Snob

Image: Jim Cooke

Do you consider your hometown dish to be the best food in the United States of America? We'll see about that.

Albert Burneko wrote an article over at Deadspin where he ranked the best and the worst of signature food from all 50 states of the USA. Did your favorite food make the list? Did Burneko fail to rank your state's food appropriately? Why did he rank Ohio's Cincinnati Chili lower than "being hit by a car"? I mean, worse than Alaska's whipped seal oil and berries delicacy known as akutaq? And what happened to Nevada's state food, anyway?

But first, the 10 best regional food in America:

1. Chicago-style deep-dish pizza (Illinois)
2. Shirmp and grits (South Carolina)
3. Mission-style burrito (California)
4. Crab cake (Maryland)
5. Peach pie/cobbler (Georgia)
6. Gumbo (Louisiana)
7. Key lime pie (Florida)
8. Fried green tomatoes (Alabama)
9. Stacked enchilada with green chile (New Mexico)
10. Marionberry pie (Oregon)

... then we'll skip down to the bottom 10:

41. Michigan pasty (Michigan)
42. Chislic (South Dakota)
43. Green Jell-O with carrots
44. Lutefisk (North Dakota)
45. Salt water taffy
45. Handheld meat pies (Nebraska)
46. Akutaq (Alaska)
47. Boiled dinner (New Hampshire)
48. Nothing (Nevada)
49. Steamed cheeseburger (Connecticut)
50. Cincinnati chili (Ohio)

What's your state food and did it rank correctly in the list? Read the full list over at Deadspin

Image via

Joe Atwill has been really pissing off Christians and historians this week, which is understandable considering that he’s making claims that undermine the foundation of the former’s beliefs and the latter’s widely accepted truths. Joe purports to have discovered proof that Jesus of Nazareth, the man we read about in history books and in the New Testament, was merely a fabrication of first-century Romans, who created his gospels as a way to quell the messianic fervor of the Jews. Joe, who authored and self-published Caesar’s Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus back in 2006, plans to reveal new research this weekend that he believes will make even his most ardent critics accept the theory that Jesus was a tool of psychological warfare to get the Jews to stop causing trouble and love their Roman overlords.

Personally, I don’t have much skin in the game as to whether or not Jesus was in fact a dude with super powers, or even a dude at all. I blame organized religion for most of the awful things humans do to each other and the only time I go to church is on Christmas and Mother’s Day—strictly out of respect for my momma. So, I’m pretty open to any critiques off the fantastical aspects of Christianity. However, despite being a proud heathen, I think the claims made by Joe about a Roman hoax being at the center of Christianity sound as ridiculous as the claims that the US government flew planes into the World Trade Center on 9/11. It’s not that I don’t think the Romans or the US government wouldn’t do such things, I just don’t think they could pull them off without everyone knowing about it.

Joe has stirred up intrigue around the web for years because of his outlandish findings and canny press releases, and he's having a big, one-day symposium in London tomorrow to unveil his new research. So I figured this would be as good a time as any to figure out whether he’s a total nut job or a visionary who’s cracked a code that has eluded scholars and historians for centuries. Here’s what he had to say.

VICE: Can you tell me about yourself and what credentials you have to make theories that challenge the pervasive beliefs held by prominent religious scholars?
Joe Atwill: I'm an independent scholar. I have no academic training in what would be considered traditional Bible scholarship.

OK. How’d you start studying the origins of Jesus?
I attended a Jesuit military academy as a kid that studied the gospels. Although I drifted away from the church, later on in life, I retained an interest in the character Jesus Christ.

What intrigued you about Jesus?
Jesus had a more pacifistic and cosmopolitan view of things than the messianic movement of his day, which was very xenophobic. The Jewish perspective of the time was that it wanted the Romans out to have a religious state.

How do you know this?
To get an informed perspective on the gospels you have to read a guy called Flavius Josephus. He lived in Judea, wrote a history of the time and place when Jesus supposedly lived, and documented the war between the Romans and the Jews. If you read his work, you will notice there are parallels between the events in the war and events in Jesus's ministry that occur in the same sequence.

I have no idea what you are talking about. But give me some examples, please.
For example, Jesus says to his followers, "Follow me and you'll fish for men." In the war, a Roman general says to his troops "Don't be afraid. Follow me" and then he sends them out into the Sea of Galilee where they sink the Jewish fishing boats. The Jews try to swim to safety and then the Romans "fished them" with spears, according to Flavius's account.

So what does stuff like that mean to you?
Flavius was the basis for Jesus's ministry. Jesus had the political perspective the Romans were hoping the Jews would adopt.

Why would the Romans care about indoctrinating the Jews into a new political perspective?
The Romans were always fighting with the Jews over who could be called God. The war between the Romans and the Jews is really a war to be divine because the caesars wanted to be worshipped as gods and the Jews refused. So, they created a character, Jesus Christ, to embody what they wanted in a messiah for the Jews.

Sounds like a leap. Is this Roman plot written somewhere explicitly in some ancient text?
What you have is called prefigurement. The Jesus character in the gospels has all of these events in his life that come from the Old Testament. The story of Jesus describes Joseph going to Egypt, the pharaoh massacring the boys, then he returns from Egypt, gets baptized, and goes to the wilderness for 40 days and has his three temptations. In the Old Testament, in Genesis, Joseph goes to Egypt, the pharaoh massacres the boys, then he returns from Egypt to Israel, where there’s a baptism. Then he goes into the wilderness for 40 years. When you see the pattern, it is all fiction.

OK. I get what you’re saying. But you are talking about more than Jesus’s superpowers being part of a fable or whatever. You are saying Jesus was created as a plot by the Romans. Is there any text that explicitly corroborates that?
Yeah. It's in the "Cannibal Mary," a famous passage in Josephus. It contains an allegory about Jesus Christ. To understand it you have to go through some analysis. I mean, I can't sit here and show you how it is an allegory. But, I can assure you it,  it would just take quite a bit of time.

Try me.
According to the New Testament, Jesus is the human Passover lamb. And in the passage of Cannibal Mary, they say that the human Passover lamb is a myth for the world whose killing is going to be seen as an atrocity by gentiles and that will create bitter hatred against the Jews. It's a clear-cut description of the invention and intent of Christianity, which was a curse the Romans put on the Jews for their constant rebellion. It's a confession, really.

OK, how would the Romans go about indoctrinating the Jews in this fake religion? Pulling off a ruse like this seems kind of far-fetched.
The authors would have been the Jewish intellectuals and the Roman caesars. The Romans had the top Jewish intellectuals in the world on their payroll. All the disciples' accounts are fake and all the names are fake.

