we can get into character creation at a later point.
Important to note, we heavily focus on kindness and inclusivity, as we believe no one should ever feel unwelcomed or uncomfortable at our table. If you’re still interested after all of this, we’d love for you to join us. Before you can set sail on this adventure, we do require you to fill out a New Player Questionnaire. As a pre-warning, it is lengthy, but we want to make sure we’re the right fit for you. We do not ask for any personal information other than your name and email.
Folks from all walks of life are welcome and encouraged to apply, but we do require our adventurers to be 18 or older due to mature topics and language.
Player Questionnaire: https://forms.gle/G4sPj7vPhXimJjeq5

Hey, thanks for clicking on my post!
I'm from the North West of England (think sort of a Manchester accent) I have a cay, she's clingy asf. Love her to bits tho. Big fan of 80's music, video games, movie marathons and the feeling of fresh bedding right after a nice long bath. (I'm that idiot who'll take his laptop in there to balance somewhere and watch the office)
Kinda looking for someone to get excited over again. I love accents! Tell me about where you're from and if you like any yourself. If you play games, huge bonus but not required. Same again for sports, I love watching football and its rare to find a woman into that but hey, you never know!
And I have a bit of spare time in life right now since I'm currently a full time carer for the paps until he's better.
Hit me with a meme or any questions you might have, I'm an open book and you're welcome to ask me anything.
Looking forward to hearing from you!

Character Application

• Discord Name: imNotGoodAtNaming#3022
• Name and House: Addam Frey
• Age: 18
• Appearance: Addam is, unlike his great-grandfather Forrest, a man clearly not built to wield a sword. Though tall, his slender and rather wiry build gives him a rather unimposing presence. He wears his hair slightly too long, hanging low across his eyes and curling around his neck, and his gaze seems permanently wary, always on edge. Addam seldom smiles in public, and dark bags beneath his eyes bely the troublesome relationship he has with sleep. Much like how his grandfather Franklyn made up for his lack of swordsmanship with his impressive stewardship abilities, Addam makes up for his own faults with an impressive ability to talk, peddle information, and play the other side of the game.
• Gifts: Gossiper
• Skills: Cautious (e), Espionage, Torturer, Subtle
• Talents: Hunting, Riding, Swimming, Whittling
• Negative Traits: N/A
• Starting Titles: Lord of the Crossing
• Starting Location: Feast/King’s Landing
• Family Tree: House Frey in 207 AC
• Alternate Characters: N/A for now

Timeline

• 187 AC: Perianne Frey, Addam’s elder sister, is born to Symond Frey and Marilda Celtigar.
• 189 AC: Addam and Marissa Frey are born to Symond and Marilda.
• 194 AC: Addam begins his tutelage under Symond. As the heir’s heir, his father gives him a well-rounded education — involving stewardship, military command, and diplomacy, alongside the usual nobleman's education.
• 200 AC: Symond dies whilst riding along the Green Fork, after his horse slips along the slippery rocks — falling into the river and trapping Symond underneath. Symond drowns before his horse can be lifted off him, leaving Addam as heir.
• 203 AC: Frey Regency Crisis
  • 2nd Moon: Lord Franklyn Frey dies, Addam Frey becomes Lord. Perwyn Frey is named regent in Lord Franklyn’s will.
  • 3rd Moon: While traveling, Perwyn Frey’s camp is set upon by supposed bandits. Perwyn Frey and his son Theomore Frey die; Celesse Frey survives after riding away into the woods on her lonesome. Osmund Frey is the new regent.
  • 5th Moon: A catspaw breaks into the East Castle and sets the Lord’s chambers ablaze. Addam and Marissa are rescued from within by men loyal to Lyonel Frey and House Nayland, but Marissa gets briefly trapped beneath a burning log. Marissa’s face is permanently disfigured as a result.
  • 6th Moon: Osmund Frey and his youngest son Raymond Frey are murdered in their beds. Osmund’s eldest son, Walton Frey, rides with his sister Sarra to his mother’s home at Breaker's Beak, and does not return until Bertram is arrested. Bertram Frey is named regent.
  • 7th Moon: “Black Benfrey” Rivers, bastard son of Bertram Frey, is caught trying to contact catspaws and other shady figures in a town nearby Hag’s Mire, and is arrested. Bertram attempts to downplay his bastard’s actions as those of a rogue bastard — but Addam secretly goes behind his Uncle’s back and orders Black Benfrey to be tortured for information.
  • 8th Moon: Under torture, Black Benfrey admits his own role and the role of his father in the death of Perwyn, Theomore, Osmund, and Raymond, as well as the attack on Addam himself. Bertram is arrested by Lyonel’s men.
  • 9th Moon: Eamon Frey leaves the Twins, under suspicion of being involved in Bertram and Benfrey’s plots, but with no firm evidence available. Addam orders a dozen Frey guards to attempt to chase Eamon down, but Eamon evades them and rides into Mallister lands before he can be caught. From Seagard, he takes a ship south.
  • 10th Moon: Bertram and Black Benfrey are executed. Lyonel is offered the regency, but refuses. Addam’s mother, Marilda Celtigar, is declared Regent.
• 204 AC: Lyonel Frey leaves the Twins — coincidentally also riding to Seagard.
• 205 AC: On his sixteenth name day, Addam begins to rule in his own right.
• 206 AC: Arrangements for a betrothal between Addam Frey and Alys Blackwood begins.
• 206 AC: Perianne Frey leaves the Twins and marries Osric Dustin.
• 207 AC: Marissa Frey leaves the Twins and marries Paxter Redwyne.
• 207 AC: Addam Frey leaves the Twins and travels towards King’s Landing.

