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 |  A blog for all things personal, informational, educational, and fun. |
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Here at my personal blog Thoughts & Things, I share a wide variety of, you guessed it, thoughts and things. Anything that sparks my interest is up for discussion. For those who are uncertain of what that might cover, I'll generally talk about reading, writing, books, movies, music, games, history, current events, and feminism. I talk about my personal emotional and health struggles from time to time. I'm also a big fan of lists. This is the place here at WDC where you can get to know me best, as I talk about the things that interest me, impact me, and amuse me. |
| In honour of it being Valentine's Day, I thought I'd share some of my favourite romance novelists through Thoughts & Things. Something about a decent romance novel has always brought some my to my heart, even when my head was in a bad state. I don't read as much of it as I used to, but it still brings me a great deal of happiness, and there are few things that help me unwind as well. This list isn't necessarily made up of the best writers I've ever read, it isn't meant to be a "best" list, but of authors that have stuck with me over the years. These are folks I have read at least five novels from a piece over the years, and would happily pick up another novel from any day. There are other authors within the genre that I love, but I thought it best to stick to a handful of the ones that I have the strongest connection with. In no particular order... Gena Showalter I will always have a special place in my heart for Gena Showalter, as she is the writer that got me interested in romance novels in the first place. I ead her YA novel "Oh My Goth" when I was thirteen years old and loved it. I enjoyed it so much that I thought it would be best to find more of her work. At the time, she had significantly less YA options, although I was not fully aware of this. I grabbed the first thing I found at the library with a good cover blurb, which happened to be "Playing With Fire." This one is a very not for YA romance novel, and I fell in love with it right away. I have actually read well over thirty of her novels, and enjoyed most of them immensely. It was reading her novels that made me realise that romance novels were not completely silly like I had once thought, and that many of them had something to offer that I was interested in. As I first read her books a decade ago, both she and I have changed significantly in that time. Sadly this does mean that I read less of her books these days, partially because I am looking for other things in my romance novels, partially because her style has changed in a way that just doesn't engross me as much. That said, I still rank a number of her books among my favourites, and I wouldn't be opposed to picking up the occasional new release. Would first recommend: Playing With Fire, Catch A Mate, The Darkest Night, Heart of the Dragon Lynsay Sands I first came to Lynsay Sands' books through the Argeneau series, although it was significantly smaller at the time. This was another early favourite for me when I was earlier on in my teens, although I first read her books a couple of years after I read Gena Showalter's works for the first time. I was enthralled by the modern day vampire romance stories she told, with an origin story that felt very fresh. That said, she has stayed in my heart for so long for an entirely different reason: She was the first author to introduce me to historical romance. Despite having realised romance wasn't as silly as I had once thought, I resisted coming to this are of it for a good couple of years. It was only because I had run out of Argeneau books to read (which is far from an issue one could run into easily today), and went seeking her other works. The local library had a couple of her historical works on hand, which I was curious about, simply because I liked her writing in general. I ended up falling in love with her historical stories, and even branched out to other historical romance authors fairly quickly. I did lose a bit of interest in her Argeneau series as it went on, but I still have a lot of a affection for the early books in the series, and I still happily read new releases of historical romance works from her. Would first recommend: A Quick Bite, Devil of the Highlands, Love Is Blind, The Perfect Wife Sherrilyn Kenyon I have actually never read a book from Sherrilyn Kenyon that was not within the Dark-Hunter universe. I've always meant to. Maybe this will be the year. Regardless, this hasn't stopped me from reading over a dozen of her books. Sherrilyn Kenyon made me realise that some of those overly long series had a good deal of merit. While I don't think all of the books in the Dark-Hunter series are of equal quality, they're definitely still worth a read. I actually set it aside for a bit, but I fully plan on going back to it. I have gotten too much joy out of it to not see where else it has to go. This is the first lengthy series I ever got into as far as I can remember, and it actually inspired me to keep going with series from other authors on this list, as I knew that it could still be intriguing and enjoyable, and that there was a certain comfort staying in those familiar worlds. Kenyon is also one of the authors that made me more comfortable in admitting that I was a romance fan, as it was much less romance than some of the other romance things I enjoyed, despite it still having all the same romance characteristics. Sherrilyn Kenyon is an author who managed to keep me around for her works in general, but specifically for a long running series. I will always keep the Dark Hunter novels displayed on my shelf quite happily. Would