Seems like the plan backfired—there are plenty of Jews around today. And if this was the plan, how come Christians are worshiping a Jew and not Titus Flavius today? 
Well, actually they are. Pope is another title for caesar. The Vatican is located where the caesars had their palace. The important thing is that you have to have some sort of explanation for who the son of man is. Some people say it’s Jesus, and he's talking about himself, but the problem is he doesn't come back after the war when he makes these pronouncements. There would have been some record it, so the only candidate for this comeback after the war is the Roman caesar. At the end of the war Titus Flavius tried to get the Jews to call him God. At that time, Titus was known as the "son of God." That title was written on his sacred arch in Rome. What they wanted the Jews to think is that the son of man guy that Jesus was predicting was actually a caesar. It just never caught on.

Are you saying that Jesus, a man who most scholars agree walked the Earth, didn’t exist at all?
Jesus is a fictional character. If some guy had a duck living next door to him whose name was Donald and then he invented the character Donald Duck? Is that guy a historian? Well, not when he says the duck is talking. There are all sorts of individuals who could have been a Jesus Christ. But the actual historicity of the Christ, whoever he was, wasn't a passive cosmopolitan guy. He was a kick ass Jewish messiah warrior who wanted to drive the Romans out. The guy we read about however, is a prefigurement—a fictional character. And despite popular belief, the "son of man" who was predicted is Roman Caesar Titus Flavius.

Why do you think this sort of perspective on the gospels hasn't been something that has been voiced over the years?
That's a question for a psychologist. The parallels I pointed out are well established by scholars, they just haven't noticed that they occurred in the same sequence. That's the key to it. Sequence is the most important thing. You noticed this exact perfect pattern just gets bigger and bigger and bigger and you notice that Jesus's whole ministry comes from the war. You don't need to be a Bible scholar; you just need your common sense to figure this out.

OK. Thanks. 

@WilbertLCooper

Less confused interviews by Wilbert L. Cooper: 

Big Booties Don't Get into Rap Videos Without These Guys

The RZA and Adrian Younge Are Supreme Mutant Beings

The Underachievers Talk About Stop-and-Frisk and Kimani Gray

 
My first encounter with Irish punkers The Undertones was seeing them open (with Sam and Dave) for The Clash in September of 1979 and they were shockingly good. Subsequent gigs seen later in ‘79 and early 1980 at Irving Plaza, Trax and Hurrah’s were all stunners. The band was one of the best live acts I’ve seen - tight, intense and loud. Their songs have indelible hooks.  On every level The Undertones are right up there with The Ramones, The Heartbreakers and Suicide Commandos. They were one of John Peel’s favorite bands and had a huge following in the United Kingdom but were mostly ignored in the USA. Too bad.

The band split in 1983. Lead singer Feargal Sharkey (that’s him as a kid on the “Jimmy Jimmy” picture sleeve) released some solo material and went on to a long career in the music industry, while the rest of the band formed That Petrol Emotion in 1985.

The Undertones, Irving Plaza 1980.

I went looking for some live concert footage of this under-appreciated group to share with DM readers and and came upon this stellar video from 1981. It’s from a show in Munich, Germany. If you know the band, you’ll know what you’re in for. If, not this is a great place to start.
 

 
Here’s a terrific documentary on The Undertones.

 
Decades of experimentation (and fun, by the way) were necessary before even the most rudimentary cinema equipment could be made in the 1890s. The great Eadweard Muybridge’s photographic experiments with the physical motion of humans and horses happened in the 1870s, but even when little Eadweard was a tot, in the 1830s, there were plenty of amusing gadgets around that depended on the persistence of vision. They went by a bunch of different names, including the zoetrope, the phantasmascope, the fantascope, the stroboscope, and the phenakistoscope.

“Phenakistoscope” was the term favored by a Belgian inventor named Joseph Plateau. (The term “phenakistoscope” comes from the Greek phenakizein, meaning “to deceive.”) Plateau’s idea was to put 10 images or so around a circular plate, each image being slightly different to its neighbor and the entire set of images being cyclical in nature, such that when the image was spun rapidly and the viewer’s gaze was interrupted by as many equally spaced radial slits on the disc as there were separate images, a cyclical set of moving images would emerge. You would have needed a mirror to use the phenakistoscope; other devices used a second disc to supply the visual interruptions.

I find all of the phenakistoscope images below utterly delightful and charming. They’re all wonderfully imaginative (some are even a little disturbing), and they were all painstakingly executed without any kind of mechanical reproduction, of course—no computers to duplicate the images or to help indicate exactly where the neighboring image should occur. (Actually, I’m not 100% sure that all of these images date from the 1830s, but at least a couple of them definitely do.)

Anyone interested in these devices is urged to visit Richard Balzer’s website or his Tumblr—you’ll find an endless array of delightful 19th-century visual trickery there.
 

 

 

 

 
via This is Colossal

BuzzFeed is by now infamous for its pithy listcles, shallow commentaries on mundane things from our daily lives padded with endless GIFs. But sometimes the GIFs diminish the true brilliance of the writing. Thankfully, a new blog called “BuzzFeed Articles Without The GIFs” is fixing that because, as they claim, “I love Buzzfeed’s writing, but couldn’t stand those pesky GIFs getting in the way.”

Here’s one piece without GIFs, “18 Reasons Why Mushrooms Are Garbage Food” (original here) which amazingly has a shared byline:

Insightful. Most of the rambling, incoherent articles read like they were written by a 10-year-old with a bad coke habit.

This blog turns out to be one of the most damning critiques against the site, especially since it hangs them on their own childish words. Though it’s no surprise that, in their quest to achieve maximum virality, that they’d have to so shamelessly dumb themselves down.

Image: Foreign Policy

Last Wednesday a rugged individual listed his 1997 Jeep Cherokee for sale on Craigslist. But this isn’t your standard, “candy-assed” for sale post—this one has “balls.” The epic description of the Jeep seems like something written by Ron Swanson.

