Game Review: Explorapedia: World of Nature

One of the first games I played as a child was Explorapedia: World of Nature.  I was certainly a nature-oriented child, and loved to play dress-up, as different animals!  Explorapedia was a 1994 computer game with two functions: click and explore for older children, and click and explore for younger children.  The younger children function allows for endless clicking of the different animals, plants, and other things throughout the biomes (environments), which makes them do something.  In the older child function, you can click on the animals and plants, etc., you get the fun motions the same as the young child function, but with the bonus of an entire nature encyclopedia at your fingertips!

The game begins in Tad the frog’s spaceship.  The window in the spaceship views the entire Earth, with biomes striping the planet, instead of the continents.  This is for easy understanding of what the different environments are, so, for example, the desert biome will include plants and animals from more than one continent, such as Africa, Australia, and North America.  You can also click around in Tad’s spaceship for more fun games and songs.

The biomes include polar, desert, seashore, coral reefs, ocean, lake, river, wetland, deciduous forest, coniferous forest, mountains, rainforests, savanna, farm, and universe.

When an animal, plant, or something else (like river), is clicked on, in big kid mode, the Explorapedia opens.  There are a handful to a dozen pages to scroll through for everything, and each page is chock full of pictures, examples, songs, games, and stories.  Everything can be read out loud, if desired, and is read by a different child.  Each biome’s signpost can also be clicked on, to get information on things like mountains and savannas.  There is so much information, and even though some of it is dated, the game is still extremely helpful in helping kids remember things like what animals live where, and how to remember their planets!

I loved this game, and if updated to include present research and fix things that have changed in the past twenty years (sorry Pluto), it would be a fantastic game for kids 3 and up to play!  To be honest, my future kids will play this if I have anything to say about it!  If I can, I will try to get this game to work on my computer and do a play through for YouTube.  Fingers crossed!

How to Stay Fit: Yoga

I have been doing basic to intermediate yoga since I was about twelve.  That’s only ten years from this post, but I plan to incorporate it into my life for the next several decades.  I have arthritis in my family, and would like to prevent future damage from high-impact sports and activities.  I also simply wish become stronger, more flexible, and mindful of myself over the years.

The yoga program I have used for ten years is the Wai Lana television series, which is perfect for me.  It is a combination of lush music and scenery, as well as a perfect low-impact, calming workout.  Wai Lana may not be new and trendy, but her colorful outfits, eighties blush, and calming voice has been well-known to many living room yogis for years.  I have six VHSs (I know, but I lived through the age of VHS and DVD and still have compatible players!) I found on her website for only $10 years ago, and now they also live on my computer.

I have tried other yoga workouts (as of now, just video form), and always come back to Wai Lana.  I like to balance her easy beginner’s workouts with simple twists and holds when I am tired, or have been very active.  Other days call for more intense gravity-fighting workouts.  I am best at stretches and twists, and always need to work on those that require me to use my abs to lift my legs or when I’m inverted (I love plow, though).  Here are some of my favorite categories of asanas (the name in yoga for the holds and motions within the session).

Stretches:

Stretches are some of the best asanas to incorporate into your workout, especially at the beginning and end, to warm up and cool down your muscles.  These stretches are also perfect to use in conjunction with other workouts, like running, swimming, hiking, and dance (I love ballet and hula)!

Twists:

I love twists, as they just feel good.  I know it’s better to work on the asanas you’re not good at and build up, but the ones that make your body feel better right away have to be just as helpful.  Twists can also be combined with stretches to help your body into the tougher routines.

Plow, etc.:

Upside down holds often allow me to zone into a meditative state, because it’s so easy to focus on yourself when you’re in a cave made of your lower torso and legs (it sounds strange, but that’s exactly what asanas like plow do).  Reverse arrow is a hold with the legs not over your head, and works the abs more.  I like doing both plow and reverse arrow.  If you’re not ready for your legs to touch the ground above your head, feel free to use pillows.  Be sure to keep your back straight, and use your abs when lifting and lowering your legs.

There are many other types of asanas, as well as movements similar to the ones I have mentioned.  The important thing is to love what you’re doing, and that means incorporating motions you love and those you tend to avoid because of the challenge.  Even if you’re having a bad day, try a yoga session.  Start out easy if you want, and keep going.  If you already love yoga, or if you’re new, I’d love to see your favorite asanas and any suggestions or comments!  Happy New Year and stay fit!

