Puzzles: Cube Eraser

When my younger son told me that the prize for selling at least one item in his school’s fundraiser was a Rubik’s Cube eraser, I wasn’t too excited. I’m not excited by school fundraisers to begin with, though I do take the brochures to work and leave them in the breakroom for my co-workers to browse through. (Throughout the fall months, there is a steady succession of fundraiser brochures for different schools and community groups, often including multiples of the same fundraiser because our department has a lot of parents of school-age kids.)

My son gets a lot of erasers in goodie bags at holidays, and I couldn’t see much reason to be excited about another one. They are bright and colorful and sometimes cute, in every imaginable shape and theme: Christmas trees, smileys, rainbows, basketballs… just take a look at an Oriental Trading catalog to find dozens more. But I’d never seen a Rubik’s Cube eraser. I wondered if it was supposed to go on the end of a pencil or not.

When the fundraiser items arrived today, I found a colorful rubber cube, but it didn’t look a bit like a Rubik’s Cube. And the packing list just called it a “Cube Eraser.” But he was thrilled with it, and promptly asked me to unwrap it so he could take it apart. Take it apart? How do you take an eraser apart? I thought it was just going to look like a puzzle, not actually be one.

Games: Peggle Nights

WARNING! WARNING! This game is addictive. If you continue reading, and are persuaded to get the game and play it, I am not responsible for how much time you spend playing it.

I always wanted to play pinball. But the real pinball machines, on the rare occasions I actually saw one, cost money to play. I liked trying even the little plastic toys that were sort of like pinball, but they didn’t have flashing lights and bells and free balls. And when I did get to try something with flippers at the bottom, I didn’t do well enough to give me any confidence that putting money in a pinball machine would be worth my while.

Fast forward a few decades. This spring, when Al had to have a root canal, we promised him a computer game if he could sit calmly through it. (He was quite worried, and he also gags easily when someone pokes around in his mouth – he had thrown up on the previous visit when they tried to take an X-ray.) He did amazingly well, and when the computer game he requested required making a commitment to purchase two more games in the future, I agreed.

But then we didn’t find any more games he wanted, even when his birthday came around. So I finally started looking through the games to see if there were any that I thought looked good. For him, that is – they were all kids games, mostly peopled by TV cartoon characters.

Of course, sometimes he and I do end up liking the same games, like Bookworm Adventure. When I read the description of Peggle Nights, I thought I might just like it myself. (Besides, it’s by Pop Cap Games, same as Bookworm Adventure.) I downloaded it without telling him about it, so that I could surprise him with it at an appropriate time. And when another game he wanted to play yesterday (free, online) turned out to require two email addresses (his, plus mine as a parent), rather than get him an email address I decided to install Peggle Nights.

It’s not exactly a pinball game – only one stage has actually had flippers (shaped like lobster claws, since the hero for that stage was a giant lobster). But it is about hitting pegs with a ball, and the ball bouncing from peg to peg, or bouncing off various obstacles, and getting points for what you hit. You want to hit all the orange pegs, but most of the pegs are blue. You get points for them too, but you want to hit them mostly to get them out of the way.

These cakes are out of this world

I found out today that my 17-year-old son is older than the Sci-Fi channel. He turned 17 in March, almost six months ago. The Sci-Fi channel just turned 17 today.

In recognition of that anniversary, they have a display of 17 sci-fi themed cakes. These are the kind of cakes I can only dream of making. Just look at the detail in that Minas Tirith cake! I’d hate to have to cut into it to serve a piece.

I’m really not much into cake. But I do like the Sci-Fi channel. We didn’t have it all that long before we had to drop it to save money. But it was long enough to become fans of Stargate SG-1 (and Stargate Atlantis). My husband watched some other shows as well, such as Eureka. Recently he discovered full-length episodes of Eureka he can watch on syfy.com (the Sci-Fi website).

But first we decided to check out earlier seasons from the library, so I could watch them as well. Last night we had a mini-marathon of Eureka, watching the pilot plus three more episodes from the first season. I had seen one of them, and occasionally walked through the room during other episodes. But I remembered little except that it was a kind of quirky show.

Games: Cranium Family Fun Game and Rack-O

Al asked for a Family Night, and the holiday tomorrow allowed for staying up late this evening playing games. So we gathered around the game table downstairs, and we picked out Cranium Family Fun Game as one mostly likely to work well for all ages and provide lots of fun and laughs.

