Annie's Nightstand
Spice: The History of a Temptation : Spices helped draw Europeans into their age of expansion, but the
Western world was far from ignorant of them before that time. Turner's
lively and wide-ranging account begins with the voyages of discovery,
but demonstrates that, even in ancient times, spices from distant India
and Indonesia made their way west and fueled the European imagination.
Romans and medieval Europeans alike used Asian pepper, cinnamon, cloves,
nutmeg and mace to liven their palates, treat their maladies, enhance
their sex lives and mediate between the human and the divine. While many
of these applications were not particularly efficacious, spices
retained their allure, with an overlay of exotic associations that
remain today. Turner argues that the use of rare and costly spices by
medieval and Renaissance elites amounted to conspicuous consumption. He
has perhaps a little too much fun listing the ridiculous uses of spices
in medieval medicine—since, as he notes in a few sparse asides, some
spices do indeed have medicinal effects—and fails to get into the real
experience of the people. His account of religious uses, on the other
hand, paints a richer picture and gets closer to imagining the mystery
that people found in these startlingly intense flavors and fragrances.
It is this mystery and the idea that sensations themselves have a
history that make the entire book fascinating. - From Publishers Weekly
Dan's Nightstand
A Dance with Dragons (Book 5 in The Game of Thrones Series) : “Filled with vividly rendered set pieces, unexpected turnings, assorted cliffhangers and moments of appalling cruelty, A Dance with Dragons is epic fantasy as it should be written: passionate, compelling, convincingly detailed and thoroughly imagined.”—The Washington Post
“Long live George Martin . . . a literary dervish, enthralled by
complicated characters and vivid language, and bursting with the wild
vision of the very best tale tellers.”—The New York Times
“By turns thrilling, funny, scary, emotionally devastating, oddly inspirational, and just plain grand.”—Entertainment Weekly
“One of the best series in the history of fantasy.”—Los Angeles Times
In The Xbox
Dan:
I mean lost in the best possible sense. As in, “Where did those six
hours go?” As in, “I don’t really need to go shopping today.” As in,
“Hello, Mr. Sunrise.”
When it comes to offline single-player games, no recent title will draw
players in for hundreds of hours as readily as Skyrim. Plenty of games
promise to let you unleash your inner all-conquering hero (or antihero),
endowed with the power to shape both your own epic destiny and the fate
of the world. Almost none deliver on that promise as thoroughly as
Skyrim. - NYTimes Games Review
Annie :
Many of you know that I am a confessed Katamari addict
and that there hasn't been a new Katamari game in pretty much forever.
So when Dan found this game - admittedly made for children but still
kinda challenging for me because I'm terrible at video games - I got way
too excited about it. This game is pretty similar to Katamari but does
lack the little weird details that I personally adore. It is more
challenging though which can be fun too in a different way. I have
already fallen in love with De Blob but I do have one bad thing to say
about it. The 2 player options on this games are pretty bad. I wish the
video game universe would figure out that not all gamers are sitting
alone in their basements... I mean maybe like 80% are... hard to say
without more research but I can say with confidence that I wish there
were more coop games for Dan and I to play together. - Annie
(Yes! I'm now stuck on level 6.)
Dan's Nightstand
A Dance with Dragons (Book 5 in The Game of Thrones Series) : “Filled with vividly rendered set pieces, unexpected turnings, assorted cliffhangers and moments of appalling cruelty, A Dance with Dragons is epic fantasy as it should be written: passionate, compelling, convincingly detailed and thoroughly imagined.”—The Washington Post
“Long live George Martin . . . a literary dervish, enthralled by
complicated characters and vivid language, and bursting with the wild
vision of the very best tale tellers.”—The New York Times
“By turns thrilling, funny, scary, emotionally devastating, oddly inspirational, and just plain grand.”—Entertainment Weekly
“One of the best series in the history of fantasy.”—Los Angeles Times
In The Xbox
“By turns thrilling, funny, scary, emotionally devastating, oddly inspirational, and just plain grand.”—Entertainment Weekly
“One of the best series in the history of fantasy.”—Los Angeles Times
In The Xbox
Dan:
I mean lost in the best possible sense. As in, “Where did those six
hours go?” As in, “I don’t really need to go shopping today.” As in,
“Hello, Mr. Sunrise.”
When it comes to offline single-player games, no recent title will draw
players in for hundreds of hours as readily as Skyrim. Plenty of games
promise to let you unleash your inner all-conquering hero (or antihero),
endowed with the power to shape both your own epic destiny and the fate
of the world. Almost none deliver on that promise as thoroughly as
Skyrim. - NYTimes Games Review
Annie :
Many of you know that I am a confessed Katamari addict
and that there hasn't been a new Katamari game in pretty much forever.
So when Dan found this game - admittedly made for children but still
kinda challenging for me because I'm terrible at video games - I got way
too excited about it. This game is pretty similar to Katamari but does
lack the little weird details that I personally adore. It is more
challenging though which can be fun too in a different way. I have
already fallen in love with De Blob but I do have one bad thing to say
about it. The 2 player options on this games are pretty bad. I wish the
video game universe would figure out that not all gamers are sitting
alone in their basements... I mean maybe like 80% are... hard to say
without more research but I can say with confidence that I wish there
were more coop games for Dan and I to play together. - Annie
(Yes! I'm now stuck on level 6.)