Pharaoh RutinTutin

Mr Dunkel obviously has the Dick Clark curse where an adult male must put great effort into his appearance each day to look mature. Otherwise, he looks like he never outgrew adolescence. Many men live with a similar curse where they may physically look their age, but must expend great effort to keep from acting like they never outgrew adolescence.

Another awkward moment?

The Greatest scandal of all was Conja-Gate Do you know the victims of that scandal? I am You are He is She is We are...

June 17 653 – Pope Martin I is arrested in the Lateran Palace before being taken to Constantinople and tried for high treason. The man had the audacity to get himself elected as Pope by the Cardinals without also getting permission from the Byzantine Emperor. 1397 – The Kalmar Union is formed under the rule of Margaret I of Denmark. I'm sure these Nordic neighbors will get along famously as a single country. 1462 – Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II (The Night Attack at Târgovişte), forcing him to retreat from Wallachia. I don't know why Vlad didn't change into a bat to pursue him before he escaped. 1579 – Sir Francis Drake claims a land he calls Nova Albion (modern California) for England. He wouldn't want it if he knew what the locals would do with it. 1631 – Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, will spend the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal. It's nice, but kind of fragile looking when compared to a pyramid. 1944 – Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic. Can you really declare yourself "Independent" when the American Army is occupying your country while the Nazi German Army is occupying the country from which you are declaring your independence? 1960 – The Nez Perce tribe is awarded $4 million for 7 million acres (28,000 km2) of land undervalued at four cents/acre in the 1863 treaty. Another 57 cents/acre 97 years later is certainly sufficient compensation. 1972 – Five White House operatives are arrested for burgling the offices of the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate Hotel, in an attempt by some members of the Republican party to illegally wiretap the opposition. As an old coach once said "If you think you need to cheat to win, you think you can't win".

This is scary https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mexico-goal-fans-celebrate-earthquake-seismic-activity-fifa-world-cup-2018/ Apparently, fans in Mexico City celebrated the win over Germany so intensely that it was detectable as a seismic event. What will happen if Mexico actually wins the tournament? Could they generate an earthquake that would trigger a tsunami in the Gulf of Mexico? My neighbors and I in Florida have some concerns.

I wonder if the world Magus is from, which uses "magic", may not have developed physics beyond the era of Newton? Newtonian physics very useful for your day to day issues involving matter and energy a human scale. But if this is a society that embraces "magic", would they make the leaps into relativity and quantum mechanics? Much of our electronics is dependent upon Quantum principles. And no. I do not insist that the home world for Magus must be some sort of gas lit, smoggy, soot covered, Victorian steampunk movie set where everyone on the street has some sort of magic item and speaks with a Cockney accent even if they aren't in London. I don't insist on it. But c'mon... what else could it be?

Nanase really should be Buttercup. If anyone pictured in this comic is going to be Bubbles, it should be Justin.

The first time Elliot, as a female, touched the diamond, Ellen emerged wearing an exact duplicate of what Elliot was wearing. When Magus, in Elliot's body, touched the diamond several different things happened. Elliot's body was duplicated, with a different hair colour. Elliot's clothes were duplicated, in different colours. Would Elliot's wallet have been duplicated? If so, would the duplicated versions of Elliot's driver license and ATM card have been sufficiently accurate for ordinary commerce (like providing passable ID for an eighteen year old kid who wants to check into a nice hotel paying cash)?

The best laid plans and all that... Magus doesn't plan to be in this reality for a moment longer than absolutely necessary. And chances are good that cash and credit cards from the EGS side of reality won't be negotiable instruments in Magus's home universe. So regardless of how much he took from Sirleck's estate, Magus may be spending freely, making it look like he has more money because he has no reason to save anything. And if he were to try to take it with him? First, what could he buy in the main EGS world that would be equally or more valuable in his home world? Next, how much can he carry while making the transfer? Does he actually know how to get back to his home world? If not, does he know someone who can help him get back to his home world? And is there still something for him to do in the main EGS world that he considers "necessary" before returning home? I know the last set of questions has been asked several times before. But they are worth repeating in relation to the other questions.

So Denmark beat Peru for their World Cup opener. And Iceland, the smallest country in the tournament, tied perennial favourite Argentina. If Sweden manages to get a result against South Korea on Monday, we may be looking at a Nordic dominated knockout round.

