Entertainment – Page 9 – Mom's Guide to the Galaxy

Papa’s Gift (part 1)

Back in 2015 (how is that 4 years ago already?), a story came together at the right time to submit it to WindyCon’s short story competition. I was pleasantly surprised when I received an honorable mention in the contest, more so when I realize there were over twenty stories competing. Because of the length, the story will be split across multiple posts. Enjoy!

Monster has retreated to its lair

The flying snake seen near Custer, South Dakota has retreated into the caves at Wind Cave National Park following a fight with National Guard forces. Wind Cave National Park is closed until further notice.

I was just a kid getting by until a couple days after The Rupture. When I lost my mother the year before, she told me “Evie, you’ve got to believe. I’m ready to go. I hate to leave you, but believe, please, that I am going to a better place.”

“I believe, Momma, but I don’t understand.”

Yeah, that’s what I said. Not a sappy, “I love you,” or “you’ll always be with me.” I said, “I don’t understand.”

I still don’t understand why she died, why cancer picks one person but not another. But I do understand many other things. Some I wish I didn’t. Because when you speak, I hear what you say. But I hear what you don’t say as well, the meaning behind your words. And that, beyond so many other Gifts, made me useful.

It put me in a position to be involved in the early days of our local situation. Papa and I have travelled in the nearby states since things settled down, at least in the areas where it’s safe. I’m collecting stories from everybody I can, combining what they said and what they really meant. Papa and I have agreed that we’ll do a road trip before college, so we can travel farther and talk to more people. I’ll post on my blog as I travel, trying to get a feel for how different areas of the country were affected.

But let me back up to the beginning, to the night of The Rupture. It was a Friday night in the middle of May, and I was home with Aunt Mary. Papa worked most Friday nights so we could have Saturdays together. I’d finished what little homework I had for the weekend and was helping Aunt Mary get some seeds into the ground. She called what we were doing subsistence gardening; I called it future pumpkin pies. She wore dainty gardening gloves to protect her nail polish, handing me the seeds to place in the ground. I opened a hole by poking a pencil into the ground, dropped the seed in, then shoved the dirt over it with my bare hands. Nail polish had no business on my fingers, and the dirt would wash off soon enough.

We were about halfway through planting our summer squash and pumpkins when the sky darkened abruptly. Not your usual storm rolling in darkening, this was light one minute and dark the next. Aunt Mary grabbed her seeds and I shoved the pencil in my back pocket as we rushed for the porch, thinking a tornado was about to hit or the skies were about to open up on us.

And they did open up, but not with rain. All around the world, a crack appeared in the sky, like lightning flashing when it stretches across the horizon, but this lightning was purple, then blue, and finally a bright flash of red. And it happened everywhere on Earth at the exact same time, as we found out over the next few days.

Not surprisingly, it was the headline on the evening news, which Aunt Mary still watched, and for most news sites the next morning. Some news writer called it a “rupture in space,” and the name stuck. Scientists were puzzled and photographers entranced.

Things got weird pretty quickly after that. The headlines on most news sites looked like those tabloids you read when you’re bored in line at the grocery store. (Aunt Mary always picked the longest line so she could read all of the headlines.) Monster sightings went well beyond the Bigfoot tales at the checkout lane, with photos and videos as proof, especially that flying snake that landed on Mount Rushmore with hundreds of tourists watching. Those were mixed in with tales of people suddenly having strange abilities, like a kid seen levitating a few feet before walking away as his bicycle was crushed by a car, and a mother claiming her kid was turning into a cat to hide from her.

But Aunt Mary and I were busy on Saturday, finishing up the interrupted planting and harvesting some early veggies, like spinach and radishes, so we could replant those spots. While we planted, Papa turned the compost piles, then took me to see a movie while Aunt Mary sat on the porch and sipped iced tea. It was the proper way to spend a Saturday afternoon, she said, waiting for her friends to visit instead of hiding inside on a beautiful day.