Auxiliary Character Application

• Name and House: Eamon “the Exile” Frey
• Age: 27
• Appearance: Eamon shares the common Frey look; brown hair and brown eyes, with light facial hair. However, years of stress resulting from his exile from his homeland has aged him beyond his years — worry lines surround his eyes, and his brows are nearly always furrowed. Unlike his Lordly cousin, Eamon clearly does take after Forrest Frey’s martial legacy — being well-built from years training with swords and armor. Despite his status in exile, Eamon remains proud of his heritage and station. He spends gold freely on clothes, jewelry, horses, and other objects of luxury befitting a noble, and a brooch emblazoned with the sigil of House Frey is always visible on his body: a reminder of what he has been forced away from.
• Gifts: Duelist
• Skills: Swords, Tactician, Defender
• Talents: Hunting, Swimming, Cyvasse
• Negative Traits: N/A
• Starting Titles: Scion of House Frey
• Starting Location: With the household of House Lannister of Lannisport

Auxiliary Character Timeline

• 177 AC: Benfrey Rivers, illegitimate son of Bertram Frey, is born.
• 180 AC: Eamon Frey, son of Bertram Frey and Darla Haigh, is born.
• 186 AC: Eamon begins to squire for Symond Frey, his uncle and heir to the Twins.
• 194 AC: Eamon excels at swordplay, and begins to undergo more strenuous and personal training with his Uncle.
• 198 AC: Eamon leads a group of Frey knights in battling and capturing a group of bandits along the Frey Plains. For this, he is knighted by Symond.
• 200 AC: Symond drowns in the Green Fork after a freak riding accident. Eamon is greatly affected by the death of his mentor.
• 203 AC: Frey Regency Crisis
  • Despite Eamon being Bertram’s son, Bertram almost does not view Eamon as his own. Bertram sees Eamon’s close relationship to the late Symond as evidence of Eamon being untrustworthy, and does not entrust Eamon with his plot to seize control of the regency — and subsequently the Lordship of the Crossing.
  • As Freys begin to die every week or two, Eamon is terrified alongside the rest of his family. He is sent to Haigh Hill for a few months — ostensibly to keep him safe from the chaos of the Twins.
  • Black Benfrey and Bertram are subsequently arrested and interrogated. Neither give any inclination that Eamon has been involved in their plans, but Addam is nevertheless suspicious of him.
  • Eamon returns to the Twins and witnesses the execution of his half-brother and his father. He swears to Addam of having no part in his father’s treason — but Addam seems unperturbed. The next day, Eamon departs from the Twins and rides West.
  • Addam’s prior suspicions about Eamon seem to have been confirmed, and he dispatches a dozen Frey guards to ride after Eamon, but the guards do not catch Eamon before Eamon enters Mallister lands. The guards don’t cross into Mallister lands, not wishing to spark a bigger incident.
• 203 AC: Eamon is welcomed in the household of Seagard, remaining there briefly to catch his breath and prepare himself for the journey.
• 204 AC: Eamon departs from Seagard onboard a trading ship, and sails south. The ship docks in Lannisport, and he disembarks. With his inheritance from his father and his own personal allowance, he has a decent amount of gold — and finds lodgings in a high-brow inn.
• 205 AC: Attending a social event in Lannisport, Eamon meets Tyshara Lannister. The two court briefly.
• 206 AC: Eamon and Tyshara marry.
• 207 AC: Eamon reluctantly tags along with the Lannisters towards King’s Landing — hoping to stay far away from his cousin, who has doubtlessly received word of his marriage to a Lannister and wishes to see Eamon arrested.

Archetype NPCs

• Ser Lyle Nayland — Swords
  • Ser Lyle Nayland is Addam’s sworn sword, and Addam’s good-uncle through his late sister’s marriage to Lyonel Frey. Lyle was the one who saved Addam and Marissa during the burning of the Lord’s chambers, and earned Addam’s respect and loyalty for this action. He remains one of the few individuals who Addam legitimately trusts and, as Addam’s protector, is an ever present shadow behind Addam.
• Ser Olyvar Charlton — Tactician
  • Ser Olyvar Charlton is another one of Addam’s close confidantes. Olyvar was close to Addam’s father Symond, and has subsequently joined up with Addam’s entourage. Olyvar’s specialty lies in command, and he has been entrusted as Addam’s primary battlefield commander — given Addam’s own rather lacking personal ability in command.

