Love, Lydia - Notes from a geeky, plus sized artist.: games
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts

Friday, September 9, 2016

Let's Play: Molkky


Hello friends,


I've got a lot of exciting things in store for you this month as fall brings things back into focus.  Today's post is a fun review of a game called Molkky.  The game's maker, Tactic Games sent me a copy of the game to try out and review for you all (Nope I'm not paid to review it, they just saw I write about games sometimes and thought you all would like it!).  Molkky is a game that originates in Finland and is one of the most popular lawn games in Europe.  You can read more about it's history here.

Molkky




I was hoping to try it out with family before or during Labor day weekend, but nature had other plans and sent us some rain with the remnants of hurricane Hermine.  But take a peek at the video to see Bryan and I playing and enjoying this game!  It gives a much better view of the game pieces in action.

My Molkky Experience




In terms of the quality it's nicely boxed up in a very sturdy cardboard carrying case with a comfortable plastic handle.  The wooden games pieces seem to be made of a sturdy, but lightweight wood, probably pine.  The whole set is built to last well, and I think families will not only get a lot of use out of it since it's a game that's easy for all ages to learn and play, but also keep coming back to it each summer.  (Or if you're like us you can play indoors with bad weather!)  It's not as complex as some of the board games I play, but I really like games like this that can be played at parties and family get togethers.  If you'd like to get a game you can find them here through my Amazon affiliate link.  And you can check out Tactic's site here as well for more information.

Thanks for reading!  Let me know if you have any other fun board games or lawn games you want me to try out in the comments.  I'll have some more posts coming up soon.





Saturday, July 9, 2016

News + My Nerd Origin Story

Hi Friends,


This week has been a crazy one, with lots of good and lots of bad to report.  Honestly it breaks my heart to think about it all too much.  However I'm going to try and write about some of it and we'll see what happens from there!


News

Giveaway


First off I'm pleased to announce a winner to my giveaway (found in this post).  Congratulations to Melissa K!  Her prize will be shipping soon, and if you missed this giveaway please stay tuned to my blog.  I'll be hosting another in the near future!


I'd also like to thank everyone who entered my giveaway.  I loved reading your ideas for what I should be writing about and noted many folks want to see more about plus size fashion and reviews.  I can't wait to bring you more of this!

Liebster Award



Last week I was nominated by my lovely colleague Sadie at Sadie By Design for a Liebster Award!  The Liebster is an way of giving bloggers a better platform to tell their story to the world.  I wanted to acknowledge it in this post even though I haven't had time to fully address all that goes with the nomination yet.  I'm thrilled and flattered to be featured this way and can't wait to write more about it.  Please watch for a more in depth post about this in the next few weeks!

#BlackLivesMatter


This is just exhausting to keep track of, and the more hate that builds as people start to see race as an issue to take sides on the more sick I feel.  I can't think about other people that way.  506 black lives have been lost so far this year, and now more are being added from the police force thanks to a few renegades who are taking things into their own hands.  One of the 506 was my cousin a few months back.

I keep thinking things will change for the better, and then there is only more violence and tragedy.  It leaves me an emotional mess, feeling guilty when good things are happening in my own life and others are experiencing so much loss.  Guilty for being white and having the privilege to go and do what I want without being anxious for my life.  I feel bad that the best I can do most days is simply have dialogue with you, my readers, or the other folks I know in person or online.  It just feels like nothing I do will be enough to help.  And for that I am sorry.

However I try to read and stay educated about what is going on.  I don't just block it out with my own moderately happy life.  If this strikes a chord with you and you'd like to learn more about concrete ways you can help find peace and ensure a better future for everyone in this country please check out this amazing article featuring a list of practical ways to become an ally.

Pokemon Go


This has been the happy thing of my week  I have been enjoying this app I have eagerly awaited the past 8 months.  I'll be writing more on this in the near future, including a full review!  For now I have my Bulbasaur, a gym next door to my house (First to claim!  Though it's already been taken over and....well, I'll come back to that later).

My Nerd Origin Story


My friend and fellow blogger Mickey came up with this writing prompt and opened it up as a bit of a group project within the Geeks & Beauties community I'm a part of.  I think it's a great topic to think about as we get introspective about life because it helps us look on the bright side of things and view our own life as a story that we get the power to write.  Just as some of our favorite superheroes lives were shaped by adversity so are our own at times.  And as with superheroes, sometimes we keep our nerdy identity a secret from the general public.  However, today I'm opening up about it to you all.

