dollypopinspiration:

eberfigueira

Back to the set I designed for

@herculesuniversal

early September in Brazil. Thanks

@francescosourigues

He'd only meant it as a joke, but here she was. Ginny Weasley, his celebrity crush, armed with economy toilet paper rolls and three dozen eggs, ready to commit a misdemeanor all in the name of charity. Muggle AU

Just a short post to note that this year’s Abel prize has been awarded jointly to Hillel Furstenberg and Grigory Margulis for “for pioneering the use of methods from probability and dynamics in group theory, number theory and combinatorics”.  I was not involved in the decision making process of the Abel committee this year, but […]

In contrast to previous notes, in this set of notes we shall focus exclusively on Fourier analysis in the one-dimensional setting for simplicity of notation, although all of the results here have natural extensions to higher dimensions. Depending on the physical context, one can view the physical domain as representing either space or time; we […]

Today is the book birthday for my new epic fantasy novel for adults, RACE THE SANDS!!! My 20th book!!! It's about two kickass women vying to become monster racing champions. I loved writing this book, and I hope it will provide an escape to everyone who needs one. 

Tomorrow (Friday 5/8) I'll be taking over the HarperCollins Library Love Fest Instagram to show you my writing space, with a video tour at 11am EDT. Come visit my writing room, meet my cat, and see where I create my monsters and the women who ride them! https://www.instagram.com/harperlibrary

TODAY!!! Come visit me on the HarperCollins Library Love Fest Instagram today (Fri 5/8)! I'm taking over their Instagram account all day to show you pictures and videos of my writing space! Just posted the video tour! 

https://www.instagram.com/harperlibrary

A friend wrote to me today urging me to read Killing the Rising Sun as, by he said, Bill O’Reilly, since it made the case that the U.S. had to drop atomic bombs on Japan. My reply: You underestimate me, my friend; I’ve already read to Killing the Rising Sun. The key issue out of […]

Robyn Meta Herrington, active member of both SFWA and SF Canada, passed away fifteen years ago today, on Monday morning, May 3, 2004, in Calgary, Alberta, after a courageous multi-year battle with cancer. Robyn’s short fiction appeared in such places as On Spec, Talebones, Adventures of Sword and Sorcery, Parsec, and in Mike Resnick‘s DAW […]

In my new novel, The Oppenheimer Alternative — coming June 2, 2020, and available for pre-order now — the following exchange occurs between J. Robert Oppenheimer and his wife Kitty (with Kitty employing a racial slur that was regrettably all-too-common during the Second World War): “They … they’ve dropped a second bomb,” Oppie said, holding her. […]

My week has been stressful. They called Thursday and offered me the half-time job. They needed to know that day -- we haven't heard back on the lucrative job James has applied for, so I declined, citing the fact that I'm the only breadwinner and James hasn't heard back about the job he was waiting to hear from (I didn't mention to the HR person that it's a job at my same employer, because it's probably not her fault they're lagging on his job, and I'm not an asshole). She wanted to know when I'd know, and I said, "Well, I was supposed to know two weeks ago, so I mean, soon, I hope, but no guarantees."

She called me back an hour later and offered to give me a week to decide (because they actually don't want the other two people who interviewed, is my surmise), so yeah, rollercoaster day on Thursday.

And then a student's mom called and cussed me out for like half an hour. I don't take that stuff personally, but it does wear on me. My co-workers marvelled over and over about how calm I stayed, and I said (and I meant it), "She was frustrated. That's understandable. And I don't have to attend every fight I'm invited to," which became a theme for the week.

My mom got in a fracas with another member of her senior center, and I shared my week's theme with her. I think she felt a little chastised, but she also seemed to latch onto the theme as a potential sanity saver.

And then today at the donut shop, I accidentally passed up another person who was waiting to pay (because I followed the person who gave me our donuts to the register and didn't notice the other person who was standing away from the registers at the window. She berated me for many minutes about how rude I was, and how I should give a bitch some space, and how in America, we call this White Privilege, and and and... I just apologized, didn't engage beyond that, (felt frankly detached and mildly amused -- not sure what that says about me) and then once she'd left, the cashier apologized to me for the customer.

Me: "Nah, she's not wrong. I didn't see her, but I did cut in front of her."

I mean, I don't like being yelled at, or having people behave in ways that I perceive as rude towards me, but I'm not gonna fault someone for standing up for their space when I've violated it, so long as they're not hitting me or something. Not a fight I need to get into; not a hill I'm gonna die on.

