LostSurprise
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Posts posted by LostSurprise
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Nordic Countries is my favorite as well. We play a lot of 2-player though. It's a nice tight map. Competitive at 2 and tight at 3.
For a family game, US is simplest if you have younger children. It feels too easy to me though. We started with Europe and I like the map on that one a lot. I spend downtime looking at the different cities and countries. It feels longer than US though. I also like the team play of Asia and the extra strategy of Marklin.
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Here's a link to that game on boardgamegeek. It lists the different games, what they include, and what they don't include.
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There are several. Some have more differences than others.
US~very simple, straightforward play.
Europe~has tunnels (which could increase the cost of building by forcing you to need more cards of the same color) and train stations (in order to help players bridge line that's been taken by others). Names of cities are in their own language, not the English version. I like that but others maybe be frustrated over the geography.
Marklin~Germany, but has riders for the train. The first person through gets special points for each stop through the route, so you want to be fast making routes but longer routes mean more money.
Nordic Countries~2-3 player version, my favorite
Switzerland~2-3 player version, not my favorite
Asia~one side is similar to US and the other side is the 'legendary' East. Also has a co-play aspect you can chose to do (or not). Players split into partners and work a line together without speaking to each other about it.
India~standard play like US (might have tunnels, I can't remember).
I think there's an Africa and something else now. I think the play is fairly standard for these maps. I can't remember. The ones listed are the ones we own.
Also, the Alvin & Dexter expansion which can add a 'monsters destroy the train lines' to any of the games.
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:grouphug: , Tam. Hope you feel better soon.
I toyed with starting this trilogy earlier this year, but didn't. Not a huge fan of dystopian, yet I'm still curious about this series.
Re: the Terry Pratchett stuff, a little side note. Ds has quite a few Terry Pratchett books (I think around 20), but a part of his Christmas wish list is all the other TP books that he doesn't own. His goal is to end up having all of them. :thumbup1:
Feelin' better. :) Thanks. I try not to post anything of merit when I'm off in some way, but I enjoy everyone's posts!
The Southern Reach trilogy isn't what I think of as dystopian...more speculative fiction/thriller/sort of like the feel of Shutter Island (if you've read that). The government agency doesn't come out really well, but it isn't that unrealistic. There's an interesting mystery behind the whole thing that could go in a few directions. The first one was really paranoid and interesting. The second much more subdued. I'll have to let you know if it feels worthwhile when I finish this book.
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Finished Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good by Kathleen Flinn (The Sharper Your Knife the Less You Cry, Kitchen Counter Cooking School) over the weekend. A memoir of her Midwestern parents and grandparents and her own growing up. Lots of food and family. It was okay. I could relate to a lot of the family stuff so that kept me involved, but generally family memoirs either need a really dramatic family or freakishly good writing/editing. This wasn't really that, but it was nice.
Other then that I've been trying to read Acceptance, the 3rd in that freaky Southern Reach trilogy. I want the closure but the more I read the more I think I'm not going to get the closure. I'm 1/3 of the way in and it's a slog. Too much description slows the pace. Too many character POVs dilute the paranoia (although that does give me hope that I'll at least learn the main characters' fates). Cute little rabbit trails but I know they don't fit within the whole so they aren't catching my imagination. Repetition of things I either know or already figured out. Sigh. I want to like this tale of environmental evolution, but it's just not working for me this time.
I have been crotchety, sick, and watching too much television this week though, so take what I say with a grain of salt. Picking up and putting down Julia Child's letters, Neruda poetry, Something Wicked This Way Comes re-read, Charles Stross short stories, and Tam Lin (Dean) and The Bone Clocks (Mitchell) just arrived from the library. Ack.
Library's about half done. Books are up. I have over 3 boxes I'm giving away. :rolleyes: The kids have been sleeping in there lately. On the floor. It's a good place for doing homework or playing a board game. We just need a few cozy chairs.
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Is it the super-enunciation? It doesn't bother me (at least in WI) but I thought Parks&Recs parody of NPR voices was pretty spot on. I can understand someone getting that from the liquidity of the voices and the over-enunciation.
