In Which I Agonize Over Bloomburrow
While having much less tortured feelings over Ramen Fury, Wonder Woman Historia and Seema Yasmin's Unbecoming.
Hello, friends! Nothing quite like taking the kids to see Inside Out 2 after a tasty, if contentious sushi lunch, only for a migraine to descend while Riley was hanging out with the Firehawks onscreen. Downed enough medication (and afterwards some blessedly cold cherry Slurpee: Happy Free Slurpee Day!) to guide the kids through the rest of our outing today, which included a trip to 7/11 and a small park before the library. Getting home was quite the relief tho, especially since the youngest decided to throw a fit about his seat in the van for the ride back.
Pre-migraine, I thought I’d have plenty of time to get all my work done today, including this newsletter, but it’s been extremely touch and go. I should probably still be lying in bed but my head has cleared up enough that I’m gonna try to finish writing this before calling it a night for real.
First, Ramen Fury! This lightly strategic card game is officially my eldest child’s favorite, as he’s taught it to several different people on several different occasions since I picked it up for him at my friendly local game store. The packaging is just terrific, with a ramen-wrapper-like cover, and a card box that looks like a solid brick of noodles. It’s quick to learn, with brilliant theming, and my ramen-loving household are big fans:
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We also had the chance to learn the cute, if much simpler Dumb Ways To Die card game while hanging out with my sister this past weekend. Jms won both the Ramen Fury match and the Dumb Ways To Die match we played, and I’m very proud of him.
I am a little worried about myself tho, and that’s entirely because I think I’ve been bitten by the Magic The Gathering bug again. It starts the way it usually does, by me re-downloading MtG Puzzle Quest and MtG Arena (the latter of which is absolutely horrifying to play on my current cellphone with its reduced touch sensitivity. Reason #309 to finally switch over to my Pixel 8, lol.) I was browsing the Bezos site just to look at what’s on the market — I 100% plan on buying any upcoming Magic and D&D gear from Game Kastle College Park when they release — when I saw the promos for the next big Magic expansion. Bloomburrow, an anthropomorphic woodland creatures plane that was definitely inspired by both Wanderhome and Humblewood, is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen in my life. I mean, just look at their versions of Liliana and Jace!
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I swore off the cardboard crack years ago, but am seriously tempted to make an exception for this set, especially if they really do include Sorin as a bat. I’ve only ever played white weenie competitively, but Sorin and his vampire mechanics are one of my favorites for MtG:PQ. Anyway, come take a look at the video. It’s one of the most entertaining 16 minutes I’ve ever spent being sold on a card game. It even inspired me to finally look up what Commander is, lol:
Books-wise, I’ve been scrambling to cover as many of the Hugo nominees as I can before the voting deadline on the 19th, in addition to my regular workload. I’m incredibly grateful that the Hugos have given me the chance to read the superlative Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons Vol 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha & Nicola Scott. I desperately hated the origin reboot they gave Wonder Woman in the New 52: this volume rectified that nonsense and more. Apart from being lyrically written, it’s also drop dead gorgeous, with excellent back matter on what it takes to write a really great comic book. Best graphic story I’ve read this year so far, by a country mile.
I also really enjoyed Seema Yasmin’s Unbecoming. I have never been happier to read a book because of publicist pressure: this was So Good! Set in a near-future almost-dystopia, this YA novel tells the story of two Texan Muslim teenagers as they write an underground guide to getting an abortion in a country that’s outlawed not only the medical procedure but anything remotely related to it. Dr Yasmin’s writing is so fluid and gripping that I absolutely put the rest of my life on hold to devour this book, which was absolutely worth it.
Alright, I need to go heat up my lavender eye mask again and baby my head by lying in the dark and waiting for sleep to claim me. I’m just super pleased I managed to finish this newsletter in time. My apologies if any of the writing seems weird: my stamina is rapidly fading so I’m not editing as meticulously as usual. See you in seven, friends!
Currently Playing (Music): Vivaldi’s Concerto #7; Mozart’s String Quartet #1; Corelli’s Christmas Concerto; Vitamin String Quartet’s Bad Guy; Duomo’s Wildest Dreams; my Declan Rice playlist; Miranda Lambert’s Wildcard; Tyla’s self-titled album; Sabrina Carpenter’s Short N’ Sweet.
Currently Playing (Games): The Light In The Mist puzzletale, Enigmas by David Kwong & Co, The Wild Beyond The Witchlight, Metazooa by Trainwreck Labs, Learned League trivia, NYT Connections, The Cartographer, Ramen Fury, Magic The Gathering: Puzzle Quest & Arena.
Currently Reading/Writing (Games): Camp Elementa by me! Ghosts Of Saltmarsh; Humblewood.
Currently Reading or Just Read (Books): Come Shell Or High Water by Molly MacRae; Mammoths At The Gates by Nghi Vo; Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons Vol 1 by Kelly Sue DeConnick, Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha & Nicola Scott; Rose/House by Arkady Martine; Wilderness Reform by Matt Query & Harrison Query; Dog Day Afternoon by David Rosenfelt; Man In The Water by David Housewright; Unbecoming by Seema Yasmin.