Tabletop and Beyond Podcast

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Rather than move forward with spinoffs that cling to the original The Lord of the Rings movies, maybe the time has come to give the franchise a full, Harry Potter-style reboot. bit.ly/4cn4Anf

@TheCinesthetic @QuestAndLore The silver lining about it getting cancelled was that it didn't live on long enough to ruin itself....

Firefly (2002) is still one of the best sci fi shows ever made. Cancelled after a single season thanks to Fox airing episodes out of order, it somehow built a richer universe and more lived in characters than shows that ran for years.

@BYUSportsNation I read this on April 2nd thinking April fools was over. Delete this post.

BREAKING NEWS! AJ Dybantsa announces he is returning to BYU for his sophomore season next year. “I have unfinished business.”

@PorcGuy @SandyofCthulhu Me 100%. "Why would you go out in public like that?" Not looking because I'm interested, I'm looking because I'm baffled

@SandyofCthulhu They’re wondering what sort of mental illness makes a 40+ year old woman dress like she’s 20.

Fun fact: men look at other men, old people, kids, and dogs when we pass them too.

@RealTimMalcolm @irnpatriot73 @OsheaJacksonJr I thought Michael B Jordan was good in it, but the movie was great until it became a vampire movie, then it was ok... it got all the accolades it did because other movies this year were super meh. I thought one battle was super mediocre, but that's where we are now with films

well its the world's opinion according to IMDB. I would watch Shawshank backwards before sittting down to watch Sinners again. Given I made myself watch Sinners again after the award season hit, to make sure that I gave it a fair watch the first time. Honestly the first 30 mins of Sinners was really good.

Boooooy here comes the Michael B Jordan wasn’t really all that good posts. Smfh. When yall hate on the man make sure you put Academy Award Winner before his name.

@MarcielMichael @Knightly_Hist You had the laughing storm basically tell them that the Targaryens have it coming, so you know why he is doing it. Ser Beesbury and his cousin Ser Fossoway loathe Adrian because of how he rammed the lance through Fossoway's horse. The mad knight chose the gods over the prince.

@Knightly_Hist This kind of bothered me. I don’t think it’s very realistic that 6 people would put their lives at extreme risk for someone they just met. Takes me out of the story a bit.

Not enough people are talking about Raymun Fossoway He met a dude on a weekend, realised he was chill, kept him fed and stood on business in a life or death situation against his own kin because it was the right thing to do. He's my MVP this season.

@Knightly_Hist Can we talk about how absolutely clutch he was during the fight too? Saved Dunks life three times!

@SandyofCthulhu Reach and height definitely matter or else they would make a big deal about it in sports like boxing and MMA. And you wouldn't have to make a game plan for it if it didn't matter.

Reach and height matters. To be fair, medieval knights were probably shorter than modern westerners, and medieval samurai were probably taller than the average Japanese. Not sure how much overlap there was though.

@amaxinander @histories_arch I think maybe because this one is a replica so it's smaller.

@histories_arch So just over a foot wide? Sounds more like a buckler, cant be a decimal error cuz 335 cm is too big, maybe you meant 33.5 inches?

A replica of an Ancient Greek Spartan Shield, often inspired by the legendary warriors depicted in the film "300".... The shield is in solid copper sheet with verdigris patina and stands on a bronze tripod and measures 33.5cm in diameter. In the ancient times, these shields carried by Spartan warriors, a symbol of discipline, unity, and strength. Known as a hoplon or aspis, this large, round, bronze-faced shield was central to the phalanx formation, where each soldier's shield protected not only himself but also the comrade to his left. The prominent Greek letter lambda (Λ) emblazoned on its surface represented Laconia, the region of Sparta, instantly identifying the bearer as a Spartan hoplite. This was not merely decoration; it was a bold declaration of identity and a psychological tool meant to intimidate foes on the battlefield. The shield's design and the lambda symbol have endured through history, immortalized in legend and popular culture as the ultimate emblem of Spartan military prowess and sacrifice. It remains a powerful testament to a society built around martial excellence and collective defense. #archaeohistories

@rtmccombs Ahmed looks lost out there. I don't think he understands how to move off ball. Put him in a zone defense where he just needs to stay under the basket and he can defend. Everywhere else he is just another body on the court.

