Apples to Icebergs and the Wonderful World of Warcraft

Greetings Sports Fans

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and the official start to the 2008 Holiday season is well underway! Parties and friends and family... Who could ask for more?

I went to Iowa with Maren, Rachel, Brian and Jane. This is quickly becoming a favorite tradition of mine as it provides a nice weekend to unplug from the hustle and bustle of life and plug into the hustle and bustle of young children and family. It is always a bit of a system shock to me as I have no young kids in my close family any more. Oliver doesn't count as he is too young to get into any trouble... so far.

When we are down there the whole family crams shoulder to shoulder playing various board games with each other. The main game of choice this time around was Apples to Apples. First let me start with this is a GREAT party game! However I am ashamed to admit that I along with every other adult at the table were brutally Pwned by an 8 year old. Just an fyi the definition for Pwned (pronounced Powned) is Stupid Squared + Witness = Pwned. Pwned = Power owned. Basically there is loosing, Owned and Pwned in that order.

For those who don't know I will briefly explain Apples to Apples. You have one person who draws a green card which is usually an adjective such as explosive. In your hand you have 7 red cards with various Nouns both proper and improper. Your job is to pick the noun that matches the best to the green card laid down and hand that card to the one who pulled the green card. The trick is most cards don't line up all that well so the person who drew the green card is usually left picking the least worst of the cards available to them. That is where the strategy comes in as you have to pick from your red cards the one you think the green card puller will pick form the pile. You would be wise to keep in mind their personality in choosing your card...

Jon, Marens 8 year old cousin was playing Apples to Apples with us. Marens mother Jane had decided to alter the rules on her turn which is fine, everyone was doing it and it added a great dynamic to the game. The rule was she wanted you to play the card that best described Jon. So people played cards like energy, and personality and whatever...

It came down to the last three cards left were My friends, The Superbowl and Icebergs (as someone just didn't have a match) Jane in all the best intentions was seeking feedback from Jon as to which card suited him the best. Jane says "Well, Icebergs has nothing to do with you" and discarded that card.
Jon replied with "No, I love Icebergs!"
So Jane put the card back in and asked "which one do you think we should get rid of?"
Jon then suggested that his friends should go followed quickly buy Superbowl, leaving us with just Icebergs remaining.
So after seeking feed back from Jon and with icebergs remaining Jane asked the table whose card that was so the winner could get their point.
A reply came brimming with excitement from Jon "It's my card"

A moment of dead silence followed by raucous laughter as we all -a table of adults- realized we were Pwned by an 8 year old kid. Bravo Jon!

The whole weekend was absolutely great! good food and good times to be had everywhere!

The second thing i would like to talk about is the World of Warcraft (From here on out called WOW) I have been playing a trial version of the game for a while now and I must say, the game is fun. It is a GIGANTIC amazing world to explore full of hidden gems to enjoy and see. the scenery is beautiful and it is very immersing.

Here is the thing though... It doesn't play all that great. the pace is kinda slow and for a lesser dedicated person or someone with less time on their hands this game would be a real turn off. Here is what really does it for me. My brother Randy plays this fairly often as does my nephews Nathan and Brandon. I cannot possibly explain how cool it is to have family members that I get to play games with. I know it sounds so childish and trivial but video gaming is important to me. i truly enjoy it and it makes me really happy. I like the accomplishments and the stories. Not to mention the time to dollar ratio I get out of a video game is ten to one against DVDs.

I cannot tell you how it feels to be stuck in these larger than life situations with a team of actual people on your side against the computer who represents some great evil. It is often said that people who game have no social life. This is usually said by people who do not game and have never gamed online. What is a social life? I email my brother many times throughout the day and we talk online at night. How is that not social? It is not the only thing I do with my time, i still like to get out to Smokescreen on weekends when I can. I love going to see Maren and even better if I can blend the two. However my weeknights as a result of my work schedule don't offer much in the way shape and form of free time to go out with friends, so I rely on alternative forms of entertainment.

anyways, in spite of the grueling pace of WOW I love playing it with my friends and family. But I still love Maren more ;)

Later Days,
Ken

Go Vikes!!