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trogthefrog · 8 months

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Game of Thrones, Diplomacy (board game) Feudalism Variant

Summary: This is an Idea for a Diplomacy board game variant with teams of semi independent vassals "controlled" by (but more like working with) their overlords. This is based on a song of ice and fire books and map and introducing feudal mechanics.

An approximation of Starting Locations:

Source: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/TabletopGame/Diplomacy

Here's a brief summary of Diplomacy's rules and some quick resources to understand the game if you don't know the game but still care to read this post:

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Diplomacy/Rules

https://www.youtube.com/watch

I had an idea for a variant of Diplomacy (though I confess to barely having played, and mostly consumed Diplomacy content) based on the feudal system of GRRM’s A Song of Ice and Fire.

The variant would use a map of Westeros (and possibly a few Free cities, Braavos, Tyrosh, Pentos, even a Triarchy player if doing a Dance of Dragons game). The variant would have to have key changes from actual Diplomacy rules. Because the foundational idea for this variant is that each team's three starting supply centres are controlled by independent Lords/Ladies.

So for example The North is ruled by House Stark in Winterfell (supply center) but House Bolton and Manderly are on Stark's team and control one supply center each (the Dreadfort & White Harbour respectively). This allows for similar complex feudal dynamics like those that appear in ASOIAF. Ex. Vassals could betray their Overlords and join another team, ignore their overlord, destroy other vassals in feuds, threaten their Overlord if they are stronger and become overlord themselves by vassalizing the previous overlord or destroying them.

I can imagine win conditions being 1. Overlord Victory: complete domination of majority of supply centers (unlikely), 2. Great Council Victory: Winning the fealty of enough players that supply points become a majority (Team win), 3. Age of Heroes Victory: splitting Westeros into independent Kingdoms by agreement so no one has a supply center majority (Multi Team Draw).

Available Houses (Overlords in bold)

The North

Stark of Winterfell

Bolton of the Dreadfort

Manderly of White Harbour

Westerlands

Lannister of Casterly Rock

Marbrand of Ashmark

Brax of Hornvale

Riverlands

Tully of Riverrun

Bracken or Blackwood

Frey of the Twins

Vale

Arryn of the Eyrie

Royce of Runestone

Corbray of Heart's Home

Crown/Stormlands

Targaryen of King's Landing/Dragonstone

Velaryon of Driftmark

Baratheon of Storm's End

Reach

Tyrell of Highgarden

Hightower of the Hightower

Rowan? Peake? Tarly?

Dorne

Martell of Sunspear

Yronwood of Yronwood

Dayne of Starfall

Iron Islands

Greyjoy of Pyke

Harlaw of Ten Towers

Goodbrother of Hammerhorn

The Crownlands and Stormlands are combined because Targaryen, Baratheon, and Velaryon are all Valyrian houses; + the Baratheon Stormlands act more of a source of soldiers than an independent region (in my opinion). This setup limits the # of players while also allowing for different eras of play. (Pre Robert's Rebellion it's Targaryen, Baratheon, and Velaryon and post Robert's rebellion it's Baratheon of Storm's End, Baratheon of King's Landing and Baratheon of Dragonstone (hail to the true King Stannis!)). You can still do Baratheon civil war though! Switching around Loyalties, the Reach becomes loyal to Storm's End, The Westerlands loyal to King's Landing and Dragonstone all alone or with some other loyalty.

Houses can be changed for different eras:

Pre conquest: Teagues instead of Tully's or house Hoare of the Iron islands controls the riverlands and house Gardener replaces Tyrell.

If before the Rains of Castamere House Reyne replaces Brax or Marbrand.

Geography/Gameboard (Reference Map Below)

Regions:

The South riverlands & northern reach (middle of the south) would be at the start a big uncontrolled area. (especially Harrenhal but also Maidenpool, Duskendale, Bitterbridge.)

