The story for Magic the Gathering's Core Set 2019 is a series of flashbacks telling the origin story of two of Magic's recurring characters: the evil Elder Dragon planeswalker Nicol Bolas and his enigmatic rival Ugin, known as the Spirit Dragon. While both of these characters have been in Magic Story for years, the flashbacks stand on their own as a tale of sibling rivalry writ extremely large across planes and millennia. But their framing device relies on the story of three Magic sets from almost five years ago, and as a result, if you're new to Magic and its lore, it may be hard to follow.
I started playing during the set after all of this, so I didn't see it as it happened. But here's what I've learned from reading flavortext and the wiki.
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
On Music 2: Dog on the Floor
Raffi Cavoukian's new album, "Dog on the Floor," is not for everyone. After all, it's fifteen songs for children, performed by a Canadian guy who's been known for writing children's music for longer than I've been alive. But if you have children, or if you like children's music, or especially if you grew up listening to Raffi, this is a must listen.
I have been listening to Raffi since before I can remember, and his music has always been a comfort (with the exception of "Evergreen Everblue," which was my introduction to environmentalism and has some songs on it that kinda scared me as a kid). Baby Beluga and Bananaphone are family traditions, and when I moved to the Pacific Northwest I remembered that Raffi had written a song about a place very near to where I was going to live. This was the first new Raffi album I'd heard about since "Bananaphone" (though he's produced several others in the meantime), and so when it came out last week, I ordered it on CD and prepared for a major nostalgia trip.
And I got exactly what I came for. "Dog on the Floor" comes from the same place, both geographically and philosophically, that I remember from my childhood. Raffi, along with local children and other professional musicians, sing about the joy of being a child ("Play Play Play"); the pastoral ideals of the British Columbia Gulf Islands ("Market Day" and "The Way it Goes"), and animals, especially the titular dog, Raffi's poodle/collie mix Luna (in "Luna's Song," "Walkin' My Dog," and "Dog on the Floor"). The lyrics paint a picture of a world that's much less complicated than the one I live in, and lets me remember, or perhaps imagine, a time in my life before I had to worry about anything.
But there's at least one song on this album that's as much for today's worried grownups, as it is for children: the next-to-last song, "Take a Breath," is a meditation on mindfulness, a reminder to take a moment every now and then to breathe, to stretch, to sing (and it doesn't hurt if what you're singing is a Raffi song).
The voice of my childhood is back, and he's telling me it's going to be okay. And for me, that's reason enough to listen.
I have been listening to Raffi since before I can remember, and his music has always been a comfort (with the exception of "Evergreen Everblue," which was my introduction to environmentalism and has some songs on it that kinda scared me as a kid). Baby Beluga and Bananaphone are family traditions, and when I moved to the Pacific Northwest I remembered that Raffi had written a song about a place very near to where I was going to live. This was the first new Raffi album I'd heard about since "Bananaphone" (though he's produced several others in the meantime), and so when it came out last week, I ordered it on CD and prepared for a major nostalgia trip.
And I got exactly what I came for. "Dog on the Floor" comes from the same place, both geographically and philosophically, that I remember from my childhood. Raffi, along with local children and other professional musicians, sing about the joy of being a child ("Play Play Play"); the pastoral ideals of the British Columbia Gulf Islands ("Market Day" and "The Way it Goes"), and animals, especially the titular dog, Raffi's poodle/collie mix Luna (in "Luna's Song," "Walkin' My Dog," and "Dog on the Floor"). The lyrics paint a picture of a world that's much less complicated than the one I live in, and lets me remember, or perhaps imagine, a time in my life before I had to worry about anything.
But there's at least one song on this album that's as much for today's worried grownups, as it is for children: the next-to-last song, "Take a Breath," is a meditation on mindfulness, a reminder to take a moment every now and then to breathe, to stretch, to sing (and it doesn't hurt if what you're singing is a Raffi song).
The voice of my childhood is back, and he's telling me it's going to be okay. And for me, that's reason enough to listen.
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
On Games 7: Just Shapes & Beats
Disclaimer: I did not play this game. I will not be playing this game, for reasons I will explain in a minute. My review is based on this 6-part let's play series by Dan Floyd on his delightful channel PlayFrame. While my opinions are my own, they may be influenced by Dan's enjoyment of the game.
Because Dan Floyd really likes Just Shapes & Beats, which was released in May 2018 by Berzerk Studio, and he recommends it repeatedly to his viewers as he plays it. But before you rush out and buy it (if you haven't already), there's a major accessibility issue I need to bring to your attention.
Just Shapes & Beats is full of flashing lights. It's a bullet-hell rhythm game in which obstacles appear and disappear in quick succession following the beat of fast-paced electronic music. While there is an "epilepsy-friendly" setting that turns off flashing backgrounds, and there's undoubtedly a way to turn the contrast down, there's no way to make the movement of actual in-game objects less sudden, and watching the let's play series consistently gave me headaches, a sure sign that I would not be able to play the game myself.
But I kept watching in spite of the headaches, because there's so much that Just Shapes & Beats does well.
Because Dan Floyd really likes Just Shapes & Beats, which was released in May 2018 by Berzerk Studio, and he recommends it repeatedly to his viewers as he plays it. But before you rush out and buy it (if you haven't already), there's a major accessibility issue I need to bring to your attention.
Just Shapes & Beats is full of flashing lights. It's a bullet-hell rhythm game in which obstacles appear and disappear in quick succession following the beat of fast-paced electronic music. While there is an "epilepsy-friendly" setting that turns off flashing backgrounds, and there's undoubtedly a way to turn the contrast down, there's no way to make the movement of actual in-game objects less sudden, and watching the let's play series consistently gave me headaches, a sure sign that I would not be able to play the game myself.
But I kept watching in spite of the headaches, because there's so much that Just Shapes & Beats does well.
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