rfmcdonald | [NON BLOG] Some Things I Like (Reply)

Of late, I've begun to strongly appreciate a few things.

Little Portugal. It's not so surprising that I find myself at home here, since Atlantic Canada and Portugal actually have quite a bit in common, including a fondness for seafood (most notably cod) and a tradition of mass emigration from our ill-governed homelands (though Portugal seems to be closing the gap nicely). I've not spent nearly enough time wandering the streets of Little Portugal, rather focusing my explorations elsewhere. I really want to do this, though. It's also interesting how the wider Lusophone world is making a tentative impression in the district, starting with the scattered presence of Brazilian flags and restaurants.

The novels of Lois McMaster Bujold and Terry Pratchett. Stephen DeGrace introduced me to the "Witches of Lancre" books with Wyrd Sisters in the first half of 2002; Jonathan Edelstein piqued my curiosity from an earlier date. These authors' works might belong to specific genres which fall outside of the realm of high literature--science-fiction space opera and satirical fantasy, respectively. Nonetheless, the high calibre of their writing, and their synthesis of penetrating insight with entertaining narratives, places them a cut above many other writers of more mainstream taste. I've harped on this before; last year, I wrote about the portability of culture. Also be sure to check out the discworld and lmbujold communities.

Tea. I'm a caffeine addict, but my lack of access to a coffee machine, the need to avoid spending money in coffee shops, and my possession of a tea kettle have all combined to accelerate my shift to tea-drinking. Ginseng and green tea are nice, though I've not yet progressed to tea made with leaves as opposed to teabags.

Europa Universalis II. I admit to playing a couple of sessions of this game at the Grey Region. It's a fantastic game--if I owned the game, I'd doubtless become an addict. My favourite session began in 1492, with me as monarch of France. I demonstrated my true inclination towards shameless imperialism by brutally invading, crushing, and annexing Lorraine and Strassburg. A subsequent attempt to seize English-occupied Calais ended up causing a trans-Channel invasion of England, which ended after two wars with Eire's declaration of independence and my annexation of the whole southwestern half of England from Wales to Kent into my domains. There was another landgrab made of Navarre, I ravaged the Austrian Netherlands for a bit after I got dragged into a coalition war, and I even managed to plant colonies in Chesapeake, Isle Royale, and Gander. Unfortunately, the computer crashed in the 1530s.

Postcards. Last week, I received a postcard from Greenpeace thanking me for joining. It has a nice picture of the base of an old-growth temperate rainforest tree. Rather more personally appreciated are the postcards I've received from escondidoid from his Caribbean trip--thanks for the images of the Las Calles and El Morro districts of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico's Palomino Island, and the islands of Dominica and Charlotte Amalie, Scott!