first recommend: Fantasy Lover, Night Pleasures Lori Foster Lori Foster actually makes this list for two reasons. The first reason is that she was one of the first authors to get me seriously interested in contemporary romances. The second reason is that she was one of the first authors to get me interested in romance anthologies. I actually initially found her work through anthologies, but they were anthologies that I read because I liked a particular writer in them. I ended up really enjoying her works, and read a ton of stand alone, series, and anthology works from her. I found other writers I enjoyed through the anthologies I read because of her, but I also ended up reading anthologies that I didn't recognise any of the writers in because she made me realise how much I could enjoy the format. When I picked up her full length novels, I realised how much I enjoyed her work in general, but also how much fun the contemporary romances out there could be. I hadn't taken many of them seriously before I read her works, but I found the stories just as good as I had in other subgenres of romance. I will still happily pick up any book of hers for a relaxing day of reading. Would first recommend: Tempted, Too Much Temptation, Jude's Law Lisa Kleypas Lisa Kleypas is actually the newest to me of all the writers on this list. She is the only one I started reading in my twenties rather than as a teenager. While it has less nostalgia behind it, and I have read less of her work overall (still a fair few, but I haven't had a decade to read quite as many as for the other writers on the list), the love I have for her Wallflowers series is absolute. While the series only has four books, I still felt sad at the end of it because I knew that I wouldn't get to read about those characters anymore. I even ended up reading the Christmas novella because I wanted to connect with those characters again. I started the Hathaway series, and was overjoyed to find characters from the Wallflower series making an appearance. Lisa Kleypas had me in love with her characters, her stories, her humour, her research. Right away I knew this was an author I would stick with. It has been a couple of years, and that feeling has yet to fade. I have read many dozens of historical romance novels, and I truly believe the Wallflower series is among the best of what the genre has to offer. Would first recommend: Secrets of a Summer Night |
| In recent years, it has become common place to hear about how libraries are no longer relevant or useful, and that they serve no place in today's society. Even well known authors who benefit from library systems (Terry Deary is the first example to come to mind) have made statements such as these. There are honestly few things that make me sadder than this. I truly believe that libraries are as necessary and important than ever, perhaps even more than in the past. The only thing that makes a library less relevant is the lack of funding that would prevent it from staying relevant. Unfortunately some libraries do suffer from being out of date in some aspects, which causes both the library and its patrons to suffer from the lack of benefits. With this in mind, I present to you a list of things that you can do at your local library. If you agree with my stance, then surely you are already aware of these reasons. If you do not agree with my stance, I hope this list will change your mind. 1. Books! Yeah, I started with the obvious. It is still absolutely worth mentioning. You can find fiction and non-fiction; children, teen, and adult books; English, French, Spanish, Arabic, etc language writing; large print; audiobooks; etc. It doesn't matter what you prefer to read, you can find it at your local library. Many local libraries have even implemented systems that allow their patrons to check out e-books so that everyone can keep with the times. Many libraries also host book clubs, or allow outside book clubs to use library space. You can read new books, and make friends while you're at it. 2. CDs I know that a lot of people see CDs as being a bit out of date, but many people still use them. Whether or not you are a person who still makes use of CDs, the local library's collection is always worth checking out. If you're looking for the mainstream current releases ad free, and don't want to pay for a spotify account, the library is the place! If you're looking for classical, jazz, opera, blues, or anything else that might be harder to find in a modern digital system, you could ery well find what you're looking for at the library. It's also worth noting that your local library can provide CDs in a regional category as well--whether you are looking for music from your home town, or music from the other side of the world, the library tends to keep both of these things in abundance. Some of my favourite far away finds were things I first heard on a library CD. 3. DVDs Streaming can be a lot easier than hunting down a DVD, but it isn't always the best way to find certain items. Certain new releases can be hard to find on streaming services, but might very well be stocked at the library (although they often have a waiting list in my experience). If you enjoy classic film, you might have a hard time finding older films on Netflix and the like, where as they are often kept at the library. I personally have found a great many classics at the library physically, and on the library's streaming service. The library is also more inclined to keep locally released films, particularly in places outside of the US. When US releases can still dominate in other countries, it can be nice to find releases that are a bit closer to home. On the other end of the spectrum, it can also be easier to find releases from far away countries that you wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to