So yeah, stressful week for many reasons, but not something that's gonna ruin my Saturday, which will now be completed by spending many many many hours writing and catching up on webcomics.

And how are YOU, dear ones?

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Some of us who are disabled and/or fat are worried we'll be denied access to scarce medical resources during the pandemic. This document describes our legal rights (in the US) and ways to maximize our likelihood of getting care.

#NoBodyIsDisposable Guide to Surviving COVID-19 Triage

Crips and fatties made this.
Please share with everyone who needs it.

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Bring the galaxy home on May the 4th.

That trip to Tosche Station can wait!

Co-founder and designer Erik Haldi discusses the company's first Star Wars enamel pin: Luke Skywalker on his tauntaun.

Plus, get a first look at the game’s key art -- revealed in celebration of Star Wars Day!

The award-winning title from ILMxLAB heads to PlayStation VR this summer.

Emmy Nominee Leslye Headland to write, produce, and serve as showrunner for new untitled Star Wars series for Disney+.

Get behind-the-scenes peeks from the production of The Mandalorian with personal photos from Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, and many more.

Two StarWars.com writers debate Luke’s choice in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

In the chilling series finale, Ahsoka and Rex try to survive Order 66 and plot one final escape.

Continuing my project to journal all of my travel adventures, we come to an entertaining entry: The Big Island of Hawaii and the Great Luggage Chase of 2013.

The trip was well planned but poorly executed due to weather mishaps. I was supposed to fly DCA-JFK-LAX-KOA but snow dropped visibility to near zero at JFK so my plane was rerouted to Providence, RI after we took off from DCA. After several hours Delta put everyone back on a plane to JFK and rescheduled the connecting flights outbound from there. There was no way I was going to make it out to LAX in time to catch the Delta flight to Hawaii,  but as I was still a shiny Diamond Medallion back then and mattered to the airline, Delta put me on an AA flights to ensure I would get to Hawaii one way or another. The AA flight routed through PDX (Portland) and because of more weather problems our flight into Portland was delayed and I missed my Hawaii flight after all. Now I was stranded in Portland overnight, while my luggage (including my coat) was in LAX (it had remained on my original itinerary). 44 degrees Fahrenheit and I was dressed in anticipation of Hawaii with my sleeveless summer dress and flip-flops. Gah! Are you laughing yet? 

Delta put me up in a hotel for the evening and in the next morning I was back at the airport in my dirty clothes, tired, cranky, and eager to get to Hawaii. Let this vacation start already! I landed on Kona Island (also called Hawaii Island or the Big Island) and was immediately dismayed to find my luggage wasn’t due to arrive until that evening (having missed the evening flight the night before, they put it on the next evening flight available 24 hours later). This was a problem as I was going to be on the road for most of the trip, exploring. I left information with Delta on my whereabouts for that evening and hoped for the best. I hopped into my rental car and headed for Volcano National Park. Along the way, the scenery was gorgeous and for a good portion of the trip my car was the only one on the highways I traveled.

I journeyed to the end of the Chain of Craters Road, which follows along the ocean and dead ends at a lava flow that closed the road beyond.

As I approached Volcano National Park, the sun began to set.

There was a beautiful lava lake in the Halema’uma’u crater (the 2019 eruption of Mt. Kilauea drained it) and I was lucky enough to stand before it that evening and enjoy its stunning ebb and flow. My poor quality cell phone picture cannot capture its essence.

I had an intense dinner at Thai Thai in Volcano. It was the hottest Thai food I have ever had outside of Bankok and it brought on an instant headache and the feeling that my lips were on fire. I recommend the place only if you can stand the heat.

The next morning I was up at 4am with plans to visit the highest point on the island and the summit of the tallest mountain in the world – Mauna Kea. From its base, Mauna Kea is over 10,000 meters tall (Mt. Everest is just 8,850 for comparison). It was a cold journey as my luggage still had not arrived into Hawaii (Delta was frantically searching for my bags and could not locate them in the system at all) and so I had only my summer dress I wore on the flight to Hawaii and the t-shirt/shorts combo I purchased the day before. The view from the top proved more than worth the discomfort of the cold.

As I was descending from the summit, Delta called with some good news. They found my bags at KOA. They said they would hold them for me till later that evening when I arrived for my flight to HNL. And they gave me a $200 delta voucher for my trouble. That made me feel a little bit better, but it reinforced the universal travel truth: checking luggage for a weekend trip is almost always a bad idea.

It was a leisurely drive back to KOA, with more scenic shots along the way.

