BD Wilson

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
by N. K. Jemisin

Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle with cousins she never knew she had.

( Read more at  Epiphany 2.0 )

The sky swallowed the moon, taking its light away and leaving the stars the only thing left above them. Xue closed her eyes and counted to ten. When she opened them again the darkness was not as complete, but just as disturbing. The moon was never new here, there was no such thing as a night without its stolen glow.

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Can’t Stop The Serenity is a global series of screenings of the film Serenity, held as a charity fundraiser.

This year, CSTS Edmonton‘s local charity partner is the Youth Emergency Shelter Society (YESS). There will also have a separate auction with items table set aside to raise funds for Kids Need to Read, and the remaining 75% of all event proceeds will be donated to Equality Now to support women’s human rights!

Tickets are $15 each, and this year they are screening not only Serenity, but also Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog!

When: 25 June · 12:00 – 17:00
Where: Metro Cinema Society, Zeidler Hall, Citadel Theatre
632-7 Sir Winston Churchill Sq NW
Edmonton, AB

For more information, see the Can’t Stop The Serenity — Edmonton site, or the Facebook Event.

I am a big fan of to-do lists. They make things easier to keep track of, and there’s the sense of completion you get from crossing an item off. Some of the first apps I downloaded for my phone were to-do lists. Yes, I have more than one

The one that has taken over the rest, however, is Epic Win (cost $2.99). I think this was the first app I ever wanted to buy before it had even been released. It applies gamification to your every day tasks, giving you XP, coins, and loot as you work through things you need to get done. You start by picking an avatar, and then adding your quest (task). When you enter the task, you also give it a related stat: Strength, Stamina, Intellect, Social, and Spirit. As you complete tasks, your avatars stats go up. You also assign an amount of XP: 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, or 300. The XP will level up your avatar, but also progresses it on the loot path. Loot consists of comedic items. The gold was added after the initial release, and doesn’t have a use yet (at least not that I’ve seen), but that just means I’ll have a stockpile when it does.

They had added a number of features since the release. My favourite is the ability to connect to your Google Calendar. It was a little flaky when it first rolled out, but seems to have been fixed. Events added to your calendar can automatically create a related quest in Epic Win, and an Epic Win task can be added to your calendar. (You still have to go into the calendar to set the time.)

I find the performance a little choppy, but I can’t tell if that’s the app or running the app on an older phone (I have a 3G). Other than that, it adds an extra level of fun an satisfaction to completing the things you need to do anyway.

I posted earlier about Extra Credits. On of their earlier episodes talked about the web-based game Echo Bazaar. As my Facebook friends are likely aware, I started playing it a little while ago, and I love it.

It’s a fairly simple to learn game: your character starts in Newgate Prison of Fallen London, and your first task is to break out. You have a certain number of actions available at any given moment (represented by the candle at the top left hand of the screen), and these are used to progress in your storylets. You also have a total number of actions per day.

One of favourite thing about the game is the atmosphere created. A review I read described it as “Lovecraft meets Edward Gorey for tea on Baker Street”, which quite accurate. Since I love all three of those, it’s not surprising that I love the feel of the games and the tone of the storylets.

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“He seems legit,” Aarie said. “Skills are high and the responses check out.”

“He hasn’t dropped many clues.”

“Yeah, well, neither did you, babe.”

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For ages 8-12, your child’s assignment in this secret agent themed day camp is to complete four missions through writing, inclusive activities, games, and dance.

Spend the day working on spy mission styled workshops organized and hosted by Alison Neuman, author of Ice Rose – A Young Adult Spy Novel. Designed as an inclusive camp with a focus on learning, physical activities, and social development, Camp Mission Access is an opportunity for children with an without disabilities to work together.

Date: August 4 & 5 – 8 & 9, 2011 (9:00 am to 4:30 pm.)
Location: Glenrose School Campus, Glenrose Hospital 10230 – 111 Avenue, Edmonton, AB
Register: Online

Check out the Camp Mission Access page and Alison’s Blog for more information.

Cara braced herself in the tiny space, back pressed hard against the too-soft earth behind her, feet dug into the soil in front, on the other side of the break. Her support rope hung in the air in front of her, attached to her belt at the belly, giving the impression of a neon-coloured umbilical cord. The position wasn’t comfortable, the harness pinched her skin at the hips, and there was a rock digging into her right shoulder-blade, but it freed her hands.

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Before I was born, my parents were still together, and they doted on my sister. I was a mistake. Not entirely welcome, but not welcome either. It was a strain on a well-balanced household, and the entire dynamic shifted.

My sister blamed me. Everything was perfect until I came along, and then it wasn’t, so it had to be by fault. Of course, the entire world was changing at that time, but we couldn’t know that. I was too young, and she was too angry.

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