The River Fever would act as a canal & connect the Bite and Saltspear

Mountains of the Moon are impassable terrain except for the high road. (still vulnerable to naval invasion)

ADWD Westeros Map (North left) (South right) Source: https://atlasoficeandfireblog.wordpress.com/2016/02/23/the-maps-of-a-song-of-ice-and-fire-a-dance-with-dragons/

List of possible supply centres/regions

Starting centres:

King’s Landing

Dragonstone/Driftmark

Storm’s End

Highgarden

Oldtown

Starpike

Sunspear

Starfall

Yronwood

Lannisport/Casterly Rock

Golden Tooth/Castamere

Pyke

Harlaw

Riverrun

The Twins

Raventree Hall/Stone Hedge

The Eyrie/Gates of the Moon/Bloody gate

Heart’s Home

Runestone/Gulltown

Winterfell

White Harbour

The Dreadfort

Open centers or spaces: Karhold

Barrowtown/Torrhen’s Square

Harrenhal

Maidenpool

Duskendale

Nightsong

Bitterbridge

Goldengrove

Griffin’s Roost

Stonehelm

Seagard

The Arbor

Braavos

Pentos

Lys

Myr

Tyrosh

Some Atheistic suggestions for flaunting power (If you don't care skip to Other Mechanics section).

Power in Westeros isn't that of a nation state but a Family so to adopt those same trappings of power instead of playing a country you are playing a house/character of that house.

Titles: a player can take or make up different titles based on what they are doing or their goals, a fun way to try and bribe someone might be offer a fancy title (typically with lands or responsabilites):

Independent Kingdom title examples

King/Queen in the North

Iron King/Queen (Iron Islands)

Prince/Princess of Dorne

Queen/King of the Rock (Westerlands) (If not in control of Casterly rock take the title King/Queen of the Westerlands)

Queen/King of the Rivers (Riverlands)

King/Queen of the Vale

King/Queen of the Mander

Storm Queen/King

Great Houses Vassal Titles examples

Lord/Lady Paramount of (insert Region)

Warden of (west, north, east, south)

Smaller vassals making a bid for independence might use their royal titles

King/Queen of the Torrentine (Dayne)

Red Queen/King (Bolton)

If making a bid for the Iron Throne and rule of all Westeros you could offer someone the title of Hand or a position on your small council.

For other title ideas see the ASOIAF wiki:

https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Category:Titles

https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Kingship#Known_Titles

If a "character" doesn't fall into the gender binary of those titles there are many gender non conforming characters in ASOIAF so following from their example a player can: Make a new title, say their character defies gender norms while using the same title ex. Loreon V Lannister "Queen Lorea", use both etc. It's the player's prerogative.

House Trappings

Messages are sealed or marked with the sigil of that house.

Players' are given their house names. Ex Percy who is playing house becomes Lady/Lord Percy Other players can use this in negotiation. Being respectful by adding the titles or being rude by omitting them. To even go further an enemy can refer to a player solely as Bracken (a house name) or an insult like Wolf Idiot to a Stark player.), A player can also address someone by their old title to offend them if they've taken a new shiner title or to gain favour if the other player's lost that title.

I can also imagine renaming some stuff

Treaties = Oaths

Supply Centers = Castles

Messages = Ravens

When an Overlord and vassals talk together = War Council

When Multiple Overlords & Vassals talk = Great Council

Loyalty = Fealty

TIME KEEPING

I would assume the two most desirable starting dates for ASOIAF diplomacy are 298 AC right before the events of A Game of Thrones and 282 AC before Robert's Rebellion. Other starting dates could be Aegon's Conquest in 0 AC or the Dance of the Dragons in 129 AC.

In regular Diplomacy a year is split into two seasons. This does not work because seasons in ASOIAF are longer than years. Therefore turns needs must be divided using different terminology, I would propose Six Moons (months in asoiaf), or early (insert year) and late (insert year).

OTHER POSSIBLE MECHANICS

ASOIAF is a story that examines numerous themes and so maybe certain mechanics can be introduced to reflect this diversity of actions.

Supply points can be gifted to vassals. Promising supply points can be a way to flip an enemy vassal.

Independent armies and rogue lords/ladies (Beric Dondarrion). If someone's last castle is taken but their army remains intact, instead of eliminating that player they could be allowed to fight on, through original diplomacy rules by taking a new supply center, or by new rules convincing another lord or their overlord to give them a new castle before their elimination (Ex. offering to stab their overlord in the back for being given a supply center by an enemy lord) or by respecing how to kill armies so they can exist independent of supply centers that way there could be rogue lords/ladies like Beric Dondarrion or (SPOILER) like how Robb Stark is able to fight even when Winterfell was lost (possibly not the best example since Robb had other castles at this point).

Independent armies might allow for a Golden Company or Blackfyre player. (or Maybe they just control Tyrosh).

Marriages. A strong part of ASOIAF is marriage. Maybe two players can unite their cause through marrying each other forming a marriage pact. This could combine their personal armies (meaning they are now permanent teammates) Or if that's too limiting on each other maybe they both get full vision of each other's messages (after all, living in the same castle).