Do you laugh at danger, and tempt fate? This might be the Jeep for you. From the seller:

“If, however, you have BALLS OF STEEL and consider adverse weather an excuse to do stupid shit: THIS IS YOUR JEEP.
Do you laugh at danger, and tempt fate?
Have you ever uttered the words, “Hold my beer and watch this …”?
While bored at work do you pick targets at random and think, “I could hit that from here with the .22 …”?
Have any of your friends quit hanging out because you were too much fun?
Do you have the number of a friend with cash memorized for bail?
When you pass an abandoned flatbed farm truck along a fenceline do you consider taking on another project?
Is your ol’ lady really sick of the random piles of parts, greasy footprints, and empty beer bottles in the garage?
-could you not care less?
Do you have Jalopnik saved on your laptop AND smartphone?
Do you own a service manual for every vehicle you ever owned?
Do you still miss your first ride?
Can you carry on a two hour conversation discussing tools, scars, and hi-lift jacks?
Remember when tool companies had the balls to put half-naked beauty queens on their calendars?
Do you consider the Prius an abominable affront to the Gods of displacement, torque, and All Mighty Internal Combustion?

If you answered in the affirmative to the preceding: THIS IS YOUR JEEP.”

Tim Allen would grunt in approval. The post was just flagged for removal, but thankfully we collected screengrabs of it right before it was taken down. Read the whole ad below:

by Bradford Evans

The website Government Attic obtained a list of indecency complaints the FCC has received from viewers about The Simpsons from 2010 to 2013, after requesting it via the Freedom of Information Act. There's also a report (pdf) on South Park complaints too. (via Gawker)

My favorite Simpsons complaint is one that simply reads, "I Don't Think So, Mr. Simpson, Because I Would Make 20th Century Fox Film Corporation Take This Evil show Off The Air Only To Get Small Wonder Back Onto The Channel Every Sunday Night." The lengthy document contains tons more weird complaints from weird people, and we've collected the best ones (mostly about groin kicking) below:

A family cartoon show, Mr. Simpson was in his house totally nude & went outside naked while his neighbor was watering her grass. Then his wife ran out of the house trying to cover him with a towel.

Mr. Simpson is portraying in Playboy magazine & hires someone to take nude pictures of him while the children are outside the house. The children look thru the window & see him in different poses for the pictures. It?s pornography, a disgrace to make children think it?s ok to be on Playboy magazine.

I found the shows portrayal of Ned Flanders as a mindless killer following the orders to kill people from Homer Simpsons transponder bible highly offensive. Further, the depiction of God as subservient to Satan is blasphemous and revolting to a true Christian believer. The “God” character referring to Satan as “the big guy downstairs” is highly~offensive. The next affront to my faith is hte depiction of God as a servant to Satan by giving Satan a cup of coffee. This is all the further I cared to watch this program. This depiction of Christianity has become a standby for “The Simpsons” and I find it highly offensive. Thank you for your time.

The portion of the episode "Dial D for Diddly", portraying God as a liar who was subserviant to Satan is the part I found to be particularly offensive.

Language used was the concern. Talking about taking a poop, found this offensive. Another was having to take a pee, found offensive as well. Need to use better language as in the past when language was more pure.

I was shocked to see sexual violence when a cartoon character of an Israeli girl was using her knee to repeatedly strike a boy's (Bart Simpson) groin. It is amazing we would encourage our children during family hour to do such a terrible thing. Imagine if bart was kicking the girl's groin! I implore you to protect our young kids from such psychological damage that may very wile lead to physical damage and seriously punish the guilty please.

One line was about whipping someone’s toosh.

“The Simpsons”, depicted a girl kicking Bart Simpson in the groin over and over and over, at least IO times, before he said “stop kicking me in the groin” and she replied “no groin, no krav magra” and then she resumed repeatedly kicking his genitals.

Approximately four minutes into the show, I was disgusted to see the Simpsons make light ofthe tragic sinking and subsequent horrific experiences ofthe survivor's ofthe USS Indianapolis. Is there any subject that television show producers will treat with respect? Over three hundred Americans died on the Indianapolis as it sank on July 30, 1945.

I Don't Think So, Mr. Simpson, Because I Would Make 20th Century Fox Film Corporation Take This Evil show Off The Air Only To Get Small Wonder Back Onto The Channel Every Sunday Night

"The Simpsons", depicted Lisa Simpson kicking Bart Simpson in the groin leaving him lying on the floor in sexual agony

the director Matt Groening ofthe Simpsons was talking to his audience about his show and used his middle finger to identify points. I was insultated that he would be flicking offhis fans. it happened around 8 pm it is against the fee regulation i have already contacted fox in chicago and the station operator thought it was funny and stated he will look into it.

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Buzzfeed without the GIFs - for those that love Buzzfeed's writing but can't stand the pesky GIFs getting in the way.

Decepción vecinal al seguir la prohibición de girar

aticle here:  http://snapme.ca/a-father-photographs-the-world-of-his-autistic-son/

read more

milla jovovich – nude purple originally appeared on My[confined]Space NSFW on October 19, 2013.

See that picture? The one right above this? That is a real burger. I put it together from raw meat to what you see there in about 15 minutes. I didn't dress it up or do anything to stage it. That was really my lunch. In fact, I made more than one because my family was hungry too. I spent under 5 minutes taking photos of it (including set up) before I sat and devoured it bite by bite. So what is the point in telling you all this? Well, my friends, the perfect burger is easy to make. And it really can be as good as it looks. Here are my 5 secrets to the perfect burger:


1. The most important factor in the perfect burger is the meat. I used USDA Choice, grass fed ground beef (it was only 50 cents more per pound). I use 1/2 pound of meat for each burger. Burgers are all about the meat. Hamburger meat is not the same thing as ground beef. The short explanation is that hamburger can have all sorts of fat added to it, while ground beef is one specific cut of beef ground up. 

2. The fat content matters! I use 15% fat. When it comes to other uses for ground beef I'm generally a lean sirloin girl, but when it comes to a burger, that fat is key in keeping it together and producing a juicy bite. 

3. Grilled burgers taste better than pan fried. If you can, always grill it. Use high heat to sear in the juices, then reduce heat to cook to desired temp. If you use quality beef it can be pink in the middle (medium-rare). 

4. Season your meat, but don't overwork it. If you are already using quality beef there's no reason to add a bunch of stuff to it. Salt and pepper is all you need. Don't overwork it. Form it into a patty with as little "working" as possible. 

5. Toast your buns. This will prevent a soggy mess. when you add your juicy burger and wet toppings like ketchup. I like to brush mine with a little garlic butter before grilling for extra flair. Top it with whatever toppings you like. 


Now go forth and create perfect burgers at home! 

La base del orden la cogí de Aquí, aunque hice unos cambios, normalmente revisando todos los órdenes que circulan por Internet, son muy parecidos todos. 
Hay muchos mas libros que no pude conseguir, si alguien los tuviera se pueden agregar.