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I've only ever read The Coral Island, but I liked that. The second half is a bit Western Colonial Imperialist (the cannibals and christians element is too simplistic but it is a plot device for exotic excitement).
Also, it contains a lot of Christian thought, if that's a problem. I didn't find it overwhelming (like Swiss Family Robinson) but we're Christians. In general it's a fun boy exploration book, kind of a more fun version of Robinson Crusoe with teen boys.
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Mary Reagan is good. She's in Around the World in 72 Days and North and South. She sounds...fun...light-hearted.
My state's public radio, WPR (Wisconsin Public Radio), has something called Chapter-a-Day. Most of it is fairly new fiction, but they have some classics thrown in occasionally. They used to have a larger archive, but I think it's only a week or two right now. My favorite reader from CaD is Karl Schmidt. He's in his 80s and has been doing it since he was at the University of Wisconsin. Great voice.
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The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman~minor creepiness but not really scary because it's more a coming of age novel.
Vampires in the Lemon Grove~literary short stories. Some are mildly creepy. Some are depressing. Some are gothic horror. Some are absurdist humor. They're set all over the place too...Italy, Japan, the American Prairie.
Let Me In~Swedish vampire horror. Definitely rated-R horror and contains some tough subjects (pedophila, bullying) and some light ones (first love, identity). The movie (Let the Right One In) is much lighter and kind of sweet actually.
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If you like Pride and Prejudice, mysteries, light romance, and the supernatural, you would probably like Carrie Bebris' Mr. and Mrs. Darcy series. It continues after they're married and they solve supernatural mysteries involving the characters from other Austen novels. The first two are a little silly and very supernatural but the characterization is good. The next 4 are less supernatural and romantic and more interesting IMO. Great light reading.
Another regency era fantasy with magic, mystery, very light romance, and takes place in letters between feisty female cousins is Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer's Sorcery and Cecelia series. Light reading but the female characters are very fun.
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I have a playlist called Peace Peace Peace. I find that a mix of upbeat and mellow favorites, with a few angry/sad songs seems to work for me. The angry/sad give me some catharsis, but they're carefully seeded throughout the mix so I don't overdo it.
One of the songs is "Hell No, I Ain't Happy"
Artists:
Al Green
Fleet Foxes
Gillian Welch
Nick Lowe
Alexi Murdoch
Great Lakes Swimmers
The Kinks
The Band
Stevie Wonder
Wilco
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To me, homeyness is having useful things out being used (not too minimalist) with enough space to use them (not too much stuff). Comfort is a part of it, but so is lack of pretension. It looks used, I guess, it invites use. :)
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I like baked potatoes at these venues.
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Our behavioral psychologist recommends The Explosive Child by Ross Greene for parents of children with anger or opposition problems. Basically, it helps parents realize that a lot of children with these problems are operating beyond their capacity in some part of their life and the ensuing frustration is often channeled into anger.
I wouldn't do boarding school for the reasons stated above. Unless the school is really well-run and specifically set up for anger problems it becomes a place with less supervision and the feeling of being dumped because he's not good enough.
There are many reasons children have anger issues. If counseling has not helped over the last 7 years than it's time to move on. A neuropsychologist can do testing to see if he's struggling somewhere (the anxiety can be turned into anger). A behavioral psychologist can help you with specific behaviors and situations and give you suggestions of how to change things. A psychiatrist can do more with diagnosing psychological disorders and prescribing medications. With any of these you can ask questions and see if it would be helpful to see a neurologist or endocrinologist for further testing. If you don't know who to see, ask your pediatrician for a suggestion or call the mental health clinic and see if they can do an evaluation.
We see a behavioral psychologist. He's been very helpful picking out how situations start and creating a system which will help my son be less aggressive. We also see a neurologist. Physical things, especially in the brain, have a profound impact on personality and attitude. When things are good for my son physically, his attitude and behavior are good!
Please keep an open mind and keep working.