When I got to KOA airport, Delta had some fun news for me. My bags weren’t at the airport anymore where they were supposed to be. As a “courtesy”, Alaska had picked them up from Delta baggage and sent a courier across the island to the hotel I stayed at the night before (2.5 hours away) to hand deliver them to me. With just a few hours before my departing flight for HNL, I told Delta they needed to get ahold of the driver and advise him to race his ass back to this side of the island to the airport. I was doubtful I would ever see my luggage again, but thirty minutes before takeoff, a very tired and sweaty courier waved at me and handed me my bags. As soon as I got to Waikiki and checked into my hotel, I took a long shower and enjoyed the luxury of putting on clean clothes- a ritual I usually take for granted.

I enjoyed a couple of relaxing days taking in the sun and fruity cocktail drinks on the beaches of Waikiki before heading home to Virginia.  That trip was delayed too, because of storms in Virginia, and I ended up spending the night near LAX and coming home a day later. All in all a good trip, excluding the weather and luggage fiascos. I have since been back to the Hawaiian Islands two or three times (to Oahu and Maui) but the Big Island is definitely the most spectacular of them all.  Go to Oahu for the history and shopping, go to Maui for the food, but go to the Big Island for the rugged scenery that will take your breath away.

Japanime recently sent me a review copy of their storytelling game Cartooner  from designer Jason Thompson, and as soon as I read the detailed description of this real-time drawing game I was a bit anxious about playing it. In Cartooner , players take on the role of cartoonists tasked with creating comic strips that carry their artistic vision and the narrative demands of their readers. I am a terrible artist. Stick figure level artistry, if we are being honest. My fragile ego doesn’t always react well to attempting tasks I am terrible at (hello shame and feelings of self-loathing). But all three of my kids love to draw and were quite excited about the game so I reluctantly brought Cartooner to the table one recent afternoon and we gave it a go as a family.

In the first round of the game each player is dealt three theme cards which represent their core artistic vision and they must draw a comic strip with two panels during the allotted time period (in student mode, which we played under, it’s eight minutes). Fame points are awarded for drawing in every panel (scribbles don’t count), incorporating the themes, and using no more than three word balloons (unlimited sound effects and symbols are allowed). In the second through fourth rounds, the rules and point qualifications are the same except that there are additional panels that must be filled (four panels total in the 2^nd round, six in the 3^rd, and eight in the 4^th), the storyline must logically follow from the first round’s comic strip, and additional fame points are available for adhering to the guidelines on selected trend cards which represent the content demands of our comic strip readers.

After each round of Cartooner, fame points are awarded to players by the consensus of all competitors as to how well each player qualified. At the end of the 4^th round, the player with the most fame points is declared the winner.

Components include 136 theme cards, 52 trend cards, 160 fame tokens, 64 pages for drawing comics, and the rulebook. Everything should hold up well under typical usage. There are colorful illustrations from Konstantin Pogorelov on the trend cards and the cover box but as this is a game designed for the players to create their own artwork, illustrations and print design are otherwise quite limited. Players will want to photocopy the comic book pages (or order additional books from the publisher) as the initial supply extends only to four games, assuming four players each game.

I was a ball of self-doubt going into round one as everyone began drawing, but once my storyline starting flowing out of my pen, I got lost in the creative process and really began to enjoy myself. Over each successive round I cared less and less that my drawings were Highlights magazine submission quality. I was heavily invested in the development of my characters and the evolution of my storyline. I also took a lot of pleasure in reading the comics of my competitors. Everyone did an amazing job with their strips and the stories were funny and fascinating.

My husband Chris drew a comic strip about a deadly virus, the bad guys who want to unleash it, and the team out to save the world from it. Our son Locke created a lighthearted strip about puppets dancing in space while our other son Max devised a comic about an agoraphobic lock that was being pursued by evil keys wanting to pry it open. Our daughter Helenipa shared her thieving ghosts at the heart of her comic strip and I terrified everyone with my tale of the unfortunate twins separated at birth who are reunited only when the one left at the orphanage returns to seek vengeance.

By the time we were finished, we didn’t even care much about the points and winning. We were really happy with our stories and the experience of sharing them. No one at our game table experienced any analysis paralysis but there was a low-level undercurrent of anxiety that progressively increased each round as we all wondered if we would get our panels completed before the time ran out (spoiler: we frequently didn’t).

