ELIMINATED - Emma Stone in La La Land - 19.9% of all votes. La La Land was released in 2016. The film had six wins, including Best Actress for Stone, at the 89th Academy Awards. Stone was selected for Best Actress of the year in a lineup that also included Isabelle Huppert in Elle, Ruth Negga in Loving, Natalie Portman in Jackie and Meryl Streep in Florence Foster Jenkins. Stone also garnered nominations at the Critics' Choice Awards, as well as wins at the BAFTAs, Golden Globes and SAGs for her performance as Mia Dolan.
Feel free to use the comments as an area for discussion. Votes will only be accepted through this Google Form.
• Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos (Monster)
• Hilary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald (Million Dollar Baby)
• Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II (The Queen)
• Marion Cotillard as Édith Piaf (La Vie en Rose)
• Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers (Black Swan)
• Cate Blanchett as Jasmine Francis (Blue Jasmine)
• Julianne Moore as Alice Howland (Still Alice)
• Brie Larson as Joy Newsome (Room)
• Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
• Olivia Colman as Queen Anne (The Favourite)
• Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
• Emma Stone as Bella Baxter (Poor Things)
RANKING:

1. Emma Stone as Mia Dolan (La La Land)
   
2. Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf (The Hours)
   
3. Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany Maxwell (Silver Linings Playbook)
   
4. Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz (The Reader)
   
5. Halle Berry as Leticia Musgrove (Monster's Ball)
   
6. Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)
   
7. Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich (Erin Brockovich)
   
8. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter (Walk the Line)
   
9. Frances McDormand as Fern (Nomadland)
   
10. Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher (The Iron Lady)
    
11. Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy)
    
12. Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy (The Blind Side)
    

6-minute read.

political consultations were held between foreign ministries of Armenia and Georgia about "adherence to European values" and regional issues

It was the first bilateral consultation after the recent signing of the AM-GE Strategic Partnership agreement. Economy, trade, transport, energy, tourism, culture, and education were noted as the main pillars of this cooperation.
The demarcation of the AM-GE border will remain a priority on the agenda.
Regional developments were also discussed. The parties reiterated univocal support to each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The discussion also included the role of Armenia and Georgia in supporting peace and regional development, as well as adherence to European values.
In other news. Armenia's foreign ministry says they held discussions with Georgian colleagues regarding the recent decision by Tbilisi to require all tourists visiting Georgia to have health insurance. Armenia says the June 1 deadline reported earlier has been postponed.
source, source,

EU reportedly plans to freeze Georgia's membership bid to EU if "foreign agent" bill becomes law

Financial Times, citing a person briefed on the discussions between Georgian and EU officials in recent days

source, source,

EBRD's international forum was held in Yerevan: Day 2

TLDR video, full video in English, other video, Pashinyan's speech in English, sanctions compliance by banks,

EBRD bank funds its largest-ever road project in Armenia

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is lending €236 million to Armenia to build the southern section of the Sisian-Kajaran road. Details and how much faster the road will get in May 8 news digest.
The loan agreement was signed today between the Finance Ministry and EBRD during the latter's annual business forum held in Yerevan.

This important infrastructure project, part of Armenia's international North-South, is aligned with EU flagship initiatives for improved land transport connectivity and building resilience in the southern regions of Armenia.

EBRD: We appreciate Armenia’s aspiration to develop a transport and logistics infrastructure that will enhance its regional connectivity and integration with external markets. We support this project because it meets our strategic objectives in Armenia and the region.
source,

EBRD and InecoBank will co-finance the development of a new TUMO Convergence Centre for Engineering and Applied Science in Yerevan

See the architectural design and details about the new TUMO tech/science/innovation/education center here: TUMO.

is a unique STEM hub in Yerevan, focused on sparking innovation. It is where academia and industry come together and where Armenia connects to the world. Designed by the world-renowned Dutch architecture firm MVRDV, the Convergence Center’s flagship building will be an innovative horizontal skyscraper. Only six stories tall but stretched over 200 meters at the edge of the Hrazdan Gorge, the building occupies 17,000 square meters. It is made up of 300 modular spaces arranged inside a giant hall that creates a unique interior ecosystem.
The goal of the Convergence Center project is to create a self-sustaining ecosystem that will accelerate the growth of high tech, engineering and applied sciences in Armenia.

EBRD and InecoBank will chip in €7.25 million each. The EU Delegation to Armenia will also contribute.
source,

EBRD plans to invest €500 million in Armenia this year

EBRD: This is a historic figure and it shows that we are working closely with public and private sectors. We have already invested €640 million over the past 5 years, half of which is in the private sector.
The events in Ukraine have increased the need for stable connectivity between Europe and Asia, making the South Caucasus region and Armenia in particular an attractive area for international trade and investment. //
source,

Day 7 of anti-Pashinyan protests organized by pro-Russian opposition forces

CHAPTER 1
Yesterday the co-organizer Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan invited everyone to join a "big rally" near the opera building on Wednesday, the area where the EBRD is holding the international business forum attended by over 3,000 international and local officials. The police brought a large number of forces to protect the area.
GALSTANYAN (yesterday): At 5 pm on Wednesday there will be an international forum in our opera hall. Numerous international economic organizations will be present, and the leader of this government will give a speech there. Each one of you has the opportunity to be there and express your disagreement towards this illegal demarcation of our border. Come in big numbers. Tomorrow we must express our peaceful but strong dissent. //
The aerial view of Galstanyan's rally near the opera building on Wednesday: video
Galstanyan's followers attempted to block the movement of buses serving the EBRD economic forum attendees. video
CHAPTER 2
5 protesters + 4 trash cans = 9 video,
CHAPTER 3
A group of low-income residents from Vanadzor, who were registered with humanitarian organizations as aid recipients, reported to police that someone bribed and duped them to join the ongoing protests.
AUTHORITIES: On April 24, the suspect used vehicles to transport 7 people to join the protests in Voskepar, Tavush, in exchange for cash. The residents joined the protests and shut down roads until late evening. Upon return, the participants received the promised ֏3,000 ($8).
On May 9, the same suspect organized the transfer of several low-income food bank recipients to Yerevan's Republic Square to take part in "Տավուշը հանուն հայրենիքի" protest. They received ֏3,000 ($8) on the spot and were taken home to Vanadzor in late evening. //
Authorities published the audio of testimony by participants. Some of them were duped; they were told it was going to be a simple "road trip". One witness said there were 3 GAZelle vans transporting several participants. audio
CHAPTER 4
The protest organizers are in touch with former Ambassador-At-Large Edmon Marukyan's party LHK, Ruben Vardanyan's party Aprelu Yerkir, and "Hayaqve". These parties joined the Archbishop/ARF-led protest on May 9 and held political discussions with Galstanyan on Wednesday morning. Galstanyan urged his followers to ramp up the strikes and road closures starting tomorrow.
source, source, source, source, source, video, source,

Russia's foreign ministry responds to speculations and conspiracy theories that began after Pashinyan's recent meeting with Putin

Backstory: Former Ambassador-At-Large Edmon Marukyan has strained relations with several pro-West figures. The pro-West figures had accused Marukyan of serving the interests of Russia by providing pro-Russian advisory to Pashinyan. In turn, Marukyan accused the pro-West figures of unprofessionalism.
Pashinyan recently asked Putin to withdraw Russian agents from the Zvartnots airport and the AM-AZ border. After that meeting, Russia released a statement that included a phrase stating that Pashinyan asked Putin to preserve the troops along the border with Turkey and Iran.
Edmon Marukyan released a video in which he was simply "asking questions" to the pro-West figures. He wanted them to explain what exactly happened that Pashinyan "asked" Russia to preserve its forces on the borders with Turkey and Iran. Marukyan's video could be perceived as an attempt to incite a conflict between Pashinyan and pro-West figures by presenting Pashinyan as a "pro-Russian" figure who was supposedly given an opportunity to withdraw ALL Russian forces but "asked" them to stay.
Russia's foreign ministry was asked to comment on Wednesday.
REPORTER: The official statement reads that the Armenian side asked for the Russian guards to remain on the TR and IR borders. At the same time, we know that the Russian guards on TR and IR borders were installed under a different - bilateral state agreement. Does this mean that during the Pashinyan-Putin meeting, Putin offered to withdraw forces from TR and IR borders as well and that Pashinyan asked them to stay?
RUSSIAN MFA: No, Russia did not offer a complete withdrawal of all border guards from Armenia. Some other outlets claimed that the withdrawal is a result of an AM-AZ agreement not to deploy 3rd party forces on the border; these are all false. In reality, the Armenian side wanted to discuss the withdrawal of Russian border guards from several regions near the AM-AZ border as a result of the completion of their duties.
source, source,

Armenia and French Development Agency will expand cooperation

PM Pashinyan hosted Bertrand Walckenaer, the representative of the French Development Agency.
PASHINYAN: We highly appreciate the cooperation with the FDA and we hope to expand it to new areas. Armenia is interested in expanding cooperation with France in all fields.
WALCKENAER: We plan to expand the directions of cooperation and the scope of programs for the development of various infrastructures in Armenia. //
They discussed the ongoing construction of the large Vedi reservoir.
source,

Armenia and France expand partnership in civil aviation

The countries signed a technical agreement this week to exchange knowledge and experience.
source,

Armenia's Economy Minister and U.S. Department of Agriculture discussed the possibility of increasing agricultural exports to U.S.

Minister Papoyan's U.S. trip continues. They also discussed providing technical assistance in the field of agriculture.
source,

second round of major army leadership appointments and rotation in Armenia

Seven new appointments to various army departments, including Territorial Defense Forces.
DEFENSE MINISTRY: This is within the framework of ongoing army reforms in connection with the approval of the new statutes and structure of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Armenia.
source, source, source, source, source, source, source,

the ceremony of the withdrawal of Russian soldiers from Nagorno-Karabakh was marked in Ivanyan on Wednesday

Ranking army officials from Russia and Azerbaijan participated in the ceremony. The decision to withdraw without waiting for the 5-year term to end was made on April 17.
source,

Armenia and Slovakia discuss expansion of defense cooperation

Deputy MOD Brutyan visited the IDEB-2024 defense exhibition in Bratislava where he met Slovak MOD Kaliňák and representatives of their military industry. The talks touched upon defense and technical cooperation between Armenia and Slovakia and resulted in a number of agreements.
In other news. The pro-Azerbaijan Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico was shot by a left-wing activist and is in a life-threatening condition. The assailant was detained by police. A crowd was waiting outside a cultural centre when one of them started shooting. He was reportedly shot in the arm and abdomen.
source, source, source, video,

[Encerrado] Manchester United 3 x 2 Newcastle

Gols Manchester United: Mainoo (31/1T), Amad Diallo (12/2T), Höjlund (38/2T) Gols Newcastle: Gordon (03/2T), Lewis Hall (46/2T)
Premier League - Fase única Estádio: Old Trafford Data: 15 de Maio de 2024, 16:00 Transmissão: STAR+ Link para Live Match Thread Post-Match Thread: https://www.reddit.com/futebol/comments/1csvknh/postmatch_thread_premier_league_manchester_united/
Escalações:

Manchester United (4-3-3)	Newcastle (4-3-3)
Onana, Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro, Evans, Dalot, Amrabat, Mainoo (Rashford), McTominay, Amad Diallo (Höjlund), Bruno Fernandes (Eriksen), Garnacho (Lisandro Martínez)	Dúbravka, Trippier (Schär), Krafth, Burn, Lewis Hall, Longstaff (Barnes), Bruno Guimarães, Elliot Anderson (Joelinton), Jacob Murphy (Almirón), Isak, Gordon
Suplentes:	Suplentes:
Bayindir, Kambwala, Collyer, Antony, Forson	Pope, Alex Murphy, Dummett, Ritchie, White
Técnico: Erik ten Hag	Técnico: Eddie Howe

