TBT^16: Getting Medieval… with LEGO

The Portly Politico4 Comments

Yours portly has worked to ween himself from his “crippling LEGO habit,” as I called it last year, in large part because it’s just too expensive, and because it’s rare I have huge chunks of quiet alone time during which I’m not trying to get something more productive done.  That said, I have a backlog of awesome sets to build, and I hope to get to those soon.

The set that I think of as the beginning of my “modern” LEGO era is the one detailed in the posts below.  I also think this set represented something of a shift for LEGO itself as a brand with mostly kid sets with a few specialized sets for adults to LEGO truly embracing its adult fans.

It’s pretty clever on their part, and they’re cashing in on the same kind of nostalgia as Nintendo does when it re-releases classic titles on their latest consoles.  There are lots of Millennials who want to build LEGO sets with their kids—and lots of Millennials with no real responsibilities and a modicum of disposable income.

The latter describes yours portly; God Willing, the former will in a few years.  Regardless, I’ll never give up LEGOs, and I’m looking forward to building more sets soon.

With that, here is 13 February 2025’s “TBT^4: Getting Medieval… with LEGO“:

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Guest Post: Sudo Nonym’s “The Man from Historical Accuracy” – Chapter 2

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The English writer Sudo Nonym, a regular over at Free Speech Backlash, sent yours portly a treasure-trove of fiction stories for readers here to enjoy.  Many of these stories have already run at FSB, but Tom, the proprietor over there, is cool about cross-posting and republishing, and I’m never one to say no to intriguing content—especially when someone else has done 90% of the work for me!

Also, he has two eBooks on Amazon (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link; I receive a portion of any purchases made through that link at no additional cost to you—TPP)!

But I digress.  Today’s story is the second chapter or part of a longer piece, The Man from Historical Accuracy.  The premise is simple:  a bureaucratic agency, Historical Accuracy, tweaks history to keep things trucking along as they should.

With that, here is Sudo Nonym with Chapter 2 of The Man from Historical Accuracy:

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Monday Morning Movie Review: Superbowl Halftime Show

The Portly Politico6 Comments

After a long day in the parks we got back to our rooms last night and settled in for sub sandwiches and television.  I had forgotten that the Super Bowl was airing last night, but my older brother did not, and he had the game on in our room.  While I rested and unpacked, the game entered halftime, featuring the infamous Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, began to unfold.

By the end of the show—or by the point I stopped watching to get dinner in the other rooms—I was convinced that we needed to grant Puerto Rico its independence (while probably maintaining some naval bases there or the like).  It was the least American halftime show I’ve ever seen.

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Universal Studios

The Portly Politico2 Comments

Yours portly is with his family in Orlando, Florida, at Universal Studios. Dr. Wife, sadly, is not with us; she’s on a difficult hospital in-patient rotation. Residency is the gift thar keeps on giving!

Here’s a picture from last night as the park was shutting down:

More to come.

Happy Sunday!

—TPP

SubscribeStar Saturday: Moving, Minnesota, and Music

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After a couple of weekends of failing to post, yours portly is back with three subscriber-only posts only after SubscribeStar.  That makes up for the two missed weekends and offers something fresh for readers.

This week, I have posts on moving, Minnesota, and music:

  • “Moving Pains” – the story of my doomed foray into hiring a professional moving service (and the complaint to the Better Business Bureau that followed).
  • “Mayhem in Minneapolis” – my analysis of the situation in Minneapolis and the needless deaths there (spoiler alert:  if you interfere with law enforcement and attempt to hurt them, it probably won’t end well); it was so incendiary my own brother cancelled his subscription (so you know it’s good).
  • “Rosy Reds” – a preview of a piece for my work-in-progress album Koi Dance, “Rosy Reds” depicts the flitting about of rosy red minnows in our koi pond.

Subscribe for one buck a month and you can read all of these posts—and hundreds more!  It’s so cheap, I think I’m actually turning people away; they must think the low price means the quality stinks.  Or maybe it’s my recent unreliability that keeps potential subscribers at bay.

Of course, you could risk a single dollar to find out!

Happy Saturday!

—TPP

TBT: Civilization VII is Coming

The Portly Politico6 Comments

It’s hard to believe that Civilization VII has already been out (almost) a year.  Tomorrow will mark the fateful day that big spenders (like yours portly) began their early access to the game, which was clearly incomplete at the time of release.

That said, the game—for all of its flaws—was still fun.  Indeed, I still find it super fun.  If anything, the game has gotten better—much, much better!—over the last year.

Perhaps the best improvement to the game has been the big naval update a couple of months back.  That added lots of new water resources and improved naval combat.  It also added Edward Teach (Blackbeard the Pirate) and, in the Exploration Age, The Republic of Pirates.  I currently have a game going as Blackbeard and it is really fun.

Will the game ever reach the heights of Civ VI, it’s much-beloved predecessor?  It seems doubtful at the time of writing.  Have I played Civ VI since VII‘s release?  Nope!  That’s a testament to how much I enjoy this game.

With that, here is 5 February 2025’s “Civilization is Coming“:

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Guest Post: Sudo Nonym’s “The Man from Historical Accuracy” – Chapter 1

The Portly Politico12 Comments

This Wednesday kicks off something a bit different.  The English writer Sudo Nonym, a regular over at Free Speech Backlash, sent yours portly a treasure-trove of fiction stories for readers here to enjoy.  Many of these stories have already run at FSB, but Tom, the proprietor over there, is cool about cross-posting and republishing, and I’m never one to say no to intriguing content—especially when someone else has done 90% of the work for me!

Also, he has two eBooks on Amazon (that’s an Amazon Affiliate link; I receive a portion of any purchases made through that link at no additional cost to you—TPP)!

But I digress.  Today’s story is the first chapter or part of a longer piece, The Man from Historical Accuracy.  The premise is simple:  a bureaucratic agency, Historical Accuracy, tweaks history to keep things trucking along as they should.

Put another way:  there are drunken druids watching DVDs on Stonehenge.

With that, here is Sudo Nonym with Chapter 1 of The Man from Historical Accuracy:

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New Music Tuesday IV: “Moonlight Shimmer”

The Portly Politico2 Comments

I’m continuing to work on my pond-based pieces, and have a fourth piece completed.  This duet incorporates whole tone scales, which possess a mystical, mysterious quality.  The piece is broadly in Bb major, but the second and third sections feature some secondary dominants that, at times, push the key closer to D major.  The whole tone scales also give a sense of atonality to sections of the piece, representing the mystery of moonlight.

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