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Economic status is part of it, but also upbringing/experience/social expectations.
Poverty in 1949 was a bit different than poverty in 1975...at least in my family. My paternal line comes from deep poverty and I believe bfing was no big deal (either positive or negative, it just was, no one cared when children/grandchildren use formula). The maternal line has all kinds of bfing problems, but I think some of that is my mother overwriting it with her own experience. Her parents were comfortable and my grandmother had problems so they used formula. It was one answer to her problems. My mother had an extremely bad (month long +) bout with mastitis while she was pregnant with morning sickness. In my opinion when she says she couldn't it means she had a traumatic experience and her milk dried up as a part of that and she didn't understand (or perhaps was traumatized enough to not even want to think about it) she could try again with her next child and it might be better. Even though my parents were poor my mother could fall back on my grandmother for support.
I think people fall back on their experience when under stress.
BTW, my mother was very supportive of breastfeeding when my sister and I declared our intentions even though that wasn't her experience. I didn't even know her breastfeeding background until I was deep into my own bfing "failure." I think a lot of what she told me was to assure me that there wasn't anything wrong with me. I was still a woman and a good mom. I wasn't alone. -
Thanks.
Trying some Ronit Bird. So far it seems simple but he likes the videos and hands-on work.
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If you want a stand alone discussion, start a stand alone discussion specifically. The OP asked for 'breastfeeding myths.' That's a general request which encompasses many experiences. Having a different experience does not make the experience invalid, and frankly I'm a little tired of jibes like 'OTT' and the need to write off other experiences as unimportant and irrelevant to the conversation.
Breastfeeding is a wonderful thing and there is a reason that I worked so hard to incorporate it into my life despite my physical and emotional difficulties. There is a reason I did everything in my power to make sure my sister could be more successful than I was. I fight the good fight. But as a woman who's seen both sides, I think if you silence the other side you miss part of the problems endemic to lactivism which need to be changed.
Evangelical causes can be good and true and still be misguided and hurtful. The need for the idea should never be above the need to serve other people because when we serve an idea we are never flexible enough to reach everyone.
So if you want to preach to the choir, do so. Raise your fists and your signs and complain about the idiots of the world, but the ignorance will still be there. Those people are hurting. Those people are tired. Those people are depressed and angry and under-served. They will not be served by pretending this is a simple issue or that things are natural and hunky-dory and nothing can ever go wrong. They need hands-on relationships. They need compassion. They need examples, a wide variety of all kinds of experience. And they need encouragement.
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Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Lady Elaine is married to Music Man Stan and they have Miss Elaina.
Labrats
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I had a lactation consultant tell me any woman could breastfeed and if my child was failure to thrive it was because I was too lazy. I just about had a breakdown those first few months. My newborn had dropped below 5lb. The doctors were threatening to take him away from me. I never left the sofa while my husband was at work, even to urinate. Nurse for an hour. Bottle feed for 15-30 minutes. Hospital grade pump for 45 minutes. Back to nursing. Back to bfing. Back to pumping. He didn't really nap either, that kid. I cried all the time. It was a mess.
I have 4 children. I've always tried to bf alone with each one. Not everyone produces enough milk. Really. I think even after 10mo of nursing #3, for 40m before every bottle I still only had 1/4oz per side. And that was a huge amount for me!
Not everyone is the same.
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Tam, many book covers stay with me because I'm a visual person; it's often how I think of a book. (Maybe that's why I like paper books vs. ebooks because I see the cover art much more often with a paper book.) If I could frame one book cover & hang it in my house, The 13 1/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear is it -- the cover art drew me to the book in the first place. Makes me smile every time I see it.
The other big book cover that really stands out in my mind is The Sisters Brothers. Even though I read a library copy (& rarely re-read books), I later bought a copy of this one in the used bookstore just for the cover art.
I even made a shelf on my Goodreads page for book covers I love (among the books I've read). Looking at my own list, I think I must like covers with eyes. :laugh:
I'm sure none of us are surprised by this, but a 3 page Goodreads list devoted to it? How wonderful!