Cartooner is the re-implementation of a previously released game, Mangaka, from the same designer and publisher. Therefore, while its mechanisms are not unique, the subject matter has shifted from anime to American style comic strips. This is a significant enough change to justify adding Cartooner  to your collection, even if you already own Mangaka. If you’re trying to decide between the two, note that Cartooner  features simpler themes and trends that will appeal to a broader age base and cultural demographic. We only needed to remove a handful of cards to keep the game family-friendly.

I’m really glad I pushed through my anxiety and played Cartooner. It’s a great game for stimulating creative ideas, building a cohesive narrative, and honing the ability to work under tight deadlines. The sharing portion of each round fosters good will and allows players to encourage and build up one another, making it a great family game or even a good icebreaker for less familiar groups. This is definitely a game that’s going to come out to our gaming table again and again.

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Publisher: Japanime Games
Players: 1-8
Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About an hour
Game type: real-time, storytelling
Rating:

Jenni’s rating scale:
OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.
OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.
OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.
NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.

That second slice of cheesecake when the Cheesecake factory was running their $0.88 a slice promo. The late night boardgame marathon when I had to work early the next morning. Hosting a dinner party every night for 12 days during the 12 days of Christmas. I fell in love with the idea of all these things, but once I experienced them, I realized they were mismatched to my temperament. They were so enticing, and they whispered to me with promises of fun, but I couldn’t love them the way I wanted to. That’s what Shadows in Kyoto did to me too. I picked up a copy of the game based solely on the artwork. It’s beautiful, as we have come to expect from Maisherly Chan. I should have known what I was getting into because we already own other games that lean heavily toward the abstract - such as Hanamikoji (another game for which Maisherly provided artwork; see my review for it here: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1718238/what-jenni-said-about-hanamikoji) - and I have never come to love those games the way I do others in my collection. Perhaps it is because my frustration tolerance is pretty low for repeatedly losing game after game and that’s what happens with these 2-player abstract games in my collection. I play them against my husband (who holds a PhD in statistics) and I bend and twist and strain my brain to outwit him and it doesn’t work. I just end up with a headache and feelings of self-loathing. That’s exactly what happened every time we played Shadows in Kyoto.

The game puts players in the roles of Spy vs Spy in a battle between Oniwaban agents (backed by the Japanese Shogunate or military government) and ones employed by the new government that replaced the Shogunate. It’s a great theme that wraps around the strategic gameplay well. In our household there was much speculation as to whether the designers started with the historic theme and designed a game that fit it or created a theme around an abstract game they designed first.

The components are well made and include a sturdy center board, high quality thick cards, and wooden pawns.

The gameplay for Shadows in Kyoto is deceptively straightforward. Each player places their six pawns on the six starting locations on their side of the board as they see fit, with the markings for which ones are carrying real intelligence and which ones are carrying fake intelligence facing the player, so that the opposing player cannot see the markings. To win, a player must complete one of the following objectives:

• trick the opponent into capturing three of the player’s agents carrying fake intelligence
• capture both of the agents carrying real intelligence from the opponent
• get one of their agents carrying real intelligence to the back row of the opponent

Movement is controlled, in part, by playing location cards, which allows players to move to the designated type of space, following the movement rules (move only forward, move only 1 space at a time, cannot move into a space already occupied by your own agent). Instead of playing a location card, players can also play tactic cards that trigger movement. For example, the tunnel card allows a player to move any 1 of their agents horizontally to any other space on the same row, stopped only by an encounter with another pawn.

Encounters between pawns (when a pawn of one player moves into the space of the opposing player, “attacking” it) are resolved by revealing the markings on the back of the defender’s pawn and then comparing it to the markings on the back of the attacker’s pawn (which remains visible only to the attacker). If the comparison reveals the attacker’s pawn wins the encounter (3>2, 2>1, 1>0, and 0>3), then the attacker captures the defender’s pawn. Alternatively, if the defender’s pawn wins the encounter, it stays in its location on the board with its markings revealed and the attacker moves his pawn back to the location it was in before the encounter.

To spice up the game, Shadows in Kyoto also includes Charisma and Equipment cards. These cards can be distributed to the players to provide enhanced powers or abilities that alter some aspect of the rules in favor of the player. For example, the Ayane card allows a player to return a location card to their hand after playing it instead of putting in their discard pile.

No matter which way I placed my pawns initially, my husband was able to deduce my hidden information (i.e. the markings on the back of my pawns) after just a few encounters or find a way to move one of his agents carrying real intel quickly to the back row of my board. Again and again, I tried to make some kind of strategic progress and always failed to do so. I wanted to cry. I’m pretty sure I did cry at one point.

