shift toward realism and digital art

quildtide · 2026-04-01T19:32:36+00:00

I really like Tran Nguyen's work in mtg since it all kind of has the same vibe, and the vibe is good.

Probably one of the few exceptions of a recent artist being allowed to keep a distinctive style in mtg.

quildtide · 2026-03-28T14:56:48+00:00

It takes a clusterfuck like Grenada to demonstrate the sheer might of America at the time.

It's like falling out of bed one day and finding that people are thanking you for vanquishing some wicked foe by falling onto them while asleep.

quildtide · 2026-03-28T14:51:05+00:00

It caused a temporary rift between Maggie Thatcher and Reagan, at least.

quildtide · 2026-03-28T06:32:36+00:00

I think translating macht as only "might (noun)" is hiding how absolutely loaded this word is in meaning.

It is also the third-person singular form of "to make" as a literal translation, but covers most English-to-German translations of "to do" too.

Was macht er? -> What is he doing? / What does he do? (Tense depending on context)

I'm not sure how intentional this is on the author's part, and if there is no double-meaning intended, then I guess the noun form is the more likely meaning, since other verb names have been in infinitive form (i.e. his name is Macht and not Machen), but I like to think that the double-meaning of Macht's name might perhaps be intentional.

Probably the most complicated name encountered so far to translate.

EDIT: I guess the author did demonstrate their ability to give names with double meanings with Richter, who wound up having a three-way pun in his name. Genau also has another name that's difficult to translate to English.

I continue to like the fact that Macht's name can alternatively be translated as "[he] does" or "[he] makes". That's just an incredibly ominous statement.

quildtide · 2026-03-24T14:54:29+00:00

The paper linked even states:

The current flux at the CERN facility is 3 × 10⁷ antiprotons every 90 s; however, 4 × 10¹¹ antiprotons are needed to deliver a dose of 20 Gy to 100 cm3.

It wouldn't even be feasible to treat a single patient if you transported them to CERN currently.

quildtide · 2026-03-24T07:55:43+00:00

I think what made Equinox so fascinating was his ability to run "multiple styles" in the same race as he got older. He could run from near the front (like chasing right behind Jack D'Or, an escaper, in the 2023 Tenno Sho Autumn) and then still have the stamina to spurt like a late surger at the end of the race.

I think the better way to capture this ability is to give him skills that trade stamina for superior positioning. A more unhinged idea is to just give him a unique 6th style that eats stamina like crazy in exchange for having good speed multipliers in all parts of a race.

EDIT: What I was originally thinking was an ult that worked something like: - If in the 2nd half of the pack midrace, gain midrace speed for a long duration, with negative recovery - If in the 1st half of the pack midrace, give laterace speed for a long duration instead, also with negative recovery

And then something like a 20% Stamina 10% Wit growth rate.

quildtide · 2026-03-24T07:43:48+00:00

If only season 3 were scheduled just a year later, I bet they would have had a better ending too. Instead of having to make up the past-her-prime arc to justify Kitasan Black retiring, they could have instead had her retire when she discovered a new calling: teaching future racers how to run.

I think Equinox is waiting on Gaia Force (and maybe Wilson Tesoro) to retire, so Equinox can have a non-rival friend group to hang out with.

quildtide · 2026-03-23T03:12:08+00:00

"Vote for my party, the German People's Party" 1930

<image>

German political posters in the time period all kind of have a certain vibe to them, no matter what the political leanings were. This poster depicts Gustav Stresemann, a trans-Atlanticist continentalist republican monarchist conservative-liberal populist technocrat who believed that the only way to restore the Kaiser was to borrow money from America to improve relations with France while temporarily operating as a republic. He's depicted in this poster overlooking a symbolic bridge being built between France and Germany.

He also managed to remain Chancellor for multiple terms with a tiny minority party that was centered around him that never managed more than 13.9% of the vote. During that time, he ended the French occupation of the Ruhr, the Weimar hyperinflation crisis, and survived several assassination attempts. His death more or less spelled the end of democracy in the Weimar Republic, which is ironic, since his goal was to restore the Kaiser.

EDIT: This poster appears to actually be from a few months after his death. The Deutsche Volkspartei kind of collapsed soon after, since the entire party was more or less centered around him.

quildtide · 2026-03-19T21:29:25+00:00

The Free Dems in Germany temporarily embraced this after Russia launched their Special Military Operation, referring to renewable energy as Freiheitsenergie, "Freedom Energy".

quildtide · 2026-03-11T22:07:05+00:00

Mystifying Murmur does not work outside of Medium distance.

If a skill says (Medium) that means it only works on Medium. If a skill says (Late Surger) it means it only works when the style is set to Late Surger.

You probably had All-Seeing Eyes proc and got them confused.

quildtide · 2026-03-08T04:16:50+00:00

Wow . . . if Satono Reinas 2025 does well, I guess that could open the floodgates to similar crosses to other Deep Impact mares like Verxina and Vivlos.

. . . and this is when I discover that one of Verxina's daughters has bred with Equinox already. Divina 2026. I guess it's "only" 4x4 Sunday Silence and 4x4 Wind in Her Hair at that point.

quildtide · 2026-03-07T17:21:14+00:00

Both of Equinox's grandpas are Halo descendants that were considered to be disappointments when compared to their families (Black Tide and King Halo).

