As [Mikoyan] declared in a January 1936 speech: “I am a great supporter of the production of ice cream. Certain comrades believe to this day that ice cream is merely a children’s treat, and is of no use to grown-ups.” At this point Mikhail Kalinin, who was in attendance, exclaimed, “But everyone loves ice cream!” Mikoyan replied, “They love it, but some shun it out of hypocrisy, because they believe it’s just for kids. The production of ice cream needs to be expanded as much as possible. I am lobbying for ice cream, because it is a very delicious and nourishing food.”
important soviet discourse
the image of this guy going “but everyone loves ice cream” is driving me insane
I thought this was clickbait but no turns out a looted Olmec artifact depicting the mouth of Tepeyollotlicuhti, and symbolically marking an entrance to the underworld, was recovered in Denver and returned to Mexico.
Its called “Portal al Inframundo” look how cool this thing is.
Welcome to Ars Magica, and to the world of Mythic Europe. It is a place where the glories of the Classical world are dust and the promise of the Renaissance is yet to come. The time is the 13th century–1220 to be exact. Life is a struggle: wars and plagues stalk the land, the Church and kings rule with an iron fist. Yet Mythic Europe is also a place of magical wonder, inhabited by all the creatures of folktale and myth. What the folk of the land believe holds true: faeries and rural spirits must be placated; demons corrupt everything they touch; divine power is accessible through prayer; and magic is everywhere.
Against this background, you will play a magus, a member of the mythical Order of Hermes. You and your fellow players will also portray the loyal companions and grogs that stand with the magi in their covenants. These stalwart protectors provide a buffer between the magi and the mundane world that often misunderstands their power and motives. This is the setting for Ars Magica.
One of my favorite things about Ars Magica is that a lot of the restrictions on magic as used by the Order of Hermes are -human- restrictions.
For example, the Magi of House Bjornaer, who are innate shapeshifters, can’t have familiars- this is taken as received wisdom that their innate shapeshifting power interferes with the familiar bond.
Any wizard who does much research on the subject, however, quickly figures out that this was because Bjornaer was kind of lazy and bad at research and it doesn’t take much work at all to reconcile having a familiar and having a heartbeast.
It’s also taken as written that hermetic magic can’t cure fatigue or tiredness, with the one exception being a fairy magic spell from the fairy magic specialists in house Merinita.
It’s not so much that it’s impossible, it’s just that the founder’s notes on the subject were stolen by a disgruntled apprentice and if you can find those or recreate them it’s entirely possible to change that.
‘This restriction on magic has a prosaic explanation’ is just really fun to me.