Valyrian steel swords. I guess a player could claim to have one of these

Gay Alliances- Maybe only the Dornish can have official same-sex marriage style alliances (I know there isn't gay marriage in the books) while the rest of Westeros limits its alliance options. Maybe everyone can do whatever when it comes to marriages... if you really wanna be true to the series maybe you're marrying off random cousins who read the other player's mail.

Sexism- I don't think is a great board game mechanic or thing but its a theme of the story.

Magic- I think this might add unnecessary complications. Ice zombies or red witches are cool but I have no idea how they'd be implemented. (Maybe a 3 vs 1 style game where one player commands undead ice hordes and a team of others command separate armies (that don't respawn like in War of the Ring LOTR strategy board game)).

Weather. In ASOIAF weather is wonky and affected lots in medieval society and the books. Or maybe it can be shuffled aside in the same way Diplomacy shuffles aside weather. After all Diplomacy is focused on scheming relationships not so much army management.

Siege warfare (castles), GRRM tends to downplay siege warfare so it's something that could be waved away like in Diplomacy. Maybe Chevauchée just works really well.

Creatures (Dragons, Krakens, Direwolves) Air and sea and land monsters. Maybe Dragons can give attacking support anywhere on the map (no adjacency) or smth.

Assassination... It's a thing in ASOIAF but I don't see how it could influence a game where individual players can't be killed unless their supply centers are destroyed and armies annihilated.

Money? Probably not since once again Diplomacy is focused on scheming relationships not so much financial management.

Religion. Maybe an effect on who you can marry, maybe not. Likely irrelevant other than for aesthetics.

I have also cut out the Night's watch and the Wildlings. I'm not sure how to add them and I don't think they should be added, what would they even do? The Night's Watch is supposed to take no part in Westerosi wars (I know they could do otherwise but still) and the Wildlings are mostly always decentralized. It would add too many more players I think.

Other than all that I'd Imagine Army units become re-skinned into Knights and Fleets stay as Fleets or Ships.

Solutions I can think of:

To solve the issue of players dying too quickly early on by losing their castle (If indeed that is how elimination will work) supply centers can be augmented so each player can easily get one at the beginning of the game.

In classic diplomacy there are 7 players, 34 Supply centers, 56 land tiles and 19 sea tiles. In this variant I know there will be 8 teams, but other than that have no idea. Maybe if I matched the original ratios of supply centers it would be around 24 starting controlled, out of 37 supply centers (this is assuming that only 8 regions of Westeros with three supply centers are players not including Free cities).

The whole point of this big post is that I have a small idea. But I am not a board game freak or good mathematician. My question then is: does this idea hold any water mechanically? Instead of expanding the map like in other mass diplomacy games it splits up the map. It would require a lot of players (22-24ish) I know there are some big diplomacy variants but this player requirement would make this variant tough to test. From what I have found this idea is similar to chaos diplomacy or in regards to having single control point nations like with minor powers in the Diplomacy Versailles variant. I know there are ASOIAF diplomacy variants but I wanted something that reflects the feudal nature of Westeros. I'd like people's feedback who know better about Game Design or Game theory on how to design something like this but better thought out in terms of maths and adjacency of regions with map design. Or you can tell me you like it or hate it. I'd love some thoughts.

I also posted this here on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/diplomacy/comments/195zhm2/diplomacy_board_game_variant_idea_adding/

#diplomacy #diplomacy board game #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #game of thrones #game theory #game design #game idea #strategy game #feudalism