Guess I'm a bit late to the party on this one...but honestly, maybe that's for the better. Internet discourse of film, and other narrative based media feels like its at its worst, and I think "Don't Look Up" is a great film to use for opening this discussion.
(...Also, this is secretly a hate-post for "The Batman"...)
For some context, "Don't Look Up" (2021) is an Adam McKay movie centered around an asteroid hitting the earth. The asteroid is an obvious commentary for climate change, and our protagonists are two scientists (played by Leonardo Dicaprio, and Kate Dibiasky) who desperately try to convince the US government to take action. The government has the ability to stop the asteroid, but refuses to because a tech CEO obviously based on Mark Zuckerberg makes a deal with the Republican president (played by Meryl Streep). Leonardo Dicaprio's character sells out to the tech CEO and Republicans, only to regret everything when its too late. The asteroid hits earth, and the top 1% escape on a spaceship.
This film is extremely, and I mean extremely in your face about its sociopolitical critique. The movie constantly makes fun of how working-class Republicans will parrot whatever the president says. The title itself, "Don't Look Up", is a slogan meant to be joke stand-in for Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again". The way the government refuses to take action against the asteroid is an obvious commentary on how our governments barely do against climate change. The film also makes fun of performative progressivism, as with the sellout scientist and concert scene.
Anyway, I've used the word "obviously" so many times now, its clear "Don't Look Up" is a very heavy handed film. I don't know if Adam McKay is the hardcore progressive leftist his film makes him out to be, but regardless, I absolutely love "Don't Look Up". Its heavy handed commentary is what makes this film for me.
However, upon release the film was met with a mixed reception. It currently stands at a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, and much of the discussion was about how the film was pretentious, due to its heavy-handed message. Especially on Reddit, which seemed to hate this film. And I was really surprised honestly. The internet embodiment of "☝🤓 ermmm, ack-shually!" was calling for more subtly in this film's political commentary? The same website that doesn't shut up about Idioacracy and Blazing Saddles?
But, I think I know why "Don't Look Up" was hit with this reception. It isn't just that don't look up is a heavy handed, in your face kind of movie...its that the themes, messages, and setting, are all directly linked to our current world. It isn't a hypothetical dystopia like Idiocracy, or a century old wild west like Blazing Saddles. "Don't Look Up" takes place in our current political climate.
When "Don't Look Up" criticizes Republicans, it isn't talking about a cartoonish stand-in for the Republicans. Its talking about the current, real world Republicans. When it criticizes media propaganda, it directly references the tactics used by the very real Donald Trump. When it criticizes billionaire CEOs, it uses a character that is identical to our real world billionaire CEOs in all but name.
"Don't Look Up" did what most political commentary is too afraid to to...it directly tackled the issues it was commenting on. Even the fictional asteroid is still really on-the-nose about what its meant to be. It reminds me of when Gareth Marenghi said this...
"I know writers who use subtext...and they're all cowards!:
Maybe he was exaggerating for the bit...but I love this qoute. Because honestly, in our current political climate, what use does subtly have? In America right now, the political climate is constantly getting worse. The removal of women's rights, the attack on LGBTQ+ people, the slow death of the working class, and as "Don't Look Up" shows, the constant enderdagement to our environment. If you're gonna' talk about these very real, very harmful issues...why tiptoe around it? To make the people causing the harm more comfortable?
I think its important to note that on social media, I saw dozens of posts by people in the climate field praise "Don't Look Up", specifically because the on-the-nose nature of this movie represented how they felt. And honestly, that's pretty good proof that being subtle would've been to the detriment of this film. This film did what good political satire is meant to do. It appeased to the people being drowned out by those in power, and relentlessly critiqued those in power.
The funny thing is this...I'm always seeing people post about how they want more "mature" content that tackles real world issues. Especially on Reddit, in which people never shut up about the idea of the "mature reboot". And the thing is...this website actually loves media with heavy-handed messaging. But as I mentioned earlier, people don't want the messaging to actually be directly relevant to a real world topic. They just want media that alludes the the idea of socio-political commentary.