see a movie from. This all goes without mentioning that for those who are on a tight budget, nothing quite beats free. 4. Comics and Graphic Novels I feel like comics and graphic novels should be default included in books, but I also feel like most people don't think of them with books first and foremost, so I thought it justified its own category. As comics and graphic novels surge in popularity, many public libraries are increasing access to them. Whether you're looking for a Scooby Doo comic for your kids, a Batman classic to relive your childhood, classic memoirs like Maus to learn something in a more interesting way, or the latest releases to stay up to date in the medium, many libraries carry all of these things. Some libraries have stocked them for a long time, while others have only newly introduced them. If you already love comics, or you're looking to try them for the first time, the local library is a good source to check. 5. Computers and WiFi Did your computer crash? Use the library's. Is your WiFi down? Use the library's. Both are great resources when you can't afford either, or don't use either often enough to justify the cost. It's also a wonderful resource for when you simply need the peace and quiet required to complete an online project that a library can provide when your home cannot. Most libraries have the web browsers open to their own site, where you can find countless resources that relate to every other category in this list. It varies from library to library, but I am aware that some also use their internet and computer services as an entertainment feature for children after school and on weekends. My own local library allows children to play video games on their computers, and even offers the occasional program where a group of children are welcomed into the computer lab to play Minecraft together on the same server. 6. Local Interest Materials & Genealogy If you've ever had even the remotest of interests in local history or in your own family's history, the library is the place to find your answers. Many of them house local records of every sort in order for people to visit and trace their family lineage. Some libraries have a specific shelf where they keep books written by any local authors. Local history in general is typically kept on hand so that anyone can come in, and find out about the area. Many library websites also host additional resources so that you can find some of the information needed from the comfort of your home. Right now my mother has checked out a book on local serial killers because of many of these resources. The book even has a waiting list, proving that not many of the locals particularly enjoy sleep. 7. Magazines & Newspapers While many newspapers and magazines have closed down, or moved to digital distribution exclusively, there are a great many that still release in print. Magazines and newspapers can both make for an expensive habit, depending on what you like to read, and how often it is released. The library makes for a quite and comfortable place for you to curl up with the local paper or the latest issue of Seventeen or National Geographic, all without paying a dime. My own library often has a group of older folks who come by with coffees in the morning, and read the news for an hour. 8. Cultural Exploration Your average city public library typically will have books, DVDs, and CDs from a very wide variety of places and cultures. Whether you're looking to try Saharan blues or the latest Japanese literature, you can probably find it. Some libraries even have programs where people of different backgrounds (typically any locals and any immigrants can attend these) meet up and have various discussions, allowing cultural exchange to take place. You can also find all of the nonfiction that you could possibly need to learn more about the places all around the world, and the different types of people who might be in your own area. 9. Community & Programs Libraries are the perfect community centres. They often offer public space to use for studying, playing, reading, meeting for various groups, and library run programs. Library programs can include anything, including children playing Minecraft together, ESL instruction, homework help, reading aloud to small children, book clubs, author signings, film showings, craft making, and so on. If you have a hobby, it could very well be hosted as a group program in your local library. It's a wonderful chance to do the things you love, while getting involved in the community. 10. Volunteering Library programs don't run themselves. Whether it involves supervising crafting, reading aloud to kids, mentoring someone who speaks English as a second or third language, clean up, and so on, there are many incredibly rewarding things you can volunteer to do at your local library. I live in Ontario, where you are required to get a minimum of forty volunteer hours to graduate high school. I know there are other places where it is required or suggested as well. If you have to volunteer anyway, why not help out the local library? Even if you don't need to volunteer for any reason, it can be a very satisfying experience, and it helps the library and the community at large. Librarians can only do so much, and libraries rely on their patrons to help make some of the wonderful programs possible. |
