Juice

Ferguson, MO protests and police brutality.

What does the Guild make of the current situation in Ferguson? Police, more heavily armed than those soldiers who invaded Iraq and Afghanistan, currently dispersing whole groups of peaceful protesters with tear gas and rubber bullets. Also, reports (and video) of police detaining journalists and other members of the media. No fly zone has also been implemented, meant to keep the media out.

SOURCES:

Ferguson police tear gas Al-Jazeera news crew, dismantle their equipment.

Police fire tear gas at protesters standing in their own backyard.

Veterans on Ferguson: very interesting look at how US vets perceive the current situation.

Two journalists arrested while covering Ferguson.

The situation is, needless to say, fucking terrifying.

When did you start roleplaying? Share your RP story here!

All started when I began RPing on WoW private servers, at around age 10 or 11 (roughly 7 years ago). Today, I credit RPing for the development of my skills as a writer (reading books helped a bit too).

Spiritum Aeternum; or The Ramshackle Monster Hunters

The New Yorker said EDIT: You'll notice that we have a new image for our RP with the title in it. It was constructed by my good friend Lillian Thorne. I think it is a really representative image that portrays a location in the world quite well.

A location. Lol, I very much look forward to finding out what that location is.

Spiritum Aeternum; or The Ramshackle Monster Hunters

Ohhhh shit, my bad. I didn't actually mean to skip that. What would I put in that field, though?

Spiritum Aeternum; or The Ramshackle Monster Hunters

Sergei Romanenko

Name: Sergei Romanenko

Age: 40

Gender: Male

Birthplace: Ukraine

Religious Affiliation: Greek Orthodox

Secular Affiliations: Cossack Hetmanate

Level of education: Some education, (proficient in reading, writing, history, and simple arithmetic).

Social status (including wealth): Cossack noble (worth roughly $5 million by today’s standards). This is subject to change, as I don’t actually know how much a Cossack noble was worth in the 17th century.

Occupation: Plantation owner, trainer of the Cossack army, and most recently a self-proclaimed explorer.

Appearance:


Personality: Sergei is a man of good humor, but of short temper. He was feared as both a disciplinarian and a soldier, but those who knew him off the battlefield knew him as a man of charisma and energy.

Skill set: Swordplay, marksmanship, first aid, quite a bit of experience in training soldiers/apprentices/the like, sailing.

Languages: Ukranian, Russian, Polish. His Portuguese is passable, as he had a 9 year reprieve between war and setting out for Portugal.

Bio: Sergei Romanenko was born the son of Cossack nobles, a temperamental child prone to fits. At the time of his birth, Cossack aggression toward the Ottoman Empire had resulted in the razing of townships near and around Constantinople. Viktor Romanenko, Sergei’s father, was a firm supporter of this aggression. A successful plantation owner and smuggler, Viktor openly gave portions of his wealth to the Cossack raiders. Viktor’s intentions went beyond simply bringing harm to the Ottoman Empire, however. The Cossacks were currently subject to rule under the Polish Commonwealth, and by supporting the raids, Viktor was helping to create a strenuous relationship between the Ottomans and the Poles, the Poles ultimately being held responsible for the Cossack raiders.

Viktor would sooner die before allowing his only son to remain defenseless against the Polish Commonwealth, a political entity that was further expanding its borders into Cossack territory. As such, Viktor introduced Sergei to the arts of war, swordplay, and marksmanship as soon as he was able. The training tended to be rather difficult and physically exhausting, but strong disciplining made Sergei an excellent apprentice. A rigid schedule of training in war craft was also coupled with regular lessons in reading, writing, history, and arithmetic. Sergei excelled most at the arts of war, however, harboring a particular skill and interest in swordplay.

At age 22, Sergei was famous across the Cossack territories for his excellent swordplay and marksmanship, mostly known through his participation in raids against the Ottoman Empire, an act of defiance that he practiced regularly. Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky, in particular, had developed a great interest in the young swashbuckler. Bohdan was a Cossack rebel, and was currently in the midst of making negotiations with the Crimean Tartars to thwart the Polish Commonwealth from Cossack territory, and end their rule over the Cossacks outright. Bohdan wrote to Sergei, and offered him the opportunity to train Cossack troops in preparation for war against the Commonwealth. Sergei, too anxious to write a reply, surprised Bohdan by arriving at his home, so that he might accept his offer in person.

Sergei was present at most of the war’s major battles, including the Battle of Berestechko, where the Cossacks suffered their greatest defeat, and the Battle of Batoh, where the Cossacks sought revenge for their defeat at Berestechko by massacring 8,000 Polish captives. At war’s end, Sergei had made a name for himself as a fierce disciplinarian, and an even fiercer soldier. In nine years, the Cossacks had succeeded in ridding the Ukraine of all Polish nobles, officials, and religious leaders.

Bohdan sought refuge with the Russian Tsar, signing a peace treaty with the great empire that would virtually end any further attempts by the Polish Commonwealth to reacquire the Unkraine. By doing this, Bohdan had sparked a chain of events that would eventually lead to the Cossack’s integration into the Russian Empire, leaving them with only a brief period of independence after the war. Sergei felt he had served his country well by aiding in the expulsion of the Commonwealth, and retired from his position in the Cossack military shortly after the war’s end.

Despite retirement, Sergei had no intention to live out a life bereft of excitement. Gathering a plethora of necessary resources, Sergei would spend only nine more years in the Ukraine before setting out for Portugal, a country on the cusp of frontier exploration.

Invisibilis Spiritus; or The Ramshackle Monster Hunters (A real world fantasy epic)

The New Yorker said
Yeah, I'm hoping it will. I'm doing absurd amounts of research for an info bank right now. A GM's job extends far past the boundaries of the RP.

Mind if I shoot you my CS? It includes a lot of historical information and the like, and I kind of put my character in (brief) contact with a historical figure.

Invisibilis Spiritus; or The Ramshackle Monster Hunters (A real world fantasy epic)

Character sheet is finished. Needless to say, I'm pretty excited for this RP.

Invisibilis Spiritus; or The Ramshackle Monster Hunters (A real world fantasy epic)

Consider my interest piqued. This looks fantastic.

Barrack Assassinated by Ronald's Ray-Gun!!!

ActRaiserTheReturned said
Obama is the most communistic leaning President we seem to have ever had.

Really? Even with all of FDR's social policies?

Nay, what Obama will be known for is being the leader of the administration that has silenced, or attempted to silence, the most whistle blowers.

Common Core State Standards

The problem that I see with the common core standards aren't actually the standards themselves. From reading the opinions of some high school math teachers, the common core standards are actually preferred over the old state standards because they require a deeper understanding of the material, rather than memorization of silly rules and procedures.

The true problem lies in the way that these standards are being implemented. Parents, districts, and schools are forcing everyone to adopt the common core ASAP, which isn't very fair to students or teachers. Where the state once required only one standardized math test, students must now take nine, and neither the teachers nor the students are being given an adequate amount time to become familiar with the new material.