Like most of Cranium’s games, this one has a number of different kinds of activities. Depending what color you land on, you pick out a card from one of four decks: Creative Cat, Word Worm, Data Head, or Star Performer. We quickly agreed that Data Head was the easiest category, generally depending more on knowledge than ability. Recognizing common objects from photos showing just a small detail is probably the hardest in that category, while the true/false questions and multiple choice were usually easy for all of us.

Word Worm is my favorite category, as I really like words. Spelling words backwards is not very challenging for any of us, but finding six words starting with six different letters (roll the letter dice to get your letters) in six specified categories can be quite a challenge. So much so, in fact, that we never managed before time was up.

Creative Cat and Star Performer require more ability and creativity, and generally are where the laughs come in. How do you pantomime playing musical chairs, or doing instant messaging? My husband had somewhat more luck acting out being a race car driver, and later being a waitress (the latter was quite memorable and will probably continue to generate laughter whenever we remember it).

I had to crab walk around the room with a plastic frog on my belly. There was some question as to whether the frog was still on my belly, as it slid down near my hip, but as I made it around the room, panting with the effort, my husband decided I had accomplished it. On other rounds, we raced around the house collecting items, such as something made only of cotton (a T-shirt), or something with batteries (a remote control). Kyra helped with this category, providing both something alive, and something for a dog to fetch.

Games: The Alien Game

Have you ever played a game and thought the rules didn’t make much sense, or that the premise of the game was weak, and that you could probably come up with a better idea yourself? If so, I can tell you that coming up with a game that works well when you try to play it is not an easy thing.

Al is learning that also. Together we’ve been working on The Alien Game, borrowing ideas from Clue and Where in the U.S. Is Carmen Sandiego?, as well as, of course, his very fertile imagination. It started because he wanted a new game to play, and my stash of games (I pick up inexpensive games when I find them at yard sales, thrift stores, or dollar stores, and save them in my closet until an occasion comes when I think it’s time to bring one out) was depleted.

It’s not that we don’t have games in the house. We have at least four shelves of games downstairs, ranging from little kids games like Candyland to strategy games, party games, and a variety of card games. But Al has outgrown some of the simpler games, and is not ready yet for some of the more advanced ones. Having neither extra money nor a good idea what to get, I suggested making our own game.

I didn’t have anything particular in mind – perhaps some kind of card game where we designed our own cards. Or a simple board game where we tried to get from start to finish, encountering a few obstacles on the way. But Al tackled the project with enthusiasm and much grander aspirations. This game, he decided, would be a space adventure version of Clue, modified so that it would only require two players.

Games: Cornhole

I’ve played this game a few times before, but until today I never knew what it was called. Actually it has several names, but I’ve no idea which - if any of them – were used by people I played with previously. I don’t remember seeing it until a few years ago, and now it seems to be everywhere (well, at least in eastern Iowa), but I don’t know if that’s because it has suddenly become more popular, or because I moved into corn-growing country.

It’s sometimes called Bean Bag or Bean Toss, but the bags aren’t filled with beans, they’re filled with feed corn. They’re tossed at a wooden platform thirty feet away, with the goal being to get the bag into the hole in the platform. A bag in the hole counts three points, one that just lands on the platform counts one point. Points accumulate slowly, though, between well-matched players, because within each round, each player’s points cancel out an equal number of the opponent’s points. So if I score six and you score seven, you net a total of one point for the round.

I hardly ever score six, though. That would mean either two bags in the hole, or one in the hole and the other three (four bags are thrown by each player/team each round) on the platform. Mostly my bags fall off the back or the side of the platform – if they don’t miss altogether.

But it’s a game I can play, because it doesn’t require much in the way of physical coordination. And watching other people play, I can see that my skill (or lack of it) is pretty typical. I think that’s why the game is so popular, because anyone can play it. As the American Cornhole Association website points out

Horseshoes require a sand pit and are hard for the kids to pitch, lawn darts require a lawn and hasn’t been seen since the 70’s, ring toss was made for children and bean bags are for wimps; Cornhole is the game for everyone!