My own story starts when I was learning to read.  I was homeschooled and my mom had some curriculum to help that included a series of books with stepped difficulty and little racetrack to move along as you read each.  I remember after the first dozen or so I think I completed the rest in a day, and then started begging my mom to take me to the library.  From then on I loved reading and would get a dozen or more books each visit, multiple times a week.  When I was 10 years old my mom, brother and I spent some time living with my grandmother and great grandmother to help them out.  As soon as we realized we might be there long term the library visits started there too, and in some ways reading became my best friend when there was no one my age to play with.  While I love my brother, when you're cooped up in a house together you get sick of each other eventually.  Books became my escape from that, and later my comfort as I had to figure out how to make friends with kids again when I had left a kid and came back to my hometown a middle schooler.  Fantasy books were my favorite, from retellings of fairy tales to waiting for each new Harry Potter book.

I was the kid who while perhaps 13 walked to the mall on black Friday to buy myself a Game Boy when they were finally cheap enough to be affordable to my family, and then patiently wait to receive it on Christmas day along with a cartridge for Pokemon Blue (my brother got Red!).  We had an old Nintendo we shared and played the first few Super Mario games on, and I vividly remember playing all of the Legend of Zelda on a 6 inch black and white tv.  As he got further into his teens my brother took over most of the gaming systems in our house, deeming me unworthy to play them as a female.  But I was already hooked.

Growing up we had a closet full of board games, stocked by my mom that we used often.  Before she homeschooled my brother and I full time she had been a librarian at a university, and before that a high school biology teacher.  She loved learning and finding us new projects to work on that stimulated our curiosity.  Even when we watched tv with my parents they would often be watching Star Trek or other science fiction shows.  On Saturdays my dad would take us on walks to 7-11 to pick up some small item the family needed and buy me a Barbie or Strawberry Shortcake comic.  I didn't realize how nerdy this all was until much later in life.  I just took joy from reading about gardening and teaching myself to grow roses, or learning to identify birds, trees, and insects.  I never thought of myself as an outdoorsy kid, but I loved nature and the science and beauty of it.  To this day when I'm creating art or decorating my home themes from nature are constantly finding their way into my work.

Later in high school I wanted to run my own website for a church group I was in and learned to code some in HTML.  We didn't even have a computer at the time, just a WebTV unit that allowed us to do very basic web surfing and checking emails.  But I figured out how to make it work, and later when we did have a computer I was the one keeping that up and running for the 5-6 years we owned a desktop the family to shared.  And I almost ended up in the field of graphic design, except I fell in love with darkroom photography and preferred it to sitting in from of a computer for long periods of time.  And now my work involves a computer (or smartphone) all the time!

For most of my life I didn't think about myself as a nerd, I just did the things I loved, which happened to be geeky.  Nowadays when I'm looking for new friends or trying to find my tribe I often go straight for the nerdy girls first.  And most of the time that's exactly what works best.

If you'd like to hear some other great nerd origin stories please go read Mickey's here at the Nerdily blog, Sadie's at Sadie By Design, Andrea's at her YouTube channel Chibi Drea (coming soon), and Evelyn's at Princess Eevee.  I'll update these links to go straight to their stories, but for now you can check out their sites and get to know these lovely ladies.

What's your nerd origin story like?  Let me know more in the comments!  And as always, thanks for reading.  I really appreciate all my visitors.


Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Suspense, Dystopian Worlds, and Gaming for Charity!

Hi folks,

I've had a rough week, but I'm going to be writing 3 posts before I go to bed Saturday.  This is post one!

So I've had the pleasure of reading two books recently that were given to me by the authors for review.  I'm excite to get to do this sometimes because it allows me to try some things that I might not normally see otherwise.  I find these books through reviewer partnership sites like Tomoson or Net Galley and occasionally even get some compensation for spreading news about them online (as I would most of the books I review).  But, on to the reviews....

