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      Welcome!   03/05/2016

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Vorlonagent

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Posts posted by Vorlonagent

  5. Posted

    14 minutes ago, CritterKeeper said:

    What worked before was that the children and grandchildren of the Irish, Italians, Poles, Russians, etc. grew up in America, learned to speak English as fluently as everyone else, and blended in enough that their "racial" differences (and they were considered different races at one time) were small enough the rest of the population could accept and embrace them.  What's different now is that the various minorities look different enough that blending in is going to take a lot more generations.  We'll either have to figure out how to go from a "melting pot" to a hearty chunky stew, incorporating without absorbing, or wait until there's been enough intermarriage that appearance is a continuum that everyone sees all of every day.  Like I said, that will take a long time.  Here's hoping we learn to love stew!

    I don't think a different formula to "melting pot" is needed.  Maybe more time is to integrate a greater more obvious difference, perhaps.  I don't think "melting pot" is even being tried at the moment.  Not intentionally anyway.  Great emphasis is being put on demographic differences between people and creating elaborate, often government backed schemes for "equalizing" those differences.  (if equality is ever actually achieved, these schemes will by definition all need to be dismantled). 

    We are far more alike than we alike than we are different.  I believe emphasizing differences between demographic groups in order to end different treatment is self-defeating.  I think looking upon the differences between groups as trivial to a common identity is superior. 

  7. Posted

    2 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

    It's definitely not inevitable, unfortunately. But we can hope.

    I think it is inevitable.  The US "melting pot" has done it for previous racial and cultural divisions.  There's no reason why it won't work with women and the current set of protected minorities.  The big difference is the current set are trying a different strategy.  For reasons you state, that strategy may not be successful.  If not successful, equality may not occur until sometime after failure is understood, accepted and some other approach emerges.  maybe even what worked before.

  8. Posted

    5 minutes ago, The Old Hack said:

    I prefer to let Americans speak for the US system but I can with confidence state this of Denmark: misogyny is still alive and rampant, and so is racism. We have made some progress against the former, not so much against the latter. But in neither case is it simply a matter of 'clearing it out.' It is an ongoing struggle against a growth more like kudzu than merely mowing down corn. Every gain must be fought for and afterwards jealously guarded so we will not lose it again. Changing a society is a struggle of generations and lifetimes and sometimes the opposing forces tear deep chasms in the fabric that binds it together. *sigh*

    The topic of how bad things are in the US is really something for the Politics thread, so I'm going to leave it alone.  The multi-generational problem of cleaning out the "isms" embedded in the collective mind of a nation is what I am referring to when I say, "clearing it out is going to take time".  You would be lucky if turning deep societal perceptions are only as hard as turning a battleship or aircraft carrier. 

    Gains and losses are going to be the order of the day too, unfortunate as any losses would be.  It's all a process of trial by fire.  The harder the goal, the hotter the flame, the better the results.  Maybe what looks like a loss is just taking a piece back to the fire to burn some dross off it.  The really important stuff will stay, even if it doesn't look like it sometimes, especially if anybody can make money or further their political career by claiming things are worse than they are.

    But we'll get there.  Denmark will get there.  The US will get there.  It's inevitable.  Civilization just has about 10,000 years of mommy and daddy issues to work through.

    The Old Hack reacted to this

  9. Posted

    1 minute ago, The Old Hack said:

    Many of them actually have excellent self-control. Once they have a secure grip of power, some of them simply do not bother anymore. They figure that in most cases, displays of temper will be long forgotten by the time the next election rolls around. In other cases, temper is seen by some voters as a feature, not a bug. In their eyes it makes politicians seem manly and strong, unless of course they are women who if they lose their temper are instead deemed hysterical and weak. Similarly, a male politician who shouts is being firm whereas a female one is shrill. Misogyny has deep roots in the political system.

    Only because there's still some misogyny still abroad in the popular subconscious and clearing that out is just going to take time.  Women will have to establish what female "strength" sounds like.  That's going to be a problem, certainly in the US because US politics so strongly caters to emotion and attempts to elicit emotional responses.

    True decisiveness often speaks with a calm voice.

  10. Posted

    2 hours ago, ProfessorTomoe said:

    Just chatted with the artist on Facebook. She's going to have the copyright release paperwork proofread and sent tonight so I can send back the signed copy tomorrow and shoot the whole ball of wax to Disc Makers. Alllllllmost finished!!!!!!

    drumroll please....

  11. Posted

    5 minutes ago, The Old Hack said:

    That is highly manipulative but if done correctly can be very effective. People show more of their true nature when they are angry. It is one reason that insults, veiled or otherwise, are such a large part of politics. An angry opponent is not only more likely to make mistakes but also to unwittingly show personality facets they might have preferred to keep hidden.

    ...so how do so many people with poor self-control make it into public office?

  13. Posted

    11 hours ago, The Old Hack said:

    I think my avatar indicates which Moper I most closely identify with.

    My avatar sort of is.  I connect most strongly with Elliot, but male-Elliot.  Female-Elliot. even when when the form isn't a decoy form has a distinctly different mindset.

  14. Posted

    14 hours ago, ChronosCat said:

    While seeing Rhoda chase Ashley around might have been fun, it could have been painful for Ashely if Rhoda had caught her, so it's just as well that's not the direction things went. (Well, theoretically it could have been more than painful, but I imagine Rhoda would have stopped herself before it got too dangerous.)