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gregor-samsung · 1 year

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“ «Le persone che passeggiano,» disse Moro guardando giù nella Kirchengasse «questi esseri anacronistici estremamente sensibili, quando passeggiano sono gli esseri più ragionevoli fra tanti assolutamente irragionevoli, e anche i più felici fra tanti assolutamente infelici, forse è così, mio caro signor Robert, ma non si può dire loro che fra tanti assolutamente irragionevoli loro sono i più ragionevoli e fra tanti assolutamente infelici loro sono i più felici... non si può rivolgere la parola a chi sta passeggiando... a chi se ne va in giro con qualche incombenza o con nessuna incombenza in testa... quello che gli uomini producono» disse Moro «è soprattutto un’enorme attività diretta contro la noia... un’insensatezza contro l’insensatezza... quelli che se ne vanno in giro per i boschi, lungo le rive dei laghi, dentro le gole, fuori dalle valli, e come Lei sa ogni giorno circolano senza sosta circa duemila milioni di persone... mentre in fondo è del tutto sufficiente sfinirsi mangiando e dormendo... mio padre, lo dico perché in questo momento ho sottomano proprio la tenuta di Hisam, andava molto spesso a passeggiare con il suo signor tutore soprattutto nella tenuta di Hisam... attraverso i frutteti di Kammerhof... Laudach, Langbath, Grünau, Lindach, Rutzenmoos, Aurach... discorrendo proprio di Ungenach... e spesso, a quanto sembrava, anche senza alcun motivo... Il suo signor padre,» disse Moro «e anche mio padre erano soliti passeggiare, ma non erano affatto persone anacronistiche, come del resto non lo era neppure il suo signor tutore... Camminare e pensare, questa simultaneità» disse Moro «io l’ho osservata per tutta la vita sia nel suo signor padre sia nel suo signor tutore sia in mio padre. Quanto a me, io non vado a passeggio. Era per questo che suscitavo la diffidenza soprattutto del suo signor padre... come del resto anche la diffidenza del suo signor tutore... chi è solito passeggiare diffida delle persone che non vanno a passeggio, che non sono solite passeggiare, gli anacronistici eccetera... e così questa bella regione, questa nostra regione è attraversata in modo singolarissimo da una costante diffidenza che in realtà offusca ogni cosa, tutta quanta la regione è percorsa da una sottile trama di diffidenza di chi è solito passeggiare verso chi non è solito passeggiare. Così sono impensabili delle amicizie fra chi è solito passeggiare e chi non è solito passeggiare... come è impensabile l’amicizia in genere» disse Moro. “

Thomas Bernhard, Ungenach. Una liquidazione, traduzione di Eugenio Bernardi, Adelphi (collana Piccola Biblioteca Adelphi n° 766), 2021¹; pp. 28-29.

[ Edizione originale: Ungenach. Erzählung, Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main, 1968 ]

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imago-memoria · 1 year

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Photos S. B. : Bordeaux, rive droite - 2023 Montage. Passage d'images mortes à des images vivantes. Tout refleurit. « Notes sur le cinématographe », Robert Bresson.

#Notes sur le cinématographe #Montage #Images #Robert Bresson

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 11 months

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The Worst Of Us http://newsday.com/matt

* * * *

Biden endorses a “pause.”

November 3, 2023

ROBERT B. HUBBELL

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that he would urge Israel to agree to humanitarian “pauses” in its war on Hamas. Blinken is heading to Israel to deliver that message personally. As he boarded a plane bound for Israel on Thursday, Blinken said,

We’ve seen in recent days Palestinian civilians continuing to bear the brunt of [the war]. And it’s important that the United States is committed to making sure everything possible is done to protect civilians.

Blinken’s comments track with those of Biden, who said at a fundraiser on Wednesday in response to a peace activist who interrupted his remarks by calling for a ceasefire,

I think we need a pause. A pause means give time to get the prisoners out. . . . . I’m the guy that convinced Bibi to call for that cease-fire to let the prisoners out.

Biden’s comments confirm the US strategy of publicly supporting Israel while applying private pressure. They also expose the fault line riving American politics and family relations. Biden used the terms “pause” and “ceasefire” in his response to the activist. While both involve the cessation of hostilities, the former is limited in scope, duration, and purpose, while the latter is frequently a formal agreement to end all hostilities as a prelude to a peace settlement See United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Guidance on Mediation of Ceasefires.

For many Israelis and American Jews, the calls for a ceasefire suggest that Israel does not have the right to defend itself against an ongoing terrorist threat.

The term “ceasefire” as used by the UN peacekeeping community (above) suggests that Israel must end its war against Hamas while the terrorist organization that brutalized more than a thousand Israeli civilians is still operational and capable of firing hundreds of rockets daily at civilian populations in Israel.

And, of course, a ceasefire is a bilateral agreement that would require Hamas to pursue peace—a course explicitly rejected in its 1998 charter, which provides (in Article 13) the following:

There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors. Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement.

Hamas adopted an updated charter in 2017 that omits the above language.

To those seeking an immediate end to civilian casualties, the above arguments against a ceasefire seem unpersuasive, cynical, and dismissive of civilian casualties as an acceptable cost of war. See Dissent Magazine, The Case for a Ceasefire. (“The prevailing argument in Israel and most Western capitals is that Israel has a right to defend itself from external aggression. No one expected Israel not to respond, but at this point Israel has responded with destructive force.”) The authors of the article in Dissent also argue that calls for a ceasefire will strengthen President Biden’s hand “when the time comes to tell Netanyahu that the military operation must end.”