Arbitragem: Robert Jones (Árbitro Principal)

Lances

Começa o Primeiro Tempo! 01/1T PRA FORA! Isak finaliza, mas não acerta o alvo. 09/1T QUASE UM GOLAÇO! Casemiro emenda uma bicicleta em rebote na área, e a bola passa por cima do gol! 13/1T DEFENDEU! McTominay finaliza no alvo, mas a chance é defendida pelo adversário. 14/1T DEFENDEU! Amad Diallo finaliza no alvo, mas a chance é defendida pelo adversário. 15/1T PRA FORA! Garnacho finaliza, mas não acerta o alvo. 19/1T Tira a Zaga! Amad Diallo aparece pra finalizar, mas a bola bate na defesa. 20/1T DEFENDEU! Lewis Hall finaliza no alvo, mas a chance é defendida pelo adversário. 25/1T Tira a Zaga! Bruno Guimarães aparece pra finalizar, mas a bola bate na defesa. 26/1T DEFENDEU! Garnacho finaliza no alvo, mas a chance é defendida pelo adversário. 26/1T PRA FORA! Amad Diallo finaliza, mas não acerta o alvo. 31/1T ⚽ Gol do Manchester United! Diallo recebe de Amrabat na direita, puxa para o meio, faz o passe para dentro da área, a bola passa por todo mundo e sobra nos pés de Mainoo. O jovem domina, gira e dá um leve toque, como um veterano, no canto direito do goleiro!! 35/1T Tira a Zaga! Krafth aparece pra finalizar, mas a bola bate na defesa. 36/1T TIRA EM CIMA DA LINHA!! Burn cabeceia no segundo pau, a bola quica no chão, e Casemiro aparece para tirar de cabeça, em cima da linha!! 36/1T 🟨 Cartão amarelo para Elliot Anderson. 42/1T PRA FORA! Bruno Guimarães finaliza, mas não acerta o alvo. 45/1T Tira a Zaga! McTominay aparece pra finalizar, mas a bola bate na defesa. 45/1T ⏱️ Termina o Primeiro Tempo!   Começa o Segundo Tempo! 01/2T DEFENDEU! Bruno Guimarães finaliza no alvo, mas a chance é defendida pelo adversário. 02/2T Tira a Zaga! Gordon aparece pra finalizar, mas a bola bate na defesa. 02/2T PRA FORA! Elliot Anderson finaliza, mas não acerta o alvo. 03/2T ⚽ Gol do Newcastle! Murphy recebe na direita após saída errada do United, cruza bem, e Gordon aparece entre Wan-Bissaka e Casemiro para se esticar e botar a bola lá dentro! 06/2T DEFENDEU! Bruno Fernandes finaliza no alvo, mas a chance é defendida pelo adversário. 07/2T NA TRAVE! Chute de Isak explode na trave! 08/2T Tira a Zaga! Burn aparece pra finalizar, mas a bola bate na defesa. 12/2T ⚽ Gol do Manchester United! Amad Diallo pega rebote da entrada da área após escanteio da esquerda e acerta um lindo chute de canhota, de primeira! 15/2T DEFENDEU! Dalot finaliza no alvo, mas a chance é defendida pelo adversário. 16/2T 🟨 Cartão amarelo para Casemiro. 16/2T 🔃 Substituição no Newcastle: Sai Elliot Anderson, entra Joelinton. 16/2T 🔃 Substituição no Newcastle: Sai Jacob Murphy, entra Almirón. 17/2T 🔃 Substituição no Newcastle: Sai Trippier, entra Schär. 20/2T PRA FORA! Bruno Fernandes finaliza, mas não acerta o alvo. 21/2T DEFENDEU! Longstaff finaliza no alvo, mas a chance é defendida pelo adversário. 22/2T 🟨 Cartão amarelo para Gordon. 27/2T PRA FORA! Gordon finaliza, mas não acerta o alvo. 31/2T 🔃 Substituição no Newcastle: Sai Longstaff, entra Barnes. 32/2T 🟨 Cartão amarelo para Schär. 35/2T 🟨 Cartão amarelo para Amad Diallo. 36/2T PRA FORA! Krafth finaliza, mas não acerta o alvo. 36/2T 🔃 Substituição no Manchester United: Sai Amad Diallo, entra Höjlund. 37/2T 🔃 Substituição no Manchester United: Sai Mainoo, entra Rashford. 38/2T Tira a Zaga! Schär aparece pra finalizar, mas a bola bate na defesa. 38/2T ⚽ Gol do Manchester United! Bruno Fernandes avança pela esquerda, aciona Höjlund que, em seus primeiros toques na bola, puxa para a direita, se livra de Burn e chuta cruzado com o pé direito para fazer o gol!! 39/2T 🔃 Substituição no Manchester United: Sai Garnacho, entra Lisandro Martínez. 41/2T 🟨 Cartão amarelo para Amrabat. 41/2T DEFENDEU! Joelinton finaliza no alvo, mas a chance é defendida pelo adversário. 42/2T Tira a Zaga! Wan-Bissaka aparece pra finalizar, mas a bola bate na defesa. 43/2T PRA FORA! Joelinton finaliza, mas não acerta o alvo. 44/2T 🔃 Substituição no Manchester United: Sai Bruno Fernandes, entra Eriksen. 46/2T ⚽ Gol do Newcastle! Lewis Hall pega rebote fora da área após escanteio, ajeita e solta a canhota! Um lindo gol! 51/2T Tira a Zaga! Rashford aparece pra finalizar, mas a bola bate na defesa. 51/2T ⏱️ Termina o Segundo Tempo!   Fim de Jogo!

Shadow Elysium: Guardians of the Stars The Dawn of Elysium In the year 2950, amidst the sprawling cosmos, a group of security professionals, industrialists, and logisticians banded together to form what would soon become a legendary organization known as Shadow Elysium. Their vision was clear: to create a bastion of safety and prosperity within the often chaotic and unforgiving universe.
The Elysian Creed Shadow Elysium was founded on the principles of democracy, camaraderie, and the pursuit of joy in every endeavor. Its members, drawn from all corners of the galaxy, shared a common love for the thrill of space and a commitment to each other’s well-being. They were not just colleagues; they were a family.
The Security Legacy With a background deeply rooted in security, Shadow Elysium quickly established itself as a formidable force against piracy and lawlessness. Their fleets, known as the Elysian Sentinels, patrolled trade routes and protected vulnerable outposts with unwavering dedication. Their presence alone was enough to deter would-be aggressors.
The Industrial Evolution Understanding the importance of self-sufficiency, Shadow Elysium invested in industry and logistics. The Elysian Forges became a symbol of their industrial might, producing ships, weapons, and equipment not only for their use but also for the betterment of the UEE. Their logistical prowess ensured that resources flowed smoothly, even across the most treacherous sectors.
The Democratic Spirit True to their democratic ethos, every voice in Shadow Elysium was heard. Decisions were made collectively, with each member having a say in the direction of the organization. This spirit of inclusivity and mutual respect forged a unity that was unbreakable.
The Elysian Way As the years passed, Shadow Elysium’s reputation grew. They were known not just for their military and industrial capabilities, but also for their vibrant culture. Elysians were renowned for their lively gatherings, where tales of daring exploits were shared, and laughter filled the halls.
The Present Day Now, in the present day, Shadow Elysium stands as a beacon of hope and a testament to what can be achieved when people unite under a common cause. They continue to navigate the stars, ever vigilant, ever industrious, and always ready to extend a hand in friendship.
In the shadow of the cosmos, we find our light. Join us, and together, let’s illuminate the universe.
Shadow Elysium [ELYSI] - Organizations - Roberts Space Industries

ELIMINATED - Nicole Kidman in The Hours - 26% of all votes. The Hours was released in 2002. The film had one win, Best Actress for Kidman, at the 75th Academy Awards. Kidman was selected for Best Actress of the year in a lineup that also included Salma Hayek in Frida, Diane Lane in Faithful, Julianne Moore in Far from Heaven and Renée Zellweger in Chicago. Kidman also garnered nominations at the Critics' Choice Awards and SAGs, as well as wins at the BAFTAs and Golden Globes for her performance as Virginia Woolf.
Feel free to use the comments as an area for discussion. Votes will only be accepted through this Google Form.
• Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos (Monster)
• Hilary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald (Million Dollar Baby)
• Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II (The Queen)
• Marion Cotillard as Édith Piaf (La Vie en Rose)
• Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers (Black Swan)
• Cate Blanchett as Jasmine Francis (Blue Jasmine)
• Julianne Moore as Alice Howland (Still Alice)
• Brie Larson as Joy Newsome (Room)
• Emma Stone as Mia Dolan (La La Land)
• Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
• Olivia Colman as Queen Anne (The Favourite)
• Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
• Emma Stone as Bella Baxter (Poor Things)
RANKING:

1. Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf (The Hours)
   
2. Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany Maxwell (Silver Linings Playbook)
   
3. Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz (The Reader)
   
4. Halle Berry as Leticia Musgrove (Monster's Ball)
   
5. Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)
   
6. Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich (Erin Brockovich)
   
7. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter (Walk the Line)
   
8. Frances McDormand as Fern (Nomadland)
   
9. Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher (The Iron Lady)
   
10. Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy)
    
11. Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy (The Blind Side)
    