The Torment of Rachel Ames



The Torment of Rachel Ames is a novella by Jeff Gunhus.  I'm normally not so interested in horror or thrillers, but I noticed the blurb for this book put emphasis on how a lot of what is happening is simply the character trying to figure out what parts of her life are reality and which are her mind playing tricks on her.  All of this takes place at a lake house, which could be anywhere, but seems to have a bit of Maine flavor to me.  As the story progresses the reader thinks they know what's happening, but the truth really doesn't come out until the last few chapters.  And even then it left me with unanswered questions.  Luckily it was in a way I didn't mind!  I liked this book and it's a quick read, though I will warn it is more graphic than most I read, but I read pretty tame books overall too.  You can pre-order the book on Amazon here◊ (it comes out November 10th!) and read more about the author at www.jeffgunhus.com


Alice in No Mans Land


Alice in No Mans Land by James Knapp◊ is a dystopian fiction that sticks to a lot of the trends I've seen lately in the genre.  It's not uncommon since so many of the trends are universals, some part, usually a large chunk of it is left to some horrible fate, in this case blocs of desolation where squatters live.  One of the country's largest businessmen decided to go out and look at bloc he wants to convert.  He brings his kids and second wife along for the ride, and then things get crazy as his daughter Alice finds herself crash landed in the middle of the bloc.  What ensues next is the typical kind of exploration that opens the privileged girl's eyes and earns her friends along the way.  It's not entirely predictable, but it's a little more predictable than I'd like.  The writing is pretty good and kept me reading to know the ending.  It's a reasonable choice if you're looking for more in the genre, though I admit I might be getting a bit jaded towards it myself.

Extra Life



Lastly, today Bryan, his brother DJ and I are participating in Extra Life - a 24 hour game marathon for charity.  We're playing several different games from Season 2 of the Walking Dead to Street Fighter 4, Arkham Knight, and more.  All proceeds are going to the Children's Miracle Nework, so if you feel like you're interested in watching you can watch a livestream of us playing at http://www.twitch.tv/fatubuu8990 and if you feel moved to support us you can visit our donation page at http://www.extra-life.org/.  

Otherwise I'm going to attempt to write more later today because I have too many things to catch up on!  Have a great day everyone.

Love,
Lydia

Monday, October 12, 2015

Update and Geek Tag

Hello everyone,

The week has been crazy and I'm a little behind on everything.  Sorry about that, however, I can say confidently that I've not been dealing with my normal levels if stress for many reasons.  First off I had to make a tough decision about the trip to Texas for one of my best friend's wedding, which I now won't be going at all on.  Then we got some really bad financial news, which isn't our fault, but is going to make our life hard for a while if we can't get it cleared up.  The state is wrongfully claiming we owe them taxes, and after delivering paperwork all summer including filing taxes for a year Bryan was without income besides school funds to prove it, we thought they were finally satisfied.   I suppose they forgot to dismiss the case and sent notice this week that they're garnishing Bryan's wages.  Which really stinks since we just started having to pay double the amount on student loan payments and were stretched thin from that, which resulted in canceling the Texas trip.  Lastly one of Bryan's aunts passed away over the weekend, which was rather unexpected, but due to late stage cancer that we just found out about this week.

But I'm here today for a geek tag from the Geeks and Beauties group I joined recently on Google+.  Questions and answers about fun things in geeky theme.  You can check out some of the videos from the folks who've done it already here and here.

Geek Tag!


1. First Fictional Character Crush.  This is a tough one, but probably Connor from Wren To The Rescue, I've read so many books it's hard to think which might have been first.

2. Dungeons and Dragons or Vampire The Masquerade? I want to simply change this question to "What tabletop role play system do you prefer?" and answer it with Hackmaster New since I've more experiences with alternative systems.


3. Geekiest Item You Own.  LEGOs....I own a bunch of them after working for the Columbus, Ohio store while in college.  It was awesome.  Plus Bryan and I have added to our collection since then.





4. Anne Rice or Stephanie Meyer?  Anne Rice is on my to read list, but hasn't happened yet, so I guess I default to Meyer for now.  *shrugs*


5. First Dr. Who Episode.  Love and Monsters, I caught it the night it was aired in the dorm lounge.  I didn't come back to Doctor Who for a couple more years, possibly partially having to do with the cheesiness of that episode.


6. Star wars or Star Trek?  Both, though Trek wins for being more inclusionary for women and minorities.


7. All Time Favorite Movie.  Amelie, or Pan's Labyrinth, or maybe Hot Fuzz depending on the day.


8. Best Xmas Gift Ever?  Last year hubby and I got a 3DSXL and I love it, so does he.


9. Your Theme Song - Everything by Watashi Wa


10. Name a Perfect Geek Night Out.  For my husband and I this is probably a double date with his brother Davey and fiancee Keri where we go out to dinner and a sci fi movie or to a book trivia program at a local library (we might try a pub trivia thing someday!)