Its why Reddit loves media such as The Witcher III, Idiocracy, Blazing Saddles, early Game Of Thrones, Cyberpunk 2077, Blade Runner 2049. Yes, these pieces of media are very heavy handed in their themes, but because they use fictional stand-ins for their messages, it makes them safer to all audiences, and makes their critisizm less direct in some ways.
But I think the best example of how the internet interprets socio-political commentary, and what kind of commentary this audience is comfortable with, is Matt Reeve's "The Batman" 2022. This movie is currently one of the ineternet's darlings, and people are obsessed with just how "mature" and "deep" this movie is.
Thing is though, as far as socio-political commentary goes...The Batman is a big nothing burger. The movie starts by introducing a bunch of very real socio-political ideas, such as the corrupt police, the politicians being controlled by a few rich people, the underground sex-trafficking in Gotham, or how domestic terrorists use the internet as a means of recruitment. And yet by the end of the film, none of these ideas amount to anything. They're all just window dressing for a fanservice Batman flick whose only moral theme is "Batman doesn't kill", as a corporate apology for Batman Vs. Superman.
The big moral moments of this film are Batman stopping Selina from killing the man who controls all of the corruption in Gotham, and Batman feeling sad because he punched a domestic terrorist too hard. Its almost hilarious honestly, because its clear that the Riddler's terrorist gang was based off of Q-anon, and if anything, the only thing that stopped them on January 6th was when a shot was fired into the inserrectunist crowd. So the whole "Batman needs to be more merciful to the villains" arc is actually the opposite of a real-world critique.
But that's the thing. The Batman isn't actually mature. It has nothing to say about our current world or political state. It just takes real world issues, and uses them as an aesthetic for a moral theme that doesn't actually fit in with said issues. And the thing is, The Batman is an incredibly heavy-handed movie. Just as much as Don't Look Up honestly. But the difference is, The Batman's heavy handed narrative is used only for Batman's "no kill rule", not any of the real world issues the film is introduced with.
And that's kinda' my whole point. There's a reason most people online love movies like The Batman. These movies treat socio-political commentary as window dressing, using some real world issues in the most surface level manner possible, then never making an actual conclusion in them. Because of that, movies like The Batman are incredibly safe movies, and are basically "enlightened centrist" fantasies with no bite.
Whereas something like Don't Look Up will actively target real world issues, and directly build its entire film around them. The film pulls no punches, and its clear what the targets of its commentary are. And because of that, this film's meaning can't be twisted in any way. There's no "both sides are just as bad" narrative here to make all audiences feel comfortable. This film knows what its about, and sticks to it.
And here's the thing...I'm not saying all movies that tackle real socio-political issues need to be super direct, and call out real names like Don't Look Up. The examples I listed before The Batman are good media, and they have a place in the world of film, TV, and gaming.
But what I am saying is that it feels like most audiences are just flat out afraid of any meaningful socio-political commentary. Even when it comes to a political satire, its as if audiences will only feel comfortable as long as the film is vague enough that it never directly makes a statement on a real world issue. And even if it does directly comment on something, as long as its disconnected enough from our reality, they'll be safe with it. Because it means it doesn't have to make them uncomfortable with the current state of our world. And because of that, when they're met with a socio-political commentary that actually has some bite to it, they're immediately bothered by the heavy-handedness of it. Because that means they have to confront real world issues in media, and for a lot of these people, media should be escapism, and nothing more.
To end this off, I'd like to mention the original piece of political satire...Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal". Written to offend the ruling class by comparing their treatment of the poor to cannabilism during a period of mass poverty in Ireland. I can guarantee you that some people thought Swift had went too far with this paper. Thing is, who do you think those people were? And who do you think his supporters were?

