#this is a heavily modified version of one painting i saw a while ago of the tower of babel

[flying-potato2]

idk if any of yall remember this project i posted abt it a while ago but im building a monochrome minecraft city and this is the latest addition

[bagelpantry90-blog]

WALKING IN NORTH BROOKLYN

Something about North Brooklyn attracts me during the Christmas season. I have done surveys of both Manhattan and Graham Avenues in December. Today, I chose Humboldt Street, as I have a particular memory attached to it. A number of memorable incidents, for me at least, occurred in north Brooklyn in December…

Though I lived in Bay Ridge my first 35 years, I had a number of friends in Greenpoint and spent a couple of memorable Christmas seasons at Gary J.’s place on Oak Street in 1982 and 1983. For a short time, I even rented an apartment on Green Street (a one-bedroom cost $275 a month in 1982) but I found it a bit too daunting, with the bathtub in the kitchen and no shower, and got out of the lease and went back to Bay Ridge, where I lived in a number of apartments until 1993.

–I was driving around Brooklyn in December 1992 with a friend, Vincent L. (who remained in Brooklyn all these years and just recently moved to Plainfield, New Jersey). We were in Williamsburg and I mentioned I had never been in Peter Luger. 1992 was long before Williamsburg became a hipster playground and subsequently, a wealthy enclave. We ducked into Luger and had a beer at the bar at around noon. I was fascinated by the fellows in the white coats rushing around bearing platters stacked with raw meat — they were delivering them into the kitchen for the evening rush. A couple of years later I got into Luger for dinner for the first of two visits. This was about twenty years ago and it was $200 for four; I’m sure it’s a lot more now. The four of us set to work like jackals on a wildebeest carcass. A half hour after the steak was brought over, just bones were left.

–In December 1982 I was working a night shift with the city’s biggest type house, Photo-Lettering. I had made an arrangement with a friend, Brian B., to arrive at his house after my shift and wait for a couch. I got out of work in the Grand Central area at 3AM, but fortunately, the #4 train has an easy connection with the L train at Union Square; it took that to Graham and walked about 8 blocks. I arrived at his house at 4AM, slept on his old couch, he left for work, and the new couch was delivered in the early afternoon. Pretty mundane stuff, but he lived in an unusual place. I’ll talk about it a bit further down the page. 

Google map: North Brooklyn walk

Today, I got out of the L train at the Driggs Avenue end of the Bedford Avenue stop. This is Williamsburg Atelier, on North 9th between Roebling and Havemeyer. Most of Williamsburg has come to no longer look the way it did for most of the last century, as many older buildings have been aluminum sided and many have been torn down in favor of new developments like this one. As these things go, I’m not overly put off by the Williamsburg Atelier, as it was bricks or at least faux bricks in the construction. 

Williamsburg still works, witness the Auster Rubber Co. on Roebling between North 8th and 9th. 

Roebling Sporting Club, Roebling Street at North 8th. It’s  a sports bar, but somewhat different from places like Dave & Buster’s.

Part of the reason I started out here was to give me an excuse to duck into Best Pizza, on Havemeyer between North 7th and 8th. I’ve indeed had one of the best slices in the city at Best, ranking with New Park and DiFara. I put up with the blaring hip hop station (at age 61, I like WCBS-FM played low in pizzerias) but today, something was off. I ordered a plain slice, but instead got one of their “white” slices, all cheese with a couple of sun dried tomatoes, no sauce. I hope that’s not their default slice now. I was a little early, maybe that’s what they had. It’s only a slice of pizza, I didn’t make a fuss.

A triangular plot at Meeker and Skillman Avenues was perfect for a prefab condo building with terraces allowing for a great view of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. There may be something fascinating, though, about looking down at the traffic rushing past, or, most of the time, sitting and honking.

I liked the etched glass windows at Kings County Imperial, a Chinese restaurant at #20 Skillman Avenue. 

Streetscapes on Conselyea Street between Lorimer and Leonard Streets. 70, 72, and 74 Conselyea, with their brick fronts, look much the same as they did in 1940…but 74A, on the west end of the row, doesn’t. 

When the row was constructed in the early 1900s, there was enough room for 4 buildings, but not enough house numbers available…hence, the 74A. When this issue comes up elsewhere, a house can be assigned a half number, and is elsewhere in the neighborhood (see below).

I mentioned Peter Luger earlier. DiStefano’s, tricked out for Christmas here, is an old-school Brooklyn steakhouse out of the Luger mold, though it has only been open since 2007. I was here for a birthday dinner (not mine) a few years ago and had the filet mignon, though I recently recall reading that filet mignon is not the cut of choice for steak snobs. But I don’t care what the snobs think.

Getting near the Italian pocket of East Williamsburg, centered along Graham Avenue between Metropolitan and Meeker Avenues. As in the Corona Italian section, some of the street fixtures are painted in the red, white and green tricolor of the Italian flag.

Via Vespucci honors explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512) a Firenze (Florence) native. In 1507 cartographer Martin Waldseemüller published an atlas in which the recently ‘discovered’ continent was given a modified version of Vespucci’s first name.

This row, on Conselyea east of Graham Avenue, is 182, 182 1/2, and 184, with charming inconsistency.

St. Francis de Paola Church, on Conselyea between Humboldt Street and Woodpoint Road, was constructed in 1941, though the parish was founded in 1906. In 2011, Brooklyn’s Bishop DeMarzio combined three local parishes, St. Nicholas (Olive Street), St. Cecilia on North Henry (see below) and St. Francis de Paola, were combined into one parish, Divine Mercy, though the individual churches remain open for worship. Francis of Paola (1416-1507) was an Italian friar who was the founder of the Order of Minims. 