We didn’t hear about anything weird until Aunt Mary turned on the evening news, and it wasn’t until Sunday morning that we saw any signs of these changes here in Edwardsville.

Trying something new at Capricon: hosting a party

Last weekend, I attended my 19th Capricon. Yes, really… 19 consecutive years at the same convention. Wow! Capricon was the first convention that I discovered the room parties at. (I had attended DragonCon before that, but didn’t encounter the parties until after my first Capricon.) I’ve assisted at parties with various groups over the years, but just with on-site stuff… checking IDs, supplying some fresh baked cookies, that sort of thing.

At last year’s Capricon, as I was wandering the parties with friends, I wandered straight into their party idea – building a box fort in one of the party rooms. Letting people decorate the boxes after we built it. And, of course, having drinks. Really, the core concept was the boxes, and those are easy to collect over the course of a year. One of our organizers studied theater set design, so he’s quite capable of building a set… pretty quickly, as it turns out.

A box fort flyer, a decorated box with "Just Another Box in the Wall", the Party Staff Choice award, and part of the wall — A Box Fort flyer, a decorated box, the Party Staff Choice award, and part of the wall

We had on and off discussions throughout the year, mostly about what drinks to serve, then eventually what entertainment to include for a castle-themed box fort. We considered what style cups and wristbands we wanted for the party, and what snacks to serve. And how much of everything to buy.

That’s the hard question, really… you have an idea of how many people will come to the convention based on previous years (just over 1,200 this year), then guess at how many will come to the parties, how many cups each person will use, and what drinks they may prefer of the ones you’re serving. We ran the party for two nights. Few people, myself included, keep their party wristbands on from night to night, so you have to account for double use on the wristbands. Some people want a new cup for each drink, some will reuse their cups.

To say we had a blast, well, that’s an understatement. We’re looking forward to doing it again at next year’s convention, the Tropics of Capricon.

Swords and Fire trilogy by Melissa Caruso

About a year and a half ago, I received The Tethered Mage as a review book. I was thrilled when I read it, and was even more thrilled when I received the sequel, The Defiant Heir, a few months later. The trilogy reaches its exciting conclusion in The Unbound Empire, coming out this April. I won’t share the individual reviews here – suffice to say that I like all three books and highly recommend them. Instead, I want to look at why I like these books as much as I do.

Let’s start with the world… you are either born a mage, or you’re not. Certain kinds of magic are favored over others, at least within the Raverran Empire. Raverran mages, called Falcons, are each bound to a Falconer with a jess, a magical bracelet that allows the Falconer to suppress the Falcon’s magic. This isn’t a big deal if your Falcon creates artifices – magical devices, like the jesses, that can be used by other people – but when your Falcon wields balefire, or can call and control storms at a whim, then their magic is sealed unless at training or desperately needed.

Neighboring Vaskandar has a different approach to magic, favoring vivomancers, who control different aspects of life magic. The Vaskandran mages, called Witch Lords, are intricately tied to the lands they govern, to the point where they can drain the life from their subjects to heal their own wounds. More subjects means more power for the Witch Lords, which is why Prince Ruven, a Vaskandran skinwitch, is looking to invade Raverra.

The protagonist, Lady Amalia Cornaro is heir to one of the ruling families of the Raverran Empire. Over the course of the trilogy, she evolves from a young scholar who defies her mother to sneak into the poorest district of Raverra in search of a book, to proposing a new law freeing the Falcons – the magicians of the Empire – from the archaic laws that bind them, and accompanying her Falcon, Zaira, into battle. Amalia is tasked repeatedly with saving the Empire, and put in the unfortunate position that leaders face of having to decide who is expendable to achieve that goal.

The twists and turns in this trilogy will keep you guessing as to who will survive, and they’re so well-written that you won’t want to put them down. When you finish, you’ll want to pick them back up to re-read the bits and pieces that connected the clues for Amalia, then back to each of those clues to see if you missed any others.

