sh00g

The problem is not with criticism of Zionism or the majority of the Democratic party being openly pro-Zionism. The problem is with equating the Democratic party with the Republican party and acting like it is somehow "brave" or "righteous" to demonize the only political party in the United States with any shred of decency remaining.

I have a strange relationship with masking these days. I had no idea I had autistic tendencies until I married my wife who has been diagnosed with autism. Since then it has been very rewarding having conversations about how our two flavors of autism differ. One of the things we differ tremendously on is our abilities to mask effectively. My wife has struggled with it, especially as a kid, but it always came naturally to me such that it is now my "default mode" when I am in public. Instead of missing social queues like many people, I find I have the opposite problem where I over-analyze social situations to the extent that I read too much into them and it drives me crazy. So masking has actually been very useful for me in that regard because I feel like when I am masking in public I am less "aware" of how I am acting because I feel like I am mostly coming off "normal" relative to the social expectation.

My wife is also very socially aware but she struggles to turn off her over thinking meaning she frequently comes out of social encounters panicked that she said or did something wrong. Whereas I'll be so blended into the situation I won't even remember her saying or doing what she is worried about. We work together well in that regard because I remind her that if I am married to her and I don't notice her say or do something "atypical," then someone who doesn't know either of us well almost certainly either didn't notice either or won't remember it five minutes after the conversation ends.

So it is a mixed bag. It has been rewarding being able to unmask at home around someone I can trust and who I know loves me, but I still find today that I rarely completely unmask unless I am literally home alone in our house. That usually manifests in me walking around the house doing chores and things talking to myself about a thousand different made up scenarios, which even as a kid I always regarded would probably come off as weird to everyone else.

I think the most important thing is striking a balance between masking and being genuine. I know many people struggle feeling like they are not being their true selves while masked and others even view masking as manipulative. But I think everyone has a different relationship with the practice.

The map is full of puns. They haven't managed to burn any buildings down yet but it's still early XD

We're playing 5E currently because I have quite a few newer players and it's all they know. We're playing in one of my homebrew settings that is a fantasy version of our city!

I don't get to play TTRPGs in person very often these days, but we have a session this evening so I spent the weekend making lots of handouts and visual puzzles for my tavern notice board! Also got a chance to make some 3D terrain and paint some 28 mm scale miniatures which was challenging but very fun.

Yes there seem to be a lot of people of the position that having retirement investments = hoarding wealth...but the majority of us don't get pensions and not having retirement accounts of any kind under those circumstances is horrible financial strategy if you want to do anything other than subsist after retiring.

Totally fair point! I think that's why accompanying the reports with the ability to listen in while I actually play through a session would improve the "spectator" experience. But this is definitely a passion project and not something I anticipate building a large audience for. Thanks for stopping by! :)

Zip is my home instance so that's why I created it there, but that's a great point...I'm still getting the hang of the Fediverse.

Other notable additions from Wikipedia:

"Walz received a 100% rating from Planned Parenthood in 2012, from the American Civil Liberties Union in 2011, from the American Immigration Lawyers Association in 2009–2010, from the AFL-CIO in 2010, from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in 2009–2010, and from the National Organization for Women in 2007."

And:

"Walz was ranked the 7th-most bipartisan House member during the 114th Congress (and the most bipartisan member from Minnesota) in the Bipartisan Index created by The Lugar Center and the McCourt School of Public Policy, which ranks members of Congress by measuring how often their bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and how often they co-sponsor bills by members of the opposite party."

In other words, Walz seems to be a champion of progressive ideals while also being more than willing to work with those across the aisle. This is a great thing for swaying independent voters.

Thank you! As I alluded to, I have a decent understanding of the ancient history of the region (what peoples live where and why, how humans first got there, etc.) but the more contemporary history is completely unknown to me, along with the names of major cities and landmarks. So I am excited to be surprised along the way! I actually think it will be rewarding to get to splice together the fiction that comes about in play with the fiction I have already established.

I think this can all be boiled down to one thing: communication. Relationships are not difficult to maintain if you and your partner both have an actual interest in talking through your problems and, most importantly, being willing to listen and accept when you are either objectively wrong or need to compromise. There is no magic to it but it is very sad how many people do not understand this. Finding someone who also understands this seems to be the difficult part. I am so fortunate to have found mine.

I will still kill a box of Bagel Bites from the air fryer.