“Things Every Southern Woman Should Know How to Make”

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Alice clicked on the headline, mildly curious about what yet another stranger thought should be in her kitchen repertoire. Pictures of China plates mounded with crispy fried chicken, greens, cobbler, and a pile of biscuits a mile high flooded the screen, all set off with a pitcher of sweet tea beaded with condensation. The table was set; an apron draped off to the side next to a box labeled “Gramma’s Recipes” in fine calligraphy. She closed the browser and put away her tablet. She was born a Georgia peach, but she couldn’t make a cobbler to save her life. Did that mean she wasn’t southern? Or maybe just not “Southern.” For Alice, there was no recipe box full of family traditions. Her younger years were filled with rental homes in different states and her father’s voice coaxing her toward a text book rather than a cookbook. Metalworking and fabrication held more interest than learning to flambé or sauté. Did it make her less of a woman that her cooking skills consisted of fresh salads...
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Rambling of a Casual Gamer: Don't Make Me Throw Something


Ah, breaking the blog silence at last. Life likes to say, “Oh, you have a schedule? Let me fix that for you!” And then all my plans are dashed. But, here I am, and with a new game rant, to boot.



I just finished a certain game that shall remain nameless. And I got a good dose of game rage for my 75+ hours of gameplay.

Now, I know that not all games are going to have satisfying/happy endings, but this was just downright fit-inducing.  Because no matter what options I was given, the outcome was the same. Death. Bad guy laughing at me.

I defeated him.  At the high level my characters had obtained, it was ridiculously simple. At the end, I was given a choice, but the outcome of that choice ended up being the same no matter what. And that’s where I get mad.

I’ve become spoiled, I suppose, with other games where my choices count. So, maybe I make a bad choice and don’t get the best ending the first time. That’s okay. It gives the game replay value. Some allow me to be good, bad, or somewhere in between, and whatever I choose determines what skills/awards/event outcomes I receive. That’s cool, too. But don’t give me one path and a choice that doesn’t matter. Don’t make me do all this work just to have the bad guy use me as a pawn. That leaves me with an intense desire to throw something.

What are your thoughts? Talk to me in the comments!

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