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https://preview.redd.it/2u7etwqpq23b1.png?width=1742&format=png&auto=webp&s=52650aafd776a83893888b8a76e2cef0398d03ca
You like Ability draft?
You wanna play in a tournament?
You have time on the 15th & 16th of July from 17:00 to around midnight CEST?
​
Sign up for this tournament!
You sign up as solo player & will get randomly assigned to a team and enter the tournament with that team! Basic English skills would be a big plus, else it will be hard to communicate with the rest of your team.
I keep the option open to balance the teams via memmr (https://windrun.io/players)
Server Region: EU West
Player Cap: 80 first come first serve
Prizepool: 200€ - winner takes it all
Round1 – Day1: 16 teams playing BO1 - parallel
Quarter-Finals – Day1 : 8 teams remaining – BO3 - parallel
Semi Finals – Day2: Fully casted BO3
Grand Finals – Day2: Will start around 22:00 Cest
Sign up here: https://forms.gle/m7CnXC44vi57fHLk9
Last day to sign up 9th July - you will be informed about your team on the following day via discord

My girlfriend and I have been dating since the beginning of this year. She has a lot of insecurities, and as time goes on I see her slowly slipping out of those insecurities which makes me very happy. This is someone I fully intend on spending the rest of my life with. The one thing that hasn’t seemed to make any kind of improvement though is her feelings about my female best friend.
I’ve been friends with this person since I was 12. We have been in and out of friend groups together, seen each other go in and out of romantic relationships, and have stuck by each other’s side the entire time. We’ve never dated, never had any kind of romantic connection ever throughout all of these past 13 years. She’s someone I hold very close to my heart, but in very much the same way I would a family member. It’s worth noting that my best friend is also in a committed relationship and has been for over a year now. A bit of extra context, I live 45 minutes away from my best friend and I hang out with her and her boyfriend once every few weeks when we have free time. My girlfriend, on the other hand, lives on the other side of the country. I am east coast, she’s west. We have plans to meet in August, but have not yet met in person.
Back in March, I introduced the two for the first time. I was out with my best friend and called my girlfriend on the phone, and had the three of us talk over the phone for about five minutes. It seemed to go really well, and afterwards my best friend added her on instagram and the two of them began communicating there. They talked for a bit over the course of a week or so, and it ended with my girlfriend sending a wall of text about a bunch of stuff, mainly talking about tattoos as that is something they both enjoy a lot. My best friend heart-reacted the message but never actually responded. My girlfriend took that very negatively and now assumes that my best friend doesn’t want anything to do with her, since there has been no other direct message communication.
My best friend has struggled with her relationship with social media for a long time, and has told me many times how stressed out she can get with messages from people piling up on her. She also works 60-70 hour work weeks on top of juggling hobbies on the side like DJing, going to the gym, etc. It is very hard to get a hold of her sometimes, with me having to double and triple text her sometimes just to get an answer about something. I have to admit it is very annoying sometimes, but it’s just something I have to deal with and I can put my feelings aside knowing that she is busy, is a naturally forgetful person (gets dates and times wrong pretty often) and struggles with a lot of personal issues. I tried explaining all of this to my girlfriend after she brought up not getting a response from my best friend, and she got very upset at me for defending my best friend’s actions.
Since then, I’ve tried to not bring up my best friend to my girlfriend as often as I can, as I could tell there was some tension there. Though my girlfriend will ask about her from time to time, and I always answer openly and honestly as there is nothing to hide. My girlfriend always ends the conversations with something to the extent of, “I don’t like her and I don’t dislike her. She just doesn’t matter at all to me.”
I’ve hung out with my best friend a couple of times since they talked on instagram and she always talks about my girlfriend, asking how she is, talking about how cool she seems, and how she wants to get to know her more. Having known her for as long as I have, I know she genuinely wants to be friends with my girlfriend but gets very stressed out using social media and meeting new people in general.
Just recently there was another instance of my girlfriend bringing up my best friend in conversation, i.e. asking if we had any upcoming plans, and I mentioned there was an event we were going to next weekend that we’d been excited about for a couple of months. After talking about how excited I was to finally go, she again responded with something like “I just don’t really care about her at all, I’m extremely indifferent about her and what she does.” I tried to talk it out with her again, explaining that she really does like my girlfriend and that she wasn’t intending to be mean by not responding to her on instragram, despite it coming off that way. And once again she accused me of being defensive and of making excuses for my best friend’s actions instead of validating her own feelings. I asked where we should go from there, what she thought the solution could be. After my girlfriend said that she doesn’t know a solution, I offered some. Specifically, I suggested that we could organize an online game night with me, my girlfriend, my best friend, and her boyfriend, so that the four of us could interact more and that might make my girlfriend a bit more comfortable. She didn’t seem very interested in that option. The conversation sort of trickled out without a solution and we’re back in this weird spot of her feeling a certain way about my best friend and my spending time with her.
I am now coming to reddit for suggestions. I thought that facilitating a time for all of us to spend together would be the best route to take, but as I said my girlfriend doesn’t seem to want to. I feel super uncomfortable now even texting my best friend, let alone hanging out in person. I also haven’t told my best friend any of this, since from her perspective she really likes my girlfriend and doesn’t think there is any bad energy between the two of them. It feels like her ideal solution is for me to stop talking to my best friend altogether, though she has never verbally suggested that. They both matter a lot to me and I don’t want to have to get to the point of needing to choose between the two of them. What do I do from here?
TLDR: My girlfriend had a weird interaction with my best friend on instagram and assumes that my best friend doesn’t like her. I try to explain that my best friend suffers from social anxiety related issues, and that she tells me all of the time how much she likes my girlfriend and wants to be better friends with her, but my girlfriend just accuses me of defending my best friend’s actions and invalidating her own feelings. In need of advice.

Maintaining a 100% buy rating on BarChart, Surge Battery Metals (NILI.v NILIF) is set to begin a drill program imminently at its Nevada North Lithium Project and is strategically positioned to capitalize on the significant opportunity that lithium offers.
https://preview.redd.it/ddiov8cmq23b1.png?width=1636&format=png&auto=webp&s=c2dea67296534d099c8712005eb57e48a07db438
The race to secure lithium supplies for EV production has commenced with GM making an investment into Lithium Americas (LAC) and Ford signing an agreement with Albemarle (ALB) to secure lithium hydroxide for ~3M Ford EVs, positioning the lithium is poised for significant growth.
(Source: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/albemarle-establishes-strategic-agreement-with-ford-motor-company-301830403.html)
Indicators point to this being the early stages of a commodities super cycle as the lag between commodity price signals and changes in supply is widening.
NILI's Nevada North Lithium Project consists of 243 mineral claims over 1,946 hectares with significant lithium content ranging from 29.1 ppm to 5,120 ppm, including 274 samples of 508 carrying 1,000 ppm Li or greater.
NILI will be drilling 7 new locations at Nevada North within an extensive surface geochemical covering an area of about 1,700m east-west. The new targets were selected to expand the currently identified lithium deposit to the west and north, as well as to determine continuity between the 2022 holes drilled.
While NILI is still in the early stages, it's well positioned for growth going forward with enough capital to expedite and complete its 2H 2023 exploration programs.
For more information, check out this NILI feature from Benzinga: https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/23/05/ab32309435/surge-battery-metals-strengthens-balance-sheet-and-executive-team-to-accelerate-ambitious-2h2023-
Posted on behalf of Surge Battery Metals Inc.