Ahmed now #2 in the nation in block percentage. I'm not blind, I wish he gave an ounce of offense and was in better position more. And a lot of frustration stems from Keiba's struggles. But you could do a lot worse for a bench big than someone that blocks so many shots

@LBSamuelsson @ModernDad

My wife calls me, panicked. The call is from her number, and her voice is unmistakable- that’s my wife. ‘Babe, our son is hurt. He got in a bike wreck. I’m at the emergency room but they won’t take our insurance and I need cash to get him help. Please send me 3000 dollars as soon as you can, he’s really not doing well.’ Me- ‘Wow, that’s scary. Tell me our passphrase and then I’ll send the money.’ Her (it) - ‘What? What passphrase? This is your wife, our son is hurt. Send the money now!!’ Me- ‘I’ll call you back. I don’t believe that this is my wife. If it is, I’m sorry, but we discussed this.’ The number? Spoofed. Easy to do and there’s no way to tell if a phone number is being spoofed aside from hanging up and calling back to confirm. The voice? AI generated. Easily done. A few seconds of audio is all it takes to create a realistic audio deepfake. What can you do? 1) Create a family safe word or passphrase. Ours is definitely not ‘Keep Going’ although we considered it. Discuss the passphrase far away from phones or any recording device. This is as analog as possible. Don’t forget that the trigger for the passphrase is just as important as the phrase itself. So instead of asking ‘what’s the safe word?’ have a separate triggering question. For example, you could say ‘I’m eating banana cream pie’ and this would trigger your spouse to respond ‘purple velvet pillows’ if that’s the safe word. Make it fun, silly, and easy to remember. And DON’T WRITE IT DOWN. 2) Cognitive security is an essential skill in 2026. Assume every image and video you see online is fake until proven otherwise. Expect scams and spammers, and be pleasantly surprised when it’s not. 3) Figure out a backup communication option with people who you absolutely need to be able to reach. Don’t just rely on a phone number for communication. Have redundant, ideally encrypted methods of communication with family. What did I miss? I think (hope) Nikita is wrong on the timeframe- agentic bots like Claude bot are impressive but not quite ready to flood the phone lines in just 90 days. But I think it’s going to be a huge problem by the end of the year. I already get dozens of increasingly realistic spam calls and texts daily- it’s only going to get more annoying. Have a plan to keep your family and your finances safe!

@aDrunkenCactus @GameOfThrones I dunno....this might be a good opportunity to get rid of his nephew who has the makings of being an absolute monster

@GameOfThrones He’s only doing it to keep Dunk from killing his nephew but it’s still a noble move. That’s my guess, I never read the books.

The Targaryen who stepped up. What was your reaction to the ending of Episode 4? #AKOTSK

@TheRoyalSerf @QuestAndLore It's the best thing HBO has put out on a LONG time

@bald_man12 @CriddleBenjamin It's almost like our opponents have enough film on our guys to know how to stop them. Lol

@CriddleBenjamin Let's be honest, we all saw that. None of our bench players are threats. zero. Actually, if you watch game film, opponents only think 3 players are threats on entire team. We don't have post plays other than the roll for a lob that rarely works anymore.

"When I went to practice in Provo [in the summer], the biggest thing I took away after watching practice was I did not know if BYU had enough depth and enough options outside of its primary guys. And I think now what we're seeing is that come to fruition." - Jon Rothstein on BYU Basketball Full video: youtube.com/watch?v=OWTSvT…

@collinsworth55 Playing at the right time includes showing up in the first half. They need more energy before the last 10 minutes of the game. Let go Cougar, you got this!

I’m a believer in this BYU basketball team!! It’s all about playing good at the right time!! Momentum is coming!

@SandyofCthulhu The Faculty. Terrible movie lol

Was it not Lord of the Rings for every single person?

@BYUGuy87 @Traneofthought_ @jhallito BYU really needs to get Saunders involved more. Honestly, to win the big games against teams like AZ, we are going to need to have more of a game plan than get the ball to AJ.

@Traneofthought_ @jhallito For sure, there were multiple outliers.. Arizona has the best 1-2 guard punch in the country imo, which def made things difficult on Wright. I think AJ and Rob will both shoot better at Arizona. However, our lack of bench production on the road will likely do us in there.

BYU lost by 3 to the #1 team in the country on a night where Richie Saunders fouled out, and AJ and Rob were a combined 9/40. That’s wild. 😳 Two more shots fall and BYU wins this game. Plenty to be encouraged about. Huge bounce back opportunity at Kansas coming up.

@TheMikeMcgee @SandyofCthulhu Except when the witch king breaks Gandalfs staff and ruins Theoden and his horse. He was an absolute menace out there

@SandyofCthulhu Ive always felt the same way, it made Aragorn look like a bad ass but after that I never respected the Ring Wraiths ever again because they are punks when someone steps up they flee. Maybe Tolkien was trying to relate them to Demons, but im not sure.

I hated this both in the book and the movie. Sauron’s magical nine wraiths punked by one dude? It really lessened their terror factor. You can say I’m wrong but why be scared of them after this encounter?

@ryanhammer09 Where's BYU?

Combining Experience & Continuity in CBB (Top 40 avg national rank - top 12 leagues) Top 3 here are ranked #5 #2 #3 in the AP poll. 8/top 10 KP teams ranked here. The biggest overperformers in the country all here: Vandy, Nebraska, Miami OH, Utah State. 19/24 power teams here are projected tourney teams as of today (79%)