Making the most of winter

It can be difficult finding the urge to go outside when it’s cold, and it’s certainly hard to stay out there for an extended period. Here are some of the reasons (other than karate) that I’ve gotten off the couch so far this winter.

Mooseheart holiday lights, a drive through display

Mooseheart holiday lights with the word "JOY", a drive through display — Mooseheart holiday lights, a drive through display

Holiday lights – tons of places do special light displays approaching the holidays, including various zoos in the Chicagoland area, and as of this year, Six Flags Great America. I didn’t make it to those. I did make it to the nearby Mooseheart campus holiday lights, which runs from Black Friday through New Year’s Eve every year. This is a driving route, rather than walking, though it includes an option to stop for hot chocolate and a visit with Santa.

Fabyan Japanese Gardens 2018 Winter Solstice celebration, with luminaries lighting the path and lights strung along the bridge — Fabyan Japanese Gardens 2018 Winter Solstice celebration

Winter Solstice celebration – my first visit to the nearby Fabyan Japanese Garden was for their first Winter Solstice celebration. They’re usually only open from May to October, so this seemed like a prime opportunity to explore. The event took place after dark – which made parking in a minimally lit parking area interesting – with a mix of lights and luminaries outlining the paths and architectural elements of the garden. The bridges were decorated, but off limits because of the risk of slipping with the combination of darkness and cold temperatures.

Two snow leopards lounging at Brookfield Zoo — Snow leopards lounging at Brookfield Zoo

Close-up of a sea lion that was playing with visitors through the glass — Sea lion playing with visitors

Brookfield Zoo – While we missed the zoo lights this winter, we did make it to Brookfield Zoo in January. The indoor creatures aren’t exposed to the temperature change, which makes visiting them a good spot to warm up, in between seeing the animals that were clearly enjoying the cooler weather. On that particular morning, some of the aquatic creatures were remarkably active, even interacting with visitors through the glass. Sadly, there wasn’t snow on the ground at the time; snow adds a layer of beauty to the zoo.

How do you get up and moving when it’s cold outside?

Road trip for literary heroines

Just after Christmas, I realized that there was an exhibit at the Putnam Museum titled Literary Heroines: Their Times, Their Fashions. The museum had been on my radar for the past few months; it’s just across the border in Davenport, Iowa, about a two hours drive, and neither of us had been to Iowa before. It was the next to last weekend of the exhibit, so our last chance to see it.

The Putnam website described the exhibit as “Strong and influential female protagonists spring from the pages of some of literature’s most iconic books with the Putnam’s the newest exhibit, Literary Heroines: Their Times, Their Fashions — open NOW!”

The exhibit featured “the apparel and interests of exciting and memorable characters, as they come to life through vignettes,” with a range of heroines form Hermione Granger (Harry Potter, of course), Laura Ingalls (Little House on the Prairie), and Scout (To Kill a Mockingbird). I can only imagine how hard it was to narrow the list down to these twenty titles. Every exhibit included information about the book and the heroine, along with a mannequin outfitted appropriately.

I came out of it with a reading list; while I’m familiar with most of the titles, I think I’ve only read three of them. This is the list of books represented:

The Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton)

Putnam Museum: Literary Heroines exhibit
The Atomic City Girls (Janet Beard)
The Color Purple (Alice Walker)
Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash)
The Forest Lover (Susan Vreeland)
Harry Potter series (JK Rowling)
The Help (Kathryn Stockett)
Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
Like Water for Chocolate (Laura Esquivel)
Little House series (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
Miss Fisher Mysteries (Kerry Greenwood)
Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker (Jennifer Chiaverini)
Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
The Nightingale (Kristin Hannah)
The Plague of Doves (Louise Erdrich)
Pride & Prejudice (Jane Austen)
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See)
To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Wonder Woman comic books

The rest of the museum was entertaining, with many hands on activities for children of all ages (including those of us who are children with jobs, aka “adults”). We took the time to watch a 3-D movie about Oceans; it was one of three choices in the time we were there. And we played a bit… infrared pictures are fun.