Let me begin by saying that I'm enjoying the game. I played with some random people online and it was fun. Playing single player right now to learn the game more. I've come across a few issues though, some are rather annoying honestly. I'll list the ones that I've come across the most often so far.

1. Build menu bug, if I want to construct a workstation, I have to go to a different tab and move around different icons before going back to the station tab and then I'll have a 50/50 chance of being able to select something.
   
2. Using a controller, whenever I want to put down a wood wall as flooring or background, it will create one random blueprint block Infront of the character. Not a bad issue but it's annoying to get that everytime I start to build.
   
3. Issues with healing colonist
   

A.Trying to heal colonist that are bleeding or are injured but I can't heal them while they are working or standing near doors or near campfires.
B. It's rather annoying that colonist will not heal themselves, making it a struggle to heal a colonist that's far away or one that is just simply working/sleeping or just standing in a bad spot

1. Colonist do not defend themselves with melee weapons. If a colonist doesn't have ammo and gun, you have to rush to go save them, and then heal them... like I said in point 3, can be a major struggle.
   
2. Not a bug but the UI for crafting feels weird when using a controller. Clicking on an order in your order list with a controller can be a little wonky as you can easily click on the wrong one
   
3. Sometimes my character gets locked into looking west or east, so I cant turn around and defend myself
   
4. Don't know if it's intentional or not but dying makes me lose all items, accidentally died near my base from fall damage, went to check on my body and I lost everything. I tested it again and equipped some cheap stuff to make but I lost everything again. My body was gone this so I couldn't loot it
   

Overall, I'm having fun. RimWorld, Starbound, and terraria are my favorite indie games so I have high hopes for this game as well. Can't wait to see where the game is from a year from now! Thank you for a fun game

The second edition of ESC took place in Frankfurt, Germany. Does that mean one of the German songs won in 1956 as the usual tradition is? Well no it was Switzerland who also hosted the first edition but apparently didn't want to host another the next year. To this day rumours persist that Germany got second place probably with "Im Wartesaal zum großen Glück" from Walter Andreas Schwarz but since no ranking was released to this day we can't know for sure. Some even believe Germany won. Anyway the good thing about this contest is that this contest can be fully watched with moving images. The director of this was Michael Kehlmann, an Austrian movie director. I sinceryly hope he was better at camerawork for his movies as it was filmed rather static and with a persistence of keeping the artists heads in close-up for lengthy periods which felt rather disturbing to me. Quality wise the songs were in my opinion a lot weaker than the previous edition with most contestants playing it rather safe and with little variety.
1957 saw the introduction of a real jury system where each country had to divide 10 points over the rivaling countries. So here it was made clear you can't vote for your own country, a rule which probably was not in place in 1956 but as of 1957 it was set in stone and never changed. Don't really know if that meant that 1 country could give the full 10 points to just 1 country. I notice however that only France divided their points over 2 countries while all other countries divided their points over 3 to 6 countries. No one ended up with 0 points and every country got points from at least 2 countries. Strange system but at least better than the shady backroom voting from the previous edition, which certainly was put into question and led to protest. To this day there is still a points system and no matter the result there is always people not understanding why song X ended up so low and song Y so high. Some things never change and this adds to the fun. Apparently the points system was borrowed from UK's 'Festival of British Popular Songs' which decided on the entry representing the UK in the ESC. So a scoreboard was introduced which was adapted after each call (by a traditional phone) from one of the juries of the competing countries.
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With the 3 countries broadcasting but not sending a song for various reasons (UK, Austria, Denmark) last year now joining the competition there was no more need for each country to send 2 songs. So 1 song per country (and this remained so for later editions) but 2 people were allowed on stage (in 1956 only solo artists on stage). So more countries involved (10 vs 7 in 1956) but less songs (10 vs 14 in 1956). Last change was a rule stipulating that songs could not exceed 3 minutes but a few countries really went over that limit by quite a margin. Maybe that rule was introduced quite late and therefore no one was disqualified for exceeding it.
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We saw a first duet with Denmark. Italy and the Netherlands had a musician accompanying the singer. We also saw a first prop emerging (Germany) and some other costumes than the traditional tuxedo or evening gown (Denmark).
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For those wanting more info about this edition check the wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurovision_Song_Contest_1957
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The full show can be watched here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViOi13j5cO8&t=4s
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1. Belgium - Straatdeuntje - Bobbejaan Schoepen (32 years) starts at 3:15