tldr: I ran The Portal for some friends, and we all had a good time. I'd call it successful because we had three characters out of 16 survive, one for each person playing, but they didn't get through everything. Could I have motivated better problem solving and a thirst for more exploration?
Background: Last year I fell in love with DCC after reading about it here and elsewhere. I bought a couple bundles and I convinced my friends to let me run it for an impromptu in-person session about a month ago, (We're all in our 40s and in other games so finding time to play is always going to be tricky.) We were all hanging out with them visiting for the weekend, and the DCC rulebook caught my friends eye. Since I had wanted to judge it, I suggested we try it out on their final night in town, and printed out five 0-level four member character sheets from Purple Sorcerer. There were three players, so my plan was to control two(!) of the 0 level sheets as 8 NPCs.
Session 0: This was done right before the first session, so maybe it doesn't count. I did go over how this game wasn't 5e, being less heroic, more deadly, and that the funnel was a way to play the game during the character creation process,
Spoilers follow for The Portal Under the Stars
Session 1: I had them each have a character named Roberts, with "Oldman Roberts" being their weird uncle, telling them about the Empty Star, the portal, and the riches that presumably lied within. They stopped at the town's single pub, gathered the crew, and headed for the portal. Once there, they spent impatiently picked the lock with a "lucky" roll, frying a promising character and setting the tone.
Three more got killed by the spear throwers, including an NPC with 18 intelligence, my bad. Finally, the falconer of the group sent her hawk through, trigging the last spear with no damage. So far I felt okay about how things were going, as they were starting to think laterally. However, nobody picked up the spears or armor until I had some of my NPCs do it.
The large statue room proved to be equally as deadly. The most intrepid of the party were spared, as they were standing under the giant statue, investigating it, when the first PC decided to leave the room, getting instantly BBQed. Another party member sent in her dog, which got fried, but then she got killed after she collapsed in grief beside it. A couple characters dashed through while the statue burned the others, and one genius player did think to pry off the entrance door and use it as a shield, but still four characters and the dog lied burned on the floor by the time the statue ran out of charges. I felt a little bad, since the death toll was already at eight with the judge's dice coming up badly for the PCs nearly every time. Now that I write this, it also seems that I gave the statue six charges instead of five. Oops.
The characters that had gone through the eastern door noped out of there when they saw the bone piles, and we ended up with three PCs following an NPC through the north door. Here's where I made another mistake. Since it had been some time since I had sent the NPC north, I decided that he had picked a fight with the crystal men and been killed. The PCs came in to see the crystal men all standing around the dead NPC and his torch. They took the wrong lesson that a fight was inevitable and immediately attacked. Amazingly, one PC felled two crystal men on his own, but the other two were brought down. With four crystal men still closing in on the last PC in the room we called it a night.
Session 2: About a month later we were able to meet virtually to finish things off, with me gifting the four remaining surviving NPCs to the players. Since I realized that I hadn't emphasized the importance of using luck, I retconned the last room, allowing one PC with a high luck score another chance to trip one of the crystal men with his staff. He succeeded this time with a modest luck burn. The players had figured out the light attraction by then, but refused to metagame, and the selfish PC who figured things out, Stealin' Roberts, refused to tell the others. I suppose this was consistent with his chaotic alignment, so one crystal man did follow them into the Strategy room, falling down the stairs. Three of the PCs finished off the stalker, found the silver figurine treasure, and things were finally looking up for the treasure hunters.
At last, they had made their way into the clay army room. The trailblazing PC wisely turned tail upon seeing the advancing army, going back to smash all of the clay figurines in the strategy room. Not bad thinking, but nope, the warlord wasn't dumb enough to set up a weakness like that. This showed the party how slow the clay soldiers were, as he had plenty of time to do it, but two of them still decided to test the statues' metal. They were quickly skewered by the surprisingly sharp clay spears. The remaining PC in the room ran away and hid in the Gazing Pool room for a few rounds, cowering in terror behind a column.
Meanwhile, one PC made his way through the hallway west of the Monument Hall, cautiously opening the door to the Scrying chamber. SSisssuraaaggg didn't care how cautious he was, the PC lost initiative, and died in one bite. So much for that room.
Three other PCs made their way into the Cheiftains' Burial room, and made short work of the seven skulls with only five points of luck burned. Still, one skull did manage to kill a PC in a single calf chomp. The PC in the Gazing Pool room grew tired of hiding in the dark and groped his way to the burial chamber, so unfortunately nobody witnessed the army fall into chaos after the generals' skulls were smashed. The three reunited survivors looted the chamber and hightailed it out of the tomb, happy to survive.
I couldn't argue with their decision to survive, and I plan to award a luck point to the neutral alignment PC who suggested leaving, but it was certainly anticlimactic! I feel like the scenario is flawed in this aspect. Could I or should I have motivated the players to stay for a little longer? They never really tried to figure out why the place existed in the first place. Leaving was very consistent with the old-school mentality, but maybe not so consistent with the funnel spirit. This scenario was harder than I thought, I even skipped "attacks of opportunity" on retreating PCs to lower the difficulty a bit.
Lesson learned - my snap decision of having 8 NPCs caused problems. The players kept trying to force the NPCs ahead, etc, and it was too much for me to judge my first session while controlling 8 NPCs. Although the players did end up needing the extra spear fodder and that worked out, I should have instead just adjusted the difficulty of the scenario down a little by reducing the number of spear throwers, the number of flame thrower charges, etc.

https://archive.is/BHRHs
Although there are no contested races on the ballot for the annual town election on Tuesday, May 21, voters will usher in a new Selectboard member.
Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Cowell Gymnasium, 51 Maple St. In-person early voting can also be done on Thursday, May 16, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Town Hall, 51 Bridge St.
Planning Board member Tricia Yacovone-Biagi is running for a one-year term on the Selectboard in hopes of filling a vacancy left following the death of longtime Selectboard member Robert “Bob” Manners earlier this year.
A Shelburne resident since 2018, Yacovone-Biagi has a background in public health. While working for the Texas state health department, Yacovone-Biagi volunteered as an emergency responder during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Now retired, she has since earned a master’s degree in security and resilience studies from Northeastern University.
As a Shelburne resident, Yacovone-Biagi was a member of the COVID-19 Emergency Task Force and a volunteer at flu clinics. She was an election worker in 2020 and, while on the Planning Board, she obtained a $15,000 Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) grant to help the town assess its strengths and liabilities during catastrophic weather. She also helped the town obtain a Municipal Energy Technical Assistance grant for the Cowell Gymnasium and is an editor of the Buckland-Shelburne newsletter, Two Town News.
“I believe I bring strong leadership skills,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of experience working with different types of people. I have a capacity for building bridges.”
The ballot is as follows:
■Selectboard, three-year term — Andrew Baker, incumbent
■Selectboard, one-year unexpired term — Tricia Yacovone-Biagi.
■Assessor, three-year term — Joel Dwight, incumbent.
■Town clerk, one-year term — Joseph Judd, incumbent.
■Moderator, one-year term — Roland Giguere, incumbent.
■Shelburne Free Public Library trustee, one-year unexpired term — Tom Webler.
■Shelburne Free Public Library Trustees, two seats with three-year terms — Tom Hale and Emmalee Cross, incumbents.
■Planning Board, five-year term — Vacant.
■Recreation Committee, five-year term — Norman Beebe, incumbent.
■Recreation Committee, four-year unexpired term — Vacant.
■Tree warden, one-year term — James T. Richardson, incumbent.
■Constable, three-year term — Laura Manners, incumbent.

