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A Mind @ Play

Language as a Window

In Language as a Window into Human Nature, Steven Pinker explains how the mind turns the finite building blocks of language into infinite meanings, looking at cursing, metaphors and the issue of common knowledge. This video is only part of the full talk, brilliantly animated by RSA.1
One minute to read
Talking with Your Mouth Full: German food idioms

Talking with Your Mouth Full: German food idioms

Every man is a poet. At least he would be, if you were to judge him by his knowledge of idioms. Our languages are riddled with examples of metaphors and similes, word combinations that take on a meaning beyond the sum of their parts. Interestingly, however, the origins of these phrases are often mysterious or disputed. Inspired by this short post series over on the World Text blog, I thought I’d take a look at a handful of German idioms relating to food.
6 minutes to read

Lord of the Rings: Conflict at the Carrock

Conflict at the Carrock

Second in the Shadows of Mirkwood series of adventure packs, Conflict at the Carrock packs a serious punch, with a difficulty rating of 7 (the same as the final adventure in the original set). Where The Hunt for Gollum sees players dealing with a very location-heavy deck, this time round the focus is very much on the fighting, culminating in a tense battle, as four trolls challenge the heroes.

3 minutes to read

The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game

If you’re interested in cooperative games, Lord of the Rings: LCG is an involving card-based game designed for 2 players, but also playable solo or with up to four. This core set includes all you need for two players to get started, with three adventures of increasing difficulty for the players to overcome. The term ’living card game’ basically means that the story continues in various expansion sets, so this game has plenty of longevity if you enjoy it.

For those not familiar with this type of game, the fundamentals are fairly simple. Each player chooses up to 3 heroes to play with from a selection, and builds themselves a deck out of the appropriate cards (preset decks are suggested for the first time out). During the game, the heroes generate ‘resources’ with which to pay for bringing cards from their decks into the game, such as extra allies to fight with, weapons and armour for their heroes, or beneficial event cards. Meanwhile, the adventure also comprises a deck of cards, which contains enemies for the heroes to fight, locations for them to explore, and nasty events which can bring tears to their eyes. In each round, players may gain resources, pay for cards from their hands, tackle the adventure, travel to a new location, parry attacks from enemies, and retaliate.

6 minutes to read

Spring Cleaning

Hmm… it’s been some time since I posted with any regularity here. In fact, it was something of a resolution of mine for 2012 that went rather pear-shaped, but better late than never.
One minute to read

Exorcising Hitler: The Occupation and Denazification of Germany

The period in German history following the Second World War is probably one of the most neglected in terms of popular history, far overshadowed by the war itself and frequently overlooked as a mere footnote to the origins of the Cold War. Yet the fascinating question remains as to why the peace following the First World War contributed to the beginnings of the Second, whilst the policies following the latter led to one of the longest periods of peace on the continent.
4 minutes to read