Just like previous edition the ESC kicked off with a song sung in Dutch however this time it comes from the Dutch/Flemmish speaking part of Belgium (Flanders). Bobbejaan Schoepen was the first Flemmish singer to try. Even though his success period was far before my time I knew that whistling was a trademark of his. He even had a song dedicated to whistling 'De jodelende fluiter' (The yodling whistler). Bobbejaan had an obsession with the Far West and often dressed with a cow-boy hat and later founded a theme park with a Wild West theme giving it his name 'Bobbejaanland'. Here of course he was as expected in a suit but with his hands in his pockets immediately giving him a pretty laid back attitude. The song is indeed a happy one about a melody he hears everywhere he goes making him happy. Don't think this had a chance winning, enjoyable definitely but in the end a bit too simplistic.
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1. Luxembourg - Amours mortes aka Tant de peine - Danièle Dupré (29-30 years) starts at 7:25

Language: French - Result: 4th (tied) - Points: 8
Just like last year Luxembourg send a female French singer to represent them. As expected she went for a French chanson about a break up. I'm absolutely no fan of these type of songs unless it has some quicker pace. Also I often compare French chansons with Edith Piaff whose famous hits at least had some recognizable melody and chorus. Danièle's birth date varies from the source. The most common is that she was born in 1927 but other sources say her birth year is 1938 which is a huge difference. Looks to me 1927 is correct as she already had quite a bit of songs as a minor star and retired from the music business in 1958. She would during the show become long lasting friends with her compatriot entering for France Paule Desjardins.
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1. United Kingdom - All - Patricia Bredin (22 years) starts at 10:55

Language: English - Result: 7th - Points: 6
Patricia Bredin had the honour to be the UK's first ESC entry. She won as part of the Malcolm Lockyer Quartet the first Festival of British Popular Songs convincingly. Patricia was in the first place an actress (Malcolm Lockyer was a film composer and conductor so makes sense) but also did musicals. Presenter Anaid Iplicjian (from Armenian descent) referred to the UK as England a few times. With a duration of 1'52 this song remained the shortest in ESC history until 2015 when Finland came with a song of only 1'27. So yeah I can be pretty short about this entry too. She has a high soprano voice so even if your English is good it's just hard to understand what she is singing most of the time. It felt more like an opera song and I guess that's why it didn't do too well here. Was the disappointing result the reason UK didn't enter in 1958 and also didn't organise the Festival of British Popular Songs? However from 1959 they wouldn't miss a single ESC. Patricia's song was never recorded or released on a single.
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1. Italy - Corde della mia chitarra - Nunzio Gallo (28 years) starts at 13:35

Language: Italian - Result: 6th - Points: 7
In previous edition two young females were sent, this time a male artist got a try. Nunzio Gallo was accompanied by a guitar player who gets quite a bit of exposure with some solos (a really long one at the start). Nunzio sings a ballad which gave me much more latino/Spanish vibes than Italian. He sings a love song not for a woman but for his guitar. This theme actually reminds me of the Belgian entry of 2010 Tom Dice with "Me and my guitar". The biggest problem is the song's duration with over 5 minutes going well beyond the maximum time limit. Also its very slow pace makes it very hard to sit through. Fortunately Italy would bring a real hit in the next edition.
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1. Austria - Wohin kleines Pony - Bob Martin (34 years) starts at 19:45

Language: German - Result: 10th - Points: 3
Debut for Austria but Bob Martin wasn't the first Austrian performing in ESC. That honour goes to Freddy Quinn entering in 1956 for Germany with "So geht das jede Nacht". The song is accompanied by jazzy music. Of course a 30+ guy singing about riding his pony through the fields is a tad weird but at least he seems to be having a good time smiling a lot during his performance. It's also the only song which is (slightly) more uptempo than the other entries. A last place is rather harsh but I can understand this song perhaps didn't really fit well in the contest. After ESC he remained popular in southern Austria. His real name was Leo Heppe.
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1. Netherlands - Net als toen - Corry Brokken (24 years) starts at 23:20

Language: Dutch - Result: 1st - Points: 31
The winning song and this time even a critical one like me will find it hard to disagree. If they stuck to the rules this entry would be disqualified as it is going approximately 1 and half minute over the 3 minutes time limit. However it doesn't feel like ever lasting like Italy's due to a good pacing, great vocals and some really good music accompanying the song. Dutch conductor Dolf van der Linden was so eager to start making the orchestra start before Corry Brokken reached the microphone. Corry's previous entry was a break up song now it's again about a relationship but one that is already lasting a very long time. So yes the couple especially the man have become old (and grey) and their love has become a bit stale. But since he can still flirt (with other women I suppose) his wife wishes he would be sweet and gallant towards her, give her roses, say she is beautiful and all that jazz just like the time they first fell in love (referring to the song's title). Yes it's kinda weird given the young age of Corry and it's rather schmulzy. Also the style is a bit the same as her 1956 song "Voorgoed voorbij". However her vocals and the accompanying music really make up for that. About halfway a violin joins her on stage who also gets a solo towards the end. I'm not surprised this won quite convincingly and deservedly.
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1. Germany - Telefon, Telefon - Margot Hielscher (37 years) starts at 28:30

