toysRmelodrama

People don't live in tiny villages any more. This "play locally" crap really is crap. We have planes and the internet. My son married a girl he met on the internet, from Scotland*. All of my kids have friends that they interact with EVERY DAY from other countries, from other languages. They sometimes play using a mishmash of English, Brazilian, and curse words from around the world. They make up words -- sometimes just because there is a new idea and it doesn't have a word yet. I love this world. I love that the people in my life are in the same room with me and on the other side of the world. I am sorry that not everyone lives in this kind of universe -- yet. But they will.

Anyway, my real point is: the main objectors are from a certain generation of Scrabble play, with lower NSA member numbers (that might be whimsical; I have no idea if they are sequential member numbers). A lot of them are also from a certain actual generation. The new generations (Scrabble and otherwise) are not "afraid of teh pods". We just have to be patient and keep doing the work.

*And if she tries to play Scrabble with her little brother using official sites, she is actually not allowed to do so, because of the insane Hasbro/Mattel split. You objectors, you are like the rats who catch toxoplasmosis from the cats and then do the cats' bidding. Really. The masters have installed a parasite in your brain, and that parasite is OSPD.

Yes, I'm melodramatic. It's the holidays.

We had some non-Dow related fun yesterday. As predicted, I played very slowly and probably terribly in the first game and lost. I could blame tiles, but it would be incorrect. I could blame my opponent's chattering, and in fact that WAS annoying. But really, I just played badly.

Second game, against Dan, I started to get a little speed back, which correlates to brain power. I let him get away with safing# for 52. Didn't worry a second over it, either. He ended up winning by five. My bingos: BAG[U]EtTE.

Third game, against John, # all the way. I thought we both went seamlessly into British mode, particularly for the overlap plays. My bingos: the amazing PLOTTEd. I won by two.

We then all danced around the "who should sit out" game. None of us really minded; bookstores are a great place to be odd person out. I drew the sit-out straw, but then Lucas had to go, and so I took his spot against Dan again. (And then Lucas didn't have to go after all, so he enjoyed the bookstore while the rest of us played.)

Fourth, game, Dan again. This game I felt on. I also felt telepathically powerful, as whatever letters I needed for my eights just miraculously came down. An E for COLIS[E]UM. An A for JAcUL[A]TE. An N for STEAPSI[N]. Okay, a lot of letters would have worked with PATSIES, but still. I needed him to play something for me, 'cause no seven was going to play.

So I went 2-2, had fun, bought a book. I'm sure we will go back. How frequently remains to be seen, of course. But community-level scrabble is fine with me.

I feel folksy. I need to stop watching political clips.

aaeilms

I can seem to muster no enthusiasm for scrabble at the moment. My moral outrage towards Hasbro is eclipsed by my moral outrage towards political liars and criminals, at least for now. My creative energy is pouring into fiction (as apparently is the case for those political liars), and autumn is keeping me busy with winter preparations and school things.

Tuesday night club is impossible. Sunday afternoon club is nonexistent. The only tournament I have on the horizon is logistically tricky, and I need to study a LOT for it. And without enthusiasm, that is tough. CGP is full of topics like "should I be outraged if my opponent does math aloud?" and while I'm sure that's very interesting to those few that are outraged, eh, I'm not finding it compelling.

I don't know. Am I temporarily retiring?

I just can't find it in myself to CARE about the game right now.

Potomac, the headquarters of britishness

Off we trekked to play Collins with Bob and Vince. (Vince is not studying the british words, but agreed to partner with Bob, which was kind of him.) We played four team games, split the power tiles, split the games, would have split the money had we played for money.

We played a scoring variant -- 10 points extra for any non-two Collins-only. This necessitates knowing the difference. I'm embarrassed to say that Bob got away with an extra ten for PARDY. (Challenges of #-ness are allowed; they cost 10 to the loser of the challenge.) We also let them get away with the entirely dictionaryless FUNKSIA*, which is ridiculous. I am glad we are playing 5 point challenge in these matches. I need to learn when to risk those points. Certainly I should risk them more often than I'm doing. The sureness line is not entirely clear to me yet.

Overall a good session. Bob is obviously studying.

Quick, punctuate!

You don't really have to. It's not a test. The blanks are T and S.

I'm finding it useful in keeping the categories straight in my brain. For some reason, it actually even helps to remember the new additions.

So on this board, there are at least one of *phonies, #british-only, @new, @#new-british, and unpunctuated because people think it's normal to consider English American-only.

Not that I'm bitter.

No one is immune

Here in the heart of Dictionary Rebellion, USA:

"That's not a word! That's a word made up by a stupid british person."

(Referring to HUMORESK#)

Working on British 11s