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Annie Mitchell
Society Editor
A recent article in New York magazine* featured 59 reasons to love living in New York City. Rhy'Din needs a little love, too. Sure, Rhy'Din is a strange, anachronistic place that pits the raw and the earthy against the shiny and the futuristic, but by and large, Rhy'Din is a wonderful place to live, love, do business, raise a family, and maybe even engage in a little philanthropic endeavor as well. Just in time to set the mood for the next 363 days, here's Ten Reasons To Love Rhy'Din Right Now.
#1: Pluralism is Our Fundamentalism: In Rhy'Din, no one cares if you're Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, a follower of Offler the Crocodile god, or Orholam the god of Color. Religion will never be at the heart of any conflict, because this city is founded on the tenants of freedom. And that's an amazing thing, of which we should all be proud.
#2: Even Without A Functioning Government, This City Still Works: The Governor's been MIA for months, the highest law enforcement official in the city stepped down after only three months in office, the Council of Minsters hasn't had a single meeting since being elected nearly a year ago, and the City Watch is the butt of many jokes. Despite all of this, the average citizen is safe from being murdered in their bed, the average shop owner is safe from being robbed at gun/laser blaster/knife/sword point, and we aren't subjected to endless graft and corruption scandals and hearings, either.
#3: No Money' No Problem: When was the last time you paid for a drink at the Red Dragon' Or the last time you paid for a ticket to the ballet, that cut of beef from the butcher in the Marketplace, or even paid for water or electricity' The fifth of Never" That's right! But we still enjoy all of these things free of charge. Rhy'Din's either got one helluva rich sugar daddy or is the model of the barter system.
#4: Sports Galore: Whether you like watching two grown men (or women!) beating each other mercilessly with swords, fists, or carefully crafted magic spells, Rhy'Din's got it in spades. Our sports stars aren't spoiled, multimillionaires, either. They're approachable, friendly, down-to-earth good guys...well, except for that Harris guy and that Teagan chick. We've got hockey in the winter and baseball in the summer, too, for those of you who prefer your sports with a little less violence and bloodshed.
#5: We've Got More Culture Than A Petri Dish: Ballet, opera, musical theatre, dramatic theatre, painters, sculptors, fashion designers, woodworkers, poets, novelists, brew masters " the list of talented artists in this city is endless. Go out and soak up some culture, Rhy'Din! You won't even need to be inoculated afterward!
#6: We're Not Afraid To Show Our Love: I blame the city's lack of shyness when it comes to PDAs on Harold and Scotty. These two are so comfortable with who and what they are and they're not afraid to show it, either. How many times have we seen these two cuties canoodling in public" Or Riley and David" Or Anya and Antonio' Or any one of numerous other loving couples showing their feelings for each other right out in front of God and everyone" It's a beautiful, life-affirming thing and I hope it continues.
#7: Diversity Is Our Middle Name: Dragons, elves, dwarfs, humans, vampires, lycanthropes, faeries, Russians, Irish, Japanese, Italians, angels, and demons all co-exist here side-by-side with minimum tensions. Where else in the multiverse can you enjoy bacon and eggs for breakfast, Indian curry for lunch, and an elven salad for dinner"
#8: Be Yourself. No, Really. Be Yourself: Who cares if you're Princess Anna Bojango from the third moon of Jupiter or Joe Schmoe the chandler from Poughkeepsie" You're in Rhy'Din now, man, where royalty rubs elbows (and occasionally other body parts, but that's for a different column) with street urchins and everyone comes away richer for the experience.
#9: Paramus Park Mall's Got Nothing On Rhy'Din's Marketplace: Sure, Paramus Park has Macy's, Old Navy, Bloomingdale's, Victoria's Secret and Best Buy, but can you buy a flute made out of pure crystal that plays itself there" Or what about a custom-blended perfume from the Sexiest Woman in Rhy'Din? We've got elven jewels, dwarf-forged weapons, more magic shops than Vegas, and our kids can learn ballet from a werejaguar and jazz steps from a movie star.
# 10: The Nexus: Cursed and maligned as it, without the Nexus, the most wonderful things about Rhy'Din would be only dreams in the heads of great science fiction writers...or opium addicts. So, the next time the Nexus arbitrarily zaps you into the middle of Shanghai, thank it for giving you the amazing life you're now living in Rhy'Din.