Shukriyya, as an adult I've wondered if the Charlotte's Web cover was a sly echo of Renaissance religious painting. You know, angelic or Christ figure high in the painting, Mary carrying something (Jesus, burial objects), others gathered round. As a child I was obsessed with Fern's hair. It was so messy and the ponytail drooped. I loved that. I spent hours looking at the illustrations in the Laura Ingalls books too. Garth Williams is a master illustrator.
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I think lots of good stuff has been covered.
I only wanted to fill in...sometimes a person wants to have a skill (in this case talking or joking with ease with boys) and how they would use that skill (flirting/expressing interest) is not how you use it. People judge things from their own point of maturity and experience. These girls did not feel socially at ease before they started feeling attraction, so these social cues seem to be specifically for attraction. Everything seems fraught with meaning. They're just coming to it from the opposite direction (attraction to friendship). Eventually they'll get more comfortable and this won't be such a big deal.
I just want to say that because some of us were late bloomers, and while that might make our experiences different, it doesn't necessarily make us catty. ;)
(Not to mention 'flirting' is such a vaguely defined concept...even for adults...that people can have different versions of what it means. It's confusing! It's dependent on feelings and experiences! Eventually you just get to the point where you realize you have to be yourself and let your honesty and kindness cover any differences in opinion.)
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I finished off 'Their Eyes Were Watching God.' My thanks to whoever recommended that. It's obviously not something I'd discover on my own.
I still dream of the painting on the cover of the first copy I read of Their Eyes Were Watching God. I love the purples and greens, overhanging plants and the dreaminess in the girl's eyes. I love that the girls is the same color as the sky. I would love to have that painting. I can't even find another printing like the library binding I read in high school. Whoever designed that one did an excellent job. The greens and purples faded into the rest of the black of rest of the jacket and the painting took the entire front cover. Most of the ones who use that painting now are chopped down and all washed out. The richness of the experience is gone.
I'm always amazed at how art...especially cover art...can draw you to a story or perfectly express a theme or feel of a story. It would be interesting to hear which book covers have been stayed with any of you.
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DH and I played Wok Star last night, just a round by ourselves to work the kinks out. We played it years ago at the Gaming Hoopla but it was very different this time. I'm pretty sure the person who taught us the game changed the rules significantly. In fact, I remember him saying that he did but that they were updating it for the second printing.
Nope.
So instead of a game where you roll and roll and roll dice it's a much tighter game. You only roll once at the beginning of the round and then work cooperatively to prep the ingredients you need for the round (using cards which give you few or many of each ingredient depending on the dice used). Much more strategic. The cards choose a head chef randomly and that person uses the ingredients to make Chinese dishes for customers chosen from a deck (money is tracked at the end of the round). Play is cooperative. Everyone gets a chance to cook, otherwise they are staying ahead of the chef and prepping needed ingredients using their dice. Players also play a member of the owner family and each has a special power. I was Granny.
I think the first 3 rounds are really to earn money and invest in the restaurant (buying new dishes/ingredients) enough that you have a successful 4th round. The 4th round starts at $0 and you have to earn a set amount of money to prove to the bank that the restaurant is viable. We didn't get that far this time. We just did 2 rounds before bed.
Interesting. There's a quick time element and you pass the cooking around depending on the customer card. I'd like to try it 4 player and see how chaotic it gets. You have 30 seconds per dish in the intro game and 20 seconds in a regular game (15 if you want to make it hard). It will probably get crazy. I think the boys will like that.
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The AAUW book sale was last week. I bought 50. :001_huh: The question remains, where do I put the 50?? :rolleyes:
Gloom--the Card Game
in The Chat Board
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I've played it once or twice. If you like Munchkin and don't mind a mildly morbid game, I think you'll like it. They both have a lot of random luck and a sense of humor.
There is a quick-thinking/storytelling aspect to the game. Some people are just better at that than others, but it's fairly easy to jump in so most people don't mind. Scoring is pretty easy to figure out too.