Global icon and humanitarian, Dolly Parton, known to the world as a beloved singer, songwriter, philanthropist, actress, playwright, and author died peacefully today in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 80 years old. Dolly is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 59 years Carl Thomas Dean (1942 – 2025), her mother Avie Lee Caroline Owens (1923 – 2003), and father, Robert Lee Parton, Sr. (1921 – 2000). A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth, and kindness that made us all feel like family. Dolly Parton’s legacy is one of love, compassion, and resilience. With a seven-decade career, she inspired multiple generations of artists and fans with her music and an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place. Her songs will continue to resonate with people of all ages, and her philanthropic work will have a lasting impact. At Dolly’s request, a small, private service will be held for immediate family. Dolly’s fans and friends from around the world are encouraged to pay tribute to Dolly on social media by tagging @DollyParton or by leaving a message at In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at

Trista had never played tabletop Dungeons & Dragons before, so I recently dusted off some old skills and ran a little four player game for her. I never learned modern 5e rules, and I wanted to keep it simple, so I initially considered going full retro with the original Little Brown Book rules. That was a little too crude, so I wound up with the Rules Cyclopedia version, harkening back to my D&D basic set in the late 70s. The big change from my old games is that Trista and the other players were already skilled Warhammer figure painters, which meant everyone painted their own figure and they collaborated to give me a full menagerie of painted monsters for the game. The expense of lead miniatures and lack of art talent in my early gaming groups had always meant unpainted player characters and cardboard chits for the monsters. I had a little bit of a bias towards “it is a game of imagination!”, but visual aids are good, actually. Everyone had fun, and I may be on the hook for doing this once a quarter.

Today's the day. Fueling of the Artemis II Moon rocket is underway. Full coverage of the crewed lunar mission begins at 12:50 p.m. EDT (1650 UTC). Check out ways to watch:

@tracewoodgrains I know it sounds unbelievable, but it is true. He plays a LOT, on top of everything else he does, and he is incredibly serious about it. My girlfriend tags along behind him on some runs to level up fast.