Humboldt Street acquired its present name around 1870. Before that one section was named Smith, another Wyckoff. It was renamed for famed scientist and explorer, Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) who is also memorialized by a bust at Central Park West and West 77th Street. He was described by Charles Darwin as “the greatest scientific traveler who ever lived.” Between 1799 and 1804, von Humboldt travelled to South and Central America, exploring and describing it from a scientific point of view for the first time. His description of much of this journey was written up in an enormous set of volumes over a 21-year span. He was one of the first to propose that the lands bordering the Atlantic were once joined (South America and Africa in particular). Subsequent studies have borne out his proposal.

Here’s a real find, the old Abramo funeral home at Humboldt and Skillman, with a no-longer functioning neon sign and stopped clock. When I saw the Get Fat sign, I thought it was  a restaurant, but it’s actually a tattoo parlor. Me, I call tattoos “the new conformity” and that has steeled my resolve to never acquire one. 

Looking east from Humboldt on Jackson Street toward the old Greenpoint Hospital complex, first opened in 1914 but closed in the 1980s. One of the buildings has become a community center, but the rest of the property sits abandoned, awaiting a presumed conversion to residential.

The Humboldt & Jackson restaurant has a curious stucco’ed exterior, as well as signs in classic fonts like Century Schoolbook and Clarendon.

478 and 484 Humboldt, at Richardson, embody two styles of architectural esthetics, in 1885 and 2018, respectively. Quite an evolution, no matter what you think of either.

201 Richardson Street, and 494 Humboldt around the corner, are the remnants of what was a colonnade row in East Williamsburg; it was mostly intact in the 1920s, but mostly gone by 1940. Both buildings date to the 1850s and have been heavily altered over the years.

Here’s what 201 Richardson looked like in 1940. The Doric columns and roof treatment hadn’t been altered yet.

At this point, I’d like to mention a trend I noticed in north Brooklyn: though most of the buildings were covered in aluminum insulation siding in the 1960s and 1970s, disguising their old appearances, their true age is given away by the ancient and rusting (in many cases) railings and gates, which were rendered with the flourishes of  a former age by their metalworkers and artisans. 

Stained-glass house number at #9 North Henry Street off Richardson. The name “North Henry” has always intrigued me. The street is several miles away from Henry Street in Brooklyn Heights; why call a street so far away “North Henry”? The answer is simple. The cities of Brooklyn and Williamsburg each had Henry Streets, and when Williamsburg was annexed to Brooklyn in the 1850s, there were then two Henry Streets. What to do? It was agreed that the Williamsburg Henry would be known as North Henry.

There are other odd duplications around NYC — for example, West 9th Street is literally west of 9th Street in Red Hook, while North Moore, in Tribeca, is a couple of miles away from Moore Street, a one-block alley near Battery Park. 

So, my couch-waiting gig was here, at #14 North Henry. But it wasn’t in this building. If you look carefully, behind the tree, you will see that there is a building behind it, or a “back house.” That is 14 1/2 North Henry and that’s where Brian B. lived. You needed key to let you in 14, then you went down a hall, into the open air again, and entered 14 1/2 with another key. I had never been in a building like that before, and I don’t think I’ve been in one since.

Cecilia, you’re breakin’ my heart. I came all this way and the white limestone St. Cecilia Church is partly under wraps during renovation. The parish was founded in 1877, while this classic church, nearly basilica-size, was built from 1891-1901 by ecclesiastical architect Thomas Poole. Its green copper dome is a familiar sight when traveling north on the nearby Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The stained-glass windows include renderings of Saint Cecilia, who is the patron saint of music; according to legend, she was a martyr in second-century Common Era Rome. 

This magnificent Romanesque building at Humboldt and Henry Streets is the former NYPD 19th Precinct, a role it fulfilled into the 1980s when it was subsequently converted to residential use. It was constructed in the pre-auto era, and its stable is still intact on the Herbert Street side. Along with a number of other handsome NYPD precincts of the same era in Bedford-Stuyvesant, East New York and Sunset Park (the latter two are sadly in ruins) it was designed by architect George Ingram, who specialized in them; there were others like C.B.J Snyder and Patrick Keely, working in the same era, who designed schools and churches. At Brownstoner, Montrose Morris says it was designed to look good, but also to intimidate somewhat and give an air of governmental authority. It was provided with an individual landmark by the LPC in 1993.

Humboldt Street is interrupted for a couple of blocks north of the BQE. In 1964, the former Oakland Street was widened and extended south to the then-new Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, assuming Humboldt’s route and changing its name to McGuinness Boulevard (for longtime Greenpoint alderman — now called city councilman) Peter McGuinness. 

This spot marks Humboldt Street as it continues its northern progress at McGuinness Boulevard and Bayard Street.

A handsome Italianate pair, at #527 and 529 Humboldt. Note the intact original balustrades.

My guess is that the same real estate developer built these multifamily buildings on both sides of Humboldt Street at Engert Avenue, since they look so similar.

And now for something that stumps me. A very small triangle was created when Oakland Street was widened at Newton Street and Engert Avenue, which make a V. Yet, it earns not only a Type B park lamp, but a sign identifying it as Holy Name Square. Now, there are plenty of Catholic churches in this Polish-Latino-Irish neighborhood, but none named Holy Name. In fact the closest Holy Name church is several miles away in Park Slope. So, how did it get the name? If you have an idea, the Comments section is below.

#48 Broome Street, just off Humboldt, has retained most of its excellent woodwork, window lintels and roof corbelling. It’s a revelation in an area where most exteriors hide behind aluminum siding. 