The master of ceremonies glanced at the paper in his hand, and a glimpse of confusion showed on his face.
Something was wrong.
“And the third and last team representing Farcrest. Lowell’s Orphanage!”
Elincia clung to my arm, fear and impotence reflected in her expression. We were supposed to be called Rosebud Fencing Academy during the tournament. I clenched my jaw and glanced across the pavilion, giving [Awareness] free rein. Lord Osgiria gave me a mocking look.
I cursed. Among the nobility, everything was appearances. The fact that Farcrest had to resort to a poor orphanage for representation spoke badly about the state of affairs in the territory. The nobles around us exchanged funny looks.
“Keep your heads up. That’s our call,” I said, loud enough for the whole pavilion to hear us. If nobles thought this would weigh upon our shoulders, they were wrong.
Ilya took position by my right as the team captain, and we entered the crescent-shaped arena. The cheering died. Our magnificent uniforms didn’t fool the crowd anymore. I reached the Marquis's side and saluted the VIP box. Only after Prince Adrien started applauding did the rest of the nobles acknowledge our presence.
The commoners in the stands hesitated to cheer for us. This wasn’t a gentle world. They didn’t care about the kid’s feelings. I glanced over my shoulder. Wolf was unfazed, and Zaon moved his lips, repeating, ‘Nervous is good’ repeatedly. Firana, on the other hand, was furious.
“Tough crowd, uh?” I muttered.
“It’s only expected. Orphans don’t get good classes. There is no reason to cheer for us,” Ilya replied with a grin. “Yet.”
Did she look so mature back at the carriage?
The crowd’s attention lingered on us for an instant before the next team entered the arena. To my surprise, a single team represented the royal family: a group of cadets from the Imperial Academy. Five young cadets dressed in plain black, guided by Holst, entered the arena. The crowd came back to life. Considering the opulence of the other teams, the uniforms of the Imperial Academy cadets were disappointing. Even my group was better suited to the occasion.
Holst stood by my left, saluting the stands with a dull gesture.
“Robert Clarke, good to see you still among the living,” he greeted me with a bored tone.
His words, however, sent a shiver down my spine. Did he know assassins had tried to kill me a few days before? Captain Kiln had sworn to keep it a secret. The coincidences piled up. Holst knew about the attack and asked Lyra Jorn’s help with the library when Luzian Abei had a small army of Scholars and Scribes at his disposal. I couldn’t help but think Holst was still in contact with the culprit.
“Preceptor Holst,” I coldly greeted, my brain too busy to formulate a more wordy sentence.
“I didn’t expect to meet my former students,” he added, looking past me at Ilya and the kids. “Certainly not in these circumstances.”
I swallowed my anger. This was a golden opportunity for the orphanage. Watching the skill of the imperial cadets could help me understand why Sir Janus had been the only commoner in Farcrest to assist the Imperial Academy. Even if we lost the tournament, we could improve our chances of getting them accepted into the Imperial Academy, putting them in the same echelon as nobles.
“Do you trust the ability of your current students to win the tournament?” I asked, examining the cadet’s faces. Three humans, a half-elf, and a harpy. They didn’t seem thrilled to be part of the tournament.
Holst laughed.
“These idiots aren’t my students. These five failed their first year. If they don’t win the tournament, they will be kicked out of the Academy,” he replied, shrugging. “For failures like them, I’d say they are the favorites to win the tournament.”
A glance at the Imperial Academy team revealed their strong shoulders and steady feet. Despite the lack of fashion, they looked like trained warriors instead of pampered noble kids. Their faces had lost the roundness of childhood, and their calm demeanor and sharp eyes revealed an intense training regime. I hoped not to bump into them until the later rounds of the tournament.
Our conversation was cut short because the Osgirian teams entered the arena. First, Lord Osgiria, then Lord Nara, and finally, a man dressed as a knight, followed by a group of kids in mismatched uniforms—each one with the colors of their respective houses. Lord Osgiria stood by Holst's side and greeted the VIP box.
If Captain Kiln were right, our team would fight Lord Nara in the first round. I expected the man to be a merchant with a comically large belly. Instead, he looked like a cunning gray fox. I had to remind myself that buying a way into nobility required a skillful negotiator.
“Three teams, Lord Osgiria? You don’t seem too confident in your chances,” Holst casually said.
The Imperial Academy had to be a powerhouse within the kingdom because Lord Osgiria swallowed any snarky remark.
Lord Herran, a tall and muscular redhead dressed in full warrior attire, entered next. I remembered him from the feast—boisterous, talkative, determined. The black mana-repelling axe hung from his belt, causing my stomach to feel sick if I looked for too long. House Herran only had two teams, one led by Lord Herran himself and the other by a man who could be his twin. Only half of the team members were human; the other half were different flavors of beast folk.
More than half of the kids had bright red hair like their lord. I wondered if red hair was a dominant gene in the Herran Dukedom because the kids looked healthy. There was not a trace of the infamous Habsburg chin. They were tall and robust like their lord.
I tried to glance at the axe’s runes, but Lord Herran was too far away.
“That’s lord Herran and his army of copperhead bastards,” Holst pointed out, laughing at his joke.
I doubted that having a dozen children the same age was normal, even more so for a noble, considering how difficult succession could be. Lord Herran must’ve loved to spread his genes.
“It’s okay for him to present his… illegitimate kids in an official event like this?” I asked.
“Do you like gossip, Robert Clarke?” Holst raised an eyebrow.
“I like to be informed,” I replied.
Holst seemed satisfied with my answer.
“Lord Herran is one of the few Combat Prestige Classes in the kingdom. He has the [Conqueror] Class,” Holst replied. “It’s only natural that he can do whatever he wants. Not even the king has enough power over Lord Herran to stop his… reproductive impulses.”
I nodded. The relationship between the royal house and the great three dukedoms was more complex than I initially thought. According to the stories, Combat Prestige Classes were, in essence, one-man armies that could create whole countries around their power. I wondered what kind of monsters the royal army found in the Deep Farlands to be obliged to retreat.
After Lord Herra, Lord Gairon entered the arena. The Gairon House was arguably the second most powerful family after the royal house, and their uniforms reflected their status. The blue was rich and deep, and the gold shone under the winter sun, seemingly casting the few clouds away. The crowd yelled and cheered. It wasn’t surprising. Lord Gairon was a tall, tanned man with hair the color of ripe wheat—the perfect poster boy and leader of the anti-war faction.
“He has to go down if we want the royal faction to have a chance,” Holst said.
It suddenly hit me. Holst and I technically supported the same faction.
“Lord Gairon is also a Prestige Class?” I asked.
“A [Sacred Knight], yes. Rumor says he reached the mythic level sixty,” Holst replied. “Let’s hope their teams are more… farming inclined.”
The crowd became more tame after the three big houses made their entrance. Lord Vedras received less than half of House Gairon’s support, probably because of the tax disputes between Farcrest and the Vedras dukedom. He had brought three teams.
Duke Jorn’s presence almost caused the arena to become completely silent—Holst told me he was also a high-level Prestige Class, a Shadow Stalker.
“That sounds dangerous,” I pointed out.
“Sellen Jorn is one of the most dangerous men in the kingdom. His mere existence was enough for the king to create a whole new duchy,” Holst said. “Take an Assassin and a Shadow Fencer, mix them, double their powers, and then double them again. That’s a Shadow Stalker in a nutshell.”
I tried to imagine it. The Assassin who attacked the orphanage would have had a hard time with any class without a skill like my mana blades. I had been lucky to have a favorable matchup against him; otherwise, I might have been dead. His capacity to disable my movement was scarily effective. A man with the skills of an Assassin and a Shadow Fencer had dangerous implications.
“Prince Adrien wanted Sellen Jorn as his Master of Assassins, but he didn’t want to leave his people in the north,” Holst said. “Walls, doors, bars, locks, nothing can stop a Shadow Stalker. Only the woven barrier of several high-level Fortifiers can stop him. Or so it’s said.”
Gears turned inside my skull. I wondered if Duke Jorn was involved in the disappearance of the evidence of Raudhan’s poisoning. He certainly had the skill to move unnoticed through the Great Hall. Stealing a box with shards of glass would be a walk in the park for him.
The rest of the teams passed in a blur as my mind reviewed the party's events. Sellen Jorn was undoubtedly suspicious. His lack of presence was as unnerving as it was useful for an infiltration mission. Could he be involved in Raudhan’s poisoning? Lord Vedras had denied the existence of any co-conspirators, and we were almost entirely sure that Raudhan hadn’t been poisoned by Ashroot.
Duke Jorn's political positioning was hard to determine. The northern dukedoms were poor, and just like Farcrest, they served as a bulwark against the Monster Surges. Four families controlled most of the kingdom’s economy and politics. House Gairon, House Herran, House Osgiria, and the Royal Family. The northern dukedoms didn’t benefit from the current trade routes and wouldn’t directly benefit from a new trade route into the Kingdom of Tagabiria.
However, they would benefit from a closer relationship with the royal family.
Duke Jorn had no reason to poison Captain Kiln.
Ilya tugged the sleeve of my jacket, bringing me back to the present. The master of ceremonies was finishing a long speech about the legacy of Stephaniss of Farcrest, the previous lord of the city and the Marquis's grandfather. Even the Marquis seemed bored.
“Prince Adrien will draw the matches for the first round!” The master of ceremonies announced.
Prince Adrien came forward, and an assistant brought a glass bowl filled with small wooden rods. He put his hand in the bowl, picked one randomly, and passed it to his companion. The woman dressed in purple read it out loud, her voice magically amplified. Her pleasant contralto voice made me think she was a singer.
“House Nara versus…” she received the second wooden rod. “Lowell’s Orphanage!”
Just like Captain Kiln had warned me.
I didn’t expect us to be the opening fight. The other teams returned to the pavilion, and a group of Scribes carried the System Shrine Shard embedded in its copper nest to the center of the arena. I assumed it was there to ensure all participants met the requirements for the tournament.
“Let’s go, team,” I said.
We formed next to the Shrine Shard and in front of Lord Nara’s team. The master of ceremonies activated the blue orb, and the kids' names, classes, and levels appeared before us. Luckily, Lord Nara and I were exempt from the crystal ability. Being outed as a Runeweaver wasn’t part of my plans.
Belya Nara, Geomancer Lv.3
Arel Nara, Warrior Lv.5
Lino, Soldier Lv.9
Jan, Archer Lv.3
Aiwin, Courier Lv.7
Firana Aias, Wind Fencer Lv.1
Ilya, Hunter Lv.2
Zaon, Classless Lv.1
Wolf, Classless Lv.1
The System prompts might have been big enough for the crowd to read because a murmur rose from the stands. I didn’t need [Awareness] to understand the commotion. Half of my team was classless in a world where Classes were everything. Lord Nara also seemed to notice the discrepancy between our teams.
“I’m feeling generous today, Mister Caretaker. I will gladly accept your surrender and spare you the embarrassment if you apologize for wasting our time,” Lord Nara said with a mellow, totally fake voice. “You can save the kids the shame of losing in front of their countrymen.”
The master of ceremonies looked at me.
“What do you think, Ilya?” I asked.
“The team is ready, Mister Clarke. We fight,” she replied without any hint of doubt.
Despite Lord Nara’s clever expression, he was underestimating us. I couldn’t blame him. He had lived all his life in a world where value was determined by class and level. Developing an eye for people wasn’t as helpful as on Earth, where it could mean the difference between life and death.
“We fight,” I said.
“Don’t say I didn’t extend the courtesy of an honorable withdrawal,” Lord Nara grinned, his fox-like eyes turned into thin lines.
The master of ceremonies nodded.
“The Rules are simple. The team that loses the coin toss has to choose its first fighter, and then the winning team chooses its opponent. Then, the roles change. Every team has two picks and two counter picks, for a total of four fighters,” the master of ceremonies explained, pulling a gold coin from the pocket.
I nodded. There was a level of strategy involved in the pairing phase. I could pair Firana against their weakest member to ensure a vast point difference. Or I could choose Zaon to keep things equalized. If I were Lord Nara, I would leave the Lv.7 Courier outside the selection. As fast as they were, they weren’t a combatant Class, but on the other hand, even non-combatants could develop useful masteries.
Zaon had a good matchup against the Soldier and the Warrior, as their combat skills were on the ‘basic’ side of the spectrum. However, the Archer, the Geomancer, and the Courier could present a problem to him. Wolf also had a bad matchup against the Archer and the Geomancer because he relied on solid and static positioning to use his muscles. Ilya and Firana had good matchups against the enemy team, but the enemy Geomancer worried me the most. She wasn’t just an Advanced Class, but a relative of Lord Nara.
“Here goes the coin,” the master of ceremonies said. He threw it high and caught it mid-flight.
Lord Nara kindly offered me the call.
“Heads,” I replied with a grin.
“Heads,” the master of ceremonies said, revealing the coin.
[Awareness] didn’t disappoint, but I made a mental note to keep it hidden from Ilya. She wouldn’t be on board with blatant cheating, even if we had the disadvantage. As cunning as Ilya was, strategy and cheats were completely different.
Lord Nara huffed. “Lino, you go first.”
The Soldier kid stepped forward. He was tall, probably a year older than my kids, but [Awareness] told me he was nervous. Soldier Class was painfully close to no class at all.
“Zaon, you go first. Is that okay with you?” I said, hoping the combination of Light-Footed and Lv.2 Longsword Mastery would match a Lv.9 Soldier with a couple of skills under his sleeve.
Zaon nodded.
It was my turn to choose and Lord Nara’s turn to counter-pick. “Ilya, you go second,” I said.
Ilya came forward, prompting a laugh from the rival Fighter.
“Do you want to fight the gnome, Arel?” Lord Nara asked.
“Yes, my lord. I’m confident I can get a ten-point lead over a Gnome Hunter,” Arel Nara replied.
A vein popped on Ilya’s forehead.
“Good. I chose my cousin Arel Nara for the second fight,” Lord Nara said.
Then, Lord Nara selected the Archer boy for the third fight, which put me in a tough spot. The Archer and the Geomancer were hard matchups for Wolf, and I lacked a fifth or sixth member to play around it. Nonetheless, the Archers weren’t known for their vast arsenal of skills.
“Wolf, you go against him,” I said.
Wolf nodded.
“Which leaves us with the last pair,” Lord Nara said with a mocking smile.
“Firana, you go last,” I said.
“Belya, my daughter, will be my last pick,” Lord Nara replied.
The dueling pairs were ready.
“So be it. The tournament's first match will be between Lino the Soldier and Zaon the Elf,” the master of ceremonies said, his voice suddenly amplified again as the Scribes took the System Shrine orb away. “Contestants, please go get your equipment. May the System bless you all.”
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I'm looking for something that...

• is compelling and of a high standard (not dry, cheesy or taking too many liberties)
• vividly depicts the political and court dynamics at the time, the decisions and challenges Elizabeth faced, and how she navigated them

I've heard a lot about how shrewd, deft and calculating she was, across different facets of her life, and of her survivor instincts and resilience. I'd love to find a portrayal that really brings this aspect of her to life, allowing us to peer at the wheels turning in her head and/or be a fly on the wall watching her best others (e.g. her interrogation by Robert Tyrwhitt).
I guess I'm basically looking for the Elizabeth equivalent of Wolf Hall. Does this exist? Book, film or TV show suggestions, and fiction or non-fiction, would all be welcome, with preferably a focus on her younger through middle-aged years.

"The British peeress, 40, wearing a cyan blue trouser suit and pale blue shirt, was pictured curtseying to Queen Camilla as the pair chatted alongside beauty entrepreneur, Charlotte Tilbury.
Rose, who is married to David Cholmondeley, 7th Marquess of Cholmondeley, was seen watching the action from the stands at the equestrian event along with Zara Tindall's brother, Peter Phillips and his daughter, Savannah and Isla.
The Cholmondeleys are friends of the Prince and Princess of Wales and reside at Houghton Hall in Norfolk, close to Prince William and Kate's country home, Anmer Hall.
Rose and David, who married in June 2009, have twin sons, Alexander, Earl of Rocksavage and Lord Oliver, both 14, and eight-year-old daughter Lady Iris.
The family has a long association with the British royal family – Rose's maternal grandmother Lady Elizabeth Lambart was one of the bridesmaids at the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's wedding in 1947.
In his teenage years, David was appointed Page of Honour to the late Queen and later acted as Lord Great Chamberlain of the UK from 1990 to 2022.
In 2016, William and Kate attended a charity ball at Houghton Hall in aid of the Princess's patronage, East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH), and Rose and David have joined the royals at church on New Year's Day in previous years.
The couple's son, Lord Oliver, was also chosen as a page of honour at King Charles and Queen Camilla's coronation in May 2023.
Inside Houghton Hall The historic Grade I listed residence was built in 1722 for Britain's first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole.
Surrounded by 1,000 acres of parkland, it is home to an impressive collection of art and furniture, with a number of contemporary outdoor sculptures commissioned by the Marquess in recent years.
Houghton Hall is open to visitors from April to October every year, with the Houghton Festival set to take place in August again this summer. Princess Kate was spotted among the revellers last year!
The estate has also played host to the Houghton International Horse Trials in previous years, with William and Kate taking George and Charlotte along to enjoy the festivities."
Questions:
Why is this article so much more in-depth than any of the fluff articles we've seen on Kate over the past few months?
Why does it emphasize Rose's ties with the family, specifically Camilla?
Why was it even written?
https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalty/552881/rose-hanbury-curtsies-queen-camilla-badminton-horse-trials/