11. If money was no object what would you cosplay?  Bee from Bee and Puppycat


12. Absolute must have book or series?  Harry Potter


13. First Video Game you Played; How old were you?  Well, I know I played Pac Man and Galaga when I was probably 8 on arcade machines with my dad.  As for console games we got an original Nintendo when I was 11 and I started with the classic Duck Hunt/Super Mario Bros.
Image from museumofplay.org


14. Batman Vs Superman - Batman


15. Alien vs predator - *shrugs*  This fandom isn't really my thing


16. Favorite tv show - Favorite that's currently on TV would be Heroes Reborn, my favorite overall is probably Doctor Who (yes I am dissing Moffat here)


17. Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings?  Well, I like the world from Harry Potter better, but Tolkien writes so elegantly.  I still have to go with Harry Potter though.


18. Geekiest Thing to your left.  Take your pick, Japanese candy, the bluetooth shutter remote button (photo nerd!), my "Pokedex" checklist and Pokemon tokens from our tabletop role play game, and the Ravenclaw planner.



19. First video game system you owned?  Well, I shared the Nintendo with my brother, but it wasn't much after that I got a Gameboy Color and Pokemon Blue.


20. Favorite Villain of all time? Loki, though I also really enjoy Harley Quinn.

Feel free to respond with your own geek tag!  I tag you all!

Love,
Lydia

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

I am a Nerd

Hi everyone,

I have a confession to make, I am a nerd, or maybe you'd call it a geek, either way it's about the same.  I love things that are boring to other folks and though I haven't talked about it much here I am unashamed in my passion for them.  I just thought it was time to say that here too.

Today Bryan and I had a conversation about how a being would theoretically evolve with two hearts and how those hearts would function. Many animals with multiple hearts probably had them evolve along with gills.  Would one control blood flow to the left side of the body and the other the right?  If so when a heart failed the individual might lose a leg and arm, but still go on living.  Perhaps the second heart was there to give the individual more energy reserve for purposes of something like the regenerative abilities.  #TimeLords #Centaurii #Science?

We recently discussed how a roleplay system we really enjoy (Hackmaster New) has neglected to introduce information for all the various cleric faiths they promised in the rulebook.  We want to play another campaign, but we may have to adapt the information we have to make something new.  Since we have the opportunity we can put a trinity of gods in place, perhaps sun, moon, and star/void and use that instead of the usual alignments.  Add in another element to craft them by classifying the themes into color families to mimic the values of Magic the Gathering's colors to create the flavor of each cleric's personality.  I have a feeling everyone in the party may be itching to play a cleric character.


We play with ideas like these often, when we're not playing games of Civilization V together, or gathering with brothers for Pokemon roleplay nights (yes we pretend we're trainers, trying to be the very best), or over at Bryan's parents for Sci Fi Night, making art about time travel, going to a LEGO convention, talking physics with Davey, or history with each other, meeting with comic book discussion groups, and playing Brain Dots on our phones in bed together when we should be trying to sleep.

As a result my personal fashion is more Felicia Day than Coco Chanel, though I do love some vintage style.  It may just be influenced by the 1950s as well as steampunk Victorian worlds.  I end up being so eclectic, and I hope I can make that work in a more minimalist way.  It's taking some time to put things together for my fall capsule wardrobe, but I'm excited to see what happens.  And I'll finally have managed to go through all my clothes and can actually go sell stuff (I've been putting this off for the summer) and donate slightly more loved items.

So this is just a bit of my personal love letter to all the geeks out there, and there's probably more where this same from.  For now I'll wait until Wednesday to share more, when I'll be back with another installment of graphic novel reviews.  See you then!

Love,
Lydia


Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Beach Week Aftermath

Welcome back everyone!

I ended up taking time off of blogging while at the beach.  Obviously I didn't intend to, but the week ended up being a busier one than I anticipated.  I didn't even get any reading done!  However, I did spend lots of time with a great bunch of people playing board games, card games, computer games, going on a double date night, having late night chats, making a trip to the outlets, and celebrating my birthday.  I've been reviewing all the photos I took today, but also relaxing because I don't feel so hot.  It's really rather nice to have an excuse to relax after such a busy week.  I know most people don't feel like a vacation is work, but when I'm around a lot of people and get no real time to myself for a while it can be really draining.