Language: German - Result: 4th (tied) - Points: 8
Host Germany did the opoosite of Italy after sending 2 men in 1956, now a woman was selected. Margot Hielscher already tried her luck at the German National final in 1956 but was unsuccessful. In 1957 she won and became the first woman to represent Germany at ESC. She was the first artist to use a prop on stage. What was more applicable than a telephone since that was the instrument for many years to come for the juries of the participating countries to send their points. Margot used the phone for another purpose though, expecting a call from her lover. Between talking in several languages (mostly saying hello) she sings in a calm and soft voice. The song in itself is not that special but the phone as gimmick is cool. Her song was also too long almost like 4 minutes. Placing 4th wasn't too bad and we would see her return the next year with a more uptempo song (and another prop). For the German audience she was no unknown being active since the 1940s as both singer and actress.
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1. France - La belle amour - Paule Desjardins (34-35 years) starts at 33:40

Language: French - Result: 2nd - Points: 17
A song about love in a French café. I liked this one more than the French song from Luxembourg. It came second and I don't think that is undeserved given she has a lovely voice even though the song in itself quickly fades from my memory. Paule had moderate success with a musical career lasting until 1962. When she married she stopped singing and started working as designer for the lingerie company of her husband. Her full birth date is unknown, Spanish wiki mentioned she was born in 1922.
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1. Denmark - Skibet skal sejle i nat - Birthe Wilke (20 years) and Gustav Winckler (31 years) starts at 38:00

Language: Danish - Result: 3rd - Points: 10
Denmark made its debut bringing the ESC its first duet. They were actually the only contestants in the first Dansk Melodi Grand Prix where 6 songs were entered 2 by them as duet and 2 by each as solo artists. As native Dutch/Flemmish speaker I can clearly hear it's from the same language family (German) as mine even though I hardly understand a word of it. I like the sound of it though and while it's nice that the presenter tells us that the translation of the song is "when the ship is sailing out" looking at the man's uniform it's pretty clear he is a sailor saying goodbye to his beloved girlfriend and future wife who is also wearing a typical dress from the country. There is also some gestures like him kissing a picture of her indicating he will be thinking about her on his trip and putting a ring on her finger meaning they will marry when he comes back. Actually the sailing theme is already clear before we see the couple as the orchestra starts with the sound of a ship's horn. It's all lovey dovey and cute but it works and they sing in harmony, complementary. A top 3 placing was well deserved in my opinion. Oh yes and there was in the end an 11 second kiss which definitely shocked the audience. They were applauded anyway. Did that hamper their chances to win, nah I think the Dutch entry was just too strong.
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1. Switzerland - L'Enfant que j'étais - Lys Assia (33 years) starts at 42: 30

Language: French - Result: 8th (tied) - Points: 5
Lys Assia returned to defend the ESC crown of Switzerland. The new crown however went to the other returning performer from 1956 Corry Brokken. Interesting to note that her birthday was the 3rd of March, the same day as the the contest of 1957 took place. I can't think of any other reason why the ESC took place so early (usually it's in May). She wasn't however gifted a good end result finishing a tied 8th with Belgium. Hard to understand as I found this song about a happy childhood very sweet and more captivating than her entries from 1956. However it was also too long about 4 minutes. But vocally I found her a lot better than the French songs from Luxembourg and France. Was it perhaps too childish or too happy? Notice that the other 2 songs in the bottom 3 were Belgium and Austria both upbeat songs. However Lys would still come back for a third consecutive time in 1958 just like winner Corry Brokken. Lys would do well a year later but Corry suffered even a worse fate as title defender than Lys.
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My top 10 was a bit harder to compile except the top 2 which stuck with me after 1 hearing. The rest is not too memorable for me.
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1. Netherlands
2. Denmark
3. Switzerland
4. Germany
5. Austria
6. Belgium
7. France
8. Luxembourg
9. Italy
10. UK

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Deceased artists
Paule Desjardins (1962) 39-40 years (only the Spanish wiki has a year of decease)
Gustav Winckler (1979, cause: car crash) 53 years
Bob Martin (1998) 75 years
Nunzio Gallo (2008) 79 years
Bobbejaan Schoepen (2010) 85 years
Danièle Dupré (2015) 88 years, French wiki has birth year 1938 and decease in 2013 (75 years)
Corry Brokken (2016) 83 years
Margot Hielscher (2017) 97 years
Lys Assia (2018) 94 years
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Alive artists
Patricia Bredin (88 years)
Birthe Wilke (87 years)
You can check reviews also on RelivingEurovision

For those who can't wait to play TL and didn't get a chance to play or see all the skills I was able to retrieve from the Korea CBT by watching streamers and other spreadsheets collected by the community. One of our discord admins created a spreadsheet for you! Enjoy theory crafting with your friends until further notice on the next test or launch.
Remember this is data collected from the recent CBT and is all subject to change with the possibility of some data missing.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LuRY1Lzz-AWshsUS1c0XzHrsUtbXXoU6DtzUK8Duej4/edit?usp=sharing
Eclipsegaming is recruiting for NA West when Throne and Liberty releases! Feel free to join the discord and grow with us! discord.gg/eclipsegaming
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