ELIMINATED - Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook - 27% of all votes. Silver Linings Playbook was released in 2012. The film had one win, Best Actress for Lawrence, at the 85th Academy Awards. Lawrence was selected for Best Actress of the year in a lineup that also included Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty, Emmanuelle Riva in Amour, Quvenzhané Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild and Naomi Watts in The Impossible. Lawrence also garnered nominations at the BAFTAs and Critics' Choice Awards as well as wins at the Golden Globes and SAGs for her performance as Tiffany Maxwell.
Feel free to use the comments as an area for discussion. Votes will only be accepted through this Google Form.
• Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf (The Hours)
• Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos (Monster)
• Hilary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald (Million Dollar Baby)
• Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II (The Queen)
• Marion Cotillard as Édith Piaf (La Vie en Rose)
• Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers (Black Swan)
• Cate Blanchett as Jasmine Francis (Blue Jasmine)
• Julianne Moore as Alice Howland (Still Alice)
• Brie Larson as Joy Newsome (Room)
• Emma Stone as Mia Dolan (La La Land)
• Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
• Olivia Colman as Queen Anne (The Favourite)
• Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
• Emma Stone as Bella Baxter (Poor Things)
RANKING:

1. Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany Maxwell (Silver Linings Playbook)
   
2. Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz (The Reader)
   
3. Halle Berry as Leticia Musgrove (Monster's Ball)
   
4. Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)
   
5. Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich (Erin Brockovich)
   
6. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter (Walk the Line)
   
7. Frances McDormand as Fern (Nomadland)
   
8. Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher (The Iron Lady)
   
9. Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy)
   
10. Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy (The Blind Side)
    

Mon 13 May 2024

Time	Artists	Genre	Venue
18:00	The Howlers	Blues Rock, Blues	Rough Trade
19:00	Average White Band	Funk, Soul	Rock City

Tue 14 May 2024

Time	Artists	Genre	Venue
09:00	The Cadillac Three	Southern Rock, Rock	Rock City
09:00	Grey daze	Post-Grunge, Alternative Rock, Grunge	Rescue Rooms
18:00	big special	Post-Punk, Crank Wave	Rough Trade
18:30	Grey daze (with High Regard, Octavia Wakes)	Post-Grunge, Alternative Rock, Grunge	Rescue Rooms
19:00	The Cadillac Three (with Stephen Wilson Jr., Willy Cobb)	Southern Rock, Rock	Rock City
N/A	The Hackles	Ska	Gunthorpe Village Hall

Wed 15 May 2024

Time	Artists	Genre	Venue
18:30	Elbow (with The Waeve)	Indie, Alternative	Motorpoint Arena
18:30	The Staves (with Anna B Savage)	Folk	Rescue Rooms
19:00	Eddie 9V (with The Zac Schulze Gang)	Soul, Usa, Blues	Bodega Social
19:00	Vipertime	Jazz	Peggy's Skylight

Thu 16 May 2024

Time	Artists	Genre	Venue
18:30	Maybeshewill (with Bossk, Lys Morke)	Post-Rock	Rescue Rooms
19:30	Robert Steadman (with Waddington Dramatic Society)		Waddington Village Hall

Fri 17 May 2024

Time	Artists	Genre	Venue
18:30	The Rifles (with Kaïros)	Indie Rock, Indie	Rock City
22:00	Serum (with Charlie Tee)	Drum And Bass	Stealth
22:00	(CLUB)NUFFIN BUT BOYBANDS - 80's, 90's & 00's BOY BAND HITS ALL NIGHT	Pop, Themed, 80s	Billy Bootleggers
22:00	(CLUB)NUFFIN BUT BOYBANDS - 80's, 90's & 00's BOY BAND HITS ALL NIGHT	Pop, Themed, 80s	Billy Bootleggers Bar
22:00	(CLUB)Beastwang In The Garden w/ GRAY	UK Garage, Drum n Bass, Bassline	Secret Garden

Sat 18 May 2024

Time	Artists	Genre	Venue
12:30	Thorsten Quaeschning (with Ron Boots, Rob Papen, David Wright, Stephan Whitlan, Peter Challoner)	Ambient	Bonington Theatre, Arnold
13:30	(CLUB)Future Raverz - Family Event	Drum n Bass	Hidden Warehouse
14:00	Ferocious Dog (with The Cloverhearts, As December Falls, Millie Manders and the Shutup, Dan Ottewell, Nick Parker)	Folk Punk, Celtic	Rock City
18:30	Girlband (with Chase)	Pop Punk, Pop, Emo	Rescue Rooms
18:30	Afflecks Palace	Indie, Alternative, England	Bodega Social
19:00	Joanna Eden	Jazz, Female Vocalists	Peggy's Skylight
20:15	Avalanche Party	Indie, Indie Rock	The Old Bus Depot
21:00	(CLUB)Maison Music - Garden Party III	House, Deep House, Tech House	Secret Garden
22:00	(CLUB)URBAN WAVE - RnB, Hip-Hop, Afrobeats, Bashment in Nottingham	R&B, Hip Hop, Afrobeat	ICON
22:00	(CLUB)Submerged & Linkup Events - DJ Slipz - 300 Tickets Free	Drum n Bass	Hidden Warehouse
22:00	(CLUB)BAZZY B @ BAR 11 NOTTINGHAM (House, Bassline, UKG)	House, UK Garage, Bassline	Bar Eleven
22:30	(CLUB)DanceOnArrival: In The Jungle	House, Tech House	Unit 13
23:00	(CLUB)Summertime Sadness Club (Nottingham)	Pop, Indie, Indie Pop	Tunnel
N/A	Afrobeats		Icon

Sun 19 May 2024

Time	Artists	Genre	Venue
17:00	The Men They Couldn't Hang	Folk Rock, Folk Punk	Rescue Rooms
18:00	The Warner E. Hodges Band		Billy Bootleggers
19:00	Lucy Spraggan (with Sonia Stein, Tiggi Hawke)	Indie, Singer-Songwriter, Acoustic	Rock City
19:00	HighSchool (with Sunken)	Post-Punk, Crank Wave	The Bodega
19:00	Fran & Flora	Folk, Contemporary Classical	CommuniTree
19:00	Wayward Jane	Jazz	Peggy's Skylight
19:30	Jon Wilks	Kill Rock Stars, Rock	The Poppy and Pint

Data collected from songkick.com and skiddle.com. This data is sometimes wrong, always check before relying on it.
Feel free to use these posts to share information regarding any other gigs.

The past twenty years has seen a rise in anti-homelessness measures across the US and Europe. Infrastructure installed ranges from annoying but seemingly benign seat seperators to the much more sinister anti-sleeping AND sitting spikes, in what is now called Hostile Architecture.
https://preview.redd.it/c7jg54hop20d1.png?width=976&format=png&auto=webp&s=504b56500a8d2d46bb008d6a95e71b12a607a4f9
https://preview.redd.it/qa4tkov1q20d1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=1e9ae2c4c61f3396709d35f5421e96e3da4978a9
https://preview.redd.it/kwra7f85q20d1.png?width=720&format=png&auto=webp&s=96e7b07406756707c46203cee61405c622fcd734
https://preview.redd.it/rn0cpngv230d1.png?width=1000&format=png&auto=webp&s=896fcc1b8c929679ac8a8a7c8a8be60520a090ed

Though Modern In Design, Hostile Architecture Has A Long and Dark History

Although the term "hostile architecture" is recent, the use of civil engineering to achieve social engineering) is not: antecedents include 19th century urine deflectors and urban planning in the United States designed for segregation. American urban planner Robert Moses designed a stretch of Long Island Southern State Parkway with low stone bridges so that buses could not pass under them. This made it more difficult for people who relied on public transportation, mainly African Americans, to visit the beach that wealthier car-owners could visit. Outside of the United States, public space design change for the purpose of social control also has historic precedent: the narrow streets of 19th century Paris, France were widened to help the military quash protests.
Its modern form is derived from the design philosophy crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), which aims to prevent crime or protect property through three strategies: natural surveillance, natural access control, and territorial enforcement. According to experts, exclusionary design is becoming increasingly common. Nowdays you can also see such ideals incorporated in migrant detention facilities like the Bibby barge.

The US Legal Push

Numerous anti-homeless laws are being passed across the US as funding for social services is widely reduced, raising welfare concerns among advocates for the unhoused. In Missouri, a new state law that took effect on 1 January makes it a crime for any person to sleep on state property.For unhoused people, sleeping in public parks or under city highways could mean up to $750 in fines or 15 days in prison for multiple offenses. As the law goes into effect, state funding for homeless services in Missouri have decreased, as well as changes to other possible funding streams.
Cities across the country have seen a backlash to attempts by officials to remove homeless encampments or limit where unhoused people can camp. In August, the Los Angeles city council voted to ban homeless encampments within 500ft of schools and daycares, an extension of the city’s anti-camping law that has enabled police to sweep encampments, reported Spectrum News 1. The ordinance passed as a federal program that moved homeless people into hotels during the Covid-19 pandemic ended.
Protesters marched through the downtown Chicago area in November to protest against the city’s announcement that donated winterized tents for homeless people had to be removed for street cleaning, reported the Chicago Tribune. The city later confirmed that the tents did not have to be taken down, but could be moved.
Under the New York mayor, Eric Adams, who is entering the second year of his four-year tenure, city officials outlawed houseless people from sleeping on the city’s subway system or riding the trains all night. New York City police also increased arrests within the transit system, with over 400 people arrested for “being outstretched” last year, according to New York police department statistics, reported Gothamist. But the city’s budget passed in June cuts spending on homelessness services from $2.8bn to $2.4bn, with the drop in funding coming from a decrease in federal Covid-19 aid, reported City Limits.
Adams has also ordered police and first responders to hospitalize more unhoused people that appear to be in a “psychiatric crisis”, even if the hospitalization is involuntary and a person does not pose a danger to themselves.
Last September, California’s Governor Gavin Newson signed a law that would force people with certain mental health conditions to comply with treatment if first responders, family members, or others ask a judge, reported the Associated Press.
Portland’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, announced during a business forum last December that he supports lowering the threshold to involuntarily hospitalize unhoused people, reported Oregon Public Broadcasting.
On March 14, the Kentucky Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve HB 5, the “Safer Kentucky Act.” The legislation will now head to the Senate floor for a vote, and it will almost certainly pass. The 78-page bill criminalizes homelessness—and decriminalizes the use of deadly force against individuals engaging in “unlawful camping.”

But Fascism???

