Adventurers of the Lucky Vale Xi

[Sciread77]

I’m feeling a little stuck, mostly with feeling cranky and angry. 
 

Work is much, much better now that the market is not (currently) crashing or acting like it smoked a truckload of crack and now that we’re closer to fully staffed. 
 

I’m still struggling to find my place in some ways. And to adjust to things that are new or have been brought to my attention or to deal with injustice that is really being highlighted. The protests, which I support. JK Rowling’s comments and essay that has been such a devastating blow to my trans friends. The announcement of rights rollbacks and rallies tied to racism and homophobia (which is a crap term for being too obsessed strangers have sex with other consenting adults). 
 

JK Rowling is particularly unsettling. Some people are renouncing the whole Harry Potter series, which I’m not ready to do. It’s had too big of an effect on my life, for the better. For all of its flaws. But I’m also not ready to let her off the hook for the hurtful things she’s said and done. And while my initial instinct is to see the best in people, she’s continued to double down when the people she has hurt have expressed this to her. I haven’t read thoroughly on the situation or her essay, which I am probably going to have to tackle before I really resolve this. But it’s been a huge blow to a lot of people I care about, people who have relied on her stories for courage and inspiration and who feel betrayed and let down. It sort of paints a lot of parts of the stories in an ugly light and highlights a lot of the negative for me. 
 

That is a sad part of being an adult. The Narnia stories, too, have a lot of troubling themes on race that are basically undercurrents. I don’t think any of it was meant to oppress people, but reading them to my kids I imagine how different they might land to a kid who only really heard dark-skinned people and creatures described as bad guys or the good guys who were relatively cruel, heartless, and had to be reigned in. 
 

Some parts of me miss childhood. But others regret that I did not know what I do now back in childhood. 
 

Goals: 

 

1. Sleep. Bo Peep hasn’t been asleep before 10:30 for over a week and it’s a nightmare of hysterical crying. Yay! I’m hoping it’s another sleep regression that we can get through. I suspect the extended daylight hours are bringing this fresh hell upon us. I hate long summer days. Give me the medium days of autumn. Or the short days of winter with a good sun lamp!

2. Manage anxiety and mental health. This has been getting a little better and work appears to be sloping downward. I have limits in place. More than anything, I’m exhausted and burned out with work and searching for something meaningful to do in life. While actually being a better person to be around. 

3. Stay home and social distance but work outside on my suburban homestead developing my orchard trees and bushes, the veggie plots, and the flower corner. 
4. Make working from home look good to my company; maybe they will still let us work remotely after all this is over-

   >Continue this. They recently noted that we’ve done a  
    fantastic job. Now I just want to fall off their radar until I

    get somewhere else or can really accomplish something.

5. Enjoy quality time with the kids and with Jessie, including figuring out a way to have us time without grandparent help or the ability to go somewhere. 
6. Keep exercising. I’ve been having the calf and mobility issues again so I’m back to Alfredson protocol style lower body stuff and deep squats, with a push-up and pull-up focus on upper body for now. I’d like to get back into yoga and 21-day fix style workouts once this 

7. Help educate and play with the kiddos. Summer break is upon us. 

8.  Ensure the passing of up-to-date and accurate information online.

[Snarkyfishguts]

3 hours ago, Sciread77 said:

JK Rowling is particularly unsettling. Some people are renouncing the whole Harry Potter series, which I’m not ready to do. It’s had too big of an effect on my life, for the better. For all of its flaws. But I’m also not ready to let her off the hook for the hurtful things she’s said and done. And while my initial instinct is to see the best in people, she’s continued to double down when the people she has hurt have expressed this to her. I haven’t read thoroughly on the situation or her essay, which I am probably going to have to tackle before I really resolve this. But it’s been a huge blow to a lot of people I care about, people who have relied on her stories for courage and inspiration and who feel betrayed and let down. It sort of paints a lot of parts of the stories in an ugly light and highlights a lot of the negative for me. 