Here are some highlights from the week at North Myrtle Beach:

On our first night there the moon was still nearly full and begging to be photographed, so I did!

The yard leading up to the beach.

I stayed up all night Tuesday because the air conditioning was out at the beach house, but in the morning when it was a bit nicer out (it was incredibly muggy all week and mostly very hot with the occasional thunderstorm) I went out to the beach and watched the sunrise with my camera and a couple of the guys.








And finally a little close up nature shot, my favorite kind!



As for the indoor activities I didn't take many photos at all.  Just a shot of the tournament poster I made for our Magic: The Gathering tournament, which I did surprisingly well in.  

On the way home we grabbed Michael to make things more fun and stopped at South of the Border, one of the kitschiest little bits of America that ever happened.  There we saw:
A terrifying jaguar with an unhinged jaw, the horrors!

Our brother Davey, flying his kite.

A very fake shark.

The sad mannequin, with tear stained cheeks, the poor limbless guy.

King Kong and a menagerie of other fiberglass creatures, real and imaginary.  My favorite was the lavender jackalope, I should have taken a picture of it and now kick myself for missing the chance.

The giant sombrero tower.

And the iconic sign.


We also saw plenty of fiends of old corn, peanuts, and tobacco (what's pictured above).  We got stuck in traffic on I-95 multiple times before and after lunch, and eventually got off of it altogether.  But we did enjoy the side trip for a fantastic Cuban lunch in Fayetteville, NC at Habana Cuban Restaurant.

We may have gotten home Saturday, but Sunday was busy too as Allan (Bryan's dad) and I went to see Garrison Keillor on his Prairie Home Companion: The America The Beautiful tour.  I had heard about it only a couple weeks before and near the same time heard of Keillor's upcoming retirement.  Having listened to the show with my parents many Sunday afternoons I had fond memories of his show and wanted to be able to see a bit of it live just once, and thus asked for a ticket as a birthday gift.  While the performances on this tour aren't all aired on the radio they have many of the same features as the show, plus some delightful sing along elements too.  We had a wonderful evening with perfect weather, and a fantastic venue in the Koka Booth Ampitheater in Cary, NC.  I'm hoping to take Bryan (and anyone else inclined to go) back this fall for some of their more moderately priced bluegrass concerts.






I'll be back Wednesday with another set of book reviews.  Thanks for reading!

Love,
Lydia

Saturday, August 1, 2015

Blue Moon Fashion

Hi everyone,

Today we've got a blue moon in the sky (a blue moon is when there are two full moons in the same month) and I thought I'd share a rare outfit too in keeping with that theme.  What I did was allowed my husband Bryan to choose an outfit for me to wear on our date night this week, and I opened up my closet so he could use things in and out of my capsule wardrobe, coaching him through how things might work.  Here's what we got:

Top - Macy's, Necklace by Suzanne Love Jewelry (Raleigh artist), Purse - Target, Skirt - Torrid, Shoes - Toms
And here's an OOTD (Outfit of the day) I wore to the family reunion in Georgia last weekend:



The hair clip is from Modcloth, Top - Catos, Skirt - Catos, Sandals - Modcloth (Keri was my photographer here!)

The next day on the drive home I wore this comfy outfit.
Top - Anthropologie, Neckalace Phoebe Marie (Cleveland, OH artist),
Shorts - Levis via Amazon.com, Shoes Converse Kids via Macy's


And here are some shots from the trip and the reunion itself:

Hummingbird moths!



Mist on the Nantahala River


Teaching Keri to play Ricochet Robots



The yearly DS party

Sharing chips with our 8 year old cousin

These shots are at what has got to be one of the most beautiful rest stops I've ever seen.





All the Confederate flags!! But it was a cool little flea market.


At the Blue Ridge Parkway Folk Art Center...the lighting from those windows was too good to pass up!



As you can see I really enjoy taking pictures of nature when I can get out into it some!  It's been a busy week here and we're packing up to head the the beach, with DJ valiantly staying home to take care of the bun (our rabbit Scarlet, which you can see a video of here).  I'll write again once I get to the beach.

Love,
Lydia