Things I've been enjoying
Jan. 10th, 2021 05:34 pmFor a variety fun bag of reasons, none of which were actually fun, my 'engage with interesting media instead of numbing life's pain with hour upon hour of snackable but ultimately worthless content' mission went a bit sideways this week. But I did manage a lovely quiet day yesterday with two nostalgic pleasures: Iron Maiden and a jigsaw puzzle.
The puzzle was The Happy Isles by The Magic Puzzle Company, which my husband for some reason backed on kickstarter despite never in his life having shown the slightest bit of interest in puzzles. I'm not sure what his reasoning was, but it worked out great: I really do like puzzles, and this one was so much more than a pretty picture. The map had an amazing visual story going on, which ended in the most hilarious and awesome twist - it had this 'secret ending', which came in an envelope that you're only allowed to open once you've finished assembling the puzzle. I nearly peeked but I'm so glad I didn't. The dielines are also delightfully weird, in a way that made it way harder to solve than usual but much more satisfying when it finally came together. My original offer was 'come do this puzzle with me and in exchange I'll listen to one of your favourite podcasts with you at the same time', but we both ended up so immersed that we couldn't follow a podcast, so I got control of the speaker as well.
Iron Maiden: idek, man. I'm supposed to be listening to more new music, and they are the opposite of new both to me and to the world at large. But I've fallen down one of those obsessive rabbit holes again. It started on NYE when I had to put together a mutually palatable playlist for guests I wasn't sure were all metalheads, so I went for mostly rock with a sprinkle of heavy metal classics, and now Maiden is stuck in my head full time. Every minute I spend not listening to Benjamin Breeg or Children of the Damned is a minute wasted. I want to buy Bruce Dickinson's voice for an exorbitant price and snort it like cocaine in a filthy club bathroom. I need it in my bloodstream. I'm a woman possessed.
(I'm a woman hyperbolic, mostly, but they are the only band I've listened to at all for the last several days - that's not an exaggeration.)
In summary, though: I really recommend the Magic Puzzle Company puzzles, which my dataset of two says will be a hit with both keen and completely disinterested audiences.
The puzzle was The Happy Isles by The Magic Puzzle Company, which my husband for some reason backed on kickstarter despite never in his life having shown the slightest bit of interest in puzzles. I'm not sure what his reasoning was, but it worked out great: I really do like puzzles, and this one was so much more than a pretty picture. The map had an amazing visual story going on, which ended in the most hilarious and awesome twist - it had this 'secret ending', which came in an envelope that you're only allowed to open once you've finished assembling the puzzle. I nearly peeked but I'm so glad I didn't. The dielines are also delightfully weird, in a way that made it way harder to solve than usual but much more satisfying when it finally came together. My original offer was 'come do this puzzle with me and in exchange I'll listen to one of your favourite podcasts with you at the same time', but we both ended up so immersed that we couldn't follow a podcast, so I got control of the speaker as well.
Iron Maiden: idek, man. I'm supposed to be listening to more new music, and they are the opposite of new both to me and to the world at large. But I've fallen down one of those obsessive rabbit holes again. It started on NYE when I had to put together a mutually palatable playlist for guests I wasn't sure were all metalheads, so I went for mostly rock with a sprinkle of heavy metal classics, and now Maiden is stuck in my head full time. Every minute I spend not listening to Benjamin Breeg or Children of the Damned is a minute wasted. I want to buy Bruce Dickinson's voice for an exorbitant price and snort it like cocaine in a filthy club bathroom. I need it in my bloodstream. I'm a woman possessed.
(I'm a woman hyperbolic, mostly, but they are the only band I've listened to at all for the last several days - that's not an exaggeration.)
In summary, though: I really recommend the Magic Puzzle Company puzzles, which my dataset of two says will be a hit with both keen and completely disinterested audiences.