With the new Primaris Marines, Primaris Dreadnought, and Grav-Raider, certain people on Mars will almost certainly have a bone to pick with a certain Magos Dominus.
If i’m not mistaken, the existence of either one of these things is the mark of a Heretek. Unless GW screw up the writing (which isn’t an unreasonable guess, given recent publications), Cawl is going to have to answer to the Priesthood of Mars for everything he’s done.
One needs to remember that temporarily jury-rigging a damaged Chimera is considered grounds enough to get some executed by the Mechanicum. Cawl has gone so much further.
I, for one, can’t wait for Cawl to be remembered as the Goge Vandire of the Adeptus Mechanicus.
I was very sceptical about 8th Edition prior to any information about it (i was afraid 40k would get Sigmarified). However, now that i’ve had a look over the pre-release titbits, i actually think the rules are very reasonable - even if they are inspired a little by AoS. This stands to be an excellent edition...
... assuming GW don’t fuck up the fluff now that Girlyman’s returned.
To those of you interested in video games, would you kindly go subscribe to a YouTuber known as “Games as Literature”? He focuses on delivering an English Class-style commentary on video game narratives and design, and has already done episodes on big, story-rich games such as Portal, Bioshock, and The Walking Dead (all of which i recommend). His commentaries are exceptionally approachable, pleasant, and insightful. Very high-quality content.
His is a fairly new channel, with little over 10k subscribers, and i’m sure he’d appreciate the traffic. He did me the courtesy of replying personally when i commented that he deserved more subscribers; he thanked me, saying i could remedy that if i spread the word about his channel.
I thought it would be remiss of me not to do this, so here i am. Go watch his stuff; i promise it’s absolutely worth your time.
That’s a big question, with no easy answer - like when describing any other culture. I’ll do my best to keep it short.It is - surprisingly - the culture which has built up around video gaming. It’s the unspoken “conventions” of the medium; the in-jokes, the memes, and other references. It’s a vibe that exists around video gaming. It’s a sub-group of society with it’s own language additions, customs, behaviours, and collective ideas, just like any other culture.A gamer will be able to establish in a very short conversation whether the person they are talking to is also a gamer, let’s put it that way.
It’s something that people outside gaming culture aren’t familiar with, and so don’t understand. It’s a foundational understanding which people like Anita Sarkeesian lack, and which can only be acquired with years of genuine cultural immersion.It’s as cringey for a gamer to hear Anita Sarkeesian to talk about games as it is for teenagers to hear old people use text speak, for instance. It’s the awareness that the speaker doesn’t adequately understand the subject, and that all conceptual and general nuances are lost on them. It’s embarrassing.
And this is coming from someone who is hardly a hardcore gamer. I know there are many people out there with a much better understanding of gaming culture than me, but that doesn’t mean i’m unacquainted. Far from it.
That was vague as all hell, but summing up a culture in a few sentences is no small task. I hope you understand roughly what i mean.
Donald Trump becoming US President is bad... but it’s mostly bad because it’s humiliating for the US as a country. President Trump will be a stain on American History, but little more.
The President of the United States is not a dictator. They are the chair of a cabinet, and it is the cabinet which makes the laws. The President can preach whatever they want until they turn blue in the face, but if the rest of the government disagrees, it doesn’t happen.
And let’s be clear - most of the US government doesn’t like Trump. Not even the Republicans.
Trumps ridiculous policies about building walls and rounding up immigrants and profiling Muslims will not happen. They can’t. Such a decision would be so categorically unpopular than neither side will want to do it. So Trump can warble all he wants, and nothing will change.
You hear that? For all you normal people, nothing is going to change. Only politicians, economists, and TV personalities need be ill at ease.
So worry about the US economy all you want - that’s pretty justified. Worry that the US looks stupid on the world stage - believe me, you should all be pretty embarrassed.
But you mustn’t worry that people are going to be beaten, killed, or otherwise discriminated against... that isn’t going to happen - at least no more than before. People have voted for Trump for reasons other than to attack Mexicans and Muslims. The overwhelming majority of people are on your side.
It’s okay. No matter who you are, you’re safe. Please don’t worry.
I’ve been thinking a little about the upcoming US election - and doing some reading around - and my original support for Hillary has been somewhat shaken (in so much as a foreigner can “support” a political candidate of a different country). My mind has not necessarily been changed, but all of this has got me thinking.
Anyway... these are just my thoughts on the matter. If you know a lot about the US political climate at the moment, you won’t learn anything new here. I’m basically just airing my views, and am happy to receive feedback.
Donald Trump is a deplorable human being. He’s a disrespectful and childish buffoon who should never have made it to the level of US presidential candidacy.
However, he represents something that many American people want - he’s a symbol of it. He represents the common citizen; he is the populist. He isn’t afraid to stand up to the system, and is fiercely independent and motivated by his genuine beliefs.
Many of those dissatisfied with the current state of affairs in the US (and, let’s be fair, we can all agree that problems exist) look to him as a symbol of change. They live in hope that - at best - he will shake up US politics and make things cleaner and less stagnant, and - at worst - he will be a humiliating but ineffectual footnote in American history.
By contrast, Hillary Clinton is almost his opposite. She is a career politician with decades of experience in handling matters of state - and she has the tact to match. She is much better suited to the mantle of president. She is, therefore, the obvious candidate.
But it’s not so simple... Hillary Clinton is a symbol of the US political system as it currently stands. In the eyes of many, this means that she is a symbol of corruption and elitism, as she’s been involved in several scandals (granted, Trump isn’t clean either) and receives “charity” money by the millions from foreign governments. She’s also an adept liar, to compliment the fact that Trump can’t keep his mouth shut, and has been considered Machiavellian in her methods.
Her supporters hope that - at best - she will pave the way towards future leaps in civil rights and will generally be a competent and stable president, and - at worst - she will keep her hands to herself and be remembered as nothing more than “America’s First Female President”.
The reality is, though, that both Trump and Clinton could do serious harm to the US. Even if one is generous with Trump and assumes he’s a good businessman, he’s not a politician, and runs the risk of bumbling through US politics and foreign policy like a drunken bull in a china shop, leaving the US is an abysmal political and economic shambles.
However, Clinton is little better, as she may well be receiving “suggestions” from her various investors on how to run the US, meaning that the US might be guided by corporations even more than it currently is... and, disturbingly, might be guided by foreign leaders who put money in Clinton’s pockets. While the US will be more organised under her watch than under Trump’s, there will probably be more corruption.
I still support Clinton, though, i think. While i do believe the US is building towards a populist political storm, i’d prefer it if the US put it off for another term and wait for a more reasonable Republican candidate who won’t run America into the mud. Right at this moment, Clinton is a necessary evil while we wait for someone better.
However, there is no good option. Not really. If Obama could (and was willing to) stay for another term, i’d absolutely say to stay with him.
Whatever the case, i’m glad i’m not having to vote and take responsibility for whatever mess comes in the next few years.
