Books, Boardgames, & Music

If I asked you to think of things related to classical music, what would they be? Probably Mozart, Beethoven, Symphony No. 40, Symphony No.5, Fur Elise, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, and the Four Seasons. Even if you don't recognize the names of these pieces, you will still probably recognize them if you hear them. Typically, when a person with no classical music experience hears the word classical music, they think of a handful of songs, which even though they might not know the name of, include Ode to Joy, The Blue Danube, the Nutcracker, Brahm's Lullaby, and the ones listed above. However, there are more great classical songs besides these, as well as famous composers (in the classical, romantic, and baroque music world), including Johann Sebastian Bach, Frederic Chopin, Edvard Grieg, and Camille Saint-Saëns. Here is list of wonderful classical (as well as romantic and baroque) music that you may never have heard before. It is not a complete list of every single good class...

Photo by  Meeples to Go Think back to the last time you played an average board game (hopefully recently).  You were in a tense competition with your friends. You had a master plan and were trying to execute it. But suddenly, another player rolled a “12” on two die, giving them the resources needed to win the game. Everyone  else looked on helplessly  while they made the final move to get a victory. However, in a way you were glad. The game had been going on for a long time and you were anxious for it to end.  Sound familiar? This scenario will often occur when playing boardgames, especially ones which take a few hours or more to play. Despite this, there is a boardgame which takes several hours to play, yet you will not want it to end . This boardgame is Terraforming Mars. Here are the details: Designer: Jacob Fryxelius Publishers: FryxGames (2016), Stronghold Games, + 11 others Players: 1-5 Setup Time: 10 min Playing Time: 2 hours - 3 hour...

Photo by  Inés San Martin What is fake news? Is it news which is fake? Is it a certain person, journalist or media company? What defines news as being “fake” in the first place. What is fake news doing to our world, and can we even do anything about it? Truth in the media is an important concept for the health of our world and for democracy. However, it is being overwhelmed by misinformation. While fake news isn’t a new phenomenon, it has recently experienced a boost in its frequency and effects, thanks to its amplification by social media. That isn’t to say that social media is entirely to blame, nevertheless it is a party to it. Here is the research paper which I wrote on fake news and truth in the media. The perspective is based on the view of people in the United States, and the “things” inside parentheses are in-text citations (in MLA style). They cite information from specific sources. Truth in the Media Freedom of speech and of the press is essential to dem...

Photo by FANDOM   “To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before” “Set Phasers to Stun” “Resistance is Futile” “Khaaaaannnnnnnn!” “Beam Me Up, Scotty” “Live Long and Prosper” “Engage!” “Space: The Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. It’s continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before!” (engage warp drive and play opening credits) Few, and by few I mean very, very few series have ever achieved the level of popularity, the number of fans, and the influence in pop culture that Star Trek has. There have been many references to Star Trek in books and TV shows, including The Martian, NBC’s Heroes, Stargate, The Big Band Theory, and even The Backyardigans. Overview Star Trek is a sci-fi franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which debuted in 1966. Through its multiple series, movies, and more, it follows the adventures of many of Starfleet’s most impor...

What are Model Balsa Planes in the first place, you might ask? Well quite simply, they are miniature scale models of planes with their inner frame comprising of balsa wood, such as this: Photo by  Guillow’s However, Model Balsa Planes (MBP)  aren’t bought; they’re built . Seems easy enough, right? Not really. If you take off the outer tissue covering, you get this: Photo by  BUDK In my experience, I have discovered a few tips for making a MBP look professionally made; tips which a MBP kit, depending on its quality, may or may not give. I don’t guarantee that these tips will work for you, or that you won't find others elsewhere. But here they are regardless: Tip #1:  School Glue is Fine Most MBP kits will recommend that you use a wood glue for gluing the wooden frame together, and a plastic cement for the plastic parts (ex. wheels, propeller, and exhausts). However, I’ve found that school glue is a good substitute for both types of glue. It isn’t ...

Photo by  DWEEBED The Foundation series could be considered the greatest science fiction series of all time. It is quite popular among science-fiction enthusiasts and has served as an influence for multiple other novels. It even beat the incredibly popular Lord of the Rings series for the Hugo Award for “Best All-Time Series” in 1966. Also, that was before the series was even close to being finished! Overview The Foundation series, written by Issac Asimov and published from 1942 to 1993, is in my opinion one of the greatest fictional works ever created. It follows the story of the Foundation, what is at first a remote colony on the edge of the galaxy. Its goal: to avert the 30,000 year dark age which would occur after the fall of the Galactic Empire, predicted by pychohistorist Hari Seldon. The Galactic Empire had stood the test of time for 12,000 years and controlled the entire Milky Way Galaxy. However Hari Seldon, the creator of phychohistory, a branch of science whic...

Photo by  Medium Yes. I know. In my first post, I said that I would only blog about European Style Boardgames . Well, I’ve started to run out of eurogames to blog about. So this blog post is about an American-style boardgame which you've probably heard of (even though it was created in Europe): Risk. Risk was created in 1957 and somehow became one of the world’s most popular board games, but now it is starting to become forgotten. I even forgot about it, until I saw a website about it while googling for boardgames to blog about. Here are the details: Designer: Albert Lamorisse (a French Filmmaker) Publisher: Hasbro Players: 2-6 Setup Time: Around 25 minutes Playing Time: 1-8 hours (!!!) My Rating: 55/100 Overview In Risk, each player is the leader of a faction which seeks to conquer the world, one territory at a time. The board of Risk consists of 42 territories, divided into 6 continents. Victory is attained when your troops control each and every single one...