Stanislaus Kostka (1550-1568) was a Polish Jesuit novice who walked from Vienna to Rome, likely contracting malaria on the journey, from which he died at age 17.  He was canonized in 1726. There are a number of NYC churches named in his honor, including this one at Humboldt Street and Driggs Avenue and a second one, across Newtown Creek in Maspeth. Greenpoint’s Kostka serves the largest Polish congregation in Brooklyn and was visited by Pope John Paul II in 1979; his likeness is in view on Humboldt. The parish was established in the 1880s, and the magnificent Gothic building was dedicated in 1904. Catholic Manhattan has some interior photos. 

I turned off Humboldt at this point, but that wasn’t quite the end of today’s journey; I’ll post the finish in a day or two.

Please help contribute to a new Forgotten NY website

Check out the ForgottenBook, take a look at the gift shop, and as always, “comment…as you see fit.”

12/23/18

Source: http://forgotten-ny.com/2018/12/walking-north-brooklyn/

[armsinthewronghands]

Terra Frank’s Lying

Terra Frank is referring to a conversation that Chirstopher Mennell erased because it was off-topic. Here it i before it was erased:

Christopher Mennell Roleplaying Games Aug 14, 12:59 PM  What game sounded awesome when you first heard about it but ended up being a total let down when you finally got a hold of it? 2 plus ones 2 75 comments 75 no shares Shared publicly•View activity Hide 69 comments Rob Monroe's profile photo Rob Monroe 3:16 Carnage Amongst the Stars was sold to me as a gritty survival horror RPG in space. In play it felt like a bad board game with tacked on and trivial story game elements. 5h S. M. Kelly's profile photo S. M. Kelly D&D 4e ....after having been out of tabletop RPG's for about 20+ years. 5h Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank LotFP. It was all dickmonsters, women being murdered as art direction, and patronizing DM advice telling everyone but the author they are wrong. I do not understand the appeal at all, especially when it’s really just a more restrictive basic D&D with a warped sense of history. This is my opinion, of course. A lot of people seem to really like it. 5h

Christopher Weeks's profile photo Christopher Weeks Nobilis (2e, if it matters). The book, the art, the snippets of fiction -- they painted an image of something really grand. And there were pieces of a game in there, but not a coherent system. Not something that drove, or even facilitated play. Just not enough game. 5h Cris Sidhe (Dra8er)'s profile photo Cris Sidhe (Dra8er) The new Star Trek from Modiphius. 5h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath +Terra Frank It seems like your "opinion" contains a lot of assertions of fact. "Warped sense of history" "All dick monsters" "Women being murdered" these are claims a person can check against a source, not statements of taste. 5h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath +Rob Monroeoh GOD it's terrible. The art is cool but there's just nothing to it. It's like "Flip a coin!" "You win!" 5h Eloy Cintron's profile photo Eloy Cintron +Cris Sidhe Curious to see what you disliked about the Modiphius Star Trek. I'm reading it right now.  Care to elaborate? (Genuinely curious, no agenda here :) ) 5h Christopher Mennell's profile photo Christopher Mennell +Rob Monroe agreed; loved 3:16 when I first heard about it, but the actual product fell short. 5h K Yani's profile photo K Yani Any Conan d20 based RPG I tried -  through cover art and premise it gives impression of fierce warriors and crushing mighty magic, while books start with teaching me how to climb walls, and the magic (if available to players) is usually too meek. Best Conan game I've played run on Risus. 4h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath one of my favorite conan comics has him shoving daggers hilt first into the toes of his boots so he can climb a wall 4h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath

EDIT: Though she seems to have erased it, this was in response to a comment Terra Frank just made tagging me, telling me to stop "antagonizing" her, and telling me she didn't want to talk to me. It's gone now, so I have no idea if this is still relevant. fwiw this is the only exchange I'm aware of ever having with her in my entire life Original comment below: To whom it may concern but I shan't tag Terra Frank directly since she has a disturbingly low bar for "antagonism" and tagging her at all might trigger it  . I asked a question of Terra Frank (or rather, raised a question by pointing out a fact). I didn't make a hostile anything toward Terra Frank. Anyone who doesn't want to talk to me should just block me. Also I recommend everybody block Terra based on this exchange which is weird and scary. 4h Cris Sidhe (Dra8er)'s profile photo Cris Sidhe (Dra8er) +4 +Eloy Cintron​ I purchased the limited Edition Borg Cube. It looks absolutely stunning. I do like parts if it. When I initially read it I liked the vibe it was giving off. But when I actually played it felt like I was playing a resource management board game where each player would add to the pool on their turn, then use it and generate more.

Creativity did not feel like it had any impact on some of the challenges. In the end, I just could not care if the people lived or died.

The "HEAVILY" modified 2d20 just feels to 'clunky' & just to many rules to crunch. I wish it was trimmed up a little. Probably to used to FASA Star Trek. But in the end it just didn't end up being the game I thought it would be or wanted.

4h Arthur Fisher's profile photo Arthur Fisher +2 Trail of Cthulhu I heard really good things and I was hoping to use that for my Thurber campaign stuff, but once we say down at the table I found that I really liked the investigator points and not much else. But really, I feel like I can replace that with "You've got a 70% in Biology? You don't need to roll. You find the thing."