Dragonlance es una serie de novelas de fantasía épica, dividida en varias trilogías escritas principalmente por Margaret Weis y Tracy Hickman (autores de otros muchos mundos de fantasía como los narrados en La espada de Joram, El ciclo de la puerta de la muerte, La Rosa del Profeta y La Gema Soberana entre otros), y varios libros independientes que cuentan historias relacionadas. El universo de ficción de esta serie literaria está ricamente descrito y detallado en el escenario de campaña de mismo título del juego de rol Dungeons & Dragons.

La serie Dragonlance fue creada originalmente por Laura y Tracy Hickman mientras conducían de camino a TSR para una entrevista de trabajo. Allí Tracy conoció a su futura compañera de escritura, Margaret Weis, y a un grupo de asociados para jugar una partida de Dungeons & Dragons. Las aventuras desarrolladas durante esa partida desembocaron en la creación del primer módulo de juego para Dragonlance y de la novela El retorno de los dragones, la primera de la trilogía de las Crónicas de la Dragonlance.

La acción de las novelas de la Dragonlance se desarrollan en el mundo de Krynn, la mayoría en varios emplazamientos del continente de Ansalon (aunque algunas tienen lugar en el menos conocido continente de Taladas, al norte de Ansalon). La historia principal cuenta las aventuras de un grupo de amigos en su búsqueda de signos de los auténticos dioses, desaparecidos tras el Cataclismo. Tras unas primeras trilogías generales y de gran éxito, vinieron otras más específicas acerca de determinados personajes, y de otras zonas de ese mundo.

La historia principal de Dragonlance tiene lugar 350 años después del Cataclismo, un desastre que tuvo lugar cuando los dioses montaron en cólera por la arrogancia del Príncipe de los Sacerdotes de Istar, y arrojaron una montaña (un meteorito, en realidad) sobre Istar, cambiando la faz de Krynn. La raza humana cree que esta es la prueba de que los dioses los han abandonado, y en el tiempo en que se desarrolla la historia, los antiguos dioses son poco más que leyendas. Según se va gestando una nueva guerra, un grupo de amigos tiene un encuentro con una pareja de bárbaros que portan un báculo de cristal azul. Estos viajeros más adelante conocidos como los Héroes de la Lanza, comienzan un viaje en el que descubren los secretos del báculo, el verdadero significado de la desaparición de los dioses, el retorno de los dragones y unas míticas armas conocidas como las Dragonlance. Los Héroes jugarán un papel decisivo en la derrota de la Reina de la Oscuridad, la diosa Takhisis, y el fin de la Guerra de la Lanza.

Unos años después de lo sucedido en las Crónicas de la Dragonlance, el mago Raistlin Majere, que se había vuelto muy poderoso durante la Guerra de la Lanza, inicia un plan para tratar de convertirse en dios, mezclando en su intriga a su hermano Caramon, la sacerdotisa Crysania, y el kender Tass (así como a otros personajes secundarios, de los cuales en sus propios libros hablarán de su encuentro con el mago) Seguir en Wikipedia.




Idioma: Español. 
Editorial: Timun Mas 
Autor: Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Varios.   
Agradecimientos a: EpubLibre
Archivos: 81 
Formato: Epub 
Tamaño: 48.5 MB

Sagas Principales:

Crónicas de la Dragonlance:
   

• El Retorno de los Dragones
• La Tumba de Huma
• La Reina de la Oscuridad

Los legendarios dragones han regresado. Obedeciendo siempre a su Reina de la Oscuridad, inician una cruel y devastadora guerra por todo Krynn. Mientras, un grupo de amigos pertenecientes a diversas razas se reúnen en la posada El Último Hogar. Un arma mágica de increible poder caerá en sus manos y ello les llevará a emprender una larga y peligrosa aventura que cambiará sus vidas para siempre y forjará el destino del mundo. Nadie esperaba que fueran unos héroes. Y ellos, menos que nadie.

Las Crónicas Perdidas:

   

• El Mazo de Kharas 
• El Orbe de los Dragones 
• La Torre de Wayreth 

Las Crónicas Perdidas no sólo están protagonizadas por los héroes de antaño, lo que supone una vuelta a los orígenes por parte del dúo de autores que les dieron vida, sino que pretende cubrir huecos dejados en la historia de los libros base de la saga Crónicas de la Dragonlance 20 años despues.

Leyendas de la Dragonlance:
   

• El Templo de Istar
• La Guerra de los Enanos
• El Umbral del Poder

La Guerra de la Lanza ha terminado y la Oscuridad ha desaparecido. ¿O tal vez no? Los gemelos más célebres de todo Krynn, Raistlin y Caramon Majere, separados durante la larga guerra, vuelven para ver como se cruzan sus caminos. Raistlin emprenderá una arriesgada búsqueda con el objetivo de ser más poderoso que su Reina de la Oscuridad. Sólo dos personas pueden detenerlo: Crysania, una bella sacerdotisa, Hija venerable de Paladine, y Caramon, su hermano. Ambos, acompañados por el impetuoso kender Tas, viajarán en el tiempo para interceptar los planes que podrían acabar con el mundo. Nadie sab qué sucederá al enfrentarse los dos hermanos en el mundo de las tinieblas.

La Segunda Generación:

• La Segunda Generación

Los años han pasado. Hace ya mucho tiempo que los Compañeros de la Lanza lucharon para evitar que el mundo fuera devorado por las tinieblas. La guerra se ganó, la Reina de la Oscuridad fue vencida y la paz llegó a Krynn. Sin embargo la oscura soberana no fue destruída y sus poderes siguen siendo muchos. Los amigos, comprometidos a desterrar la Oscuridad para siempre, no cejan en su lucha contra el Mal. Sin embargo, no serán ellos quienes deberán afrontar la guerra que se avecina. Ha llegado el turno de los más jóvenes. Es hora de dar el relevo a quienes serán los héroes de la segunda generación. Ellos deberán triunfar en su nueva misión. O traerán la perdición a esta nueva era...

El Ocaso de los Dragones:
 

• Los Caballeros de Takhisis
• La Guerra de los Dioses

La Guerra de la Lanza ya es historia y Krynn vive un verano abrasador como jamás se había visto antes. Pero tal vez sea el último, porque Caos, padre de los dioses, ha regresado y el mundo entero puede desaparecer. Por este motivo, en la samblea de los dioses, Paladine debe ceder ante las peticiones de Gilean y de la Reina de la Oscuridad para afrontar unidos la lucha contra Caos. Mientras, en la posada El Último Hogar, Caramon y Tika se alegran de encontrarse con su hijo Palin, a quien creían muerto. Pero el joven llega acompañado de un visitante inesperado: Raislin Majere, su tío, que ha vuelto al mundo de los mortales para ayudar en la batalla y evitar la destrucción de todo lo creado.