I just finished playing – and losing – in a tournament here at work. The department Fellowship Committee (of which I am a member) has been scheduling lunchtime tournaments about every other month this year, to help people get to know and enjoy doing things with their co-workers. The first three were Wii tournaments, and I didn’t even try. (I was going to try Mario Kart racing, but I watched someone practicing, and just from watching the screen as the track twisted and turned so quickly, my head and stomach informed me that this would not be a good idea.)

At one meeting I suggested some low tech games, like we used to play on Friday Fun afternoons in Michigan. And so the Baggo tournament came about. I hadn’t heard the name Baggo before either; it turns out it’s one company’s version of cornhole, replacing the wooden platform with a plastic one which causes the bags to slide a lot more (the platform slopes down towards the person tossing the bag). Two of the three sets of platforms being used here are wooden, and the third one sure doen’t look like an official Baggo set, but I guess that’s the name that people know the game by around here.

The teams were definitely not evenly matched. Unlike the Wii tournaments, which had qualifying rounds, this one seems to have set up partners and matched teams arbitrarily. One of our opponents clearly is an excellent player. But I didn’t let him skunk us (11 to 0) on the second game; somehow I managed, for three rounds in a row, to outscore him. In the end he and his partner won, 21 to 8, making them the winner of the match.

But my partner and I have another chance next Wednesday, when we face another team that lost today (though not by as much as we did). And I might have to be on the lookout for an inexpensive cornhole set, so I can practice in my back yard.

Movies: Abe and the Amazing Promise

I used to buy every Veggie Tales video as soon as it came out, but disappointment with some of the more recent ones, combined with family financial difficulties, made me reluctant even to spend money renting the newest one. (Well, almost the newest one – I just went to bigidea.com and discovered that Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah’s Umbrella just came out but I haven’t seen it in the store yet.)

It occurred to me this weekend, when I picked up Al from his class in the KidzTown area at church, that the KidzTown Public Library just might have Abe and the Amazing Promise. Sure enough, there it was, so I checked it out, and tonight Al and I watched it. He laughed a lot, and commented afterward that its lesson on patience is one he needs to remember. So I have to conclude it’s a good show.

Watching it, though, I couldn’t help thinking that it just wasn’t the same as some of the earlier Veggie Tales shows I enjoyed so much. King George and the Ducky is a family favorite, along with Where Is God When I’m S-Scared? and Are You My Neighbor? I really like Sumo of the Opera, but most of the other recent ones just miss somehow with me.

I’ve read speculation that it has to do with Big Idea having been bought by a larger company. I’ve wondered if the creative minds behind the series have used up their best ideas, and continue to churn out shows because that’s “what they do” even when the inspiration just isn’t there. But I read a customer review at amazon.com that points in a different direction.

Abe and the Amazing Promise is apparently “the first full-length episode directed by John Wahba. … Wahba’s emphasis seems to be more focused on bringing to life a film that plays to a child’s sense of imagination and humor, rather than engaging in the asides and in-jokes for adults that adult fans are used to finding sprinkled throughout the VeggieTales series.” Other reviews commented on the lack of wittiness that Veggie Tales fans have come to expect.

It’s hard to say whether this change in direction will work long-term or not. One reason for Big Idea’s big success was that parents enjoyed watching the videos with their kids. Parents do get movies just for their kids sometimes, but if they’re like me, they’re less likely to stick with a series that they don’t enjoy themselves unless the kids beg for it. And since Veggie Tales isn’t advertised all over the place where kids will see it (at least not where my kid sees it), they won’t even know a new video is out, let alone ask for it.

By the end of the DVD, I have to admit it was beginning to grow on me. Most of the songs – even the silly song – seemed far from memorable, but as I headed up to the kitchen I found the last one running through my head. And the second story (unlike most Veggie Tales videos I can think of, the Bible story came first and a purely fictional story was the longer one) really was quite creative, and I think also effective, in getting its point across (about taking the time to do a job right).

Now I just have to be patient until the church library gets a copy of Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah’s Umbrella…

Movies: The Golden Compass

I wasn’t going to spend money on renting this movie, let alone having bought a ticket to see it in the theater, but when I saw it in the library I decided it would be a good Friday night movie. As with so many movie adaptations of books, it’s hard to decide whether it would be better to have read the book or not before seeing the movie.

On the one hand, the movie moves very quickly (I agree with those viewers who complain it feels rushed), and someone who hasn’t read the book may be wondering who all the characters are and what is going on. But having read the book and enjoyed it, I felt that too much had been left out.

