Philosophy of Mana, Thursday, Period 2

[deathsmajesty]

Today, the class stepped into a forest that seemed like it might have been taken from the pages of a fairy tale. Sunshine like golden honey poured through the gaps in sprawling hardwood trees. Small animals skittered and played in the underbrush while birds sang in the trees and yet there was the slight hush that came with being deep in an old forest. A clear stream burbled beside them for awhile, filled with fish that had silver scales that glinted in the sun. The air smelled earthy and wild like rich loam and sharp sap and subtlest hint of scent of something like cedar but not quite.

The almost-cedar scent was stronger when they followed the small game trail at their feet into a clearing where Liliana already waited, regarding some kind of gnarled root in her hands with a contemplative expression. Both expression and root vanished as soon as the first person entered, replaced by a slight smile and a gesture towards the set up blankets and cushions. A JGOB box full of assorted pastries sat in the middle, and several large carafes of coffee (as well as hot water and tea bags) from the Perk were available for people to nibble at while she lectured. As always, the whiteboard was there, too, upon which was written the word
Acceptance
• What does green mana desire? What is its end goal?

• What means does green mana use to achieve these ends?

• What does green mana care about? What does it represent?

• What does green mana despise? What negatively drives it?

• What is green mana's greatest strength? Greatest weakness?

( Acceptance Through Growth )

"Green is instinct, old wisdom, traditions that remain in tune with the natural world. It understands and values community, it is wild and primal, relying on strength, stamina, and sheer numbers to overcome problems. A single elephant can kill, and so can a swarm of bees. Green makes judicious use of both, and often will increase the size of either, so you end up dealing with an elephant the size of a house or bees the size of rabbits. It tends to eschew overthinking; again, the answer can often be found in nature or the more primal instincts within ourselves if we only looked. As an extension of accepting its role in the world, Green is also strongly fatalistic, trusting in destiny to decide the right way for things to go. If you live, great; if you die, it's what was meant to be. At its worst, green can become hostile to the idea of free will and the right of individuals to do as they want instead of as they were 'born' to do - the role that they were given, either by genetics or their natural, determined destiny."

A Shot in the Dark: A Comprehensive Guide to Coffee; Thursday, 4th Period [06/20].

[chef_chocobro]

"For our penultimate class," Ignis stated, after ensuring that everyone he suspected would be coming did, in fact, meet as directed at the portalocity office, "we will be taking another field trip to explore what is considered one of the finest and most unusual, some might even say off-putting and completely ridiculous, gimmicky, coffees this world has to offer: kopi luwak. I have actually had the opportunity to try this before in a previous visit with the school to Indonesia, and that is where we will be traversing today, to the Cantik Kopi Luwak cooperative. There, we will learn more about this very special coffee, its origins, the process and rituals inherent in it, as well as its culture and cultivation, and an exploration on why it is a revered as it is. If you've heard of kopi luwak already, then you know what we're in for. And if you haven't?"

Here, Ignis smiled, with a small nod.

"Then I hope you at least keep an open mind about it. I'm sure that won't be a problem for some of you, though, thankfully. With that, then, let us set forth to Bali, and get started."

Arts & Metal Crafts; Thursday, Fifth Period [06/20].

[special_rabbit]

"This," said Amaya, holding up something between her gloved fingers before the class at the start of the lesson, "is a signet ring, which isn't something that's used nearly as much these days as they are back where I'm from, but the cool thing about this signet ring? It started out..." She shifted a little to pull a hardware nut from out of her pocket, "this. And today? You're going to learn how!

"Before we get started, though," she said, "in learning how to make your average everyday lugnut into a functional and beautiful signet ring, you'll want to take a moment to brainstorm and think about what you'd want your signet to be. Maybe you already have one! For the purposes of this class, though, you'll want a nice simple design for ease and convenience. I'll give you guys about ten minutes with some paper and pencil to plan out your signet, and then we're going to just right into the hows and you can follow along. Any questions before we begin?"

Booze Tasting & Drinking Games - Thursday, Period 1

[single_man_tear]

When everyone showed up at Caritas today there was a lot of bottles with very colorful liquid inside them.

Dean didn't really look happy with the choice but shrugged. "I had specifically ordered a special tasty whiskey for us all to enjoy today but apparently we're going with the fruit forward flavors of Mad Dog 2020. So if you're a lightweight today's your to enjoy a quiet buzz."

Don't worry Navaan. There's enough for you to get drunk.

"Today's game is assumptions. But have a couple of drinks before we jump into the game."

Cultural Appreciation, Thursday, June 20, 2024

[meepmeepmeep]

An advantage to being a Muppet was that things like heat domes weren’t an issue since you were made of felt. A disadvantage, according to Sam Eagle, was that you were forced to work with Beaker.

“In light of recent weather,” Sam said, “we have chosen to highlight a particularly cool element of culture!”

In case you were wondering why the room was so chilly. And what the ice sculptures were about.

“Sculpture! In this instance ice sculpture!” Sam waved a wing proudly at the beautiful yet temporary works of art behind him.

Should the world, just, at large, fear the sound of meeping and a chainsaw firing up? Probably, right?

Sam, quite rightly, feared the sound of meeping above nearly all others. “Beaker, no.” He hadn’t even turned to see what was happening. He didn’t want to know. He never really wanted to know what Beaker was up to.

But! Ice sculpture! Beaker didn't know much about ice sculpture, but he did know it involved chainsaws! And ice picks, but chainsaws were much more fun.

“We are here to appreciate culture,” Sam snapped. “Not wreak havoc with chainsaws!”

"Meep meep meep?" Beaker asked. Why not both indeed, Sam?

“Because I’ve met you!” Did Sam really need another reason?

"Meep meep meep meep meep." Seems fake, Sam.

“Beaker, do not use that chainsaw near any of the students!” It was really too bad Sam hadn’t noticed the blocks of ice and chainsaws being brought in for each student since he was too busy staring at Beaker in horror. At least there were safety goggles?

And coffee! Beaker had learned that drinking Tim Hortons was very culturally appropriate for certain ice carvers. Grab a block of ice, some goggles, some coffee, and a chainsaw, gang! Surely nothing will go wrong!

Library, Thursday 6/20

[noonedecidesmyfate]

The library was full of overlapping beeps today. A variety of beeps. An endless chorus of beeps. Beeps that might very well haunt Belle's dreams. All was beeps.