Quinta Era:
   

• El Amanecer de una Nueva Era
• El Dragón Azul
• Conjuro de Dragones

La Quinta Era es una época oscura y misteriosa. Los dioses se han desvanecido, la magia ha desaparecido de Krynn y gigantescos dragones dominan el mundo, arrasando pueblos, esclavizando a sus gentes y próclamándose señores supremos de Ansalon. Es la Era de los Dragones, pero también es la Era de los Mortales. Un pequeño grupo de distintas razas se reúnen en el Refugio Solitario con el hechicero Palin Majere. Armados con una antigua Dragonlance, osarán desafiar a los dragones en lo que bien podría ser su último acto de valentía.

La Guerra de los Espíritus:
   

• Los Caballeros de Neraka
• El Río de los Muertos
• El Nombre del Único

Han pasado casi cuarenta años desde la guerra de Caos y Ansalon se ve sometida a la tiranía de crueles y poderosos dragones que se han repartido el dominio del continente. El pequeño grupo de héroes se verá obligado a actuar de manera desesperada para derrotar al enemigo: una fuerza tan poderosa como devastadora. Y mientras, en medio de toda esta corágine, surge una jóven misteriosa, protegida por un regimiento de caballeros negros, que invocará el poder de un dios desconocido para lograr la victoria. Su destino están íntimamente ligado al destino de Krynn, pues sólo ella conoce el futuro.

Libros Postguerra de los Espíritus:
La Discípula Oscura:
   

• Ámbar y Cenizas
• Ámbar y Hierro
• Ámbar y Sangre

La Guerra de los Espíritus ha concluido, y la magia, al igual que los dioses, ha reaparecido. Pero éstos compiten por la supremacía, y los enfrentamientos, que han extendido la miseria y la desdicha, han desestabilizado el poder en Ansalon.

La Trilogia de Linsha:
    

• La Ciudad de lo Perdido
• El Éxodo de los Vencidos
• El Regreso del Exilio

La novela se centra en las consecuencias del enfrentamiento entre dos temibles dragones y la protagonista es Linsha Majere, nieta de Caramon y Tika Majere, personajes legendarios de la Dragonlance que aparecen en las series troncales de la colección.

Sagas Secundarias o de Expansión:
Preludios de la Dragonlance:
           

• El Guardian de Lunitari
• El País de los Kenders
• Los Hermanos Majere
• La Misión de Riverwind
• Flint, Rey de los Gullys
• Tanis el Semielfo

Preludios narra las aventuras de cada uno de los protagonistas de la saga Dragonlance durante los cinco años que precedieron a su último encuentro en la posada El Último Hogar, justo antes de combatir juntas en la Guerra de la Lanza. Así pues, seremos testigos de las aventuras de Kitiara y Sturm en la mágica Lunitari, del viaje de regreso de Tas a su cidad natal, de la misión de Caramon y Raistlin Majere en la ciudad de Mereklar, de las visicitudes de Riverwind para lograr el amor de Goldmoon, de la coronación de Flint como monarca de Lodazal o de la batalla imposible que Tanis deberá librar contra el propio tiempo.

Héroes de la Dragonlance:
         

• La Leyenda de Huma
• Espada de Reyes
• El Caballero de Solammia
• El Caballero Galen
• Kaz el Minotauro 
• Las Puertas de Thorbardin

Héroes recoge las historias de valientes que lucharon contras las fuerzas de la Reina de la Oscuridad desde la Era de los Sueños hasta la Guerra de la Lanza. Así conoceremos las hazañas del gran Huma, el Caballero de Solamnia y su búsqueda de la lanza Dragonlance; los peligros que tuvo que afrontar Kaz, el valiente y proscrito hombre-toro; la vida y las costumbre de Thorbardin, el reino de los Enanos de las Montañas y las aventuras en las que se vieron involucrados Sir Bayard Brightblade, Caballero de la Espada, y Galen Pathwarden, la Comadreja.

Cuentos de la Dragonlance:
         

• La Magia de Krynn
• Kenders, enanos y gnomos
• Historias de Ansalon
• El Reino de Istar
• El Cataclismo
• La Guerra de la Lanza

Los Cuentos recogen un sinfín de relatos que nos muestran la intensa y misterios historia de Krynn y de sus habitantes desde los tiempos anteriores al Cataclismo hasta la Guerra de la Lanza, pasando por la gran catástrofe que enfrentó a las diversas razas. Además, conoceremos los orígenes y avatares de un pequeño grupo de amigos a los que un día se los conocerá como Héroes de la Lanza, en su lucha por la justicia y por la libertad: Riverwind, Raistlin, Laurana, Tas, Flint, Tanis, Palin, Srum... Multitud de detalles sobre todos aquellos que desempeñaron un papel determinante  en la evolución de un mundo poblado por fantásticas criaturas. Nuevas e insólitas aventuras de los compañeros de viaje por las legendarias tierras de Krynn.

Compañeros de la Dragonlance:
         

• Qualinost
• El Incorregible Tas
• Kitiara Uth Matar
• El Código y la Medida
• Pedernal y Acero
• Mithas y Karthay

Compañeros nos descubre cómo se conocieron los Héroes de la Lanza y las relaciones que se forjaron entre ellos. Relaciones que serán determinantes en un futuro no muy lejano para afrontar y cambiar el destino de Krynn Así, asistiremos al nacimiento de la insólita amistad entre Tanis el semielfo, Flint el enano y Tas, el entrañable e incorregible kender. Seremos testigos de los orígenes de los famosos gemelos, el guerrero Caramon y el mago Raistlin y del admirable papel que juega su hermana Kitiara Uth Matar en la vida de ambos. Veremos a Sturm aprender el concepto de honor y la tempestuosa relación amorosa entre Tanis y Kitiara. Y emprenderemos un peligroso viaje junto a todos ellos hacia Mithas el reino de los Minotauros, para derrotar al Amo de la Noche.

La Forja de un Túnica Negra:
     

• Raistlin, el aprendiz de mago
• Raistlin, crisol de la magia
• Raistlin, el mago guerrero
• Raistlin, el túnica roja

Los primeros años de la vida de Raistlin Majere, sus inicios en la escuela de hechicería, su Prueba en la Torre de Wayreth... En estos cuatro libros se narran todos aquellos sucesos que forjaron el alma del que será el mago más grande y temido de la historia de Krynn. Pero de momento, junto a Caramon, los dos hermanos se preparan para afrontar los tiempos difíciles que se avecinan. Lo que no saben es que tendrán que luchar contra un legendario dragón rojo al servicio de la Reina de la Oscuridad... Y contra su propia hermana.