As one viewer comments at imdb.com, what is left out isn’t characters or events (though of course even in that regard not everything is included), but the evolving understanding of the nature of Pullman’s alternate universe.In the book, the reader only gradually learns the importance of the daemons; in the movie a narrator explains them in the very opening scene. In the book, Lyra struggles over time to understand the alethiometer; here she succeeds on the first try.

Very little time is spent on the nature of the Magisterium, and the one reference to “the Authority” is so oblique that I missed it until my older son pointed it out later. It is clear that Truth is important, but the deceptive nature of the Magisterium is downplayed. I understand that the moviemakers were concerned about potential viewers being turned off by an anti-religious message, but concepts such as truth and free will are central to the book and its sequels.

I’ve argued a few times on worldmagblog with those who object to Pullman’s trilogy for its objectionable portrayal of God. My view is that Pullman’s books don’t depict God at all, only a pathetic caricature of God. Anyone who thinks that God is anything like Pullman’s portrayal of “the Authority” needs to know that such a creature (because in Pullman’s universe the Authority is the first created being, not the Creator himself) – and the people who try to enforce obedience to it – are just as despicable as Pullman makes them appear.

But that’s not the God I worship. And there is nothing in the book – and certainly not in the movie – to undermine faith in God as He really is. (And I’ll be the first to recognize that “how He really is” is way beyond our understanding.) I would happily side with Lyra and her friends against the evils of the Magisterium.

In any case, this appears to be a good but hardly great fantasy movie. The daemons (talking animals, in appearance and behavior) look very real much of the time. Nicole Kidman makes Mrs. Coulter appear both very elegant and very sinister. The scenery in the far north is spectacular. It just all went by too quickly and with too little real depth to the characters and themes.

Movies: Night at the Museum 2

Al and I spent the morning at the zoo and the afternoon at the museum, and there we had a great time watching Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian on the giant IMAX screen (with my husband and older son, who met us there). I really hadn’t wanted there to be a sequel, as it was hard to see how they could do as well as the first movie, but they did.

I can see from the comments at imdb.com that my opinion is hardly shared by all or even most. There are some viewers who think it’s even better than the first, but many who think this is just a poorly reheated batch of leftovers. The sequel is admittedly more into spectacle and witty conversation than character and motivation, but if you enjoy it for what it is rather than what it is not, it really is great fun. (One viewer titled his review “Dumb-dumb but fun-fun,” which is good summing up – as well as a reference easily recognizable by anyone who has seen either movie.)

There’s not much of a plot, so I wouldn’t be giving much away to describe it, but it also is hardly worth telling without being able to watch it unfold. It has some pretty big holes: how in the world did Larry become a successful businessman in just a few years? where did the fuel come from for the rocket and airplanes? who cleaned up the mess at the end? just to name a few.

But I was too busy enjoying the movie to mind that. Some people complain that it’s cluttered with too many characters, too much action, scriptwriters with more ideas than sense trying to throw everything in that could possibly be entertaining, until it’s nothing but a senseless succession of scenes. I enjoyed the fast-moving action, however, and found the quick but clever snippets highly entertaining.

Games: Bing-Oh! Travel

I bought an inexpensive Bingo game for my son Al when he was in kindergarten, partly to have another game (besides Candyland and Snakes and Ladders) that he could understand. Mostly I bought it to motivate him to learn his numbers, which it may or may not have helped with.

The main problem we encountered (besides his wanting to get Bingo on the master card that shows all numbers called) was that it used a spinner to select the numbers. A spinner with sixty numbers means very tiny wedges for each number, and often the spinner lands on the line in between. Or it lands on a number previously called (which can’t happen with the more expensive “cage” type Bingo).

The other problem with traditional Bingo, even the “cage” style, is that there’s nothing much to do except wait for numbers to be called. Pure luck, and lots of waiting. (Have I mentioned that Al has a short attention span?) So when I saw Bing-Oh! Travel in the store, I decided it would be a great alternative.

It’s somewhat like traditional Bingo. You have a card with letters across the top, and numbers, and you have to place chips on the squares that are called, and you need to get a line of chips filled horizontally or vertically or diagonally. But Growing Tree Toys has added in some interesting twists to the familiar game.