AGREED. I love Harry Potter, and this series brought some amazing people into my life. I feel like I belong to something really cool in my fandom, and even if the writer turned out to be a Death Eater, I can't stop appreciating the world that she created and others brought to life. But I do find myself suggestion Rick Riordan series instead of HP. 😕 

 

This is a good challenge. You're taking care of yourself and your loved ones. I hope you get the mental recovery space you need this challenge. 

[Ann of Owlshire]

As you know, I can empathize on toddler sleep problems. Good luck getting through this one.

 

JKR... yeah. She’s a hot mess. I would not be who I am today without being in parts of the HP fandom, and that I will treasure and be grateful for that forever. It is a world that transcended way beyond the books she wrote and I’m okay with leaving her in the hole she’s dug and staying in castle in the clouds that we built.

[WolfDreamer]

I am with you, my friend, on the anger and crankiness struggles. As you know, I had to take a break from Facebook because I could feel my temper raging at some of the posts and comments. My wife has returned to it, but just today she unfriended someone because the posted an image that said, in big bold all-caps letters, "WHITE LIVES MATTER." 😡She didn't even comment. She just unfriended the person. I am still active on Twitter and Instagram, but I am less likely to argue with strangers on those platforms than I am to see hurtful (usually unintentional and/or covertly racist, but still...) and surprising posts by friends or family members on Facebook.

 

I hope this doesn't make me have to give up my nerd card, but I have never been a HP fan. I have only read the first book, and I have not seen any of the movies all the way through, just bits and pieces of each movie. It's not that I disliked any of them. I just never felt the urge that others have felt to get into them. However, this doesn't mean I'm not bothered by Rowling's comments. She is intelligent enough to know how hurtful such a thing would be to most of her readers. Even if those are her personal convictions, having a platform such as hers does not qualify her to publicly comment on or write about such things. As a teacher who has taught transgender students who are very literate and no doubt HP fans, my heart breaks for them.

 

I am glad to have you as part of my Fellowship. Let me know if I can help in any way.

[Sciread77]

 

6 hours ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

AGREED. I love Harry Potter, and this series brought some amazing people into my life. I feel like I belong to something really cool in my fandom, and even if the writer turned out to be a Death Eater, I can't stop appreciating the world that she created and others brought to life. But I do find myself suggestion Rick Riordan series instead of HP. 😕 

 

This is a good challenge. You're taking care of yourself and your loved ones. I hope you get the mental recovery space you need this challenge. 

You’re the second person to recommend the Riordan series. 

 

5 hours ago, Ann of Vries said:

As you know, I can empathize on toddler sleep problems. Good luck getting through this one.

 

 

Naturally. It’ll be fine I’m just really tired. 

 

Quote

JKR... yeah. She’s a hot mess. I would not be who I am today without being in parts of the HP fandom, and that I will treasure and be grateful for that forever. It is a world that transcended way beyond the books she wrote and I’m okay with leaving her in the hole she’s dug and staying in castle in the clouds that we built.

 

She is. I don’t want to leave the stories, or my interpretations of them, behind. Just like I don’t want to give you LotR or Narnia because of some of the problematic with their creators. I get pushing for the cancellation of something current that is continuing to hurt people. I’m not entirely sure if I’m prepared to give up everything and start over. (And if we involve moral and ethical tests for everyone I don’t know how much of anything will survive).

2 hours ago, WolfDreamer said:

I am with you, my friend, on the anger and crankiness struggles. As you know, I had to take a break from Facebook because I could feel my temper raging at some of the posts and comments. My wife has returned to it, but just today she unfriended someone because the posted an image that said, in big bold all-caps letters, "WHITE LIVES MATTER." 😡She didn't even comment. She just unfriended the person. I am still active on Twitter and Instagram, but I am less likely to argue with strangers on those platforms than I am to see hurtful (usually unintentional and/or covertly racist, but still...) and surprising posts by friends or family members on Facebook.