And that was disappointing because I was really excited about it and really wanted it to work for me. 4h Christopher Mennell's profile photo Christopher Mennell +Zak Sabbath okay...I have no idea what happened here, but I think something got a little out of hand because you didn't like what +Terra Frank said about LotFP? I don't see anything wrong with her expressing her opinions about the product...she certainly doesn't have an issue with people who like LotFP, it's just not her personal taste. I don't think you have to recommend she be blocked. 4h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath To whom it may concern : Terra Frank didn't get "called out". I just posted an alternate take because threads are for discussion . Just like I did with Conan and climbing up there. 4h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath I didn't say I didn't like anything +Christopher Mennell  nor did I say there was anything wrong with her opinions. I recommend you talk to your friend off-thread. Also maybe reread what I wrote because you got it completely wrong. It has not been altered since I wrote it. And obviously I recommend she be blocked NOT because of her opinions on games but because she's apparently liable to accuse people of "antagonizing" her for leaving innocuous comments and therefore dangerous to any discussion. 3h K Yani's profile photo K Yani +Christopher Mennell I think I cannot see several posts here. Is it something breaking from my side or something else was done to the thread? 3h Christopher Mennell's profile photo Christopher Mennell +K Yani some comments were deleted 3h Eloy Cintron's profile photo Eloy Cintron +Cris Sidhe Interesting! I'm reading it, and so far looks like a very, very crunchy version of Fate. Haven't played it yet, so can't comment on how it feels at the table. Thanks for the insight! What IS your favorite Trek RPG? FASA? Are there different editions? Which one? 3h Cris Sidhe (Dra8er)'s profile photo Cris Sidhe (Dra8er) +1 +Eloy Cintron​ yes FASA is my favorite. West End Games has a version they published in the mid 80's I was not very fond of.

Yes it does have a FATE feel to it.   3h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath if anybody wants to see the deleted stuff, just ask me in a pm, I screencapped them as soon as I saw how disturbing Terra was acting.+K Yani 3h Matt Horam's profile photo Matt Horam World of Darkness 2h Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank Here is an example of him interacting with me 3 days ago. Every time I post in a thread he is also in, he tags me, antagonizing me. This time, I was supporting a friend who he leveled a misandric attack at. Photo 2h Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank Here is that attack. As a feminist, I believe men deserve to show their emotions without being Shamed for it. This is misandry and toxic masculinity and it's gross Photo 2h Wayne Rossi's profile photo Wayne Rossi Two very recent games.

1: Cthulhu Confidential. The promise was a system designed for one player and one GM. The delivery was a framework for running pre-written adventures (basically built on a decision tree) focused on defined set-piece encounters, with pre-generated advantage and penalty cards.

2: Mutant Crawl Classics. I haven't written a full review because the final book was revised, but it's not very good. It clings too hard to Dungeon Crawl Classics, and the result is neither a good Gamma World type game, nor a good fantasy game. Also it doesn't have most of the charts it should have (there are no tables for making monsters, robots, or artifacts), and the ones it has (recognition table, artifact checks) are clunky and bad. 2h Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank This person has a refined harassment tactic, he repeatedly Antagonizes people and when they finally ask him to stop, he tries to make them sound crazy, an attack rooted in misogony when used against a transgender woman, or any woman. It's gross. 2h Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank +1 I've had dozens of interactions with this person, every time I've been silent because I'm afraid of him. I am a trans girl with no power in this industry even approaching his. I have deleted my posts in other threads he's called me out in because I was too scared. No more. It stops here. I've been through too much as a trans woman to deal with this in silence. I won't be silent anymore 2h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath That isn't an attack. I literally was expressing the sentiment that being that sensitive must make life hard for Rob Donoghue. (And the thread proved it was true). I wasn't saying this was a bad personality characteristic to have. Then Terra said something confusing, so I asked her a question. Which I guess now she is revealing she misinterpreted as somehow "antagonizing". But because Terra freaked out and didn't do what an empathetic person would (ie, engage and make sure her suspicion was sound before assuming guilt without proof), she falsely assumed it was an attack and has now begun to harass me. Again, if she can't be reasoned with, I suggest everyone block her. 2h Kelvin Green's profile photo Kelvin Green +2 Rogue Trader. Twenty-five years of waiting for a bloated and fiddly mess of a game. 2h Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank I am not going to bother tracking down every instance of this boy Antagonizing me, because I've already proven him a liar with this screen shot of him interacting with  me only 3 days before he claimed never to have interacted with me before. With that, I'm done. Unless people want to voice their support to me personally, I don't want to hear anymore. 2h Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank I'm not giving any more of my fear and anxiety to this man. I am not going to be ashamed of myself and delete my posts anymore. I am proud of who I am. I will not be bullied and silenced. 2h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath I said I never had an exchange with her before, an exchange involves A say something B say something that responds to that . Me typing something, you saying something unrelated later down the thread, and then me asking a question and you ignoring it is not an "exchange". - Terra is apparently not empathic enough to be genuinely interested in whether her victim deserves her harassment. . 2h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath Also she doesn't seem to have much of a theory for what the motive for the crimes I've allegedly committed would be. 2h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath Oh and Mouse Guard. Connie wanted to play with mice so bad she even volunteered to GM and then it just sat on the shelf because the rules were so bad. 2h Christopher Mennell's profile photo Christopher Mennell Wait, +Zak Sabbath: was Mouse Guard a game that sounded awesome to you when you first heard about it? 2h Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank Directly addressing someone is an interaction. Period. This boy is caught in a lie he is trying to wiggle out of, a lie rooted in misogony to try to make a woman sound irrational. Gross. This woman is not putting up with misogony and lies. Period. 2h Arthur Fisher's profile photo Arthur Fisher +Zak Sabbath Did y'all ever just do "D&D, but you're mice?" 2h Alex Mayo's profile photo Alex Mayo Aftermath. 2h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath +Christopher Mennell it sounded ok to give to connie and the art (which is from the comic, is good). 2h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath Terra: " Directly addressing someone is an interaction. Period. " True. " This boy is caught in a lie " False. Here's my quote (see above_: " fwiw this is the only exchange I'm aware of ever having with her in my entire life " +Christopher Mennell Please erase the harassing comments in the form of false accuations from Terra in your thread. Harassment has no place in discussion of tabletop games and should not be tolerated 2h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath also, it's spelled "misogyny"  if anyone was confused about what the harasser meant 2h Christopher Mennell's profile photo Christopher Mennell +3 +Zak Sabbath +Terra Frank I don't know what's best for the two of you, other than maybe talking to each other rather than past each other. I respect both of you and I hate to see this kind of argument transpiring.