June 16 1586 – Mary, Queen of Scots, recognizes Philip II of Spain as her heir and successor. To bad for Phill that no one else with any political power in Britain recognized that plan. Rumor has it that he wound up as the overnight attendant at a gas station in the American Midwest. 1745 – War of the Austrian Succession: New England colonial troops under the command of William Pepperrell capture the Fortress of Louisbourg in Louisbourg, New France (Old Style date). Really just interesting to note how Britain was incredibly late to adopt the Gregorian Calendar that the rest of Europe was using. And if Britain had switched after the American Revolution, we would probably still be using the Julian Calendar in the United States. 1871 – The University Tests Act allows students to enter the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham without religious tests (except for those intending to study theology). The far stricter tests for social class and financial aptitude remain. 1884 – The first purpose-built roller coaster, LaMarcus Adna Thompson's "Switchback Railway", opens in New York's Coney Island amusement park. Note the designation "Purpose-Built". There had been plenty of wild downhill train rides in the past, but none of those were intended to be thrilling. 1911 – IBM founded as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in Endicott, New York. It barely looked like the tool for world domination at that point. 1940 – Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of State of Vichy France (Chef de l'État Français), and in the process goes from being one of the great heroes of a nation to being one of the most hated men in history. Sometimes you should decline that offer for a promotion or a new job. 1961 – Rudolf Nureyev defects from the Soviet Union as part of an elaborate plan to one day dance Swine Lake and sing Baby It's Cold Outside with Miss Piggy on the Muppet Show. 1963 – Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space on the Vostok 6 Mission. No more women would travel to space until Svetlana Savitskaya in 1982 and Sally Ride in 1983. Perhaps someone with a more thorough aeronautical background can explain why women were not suitable for space flight? 2007 – West Sussex County Council officially recognizes St Richard's Day as Sussex Day. What will happen now that there is a Duke of Sussex for the first time in 175 years and a Duchess of Sussex for the first time in ever?

The idea that there are large amounts of money being held by banks and similar institutions for deceased depositors, with no way for potential heirs to claim those accounts, is a real concern that is so frequently overused in fiction that it makes legitimate claimants look like characters from made-for-TV movies.

It is an athletic cup for the world.

Every character is a fanatic defender of Lawful Good. In their own mind. If other people use different criteria to define "Law" and "Good", well, that is their problem.

We didn't start the fire

Any hotel that features an interior corridor and has room service almost always requires some sort of identification and major credit card to check in. There is more than cash in the estate of Sirleck. Will the appropriate agencies be looking in the right direction when Magus swipes that card?

Well, Egypt lost the opener. Since the current Cairo government does not want me, they lose out on my strategic advice. In case you were wondering, my strategic advice for this would have been "Don't play a high ranked South American team as your opening game in the World Cup. And while your at it, try to avoid playing the home team as well."

June 15 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history. They just had to include an event that could be verified by outside observers. Now every archeologist gets to act like some sort of expert on all things Mesopotamian just because they can say "X was N years after the eclipse, therefore it was Y years before another event in ancient Newark..." 1215 – King John of England puts his seal to Magna Carta. The Walrus disapproves, but the Narwhal seems to agree. 1752 – Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity (traditional date, the exact date is unknown). You would think that an old man might remember the exact date he was nearly struck by lightning because he wanted to fly a kite in a storm. 1844 – Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization. This is a process to strengthen rubber. Not a means of applying Leonard Nimoy's make up. 1846 – The Oregon Treaty establishes the 49th parallel as the border between the United States and Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. 1859 – Pig War: Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the "Northwestern Boundary Dispute" between United States and British/Canadian settlers. Pigs on small islands that are not clearly in one country or the other? Meh, there have been flimsier pretexts for war. 1878 – Eadweard Muybridge takes a series of photographs to prove that all four feet of a horse leave the ground when it runs; the study becomes the basis of motion pictures. This also shows why turtles are not invited to compete at the Kentucky Derby. 1888 – The Year of the Three Emperors. Crown Prince Wilhelm becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II, the last Emperor of the German Empire, due to the death of his predecessors Wilhelm I and Frederick III. What harm could come from perpetuating an image of a grand German empire? 1992 – The United States Supreme Court rules in United States v. Álvarez-Machaín that it is permissible for the United States to forcibly extradite suspects in foreign countries and bring them to the United States for trial, without approval from those other countries. Is it possible that other countries might want to use the same legal justification against suspects of foreign crimes in US territory? 2012 – Nik Wallenda becomes the first person to successfully tightrope walk directly over Niagara Falls. This man has a tightrope in his Sarasota back yard and practices during hurricanes. Is it possible to be completely insane and yet know exactly what you are doing? 2015 – National Beer Day is first observed in the United Kingdom. As Winston Churchill famously observed, "Most people hate the taste of beer – to begin with. It is, however, a prejudice that many people have been able to overcome." Why aren't people willing to work as hard at overcoming their other prejudices?

World Cup qualifying is a three year process. Although Team USA managed to be eliminated from qualification with a year to spare. The World Cup Finals have just begun. The "Finals" have several rounds. The first round, which began this week, is a series of 32 teams in 8 pools playing 48 games in a round-robin format which will eliminate 16 teams. The other 16 teams will then play in a series of knock-out rounds until only four teams are left. The losers of the semi-final games will play for the bronze medal. The winners of the semi-final games will play for the silver and gold medals. The "World Cup" is the trophy the winning team gets to hold at the closing ceremony, then it is locked away for another four years.

So Magus did manage to get at least some of Sirleck's money. Still, a suitcase full of cash is a finite amount. I wonder if any of this wealth is in a form that can be tracked electronically?