 

 

It’s exhausting. And many of the people who taught me the ethics,  morals, and values I hold have thrown them away the minute a textbook charlatan gives the smallest amount of lip service to religion. 

 

Quote

I hope this doesn't make me have to give up my nerd card, but I have never been a HP fan. I have only read the first book, and I have not seen any of the movies all the way through, just bits and pieces of each movie. It's not that I disliked any of them. I just never felt the urge that others have felt to get into them. However, this doesn't mean I'm not bothered by Rowling's comments. She is intelligent enough to know how hurtful such a thing would be to most of her readers. Even if those are her personal convictions, having a platform such as hers does not qualify her to publicly comment on or write about such things. As a teacher who has taught transgender students who are very literate and no doubt HP fans, my heart breaks for them.

 

 

Nerd card revoked! Lol. Just kidding. Nerds come in all shapes, sizes, and fandoms. Personally, the books didn’t really start speak to me until books 3-4. Now I’ve read and listened to them dozens of times in three languages. I really love the stories, especially how we (my friends, Jessie, and I) have interpreted them. It’s a loss. Like many parts of childhood. I’ve found that meeting and/or getting to know heroes almost always causes some sort of disillusionment. 
 

My great grandfather, who I always deeply respected, was a mob leader and incredibly racist. (That doesn’t make it into the family lore about him). But I also think it’s important to know people for who they are so you can aspire to be better than those in the past. Yeah, I’m full of faults. I know. But never on purpose. 

 

Quote

I am glad to have you as part of my Fellowship. Let me know if I can help in any way.

I’m glad to be a part of your Fellowship. May we have the moral constitution of Aragorn and Faramir. 

[Sciread77]

11 hours ago, Sciread77 said:

I’m glad to be a part of your Fellowship. May we have the moral constitution of Aragorn and Faramir. 

And Men can only aspire to the moral constitution of Samwise Gamgee.

[WolfDreamer]

2 hours ago, Sciread77 said:

And Men can only aspire to the moral constitution of Samwise Gamgee.

 

I believe everyone needs a friend like Sam. I hold that type of friendship in similar esteem to the Jonathan/David friendship from the Bible.

[Sciread77]

5 hours ago, WolfDreamer said:

 

I believe everyone needs a friend like Sam. I hold that type of friendship in similar esteem to the Jonathan/David friendship from the Bible.

True. I read in an article on Medium that Samwise, being the true hero, was based on the batmen of the UK military, assigned to assist officers and who Tolkien viewed as the real heroes who were never properly recognized. 
 

The friendships in LotR are the stuff of legend, and that of Sam and Frodo always amazes me. That’s what loyalty and a commitment to do what is right instead of what is easy looks like. 
 

I love Boromir too and his story saddens me. 

[Sciread77]

I awoke to with a massive headache. I really shouldn’t be surprised. Bo Peep has finally started going to bed at a more normal time but I’m still reeling from several days of about 4 hours of sleep. I really need 7-8 hours and I can get by for a more extended rough time with at least 6. I’ve been dialing work back as much as I can to try to recover, but yesterday Jessie said she thinks that I need to take at least a week off and I’m sure she is right. One the quarterly and monthly stuff is done (in the next week or two) I think I should be able to do that. Depending on what everyone else already has in. 
 

I haven’t worked out the last few days because I’ve been tired and feeling sick. I’ve also done bare minimum in the garden as I’m also heat sensitive and this combined with the lack of sleep just saps my energy when I’m outside. 
 

My gas barbecue grill had a minor explosion yesterday. That was fun. The electric starter went out so we have to light it with a match. The first one didn’t work, and the second one popped the grill top up, took most

of the hair off my right arm, and singed hair on the right side of my face. It needed a trim anyway lol. “And that, kids, is why daddy lights the grill with the match instead of you.” Because all that happened with my standing back and going immediately in to guard my face with my arm. A short person with a face by the grill too could have been bad. I need to fix that electric starter.