It's also way off topic of the OP. 2h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath "Talking past" is avoiding points.  I am addressing all of Terra's points. 1 she keeps claiming things are hostile that aren't, and assuming meanings without checking (innocent until proven guilty) 2 she attacks then acts like if I fact check the attack its me harassing her 3 She's quibbling over the definition of "Exchange" vs "interaction"  instead of just admitting she misinterpreted things as hostile. Please +Christopher Mennell do NOT accuse me of "talking past" someone whose every comment I have addressed in full. 2h Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank I can't really talk rationally with someone who has been Antagonizing me for years, using misogony and Ableism as abuse tactics. Last time I spoke up about his abuse, he made blog post about how people who have mental illness should not be taken seriously if they allege abuse. Ableist and gross. Here is the post: Mental Illness In The RPG Community dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com 2h Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank Here is direct evidence of his targeting me with his blog and his Ableism. Note, this is using my dead name and it's extremely painful for me to share. I'm sharing this in spite of that pain. This, again, shows him to be a liar. Why should I have a conversation with someone who has Antagonized me for so long and then lies about it? He can't even own his own actions. Photo 1h Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank All this because I asked to not be antagonized. That's what set this boy off in the first place. 1h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath If anyone can identify any sentence in that post they disagree with or think is untrue, they should say so. In the mean time, if Terra Frank can't talk rationally because she believes I have been "antagonizing" her for years, then she or a friend or ally she trusts to act in her stead in the important issue of harassment should post evidence of the accusation . Not random posts full of facts nobody disagrees with that don't even mention her. . Harassment is serious issue. If I have been "antagonizing" someone for years then someone should take the issue seriously and provide receipts so we can all look at them and I can be punished Because Terra and I never met irl so far as I know so all this alleged "antagonization" must be online somewhere. If not: Terra should stop participating in a harassment campaign, and stop being an abusive harasser with no empathy who dogpiled on a harassment campaign for reasons unknown. 1h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath Oh, Terra (EDIT: I accidentally used her old name here, my bad) is the person who smeared James Raggi. Mystery solved. Here you go. Terra Frank is a longstanding harasser. Block her.

dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com - The (Incredibly Weak) Case Against James Raggi The (Incredibly Weak) Case Against James Raggi The (Incredibly Weak) Case Against James Raggi dndwithpornstars.blogspot.com 32m Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank Zak would rather lie and play the victim than just own up to this. All he had to was not antagonize me, he didn't even need to respond. He could just stop tagging me. Instead, he is throwing a fit and trying to wiggle out of this. 1h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath tl;dr Raggi talked about the movie Kingsmen Terra Frank made an inaccurate analysis of it and spelled misogyny wrong People pointed it out . Later when people were dogpiling on Mark Diaz Truman and OSR gamers in general Terra lied about it, reframing this as attacking her "for being a feminist". You can check the links if you don't believe me. . Obvious logical problem: if Raggi hated feminists, all his work with feminists including Stacy at Contessa doesn't make much sense. . Terra never addressed any of this harassment she inflicted but has now left the name she did it under behind. . Thus my confusion. .

Either way, she is obviously a longtime harasser and she has never apologized to her victim and so it isnt' a good idea to have her in your circles. 1h Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank So, if you want me to address you directly, like I did in the first place, +Zak Sabbath​, once more PLEASE STOP ANTAGONIZING ME. It's really that easy, but since you have a long history of abuse, lying, Ableism, and misogony directed towards me personally, I don't really have much faith in you to take responsibility for your own actions. I will not let your Ableism and misogony and abuse go unchallenged. I will not let you paint me as hysterical. I have offered clear evidence of you lying and being abusive towards me. You can lie and rationalize and try to hand wave it away, and I'm sure many more people will believe you than me because you are a powerful cis  man and I don't have those advantages. That's okay, I've been through this with you before and you haven't changed, you are still pretending to not know who I am as you always have after everytime you've gone out of your way to hurt me. An entire blog post attacking mentally ill people, calling abuse survivors into question, among the many times we have interacted, and you continue to lie. I have called you out and offered proof of your abuse, your Ableism, your misogony, your misandry. Check your privelage. I'll be praying for you to learn how to be a better person. To stop lying. To stop targeting people like me. You need love and prayers young man. I can't show you love as you continue to lie and project and shift blame. I can't show love to a coward. I can, however, pray for you. I'm going to call for others to pray for you now too, because at this point that is probably the only thing that can help you. I'm praying for you Zak. 1h Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath If anyone believes a word of that, contact me to confirm so you don't hang an innocent person out to dry. If you prefer anonymity: ask.fm/TheActualZakSmith 1h Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank None of the links presented show me harassing Raggi in any way. I have never attacked Raggi, even if I disagree with him. I don't have to like his game. And once again, I've asked him directly to stop Antagonizing me and zak has continued to do so. 50m Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank And the links show me in my dead name, but no evidence of me harassing anybody. I'm brave enough to share my dead name and you are using it to harass me now +Zak Sabbath​. That is transphobic, young man. You and I both know there is no evidence of me harassing you or anyone else, but plenty of instances of my dead name and pronouns. You are clearly sharing that as a transphobic attack against me. 46m K Yani's profile photo K Yani Is it possible that there can be agreement that there was a miscommunication about terms/usage of 'exchange' and 'interaction' (which, I think, meant two different things to two different people)?  