Matthew Dus argues in The Guardian that “[a]n Israel-Hamas ceasefire is in everyone’s best interest, humanely and practically.” But Dus counsels those seeking a ceasefire to welcome the incremental step of a “humanitarian pause” as follows:

A ceasefire, truce or “humanitarian pause” that begins as a temporary measure, but which could be extended, is vitally necessary to prevent further loss of civilian life on a mass scale. Advocacy efforts should focus on members of Congress who have not yet called for a pause, rather than attacking members who have, even if not in the preferred language. The war of words being waged to create a false binary between whether Israel should be taking any military action or not – with the dividing line being support for a so-named “ceasefire” – is harmful to protecting civilian lives.

The political ground in Congress is beginning to shift in favor of a cessation of hostilities or change in strategy by Israel. Eighteen progressive members of the House introduced a resolution calling for a ceasefire and Senator Dick Durbin called for a ceasefire. And Senator Chris Murphy issued the following statement on Thursday:

It's time for Israel's friends to recognize that the current operational approach is causing an unacceptable level of civilian harm and does not appear likely to achieve the goal of permanently ending the threat from Hamas. As we have learned from America’s own counterterrorism campaigns, disproportionately large numbers of civilian casualties come with a moral cost, but also a strategic cost, as terrorist groups feed off of the grievances caused by civilian harm. [¶¶]. The current rate of civilian death inside Gaza is unacceptable and unsustainable. I urge Israel to immediately reconsider its approach and shift to a more deliberate and proportionate counterterrorism campaign, surgically targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders and terrorist infrastructure while more highly prioritizing the safety of civilians in accordance with the law of armed conflict. This does not mean that Israel should stop fighting Hamas, but it must take concrete steps to end the current widespread harm to innocent people and children inside Gaza.

Pressure from Israel’s allies seems to be moving President Biden and his national security advisors to apply more public pressure on Israel for a pause. As Biden is trying to curtail civilian casualties, congressional Republicans may be undermining the US’s influence by threatening Biden’s request for supplemental funding for Israel.

#Israel-Hamas conflict #war #diplomacy #Robert b. Hubbell newsletter #Robert B. Hubbell #Matt Davies

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teenagedirtstache · 8 months

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#l'uomo vogue #jeremy irons #michel comte #robert rabensteiner #ysl rive gauche #2006 #2000s

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satinea · 2 years

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J'ai rêvé cette nuit de paysages insensés et d'aventures dangereuses aussi bien du point de vue de la mort que du point de vue de la vie qui sont aussi le point de vue de l'amour.

Robert Desnos

[📷 High Tide (Dolomites, Italy) par Max Rive]

#@satinea #original photographers #robert desnos

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bookclub4m · 1 year

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Episode 182 - Lyric Poetry

This episode we’re talking about the format of Lyric Poetry! We talk about reading poetry out loud, translation, French Canadian dialects, and more!

You can download the podcast directly, find it on Libsyn, or get it through Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your favourite podcast delivery system.

In this episode

Anna Ferri | Meghan Whyte | Matthew Murray | Jam Edwards

Things We Read (or tried to…)

Entre Rive and Shore by Dominique Bernier-Cormier

Let Us Believe in the Beginning of the Cold Season: Selected Poems by Forugh Farrokhzad, translated by Elizabeth T. Gray Jr

Ledger: Poems by Jane Hirshfield

Rapture by Carol Ann Duffy

Goldenrod: Poems by Maggie Smith

Good Bones: Poems by Maggie Smith

Alive At The End Of The World by Saeed Jones

The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes on by Franny Choi

No Matter the Wreckage by Sarah Kay

White Pine: Poems and Prose Poems by Mary Oliver

Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in Her Head by Warsan Shire

Le premier coup de clairon pour réveiller les femmes immorales by Rachel McCrum

The Hurting Kind by Ada Limón

The Arkansas Testament by Derek Walcott

Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones

Other Media We Mentioned

The Bronze Horseman by Alexander Pushkin

19 Ways of Looking at Wang Wei: With More Ways by Eliot Weinberger

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

“The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop

When We Were Very Young by A. A Milne

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

The Inferno of Dante: A New Verse Translation by Dante Alighieri, translated by Robert Pinsky