| As I have been reading a lot more short stories lately, I thought I might share a few of my favourites. These are ones I have recently, as well as ones that are long standing favourites. I avoided including duplicate writers, so some of these stories are authored by folks who have written other excellent short and long fiction as well. I have defined short story in this instance as anything under one hundred pages, and classic as anything prior to 1960. I would also say that I genuinely believe that any writer of short fiction owes it to themselves to read these at least once. 1. The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe This is one of the short stories that made me realise I liked short stories. I first read it when I was only about thirteen or fourteen, and I loved it right away. It has the perfect amount of creepiness, and the symbolism was excellent. Anyone looking to try Poe's work, should try this early on. 2. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka This is one that I actually read in 2016, but I regret not reading it sooner. It's a perfect example of German expressionism, but it also makes excellent use of symbolism in general. The story is fascinating, and the pacing is worth studying. 3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald For those who have seen the film with Brad Pitt: forget the film. The film is nothing compared to the short story. For something that span's a man's entire life in a very short amount of space, it is well paced. The humour and emotion here is hard to beat. This is easily one of the highlights of American 20th century classic literature for me, short story or otherwise. 4. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson Like the above, this is one of the highlights of 20th century American classic literature for me. The creepy suspense builds up perfectly. Although everything appears idyllic at the beginning, you get the sense that something is wrong early on. Despite this, one is almost afraid to make guesses, even as the reality unfolds. This is well worth a read for anyone looking to learn the best ways to create suspense in a short work. 5. The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Exploring mental health issues, and issues of how patients of such issues are treated, this creepy tale of a woman's descent into madness and the wallpaper was ahead of its time. Well thought out and well paced, this story makes a point, but ultimately is an eerie and enthralling read regardless of anything else. 6. Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl Lamb to the Slaughter is a brilliant piece of work from Roald Dahl. Another dark piece (I have morbid tastes in my short fiction it would seem), it presents a story of the classic perfect crime that television dramas would continue to be inspired by for decades. It is one I first read for school in the ninth grade, but that's because it is one that any writer could stand to learn from, and because (even decades after its release) it still doesn't fail to send shivers down even the most desensitized spines. |
| When I was younger, I didn't particularly like reading challenges for the most part. I think it's really because I didn't fully understand what a reading challenge could entail. I've loved to read for longer than I can remember. It wasn't that reading was the problem, in particular. I think it is that I saw reading challenges as reading lists. A reading list was a set of books I had to read, regardless of whether I would enjoy it or was particularly in the mood for it. Obviously this is not the case, at least not always. I do recall some of the first reading challenges I ever enjoyed, which were ironically ones I participated in for school. I can recall doing bingo challenges, where each bingo square represented a different genre or category of book. I can recall doing similar challenges, in checklist format. We would get little prizes based on our completion level of these challenges. I think that I often felt that I didn't really need a reading challenge. I mean, I would read anything as long as I was in the right mood. I think this was initially true. As I got older, I got more into a rut. I was constantly reading, but ultimately most of what I read tended to fit into fairly similar categories. It wasn't that the books I read didn't matter. I read some of my favourite books during my teenage years. I read books I genuinely believe to be significant to me as a person during this time. The vast majority of the books read during my teen years, however, fit into only a few genres and categories. I tended to lean towards romance novels and young adult novels. Either category did lead me to more historical or speculative work, but there was more variants within these categories than outside of them. I don't regret reading any of the books I have read. Even the books that I did not like, even the books that I liked despite poor quality, still helped to shape me as a reader, a writer, and a person. It is more so that I regret not doing more reading outside of these areas. Why didn't I read more classics, works in translation, pure speculative fiction, or non-fiction? Finding the BookRiot Read Harder Challenge definitely had a hugely positive influence on my life. This was in 2015, the first year that they ran the challenge. Like the challenges from my childhood, it featured a list of different types of books. It left the control in my hands, but gave me some direction to work with. I honestly didn't fully realise how much my reading habits had begun to stagnate until I looked at the list of tasks and realised that a large amount of what I typically read would not fit into many of these categories. I also realised that a lot of what I wanted to read for these categories was stuff I genuinely wanted to read, and allowed myself to push to the side in favour of something else. While I did not finish the challenge, I did push my boundaries more than I had in years. I started participating in the Goodreads challenge as well. As this is a sheer numbers game, it tends to be just a matter of making a goal and sticking to it. When I started participating in this regularly, however, I started reviewing every book I read. This helped