Posted By kelly on April 8, 2012
Once upon a time, I tried to do NaNoWriMo while in my first trimester of pregnancy. It didn’t work. Neither did this (no, I’m not pregnant).
I mean, it worked. It’s Easter Morning, and aside from any minor gaming I’ve done while writing about gamification for work or testing game-y things we’ve built and a brief demo or two in the name of parenting, I haven’t played a video game since Februrary 21st. (That’s 47 days, btw). So, yay me.
But it didn’t really work. (Keep Reading…)
Category: life, navelgazing |
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Tags: lent, video games, writing
Posted By kelly on March 5, 2012
We are currently on a quest for a new home. Due to our family’s needs and financial …complications… we’re searching for a very specific kind of home in a very limited area. Since it’s hard to spot that “hidden gem” on paper, we see our share of houses. Sometimes these prospects make for interesting stories. These are those stories.
We knew before we looked at this house that it was probably a long shot. It had recently dropped into our range, but the description suggested it was going to need a significant of work. The room dimensions were irresistible, the location (although at a relatively high-traffic corner) was perfect. We had to take a look because if we’ve learned anything in this search it’s that you never know.
I fell in love the moment we crossed the threshold. (Keep Reading…)
Category: life |
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Tags: family, house hunting
Posted By kelly on March 4, 2012
Seriously.
I spend all week struggling with all the “idle moments” urges to play an app on my phone for 5 minutes. I start twitching at work because of the standard work-related chaos that I usually relieve at the end of the day with a bit of Skyrim (or those idle moments with apps). It builds to a head until the whistle blows on Friday. It starts to fade, only to be completely eclipsed by a desire to spend a few lazy hours on Sunday playing Skyrim. Which I can’t do. (Keep Reading…)
Category: life, navelgazing |
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Tags: frustration, gaming, lent, video games
Posted By kelly on February 26, 2012
We are currently on a quest for a new home. Due to our family’s needs and financial …complications… we’re searching for a very specific kind of home in a very limited area. Since it’s hard to spot that “hidden gem” on paper, we see our share of houses. Sometimes these prospects make for interesting stories. These are those stories.
Our visit to this turn of the century victorian house started out better than most. This house was larger and older than others in the same general area and price range. It was 3 stories, and for the first two stories everything was fine. It needed a healthy amount of updates, but we really liked some of the features. While we were chatting, we made our way to the third floor: an attic that had been converted into two bedrooms. The first bedroom had an exposed seam along the wall, and Ryan, his dad and the agent set about figuring out why that might be. I have little to contribute to those conversations, so I wandered out and went into the next bedroom. (Keep Reading…)
Category: life |
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Tags: family, ghosts, house hunting
Posted By kelly on February 23, 2012
It’s that time of year again. You can keep your New Year Resolutions. Nobody ever expects to keep them. I’ll take Lent any day. what better time to battle a vice than when “everyone” is suffering through their own challenges alongside you and everyone expects to win?
This year I’m taking the bold step of giving up video games.
This may sound like a sacrifice more fitting of a 14 year old boy, but trust me, this is Up There for me. (Keep Reading…)
Category: life, navelgazing |
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Tags: comics, gaming, lent, self improvement, writing
Posted By kelly on May 11, 2011
After being thwarted by opening weekend opportunities, I caught Thor on Monday night. I was pretty disappointed and I’ve been struggling to understand why that might be, considering the acclaim that it has received, both from the real critics, and the comic community. I think I’ve narrowed down why it didn’t resonate with me, and it comes down to a simple fact: Thor is not my superhero. (Keep Reading…)
Category: reviews |
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Tags: comics, fanboys, frustration, movie review, movies, review - movie, superheros, thor
Posted By kelly on April 18, 2011
It made me want to read the books again, so it couldn’t have been that bad.
There wasn’t much to recommend it, however. I have no idea how you could have followed much of it if you hadn’t read the books, and I certainly don’t know why you’d bother with the second episode. (Keep Reading…)
Category: reviews |
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Tags: game of thrones, HBO, review - television, reviews, television
Posted By kelly on March 27, 2011
Tiny Intro: this is one of (hopefully) several bits of recaps from my experiences at the 2011 Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo. Most of this was written on the train home. The rest has been tweaked a week or so later as I found a bit of time to post things.
Saturday: Panel-Hopping The panel I enjoyed the most was the one I knew the least about. I’m barely literate in Marvel and don’t speak DC at all, hardly, but that’s where the group was headed first, so I tagged along to see what these were like. It was pretty fine, but sitting by Jeff, Louis, and Ali and having a running commentary about who the guys at the front were and what they were (not) talking about made all the difference. (Keep Reading…)
Category: life |
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Tags: c2e2, comics, friends, panels, people watching, vampires
Posted By kelly on March 24, 2011
Spending time in train stations and crowded convention halls last weekend, I’ve seen the “hive mind” of what’s left of our animal instinct kick in. One person gets up without provocation to stand in line. Then 3, then virtually everyone. Those who stay behind start to panic that they’ve missed something. Masses of people can mill around staring at all the eye candy and still manage (more or less) to maneuver around each other without crashing.
On an intellectual level, I do not believe in a predicted “end times”, but the more world events keep stacking up in favor of a man-made apocalypse with a “natural” catalyst, I worry that some sort of end is nearing and that those who consider themselves believers are going to reach a tipping point and their panic will infect enough of us that it won’t matter what I believe anymore.
(I really need to finish The Passage.)
Category: life, navelgazing |
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Tags: end times, hive mind, panic, revelation, tl4t, to long for twitter
Posted By kelly on March 1, 2011
You know how in Demolition Man every restaurant was a Taco Bell? I think bookstores are headed the same way. Soon every bookstore will be an amazon access point. “Books” will just piles of Kindles artfully arranged to display covers.
Category: life, reading |
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Tags: bookstores, future, kindle, tl4t, too long for twitter
