Pariah

Congrats to the Legion. They've got a lot of great heroes. I'm a little surprised that the New Mutants didn't have more members nominated/seconded. Magik, specifically, I thought would make it in. Maybe Sunspot, too (he was the leader of the Avengers for a while, after all). That team was a hot mess, though, so maybe it's not all that surprising.

Doesn't the phrase "dark internet" imply that there's another kind?

O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed his grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea! O beautiful for pilgrim feet Whose stern impassioned stress A thoroughfare of freedom beat Across the wilderness! America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law! O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife. Who more than self their country loved And mercy more than life! America! America! May God thy gold refine Till all success be nobleness And every gain divine! O beautiful for patriot dream That sees beyond the years Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears! America! America! God shed his grace on thee And crown thy good with brotherhood From sea to shining sea!

tkdguy is an organ donor. He gave a huge pipe organ to a needy neighborhood church just last week.

Stupid duplicate post!

Him: I'll bet you $500 you can't get that box of sirloins off the top shelf without dropping them. Me: No bet. The steaks are too high.

Tonight Before the red moon lights the cosmic fire Just lay down Accepts this glass of wine and close your eyes Imaginary fields unfold There's an old man turning cards But he's no Joker When he ask you to join his table He looks at you right in the eyes Like you're no strangers He sure knows about all your fables But keeps the mysteries untold Mysteries untold Through the Nile Flows the wine Giving life Too late To turn yourself around And come back home Now you cry out for more Female shapes dancing Like clouds of unknown matter Reveal a passage to the old shrine Emerging out of your heart's darkest corners Teardrops will turn into a sea of wine Imaginary fields Unlock the mysteries Until the memory reels unroll Memories unroll Through the Nile Flows the wine Giving life

Um, it's boring?

Oh sure, now you tell me...

Hermit is currently undertaking to translate the collected works of Jane Austen into Klingon.

And out of the gate, our early leaders are Mary Marvel and . . . Richard Ryder?! Wow, I did not see that coming. Well done, Nova. Thanks to everyone who has voted. Spread the word. Let's get as many people's opinions on this as we can!

I celebrated today’s inauguration of President Donald Trump by changing my voter registration from Republican to Libertarian. I first registered to vote when I turned 18, back in the Reagan administration. I've been a registered (if not always enthusiastic) Republican my entire adult life. I haven't always agreed with the policies and positions of the Party, but I always felt that the Republican Presidents (or Presidential nominees) and other Party leaders were basically good people who genuinely wanted what was best for the nation. But I don't feel that way about the current Republican leadership. In the last few weeks, Republican leaders in Congress and elsewhere have demonstrated an astounding recklessness in their actions. Their first act in Congress was to try to abolish the independent ethics panel that oversees them. Who decided that was a good idea? They want to tear down the Affordable Care Act--which, almost without exception, they refer to derisively as ‘Obamacare’--and replace it, eventually, it with something else. But nobody seems to know what that is. Oh, sure, I’ve heard people talk about about ‘Health Savings Accounts’. I suppose they’re okay, if you’ve got so much money that you don’t need insurance anyway. At this point, even I am starting to think Canada’s single-payer system looks pretty good. And as for President Trump? He’s even more disturbing. He has no background and no experiences to prepare him for this job--no legal, military, government, or public service experience whatsoever. Worse, his temperament and personality make him entirely unsuited to the position. He’s erratic, combative, and unprincipled. He gets in Twitter fights with people who criticize him. He can’t be told ‘No’, because as far as I can tell, he doesn’t consider himself answerable or accountable to anybody. His lack of concern for possible Russian interference in our country’s affairs is astonishing. Didn’t Republicans used to want to fight the Russians? And his choices for Cabinet? Incomprehensible. He says he wants to ‘drain the swamp’--but he keeps nominating tycoons and insiders. And not even tycoons and insiders that make sense. He wants a brain surgeon in charge of Housing and Urban Development, an enemy of public education in charge of the Education Department, and a Wall Street executive as Secretary of State. To be fair, I suppose it’s fitting that his nominees are as inexperienced and unqualified as he is. So no, I don’t feel like the Republican Party is where I belong at this point in time. But fear not, my friends. My decision to change my registration to Libertarian doesn't indicate a seismic personality shift on my part. I haven’t become a soulless Objectivist automaton or dope-smoking hippie. In reality, my political party membership is less important to me on a daily basis than, say, making sure I leave the house in the morning with socks that match--something I do worry about (and accomplish) pretty much every day. Labels don't mean that much to me, and political party affiliation isn't even in the top ten of how I self-identify. Changing my voter registration to Libertarian means mostly that I've grown tired of the two-party chicanery our nation has endured for the last twenty years or so. Looking back, I don't feel that my political positions have changed that much. Perhaps the years have made me more moderate in those positions (and likely more cynical), but I have pretty much the same ideas about government that I've always had: that government exists solely to protect the rights, safety, and freedom of its citizens; that government must represent the interests of all its citizens, not just those belonging to the Party currently in power; and most importantly, that government operates by consent of the governed. I don't think either major political party, Democratic or Republican, operates that way any more (if either or both ever did). Both Parties are more like mega-corporations now, completely amoral and bereft of any genuine concern for the common people in their power-driven chase for ever-increasing market share. We're no longer people that they represent; we're consumers, targets of their greedy and self-promulgating marketing schemes. “Blind men [and women] in the market,” as Rush says, “buying what we're sold.” Well, I'm not buying any more. Not now, anyway. I already know that I won't remain a registered Libertarian indefinitely. When the next round of caucuses and primary elections rolls around, I'll change my registration back to Republican in order to participate. Utah is so heavily Republican that the primaries are where most elections are really decided, and the G.O.P. holds closed primaries. So I'll hold my nose and switch back, because it's what I'll have to do to have a voice. And then, in all likelihood, I'll switch back to Libertarian again. Or maybe, two years from now, there will be another option. I doubt it, but maybe. No need to worry about that just now, I suppose. But for now, I'm no longer a Republican. The G.O.P. won't miss me (and my one vote) or even notice that I'm gone. And that's okay. The Libertarians will likely be excited to have another name on their roster. If the helps the get more third-party involvement in future elections, then I’m glad to do it. But mostly, I just can't be a Republican right now.

