Reading Radiodont

  This is a game about witches living in a remote village deep in the forests of Eastern Europe. The folk are rugged and wary, for beyond the trees lie the mysteries, wonders and perils of nature and the supernatural.  Everyone has a place in the community, though some live a more precarious existence than others- particularly the wise women who know the secrets of herbcraft. These women work together as covens (the PC party) to protect their community and each other. To quote the author, Wise Women is “not a story of heroines growing in abilities but of people caught in difficult circumstances, who have to try to deal with them while being who they are, using the means and skills currently available.”  This is a game of low magic and non-combat, focused on social interactions. The cove plays a vital role in their village, and the women are often sought out by people in need, but open magic is viewed with suspicion and fear even by those who may need it. While “women” may...

  Shopping Bag Ladies is a photo essay by artist Rousseau accompanied by personal narratives from dozens of unhoused women living in New York City. It’s all too easy to dismiss and overlook unhoused people if you haven’t endured homelessness yourself or don’t know someone who has. For many people, the homeless are a part of the scenery, a nuisance, or even a source of fear. They are drug addicts, mentally ill, criminals, or just too lazy to get their lives together. Certainly, anyone who is hard-working, studious, and careful with their money would never end up like that. At least, that’s the comforting fantasy many people tell themselves.  But the narratives in “Shopping Bag Ladies” force the reader to see the history and humanity of its unhoused subjects. These women have, or had, families, loved ones, jobs, even successful careers. They have ended up without stable housing for a myriad of reasons, and there usually is no one event that brought them here.  Their own w...