Putnam Museum: infrared picture of two people — Putnam Museum: infrared picture

Dorkstock 2018: Mission Accomplished

Dorkstock has always been a labor of love, a mini-convention run by John Kovalic’s fans within a larger convention. This was our third year being hosted by Gamehole Con, and I think the first time that Dorkstock has been a four-day convention. We had an incredible game schedule this year, filled with assorted Munchkin and Chez games, among other favorites from Steve Jackson Games, and both Steve Jackson and Phil Reed were in attendance. We pulled out some classic Out of the Box games and other, more esoteric games like Cthulhu in the House and Knuckle Sammich.

Igor bars, 3-D Dork Frag, 3-D Dork Tower board game, life-sized Warhamster Rally

But one of our gamemasters goes above and beyond, creating 3-D and life-size versions of some of her favorite games. This leads to interesting e-mail conversations like “is an 18-inch hex large enough for a person to stand in”? (Yes, yes it is.) Among other masterpieces were the 3-D Dork Frag (originally published in an issue of Dork Tower), the 3-D Dork Tower board game (a parody of the classic Dark Tower game), the life-sized Escape from Dork Tower (not pictured), and the life-sized (with 18-inch hexes) Warhamster Rally. Those are certainly a labor of love. I’ll content myself with making the occasional Igor bars and running a few games.

Oh, and planning for next year… Gamehole Con announced their dates for 2019: October 31st through November 3rd. Can you say “Dorkstock Costume Party”?

Pokémon Go

I have found at my new job, working in a smaller office space, that I walk less than I used to. Given that I have a desk job, I already don’t move enough during the day. I was occasionally walking before lunch at my old job, but needed some extra push to get there at my new job.

On a Pokemon Go hunt with a few critters around me.

Enter Pokémon Go, which I installed when it first came out, then ignored for about two years. I recently re-installed it on my new(-er… just under two years) phone, and logged in. I initially installed it for parenting reasons… checking to see if it was appropriate for my daughter to play. I think I reached level 3 before giving up; I had a new house and things to do here (unpack, assemble furniture, repeat as needed), as well as a job and karate. When I upgraded my phone a couple months later, I didn’t bother re-installing it. Until now.

I walked at lunch a couple days, but found I needed a bit more of a stretch, and something to make it more interesting, since I was walking the same loop each time. By installing Pokémon Go, I’m encouraging myself to walk farther – the nearest in game stops and gyms are close to a mile away. On the other hand, I can’t really walk that far at lunch and still have time to eat… so I do that walk on mornings when I have a bit of free time before work (due to my shorter commute). When I only have time for a shorter walk, the old loop still works for hunting Pokémon, I just have to be careful not to run out of pokéballs, which you need to catch the critters. You can pick up more of those at gyms, stops, and in gifts from your friends. In each of those cases, the selection of items is random. The random selection at stops and gyms also includes gifts that you can send to friends. Every gift exchange increases your friendship levels; increased levels have in-game benefits.

Pokemon Go gift reads "Greetings from Commemorative Ground Ring; Chicago, Illinois, Unites States" — A gift from Chicago!

The critters you encountered appear to be randomized too, some days you encounter more of one type than the other. Of course, being Pokémon, the goal is to collect them all, but some are harder to find than others… including some that are country-specific, so you pick them up when you travel or you trade with friends. Anyways, it’s an entertaining addition to outside walks, though it doesn’t work on a treadmill unless you have an Apple watch.

Dorkstock is coming!

Dorkstock 2018: Infinity Dorks, Nov 8th-11th, 2018, Gamehole Con: Alliant Energy Center Exhibition Hall, Madison, Wisconsin — Give in to the dork side! Come play games with us at the 2018 Dorkstock!