Bazza is picking the Broncos to win Super Bowl LII. The Brisbane Broncos.

This is the first of two rather verbose posts today. Sorry. -- The Mormon Tabernacle Choir is performing at today's Presidential inauguration. There are people who have criticized the Choir for accepting the invitation to perform. I can understand the sentiment, but I feel perhaps these people don't understand what the Choir does or what its mission is. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir will perform between the Vice Presidential and Presidential oaths of office. They will perform one number, "America the Beautiful". The performance will, of course, be beautiful, powerful, and executed with technical brilliance, because that's the only way the Choir does it. Many people will be moved by the Tabernacle Choir's performance today. For some people, this song will be the only happy or hopeful memory they'll have of this day. That is why the Choir is performing today: not to endorse President Trump or the Republican Party, but to endorse America. To remind the President and the American people that this nation is, in fact, good and great and beautiful. To honor those who more than self their country love, and to encourage us all to a greater love of mercy. To recall to our minds that American dream yet undimmed by human tears. And to encourage us all to beat a thoroughfare of freedom across our contemporary wilderness. What better message could this administration--and this nation--hear right now? And who is better suited to the delivery of this message than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir? So if you feel the need to demean, disparage, or boycott the Mormon Tabernacle Choir today, do your thing. But as for me, I'll be playing their music loud and proud all day long.

The Darkness has been using post-hypnotic suggestion to promulgate the tension between Death Dribble and Bazza.

When a noted cardiologist died, the hospital threw him a lavish funeral. Behind the casket at the funeral was a huge heart covered in roses. When the ceremony was over, the heart opened right down the middle. The casket rolled inside, and the heart closed, sealing the doctor inside. When this happened, one of the mourners broke out in hysterical, uncontrolled laughter. He laughed out loud for several minutes while the other people at the funeral watched uncomfortably. After a while, he regained his composure enough to speak. "I'm sorry," he explained, "but I was just thinking ahead to my own funeral. I'm a gynecologist." That's when the proctologist fainted.

Right you are, Ken! I think we're going to do a bronze medal match along with the championship, though.

The Under 21 Qualifying / Seeding Poll has been posted!

Okay, here is the poll to determine the participants in the Tournament of Heroes Under 21 Classification! There were a total of thirty-six young heroes who were nominated and seconded for the Tournament. Twenty-four of them will be selected to compete. The purpose of this thread is twofold. First, this is the Poll where we will determine the participants.Second, this is a place for you to stump for your favorite heroes and heroines! Your votes will determine who participates! I will open voting on this pool for approximately one week; plan on voting no later than 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, January 27th. I will have a Moderator close the poll at that time. (You know who you are.) I've arranged the candidates in alphabetical order in two lists (due to the limitations of the software). Vote for as many or as few as you deem worthy on each list. Vote "Nobody on this list" if that's the case. The top 24 overall will be invited to the tournament and will be seeded according to your votes. Ties will be broken by a formula of my own devising. So, what are you waiting for? Let the voting begin!

All right, it looks like I've documented all of the nominations and seconds. I'll start working on Phase II, the polls to determine qualification and seeding. I'll put up the Under 21 poll first, most likely. Thanks for your participation, everyone!

Cancer thinks neon is a metal.

"Since our classes are already going to be shorter tomorrow because of an assembly, we're going to go ahead and have our state-mandated evacuation drill tomorrow too. By the way, the forecast calls for snow, so tell your students to dress warm. See you tomorrow!"

"Whoa, whoa. Sorry, blondie, I don't do backstory. However, I am becoming very interested in yours. Now, I know I'm not supposed to mention the hair." "Nope." "Or the mother." "Unh-unh." "Frankly, I'm too scared to ask about the frog." "Chameleon." "Nuance."

'To seek the sacred river Alph To walk the caves of ice To break my fast on honeydew And drink the milk of Paradise...' I had heard the whispered tales of immortality The deepest mystery From an ancient book I took a clue I scaled the frozen mountain tops of eastern lands unknown Time and Man alone Searching for the lost Xanadu Xanadu... To stand within the Pleasure Dome Decreed by Kubla Khan To taste anew the fruits of life The last immortal man To find the sacred river Alph To walk the caves of ice Oh, I will dine on honeydew And drink the milk of Paradise A thousand years have come and gone but time has passed me by Stars stopped in the sky Frozen in an everlasting view Waiting for the world to end, weary of the night Praying for the light Prison of the lost Xanadu Xanadu... Held within the Pleasure Dome Decreed by Kubla Khan To taste my bitter triumph As a mad immortal man Nevermore shall I return Escape these caves of ice For I have dined on honeydew And drunk the milk of Paradise

What do you call a fish with no eyes?