 

I haven’t been exercising but I have been deliberately playing with the kids. Last night they all rode me like a horse around the bedrooms. Rex, Master of Balance, actually stood on my back during this. Like it was nothing at all. 

[Snarkyfishguts]

I didnt expect an explosion! Any burns? You okay if not just less hairy?

[WolfDreamer]

22 hours ago, Sciread77 said:

My gas barbecue grill had a minor explosion yesterday

 

Holy cow! I'm glad it wasn't worse and you're okay. Be careful, my friend.

 

You could use some rest. I've learned it's almost always wise to listen to my wife when she notices I need rest. Remember that self-improvement and self-care are not just about working out. Get rest, get well, and you'll be back at it soon.

[Ann of Owlshire]

I’m glad you’re okay! I had something similar happen on a gas powered hob some years back. I was scared of gas cooking for years afterwards XD 

[Sciread77]

9 hours ago, Snarkyfishguts said:

I didnt expect an explosion! Any burns? You okay if not just less hairy?

 

2 hours ago, WolfDreamer said:

Holy cow! I'm glad it wasn't worse and you're okay. Be careful, my friend.

 

1 hour ago, Ann of Vries said:

I’m glad you’re okay! I had something similar happen on a gas powered hob some years back. I was scared of gas cooking for years afterwards XD 

I also didn’t expect it. I normally light it about 15 seconds after the gas is on but having to grab a second match from the kitchen added a minute.  It was a “whump!” Sort of noise. I’m ok, one first degree burn (like a minor sunburn) in the forearm. And only slightly less hairy. I’ve been growing my hair out as a defense mechanism against unexpected explosions, so it worked out. 
 

I love the electric starter because it’s a much better way of lighting the things. 
 

2 hours ago, WolfDreamer said:

You could use some rest. I've learned it's almost always wise to listen to my wife when she notices I need rest. Remember that self-improvement and self-care are not just about working out. Get rest, get well, and you'll be back at it soon.

This is totally true. I have the entire week before the 4th off. Due to the migraine and my general exhaustion I took a half day yesterday. Ended up sleeping most of it, which was probably quite needed. 

[Stronkey Kong]

[oromendur]

On 6/15/2020 at 5:54 AM, Sciread77 said:

I’m feeling a little stuck, mostly with feeling cranky and angry.

 

On 6/15/2020 at 1:20 PM, WolfDreamer said:

I am with you, my friend, on the anger and crankiness struggles. As you know, I had to take a break from Facebook because I could feel my temper raging at some of the posts and comments.

 

MAD commiseration with you gentlemen. What a time we live in. (Of course it's much like all the other times -- humans being humans and all -- but still, it sucks.)

 

On 6/15/2020 at 9:33 AM, Ann of Vries said:

It is a world that transcended way beyond the books she wrote

On 6/15/2020 at 4:26 PM, Sciread77 said:

I really love the stories,

On 6/15/2020 at 9:15 AM, Snarkyfishguts said:

I can't stop appreciating the world that she created and others brought to life.

 

I have long maintained that JKR is only a so-so storyteller -- but is absolutely FANTASTIC at world-building. I think it's possible to take the helpful mythic instruction from the world while detaching from the distasteful prejudices of the author; if it weren't, I wouldn't be able to read anything at all, to be honest. But she is a hot mess.

 

On 6/16/2020 at 12:36 PM, Sciread77 said:

I read in an article on Medium that Samwise, being the true hero, was based on the batmen of the UK military, assigned to assist officers and who Tolkien viewed as the real heroes who were never properly recognized.

 

Indeed:

 

Quote

'My "Sam Gamgee" is indeed a reflexion of the English soldier, of the privates and batmen I knew in the 1914 war, and recognised as so far superior to myself.' (Quoted in J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter, p. 91)

 

Good luck with your challenge!

[Sciread77]

On 6/21/2020 at 8:38 PM, oromendur said:

 

MAD commiseration with you gentlemen. What a time we live in. (Of course it's much like all the other times -- humans being humans and all -- but still, it sucks.)