You decide.
From 1920 to the early forties in Germany, people experiencing homelessness and other economic hardships were the unfortunate subjects of an evolving strain of thought. An economic downturn resulted in increasing unemployment and a surge in the number of people subjected to chronic homelessness. Further downturn at the end of that decade and the later wartime boom—with another surge in unemployment followed by near full employment—created the conditions for heightened hostility towards an identifiable group. Those who suffered homelessness were classified as vagrants, tramps, and beggars. Legislators placed these classifications in laws and civil ordinances, along with scientific bigotry that characterized societal failures as the consequence of inferior genetics. Those who were sufficiently unable to find work in a post-war recession found themselves classified as "work-shy." Any resistance to the social and political goals of the Nazi party were demonized as harmful to the nation through genetic and cultural or spiritual degradation. When the production efforts of World War II were in full swing, the Nazis characterized unemployed and the homeless as enemies of the party's efforts—and thus enemies of the nation.
Through these economic downturns and wartime production boom, society clamored for greater regulation of the homeless population. The population was sporadically defined as the unsheltered, at times "disruptive" beggars, and at times all itinerant people. Society here means the layperson, local and national government officials, and academic figures in many fields—primarily the medical profession. What began as a stated desire to track the services and lodging accessed by the homeless population devolved into calls for lifetime imprisonment and sterilization. That first impulse was not benevolent in any sense, and it grew out of an attempt to blame the most vulnerable in society for problems at a societal scale.
By 1933, urban and communal authorities were unable to pay benefits to their residents, and so sought to exclude people from collecting payments. The unhoused were forced to stay mobile, moving from town to town in search of work and accommodations. Insufficient aid allowed political factions to jockey for the support of this population. Nazis courted the homeless population with propaganda only to abandon them upon the acquisition of power. By august of that year, the Nazis issued propaganda guidelines to the press regarding the homeless population and the Reich Ministry of Propaganda's desire for a nationwide swoop. Where Nazis had released the novel The Road to Hitler in the beginning of the year to gain the support of the unhoused, by august the Nazis were instructing the press on the "psychological importance of a planned campaign against the nuisance of begging . . . Beggars often force their poverty upon people in the most repulsive way for their own selfish purposes. If this sight disappears from the view of foreigners as well, the result will be a definite feeling of relief and liberation." The contempt in this statement is obvious, and the culture that fostered it is exemplified by the case of Hamburg.
In 1933, as the depression worsened, some 1,400 unhoused were arrested in the aforementioned national sweep. Of those, 108 were placed into a home for the destitute in Farmsen. The rest were freed or placed into recently-closed penal institutions. In 1934, a measure was added to the criminal code that allowed for indefinite internment for those sentenced to workhouses for a second time. The unhoused of Hamburg were required to collect their benefits at a centralized office, rather than at local welfare offices. In a culture of scant and worsening benefits, the homeless population was subjected to further deprivation.
In numerous places, officials evinced a desire to make life difficult for the unhoused--and any who would claim benefits--to save money and cull the population of undesirables. In 1935, the Homelessness and Vagrancy Department was given purview over the Romani and Sinti people, and in 1937 it was given control over 'anti-social' elements. Both categories contained many unhoused people who faced inordinate bigotry. Other departments were set up to reduce the number of single males claiming support and to deal with Jewish recipients of welfare in a move that presaged later genocidal efforts.
In 1936 and 1937, unmarried male claimants were ordered to appear at the Central Railway Station, at which point they were delivered to a labor camp. Any who did not volunteer for this were ineligible for benefits. On the question of excluding people from benefits, Nazis adopted the Vagrants' Registration Book in 1933 to track the movements and benefits claims of the unhoused. The aim of removing the "work-shy, chronically ill, and infirm" was served by the maintenance of local registries and the threat of arrest for who those who did not opt to carry the registration book. In 1937, Registration Books were confiscated from those deemed "unfit for the nomadic life", and such persons were confined to an institution. Further restrictions on the issuance of the book were implemented in 1938, and by the outbreak of war in 1939 vagrancy had been outlawed wholesale.
It must be stated that Georg Steigertahl and the Social Welfare Authority had created the mechanism for mass internment before the Nazis seized power, motivated by a eugenicist desire to remove 'anti-social elements' from the population. By 1936, 922 people were incarcerated throughout Hamburg—mostly in Farmsen—commensurate with paragraph 13 of the Reich Code of Practice for the Reich Decree on Welfare Obligations: "the work-shy and those who behave in a non-economic way could be denied all forms of benefit except indoor relief." Indoor relief here refers to compulsory internment. It suffices to say that a confluence of eugenicist efforts and anti-homeless sentiment made convenient by economic struggle lead to the imprisonment and death of many. "Vagrancy" and "work-shy" were taken to be the consequences of genetics, after all.

I felt like every time I turned around, I was reading about how this or that team had landed the "steal" of the draft. So I decided to investigate: does every team think they got THE steal of the draft?
The answer is mostly yet. You'll find that some of these sources are higher quality than others (someone who covers the NFL professionally vs a random youtuber), and the strength of the claim varies as well (lots of "may have gotten" a steal, or specifying that a pick was a steal of a certain — usually late — round). Nevertheless, within the first couple results on Google, I was able to find some claim that almost every team had landed the biggest (or one of the biggest) steals of the 2024 draft.
There was one team for whom my Google-fu could not produce a result here. (Though that search did turn up a bunch of results with Drew Brees calling Mac Jones the steal of his draft, if that makes you feel any better.)
NFC East
Did the Dallas Cowboys quietly get the steal of the 2024 NFL Draft?
New York Giants snagged an absolute steal for their defense according to scouts and NFL Draft experts
NFL Draft Grades: Eagles got “the steal of the draft”
Washington Commanders: Johnny Newton the Steal Of the 2024 NFL Draft?
NFC North
Why Packers' Kalen King may be 'biggest steal of the draft'
Metric Points to Vikings’ 1st-Round Pick as ‘Biggest Steal’ of 2024 Draft
Chicago Bears: Austin Booker Could Be Steal Of 2024 NFL Draft
The Detroit Lions may have just gotten the STEAL of the 2024 NFL Draft...
NFC South
Atlanta Falcons draft the STEAL of 2024 NFL draft BRANDON DORLUS
Panthers steal playmaker everyone forgot to draft and he'll be huge for Bryce Young's development
Robert Griffin III says the Saints got the steal of the draft in Spencer Rattler
Why Bucky Irving could be a steal for the Bucs (This was actually the strongest piece I could find about Tampa.)
NFC West
The steal of the draft may have ended up with Arizona Cardinals
Rams News: Rich Eisen Considers This LA Pick Steal of the Draft
ESPN names this 49ers pick as the top steal of the 4th round
Seahawks Land 1st-Round ‘Steal of the Draft’ With Speedy 300-Pound DT
AFC East
PFF says Buffalo Bills landed one of the biggest steals of the 2024 NFL Draft
Did the Miami Dolphins Get the Steal of the NFL Draft in Mohamed Kamara?
The Jets got the steal of the draft.
The Patriots might have the steal of the draft in WR Javon Baker 😳
AFC North
T.J. Tampa May Be the Steal of the Draft (Ravens)
Bengals fifth-round pick Josh Newton will end up “steal of the Draft,” says Will Blackmon
The Cleveland Browns may have gotten the STEAL OF THE NFL DRAFT in Michael Hall Jr.
Steelers Land One of Best Steals in NFL Draft
AFC South
Houston Texans Somehow Get A Steal In 2nd Round Of The NFL Draft
Colts get an absolute steal with Texas WR Adonai Mitchell
Jaguars may have found a potential draft steal in DE Myles Cole
In the fourth round the Titans got a steal. (This one is a pretty huge stretch.)
AFC West
Why Broncos' Selection of Troy Franklin Was the Biggest Steal of the 2024 NFL Draft
Chiefs Draft Pick Named ‘Biggest Steal’ of 2024 NFL Draft: ‘Doesn’t Seem Fair’
Raiders RB Dylan Laube named draft steal by ESPN
Los Angeles Chargers Land Biggest Draft Steal? Analyst Calls Colson “Most Impactful Player” of 2024 Draft

ELIMINATED - Kate Winslet in The Reader - 24.1% of all votes. The Reader was released in 2008. The film had one win, Best Actress for Winslet, at the 81st Academy Awards. Winslet was selected for Best Actress of the year in a lineup that also included Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married, Angelina Jolie in Changeling, Melissa Leo in Frozen River and Meryl Streep in Doubt. Winslet also garnered wins at the BAFTAs, Critics' Choice Awards, Golden Globes and SAGs for her performance as Hanna Schmitz.
Feel free to use the comments as an area for discussion. Votes will only be accepted through this Google Form.
• Nicole Kidman as Virginia Woolf (The Hours)
• Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos (Monster)
• Hilary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald (Million Dollar Baby)
• Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II (The Queen)
• Marion Cotillard as Édith Piaf (La Vie en Rose)
• Natalie Portman as Nina Sayers (Black Swan)
• Jennifer Lawrence as Tiffany Maxwell (Silver Linings Playbook)
• Cate Blanchett as Jasmine Francis (Blue Jasmine)
• Julianne Moore as Alice Howland (Still Alice)
• Brie Larson as Joy Newsome (Room)
• Emma Stone as Mia Dolan (La La Land)
• Frances McDormand as Mildred Hayes (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri)
• Olivia Colman as Queen Anne (The Favourite)
• Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
• Emma Stone as Bella Baxter (Poor Things)
RANKING:

1. Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz (The Reader)
   
2. Halle Berry as Leticia Musgrove (Monster's Ball)
   
3. Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye Bakker (The Eyes of Tammy Faye)
   
4. Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich (Erin Brockovich)
   
5. Reese Witherspoon as June Carter (Walk the Line)
   
6. Frances McDormand as Fern (Nomadland)
   
7. Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher (The Iron Lady)
   
8. Renée Zellweger as Judy Garland (Judy)
   
9. Sandra Bullock as Leigh Anne Tuohy (The Blind Side)
   

Last year's four-way tie between Alexandra Daddario, Karen Gillan, Anna Kendrick, and Kiernan Shipka in the final round (all with 20%) resulted in the first sudden death vote-off in Sexiest Woman history. In the end, the title belonged to Shipka in her second consecutive try (and after her third place finish with Sydney Sweeney the year before).
Now, in its 25th year, 90 ladies have one thing in mind...or make that two: Become not only Sexiest Woman of 2024, but Silver Anniversary Sexiest Woman as well! Beginning with the Juniors (ages 18-30), they are in no particular order:
Group A: Sydney Sweeney (2022 third-place finisher) Dua Lipa Camila Mendes Kelsea Ballerini Millie Bobby Brown Madelyn Cline Halle Bailey Kaia Gerber Sabrina Carpenter Florence Pugh
Group B: Zendaya Madelaine Petsch (2022 runner-up) Olivia Rodrigo Dakota Fanning Anya Taylor-Joy Addison Rae Maddie Ziegler Charli D'Amelio Sammi Hanratty Lili Reinhart
Group C: Jenna Ortega Kaitlyn Dever Lily Chee Olivia "Livvy" Dunne Elle Fanning Rachel Pizzolato Kathryn Newton Kendall Jenner Camila Cabello Megan Thee Stallion
Next, we have the Seniors:
Group A: Emma Stone Natalie Portman (2002 runner-up) Lucy Hale Olivia Wilde Margot Robbie Emily Blunt Reese Witherspoon Sofia Vergara Katy Perry Selena Gomez
Group B: Heidi Klum Julianne Moore Alison Brie Taylor Swift Jessica Chastain Demi Moore Aubrey Plaza Kate Beckinsale (2021 third-place finisher) Anne Hathaway Mariska Hargitay
Group C: Jessica Biel Eiza Gonzalez Kristen Stewart Emily Ratajkowski Karen Gillan Jennifer Lawrence Kirsten Dunst Emma Roberts Nina Dobrev Vanessa Hudgens
And lastly, the Leftovers!
Group A: Padma Lakshmi Hailee Steinfeld (2018 third-place finisher) Tate McRae Victoria Justice Rachel Zegler Jennifer Lopez (2001 runner-up) Rita Ora Alessandra Ambrosio Keke Palmer Dove Cameron
Group B: Shakira Kelly Clarkson Kylie Jenner Caylee Cowan Joey King Olivia Ponton Lupita Nyong'o Xochitl Gomez Elizabeth Hurley Renee Rapp
Group C: Hunter Schafer Hannah Waddingham Kira Kosarin Christina Aguilera (1999 runner-up) Jennifer Garner (2005 runner-up) Katherine McNamara Halle Berry Ella Purnell Olivia Culpo Ariana Madix
Now anybody who's followed Sexiest Woman for 25 years over on Usenet knows how the whole elimination process goes; but for you newbies on Reddit, here it is:
Top 20 ladies from each category advance to Round 2, where the field is narrowed to ten apiece; when we resume in the fall with Round 3, the categories are merged and last year's third place finisher (which was Anna Kendrick) joins the remaining field; top 20 after that joins Alexandra Daddario (last year's runner-up and 2022 winner) in Round 4.
The remaining ten ladies -- plus one or two more from the Second Chance Round, which features ten eliminees from previous rounds -- will meet Shipka in the final round for the Sexiest Woman of 2024 title! But for the 25th anniversary this year...it won't end there!!!!
That's because this year's winner -- as well as the aforementioned Taylor Swift, who I named Sexiest Woman of the Decade in 2019 (but still has yet to win the annual title) -- plus all of our past winners (which will be listed in a separate post) will be competing for the very special title of Silver Anniversary Sexiest Woman!!!
But for right now...voting is now OPEN in Round 1; you get up to 20 votes per group so use them any way you can.
Oh, and the voting limits are as follows: Round 1: 20 times per group Round 2: 30 times per category Round 3: 40 times Round 4: 50 times Second Chance and special rounds: 10 times Final Round: As many times as you like!!!