me to develop skills as both a reader and a writer that I did not previously have. I do wish they had an option to mark the challenge as by page count rather than by total numbers. I have also tried dipping my toe into other reading challenges. This year I am participating in the "beat the backlist" challenge, which entails reading through all of the things released before this year I have failed to stay caught up with. I am also considering participating in a comics challenge. I also enjoy browsing challenge requirements, as they often serve as inspiration for what I might wish to read. Book challenges in general have served as inspiration for the film challenge that I am running for the second year in a row. As a whole, I feel like book challenges have made me more aware of so many aspects of my reading and writing habits, as well as helped me in developing both. I am hoping that I can make even further progress this year, and continue to explore the world and expand my mind through books with the help of challenges. |
| Yesterday I ended up having to go to the ER. It appears I sprained my thumb while I slept, most likely because of my double jointed fingers, thumb, wrist. Apparently being double jointed and not an athlete makes you more of a risk for sprains. This is probably the most annoying news I have gotten in awhile. I refuse to stop bending my hands in odd directions to gross other people out though. I may have to start sleeping with socks on my hands to keep them secure when I have no control over what I am doing to them. In any case, because of my other health issues, it could potentially take weeks to heal. Not being able to do much with my thumb without hurting it is incredibly difficult, and I am already annoyed. One of the most frustrating things about my injury was my time spent in the hospital. It took eight and a half hours for me to get an answer. I spent the whole night there. While this sucks in general, what was particularly frustrating was the waiting room. With my other health concerns, I have a hard time waiting. Not on a mental level, I actually feel like I have become more patient in some ways. Physically, waiting in the ER was more taxing than I am really capable of managing. The awkward waiting room chairs force a person to sit in an uncomfortable position, on an uncomfortable seat. I had a horrible sciatica flare up, and I genuinely had to resist the urge to lie down on the floor (50% because I didn't want to alarm them, 50% because I didn't want to piss them off). There isn't really any seating that is appropriate for a person with chronic pain. Even sitting in the waiting room for a couple hours is difficult, but managing it for the whole night was unbearable. They also have pretty glaring lighting situations going on, without any areas with a more dim lighting. As a light sensitive person, I always find that hospitals physically make me feel much worse from the lighting alone. It isn't really news to me that hospitals are uncomfortable. I don't think anyone really finds them comfortable. I mean, these are hospitals. What really occurred to me is that hospital ERs are built to hold healthy people. People who normally feel fine, but they have come down with an illness, or have broken a bone. People who are there with sick babies or sick elderly parents. They aren't meant to hold people who have chronic illness, pain, or disability. I am still recovering from my injury, and I am still recovery from my trip to the hospital. I am glad I have access to that kind of care, but it will always be frustrating to end up feeling worse in other ways because hospitals don't really accommodate for people who aren't capable of using their waiting rooms without pain. It's a silly complaint, but hospitals shouldn't be causing me searing pain from the waist down, they should be making sure my thumb isn't broken and advising me what to do once the sprain is confirmed. |
At the beginning of 2016, I started my first film challenge on facebook. I created it mainly for myself. I've always had an interest in film, and I started to fully realise how much film I had really missed out on, as well as how much I just didn't know. I have always enjoyed book challenges, and pushing my boundaries when it comes to music, but I have never properly done the same when it comes to film. I knew I had seen more than many, but it just didn't seem like enough given the interest I had in it. The challenge had a main twenty-five tasks for the year, with a bonus five to create an even thirty. Each task was a broad category that you had to watch a film you had never seen before from. Genre didn't matter, as long as it fit the category and you had never seen it before. I set it up as a facebook group for friends and family to join in on so that I could have company. I also previously made a blog post about it, here: "Film Challenge"  I actually finished my challenge (including the bonus tasks) before the middle of the year came, and I had a few people fairly invested in it as well. It really opened my eyes to the amount of stuff I have missed out on. I ended up watching over a half dozen silent films as a result, which I have found I really enjoy a great deal. I fell in love with Austenland (which I watched under the "female directed" category) and But I'm a Cheerleader (which I watched for the LGBTQ+ category). I watched (and thoroughly enjoyed) a number of Kevin Smith films, as I had never seen one before. I watched Moolade (an African film) and Carandiru (a South American film), both of which I loved, and neither of which I would have been likely to see without pushing myself to try harder. Now that it is 2017, I have started another film challenge. I'm using the same facebook group, but I have set up a new full list of categories. This year I have twenty-four main tasks (two per month), with an additional twelve tasks (to bring it to three per month) as a bonus round. I've only watched two so far; Secrets of War (a Dutch film, watched for the non-English category); and Little Miss Sunshine (which I watched for a film to pass the Bechdel Test). I enjoyed both of these, so I'd say the challenge is going pretty well so far. I'm really looking forward to what the rest of the challenges are going to bring to the table for me, and I just know they are going to be as fun and exploratory as last year's picks. Even the few picks I didn't enjoy on last year's challenge were still fun to hate-watch. For anyone interested in the challenge, you can request to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1721020828133342 |