 

I spent many of my younger years preparing for this sort of eventuality. I’d really hoped I was crazy and that the time was wasted. But I have a duty to act. 

[Sciread77]

On 6/21/2020 at 8:38 PM, oromendur said:

I have long maintained that JKR is only a so-so storyteller -- but is absolutely FANTASTIC at world-building. I think it's possible to take the helpful mythic instruction from the world while detaching from the distasteful prejudices of the author; if it weren't, I wouldn't be able to read anything at all, to be honest. But she is a hot mess.

She’s definitely great at world building. I maintain that her storytelling ability largely grew throughout the series. I think there are a lot of places she boxed herself in and tried to make things better. But I can also see a lot of troubling things. 
 

I seriously doubt I’m going to toss the books out. I’d have to toss out Narnia, too, among other things. I’d say I’ll never buy another book to help distance the story from the author (and I won’t buy any of her books outside of that world for sure) but come now, I already own the whole set in 3 languages, print and audiobooks. She’s made a veritable fortune off of me already. 
 

In a way, it’s good to know these things to help counter any possible effects on my kids. I don’t think JK Rowling is a terrible person. I DO think she has a terrible blind spot and should know better. I also know that abuse can have some awful effects on a person and, in ways, detach them from reality.  And writing things, especially publicly, can be extremely rough. 
 

I have no idea. I’m just writing our thoughts as they come in and I’m terribly conflicted. I’m committed to helping and advocating for and protecting the people I love. And sometimes, messy old life puts two against each other. It’s hard, even when one is wrong and you know the right course of action is to stand against the person who is wrong... how hard do you stand? Do you push pack, or hit back, I’d they don’t back down?

 

On 6/21/2020 at 8:38 PM, oromendur said:

Good luck with your challenge!

Thanks! I’ve quite forgotten it by now. 

[Sciread77]

Just now, Sciread77 said:

On 6/21/2020 at 8:38 PM, oromendur said:

Good luck with your challenge!

Thanks! I’ve quite forgotten it by now. 

Not that I’m not doing it. But I’ve become distracted With angsty-teen-level inner turmoil and had to look up the specifics again lol. 

[oromendur]

19 hours ago, Sciread77 said:

I have no idea. I’m just writing our thoughts as they come in and I’m terribly conflicted. I’m committed to helping and advocating for and protecting the people I love. And sometimes, messy old life puts two against each other. It’s hard, even when one is wrong and you know the right course of action is to stand against the person who is wrong... how hard do you stand? Do you push pack, or hit back, I’d they don’t back down?

 

Oh, goodness, the questions of the age.

 

Right now I'm finding this distinction helpful (I think I got it from Byron Katie but I can't be bothered to look up the reference atm): is it my business, or their business?

 

What they think = their business

Actions they take which affect me or those I have chosen to bring into my circle of control = my business

 

The argument essentially revolves around the fact that it's not possible to force people to think something. If I believe people think wrong things, and I believe it is important for them to think otherwise, I can make attempts to influence their thinking -- educate, discuss, entertain, wheedle, threaten -- but I cannot force them to change their minds (and even if I could, doing so would be shuddering levels of wrong, IMO).  If my attempts at influence fail, it is ALWAYS about them and not me. What they think is ultimately THEIR BUSINESS.

 

Now, when they act a certain way that affects me, it becomes my business. I absolutely have the right to tell someone that their speech hurts me and ask them to stop. If they don't stop their speech, I have the right to make whatever arrangements are necessary not to listen to their speech anymore. My experience is my business.

 

Extending the idea, if people take physical actions to harm me or mine, taking steps to stop them, up to and including deadly force (if authorized and appropriate of course), is my business. But, even at the ultimate extension of this where I'm killing them before they kill me, what they think is still their business.