My Top Three Favorite Christmas Movies of 2015

I’m currently catching up on the vlogmases (vlogging Christmases) of several YouTubers, and just watched Zoella’s top ten favorite Christmas Movies.  It’s funny, she mentioned that it isn’t Christmas without the movies she loves to watch (for her), and later said she has to have watched all the Christmas movies there are. (I’m not sure if that’s possible, but if it is, she’ll probably be the first.)  I actually have only watched less than a handful of the films she suggested (Elf, How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Jim Carrey, and Love Actually), and would only watch Love Actually again.  I just personally think Jim Carrey isn’t funny, and but I might give Elf another try… maybe.  The other movies she suggested I will certainly look into.  Here’s a link to Zoella’s video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PQfwuBfJEY), and I hope you enjoy my own take on this Christmas love’s list!

3.) Love Actually.  I first watched this movie last year, because it was so beloved by all these people I like to watch on YouTube.  The reason I really decided to give it go really was that I literally have heard of more than half of the cast!  I mean, it’s got Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant (there you go, Jane Austen fans), Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy (for your Pirates of the Caribbean fans), and Martin Freeman.  I mean, most of these actors seem to have been in multiple movies already together, so they’re likely already all best friends in real life.  If you haven’t seen it, Love Actually is based around the Christmas stories of multiple pairs, from disgruntled married couples, loving siblings, love in the “work place”, to the best friend of the groom who actually loves (Get the pun?) the bride.  My favorite is the stepfather and preteen stepson who in the aftershock of their loved one’s death, learn they can be a true father and son, but not without a few hurtles.  Everyone is somehow related or friends, which tie everything together, like a nice Christmas package: especially at the end!

2.) A Christmas Carol, starring Patrick Stewart.  I mentioned above that I didn’t appreciate the Jim Carrey and Will Farrell films too much.  That’s because there’s a great Shakespearian actor to contend with when it comes to classic Christmas films.  This is one of the two Christmas films my mom and I have to watch every Christmas Eve.  I have seen several versions of A Christmas Carol, see plays of it nearly every year, and have read many book versions of it, including the original, of course.  Patrick Stewart is the perfect Scrooge, and the rest of the cast is perfectly done as well.  There are darker parts, sad parts, joyful parts, and heartwarming parts.  The music and costume also add the ideal early Victorian sensation, and the acting is on point.

1.) The Tailor of Gloucester.  This is my other top Christmas film to watch on Christmas Eve.  The Tailor of Gloucester was one of the famous children’s stories by the English writer Beatrix Potter, in the early 1900s (author of Peter Rabbit).  Most of the books were adapted to film in the 1990s, and I watched them on VHS growing up.  My two favorites are The Tale of the Two Bad Mice, and The Tailor of Gloucester.  The Tailor of Gloucester is the story of a desolately poor tailor in the town of Gloucester, in the 1700s, who has been chosen by the mayor to sew his wedding clothes.  This job is a godsend for the tailor, but he unfortunately falls ill a just a few days before Christmas Day, when his work is to be completed.  His cat, Simpkin, tries to help his master, but is angered when the tailor frees the mice Simpkin has caught.  It turns out the Tailor has been helping the mice in small ways for a long time, and this last act before he falls ill proves that giving, even in small ways, brings unexpected rewards, when the mice return the favor.  The film’s animation is adapted from Beatrix Potter’s own well-known work, and there are fun characters, which are mostly anthropomorphic animals.  The film begins and ends with live-action scenes showing 1900s Lake District England, in which Ms. Potter tells the story for her young friend in a Christmas Card.

“What Kind of Dog is That?” – My Long-Haired, Soft-Eared German Shepherd Story

That is the most common question my family gets when we’re out with our German Shepherd.  Our most common comment is “What a beautiful dog!”  It’s true, especially as most people are simultaneously intrigued and gushing when they meet her.  The long fur and floppy ears also often seem to make a often feared breed far more approachable.  Maybe people think she’s a Golden Retriever-Shepherd mix!

