Talk politics.

Been working further on two alternate histories. One is a true Geek's Geek of an alternate history where the Clone Wars turns Star Wars into an even more blatant Dune knockoff, because Palpatine ends up failing to direct both sides and the Republic depends on the guy defeated by widdle man-eating teddy bears to fight a Confederacy of Independent Systems with a droid Army in the quintillions. In classic Omniverse fashion the villain, who's essentially a cross between http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Davis, http://turtledove.wikia.com/wiki/Jake_Featherston, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Ungern_von_Sternberg and what happens when Komari Vosa leads a war against the Republic, Jedi *and* Sith....

Fifteen years of a war where both sides use depopulating plagues, computer viruses, nuclear and biological warfare, the Separatist Droid Army triggers a bit of a "thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of the human mind" mentality and the Republic becomes the Empire to defeat the Separatists, the Jedi and Sith blending as both become inured to concepts of massed brutality. I might note that there are a lot of references to other sci-fi, such as Vosa sitting on a Skull Throne and playing up the Confederacy v. Republic for all its worth by turning her movement into an analogue of the Freedom Party from TL-191.

Anakin Skywalker is banished for treason (in reality Plagueis's experiment is now useless) after the Battle of Korriban, while Palpatine becomes Emperor of the Known Universe, and 20 or so years later, a new Sith War begins when Darth Vader launches a massive, bloody war against the Empire to recreate the True Sith, while Jedi Lord Anarchos, aka Count Dooku of Serenno from the desert-planet of Tatooine launches the Grey Jihad......

The other one, Up With the Star, has by now reached the 1910s, and from Ben Butler as Vice-President, Lincoln lives for a second term, Archduke Maxmilian is the unofficial man behind the man and unites Austria with the France of Napoleon IV, the Russia of Tsar Nicholas II, and Greece and Serbia against the Ottomans, the Germans, and the British, in an alternate alliance system that sees a WWI break out in 1916 due to the assassination of the Crown Prince of Bavaria by a Russian-backed terrorist movement.

I might note in that alternate world the USA actually develops a system partially analogous to the Apartheid system known as Trialism, where the majority of ex-slaves become the Negro Caste, a minority allowed education, literacy, and civil rights become the Colored Caste, whites retain their pre-war definition. Ironically the existence of US-apartheid in an even more tangible sense actually *slows* progress on civil rights because people assume the mere existence of the Colored Caste is progress enough and the concept of rights for Negroes is entirely beyond the pale....

While my TL on the site I'm posting it on may be one of the only Tls were the Ottomans in fact are *not* screwed in the 19th Century but instead do *better.*

Why is this woman all over my friends list and facebook?

Why did you make us watch that? Wait.. Why did I click "play?"

Just so you all understand. Poor Rebecca Black is not the WORST music video ever. THIS IS:



And this was actually on MTV.

There's no opinion or analysis presented, or even any commentary. This is a poor post. ;)

Why do the other two girls in the first part both have moles? Why do both of the other girls in the second part have braces? Why can't she use verbs (we so excited, wtf?)? Is that guy in the middle a pedophile (or whatever the correct term is for pre-adult as opposed to pre-pubescent)?

3...2...1...Let's Jam!



And since I'm feeling fond of Europe today...