Las Naciones Enanas:
   

• El Pacto de la Forja
• El Reino de los Thanes
• Derkin, el primer rey

Los enanos, raza predilecta del dios Reox, deben encontrar su lugar en Krynn y superar las constantes guerras civiles existentes entre las distintas naciones de la raza. Para ello se establece el Pacto de la Forja, del que nacerá un gran reino: Thorbardin. Sin embargo los peligros y amenazas no cesan: los humanos de Ergoth, una misteriosa bestia envuelta en niebla, un codicioso hechicero... habrá que esperar a que se cumpla la profecía anunciada en los antiguos legajos de la tribu enana de calnar.

La Saga de Dhamon:
   

• El Héroe Caído
• Traición 
• Redención 

Los héroes son simples mortales, pero ¿cuán bajo pueden caer? ¿Lo suficiente como para perder sus almas? Dhamon Fierolobo, Héroe del Corazón en una ocasión, se ha hundido en una amarga vida de crimen y miseria. Estos libros nos narran sus venturas y desventuras, al igual que las de varios de los personajes principales de "Quinta Era".

Interregno:
       

• El Asedio de Kendermore
• El Legado de Steel
• La Escalera de Plata
• La Rosa y la Calavera 
• La Mision de Dezra

Los dioses han desaparecido, y con ellos la magia. Krynn se ha sumido en el caos y la desesperación, y sus habitantes luchan por reconstruir sus vidas y encontrar su propio camino. Esta serie relata historias transcurridas durante los primeros 30 años después de la impactante Guerra de Caos.

Libros Independientes:
                                   

• Enanos y Draconianos (Las historias transcurren unos 25 años después de lo relatado en las Crónicas de la Dragonlance)
• Medidas Draconianas (Se trata de la continuación de Enanos y Draconianos y por lo tanto se recomienda leerla depués de éste)
• Libro de Ilustraciones
• El Circulo Clandestino 
• El ala Negra  
• Fistandantilus   
• Gilthas, orador de los soles  
• Dalamar el Oscuro 
• Lord Toede 
• Lord Soth
• Los Dragones en Guerra
• Takhisis 
• Los Enanos Gullys
• Los Hijos de Sargas   
• Emperador de Ansalon
• El Caballero de la Rosa

Descargas:

A larger, zoom-able version can be found at http://thedoghousediaries.com/large/5414.png.

EDIT2:  Some Wikipedia articles from which we pulled much of our data have suddenly been updated.  Coincidence?  Anyway, we’ve made further updates to the map.

EDIT:  Made multiple corrections to outdated data and wrong country borders.

 

men with cameras originally appeared on My[confined]Space NSFW on October 18, 2013.

 TRICK 'R TREAT!  I shared this comp (originally titled "Haunted Halloween") a few years ago...here it is again (with a new title & cover art) for everyone who missed it the first time.  Happy Halloween!

MONSTER SHINDIG

There’s some Freaky Friday shit going down in our culture where all of a sudden the pearl-clutching, book-banning conservatives of the 50’s have been replaced as the main supporters of censorship by the pearl-clutching, don’t-say-it-if-it-isn’t-PC liberals of the 2k10s. Everyday there’s a new reason to light the mob torches because someone said something that is upsetting, which, apparently, should no longer be allowed.

Did y’all have some meeting I wasn’t invited to? Is it opposite day? What happened guys? You used to be cool.

When did we become so intolerant that we can’t even allow opinions we don’t like to exist?

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Here’s an Al Jazeera America journalist saying to ban and burn Thought Catalog when he read an article he didn’t like. I don’t get it. Disagree with something all you want but why ask for stuff you don’t like to be banned? What progress does quieting a voice get you, when that person is thinking it whether or not they express it. Censorship ends conversations, which ends progress, which helps no one.

---

Another example: Thought Catalog published a confessional essay from a girl called I Think My Boyfriend Wants To Be With A Transsexual in which a girl describes her shock and disgust upon learning her boyfriend had a fetish for trans women. The backlash was incredible. The author had made both purposeful and accidental errors in referring to the trans women receiving her boyfriend’s affection, but it read as an emotional stream of conscious confession from someone who was culturally unaware of the gravity of her words.

I get it, she did a bad thing. She was in the wrong for focusing her angry feelings on the woman instead of the man. But, newsflash, this is a human thing to do. It’s not wrong to have reactions before being able to suss out the appropriate and inappropriate feelings beneath them, and it’s not wrong to not go through this process alone.

I think what this whole ordeal communicates to people is that, even if you are upset and would like to describe your emotional state by writing on the internet (a catharsis many of us enjoy) you shouldn’t unless you are certain you are phrasing everything in the *right* way. There’s a rule in philosophy that helps you make forward progress with your dialogue, it’s called the principle of charity. It means you attack your opponent on their strongest point. You don’t attack grammar when there are bigger issues at hand. If someone has errors in their cultural thinking (and, we all do, no one is born knowing all the right answers) you can shut down the conversation, or you can turn it into a learning opportunity and make progress. It’s up to you to decide which is more important.

---

We published Parker Molloy’s 19 Things Bad ‘Allies’ Say which highlighted some unintentionally offensive things people who consider themselves allies do that are actually detrimental to the cause they think they are helping. As a result of the conversation this article inspired, Michael Solana wrote How To Talk To Gay People (A Gentle, Gentle Intro For The Oversensitive Liberal) about the (very) offensive things people have said to him, and why he’d rather them say it than remain quiet.

The two pieces are kind of opposites, one is “don’t say this if you want to be an ally” the other is “say whatever you need to say, I am open to conversation.”

The great thing about dialogue is that both of these conversations are helpful. It’s helpful to know what is hurtful to say to another person, and also that we can see each other as human products of our sociological circumstances, as imperfect learners. It’s gravity and grace, the old testament and the new and we shouldn’t shy away understanding one in relation to the other.

I think we can all benefit from clutching our pearls a little less when we read something that makes us uncomfortable. We’ve all been wrong about one thing or another. It’s extremely unlikely that as flawed people any of us are always right, or know the capital ‘T’ Truth. The best we can do is hold our opinions in dialectical tension with others, and do the balancing act of people who have diverse experiences, values, and needs.