| I have a lot of friends who enjoy reading graphic novels and comic books. I also have a lot of friends who enjoy reading memoirs, autobiographies, and biographies. Sadly, I don't have many friends who fit comfortably into both groups to have many friends who enjoy graphic memoirs. It isn't that I think that either group would dislike graphic memoirs; it is merely that neither group has had much opportunity to experience graphic memoirs. I genuinely think that anyone who enjoys graphic novels, and anyone who enjoys biographical works would enjoy this type of book. The combination of images and words creates a powerful narrative, regardless of the kind of story being told. Those images and words become even more powerful when one realises that what is unfolding before them really happened. My personal favourite is probably Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. This is an autobiographical work in which Satrapi tells the story of her childhood in 1970s Iran, as well as the time she spent out of Iran in her teens, and her later return to Iran. This story is poignant and heartbreaking, but also spirited and humourous. This was later made into an excellent film as well. The story that is told is heightened by the images Satrapi offers. As a white westerner, I definitely felt like this book offered me a perspective that was infrequently offered to me elsewhere. It moved me, but it educated me as well. Among my favourites, as well, would be Maus by Art Spiegelman. This is the memoirs of a man speaking of his own relationship with his father, as well as his father's story of WWII. Spiegelman's father was a hardworking man who ended up in ghettos, in hiding, and in the brutal concentration camps of the holocaust. In this story, the Jewish characters are all depicted is mice, with the Nazis depicted as cats. The story itself is engaging and heartbreaking as one expects a WWII memoir to be, but the unique style leaves it somehow more engaging and easier to relate to than a traditional memoir might have been. It gave a lot more accessibility to a hard to swallow story than most books tend to do. Maus opened up history to a whole new audience, and it broadened the graphic novel format to include a more diverse set of stories than had ever been seen in the medium in the mainstream before. Persepolis and Maus tend to be the most popular in this category, but there have been numerous other works that fit into this area as well. Blue Pills: A Positive Love Story was not a favourite of mine, but I did enjoy it--I also thought it ranked among stories that needed to be told. It is a memoir written by a man in a relationship with a woman who had been diagnosed as HIV positive, along with her young son. Pyongyang is travel memoir written by a man who spent time in Pyongyang, North Korea for work. I thought I would love it, but this actually ended up being among my least favourites of this area, as I thought the man writing it was... well, he was an asshole, and not the good kind. He also wrote a graphic travel memoir about his time in Myanmar, titled Burma, which I had wanted to read due to an interest in the country. I was entirely put off from reading this by my initial experience with his work. One I have never read, but would very much like to, is a biographical work about the life of Louis Riel. I have wanted to learn more about Louis Riel anyway, and I love the way the medium brings history to life. For anyone who is certain they life comics, but not certain they would like autobiographical or biographical works, I recommend you try the blend. For anyone who is certain they enjoy biographies and autobiographies, but not certain they would enjoy comics, I recommend you try the blend. The unconventional merge has led to some of the great literary works of our time, and I genuinely believe this is a fascinating area to learn about the lives of others from. |
| For those of you who might not know, I am a huge fan of history. I read books and articles and watch documentaries, all for the sheer joy of it. History is much like fantasy, but it actually happened in our real world. I try to follow new discoveries in this field as much as I can for someone who does is not in a related profession. I genuinely believe the discovery of the year, in terms of archaeological findings, is not in a site that was newly discovered this year, but a site that was properly excavated this year. I am referring to Must Farm. In Cambridgeshire, England, a small settlement has been discovered and excavated. This settlement, known as Must Farm, has been dated to the Bronze Age, dating to approximately three thousand years ago. Some have dubbed the site "Britain's Pompeii", as it is one of the best preserved Bronze Age settlements ever discovered. Prior to this year, archaeologists had found long ships and a few weapons, but as the village has been excavated further this year, more discoveries have been made. Remains of the round, wooden houses that existed in this village have been