How could something with so few components and such basic rules be so difficult? Really, that’s the beauty of the game, if you’re one for elegant logic puzzles. In this way, Shadows in Kyoto is a fantastic game that should be highly appreciated by its target audience. It’s simple to learn, plays quickly, and requires a great deal of reasoning and strategy, both in the initial placement of one’s pawns and the ensuing gameplay. And the artwork is an exquisite bonus. The game’s just not right for me though, and that’s why I’m giving it one “oui”.

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Publisher: Deep Water Games
Players: 2
Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 20 minutes
Game type: abstract deduction
Rating:

Jenni’s rating scale:
OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.
OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.
OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.
NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.

There was a time – before I sank my teeth into the board game hobby and before I took on the demands of being a stepmom to three children - that I planned frequent trips for my friends circle. Each month would see us jet setting off to a different part of the United States (or a different part of the world) in search of adventure and great cuisine. I would pour myself into the research project that proper trip planning requires and create a custom itinerary for our group, working to ensure we caught all the highlights of our destination. This post is about the one I worked up for our last trip to some of the great Western National Parks in the United States.  I share it here with the hope that you might find the itinerary useful in planning your trip out west.

--> Full Photo Gallery – Come and Explore 

I'll be at TCAF in Toronto this weekend with thepapermouse -- just for fun! I won't be at a table, but YOU CAN buy Starfighter: Chapter 01 from the Saicoink's (romanshoubu) table! I don't have a number for where Saicoink will be, but I do know it's on the first floor somewhere (I'll update if I find out more!). If you find me, I can give you a sticker and my sweet love. Don't worry, I'll be gentle.

Con Info

See you there! -HamletMachine

Hey Everyone! Just want to let you all know that HamletMachine has set up Starfighter related accounts on both Twitter and Facebook. You'll now be able to get Starfighter updates on whichever site you prefer! You can get to these Starfighter related pages at any time via the icons in the upper-right hand side of this page. Feel free to drop by and say hello!

In other news, we've added a set of 1" buttons to the Starfighter Shop. You get one each of Cain, Abel, and the Starfighter Logo!

Also, I have it on good authority that a new page is on the way! -Thisbe

There's a new addition to the Starfighter Shop: custom tote bags! These 12 oz. cotton canvas deluxe totes feature a screen print of a brand new illustration. Measures 14"x13", perfect for carrying comics and showing your Starfighter love! On sale now!

Also, Starfighter Chapeter 02: Page 39 has just been posted! Thank you all so much! -HamletMachine

I will be traveling quite a bit from this weekend until the end of October for conventions!

Event Yaoi's Yaoi Yuri Con - I will be a guest of honor at this convention in Lyon, France! I don't get to travel abroad for conventions very often so I am really looking forward to meeting European fans! :)

NYCC - I will have a table in the Artist Alley! (Table T12)

Nijicon - I will be a guest here! (I'll have a panel!)

So, I have three cons this month (IT JUST SORTA HAPPENED), one of which is overseas, so the Starfighter updates will have to wait until I get back! That sucks, I know, but I will be meeting with friends and fans at conventions, so it's all for a good cause! :) I will be back shortly after I return to wrap up Encke and Keeler!

I hope to do you all proud! Thank you so much as always for your support! -Hamlet

Podle odhadu Evropské komise se česká ekonomika letos propadne o rekordní 6,2 procenta. To je více než za finanční krize v roce 2009. Se špatnými výsledky počítá odhad, který Brusel zveřejnil ve středu. Oproti evropskému průměru bude dopad koronaviru na HDP v Česku menší.

Dopravní podniky i soukromí dopravci obnovují běžné jízdní řády. Přestože stále hromadnou dopravu využívá zlomek lidí než před zahájením karanténních opaření, poklesy o 80 nebo 90 procent proti běžnému stavu už jsou minulostí.

U dvou zaměstnanců mladoboleslavské automobilky Škoda Auto byla zjištěna nákaza covid-19. Podle zjištění Práva to však nebude mít vliv na nedávno obnovený provoz závodu.

Zaměstnanci Škody Auto od pondělí začnou pracovat na tři směny, a to v závodech v Mladé Boleslavi a Kvasinách. Ve Vrchlabí zatím zůstává dvousměnný provoz, oznámil vedoucí komunikace podniku Tomáš Kotera. Automobilka obnovila výrobu 27. dubna ve všech třech českých závodech, ale jen na dvě směny. Obnovení výroby doprovází více než 80 hygienických opatření.