Good day, all. I am posting a theory here I made to asoiaf a month ago, but adapted for this sub's rules + updated with some more points, because I was curious if anyone thought differently.

The Pride of the Lioness: Cersei's Need for Allies

There's no way Cersei Lannister is losing her trial by combat in TWOW. She will regain some power in King's Landing, albeit surrounded by enemies. Mace Tyrell will likely be Lord Regent, replacing the murdered Kevan, and Tyrells will fill the council. A lioness needs her pride, but most of her allies from AFFC are dead or fled. In order to do Cersei things, she will need men to stand with her; Qyburn, Robert Strong, and the other incompetent Kingsguard aren't enough with the threats to her rule from the Tyrells and Aegon and the Golden Company.
There are a lot of theories that Mace Tyrell will lose badly during the battle outside of Storm's End against the Golden Company. I'm inclined to agree. With Tyrell dead, the office of Lord Regent and Hand of the King will be open, and there will be an urgent need for new men to take them. Tyrell's death will leave Cersei in place to reclaim the regency for her son. So, who will be her Hand?
Jaime would make the sense for Cersei, but he's missing in the Riverlands and in mortal danger. Randyll Tarly, who commands an army in King's Landing, is another candidate. He is ambitious and Kevan believed that if Cersei made him Hand "you make him yours" (Cersei II, AFFC). No man would be better suited to protecting the kingdom. Tarly makes too much sense — do we believe that someone with as warped decision-making as Cersei would pick him as Hand? He is a Tyrell bannerman, and with Kevan murdered, surely her suspicions against them will grow. Mace Tyrell's death may make her think that Tarly is incompetent by association (Cersei logic, am I right?). In epilogue, Kevan tells Cersei that her judgements of the Kettleblacks (among others) was bad:

Cersei lowered her head. "I … I misjudged them."
"You misjudged a good many men, it seems." (Epilogue, ADWD)

Much of the epilogue is spent reminding us of important things for the next book, I believe, and this is no exception.
Anyway, Cersei seems likely to pick someone ambitious and unscrupulous, a lickspittle like her previous council. Now, there are plenty of nobles in Westeros who are ambitious enough to serve, but there are not many named lords and knights in King's Landing or set to arrive there as of the end of ADWD who aren't a) imprisoned; b) part of the Faith Militant; or c) Kingsguard members. Some of the knights and lords we do know in that grouping, including the Redwyne twins or any Dornish knights coming with Myrcella, would not be suitable Hands. Ardrian Celtigar was in KL as of ASOS appendix) but we have not heard of him since. Lord Alesander Staedmon is in KL as of the AFFC appendix, but we know next-to-nothing about this character. Qyburn could be Hand, but given the martial threat of the GC, a warrior who could lead armies seems more likely. GRRM could introduce a new character, but I think he has already placed the man who will her Hand in place as of the epilogue: Red Ronnet Connington.

Logistics of RonCon Joining Cersei

We last saw Ser Ronnet Connington being confined under house arrest within the Red Keep:

Mace Tyrell was speaking. "We shall deal with your uncle and his feigned boy in due time...You will bide here until we are ready to march. Then you shall have the chance to prove your loyalty."
Ser Kevan took no issue with that. "Escort Ser Ronnet back to his chambers," he said. And see that he remains there went unspoken. However loud his protestations, the Knight of Griffin's Roost remained suspect. (Epilogue, ADWD)

Whether he will remain for long is less certain; Tyrell states that Connington will have a chance to prove his loyalty — presumably in battle against Jon Connington — in Arianne II, TWOW has rumors suggesting as much:

Ronnet himself was said to be rushing south to avenge his brother’s death and his sister’s dishonor. (Arianne II, TWOW)

Yet the same scene shows that Randyll Tarly, and possibly Tyell, think they should get rid of Connington:

"Twenty," said Lord Randyll Tarly, "and most of them Gregor Clegane's old lot. Your nephew Jaime gave them to Connington. To rid himself of them, I'd wager. They had not been in Maidenpool a day before one killed a man and another was accused of rape. I had to hang the one and geld the other. If it were up to me, I would send them all to the Night's Watch, and Connington with them. The Wall is where such scum belong."
"A dog takes after its master," declared Mace Tyrell. "Black cloaks would suit them, I agree. I will not suffer such men in the city watch." (ADWD, Epilogue)

It is ambiguous whether Tyrell is agreeing with Tarly on Ron being sent to the Wall too, or just the Mountain’s men. In any case, Tyrell plans to send RonCon to war or to the Wall. Mace stated that he would not leave King's Landing until both trials concluded. Cersei's trial was scheduled to occur within five days of the epilogue, seemingly before Margaery’s trial. This means that if Tyrell wants to send RonCon to battle, Cersei, having won her trial, will have a chance to interfere as Lady of Casterly Rock.
If Tyrell wishes to send RonCon to the Wall, he has reason to forget to do anything in the immediacy — Kevan and Pycelle were just murdered, and Cersei’s trial is to begin — and there is the matter of securing passage. So, Cersei would have a chance to pluck Connington if he is to go to the Wall. From there, RonCon can stay in the city until news of Tyrell's death, from which Cersei elevates him to Hand.
There are other possibilities. Some people theorize that Cersei will undergo a surprise trial by seven. There are very interesting theories on this, but it boils down to Mace Tyrell as Lord Regent declaring Margaery innocent, which pisses off the High Sparrow, who does everything by seven. Knowing that Robert Strong is unlikely to lose one-on-one and that Cersei, now suspected of murdering Kevan, is loathed, the High Sparrow will call a trial by seven, in hopes that Cersei will not have enough defenders (only 3 Kingsguard in KL), so she automatically loses or has a worse chance of victory. RonCon, aware of how the small council distrusts him, may volunteer to fight to gain the queen's favor; being a very good knight, he can survive and help her win. Alternatively, RonCon can join Tyrell in battle against the GC, survive, and then flee back to King's Landing, where Cersei anoints him Hand.

Why would Cersei pick Red Ronnet as Hand of the King?

• He is the last person in KL to have seen Jaime and knows Brienne.
• He is a stormlander, not a Tyrell bannerman.
• He is isolated at court, distrusted by the small council.
• He comes from a proud, diminished house, no doubt seeking restoration.
• He is a youthful warrior with a familial history of service to the Iron Throne.
• He has great reason to oppose Aegon, JonCon, and the Golden Company.

It is worthwhile to discuss why Cersei would even bother talking with Ronnet in the first place; she has a lot of her plate between her uncle's murder, the trials, the GC, and her general paranoia. GRRM has given us two great reasons why: RonCon is one of the last people present in King's Landing to have seen Jaime and RonCon knows Brienne. In the epilogue, Cersei asks after Jaime to Kevan, and earlier, after hearing that he was with Brienne, discarded the possibility that Jaime had abandoned her for a "creature" such as her. But after RonCon tells her about how Jaime slapped him for defending Brienne's honor, how about Brienne is known as "The Beauty" (despite being ugly), Cersei's paranoia will set in and her appreciation of RonCon will grow, as he tells her of his own plight.
Red Ronnet is a stormlander. Tommen Baratheon is his direct liege lord. He is not a Tyrell bannerman, whom Cersei distrusts. His service in the riverlands is a (weak) example of his loyalty.
RonCon is isolated, confined to the Red Keep. He has a great incentive to find allies with his life on the line, and an alliance Cersei is perfect for that. Moreover, the small council, specifically Tarly and Tyrell, mistrusting Connington, in a paradoxical way, makes Cersei more likely to trust him. She has a tendency to support the opposite of whatever sensible men think, and here specifically, their mistrust of Connington would prove to her that RonCon is not a Tyrell creature. Also, House Connington lost a significant amount of power when Jon Connington was exiled, and Robert only restored a bit:

He had chopped Lord Jon after the Battle of the Bells, stripping him of honors, lands, and wealth, and packing him off across the sea to die in exile, where he soon drank himself to death. The cousin, though—Red Ronnet's father—had joined the rebellion and been rewarded with Griffin's Roost after the Trident. He only got the castle, though; Robert kept the gold, and bestowed the greater part of the Connington lands on more fervent supporters. (Jaime III, AFFC)

We know that Orton Merryweather, whose grandfather lost his lands and was exiled, got some of it back from Robert, but wanted to gain more back through service to Cersei. Like Merryweather, Ronnet probably wants his house's strength, prestige, and power restored: an alliance with the queen regent is one path forward to getting such, and in fact would be expected — if RonCon were to put down Aegon's pretender cause, House Connington would no doubt deserve lordship again, something a gracious queen would gladly give.
RonCon's personal traits align with the members of Cersei's AFFC council. Cersei believes that youth, strength, vigor are virtues in allies, even those on the king's small council:

"Two-and-twenty, and what of it? Father was not even one-and-twenty when Aerys Targaryen named him Hand. It is past time Tommen had some young men about him in place of all these wrinkled greybeards. Aurane is strong and vigorous." (Jaime II, AFFC)

RonCon came in sixth place at the 116-person melee at Bitterbridge, is described as "fierce" (Sansa VIII, ACOK), and a "boy" despite being 26 (Epilogue, ADWD). Youth, strength, vigor? Check. Given that the new Hand would be replacing old and fat Mace Tyrell, who died in battle, Cersei picking someone with considerable skill-at-arms to deal with the pretender Aegon makes a lot of sense. Being first cousin, once removed to former Hand Jon Connington is also in RonCon's favor because Cersei has demonstrated her opinion that having a relative serve incompetently as the Hand of the King is a suitable qualification for the office:

"You, my lord. It is in your blood. Your grandsire took my own father's place as Hand to Aerys." Replacing Tywin Lannister with Owen Merryweather had proved to be akin to replacing a destrier with a donkey, to be sure, but Owen had been an old done man when Aerys raised him, amiable if ineffectual. His grandson was younger, and . . . Well, he has a strong wife. (Cersei IX, AFFC)

Him even knowing JonCon might be taken as an advantage by Cersei, because she is surely the type of person to think knowing a man as an eight-year old makes you qualified to wage a campaign against the same man 18 years later.
Jon Connington and the Golden Company captured Ronnet's castle and imprisoned his siblings and bastard son. They are RonCon's natural enemy. He tells the small council that he would kill Jon if given the chance. I take this at face value. While circumstances can change, right now it does seem that RonCon plans to fight JonCon; JonCon thinks as much:

The present Knight of Griffin's Roost, his son Ronnet, was said to be off at war in the riverlands. That was for the best. In Jon Connington's experience, men would fight for things they felt were theirs, even things they'd gained by theft. (The Griffin Reborn, ADWD)

Some people think RonCon will turncloak and join JonCon and the GC. There is a big issue with this: for all RonCon knows (the reader knows otherwise), JonCon, now Lord of Griffin's Roost, will marry and have heirs, dispossessing him of Griffin's Roost. RonCon would just be another household knight, and may even think his "uncle" will punish him for what his father did during the rebellion. Meanwhile, an alliance with the Lannister-Baratheon regime would defend his claim to his lands and likely result in expanded lands.
Cersei may even understand that RonCon really had nothing to do with the GC because RonCon was off in the riverlands when they invaded plus the rumors of RonCon's siblings and son being harmed by JonCon in Arianne II, TWOW. Given that Cersei's paranoia will be inflamed, knowing RonCon has nowhere else to turn to, she will be confident in his loyalty as opposed to the other lords and knights in King's Landing.

