#Monopoly wasn't invented by the Parker Brothers, nor the man they gave it credit for. In 1904, Monopoly was originally called The Landlord's Game, and was invented by a radical woman. Elizabeth Magie's original game had not one, but two sets of rules to choose from.
One was called "#Prosperity", where every player won money anytime another gained a property. And the game was won by everyone playing only when the person with the least doubled their resources. A game of collaboration and social good.
The second set of rules was called "Monopoly", where players succeeded by taking properties and rent from those with less luck rolling the dice. The winner was the person eliminating everyone else.
Magie's mission was to teach us how different we feel when playing Prosperity vs Monopoly, hoping that it would one day change national policies.
When the Parker Bros adopted the game, they erased the "Prosperity" rules & celebrated "Monopoly".

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/ruthless-monopolys-secret-history/

Thank you, @MarkHoltom.

The Keynote Will NOT Go Forward

https://libregraphicsmeeting.org/2025/news/2025-05-07_0001-keynote-will-not-go-forward/

Due to concerns from the LGM community, the planned keynote with Dr. Richard Stallman is cancelled.

The announcement made many people angry and upset, and anger and division are not what LGM is about. Public debate was one of the factors that led to this decision. The discussion can be read here: https://post.lurk.org/@lgm/114462101041791903

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[EDIT/NOTE] The following sentence mentioning our Code of Conduct in this announcement could be interpreted as suggesting we believe Richard Stallman’s presence would make the event less safe. That interpretation is not our intention; we don’t think that way. We don’t all think that Stallman’s talk would have been a problem. Some of us wanted to hear him. The context of the discussion linked above is important to correctly interpret this announcement and the reasons that led to it. Some people voiced general discomfort about the LGM in the debate; we take these concerns seriously.

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LGM is committed to being an inclusive and safe venue for members of the Libre Graphics community, and we stand by the commitments to safety outlined
by our Code of Conduct. https://libregraphicsmeeting.org/2025/code-of-conduct

Personal Note of the Organizer:

I’ll be welcoming everyone seeking a conversation with me about the topic.

– Lasse

Incredible statement from the American Meteorological Organization. It takes a lot for a scientific organization to issue a statement like this:

"U.S. leadership in scientific innovation is at risk due to the recent and ongoing reductions in U.S. federal science capabilities. The consequences to the American people will be large and wide-ranging, including increased vulnerability to hazardous weather...Recent terminations within the government workforce for science are likely to cause irreparable harm and have far-reaching consequences for public safety, economic well-being, and the United States’ global leadership."

Full statement here: https://www.ametsoc.org/ams/about-ams/ams-statements/statements-of-the-ams-in-force/the-u-s-weather-enterprise-a-national-treasure-at-risk/?_zs=m2nfc1&_zl=iOL6A

Once again, it's time for that festive tradition of listening to holiday music. A lot of it, at once -- digitized and compressed and tweaked and regenerated into what can only be described as the musical essence of the festive spirit: @bwhitman's "A Singular Christmas."

Listen* here (download or stream), plus more details. Because who doesn't love a holiday album that has 'Statement and Methodology' in the liner notes?

https://notes.variogram.com/2009/11/30/a-singular-christmas-2004/

*drone, with occasional silver-y bell

"What were you asked, and offered?" the dragon said.

"To drive you off, to receive the hand of the princess and half the kingdom," the knight replied.

"Very well, I'll go."

"Wait, what?"

"There once was a huge empire, that was halved..." The dragon laughed. "I'll go. For now."

#MicroFiction #SmallStories #TootFic

Engineering professor and materials scientist @debcha's new book *How Infrastructure Works* is a hopeful, lyrical - even beautiful - hymn to the systems of mutual aid we embed in our material world, from sewers to roads to the power grid. It's a book that will make you see the world in a different way - forever:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612711/how-infrastructure-works-by-deb-chachra/

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I'm so excited to share that my book, HOW INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS: INSIDE THE SYSTEMS THAT SHAPE THE WORLD, will be out on October 17th of this year, on Riverhead Books. It's about the globe-spanning systems we've built to meet our needs: what systems like electricity, water, transportations and telecommunications have in common, how they work, and what needs to change to make them resilient, functional and equitable.

You can preorder it now at:

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612711/how-infrastructure-works-by-deb-chachra/