Mr. Sabbath is/can be a difficult person to communicate with, but I don't believe he is 'throwing a fit' as far as I understand the 'throwing a fit' meaning. 46m Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank Now that this has turned into transphobia, I have to block him. No amount of standing up for myself is worth that. 45m Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath Is Terra Frank denying that she claimed lied and falsely claimed Raggi and OSR gamers attacked her? I get that she deleted all her attacks, (which s understandable being under an old name) but that doesn't mean that they didn't happen and she's not a harasser any more. 37m Wayne Rossi's profile photo Wayne Rossi +Zak Sabbath  you deadnamed a trans woman, that deserves an apology 39m Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath Here's the smear from Terra Frank that she erased from the Raggi thread " I'm pretty bummed about the push to support someone like Zak, who slammed me with ableist insults when I stated that I was a feminist (FOOTNOTE1), and later called for me to be silenced, quite literally, by saying I should not be allowed to produce material. When I stood up for myself, I started receiving anonymous threats. When I later came out as a rape survivor I had thankfully blocked Zak already, but I was shamed publicly by his publisher Raggi (FOOTOTE 2). I was made to feel very unwanted and unsafe by a portion of the OSR community. I'm slowly bouncing back through therapy, but what I dealt with caused some difficulties with my mental illness. I'm bummed because I want to be able to reach out to people in the storygame and Feminst gamer community but, much like my local community here in Albuquerque, abusers seem to get support. It makes people like me just sit down and shut up. It makes us feel ashamed. And right now, I feel like I can't reach out like I wanted to. Most of the OSR doesn't want me around because of Zak (FOOTNOTE 3), and now I don't know if anyone else would either. This makes me pretty sad, especially after feeling so included at the mini con  " " FOOTNOTE1: Lying FOOTNOTE 2: Lying FOOTNOTE3: Lying 30m Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath +Wayne Rossi (oops, i was wrong, see below) 33m Wayne Rossi's profile photo Wayne Rossi You used her dead name in a comment. 35m Christopher Mennell's profile photo Christopher Mennell This is moving too fast for me to keep up with.

Regarding blocking Zak, by all means, I think it's obvious it isn't healthy for you to engage with him.

Zak is not dead naming you though by sharing links to the past, you shared the link yourself making the connection to your dead name on his blog. I'm sorry you feel he's being transphobic...he isn't.

This is a matter of what one person feels vs. what one person is saying. I don't want you to feel attacked or threatened by Zak, but I can't change the way you feel about something, or the way someone's words make you feel. 35m Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath +2 +Wayne Rossi Oh, you'r right-sorry. It's confusing going back and forth to dig up all this evidence, edited: Terra I'm sorry I left your deadname in that comment, please stop abusing and harassing people and lying about them. 33m Wayne Rossi's profile photo Wayne Rossi Thanks for removing that +Zak Sabbath 31m Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath +Wayne Rossi No problem. 30m Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank He shares me talking about my feelings of fear over the way he has treated me as though it is harassment. Sharing my own fears and feelings are not lies, especially when I'm so vulnerable. This was a transphobic attack, plain and simple. Just because I share my dead name does not mean he has any right to, especially when it is not pointing out anything other than my dead name and pronouns. I'm brave enough to share that in the face of abuse and it's being used to further abuse me. And now he wants people to apologise to him for his transphobia being called out? I'm so happy G+ has stopped showing me the rest of his posts at this point because it is becoming straight up hurtful 28m Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath Feeling bad doesn't justify false accusations against me or James, or attacking people without talking to them to make sure your first impression is accurate. If you're too upset to do that, that's ok, then just do not get online and attack people then Photo 23m Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank +Christopher Mennell​ please don't cisplain transphobia to me. Trans people decide what is transphobic, not cis people. 22m Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath Then the thing for Terra to do is argue with all the trans people who would point out she's lying about me being transphobic rather than harass me in a thread full of cis dudes. 15m Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank He could have copied and pasted the relevant text, instead he shared posts that mention my dead name and pronouns over and over and over. Seeing that was VERY painful for me. It was transphobic and careless. Not considering the damage he did to me with sharing those posts was transphobic. Just because I share my dead name does not mean every cis person I know can too, especially when they know it will hurt me... Just like a black person calling herself the N word doesn't give white people the right to. This has hurt me deeply and now you are telling me I have no right to point that out? 9m Terra Frank's profile photo Terra Frank Not seeing the transphobia in this is cis privelage 10m Evlyn M's profile photo Evlyn M Seriously no one should ever be entitled to suggest to other people to block someone else.

Zak often critic storygamers for not calling out shitty attitudes. Ok so I am calling these suggestions to block people really shitty and unacceptable.

People have enough judgment to decide by themselves if they want to block someone or not.

This behavior is really hurtful.

And asking someone to nuance his or her comment to better understand them and to discuss is one thing. Calling them like they have committed somekind of major offense is a other thing. This don't encourage discussion at all.