 

My business or their business? This sounds simple, but is actually a really difficult distinction to make, especially for Westerners (whose culture rests on a bedrock of that לֹ֥א תַחְמֹ֖ד nonsense* at the end of the Decalogue). God as thought police is a very hard mythic paradigm to escape -- but, thought or otherwise, people believing they have the right to bring the judgment of God (or whatever other moral standard source they might choose) down on other people is almost always a recipe for suffering on all sides. So (eons of moonsick love poetry demanding the other person feel the same thing for us we do for them aside), this distinction between my business and their business is helping me remember that taking responsibility for other people's thoughts (or even their actions, insofar as they don't affect me or my circle) is ultimately a mistake.

 

Of course then there's the question of whom to bring into my circle, which is another difficult choice. Just me and my family? My friends of different ethnicities/religions/persuasions? My acquaintances? My friends' acquaintances? All members of different ethnicities/religions/persuasions? The permutations are endless, overwhelming, and depressing. I've had times when I felt like I had the energy to include the whole world, and times when I can't even be bothered to include my own body (shrug)

 

Anyway. I'm babbling now. Please read the above as rambling commiseration, even if it makes little sense.

 

*Hebrew lō ṯaḥmōḏ, usually rendered in English as ' you shall not covet,' but חָמַד also can mean 'desire' or 'take pleasure in' and is actually used in a positive sense in the Psalms and other places

 

20 hours ago, Sciread77 said:

Thanks! I’ve quite forgotten it by now.

20 hours ago, Sciread77 said:

Not that I’m not doing it. But I’ve become distracted With angsty-teen-level inner turmoil and had to look up the specifics again lol. 

 

<rueful chuckle> Oh, I feel this too, don't I ever...

 

But it's been a while since I've tut-tutted you about sleeping, so consider this your periodic reminder that sleep is as important as food and water to the healthy functioning of the human animal  

[Sciread77]

16 hours ago, oromendur said:

Oh, goodness, the questions of the age.

 

Right now I'm finding this distinction helpful (I think I got it from Byron Katie but I can't be bothered to look up the reference atm): is it my business, or their business?

 

What they think = their business

Actions they take which affect me or those I have chosen to bring into my circle of control = my business

This is usually my focus. And I work on keeping my locus of control internal (had a few challenges before the current series built around that).  In some ways this is mourning. Because I probably can’t change her mind. And I’m nobody to her anyway, and what’s more I’m a cis man who has a responsibility to be sensitive to her perspective as a victim of violence. But whatever the reason, her platform means she’s able to deliver a tremendous amount of harm in this area. 
 

The devil is in the details on responsibility, and we have to live within the gray areas. Because that which on it’s face may seem not my business may actually be my privilege to disengage from, empowering harm to a disadvantaged minority. 
 

For now, I take my own interpretation of the work and use it for good. 
 

16 hours ago, oromendur said:

<rueful chuckle> Oh, I feel this too, don't I ever...

 

As one does lol. 
 

16 hours ago, oromendur said:

But it's been a while since I've tut-tutted you about sleeping, so consider this your periodic reminder that sleep is as important as food and water to the healthy functioning of the human animal  

As if I needed another learning opportunity lol. I slept in today far past my usual wake up time. So I have to work later than usual but Bo Peep was up until 1 am so it’s not like most work I did would be valuable. 
 

I can’t wait until next week, when I have all week off. 9 delicious days of nothing in a row. Which will translate to a few days of catch up housework and a LOT of good family time. 

[Sciread77]

This is the 4th day off. I’m feeling a lot better rested and I’m almost totally off of coffee and caffeine. 
 

Yesterday, Woody officially learned to ride a bike. I’m so proud of him. He’s so scared of trying things that are new sometimes that it scares me a bit, whereas Rex and Bo Peep appear fearless. Rex is really close to riding, too. But Woody rode several times yesterday afternoon, and we got some video of it. The best part is that it happened after he fell and skinned his knee and he realized that it wasn’t nearly as bad as he thought it would be.  He’s 7 and I was starting to worry that he’d work himself into a complex before riding the bike. 
 

