Unless you have an unhealthy aversion to kissing books, you’re probably familiar with Slap Slap Kiss. It’s common in genre romance, but you’ll often find it in science fiction & fantasy too. When done well, it’s a great way to make sparks fly, but when done poorly…I think you can fill in the rest. The… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Slap Slap Kiss
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Ali and Nino by Kurban Said
At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, Christianity and Islam, the progressive West and the reactionary East, the peoples of the Caucasus lie poised between three empires and their own dreams of independence. And at the city of Baku, where the ancient and unchangeable desert meets the oil rigs of the Caspian Sea, young Ali… Continue reading Ali and Nino by Kurban Said
Trope Tuesday: Freudian Trio
Last week, I blogged about the Three Faces of Eve trope. But if we’re going to discuss power trios in any depth, we first need to examine the classic Freudian Trio, one of the most prevalent combos and, in some ways, a precursor to all others. As you might expect, the Freudian Trio borrows heavily from Sigmund… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Freudian Trio
Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, aka the best 4x strategy game of ALL TIME
Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri is, without a doubt, the best strategy game I have ever played. I have many fond memories playing it into the early morning hours while I was in college. I just bought it for $2.99. What have I done?? The last time I played this game, it quite literally consumed my… Continue reading Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, aka the best 4x strategy game of ALL TIME
მე ♥ ქუთაისი (I ♥ Kutaisi)
That’s Georgian for “I ♥ Kutaisi.” Like the New York City ad campaign on which it’s based, it’s become a part of the local culture. You can see it on billboards, street signs, stickers, t-shirts–unlike the US, where it’s uncool to wear a band’s t-shirt at their own concert, everyone was wearing their “I ♥ Kutaisi” shirts… Continue reading მე ♥ ქუთაისი (I ♥ Kutaisi)
Trope Tuesday: Hoist By His Own Petard
One of the most satisfying ways to defeat the villain is to have his own nefarious scheme bring about his downfall. In Hamlet, Shakespeare described this as “hoist by his own petard,” or blown up by his own bomb. Basically, it’s a self-deposing villain whose evil plans have gone horribly right. Not only is this a… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: Hoist By His Own Petard
Life in Georgia is like a game of backgammon
Everywhere I go, I see people playing ნარდი (“nardi”), known in English as backgammon. Men and women, children and the elderly–everyone knows how to play, and just about every family owns a backgammon set. It’s popular everywhere in Georgia, but it’s especially popular here in Kutaisi, where it’s not uncommon to see clusters of old… Continue reading Life in Georgia is like a game of backgammon
Trope Tuesday: The Cavalry
Things look bleak: the Big Bad is on the verge of conquering the world, and the heroes have gathered for one last stand. Just when it looks like all hope is lost, a horn sounds in the distance, and the cavalry arrive to save the day. Whether a ragtag bunch of minor characters, an army… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: The Cavalry
Easter in Trabzon
Orthodox Easter is April 15th, and in Georgia, most places take off four or five days for vacation. In typical Georgian fashion, we didn’t know for sure how many days we had off until a couple of weeks before the break came up, but fortunately that was time enough to find out where some of… Continue reading Easter in Trabzon
What’s your backup?
So I just got back from Easter vacation in Turkey, at Trabzon and Lake Uzungöl. It was pretty awesome–I’ll definitely be blogging about it in the next couple of days! First, though, I wanted to share something interesting that happened on the way back. While I was hanging out in Batumi with some other TLG… Continue reading What’s your backup?