Is clothing the hieght of Sophistication?

Trying to think over a costume dilemma for Atlantis citizens -- now that Advanced Dynamic Clothing Control is available for DAZ Studio users (which means I can probably get the Dynamic Tunic on DAZ 3D, which was the height of Fashion during the Neolithic through the Iron Age in the Middle East region).   Problem is . . .

Europeans wore the standard boots, tight fitting pants, multicolored shirts, and coats and gloves ensemble.  I don't know what it actually looks like but to me, that sounds like modern clothing.  Guaranteed, Europe and Africa are about as far away from America as one can get, but this creates a conundrum.

NO style, whether it is a flapper dress from the '20s, or an Ancient Egyptian styled dress from the New Kingdom, is ever novel and new.  Only we think we are at the height of technology (ironically).  But whether we have a computer made of integrated circuits or an array of crystals; one thing we can't get away from.  Nothing in fashion is ever new.  Never has been, never will be.  Even if you live in India before 400 A.D. when it was okay for women to wear just a sari kilt.

So the problem remains.  Do I romanticize, or what?  And why do we think of clothes for a level of sophistication?

Unbelievable but true, there are reports of men and women who have seen the Christ. Not unexpected but in their conversations with the Christ, the Christ asked one to take off his clothes (like he asked Moses to remove his sandals).

It was an object lesson for the man, actually.  But one would think that if clothes are so important, why would the Christ ask one to shuck off an article of clothing?

You don't need clothing to be sophisticated.

Atlantean Style

I may have to turn to Classical Painters for help on this one.  Atlantean style is a mix of the minimal and the classical.  But remember this: no clothing style is ever new.  Even if everyone runs around in short skirts, black pants, and shirts from Star Trek.

Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition -- first thoughts!

OH GAD!

This isn't my review, but these are the thought that ran through my head while scanning the PHB.

The writing insults my intelligence.  I'm not a sixth grader, but the first page of the book talks down to me as if I am.

I like the dragonborn.  Yep, it's true, I like the dragonborn.

I'm pidgon holed!! Painfully obvious, but true.  I am pigeonholed. There is just so much Wizards could have done with Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition.

Ah, the Paladin.  Captain Moroni fighting for the freedom of his people.  Leading the troops.  Or a Christian Knight fighting for a clan of goblins, or saving them from a fate worse than death . . . AH . . . WHAT?!  THAT DEFIES ALL LOGIC AND PHYSICS!! The Divine Challenge ability.   Your reason, and apparently mine, for playing a paladin.  Oh the idiocy of it all, I'm reduced to playing a sterotypical paladin that prays at church, is good to other people, is turned into a meat shield, and if he isn't attacked by his enemy his enemy is divinely smited.  When I play the paladin, I want to play some romantic paladin in polished, shiny armor that would save damsels in distress and quest for holy grails and be the paragon of virtue.  I can't even play a Miles Gloriosus!

Wizards, with powers so fair and so powerful . . . I want to play . . . hey, how come I have only two roles?!? The wizard, born with the ability to use 100% of his brain.  Reduced to making war or controlling the battlefield.  What happened to the wonder, the romance, the appeal?

Warlords . . . what the paladin could have been.

Powers.  Good Idea.  I like.

Skill Challenges.  Good idea, I like them.

Miniature use.  Okay, where are my sissors?  I am not going to spend $1,000 on miniatures just for these rules.  I'm going to use a different battle mechanic.

Rituals. Finally, some real spells.  But why are they in the back?

My Cousin's summary of the game.  "4th Edition is exactly like WoW, I'm sorry, but there is no other way to describe the game.  You have to play these four roles and there is no way in or out or around it.  I'm sorry."

After skimming the book, I have to agree with him.  Give me a few days to read the PHB in depth and in detail.  But, after reading the PHB, I feel cheated!