All Def Poetry

milk and honey by rupi kaur

One Piece by Eiichiro Oda

Trailer for Netflix show

“Poetry Is Not a Luxury” by Audre Lorde (pdf)

Links, Articles, and Things

Lyric poetry (Wikipedia)

The Writer's Block

The Midnight Library: Episode 001 - Halloween Poetry

Chiac (Wikipedia)

Plasco Building (Wikipedia)

30 Recent Poetry Collections by BIPOC Authors

Every month Book Club for Masochists: A Readers’ Advisory Podcasts chooses a genre at random and we read and discuss books from that genre. We also put together book lists for each episode/genre that feature works by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, & People of Colour) authors. All of the lists can be found here.

This booklist features books from BIPOC poets published in the past three years.

Chrome Valley by Mahogany L. Browne

Feast by Ina Cariño

Your Emergency Contact Has Experienced an Emergency by Chen Chen

Girls That Never Die: Poems by Safia Elhillo

Content Warning: Everything by Akwaeke Emezi

I Do Everything I'm Told by Megan Fernandes

Living Nations, Living Words: An Anthology of First Peoples Poetry edited by Joy Harjo

Song of my Softening by Omotara James

Spells, Wishes, and the Talking Dead / Mamaht́wisiwin, Pakos̊yimow, Nikihci-́niskot́ṕn : Poems by Wanda John-Kehewin

Burning Like Her Own Planet by Vandana Khanna

Phantom Pain Wings by Kim Hyesoon, translated by Don Mee Choi

Bianca by Eugenia Leigh

Finna by Nate Marshall

Slam Coalkan Performance Poetry: The Condor and the Eagle Meet edited by Jennifer Murrin

God Themselves by Jae Nichelle

You Are Only Just Beginning: Lessons for the Journey Ahead by Morgan Harper Nichols

I’m Always So Serious by Karisma Price

Homie by Danez Smith

Blood Snow by dg nanouk okpik

Promises of Gold/Promesas de Oro by José Olivarez with translation by David Ruano

That Was Now, This is Then by Vijay Seshadri

it was never going to be okay by jaye simpson

Dark Testament by Crystal Simone Smith

Unshuttered: Poems by Patricia Smith

Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls by Kai Cheng Thom

Femme in Public by Alok Vaid-Menon

Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong

Find Her. Keep Her. by Renaada Williams

Rupture Tense by Jenny Xie

From From by Monica Youn

Give us feedback!

Fill out the form to ask for a recommendation or suggest a genre or title for us to read!

Here’s Matthew’s limerick. Write your own!

There once was a book club for masochists Whose members delighted in making lists They all had a blast Co-hosting a podcast That their friendship will always persist

Check out our Tumblr, follow us on Instagram, join our Facebook Group, or send us an email!

Join us again on Tuesday, September 19th it’s time for our One Book One Podcast episode as we all discuss the book Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey!

Then on Tuesday, October 3rd get ready for Halloween because we’ll be talking about the genre of Horror!

#genres #episodes #formats #poetry

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horizon-verizon · 2 years

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Alicent's fans have more empathy for Aemond and Aegon and even justify their actions, routinely praise Robert Baratheon, think Otto is a genius, and talk on and on about how great and compelling those men are, while ripping Daenerys apart, using her being murdered by her intimate partner after she survived being a bridal slave as some kind of gotcha, and erasing Cersei's abuse at the hands of Robert and the Faith Militant. This is why I will never have any sympathy for Alicent and also why I want her rotting in the deepest pits of hell.

Disclaimer: Rant

I hate Show!Alicent because she has internalized misogyny that blinds her to her own evil (which actually follows canon, if only this one thing) AND her character is so poorly written and given too much sympathy from the writers, actors, and her fans. Misogyny rules through her, I do not want to see her justified.

I actually did feel bad for her before episode 4....but then she talked to Rhaenyra about her sleeping with Daemon. I didn't need Alicent stans to hate Alicent. They just exacerbated it with their refusals to see how horrible this person is because she is an attractive victim who does nothing.

That and her entire characterization design and motivation became (not personhood) so self contradictory and confused (not layered and complex) that I couldn't suspend disbelief. The story wouldn't allow me anymore, because her switch up at episode 8, forgiving Rhaenyra, was so fucking dumb that I couldn't anymore, and I couldn't take Rhaenicent anymore either.

