Pharaoh RutinTutin

Barbara Bush née Pierce 1925 – 2018

"Où est la bibliothèque?" was one of the first phrases we learned in my high school French class. I didn't realize that it is exactly what you are supposed to ask when waking up in a strange place. As for the automaton? Was anyone else reminded of the Silver Age version of the Batman villain Killer Moth? (If you don't recall that version of Killer Moth, you didn't miss much. His most noteworthy accomplishment was being Detective Comics' Bad Guy of the Month when Barbra Gordon began playing the part of Bat Girl.)

The 1964 World's Fair. Where GM gave us "Futurama", Disney gave us "It's A Small World", and US Royal's giant tire rolled to Michigan where can still be seen on the side of I-94 near Detroit.

Am I the only one who expects Susan to turn and slap the others in classic Stooge fashion?

The government IS prepared for a Zombie Apocalypse. www.egscomics.com/egsnp.php?id=265

And with the box now open, a high-strutting bullfrog with a top hat and cane enters the scene singing "Hello My Baby".

http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff300/fv00248.htm

When I was on a Jury for an assault case, the prosecutor attempted to compare the assailant and victim to the Boston Marathon bombers and survivors in her closing arguments. This was utterly gratuitous. We on the Jury based our verdict primarily on the strength of the video evidence. This was not some political or ideological motivated act of terror. It was one man beating another man senseless with his bare hands for personal reasons. Internet cat pictures would have been just as effective, and more welcome, at that point.

Well... there is ONE way they could get more bang. But it might be a little more difficult to retell the tale afterward.

So how does any other angler of your acquaintance top that fishing story?

If the staff is large enough anywhere, two or more people can go for long periods without ever acknowledging each other. And in a library, where everyone is required to keep quiet, you don't waste the talking you need to do badmouthing people you don't like.

I am still hopeful that Heka will host the next Q&A segment from his parlor. Although having Pandora present as co-host seems to be unlikely now. As for the next Heka? The Mantle of Heka seems to be a powerful position. And if there is one (arguably) good EGS character who aggressively seeks out magical power, it's Noah. Could Noah attempt to claim the Mantle of Heka? Would he even comprehend the responsibilities and duties that accompany that office?

Developing magic this way might be a good idea. But consider this. Cops who train only with magic they know is perfectly safe, and only under carefully supervised conditions? They could end up with spells that are perfectly safe. Not the potentially deadly firepower that is sometimes needed in real law enforcement situations. A sufficiently crazed or focused aggressor will not be slowed down by a cosmetic change. And determination can overcome hypnotic suggestions to sleep.

April 13 1204 – The Christian city of Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire. This is the greatest victory of the Crusade. 1742 – George Frideric Handel's oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland. Not the Tabernacle in Salt Lake City as some would later assume. 1743 – Thomas Jefferson, American lawyer and politician, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, 3rd President of the United States, inventor of Macaroni and Cheese. The Jefferson Memorial would be dedicated on the same day in 1943. And the Federal Reserve would reintroduce the $2 bill on this date in 1976 as a Bicentennial commemoration. There was no official mention of Sally Hemmings in any of these monuments. 1941 – A Pact of neutrality between the USSR and Japan is signed. This would last slightly longer than the neutrality pact between the USSR and Germany, but the result for the Japanese would be similar. 1953 – CIA director Allen Dulles launches the mind-control program Project MKUltra. Over the next twenty years, the US Government working through Universities, Hospitals, Prisons, and Pharmaceutical companies would do things that we think are too horrific for comic book villain plots. But the US Government assures us that they don't do that sort of thing any more. 1970 – An oxygen tank aboard the Apollo 13 Service Module explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the Apollo Command/Service Module (codenamed "Odyssey") while en route to the Moon. In retrospect, putting Forrest Gump in command of that mission may not have been the best idea. 1974 – Western Union (in cooperation with NASA and Hughes Aircraft) launches the United States' first commercial geosynchronous communications satellite, Westar 1. This allows Flat-Earth theorists around the world to talk with each other at the speed of light. 1989 – Dong Dong, Chinese trampoline champion is born. His name would prove to be irresistible to commentators as he won medals in three consecutive Olympic Games. Gold in London, 2012. 1992 – Basements throughout the Chicago Loop are flooded, forcing the Chicago Board of Trade Building and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to close. Many people, including maintenance supervisors on the Kinzie Street Bridge, were unaware that Chicago had a subway before this event.

Do not disrespect the candy coating. Without the candy coating, M&M's become a gooey bag of chocolate and peanuts. Without the candy coating, that apple on a stick is actually a HEALTHY snack. We certainly don't want anything like that to happen.

With Magic becoming more common, I could see Greg becoming an instructor in an institute for people learning to control unusual abilities they might gain.

Surrounded by little clouds with a dazed look? When I was a child, certain groups would have been up in arms complaining that this was portraying a character smoking narcotics.

Perhaps Lord Tedd does not rule his native reality? "Lord Tedd" and "General Shade Tale" may be what they call themselves when they are playing games. If those two, as children, discovered a way to remotely view and manipulate alternate realities, they may have begun their reign of terror with no more malicious intent than a couch potato playing Pacman.

In the first panel Magus reveals that he is, at some level, aware of the contradictions in his cultural bias. But a little thing like logic is not going to undo a lifetime of conditioned response. What are the things Arthur think might happen that would warrant the evacuation? What is the thing that is causing Ashley's reaction? And what gives so many people in EGS the ability to flex their eyebrows through their bangs?

So of the great "Power Behind The Throne" figures from our own history, who would be most similar to Shade Tail and Nioi? Cardinal de Richelieu? Eleanor Roosevelt? Wallis Simpson? Grigori Rasputin? Rudolf Hess? Dick Cheney? Yoko Ono?

There are so many possibilities. If I may make one small request? NO HASSELHOFF! And if it isn't too much trouble? NO HASSELHOFF! Now what was that other thing? NO HASSELHOFF! Please? NO HASSELHOFF! Although KITT (the 1982-86 Version) is always welcome.

With so many forum regulars eating Crow, I felt I should point out that April 11 is the feast day for Gūðlāc, St Guthlac of Crowland.

Yesterday, I watched two birds fighting in flight. The smaller bird drove away the larger after about a minute of circling and diving. I suspect that either one of these birds would have been more than enough of a challenge to get Elliot's feathers ruffled.

My clock was off. I was just looking at some videos before going to sleep and noticed the clock on the screen said it was nearly time for me to get up. Somehow my computer thought it was in Amsterdam. Not US Eastern time. I don't even own a pair of wooden shoes. Any more.

This concept is often a side story to tales set in worlds where alien contact is real but not officially acknowledged. One of my favourite examples? Silver age Superman stories featured a travel agency for aliens visiting Earth on the (supposedly nonexistent) thirteenth floor of the Daily Planet building. How would you advertise the existence of a service to people who need it, but keep it a secret from everyone else?