"Technically it's not a book at all: The Great War is actually one continuous drawing, a 24ft-long panorama narrating the British forces' experience of 1 July 1916, spatially and chronologically, from orderly morning approach to chaotic battlefield engagement to grim aftermath. There are no boxes of text or speech bubbles, no individuated characters, instead Sacco portrays a mass event in painstaking, monochrome, almost technical detail. It's like a cross between Hergé and the Chapman brothers; the Bayeux Tapestry as a silent movie." -- Cartoonist Joe Sacco's latest project, The Great War is about one particular day in the War: 1 July, the start of the Battle of the Somme.

Joe Sacco (previously) accidently wandered into comics journalism:

Asked by Searle whether the inclusion of himself within his works was to signal the inherent subjectivity to the reader, Sacco smiled that "everything was accidental". Coming from the world of underground cartooning, he was naturally drawn towards creating "first person stories" about his life and experiences, and this was something he continued in his trips to Palestine. As his journalistic impulses kicked in, he began to put together the story journalistically, and with all stories revolving around himself he labelled Palestine as "partly my travelogue, and my experiences".

His comics on the conflicts in Palestine and Bosnia in the nineties led to graphic journalism assignments for e.g. the NYT and the Guardian.

For The Great War Sacco drew inspiration from Jacques Tardi's It Was the War of the Trenches and the classic British antiwar comic Charley's War. For those curious to know what WWI through Sacco's eyes looks like, The Guardian has a slideshow.

Mascarade es un juego de cartas de Bruno Faidutti que recupera algunos de los ingredientes más interesantes de Ciudadelas, sin duda el título más popular de este conocido diseñador francés, y los sazona con una pizca de Coup para dar lugar al que probablemente termine siendo uno de los grandes éxitos de 2013. Se trata de un juego de engaño rápido y divertido con unas reglas sencillas a rabiar que lo hacen ideal para esas reuniones multitudinarias de amigos jugones y no tan jugones:

Cada jugador recibe seis monedas de oro y una carta de personaje boca arriba para que todos puedan verla. El objetivo es ser el primero en conseguir una fortuna de trece monedas y se empieza por darle la vuelta a todas las cartas. Desde ese momento tendrás que confiar en tu memoria para recordar no solo las cartas de los demás sino también la tuya propia, pudiendo realizar en cada turno tan solo una de estas tres posibles acciones:

El faroleo, la memoria y también la estrategia juegan un papel más importante que la suerte

• Intercambiar o no tu carta con la de otro jugador. Cogemos la carta de otro jugador y la colocamos junto con la nuestra debajo de la mesa sin mirarlas, intercambiándolas (o no) en secreto para quedarnos con una y darle la restante al otro jugador mientras nos mira con cara de “¿Qué demonios has hecho? ¿Sigo siendo quien era o me has pegado el cambiazo pedazo de @#%$&?”.
• Mirar tu carta en secreto. La única opción si estás muy perdido y, lo que es peor, los otros jugadores lo saben.
• Anunciar tu personaje para utilizar su poder.

Por supuesto, como buen juego de faroleo, no tienes porqué ser realmente un personaje para anunciar que vas a utilizar su poder, pero si otro jugador protesta afirmando que él es en realidad ese personaje entonces todos los implicados muestran sus cartas. El que tuviese la carta del personaje en cuestión podrá realizar su acción incluso aunque no fuese su turno, mientras que todos los demás pagarán una multa de una moneda de oro al Palacio de Justicia.

Algunos personajes como el Rey o la Reina nos permiten ganar dinero directamente de la banca mientras que otros como la Bruja o el Obispo roban al jugador más rico. El Espía puede mirar su carta y la de otro jugador antes de intercambiarlas (o no); el Juez se lleva todas las multas que hayan sido pagadas al Palacio de Justicia hasta ese momento; y el Inquisidor señala a otro jugador obligándole a tratar de adivinar su propio personaje, revelar su carta y pagarle cuatro monedas en caso de fracasar. Así hasta 13 personajes diferentes.

Como podréis imaginar, después de unas pocas rondas nadie puede estar realmente seguro ni de la carta que tiene enfrente suya, y aquí es donde el juego brilla con particular intensidad premiando a quienes sepan tirarse los faroles adecuados en el momento oportuno y deducir lo que están tratando de hacer los demás. Mascarade funciona tan bien por los mismos motivos por los que lo hacía Ciudadelas, distritos aparte: todo gira alrededor de las cartas de personajes o como asegura Faidutti, de los propios jugadores.

Cuando diseñé Mascarade, intenté que los jugadores no se escondieran tras las reglas o las cartas. Quería que en Mascarade, al igual que ocurre en el Ciudadelas o en el Póker, cada uno jugara más con los demás jugadores que con las cartas. Y creo que lo he conseguido.

Yo también lo creo, y voy más allá… Lo logra con más éxito que el propio Ciudadelas y otros títulos en la misma línea como Love Letter, del que nosotros mismos os ofrecimos una rediseño basado en Hora de Aventuras, o el mencionado Coup, recién publicado en nuestro país por Zacatrus!. El primero es mucho más ligero e insulso en comparación mientras que el segundo, pese a ser muy recomendable, tiene el inconveniente a causa de su propia mecánica de que se reparta una combinación de personajes a un mismo jugador que le otorgue una ventaja injusta sobre el resto. Mascarade en cambio ofrece un juego más equilibrado y elegante que se niega a renunciar a la diversión del caos pero en el que el faroleo, la memoria y también la estrategia juegan un papel más importante que la suerte.

Componentes

Magníficos. El juego está compuesto por 14 cartas (uno de los personajes tiene un hermano gemelo) de un tamaño considerablemente mayor al habitual, un pequeño tablero que representa el Palacio de Justicia en el que se van colocando las multas, unos marcadores para recordar qué personajes están en juego y no confundirnos con los que hemos dejado en la caja, monedas en abundancia, cinco ayudas de juego y el manual de reglas en diversos idiomas incluido el nuestro.

Todo el material está ilustrado por Jérémy Masson de un modo indiscutiblemente sublime que me obligaría a comprar el juego por mi vena coleccionista incluso si no hubiese resultado ser tan bueno. Ahora bien, ¡¿dónde demonios voy a encontrar unas fundas de este tamaño para proteger las cartas de los sucios dedos de mis compañeros de juego?! Dammit!

Sitio oficial Mascarade
Material extra Manual de reglas y Usurpador (personaje adicional)

El agente denunció al alcalde Currás por prevaricación y acoso moral

• Piden que la jueza vuelva a imputar al regidor, a Conde Roa y a la exjefa de Seguridad

O IGAPE concédelle un aval a Editorial Compostela, S.A. O Consello de Contas xa chamou a atención sobre unha serie de "riscos e ameazas" deste tipo de avais ante a posibilidade de que, finalmente, non sexan devoltos e teñan os galegos que asumir eses gastos.

