A band fakes everything for a tour?

This is pretty odd but goes to show you how effective just talking out your ass is. I really wanted to know what this band thought would happen. What was the best case outcome for them here.

America Could Die Like The British Empire Or Live Like The Roman Empire

This is a subject that has been occupying my brain a lot recently. I have several differences of opinion with this article but find it a worthwhile read to understand historical analogies. One thing to note, surveillance and information processing is much cheaper than it was back when with of these empires fell, that could change how easy it is to keep control of distant regions. As well as fast communication and quick travel, distant regions may not be the physically distant ones but the culturally different ones. Most thinkers I read seem to agree that the USA will no longer be the global superpower but they don't spend enough time considering how to navigate that change successfully.

Media

Stellaris - I was pretty sick this week so I ended up playing a bunch of Stellaris on the couch. This game is good but not excellent for a number of reasons. My biggest complaint with this game is that it feels like Civ + EU4 in space and it feels boring because I have played both of those games extensively. The economy is shallow and the diplomacy feels like an after thought. It was only when I talked to a friend who played it as a military empire that I seemed to think the game was complete. The options + depth when you play militarily seem to add a lot to the game. It's also starting to show the limits of the engine and seems constrained by it. You probably already know if you want to play this, if you don't, it's not worth the money. On a side note, where are all the good economic + diplomacy games? Distant worlds seems like the current best but even that has some rough edges. I'd love to see other games in this area.