We also got a kiddie pool and have been setting it up in the driveway. We pulled out the movie projector and watched The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe outside on the garage while the kids were in the pool. It was fun. Bo Peep didn’t last long on account of she’s 2, though, and the sun goes down much later in the summer. 
 

We really want to put in an above ground pool in the back but our HOA currently prohibits it. We’re working to change that. Look, I get not allowing some of those DIY pools that make the neighborhood look like a bunch of trashy rednecks live here. (My people.) But we already have to have board approval for any changes and we could easily require a nicely-landscaped above ground pool. Especially because many of our yards effectively can’t have in-ground pools installed for drainage reasons and nobody new was able to even receive the rules until after buying. We are looking to bring it to vote for those reasons and due to the fact that the pandemic has sort of killed the use of public pools and a lot of events and stuff that kids usually do. As it is, our kids play with most of the neighbor kids, having water gun fights and riding bikes with limited amounts of swinging. But they’re getting restless and parents are feeling it, especially as playing inside isn’t an option and it gets hotter outside. 
 

I just can’t get over how proud I am of Woody. He had such a breakthrough yesterday. We’re going to keep riding and keep working at it. He’s been practicing all summer so far so he can go bike riding with his best friend and I’m so happy for him. 
 

Physically, I feel like I’m falling apart. Part is reducing caffeine but part is, I think, the consequence of having so much computer work to do the last 3-4 months. And I haven’t been as physical over the last week. I’ve got a hurting foot and I think it has something to do with how I’ve been sitting in the wooden kitchen chair I work from.  Once I finish getting off of caffeine and can wake up on my own again I want to start sprinting and running work again in the mornings. I think that I decondition faster than normal due to the arthritis, not the muscles but the joints and the range of motion. I’d like to get Woody to participate too, to get him ready for the cross country season. 
 

Oh. And I started playing Halo with the boys. Of all the games in the world that they work together, communicate effectively, and don’t constantly whine at each other on, I’m a little surprised it was this one. They apologize every time they team kill each other and I think that they die so much that they are finally getting used to it. I’m playing through the whole game on co-op with them. It’s a lot of fun for me and I like teaching them skills. I especially enjoy  teaching them how to talk to their teammate.  
 

 

[Ann of Owlshire]

May I suggest Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare as a family friendly shooter game? (And not just because it’s one of Mr’s games :P)

 

 

[Sciread77]

2 hours ago, Ann of Vries said:

May I suggest Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare as a family friend shooter game? (And not just it’s one of Mr’s games :P)

 

 

For the PS3 and PS4, huh? Awesome!

 

Since you’ve opened up Pandora’s Box... what all has he worked on? I’m crazy with curiosity since the first time you mentioned vocation. 

[Ann of Owlshire]

2 hours ago, Sciread77 said:

what all has he worked on?

 

He’s been working in the industry since 2000, so quite a lot. Ones I can remember offhand are:

 

Heavenly Sword

Football Manager 200x-200y (Popular European franchise)

The official London Olympics console game

Plants vs Zombies 2

PvZ: Garden Warfare (I think he also had early involvement in the sequel)

Some involvement in other PopCap franchises of that time frame (Bejeweled, Peggle, etc.)

A popular social Casino game

An unannounced VR conversion of an FPS 

And the current gig is a new console game in a very different zombie franchise. 

[Snarkyfishguts]

4 hours ago, Ann of Vries said:

 

He’s been working in the industry since 2000, so quite a lot. Ones I can remember offhand are:

 

Heavenly Sword

Football Manager 200x-200y (Popular European franchise)

The official London Olympics console game

Plants vs Zombies 2

PvZ: Garden Warfare (I think he also had early involvement in the sequel)

Some involvement in other PopCap franchises of that time frame (Bejeweled, Peggle, etc.)

A popular social Casino game

An unannounced VR conversion of an FPS 

And the current gig is a new console game in a very different zombie franchise. 

PopCap games are a huge hit in this house, thanks to the mister for being a part of that 👍