La cosecha tiene unos 200 frutos de hasta 60 kilos cada uno

By now, many of us have heard of “cuddle parties,” where people can fill their non-sexual intimacy needs in a pajama-clad, boner-free environment. No, really, it’s an actual thing. Adults get together and just cuddle.

Now this orgy of kindness has gone one step further with designated cuddle establishments, staffed with professional snugglers popping up all over the country.

Of course, not everyone takes the concept of selling the service of unconditional intimacy at face value, as the employees of Madison Wisconsin’s Snuggle House recently learned.

According to WMTV:

The Snuggle House is in the final stages of inspections before opening but already with nearly 100 appointments made.

The city of Madison is concerned the business has the potential of prostitution, but The Snuggle House ensures their services are strictly non-sexual

“Security wise, protocol wise, we are covered. We are not negotiated any way any of those situations,” said Johnson.

Staff says their clients and employees go through background checks, and there will be video surveillance in each room.

But a city of Madison attorney says their lack of training or a business plan raises a reg flag.

The Snuggle House plans to officially open by next week.

The fact that so many people are willing to put a premium on human contact does raise a few eyebrows. In this instance, a cuddling session can cost 60 dollars an hour, which anyone who watched a courtroom scene in “Night Court” can assume that actual blowjobs have sold for much less.

However, we’ve all heard the folklore surrounding the lonely businessmen who purchase the service of high-priced escorts and just pay the ladies to talk or hold them. Maybe this development will be seen as a welcome break to their wallet.

Image: Snuggle House

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Incredible Instant Adoring Boyfriend is a DVD intended to provide a sort of simulated “boyfriend” experience, but only if your idea of a boyfriend is an obsessive simpering weirdo. The half hour performance feels like it was created by aliens who based their idea of heterosexual romance on a amalgam of sexist sitcoms. The “boyfriend” (shudder), compliments you on your thinness on one hand, while telling you how unattractive thin models are on the other. He buys you flowers, and does an extensive amount of chores, including your “hand-washing” (I’ve never trusted, let alone asked, a boyfriend to wash a bra in my life, but to each her own.) The entire thing is just watching a dude fawn and coo; it’s legitimately unnerving.

At the end of the “film,” the creeper proposes to you, and the camera actually refocuses in on the ring, as the the man becomes a blur in the background. How’s that for a symbol of matrimonial obsession?

While I assumed this “model boyfriend” was a total fabrication of what really obtuse men think women want, I checked around, just to see if there were any actual women endorsing the DVD. And holy god. I think I may have found her. Below is the single Amazon product review for Incredible Instant Adoring Boyfriend. Spelling errors have been preserved for posterity.

I got this out of curiousity and because it looked fun.People might think it’s lame, but it’s not. Just fun for the single girl. With all the good vibes and compliments he had, my “boyfriend” actually put me in a good mood! Sure, he’s just on a dvd and there isn’t anything interactive about him, but that’s sort of the point. You just sit back, relax and enjoy him complimenting you.

I work hard like most people, so it felt nice to be doted on, even if it was only pretend. Something about someone paying so much attention to you and thinking your special really is nice, so I guess now I know a little bit about what it feels like to have a boyfriend.

As to the content, I won’t spoil everything, but I will tell you that he treats you like a princess and “takes” you on vacations. (He just talks about taking you there.) He actually asks how your day was, too, and does chores. The ending is nice as well.

While the DVD is pretty good, I do have a few complaints.

It could have come with a rating. I was expecting something G or PG-rated, but it caught me off gaurd when he suggested getting in the shower with him and scrubbing my back and later started talking about, um, “relations”, to put it delicately. (Nothing graphic, mind you, just about his friends rating thier girlfriends and saying that “out of ten you’d be an eleven.”) Seeing him in a towel I could’ve also done without, particularly when he started showing a lot of leg. (Don’t worry, he keeps it on and changes off screen.) It’s not that I don’t like seeing guys in towels, but when that much leg is shown (his thigh, to be exact) I get uncomfortable. I know it’s nothing terrible compared to what you might see in a TV show, but some of the things I mentioned did manage to make me blush. Anyway, while it looks cute and innocent from the cover, I don’t think it’s suitable for a minor.

The editing or something wasn’t that great. While I watched it I’m pretty sure I heared the camera man or someone cough off-screen. Also, I think it’s kind of sad how you can tell it was shot in a very small studio, but I guess they didn’t have a very big budget.

Maybe it’s me, but the producers of this video could’ve found a more attractive man to portray the ideal boyfriend. The dude they picked is cute, but not gorgeous. A male model with some acting skills would’ve been better. There are quite a few moments in the dvd where all you do is stare at him for at least two minutes. I’d feel much happier doing that if he looked more like Tom Welling or Wentworth Miller. Too bad it didn’t come with a selection of men to choose from. That would’ve been nice.

All in all, it’s a fun dvd if you want to waste time or feel like being praised and doted on after a hard day’s work, but really is no substitute for a real boyfriend.

Jesus fucking Christ, I hope that review is trolling me, because if this really is the earnest review of woman who truly got some sort of emotional satisfaction out of this DVD… I will personally find her a flesh-and-blood boyfriend. Below is the video… I watched the whole thing, and I’m pretty sure it eviscerated any interest I may have had in future human intimacy. Good luck.
 

 
Catherine the Great is one of those fascinating figures whose political power was often overshadowed by scandal. She did not, as popularly rumored, die attempting to have sex with a horse, but her real life was way more interesting. She had twelve well-known affairs, illegitimate children (no one’s totally sure which ones), and made lavish gifts to her consorts. She gave one of her boyfriends more than 1,000 indentured servants!

Cut to World War II, when a very surprised group of Soviet soldiers managed to stumble on ole’ Cathy’s special room while exploring a palace. It was packed with explicit art, wooden phalluses and some insane furniture. Instead of looting or burning the lot, the soldiers took pictures, and aren’t we grateful they did? Looking at the kinky personal effects of the rich and powerful is even better than going through their medicine cabinets! This is only some of the collection, as most of the photos and furniture have been lost or destroyed, but man… girl loved her some porn.

Definitely NSFW, unless you work at a really fun place, but since some of the most entertaining history is simply the gossip of yesteryear, consider this post educational!
 

 

 

 

Catherine the Great’s snuff box
 
ViaSang Bleu