So Russia beat Saudi Arabia 5-0? Not sure if Russia was running up the score or if they really thought they might need the goal difference to advance. Anyhoo... The opening round game I'm anticipating is Saturday's game between Denmark and Peru. The ancient animosity between the Inca and the Vikings will never be forgotten.

June 14 1381 – Richard II of England meets leaders of Peasants' Revolt at Mile End. The Tower of London is stormed by rebels who enter without resistance. The revolting peasants forget a legal detail when making their demands of the young king. Promises made and contracts signed under duress are not binding. As soon as the mob leaves, every change to the law is reversed. Welcome to the Political Process, peasants. 1618 – On or about this date, Joris Veseler prints the first Dutch newspaper, Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &c. in Amsterdam. Apparently the custom of noting the date of publication on the newspaper came about later. 1777 – The Stars and Stripes is adopted by Congress as the Flag of the United States. They had been fighting British forces for over two years and declared independence almost a year ago. It was probably time to adopt a flag that didn't include the British Union Jack at this point. 1946 – Birth of Donald Trump. █ ███ ██ ███ ██ ████ ███ ██ ██ ████ █ ████ ██ ████ █████ ██ You're Fired. 1949 – Albert II, a rhesus monkey, rides a V-2 rocket to an altitude of 134 km (83 mi), thereby becoming the first monkey in space. Is this what cause the rhesus monkeys to become filled with peanut butter? 1959 – Disneyland Monorail System, the first daily operating monorail system in the Western Hemisphere, opens to the public in Anaheim, California. A great concept in public transportation, if the public only wants to go back and forth from the park to the hotel. 1966 – The Vatican announces the abolition of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum ("index of prohibited books"), which was originally instituted in 1557. Cardinal Ottaviani stated in April 1966 there was too much contemporary literature and the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith could not keep up with it. Does this mean that people actually need to think for themselves when deciding whether or not to believe what they read? That sounds too dangerous. Also, June 14 is World Blood Donor Day, so be sure to feed your Vampire.

From the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Australia Iran Japan Saudi Arabia South Korea From the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Egypt Morocco Nigeria Senegal Tunisia From the Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Costa Rica Mexico Panama From the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) Argentina Brazil Colombia Peru Uruguay From the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) None qualified From the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Belgium Croatia Denmark England France Germany Iceland Poland Portugal Russia(hosts) Serbia Spain Sweden Switzerland

Even limited exposure to the Diamond has pushed Ashley into Team Dragon. So no more Pony affectations for her. And just because an eight year old was in favor of the unicorn/dragon pairing does not mean that the mainstream media will accept it. She does not have enough cookies to bribe everyone.

June 13 313 – The Edict of Milan, signed by Constantine the Great and co-emperor Valerius Licinius is posted in Nicomedia. This Edict grants religious tolerance to Christians and starts the process of returning property confiscated from Christians to its rightful owners. The Edict is recorded by different sources with different texts. But those details aside, polytheistic people like the Romans and Greeks will have no trouble accepting this offshoot Hebrew sect among the many myths and religions observed under the watchful eye of Rome. 823 – Birth of Charles the Bald, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 877) 839 – Birth of Charles the Fat, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 888) A bit of advice, most countries prefer to number their rulers with similar names rather than assign insulting nicknames. The Britons, for example, record George III and Edward VIII. Not George the Insane or Eddy the Impotent. 1525 – Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora. Doesn't the Roman Catholic Church normally prohibits their priests from... Oh, Right. He had a disagreement with company policy. 1893 – Grover Cleveland notices a rough spot in his mouth and on July 1 undergoes secret, successful surgery to remove a large, cancerous portion of his jaw; the operation was not revealed to the public until 1917, nine years after the president's death. In the 1980s, on the other hand, Ronald Regan was required to send a letter to Congress detailing why George HW Bush would be Acting President. Regan would be unavailable for several hours due to a Colonoscopy and this story was the lead in every paper and on the national news. The health of the President may be a matter of public concern, but can there be some sort of middle ground between these extremes? 1927 – Aviator Charles Lindbergh receives a ticker tape parade down 5th Avenue in New York City. One legend states that after the parade the Mayor wanted to throw a party for Lindbergh as big as the one they gave him in Paris. Including Champaign. Unfortunately, Prohibition was still in effect in the US. So to get around this problem, aids from the Mayor's office went to one hundred churches, asking each one to sign a note authorizing the Mayor's office to purchase a case of wine for sacramental purposes. I didn't know that Champaign was a sacramental wine. 1966 – The United States Supreme Court rules in Miranda v. Arizona that the police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning them. And I won't say anything more about this without a lawyer. 1971 – The New York Times begins publication of the Pentagon Papers. SPOILER ALERT: The reasons the President gave congress and the public for going to war are not the actual reasons the President wanted to go to war and the military was engaged in operations that were not reported to the media. 1983 – Pioneer 10 becomes the first man-made object to leave the central Solar System when it passes beyond the orbit of Neptune. Unfortunately, it did not carry human passengers.