* - December 20-27, 2010 issue
A recent article in New York magazine* featured 59 reasons to love living in New York City. Rhy'Din needs a little love, too. Sure, Rhy'Din is a strange, anachronistic place that pits the raw and the earthy against the shiny and the futuristic, but by and large, Rhy'Din is a wonderful place to live, love, do business, raise a family, and maybe even engage in a little philanthropic endeavor as well. Just in time to set the mood for the next 363 days, here's Ten Reasons To Love Rhy'Din Right Now.
#1: Pluralism is Our Fundamentalism: In Rhy'Din, no one cares if you're Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, a follower of Offler the Crocodile god, or Orholam the god of Color. Religion will never be at the heart of any conflict, because this city is founded on the tenants of freedom. And that's an amazing thing, of which we should all be proud.
#2: Even Without A Functioning Government, This City Still Works: The Governor's been MIA for months, the highest law enforcement official in the city stepped down after only three months in office, the Council of Minsters hasn't had a single meeting since being elected nearly a year ago, and the City Watch is the butt of many jokes. Despite all of this, the average citizen is safe from being murdered in their bed, the average shop owner is safe from being robbed at gun/laser blaster/knife/sword point, and we aren't subjected to endless graft and corruption scandals and hearings, either.
#3: No Money' No Problem: When was the last time you paid for a drink at the Red Dragon' Or the last time you paid for a ticket to the ballet, that cut of beef from the butcher in the Marketplace, or even paid for water or electricity' The fifth of Never" That's right! But we still enjoy all of these things free of charge. Rhy'Din's either got one helluva rich sugar daddy or is the model of the barter system.
#4: Sports Galore: Whether you like watching two grown men (or women!) beating each other mercilessly with swords, fists, or carefully crafted magic spells, Rhy'Din's got it in spades. Our sports stars aren't spoiled, multimillionaires, either. They're approachable, friendly, down-to-earth good guys...well, except for that Harris guy and that Teagan chick. We've got hockey in the winter and baseball in the summer, too, for those of you who prefer your sports with a little less violence and bloodshed.
#5: We've Got More Culture Than A Petri Dish: Ballet, opera, musical theatre, dramatic theatre, painters, sculptors, fashion designers, woodworkers, poets, novelists, brew masters " the list of talented artists in this city is endless. Go out and soak up some culture, Rhy'Din! You won't even need to be inoculated afterward!
#6: We're Not Afraid To Show Our Love: I blame the city's lack of shyness when it comes to PDAs on Harold and Scotty. These two are so comfortable with who and what they are and they're not afraid to show it, either. How many times have we seen these two cuties canoodling in public" Or Riley and David" Or Anya and Antonio' Or any one of numerous other loving couples showing their feelings for each other right out in front of God and everyone" It's a beautiful, life-affirming thing and I hope it continues.
#7: Diversity Is Our Middle Name: Dragons, elves, dwarfs, humans, vampires, lycanthropes, faeries, Russians, Irish, Japanese, Italians, angels, and demons all co-exist here side-by-side with minimum tensions. Where else in the multiverse can you enjoy bacon and eggs for breakfast, Indian curry for lunch, and an elven salad for dinner"
#8: Be Yourself. No, Really. Be Yourself: Who cares if you're Princess Anna Bojango from the third moon of Jupiter or Joe Schmoe the chandler from Poughkeepsie" You're in Rhy'Din now, man, where royalty rubs elbows (and occasionally other body parts, but that's for a different column) with street urchins and everyone comes away richer for the experience.
#9: Paramus Park Mall's Got Nothing On Rhy'Din's Marketplace: Sure, Paramus Park has Macy's, Old Navy, Bloomingdale's, Victoria's Secret and Best Buy, but can you buy a flute made out of pure crystal that plays itself there" Or what about a custom-blended perfume from the Sexiest Woman in Rhy'Din? We've got elven jewels, dwarf-forged weapons, more magic shops than Vegas, and our kids can learn ballet from a werejaguar and jazz steps from a movie star.
# 10: The Nexus: Cursed and maligned as it, without the Nexus, the most wonderful things about Rhy'Din would be only dreams in the heads of great science fiction writers...or opium addicts. So, the next time the Nexus arbitrarily zaps you into the middle of Shanghai, thank it for giving you the amazing life you're now living in Rhy'Din.
* - December 20-27, 2010 issue