I’ve mentioned Dorkstock here before, it’s a mini-convention within a larger gaming convention; it has been hosted at Gamehole Con in Madison the last couple years. This year’s theme is Infinity Dorks, because, in case it wasn’t obvious by the title, we’re dorks, and that includes an addiction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is a special year for us in many ways. John Kovalic is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Dork Tower, which is the fandom base for Dorkstock. What does that actually mean? Well, it means there’s probably cake in addition to Igor Bars. Not that you really need more sugar after an Igor Bar….

It’s also a special year because it’s the first time that Steve Jackson and Phil Reed, who both play key roles at Steve Jackson Games, will be attending Dorkstock. If you know anything about Steve Jackson Games, you know that John Kovalic has drawn a few things for them, most of which involve the word “Munchkin“. As game designers, they’ll bring their own element of fun to the table, with a couple special events on the Dorkstock game schedule.

I would be remiss if I forgot to mention Scott Olman, a long-running special guest at Dorkstock. Scott is the inspiration for Igor (you can read about the core Dork Tower characters here), though John says he tones down the outrageous things that Scott does when he writes the comic. Scott will be running a D&D adventure titled Who Threw Rex Down the Privy, which is sure to be interesting!

Come join us in Madison, Wisconsin from November 8th through 11th for exciting games and a sugar overdose!

Amazing Arachnids

One of the cool things about Brookfield Zoo is their seasonal exhibits. Every year, they have a butterfly exhibit, where you can walk into a tented area with a butterfly garden. If you’re lucky, the butterflies may land on you. But this year’s special exhibit, through Labor Day, is the Amazing Arachnids. (Some years, there are animatronic dinosaurs… those are super cool too.)

This exhibit has exactly what the name implies… lots of tarantulas and a few scorpions. And, of course, a plethora of educational information about arachnids, spiders in the media (books, movies, comic books), and a couple awesome photo opportunities including a giant Lego spider.

The variety of tarantulas is pretty amazing, as can be seeing walking through the exhibit. There are large and small tarantulas, with variety in colors and habitats. Some of the tarantulas had impressive amounts of webbing in their habitats; others had none that I saw. Some were highly visible, some tucked under habitat pieces, and others were well hidden. At least one seemed surrounded by its own webbing.

Photo opportunities (me being silly and a Lego spider) at the Amazing Arachnids exhibit and a few tarantulas. — Photo opportunities at the Amazing Arachnids exhibit and a few tarantulas.

Outside the arachnids exhibit, as part of the same special exhibit ticket, is the Mission Safari Maze. Intended to be educational rather than difficult, we walked through this searching for posters on different animals. There were a few interactive exhibits, such as a spider web to climb on and a short set of monkey bars.

If you’re arachnophobic, stay away. Otherwise, I highly recommend you visit the Amazing Arachnids before summer ends.

Heartbreak Hotel and Ren Faire

In an odd combination of fandoms, we saw Heartbreak Hotel and attended the Bristol Renaissance Faire in the same weekend. And for bonus points, I noticed that Dirk and Guido’s opening act that day included a reference to Heartbreak Hotel (as “love poetry”… before they got into the obligatory sword fighting).

We took the train downtown to see Heartbreak Hotel; I’m not a fan of driving in Chicago. It’s the prequel to Million Dollar Quartet, which we had seen (twice) at the Paramount in the fall. As could be expected from the title, it delves into the history of Elvis Presley. While we both enjoyed it, we agreed that we liked Million Dollar Quartet more, both because of the style and the songs that were played.

The Lynx Show, swallowing giant scissors — Forget the giant scissors he’s swallowing… aren’t those shoes awesome?

As I mentioned in last year’s post about Bristol, we always try to catch at least one classic and one new act. Obviously, we watched Dirk & Guido again; the Swordsmen are always a delight. This year’s new act was a The Lynx Show, swordswallower and magician with a great sense of humor. We stumbled upon it because I had seen someone walking by with frybread, and then I found the frybread booth (also new, I think), which was directly across from the show stage minutes before the show. (I first tried frybread on our big road trip in 2013; I’m hooked, but don’t really like deep frying at home.)

Somehow, I went to Faire this year without eating garlic mushrooms. I may need to go back.