Why would GRRM pick RonCon as Cersei's Hand of the King?

• RonCon is an already introduced character, in the right place and the right time.
• RonCon appears to be a character of some importance.
• RonCon as Cersei's Hand makes for an interesting contrast with Jaime and Brienne.
• RonCon is a jackass that not a single fan likes in any capacity.
• RonCon as Cersei's Hand adds to the rich parallelism of ASOIAF.

Cersei will need enforcers of her will for TWOW, and a Hand most of all after Tyrell's death. Jaime is not available, and Tarly makes too much sense, as I explained above. Qyburn isn't a warrior, and the Crown will need a warrior for the war. The other lords and knights don't make much sense or we know nothing about them. We know quite a bit about RonCon, and the epilogue of ADWD reminds us that this guy exists and is a source of drama. GRRM could introduce some new character in TWOW or use Red Ronnet, a guy we already know about, and save pages explaining who this is and why we should care. Perhaps I am giving GRRM too much credit for planning, but the seeds have bore fruit and are ready for harvest.
RonCon is in ACOK, beaten by Brienne in the melee at Bitterbridge, then bending the knee to Joffrey in the throne room after the Blackwater. Then, he's in the ASOS appendix (which is the first book that mentions the Conningtons; in ACOK he is only known as "Red Ronnet"), before appearing again in AFFC where we learn Brienne was betrothed to him, that the late JonCon was his uncle-cousin, and then Jaime slaps the hell out of him and sends him to Maidenpool with Wylis Manderly and Mountain's men. Then, in ADWD, we have JonCon as a POV, leading Aegon to invade Westeros and taking RonCon's castle and imprisoning his bastard and his siblings. Then, the opening line of the epilogue of ADWD is RonCon, defending himself to the small council. We've met this guy's siblings, his bastard son. We've seen his castle, we know about his father and his betrothal.
None of that alone is especially unusual for a minor character. But the fact that the same man who literally haunts Brienne's dreams is the same man whose cousin is Hand of the King of a character who may sit on the Iron Throne is TWOW is interesting. What is GRRM getting at with this? Why use the same character? Sure, he could simply fight JonCon in battle outside Storm's End and die, causing JonCon internal conflict over being a kinslayer. But why wouldn't that have GRRM made that happen in ADWD when Griffin's Roost was attacked? The fact that the epilogue opens with RonCon suggests to me that this character is important going forward; GRRM uses -logue chapters to offer information relevant for future events. RonCon being an important part of the southron storylines in TWOW would explain why GRRM repurposed an existing character into a detestable (but memorable) figure. Being Cersei's Hand serves very nicely, bonding the King's Landing and stormlands storylines together.
Not just the King's Landing and stormlands storylines, at that, but the conflict between Jaime and Cersei that is key to those characters. Jaime's last chapter in AFFC ended with him abandoning Cersei in her time of need. As of the end of ADWD, Cersei has not realized this. In case it was not obvious, Jaime does not like RonCon. RonCon represents the arrogant person Jaime was before he changed in ASOS. Not only does he slap the hell out of him, he sends him to deliver Wylis Manderly to Maidenpool explicitly to get rid of him. If Jaime were to hear that RonCon of all people is Cersei's Hand, his disgust with her will grow. Interestingly, in some ways RonCon being Hand will be Jaime's fault, because he went with Brienne (chose Brienne over Cersei), adding to the drama. Meanwhile, RonCon does not like Brienne, and probably doesn't appreciate being slapped by Jaime, so he would likely inflame Cersei's opinion of Brienne and raise her insecurity about Jaime.
RonCon and Cersei together are sort of an evil version of the Bear and the Maiden Fair, as Brienne and Jaime are a "good" version. RonCon even references the song:

Red Ronnet raised his lantern. "I wished to see where the bear danced with the maiden not-so-fair." His beard shone in the light as if it were afire. (Jaime III, AFFC)

RonCon is bearded and described as husky, a strong knight, Cersei fair of skin and hair, though we all know she is more a "maiden not-so-fair." Interestingly, Brienne's "saving" of Jaime came after his hair had been shaved. The Faith shaved Cersei's hair before her walk of atonement. And, who knows, Cersei wanted to marry Jaime. RonCon and Brienne were betrothed to each other. Now, Jaime and Brienne are attracted to each other. Perhaps RonCon will find himself attracted to Cersei? Interestingly, Fire & Blood mentions that after the Dance of Dragons, Ser Steffon Connington, a young, handsome, fierce warrior, married the dowager lady of Storm's End to help protect the stormlands from Dornish raiders, only to be slain in combat (a one-year marriage).
Another interesting dream that Brienne has directly links her mental image of Ronnet with Jaime, but could simultaneously foreshadow Cersei's relationship with RonCon:

Finally the doors opened, and her betrothed strode into her father's hall. She tried to greet him as she had been instructed, only to have blood come pouring from her mouth. She had bitten her tongue off as she waited. She spat it at the young knight's feet, and saw the disgust on his face. "Brienne the Beauty," he said in a mocking tone. "I have seen sows more beautiful than you." He tossed the rose in her face. As he walked away, the griffins on his cloak rippled and blurred and changed to lions. Jaime! she wanted to cry. Jaime, come back for me! But her tongue lay on the floor by the rose, drowned in blood. (Brienne VIII, AFFC)

Red Ronnet is a jackass:

"Why, I went to Tarth and saw her. I had six years on her, yet the wench could look me in the eye. She was a sow in silk, though most sows have bigger teats. When she tried to talk she almost choked on her own tongue. I gave her a rose and told her it was all that she would ever have from me." Connington glanced into the pit. "The bear was less hairy than that freak, I'll—" (Jaime III, AFFC).

This is known. He has no redeeming virtues, no clever lines, no compelling personal story. No reader likes him. He is not one of the good guys. This would make a lot of sense if GRRM planned for him to be Cersei's flying monkey.
Now, the parallelism aspects of RonCon as Hand are fun. GRRM directly points out it in the epilogue:

As the echoes of Connington's footsteps faded away, Grand Maester Pycelle gave a ponderous shake of his head. "His uncle once stood just where the boy was standing now and told King Aerys how he would deliver him the head of Robert Baratheon." (Epilogue, ADWD)

Further consider this description of Jon Connington: the pride, the youth, the vigor, and the arrogance, it fits both a young JonCon and RonCon.

Ser Kevan wished that he could share his certainty. He had known Jon Connington, slightly—a proud youth, the most headstrong of the gaggle of young lordlings who had gathered around Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, competing for his royal favor. Arrogant, but able and energetic. That, and his skill at arms, was why Mad King Aerys had named him Hand. Old Lord Merryweather's inaction had allowed the rebellion to take root and spread, and Aerys wanted someone young and vigorous to match Robert's own youth and vigor. (Epilogue, ADWD)

RonCon's father fought for Robert during the rebellion, now RonCon will fight for his (alleged) son. JonCon fought for Aerys during the rebellion, now JonCon will fight for his (alleged) grandson, except that now RonCon is Hand to the incumbent king as JonCon was, and JonCon is in Robert Baratheon's position. Just as Aerys turned to JonCon, Cersei turns to RonCon. Aerys and Cersei already have more than a few things in common, including both having Merryweathers and Tywin Lannister as Hand of the King. Cersei having a Connington would add to the parallelism.
JonCon became Aerys' Hand because the previous office holder, Owen Merryweather, a Reachman, did a terrible job at stopping the pretender Robert and because the next-best choice, the king's closest kin, his son Rhaegar, could not be found. As JonCon became Hand, so will RonCon: because of the incompetence of a Reachman, Mace Tyrell, at stopping the pretender Aegon VI and because the next-best choice, the king's closest kin, his uncle (father) Jaime, could not be found.

When Merryweather failed so dismally to contain Robert's Rebellion and Prince Rhaegar could not be found, Aerys had turned to the next best thing, and raised Connington to the Handship. But the Mad King was always chopping off his Hands. He had chopped Lord Jon after the Battle of the Bells, stripping him of honors, lands, and wealth, and packing him off across the sea to die in exile, where he soon drank himself to death. (Jaime III, AFFC)

Interestingly, Brienne has a dream of cutting off RonCon's hand; hand injury is a recurring injury for Hands of the King (including JonCon with greyscale, who thinks about cutting off his fingers):

She cut them all to bloody ribbons, yet still they swarmed around her . . . Shagwell, Timeon, and Pyg, aye, but Randyll Tarly too, and Vargo Hoat, and Red Ronnet Connington. Ronnet had a rose between his fingers. When he held it out to her, she cut his hand off. (Brienne V, AFFC)

House Connington's sigil (one of GRRM's favorites) may foreshadow the Cersei-Ronnet alliance vs. the Aegon-Jon alliance:

"Your father." Jaime eyed Red Ronnet's surcoat, where two griffins faced each other on a field of red and white. Dancing griffins. "Our late Hand's . . . brother, was he?" (Jaime III, AFFC)

Dancing griffins? In a manner, but they are actually "counterchanged and combatant" (The Griffin Reborn, ADWD); they are fighting, a red griffin and a white griffin. JonCon's hair and beard are beginning to go gray and he literally has greyscale, while Red Ronnet will serve red-loving House Lannister. Griffins, also, have the body of a lion...the sigil may just reference RonCon vs. JonCon in general, but still.
Another interesting parallelism is a Cersei-RonCon alliance would have been the partnership between Tyrion and JonCon, a Lannister who survives by his wits and a more brutish Connington. Interestingly, Quaithe's warning does mention:

"No. Hear me, Daenerys Targaryen. The glass candles are burning. Soon comes the pale mare, and after her the others. Kraken and dark flame, lion and griffin, the sun's son and the mummer's dragon. Trust none of them. Remember the Undying. Beware the perfumed seneschal."(Daenerys II, AFFC)

TL;DR Red Ronnet sucks. He is not a good guy. Cersei is not a good guy. She needs flying monkeys to help her schemes, and a griffin can fly. They were made for each other, and as Hand of the King RonCon can advance several storylines both narratively and thematically. And then probably die.