    This being EGS, a Rhoda-chasing-Ashley scene would have to turn into a Tom and Jerry cartoon.

  15. Posted

    5 hours ago, The Old Hack said:

    If it didn't do him any good, then it is entirely because he resisted the lesson she was teaching. I have been called out many a time myself. I find that when I pay attention, I always learn something. Very often about myself; always about the person doing the calling out. And since the latter part may apply to others as well -- possibly a great number of other people -- I find that to frequently be the more important part of the lesson.

    ..so if you want to learn more about people get them to yell at you...

  19. Posted

    1 minute ago, hkmaly said:

    Oh yes, Ashley with calm spell, we speculated about this when she has the spell cast on her didn't we?

    Of course, this assumes they will bother taking Ashley with them as opposed to let her sleep in car. Do they NEED her for anything? ... hmmm ... maybe as distraction for Elliot after he's split?

    Hostages are always fun.

    1 minute ago, hkmaly said:

    Not-Tengu was not aberration. He just resisted the spell.

    I know.  Sirleck probably has as much or more resistance as not-Tengue.

    2 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

    Oh, definitely: if he releases Ellen voluntary, which I just said he will do, she will be drained but alive. I think her being magic user won't help her

    It seemed like there was a question about whether magus releasing a host is fatal.  I was agreeing with you more than anything, though I could probably have made that clearer.

  20. Posted

    37 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

    I really hope so, but some people ARE so naive.

    Especially if they are desperate and low on options.

    37 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

    Agree with both. It would be cool to have Ashley get some powers, but most likely, she's really there just to provide someone Magus can talk to and say everything the readers need to know.

    If Ashley were to touch the Dewitchery Diamond there would suddenly be a second Ashley there capable of casting a "calm" spell...  There's also a whole lot of other artifacts she could get into especially if Elliot and Sirleck-possessing-Magus square off.

    37 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

    He doesn't deserve it, and after all the talk about aberrations being impossible to cure? Unlikely.

    Ed Verres was pretty clear on Aberrants/Vampires and return to humanity.  To humanize them again would kill them.  I imagine FV5ing Sirleck would be like FV5ing not-Tengue's monster form.  I expect you'd only be able to hit Sirleck when he's corporeal (i.e. between bodies), which is rare. If he's possessing someone, the effect would probably hit the host body not Sirleck.

    Question through.  What happens if Sirleck possessing Ellen touched the Dewitchery Diamond?  Ellen is instantly free, Sirleck gets a new body.   His ability to "pass on the curse" could well be to grant the the ability to posses people Sirleck-style which would probably mean turning people into Sirleck-like Aberrants/Vampires.  That would be pretty terrifying.

    37 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

    He would totally voluntarily release a healthy body with some mostly useless magic in exchange for healthy body with lot of useful battle-ready spells (Magus).

    Sirleck possessed and released the school custodian without killing her.  It shouldn't be an automatic death sentence, but having Sirleck latched onto a non magic-using human body looks to be very draining.  Probably would be for Ellen too.

  21. Posted

    1 hour ago, Scotty said:

    Magus isn't female at the moment, so he's not being affected by FV5, the beam just got him into Elliot's body, beyond that there's absolutely no indication that FV5 is active so there's shouldn't be any chance that Magus would wind up female when he touches the diamond.

    Agreed.  magus-Elliot is male and as long as he's male when touching the Dewitchery Diamond, his new body should also be male.  I guess it's possible that there's something of Ellen's original handbeam left in the enchantment-like effect that allows Magus to possess Elliot but Elliot being male argues against it.

    The only way Magus ought wind up being female would be if the change in Magic's rules gave the Dewitchery Diamond greater freedom to act.   Pure speculation here: maybe the DD makes a female magus (Femagus?) because Elliot stands out to the DD as one of the few, perhaps even the first, repeat customer for its service?  So hey, throw in a FV5 for good measure.  Or maybe it does pick up on the FV5 beam by which Magus "curses" Elliot's body. 

    Magus would receive the ability to spread the curse of being able to incorporeally possess Elliot?  Possess their own dimensional doppelgangers?  And maybe Femagus gets handbeams too?  I don't know. 

    I do not pretend this is anywhere in the same zip code as "likely"., just remotely possible.

  22. Posted

    9 minutes ago, hkmaly said:

    The comics seems already changed to her saying two. Meanwhile, the commentary is still talking about small being two-type, but small is one-type.

    I'm sure Ashley would  still want to be transformed after the game as well. Possibly with wardrobe malfunction, although she already got the "improvised clothing" bit.

    It sure looks like Ashley's outfit has changed as well...

  25. Posted

    4 minutes ago, The Old Hack said:

    The Moderator: I truly apologise but I do not currently feel able to reopen the politics thread. I am entirely to blame as it is my judgment that it would at this time be too difficult for me to manage to remain aloof in judging potential conflicts. I am very sorry.

    ~tOH.

    No stress.  As i say, we've been down that road and everybody has said what they were going to say. I would only be venting. 

    Anybody who is interested and doesn't want to push through politics archives is welcome to IM me.

    I took a small action and that balanced the scales nicely.

    The Old Hack reacted to this