Note: I have blocked Zak and he can't answer to this. (Just for the info) 4m Zak Sabbath's profile photo Zak Sabbath Why would you ever NOT suggest people block broken stairs and harassers? . That is how you detox a community. Communities must always recommend steps to protect themselves form abusers. When they stop doing that, they cease to be safe. This isn't a minor thing. Terra has been harassing creators for YEARS. 3m K Yani's profile photo K Yani What was just said about Mr. Sabbath using certain dead name over and over again is not true. He edited his post to correct pronouns and the name as soon as the error of the referencing became obvious, and even initially it was mentioned only once by my count, maybe two times, not what "over and over" usually means. It isn't mentioned now. 3m Christopher Mennell's profile photo Christopher Mennell I am going to erase the comments unrelated to the original post. +Terra Frank, I am sorry if I hurt you with my words. I do feel it's unfair to hold someone accountable to an expectation that isn't spoken beforehand; for example saying Zak could have copy/pasted the text rather than sharing a link directly to it...but maybe I don't understand well enough.

Screenshots below to prove this is accurate, sorry they’re not in order:

[olivereliott]

Custom Bikes Of The Week: 15 April, 2018

A Ducati Monster tracker ready for the Superhooligans, a monstrous Indian Chief-powered cafe from Germany, a gorgeous Honda built for Steve Caballero by Denton Moto, and a heavily patina’d Honda CB450 from … Nepal.

Indian Chief by Detlev Louis Motorrad Indian has its engine game on lock down: everyone loves the performance of the 100-horsepower beast in the Scout, and the looks of the gorgeously finned Thunder Stroke 111. To further bolster that point, the huge European parts dealer Detlev Louis Motorrad has taken an Indian Chief and built a bruiser of a cafe racer dubbed Engina.

It’s more than just a pretty bike. Out of the box, the Thunder Stroke delivers 119 ft-lbs of torque, which is plenty impressive. But after a new set of cams were swapped in, airflow was redirected, the heads were re-touched and the ECU was flashed, engine specialist Ulf Penner dug up an incredible 70% increase. Engina now develops about 125 horses and could probably shred the Earth’s mantle with an angry right wrist.

All that could have been done to a stock Chief if they wanted. Instead, an all-new lightweight frame was welded together, a USD front end was fitted up, and a Wilbers rear shock was bolted onto the swingarm. A set of custom Kineo wheels was laced up and big, beefy Brembos were enlisted to scrub speed. Detlef Stüdemann and Martin Struckmann are the wrenches behind this madness and their hard work has been rightfully collecting awards since its debut at Glemseck 101 last September. If you’re headed to Wheels and Waves later this year, keep an eye (or an ear) out for it. [More]

Ducati Monster tracker by Behind Bars Customs Just over a week ago, Ducati announced their partnership with Lloyd Brothers Racing to run a Monster-based racer in the American Flat Track Grand National Series. And while the 821-powered bike being piloted by Steve Bonsey looks the business, so does this tracker from San Diego based Behind Bars Customs—which tips a hat to Paul Smart.

Built using a 1995 Monster 900 as its base, the plan was to have a streetable machine that would split lanes and loft the front end on a whim. Of course, also being able to handle its own amongst the Superhooligans at the dirt oval sounded like a good idea too. So it’s more than just lipstick and mascara going on here.

With a frame, swingarm and engine lying in separate spots in the shop, the team went to work on putting together a tighter and faster package. The frame received some additional gusseting up front to eliminate twist when going slideways, and a matched set of 19-inch Dubya wheels were laced up to balance stance. The Duc’s original tank has had its voluptuous love handles shaved down to match the width of the trellis frame. Which, let’s be honest, will always look a stunner in Sea Green. [More]

Steve Caballero’s Honda CL175 racer Just over a year ago, I was at Willow Springs for a track day with some Californian friends. And while I was prepping a loaned XSR900 for tech inspection, I saw a childhood hero unloading a 1944 flathead, with a jockey shift no less. Steve Caballero’s love of motorcycles has been well documented, but I was still blown away by how he muscled that old Harley around Big Willow.

Steve probably wanted something a little more lithe for the upcoming AHRMA season, so he’s partnered with Texas-based Denton Moto to create this Honda CL175 called Cabracer360. But unlike most customers commissioning a build—especially celebs located out of state—Steve was involved in every aspect of the project.

The 1969 CL175 donor was completely stripped and the engine was fully rebuilt, complete with an overbore to a more boisterous 209cc. New Keihin carbs were fitted to a set of shorter intakes, and a race-derived Cappellini oil pump was installed. On the handling end of things, the suspension at both ends has been modernized, and new clip-ons and rearsets deliver a proper racer’s tuck. And that tuck is shielded by an exquisite piece of fiberglass, courtesy of Glass From The Past.

Hopefully, next time I make it out to Willow Springs I’ll have the chance to see Steve and the Cabracer360 in action. Until then, these shots will have to do. [More]

Scrambler Ducati by Eastern Spirit Garage The votes are in for this years Scrambler Ducati Custom Rumble contest. The winners won’t be announced until World Ducati Week in July, but we have a feeling that this cafe’d version from Eastern Spirit Garage and Ducati Poland will take home top honors in the dealer category.

Credit the extensive use of negative space for making our mouths water around here. The relocation of the oil cooler and subsequent deletion of its bulky, plastic guards delivers a long-necked look that immediately draws the eye. ESG’s head wrench Sylwester Matusiak then created an excellent balance point by cleaning up the rear triangle, which helps showcase the Duc’s L-Twin and that gorgeous work on the exhaust.

The bodywork is equally impressive: the lines on the tail unit match those from the tank near perfectly. The new headlight bucket, held in place by an elegant set of ears and complete with frenched-in gauge placement, is spot on for the overall style. And the candy-apple red and gold colorway is classically inspired. [More]

Honda CB450 by RS Moto Nepal surely isn’t one of the first places that comes to mind when speaking about custom motorcycles. Raajib Sayami, the man behind Kathmandu’s RS Moto, aims to change that—and with builds like this CB450, he’s well on his way.