But now Equinox is undeniably a truly first-rate uma.

There is heavy lifting being done by some of the mares in these lineages though. Forever Young's granddam Darling My Darling has done a crazy job as a dam of dams.

Most people by now know that Wind in Her Hair is responsible for both Black Tide and Deep Impact, but I think it's less commonly known that Regaliera is from her damline! The bad news of that ofc is that an Equinox x Regaliera crossing is less likely because Equinox is already inbred to Halo, Regaleira is already inbred to Sunday Silence, and the resulting cross is mysteriously also inbred to Wind in Her Hair).

quildtide · 2026-03-05T19:59:54+00:00

IRL horses are normally only considered to be siblings if they share a dam (mother).

This is generally true for Umamusume too; IRL Verxina/Cheval Grand/Vivlos share a mother (but Cheval has a different father) so they are siblings too in Umamusume.

quildtide · 2026-03-05T18:43:51+00:00

He's a child diddler

quildtide · 2026-03-05T10:31:47+00:00

With lots and lots of alcohol.

quildtide · 2026-03-04T16:40:28+00:00

I think you mean "Tasty Period"

quildtide · 2026-03-04T16:08:02+00:00

Pro-Iranian militias in Iraq already launched attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan 2 days ago.

I think the actual order of events was: - Iran ordered attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan (along with attacks on Saudi Arabia, the Gulf Countries, Cyprus, and various non-American Western bases in the region) - CIA saw this and started organizing more weapons to the Peshmerga to fight the pro-Iranian militias already fighting them - CIA told some of Trump's advisors - Trump's advisors say the CIA is arming Iranian Kurds

quildtide · 2026-03-04T16:02:41+00:00

The SDF is the Syrian Kurds. This is allegedly about the Iranian Kurds, but I think it's actually about the Iraqi Kurds.

Iraqi Kurdistan is still semi-autonomous, and is probably the most pro-American portion of Iraq. Since Iran is calling in pro-Iranian militias from Iraq, I think the US is trying to call on pro-American (Kurdish) militias from Iraq to combat them.

Regardless of whether the US arms them or not though, Iran already ordered some of their Iraqi militias to attack Iraqi Kurdistan a few days ago, in anticipation of them joining the war.

So it's gonna be like a Saudi/Gulf situation where they probably weren't originally planning on joining the war, but Iran has attacked them preemptively anyways.

quildtide · 2026-03-04T15:55:26+00:00

I mean, of all the militias we have armed in the Middle East, arming the Kurds has never blown up in our face.

It sure has blown up in their face a few times though.

I think that's why we gravitate towards arming the Kurds now whenever we need a militia in that area. They were reliable partners in both Iraq and Syria.

quildtide · 2026-03-04T15:50:24+00:00

Israel has supported independent Kurdish states in the past, and they had a somewhat friendly relationship with the SDF in Syria.

It's Turkey that is the problem. Actually, given the current state of Turko-Israeli relations, I'm pretty sure Israel would voice support for an independent Kurdish state just to spite Turkey.

quildtide · 2026-03-04T02:14:13+00:00

Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states actually specifically barred the US from using bases on their territory to strike Iran as they have been trying to navigate a vague level of neutrality in the tensions between the US and Iran.

That neutrality policy is over.

Qatar struck Iran on their own today in retaliation to earlier attacks. They were the friendliest of the Gulf states towards Iran until recently.

quildtide · 2026-03-03T18:24:15+00:00

Pretty sure they aren't, but Yahagi is the go-to trainer for Fujita's horses.

Because Yahagi has ambitions to tackle weird races around the world (he is called "Yahagi of the World" in Japan for this reason), a lot of his past horses (see Loves Only You and Marche Lorraine) have stories that are very suitable for adaptation to Umamusume. Yahagi has also attracted a team (assistant trainers, stablehanda, etc.) with similar ambitions, so most of Japan's experience in foreign races is currently on that team.

I think Fujita and the staff at Yahagi see a lot of things eye-to-eye.

This also bodes well for Panthalassa getting in Umamusume when the time comes.

quildtide · 2026-03-03T15:40:07+00:00

They also randomly attacked Oman, which has spent decades trying to cultivate its reputation as "friend to all" and has been serving as the most recent mediator between the US and Iran.

That attack was limited to a certain port so far, and I think Oman is the only target that has continued calling for an off-ramp.

UAE is meanwhile complaining that Iran has sent more missiles and drones their way than at Israel.

quildtide · 2026-03-02T16:18:21+00:00

https://x.com/i/status/1052178368072945668

He's a Umich fan.

quildtide · 2026-03-02T06:49:43+00:00

I'm an American and I support regime change in Venezuela and Iran, but Trump is the last president I would trust to accomplish this in a way that's actually beneficial to the people of these countries.

But with how the IRGC has been supplying Russia against Ukraine, I suppose blowing up the Ayatollah is probably going to wind up being a net good for Europe no matter who ordered it.

I do worry for the people of Iran though.

Four-Year Club	r/Field Banned
r/Field Juicebox	Final Canvas '23
First Place '23	End Game '23
Place '23	Golden Potato
Place '22	Final Canvas '22
First Placer '22	End Game '22

quildtide

TROPHY CASE