And if I did, if I'd believed a person could act like she did, they'd be a woman who has internalized misogyny so much she has become a mindless, potato-bread agent for patriarchal oppression herself. She doesn't even display any remarkable qualities or will on her own -- she is always responding to others and asking, waiting for power. In a story, were meant to have active characters who rive the story forward, and Alicent doesn't really except in episode 5 where she wears her green dress. And even then, what really comes of it? We don't see any Hightower support or agent, no house spy sent from Oldtown to her, in episodes 6-9. None. So what was the point of her talking to the Hightowers? It's all a display, no substance or follow up, no lead through. How can I like and care about her then?

At least Cersei actively sought out and made demands. Used her differing Queen powers for something and to enact her own will. And with Cersei, we got the true sympathetic-but-critical nuance of her trying to fight against her father's dismissals and put downs and teachings of what her gender means and what she is allowed to do. I didn't like her but I cared about Cersei and what she would do next, despite her being a villain and having internalized so much misogyny.

But yeah, green stan misogynistic hypocrisy.

#asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #hotd #house of the dragon #alicent's characterization #alicent hightower #hotd comment #hotd characterization #hotd critical #characterization #hotd misogyny #green stan nonsense #green stans #alicent stans #asoiaf asks to me

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havaforever · 1 year

Photo

ELLIOT ERWITT - Rétrospective au Musée Maillol

Elliott Erwitt, 94 ans, est ce qu’on appelle un photographe total. Il a tout fait : de la photographie intime, du grand reportage, de la mode, de la publicité. Son regard singulier, à la fois moqueur et plein d’humanité, illumine tout son travail,

Pilier de la prestigieuse agence Magnum où il est entré en 1954 sous la houlette de Robert Capa, Elliott Erwitt est à cheval sur les deux rives de l'Atlantique : né en France de parents immigrés russes en 1928, il a ensuite grandi en Italie avant de faire carrière aux Etats-Unis et de parcourir le monde en tant que reporter.

Riche de 220 photos, l'exposition est divisée en une dizaine de thématiques définies par l’artiste lui-même (couples, enfants, chiens, villes etc.). Quel que soit l’angle abordé, on retrouve son regard amusé, ironique mais affectueux. Un régal.

Qu’il observe les vacanciers à la plage ou des nudistes sous toutes les latitudes, qu’il immortalise des scènes de rue, des animaux, ou qu’il traite des immeubles comme des personnes, son regard amusé, doucement ironique, sur ses semblables et sur le monde, est sa marque de fabrique.

Il parvient même à conserver ce sourire pour des travaux de commande austères – une entreprise de chimie – ou dans ce qu’il appelle ses "abstractions", des clichés dénués de personnages.

Modeste, il assure que ce n’est pas lui qui est drôle, mais les situations et la réalité qui sont drôles. "Il suffit de savoir les saisir", dit-il. Mais s’il a l’œil pour repérer le comique de situation, il sait également provoquer la drôlerie. L’exposition est ainsi jalonnée de ses autoportraits, tous plus désopilants les uns que les autres – avec perruques ou dans des situations loufoques -, confirmant que l’homme à aussi le goût de l’auto-dérision chevillée au corps.

S’il a beaucoup d’humour, Elliott Erwitt sait aussi aborder l’intimité avec grâce. La photo comme il dit de "mon premier chat, ma première femme et mon premier enfant", prise sur un lit chez lui à New York en 1953, dans un clair obscur magnifique, porte un regard doux et tendre sur cette trinité. Ce cliché, repéré très tôt par Edward Steichen, directeur du département photo du MOMA, a lancé sa carrière.

Au dernier étage, dans l’espace consacré aux femmes, le cliché poignant de Jackie Kennedy, très digne alors que quelques larmes s’écrasent discrètement sur sa voilette, aux obsèques de son mari John F. Kennedy, ou bien la mère de Robert Capa effondrée sur la tombe de son fils en 1954, témoignent encore de sa capacité à saisir les sujets graves avec sensibilité.

Il sait aussi jeter le trouble et interroger, comme sur cette photo d’un petit garçon noir de Pittsburg qui retourne un revolver jouet sur sa propre tempe. Enfin, il est un portraitiste célébré pour ses clichés de personnalités, de Nixon et Khrouchtchev au Che, sans oublier Marilyn ou Obama.

L’ensemble est rythmé, équilibré, vivant, plaisant évidemment, mais très souvent aussi saisissant de génie, d’inattendu, de puissance créatrice et de poésie. On sort de ce moment de grâce charmés et complètement conquis.