Although he has his work cut out for him—Nepalese laws prohibit modifying motorcycles—Raajib decided to throw caution to the wind and fire up the grinder anyway. The rear subframe has indeed been chopped and a new hoop welded up. It’s topped by that oh-so-controversial material, wood, for the seat. But the wood for this saddle actually has er, roots, as a religious artifact in Nepal. That gorgeous, dark top sheet was given shape by adding Canadian maple ply, so a little sacrilege certainly won’t hurt the cool factor.

The tank has been hand painted, sanded down and touched up again by a local artist to create a faux-patina that I think suits the bike’s overall look. The exhaust was hand built to work with the original header pipes, and the suspension has been Frankensteined by mating the fork tubes of a SR400 with the CB450’s lowers. In the rear, new shocks were ordered and shipped from Dime City Cycles, of all places. [More]

[olivereliott]

Hot Rod Alice: A Honda CB750K ten years in the making

Custom builders often cringe at the sight of their first project. But not Craig Marleau of California’s Kick Start Garage. He still has a soft spot for the CB750 he built over ten years ago, and decided to update it for the future.

“My first custom bike was that Honda. I built it for myself and other people liked it. Ratrod culture was on the rise, and I’d always liked that look, so my build was very ratrod-like. It was pretty rude.”

With more than a decade of distance between now and his first build, Craig was itching to create a new version of his genesis—one that incorporated all of the knowledge and technical evolution he’s gained over the years, but still maintained a connection to the hotrod past.

Hot Rod Alice, a lean, tight, heavily modded 1973 CB750K is just the answer. “I was ready to move from Rat Rod to Hot Rod. The metal flake paint and double pin whitewall just reminds me of the Hot Rods I’ve loved for the better part of my life”.

Paint and pinstripe aren’t all this Hot Rod CB has going for it. There are loads of tech advancements and performance upgrades that make Alice a lean slingshot on two wheels.

“I almost always start with a set of tires when I’m going to build a custom. I saw the double pin Shinko tire and knew I wanted to build a Hot Rod.”

Subtle yet time consuming mods are conservatively placed around the CB750K’s black heart. Front forks have been shod with KSG metal gators to give the forks a rigid look. “I had to turn the fork tubes on my lathe to accept the gators. The forks look solid, but they move like a dream.”

Between the fork legs rests an aggressive looking 400/19 Firestone wrapping a stock, satin powder coated wheel. Stopping power is provided by a full Beringer brake conversion. The twin piston, leading caliper is a bolt-on affair from Beringer, as is the 12-inch floating rotor.

“Beringer just started making the kit and it’s perfect. The floating disc bolts to a stock CB hub, and the leading caliper is a perfect upgrade for custom builds. We’re one of the first builders to get the kit.”

So new to the market is the kit that Craig and his son Myles were fitting it to the fork and wheel in their hotel the night before The One Moto show in Portland, Oregon. “Beringer had to ship it from France to the hotel! It was a close call, but it fit right up.”

Moving up the forks to the clamps, Alice sports a modified bottom clamp to receive a KSG LED projector headlight conversion. “I wanted a super clean look and decided to go with a bottom mount Harley style headlamp bucket with no ears.”

Topping out the clamps is a custom DC Motive top clamp utilizing a plunger style system to secure to the fork tubes. “It’s got a gentle arch and the plunger system does away with the need for slices used in pinch style clamps. It’s really clean.”

Steering is managed by a pair of one-off, board tracker inspired clip-ons facbricated by Craig and sleeved with white Biltwell grips. “I wanted something low, lean and tight with a nod to the board track feel.”

Keeping things lean, Craig chose to gut the entire electrical system and replace it with a Motogadget m.unit blue setup. “This allows me to control everything with a Motone 3-button setup. Everything is handled by the three buttons. Lights, start, stop, horn—everything. It’s really slick.”

The switch to a Motogadget controller did more than reduce handlebar clutter. Craig leaned heavily into the electrical system upgrade. “This is the one area I’ve grown the most over the years. Using the m.unit simplifies the heck out of the wiring.”

Charging is handled with a one-piece, solid state setup. Seeking to streamline the bulky electrical, Craig moved all the connections to the inside of the cases, giving the CB an almost wire-free look.

To nurse some Hot Rod punch from the powerplant, Craig bored the jugs bringing Alice up to an 836CC. Rejetting the carbs gets Alice breathing in properly through a set of pod filters and barking out the back via a Steve Carpy 4-into-1 exhaust.

Wrinkle finish valve covers with Webster Design details, grace Alice’s top end, while the rest of the engine is bathed in a satin black finish. A MOON mini mooneyes gauge reports oil pressure for a nod to Alice’s Hot Rod inspiration.

Shifting and braking are actuated through Tarozzi rearsets mounted to a set of KSG chain drive rearset hangers. “I made a set for my first custom and have always liked the look,” Craig says.

Remote reservoir shocks provide smooth swingarm travel while the white, tuck-and roll leather seat offers both rider comfort and Hot Rod style. “I’ve always loved this look in Hot Rods. I do all my own upholstery so I figured it just seemed right,” Craig reports.

Finishing out the tail end is a custom cowl that nestles a discrete LED brake/running light bar.

The crowning jewel is Alice’s stock tank painstakingly dressed in deep, metal flake candy blue. “That’s a 3 phase paint job that took several coats before we got the blue where we wanted it. The first coat of blue was bright turquoise. We just kept going until we got close to the stock blue.”

With a nod to future and past, Alice brings a lot to the present. If you’re looking to grab a glimpse of this Hot Rod gal, swing by the Outliers Guild Moto Show in Los Angeles, Saturday the 31st of March and Craig will introduce you.

As it turns out, Alice is available…

Kick Start Garage | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Patrick Farrell