found, preserved in the silt of a fire from three thousand years ago. This has given us more knowledge about British Bronze Age structures than we have ever previously been able to access. Within the remains of the houses, archaeologists were able to find bowls still filled with food, glass beads that suggest perhaps there were better trade arrangements in this era than we ever could have anticipated, and intricately woven textiles that are among the best preserved Bronze Age textiles ever discovered. They were also able to find Britain's oldest, most intact wheel, presenting us with new information about the technology used in transportation methods. A horse spine found nearby suggests the use of horse drawn carts. It is rare for complete settlements from this period to be found so well preserved, and this provides us with a better picture of Bronze Age Britain than we ever could have hoped. Whatever tragedy that led to the fire that drove these settlers away from their homes has also given us some of the best archaeological discoveries in Britain 2016. A three thousand year old tragedy, has given us a modern day history gold mine. For anyone interested in further information, I recommend the articles at BBC or Archaeology Magazine . |
| So in honour of the season, I felt the need to share a list of things I can't stand, and a brief explanation of why. This list was inspired by my final Christmas shopping trip. 1. Shopping In Crowded Places It's too hot. Everyone is loud and slow and standing in front of what I need. People forget how to drive in a busy parking lot and choose to nearly wipe out pedestrians. I love Christmas shopping because I love gifting. It brings me to a genuinely happy place. Unfortunately that happiness is disturbed by overcrowded malls. 2. Olives They are just gross. The taste and texture are both awful. I honestly think that once you taste an olive, it can never be untasted. I haven't eaten an olive since I was a kid, but I know I still hate them because I can still taste it. 3. Velvet I feel like I should like velvet since it is so pretty, but it just feels terrible. I feel the need to wash my hands whenever I touch it. I have a velvet covered copy of Anne of Green Gables that I adore, but I honestly try not to touch the cover too much. Velvet dresses are adorable, but I can't bring myself to wear them. 4. Fake Pockets Why do these even exist? Pockets are not a fashion statement, they are for holding things. I have so many things I could be using pockets for, and those things do not include making a statement without being useful at all. The only statement my pockets should make is that they hold things. 5. Drivers Who Turn On Their Turn Signals At The Last Moment When Pedestrians Are Waiting This is basically entirely because I am extremely tired of waiting for drivers to go before I cross when it turns out they were going a different direction altogether and I didn't need to wait at all. Why would anyone do this? 6. People Who Don't Know You That Well But Continually Try To Finish Your Sentences All The Time Anyway I know a few people who do this. I don't understand the compulsion. Usually they are not good enough at it to be effective, but actually just end up using my words as they wait for them to come out of my mouth, so it's almost at the same time and they can act like they anticipated what I was going to say. It might be a skill, in and of itself, to be able to say a person's words as they are saying them. That said, it's a highly annoying skill that I want no part of. |
| Honestly, there is just something about playing old favourite video games that just feels good. It's like being a little kid again, and nothing distracts me from my problems quite as effectively. Morrowind is a big one for me, although I genuinely just love the game. I've been playing it since it was fairly new, which was over a decade ago now. Nothing makes me feel at home quite the way a replay of Morrowind does. The later Elder Scrolls games have a similar impact on me by extension, but they aren't quite as old so I don't see them as one of the purest parts of my childhood the way I do Morrowind. I've been playing the Dragonborn expansion to Skyrim recently, as it is something I had not done much with before, and it gives me a ton of nostalgia. Dragonborn takes place in Solstheim, where the Bloodmoon expansion of Morrowind was set. Any sort of simulation game tends to get me into that childhood mindset. Sim City variants, Roller Coaster Tycoon, Monopoly Tycoon, Sim Safari, and so on. SIm Safari was an underrated little gem that allowed you to build a safari, managing everything from accommodations for tourists, to helping the locals, to placing the flora and fauna. I actually remember learning about animals I was less familiar with as a result of this game. The Sims specifically was a huge part of my childhood, so I have a lot of nostalgia for the first two, and childish enjoyment of the more recent two. Today I have been playing Theme Hospital, which is definitely a favourite. It came out in 1997, so I played it all the time as a kid. I was actually able to get it for free on origin awhile back, so it's been nice to pull it out to reminisce about my childhood. I am also far better at it now than I ever was as a child. It's nice to just have the chance to unwind with things I have played a hundred times. It doesn't take as much effort as a new game does. It makes me feel like I felt when I was home sick and all cozy as a child, rather than the helplessness I feel as an adult on sick leave. It soothes me. |
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I hate sad endings. They make the best stories though. I guess I'll make reading William Shakespeare my New Year Resolution for next year or something I'd write for Dear Me 2018.