Godzilla and Me - Favorite Foto Friday

I hear there is a new Godzilla movie.  I don't know what the big deal is.  I was in Tokyo last year and stood next to Godzilla for a photo.  He ain't so big.

What? Pikmin Again? (Record time)

No, this is not a reprint!

Though we just finished Pikmin a few days ago, we had such a good time playing, that we played it again, right away.  This time, we decided we would, for the first time ever, try to see the record for "Surviving Pikmin."  You see, in the game, there are only three metrics (scores) kept to help you judge how well you did, compared to other times you've played: Fewest Number of Days (our record is 15 days), Most Surviving Pikmin, and Fewest Pikmin Lost.

In our (many) previous games, we've always tried to complete the game as "fast" as we could -- collecting all 30 missing pieces to the spaceship in as few days as possible.  Well, as you might expect, when we have fewer "game days," we have fewer days to accumulate Pikmin.  So this time, we decide to use all 30 of the "game days" which the game gives us.  That meant we had to average one spaceship piece per day, and we could spend any extra time just focusing on growing Pikmin.

Last night, May 28, we completed the game again, with the goal of having as many Pikmin left as possible. The results were impressive.  Where our previous high score for Surviving Pikmin had been 1165, we blew that record out of the water: we had 4043 Pikmin at the end!

Somewhat surprising to me, we also scored second (lowest) in number of Pikmin Lost, with only 292.  Sherry, who watched and coached as I played, was not surprised at the low total of Pikmin Lost, and once she explained, it made sense.  By not rushing to get spaceship parts, I was free to be more careful in my battles with the indigenous monsters, so she noticed I was losing fewer than normal.

Anyway, that's the update.  We finished the game six days after finishing it last.  What will we do next?  My guess: Pikmin 2.  But it's just a guess.

Reading Rainbow Kickstarter - Video

You have to have heard about this.  If not, you have to hear about this.

I am looking forward to having Reading Rainbow for my grandchildren, just as we had it for my children.

Bring Reading Rainbow’s unlimited library of interactive books and video field trips to kids everywhere & help classrooms most in need!



The Kickstarter link

P.S.  Like Star Trek?  Stay to the Very End of the video.

Dungeons and Family

Years ago, so many years ago that nostalgia washes over me every time I think about the simpler days in Decorah, when I could get together with my friends almost anywhere in town by hopping on a bicycle for a short ride, my good friend Craig introduced us to a new game called Dungeons and Dragons.  We were teenagers, we had time, we loved fantasy -- we were hooked.  Soon, we were playing every chance we had, and I spent most of my waking hours reading, thinking, talking and designing for the game. 

Around the country, and around the world, others were falling in love with this game which allowed its players to assume the roles of adventurers in imaginary worlds full of epic fantasy, searching dark, dangerous dungeons; facing both creatures well known from myth and monsters of new imaginings; rescuing the weak from the forces of evil.  The Role Playing Game had been invented, inspiring a whole new class of entertainment.  But these larger issues were not important to us.  We, the players, just loved the game.  And, in those few times we thought about the future, we longingly imagined being able to gather again to play the game, even in those far away times when we were finally adults.  In fact, we, who started playing as sixteen-year-olds, and who continued playing during our college breaks, imagined that, perhaps, someday, we would gather in our retirement to play again.

Yet never did I imagine what the game could mean to me in my life as a father.

When my boys were young, it was clear they loved the fantastic as much as I did.  So it was easy -- natural, even -- to introduce the idea of giving them each a character and having those characters fight "bad guys" with dice.  This was one of many, many activities we had together.  Sports, plays, movies, vacations, and other more traditional games filled most of our time.  But there was always fun to be had with a couple of miniature figures -- a warrior and a wizard, perhaps -- and a few dice.

But could the fun continue?

I'm here to tell you that it certainly has.  Last night, my boys, together with one of my girls, a daughter-in-law, a son-in-law, and friends of theirs, invaded a castle, were made prisoners, escaped, and then defeated an extremely powerful vampire who had been preying on a city for more than a hundred years.

As a gamer, I still enjoy playing this game. But far more importantly, as a father I cherish opportunities to share experiences with my children.  Over thirty years ago, when I first encountered this game, I could not have predicted how much enjoyment it would bring to me as a father.  Now, even in the midst of it, I find it hard to believe.  But oh how I appreciate it!

Game On!

For No Records: Pikmin

We completed Pikmin again on May 22, 2014.

I find it hard to believe we haven't played it since this post from 2012.

In fact, I am pretty sure I just didn't blog about it the last time (or two) we played it.

On the other hand, we did not set any records this time, as we did that time in July, 2012.  We finished in 17 (game) days, and had only the 5th best score for Pikmin sprouted and lost.  So maybe it's not worth even blogging about.

But hey, very few people look at my "Favorite Foto Friday" photo entries, and I do like to remember what games I've been playing, so today's Friday entry is about a game which has been excellent fun every single time I have played it. 

Have a great weekend, everyone.  And for those of you in the US, enjoy Memorial Day: remember what it's for.

Too Busy for Magic? Or is there more to it?

I know I'm too busy.  How do I know I'm too busy?

I'm too busy for Magic: the Gathering.

Evidence:

The latest set for MtG is called Journey into Nyx.  It was released on May 2.  When did I pick it up?  On May 19!  Oh, I pre-ordered my boxes a month prior to release, so at least I wasn't so busy that I missed the good prices of pre-order, but it took me more than two weeks to get the boxes.

And where are those boxes now, on May 22?

In the storage container of my car, where I put them when I picked them up, on my way to the airport!

But really, folks, the evidence gets even more damning.

I also haven't even opened any of the previous three sets:




Except for a small tournament I ran with family and friends last October, I have not played with any of the cards which have been released in the past year.

