Links and Stuff
Welcome to another “Links and Stuff.” Before we start, a reminder of the schedule change after April’s A-to-Z Blogging Challenge. Starting May 1, “Who Reviews” will be on Tuesdays, and “Links and Stuff” will be on Wednesdays. Are you participating in the April A-to-Z Challenge? Let me know if you are so I can be sure to check in on you over the month. Now, to business!
Legend of Zelda Update
This week, I had a double session. Daylight Saving Time started this past Sunday, so I took yesterday off as a kind of “catch-up” day for my body clock, and played some more Zelda. And with good reason, as I will explain. So, when we left our hero last week, he had his forest buddy Makar, and was about to enter the Wind Temple. And, yes, Makar proved an excellent target for Dad humor (“Baby you can drive Makar…”, “I forgot where I parked Makar…”, “I’m having trouble with Makar…”), which SecondBorn really appreciated. Not.
I completed the temple, but I won’t bore you with the details, so here’s the summary. The new toy for this temple was the hook shot, which proved to be very useful (as usual). Not only can you use it to pull yourself up to high places, but you can grab things with it, and even attack flying monsters with it. So far, the monsters that are giving me the most trouble are the Darknuts and the Wizzrobes. The Darknuts are well armored and have a fierce attack. You have to be nimble, and try to knock their armor off from behind, or use the parry attack, before you can do damage to them. More practiced Zelda gamers (like SecondBorn, ThirdBorn, and Fourthborn) have no trouble with them. Less experienced players (like… um… me) get knocked around quite a bit before remembering to parry, or to dodge and side-step. As for the Wizzrobes, these are ugly wizard-type birds that appear and either shoot fire balls at you, or spawn monsters to attack you. You normally have to deal with the monsters, but ultimately you need to destroy the Wizzrobes. Their appearance is preceded by a funky fanfare. They take damage from arrows, but take the most damage from sword hits. But they don’t always appear on the ground, so you have to watch for your opportunities, and take them when you can.
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The final boss battle in the Wind Temple was, actually, easier than I expected. Last week I stocked up with fairies and magic in preparation for this battle, and ended up with a net loss of a quarter heart. I believe I used one of my fairies during the first Wizzrobe battle of the Temple, but I replenished that before entering my fight with Molgera (the Wind Temple boss) [TIP: If there are jars outside a boss battle room, chances are there’s a fairy in one of them, so be sure to have an empty bottle handy. Zelda games like to make sure the odds are at least slightly tipped in your favor.]
After completing this, I expected to be taken to the final showdown with Ganon. But noooo… there’s more. I have to collect eight “Triforce Charts” which will take me to the Triforce shards I need to collect in order to face Ganon. Yes, I’m leaving out lots of story here, but I don’t want to spoil the game for you if you haven’t played it yet. SecondBorn told me this will take a while to complete, so I decided to take time out on Monday to start work on collecting the charts. I’m halfway through that quest, so next time I hope to at least get the rest of the charts and make a start collecting shards.
Other Stuff
Last Thursday, I blogged about the death of George Martin. In that article, I shared my own thoughts. Here’s the BBC News story, and this is a nice tribute Paul McCartney posted on his website. The announcement caused a bit of social media panic, as fans of GAME OF THRONES author George R. R. Martin thought the announcement was about him. Mr. R. R. Martin has yet to complete the fantasy series, and indeed recently announced that the next book will be delayed. The author had to post a message on his LiveJournal site assuring fans he is still alive and writing.
There was another musical celebrity death this past week: Keith Emerson, keyboardist with the prog rock trio Emerson, Lake, and Palmer. Emerson was 71, and died from gunshot wounds in what has been ruled a suicide. It seems he had been diagnosed with some kind of neurological disease that was making it increasingly difficult for him to play. It’s not hard to imagine such a diagnosis causing depression in someone who was still an active performer, and clearly lived for his music.
Yesterday was PI Day, 3-14-16, at least according to the US date format–I’m not sure what 14-3-16 is in the UK. Anyway, I’m no mathematician, but “recreational mathematician” and YouTuber Vi Hart’s discussion of this year’s Pi Day is quite entertaining. And here’s the official PI Day website if you’re scratching your head wondering why anyone would want to celebrate one Greek letter over another.
Finally, it seems the Estate of Harper Lee is discontinuing the Mass Market Paperback edition of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD after April 25. The “Mass Market Paperback” is the cheapest edition of a book. It’s usually about the size of an iPhone 6, and costs less than $10. “Trade Paperbacks” on the other hand are about the size and quality of a hardcover, but with a paper cover instead. They usually run about $5+ more than “Mass Market.” There are conflicting reports as to whether this directive came from Ms. Lee in her recently-sealed will, or whether the decision (along with some other controversial decisions over the past year or so) was made by her Estate, given Harper’s own physical inability to act on her own behalf. The argument is that Mass Market editions are on the decline, and people who can’t afford the more expensive editions can still borrow the book from their local library. However, these editions are the ones usually purchased in bulk, and used by schools as part of their English curricula. Either way, it’s hard not to see this as another attempt by Harper’s “Estate” to squeeze money out of her legacy. It’s sad, and makes me wonder if it wouldn’t be better to make the novel Public Domain and be done with the vultures. What do you think?
That’s all for this week! Share your thoughts…
At 48 years of age, I’ve finally reached the point where I can choose trade and hardcover, but the loss of a mass market classic DOES seem a shame to me. I hadn’t heard this, so am glad you posted the information. It seems unlikely we can be done with the vultures; as long as there’s money to be made from Lee’s work, there will be someone to claim it and generate new ways to wring more out.
I’ve lived long years with finances that left me choosing between what should seem like “minor” expenses, but which unfortunately just aren’t that small. The result is I eliminated, many times, things like buying books at ALL, never mind even which edition. So, given the economic climate, I have zero doubt the loss of mass market means thousands of people will never buy their copy of Mockingbird – or many, many other books.
I don’t generally buy Mass Market paperbacks, either but, like you, I think this is a shame since for many MM is the only affordable way to own a copy of TKaM. There was an item on yesterday’s Publishers Weekly Daily Update indicating that the Trade paperback will be made available to schools at a discounted price. But this still doesn’t help those bibliophiles on a strict budget, and those whose libraries may be lacking, or not have sufficient copies in stock.
Thinking further about this; I haven’t been in school/university for the best part of three decades (a generation!) now, so things may be different. However, the novels we read tended to be MM, not editions at a higher price point. Texts were, but even my Edith Hamilton from Mythology 100 was a MM, and MOST of the literature I bought for classes in college were MM.
To lose that, for students at all levels, would be just awful. And reprehensible.
It certainly would, I agree.
Daylight Saving Time really threw me for a loop this year. It wasn’t until today [Thursday] that I felt adjusted to the change. This must mean I’m getting old. SHhhhhhhhhhh don’t tell anyone. [If I could make this italics, I’d do it lol]
On a more positive note, I have ALL of my AtoZ posts written,, AND my reveal post. Now all I have to do is schedule them. And it’s two weeks early =)
YAY ME!
Yay, Dena!! Doesn’t it feel good to know that for the whole of next month, all you have to do is monitor comments and visit other blogs? Congratulations!!! 😀