Many misconceptions about the medieval period stem from the fact that the average person doesn’t even know when the medieval period was. To most laypeople, the entire span of time between the fall of Western Rome and the Industrial Era is considered “medieval.” This is an incredibly broad stretch of history that can actually be divided into two distinct eras. The latter of these eras—spanning from the late 15th to the early 19th centuries, depending on the region—is often referred to colloquially as the Renaissance, the Colonial Era, or the Enlightenment. Most historians, however, use the broad term “Early Modern Era.”

Interestingly, many misconceptions about the medieval period actually originate in the Early Modern Era. For example, the famously gruesome methods of torture and execution often associated with the medieval period largely belong to the Early Modern Era. In comparison, torture and execution in the medieval period were relatively simple and practical. Similarly, in relation to the article, it was the people of the Early Modern Era—not the medieval period—who had truly questionable hygene.

There are a few key reasons why hygiene declined in the post-medieval world. The main factor was the rapid growth of urban centers, which led to nearby waterways becoming polluted with human waste. With clean water harder to obtain, people bathed less frequently. The introduction of sugar from the New World into the European diet also wreaked havoc on oral hygiene, and it took centuries for proper dental practices to develop. Finally, as the article points out, there were many widespread misconceptions about hygiene and its role in preventing disease, particularly with regard to the much-feared Black Death.

In short, William the Conqueror was likely a well-groomed man, while George Washington probably stank.

Idk, I know a pianist and his house is just filled with boxes and boxes of sheets music!

One RPG that does a really great job of circumventing this is Morrowind. Early in the story there are several natural breaks where the PC is encouraged to do side quests and immurse themselves in the world. Once the main quest gets going it starts to take precedence, but the world ending threat builds slowly at first.

There’s no way Musk “works” 100 hours a week. How do you think he’s found all this time to spend with his new bestie Donald? By all accounts the guy spends a significant amount of his time playing video games and on Twitter. His “work” is lunch meetings and zoom calls with the board where he just spitballs a bunch of nonsense.

Okay I’m ootl on this asshat but now I keep hearing his name. Who the fuck is he and what the fuck is his problem?

America’s saving grace may in fact be that the fascists are too stupid and lazy to do the work required to dismantle the federal government and cause mass human suffering.

Bethesda is, in many ways, a victim of its own success. Morrowind and Oblivion were both solid entries that did well critically and financially, but no one was prepared for the massive impact of Skyrim. Its success transformed open-world fantasy games into a staple of AAA gaming, and the game has stayed relevant for over a decade.

However, even when it was first released, Skyrim fell short in several areas that were often overlooked due to the sheer “wow” factor of its open world. The game is plagued by bugs, many of which are game-breaking and persist even in recent re-releases. The AI is brain-dead, melee combat is clunky, and the quest design and writing often lack depth.

In the years since, the landscape of gaming has evolved. Numerous fantasy and open-world games have improved upon things that Skyrim did well, and raised the bar for what players expect from many areas where Skyrim fell short. Players today have a wealth of games to choose from and are less forgiving of these types of flaws. Starfield’s lukewarm reception reflects Bethesda’s seeming unwillingness—or inability—to update its design philosophy for a modern audience.

The expectations for The Elder Scrolls VI have become impossible to meet. These expectations are sky-high not only among fans but also from Bethesda’s new parent company, Microsoft. TES6 will almost certainly be a financial success, but Microsoft didn’t acquire Bethesda for just “decent” results like Starfield; they acquired the creators of Skyrim to make blockbuster hits that dominate the charts and win critical acclaim.

In the end, Bethesda knows they will never recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle success of Skyrim. So they’ll keep sitting on the IP, until Microsoft forces them to release something mediocre, and their studio joins many of the other classic RPG developers in obscurity.

A few weeks ago a poor POC came up to me trying to convince me to vote Trump because “Trump will put money in your pocket”

I asked him what he meant by that, thinking his reasoning would be tax cuts or inflation. Alas, his reasoning was that he thought the COVID stimulus checks came from Trump’s personal wealth and that him winning the presidency again would mean we would get more.

It was when I noticed the other people around me agreeing with him that I knew we were doomed. What can man do against such reckless ignorance?

Fucked regardless but how fucked remains to be seen. Just as before, Trump will spend his presidency golfing, what really matters are his cabinet picks. Best case scenario is that just like 2016-2020 in-fighting and general incompetence make the administration a revolving door and keep the Christian Nationalist from realizing their darkest ambitions. Worst Case is that the Fascist have learned from their mistakes. I also think Trump either dying or being forced to step down (with a pardon of course) is a possibility that is on the table. Vance is a much more competent Fascist and this is definitely a worst case scenario.

Regardless, I think there are a few things that are guaranteed to happen:

• The dismantling of much of the Federal Government. Starve the Beast will finally come to fuition. The Department of Eduction, the FDA, The EPA, ect will become toothless if not entirely abolished. De-regulation will bring us back to early 20th century levels of consumer protection and quality control. Read “The Jungle” to get an idea. Public Health is going to tank dramatically.
• The little safety net Americans have will be pulled out from under them. Workers will be entirely beholden to their employers. The price of most consumer goods will surge, bankruptcy from healthcare cost will skyrocket, and homelessness will become even more common. Homelessness will become completely criminalized and the % of the American population imprisoned will make today’s prison population look small.
• The police and surveillance state will be expanded dramatically with the intent of targeting undesirables. Immigrants will be deported, while Trans people and political dissidents will be labeled as sexual criminals and will be eliminated. As time marches on more groups will be targets for the state. People around you will simply disappear sometimes, victims of secret police.
• An increase in media censorship by morality police. Pornography will be banned, and using that vague label media critical of the regime or expressing ideas against the regimes interest will be censored.
• The US will pull out of NATO and pursue a policy of isolation. Authoritarian and expansionist regimes around the world will be allowed to pursue their interests unchecked.
• A general brain-drain as educated people with the means to do so flee to Canada or Europe. As time passes it is likely that emigration from America will be made more difficult by the state, effectively stranding people here who didn’t get out soon enough.
• We will completely miss the window to do anything to avoid the worst-case scenarios for climate change. So it’s not just America that’s fucked here.

Smoke em while you got em, it’s about to get rough for everyone. We are in the death throes of the Neo-Liberal world order. Buy a firearm and get a vpn. Keep your vehicle as fueled as you can, and if you are able keep a sizable amount of cash stored somewhere safe. There’s never been a better time to go vegan and get in shape. Do what you can for the people you care about.