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“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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Ramblings of a Gamer: Open World Maps

I love the freedom of an open world map. I've spent endless hours traveling across Skyrim, climbing mountains and discovering hidden altars and caves, enjoying the scenery, and meeting other travelers on the road. Of course, there's danger; a dragon could swoop down and roast me, bandits could (attempt to) waylay me, or I could get caught in a magic battle between two random mages. Most of the time, though, I can go about my business, hunt a few bears, and take in the countryside. Sure, there's a story line to follow, but the game doesn't demand it of me, and I can venture into it at any time. FFXV allowed me to roam for the most part, too. I repeatedly left my car behind to enjoy a chocobo ride with the guys, visiting my favorite fishing spots and seeing how far I could get before night fell and the hordes of fiends came out. I spent a lot of time exploring the map, searching out hidden places until I reached the point of no return and was funneled to the ending. ...
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Ramblings of a Gamer: Detroit: Become Human or an Interactive Choose-Your-Own-Adventure

If you're looking for a game with a lot of action, then this is not the game for you. However, if you're looking for a game that challenges the way you think and every decision affects the outcome of the story, look no further! DETROIT: BECOME HUMAN lets you play as three different android characters in a not-so-distant future full of rising tensions between humans and the androids who serve them. As you play, a timeline is created for each character based on the decisions you make for them, which is cool because you can see how one simple choice bends the future in several different ways. I've only completed a single playthrough so far, and while I was mostly satisfied with the outcome, I have a couple characters that I would like to improve their futures. A single playthrough doesn't take too long, but the replay value promises to give me my money's worth--which, by the way, was a bargain in the Quantic Dream collection with HEAVY RAIN and BEYOND: TWO SOULS. T...
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Final Fantasy: Lightning Returns Afterthoughts

This weekend, I had a goal to finish playing one game and reading one book. Sadly, I’m still 300 pages shy of completing the 900-page final installment of the Wheel of Time. But, I did conquer the final day of FF: Lightning Returns! Overall, I really enjoyed it. The story at last came together, and I was generally satisfied with the gameplay. I sort of rushed through the main quests, so I ended up with several days on my hands for nothing but monster-slaying and side-quest completion. Just when I thought I was at the end, I won yet another day. Sadly, I wasn’t as excited about it as I felt I should’ve been, but the side quests started to get a little dull by this time. I managed to pick up a few that kept me going instead of just standing in the Wildlands until the clock ran out. The final day gave me the cut scenes that I love in every FF game. While I’d expected to go straight into the final battle, when I was presented with the four trials, I leapt in because who’s gonn...
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Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns--Early Thoughts

I recently started Final Fantasy XIII: Lightning Returns to pull myself out of the rabbit-hole that is Skyrim. It's been a nice change of pace. Instead of leisurely traipsing across the countryside slaying dragons or whatever undead creature gets in my way, I'm now racing time to collect enough souls to populate a new world before the old one collapses. I'm pretty sure I'm going to fail the first time around. And that's okay, I think. I'm enjoying the open world and not being stuck to a rigorous linear path. The battle system is much improved over the paradigm shift from the previous FFXIII games, flowing smoother from one shift to another with a simple touch of a button. I'm still working on setting up effective skills, but I'm getting closer to having a good set for overall battle. The graphics are breathtaking, the world beautiful and rich. I like the way random battle is sort of back into play; sometimes you see the fiends wa...
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Casual Gamer: Initial Thoughts on Skyrim

I recently started Skyrim. (Yeah, I know, I'm behind. Don't judge!) I'm not too far into it, and I'm still getting used to the controls, but so far, I like it. What's my favorite thing? The crafting. I absolutely love the fact that I can tan the hides from animals I hunt and use the leather to make new armor and weapons. I also love that I can make jewelry at the forge as well.  I like playing with the alchemy table and mixing random things to see what I get. Everything I pick up in the world has a use, from the wild flowers along my path to the simple food items out of barrels and gardens. And nerd that I am, I like the books. Not just the ones that let me learn spells or boost my skills, but the ones that give me hints about the histories of the world, too. I'm carrying too many of them right now while I eek out enough of a living to buy a house to store them in. But I can't bear to part with them. I like the variety of weapons and how I can use a o...
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