So, I guess, what's really true is this:  given how busy I am, I have chosen to do other things with my spare time.  In general, those "other things" have allowed me to spend more time with Sherry, now that she is in town after her three years getting her degree in Apparel Design.  It's certainly true that I have had less spare time, but I also have to face the fact that I am not as driven to do MtG as I have been in the past.  I still really enjoy the game, but I must realize that I play so rarely now, and the process of opening new cards and building decks with them is so time-consuming, that the prospect of getting to new sets seems more like a chore, and less like the exciting process of discovery and inspiration than it was is the past.

I need to change my approach.  I want to find my love of this game again.

And I want to open those cards!

Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer 2

See, the thing about Marvel Studios is this: they GET their properties.  They get that Tony Stark has to be egotistical, but still likeable.  They get that Thor isn't enough on his own - he needs Asgard and, yes, Loki.  They get that Captain America needs to keep to the moral high ground, not simply follow orders.

And what else does Marvel Studios get?  They get that the Guardians of the Galaxy have to be a bit on the campy side.  The way cool, blow-stuff up, sexy but silly campy side.

Need proof?  See trailer 2.

Favorite Foto Friday - Goblin and Doom

From our trip to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure.

Talk Nerdy to Me - Video

Yeah, so this was going around facebook earlier this week, and it's just the sort of thing I like.  Why?  Let's not analyze, shall we?  Let's just talk nerdy.

Super Mario 3D World for Wii U

Of all the video games we have played, one of the series which is most likely to provide hours of fun has been the Super Mario games, at least since the days of the Nintendo GameCube.  So, when "Super Mario Bros U" came out for the Wii U, we got it and tried it right away.  Sadly, it was a side-scrolling, 2D game, and it was clearly meant more as a multi-player game than as something I could play while Sherry watched and advised.  I guess I never reviewed it, but then again, I never even came close to finishing it, which is typically one criterion for my reviews.

Well, along came Super Mario 3D World.  I don't know why, but I had never really heard of it.  My friend Eric mentioned it to me (I'm told) but I must have blocked it out, having been disappointed with SMB-U.  Anyway, eventually, we bought it and tried it.

And finished it.  (Mostly.)

As the name suggests, the worlds in which Mario plays are 3D worlds, which is basically a must for me these days.  Oh, I got some enjoyment out of the Paper Mario games, but they were not merely 2D games -- they were cleverly designed to take advantage of being 2D when played by a 3D mind.  Anyway, I want 3D, and SM3DW gave that to me.

Each world is timed, which is not quite what I enjoy most, but this aspect of the game did not hinder most of the worlds, and it truly improved many of them.  My preference is to be allowed to explore a 3D world at my leisure, but the size of most of these worlds allowed a decent exploration in five minutes, which was the typical time allotted. 

There were new features in the game -- being able to don a cat costume is one of the best -- which allowed several new puzzles to be created.  Other changes from previous games were also welcome -- such as carrying "lives" from one gaming session to the next.

In most worlds, the goal is to collect three green stars, with an added goal of collecting a "stamp" which can be used to fill a "stamp book."  I considered the game complete when I had collected all of the green stars, so there are still a few stamps I could someday try to grab.  That I am willing to leave those mini-goals unattained is an indication that, yes, this game is not quite as good as the Super Mario Galaxy games -- which simply must be completely completed when I play them.  Still, this was a nice entry into my library of games, and I am likely to play it again once or twice in the future.  It's no Pikmin 3, and it's no Super Mario Galaxy, but it's definitely fun.

Review - Turn Coat - Dresden Files 11 - Jim Butcher

Title: Turn Coat

Author: Jim Butcher

As the eleventh book of the Dresden Files begins, our favorite wizard detective, Harry Dresden, comes face-to-face with something he has been suspecting for several installments now -- there is treachery in the White Council.  And if the most powerful wizards in the world are not safe, then neither are Harry, the people he cares for, or for that matter, all of humanity.

A master of the thriller, Jim Butcher again puts his hero, Chicago's only professional wizard, into the middle of tremendous danger which flows like a swollen river, so fast we believe Harry Dresden might drown.  In fact, with the return of the TV series "24" for its ninth season, it occurs to me that Turn Coat, like many of the Dresden Files, is often driven by imminent danger and a fast-approaching deadline -- accent on the "dead."

Many supporting characters who have surrounded Dresden in past books are called upon again, in each case critical to the story Butcher is telling, in many cases developing as characters in their own rights. I was very happy to see Toot-toot!

Harry Dresden always seems to be faced with the choice between doing what he knows is right, which will almost undoubtedly mean his death, or doing what is expedient.  Harry is a flawed hero, but he's definitely a hero.  And it's constantly entertaining to see how the story plays out, and the prices which are exacted for doing the Right Thing.

Movie Micro-Reviews - Edition 103

Several movies here which we missed the first time around.  Note the highest rated (for me) is "About Time."

Dallas Buyers Club	60	The sort of movie that wins awards. Great performance. Tough story. Not a fun movie, but it means something.
Ice Age: Continental Drift	45	Meh. Some was silly fun. Some was just scene after scene.
About Time	83	A time-travel story centered on the personal. Charming, smart, touching.  See it.
Monuments Men (The)	64	A very interesting story about saving art from the ravages of World War 2.  Well done. Great cast.
Transformers	58	Fun parts, silly parts, stupid parts.  Good effects.   More story than I was expecting, but there were too many characters.  Glad I saw it finally, but I won’t likely see it again. (Saw it again because it was on TV, and a lot of time had passed.)
Saving Mr. Banks	81	Tom Hanks found another great story to tell. Emma Thompson sold it.