#EXPO #elliot erwitt #photo #reporter #poésie #humour

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canaldesmoulins · 9 days

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CORVÉE D'ENTRETIEN DU CANAL : GROS BOULOT, BEAU RÉSULTAT.

Ce samedi 7 septembre, les Amis du Canal des Moulins de Chabeuil [ACMC] avaient convoqué leur traditionnelle corvée d'entretien d'automne. Beau temps, même un peu chaud, il s'agissait de dégager le Canal en amont de Chabeuil, dans un secteur compris entre la prise d'eau et l'entrée de Chabeuil, tout au long de la route de Combovin. Bonnes pluies en mai et juin, beau temps ensuite : les ronces avaient ainsi prospéré, et les hautes herbes aussi : il fallait donc agir, pour que le Canal ne soit plus encombré dès lors que le débit dans la Véore aura augmenté, entraînant alors un bon débit dans le Canal.

Amicale présence, assidue et bosseuse, d'une dizaine d'ami.e.s du Canal, profitant de l'enthousiasme de Robert Portal, notre mascotte nonagénaire non moins que dynamique, ancien maire de Chabeuil, attaché toujours à protéger le patrimoine de sa ville. Le coup de main minimal de la Commune consistait pour cette fois à relever la grande vanne qui commande l'entrée du Canal, l'asséchant pour nous permettre de travailler les pieds au sec. Mais cette fameuse vanne n'est restée ouverte que ce fameux samedi, redescendue dès la fin d'après midi. Il nous fallait donc faire vite.

La première photo montre le désensablement de l'amenée d'eau, qu'il fallait purger des limons déposés depuis trop longtemps, qui empêchaient que l'eau se dirige bien vers la prise d'eau du Canal. Gros travail, pour dégager ce sable boueux, ramassé là en trop grande quantité. La deuxième photo montre l'amenée d'eau après l'intervention des ACMC, purgée de ses limons et débarrassée de ses ajoncs envahissants : nickel, jusqu'à l'entrée du Canal. La partie maçonnée, belle et ancienne, située à l'aval immédiat de la prise d'eau a été elle aussi nettoyée, d'un sécateur patient et tenace. Plus bas, le secteur de la papèterie, amont et aval immédiats, a été bien dégagé, dans le détail. Plus bas encore, juste avant l'entrée dans Chabeuil, à la hauteur du centre équestre, le secteur dit 'de l'agrion de Mercure' a été patiemment curé, à la pelle de jardin, quasiment à la pince à épiler. Parfait : on se souvient qu'au printemps, quand le Canal était en eau dans ce secteur, l'agrion de Mercure y était réapparu, très bonne nouvelle pour cette espèce protégée, précieuse libellule qui apprécie son bon vieux Canal où elle trouve une eau fraîche et courante, et des rives enherbées très accueillantes pour ses larves. Secteur impec, donc, après le passage des vaillants cantonniers du Canal.

Entre le 'secteur agrion' et la papèterie, la corvée a été rude, les ronces se sont bien défendues et l'avancée a été pénible. Les ACMC s'y sont repris à plusieurs fois, revenant dans le secteur dans les jours qui suivirent, à forts coups de débroussailleuse et de rateau. Au total : gros résultat, dans ce secteur aussi.

Reste le secteur Sacouly, à l'aval proche de l'amenée d'eau. Là, le propriétaire (et vice-président des ACMC) a engagé des travaux d'étanchéification du Canal qui jouxte sa maison, un ancien moulin. Il a donc fallu obturer le Canal, dès la prise d'eau, pour permettre ces travaux. Ce que firent les Amis du Canal. Ce chantier (étanchéification efficace, reprise de la chute d'eau ancienne. Beau boulot là encore) bouclé, dès cette fin de semaine, les Amis du Canal ré-ouvriront le Canal, marquant la fin de cette campagne d'entretien, amicale, chaleureuse, et efficace. Conclusion : en amont de Chabeuil le Canal est en plutôt bon état, suffit de s'y tenir. Et il suffirait de réparer quelques ouvrages fatigués, vannes, demi-lunes etc... pour que le débit soit meilleur encore.

On le redit tranquillement, les ACMC ne laisseront pas tomber leur cher vieux Canal, précieux patrimoine local.

Prochaine étape : début décembre : on prévoit de nettoyer les feuilles mortes, qui ne vont pas manquer de tomber, et de boucher quelques grilles et vannes...On vous fait signe à ce moment-là.

#chabeuil #canaldesmoulins

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