Although I certainly support adopting shelter dogs, German Shepherds are in the “difficult to adopt from a shelter” category.  (I’d love to hear anyone’s successful shelter adoption story!)  We have had three dogs, all German Shepherds or Shepherd crosses, all from puppyhood.  Anyway, when our last Shepherd passed away two Decembers ago, we wanted to go the puppy route again.

Tora is a long-haired, red and black German Shepherd (GSD), from a breeder not too far from us.  Because of going the breeder route, we got to meet the other dogs in the breeder’s “pack”.  The dogs we met were absolutely outstanding in personality, training, and beauty.  We also returned for a couple of visits to let her hang out with her dad and another lovely male, as well as a time when all the dogs of her litter were invited to play together.  (They were a mass of mud-puddle diggers, all running around, with our super-social one often leading the games.)

Our last two dogs were trained, but not through a program.  They were both well-socialized and well behaved, but we wanted to work even harder on this one.  We were lucky enough to come across the sweetest Doberman on a walk when she was only a few months old.  He played so well with a puppy a third of his size, we had to tell his owner how impressed we were.  Our last dog had been mobbed by about two dozen Cocker Spaniels when she was a puppy and always associated small dogs with that horrible encounter.  This was one of the factors that helped us take the Doberman owner’s advice and “enroll” this one in the local Petco puppy playtime.  It was actually free, and met every Saturday and Sunday in the afternoon (check your local pet store for similar programs, if you don’t have a Petco).  After a day or two of hiding behind us, she finally was coaxed into playing with a few friendly puppies.  Over the next several weeks, she played openly with Labs, Huskies, Weimaraners, Pitbulls, and Scottish Terriers.  Our eighty-five pound German Shepherd is now the best-socialized dog we’ve ever owned, and I personally think all puppies should experience playtime with a group for a couple months.

Let me know your dog adoption story!  My first two dogs were great, but we have put so much training and socialization effort into our most recent puppy, that I believe she is nearly the most perfect dog we’ve had!  I have plenty to write on in the subject of dogs (we also have cats and rabbits), so I may be posting more along these lines in the future.

Book Rant: Cleopratra’s Daughter

This is not the first Michelle Moran novel I have read, and it was not my favorite at first, but I have grown to enjoy the lush descriptions of ancient Rome as much as the depictions of ancient Egypt in the previous two novels.  As with several of Ms. Moran’s works, the protagonist is a young girl who grows both mentally and physically through many years that the story covers.  Noted in the first few pages, Kleopatra Selene and her mother (the famous Kleopatra VII, last Ptolemaic queen of Egypt) spell their name in the traditional Greek way.  One of the antagonists, later in the novel, purposely Romanizes Selene’s name, which whether or not true, certainly happened at some point (or we wouldn’t be seeing “Cleopatra” in every wig search at Halloween!).

                                                        (Image from amazon.com)

  

Selene is the main character, choosing her second name to differentiate herself from her famous mother.  One of the reasons I have gravitated toward this book is the attractive personality of Selene and many of the characters she interacts with.  With many of the historically-based novels I frequent, the main character’s prerogative is to hold nothing back from the reader.  It is not a diary-like, first-person method, but an even deeper, more unrestricted kind of reading.  As with all of Michelle’s protagonists, Selene has a special skill (aside from the natural inside and outside beauty exhibited by many of her protagonists).  In this case, it’s drawing, but not in a poetic, abstract sense.  Selene combines her natural geometry and artistic abilities to create stunning and realistic architectural drawings.  This was particularly clever of Michelle, because it allowed her to showcase many of the fantastic architectural works of the age to her audience, some of which have been lost to time.

As mentioned before, I was drawn to the story not because of the detailing of Rome at first.  This is because Rome is sadly one of the last on my list of interesting historic places.  I have been infatuated with Egypt and Mesopotamia far longer, and even basic historical documentaries on Rome don’t tend to hold my attention.  I think it because of the focus on warfare and the notably grotesque interests of the people living at the time (think of their favorite forms of entertainment).  Michelle Moran has salvaged my impression of ancient Rome, just as she broadened my passion for others, such as New Kingdom ancient Egypt.  For that, she has my undeviating position as a huge fan of many of her works.  This is another fascinating peak into the lives of men and women who lived so long ago.  Great work Michelle!