Letter to Ann

Dear Ann,

            I heard that you wanted to learn how people communicate where I’m from and I would be more than happy to tell you!

To begin I must inform you about a little invention we have over here called electricity and it lets us do fantastic things. These can be reading in the dark, being able to walk at night without a lamp, and we don’t have to use whale oil even! It’s rather nice and I’m sure it will be available soon enough to you as well, but with this electricity it also allows us to communicate very far distances with a device we call the phone. These phones can be big, small, wide, or thin, and look like a bar of soap or a small box. They are all over the place here and people use them to talk to anyone they want to at any time! That’s pretty impressive compared to the telegraphs you’re used to and they too will probably be just as successful with the people over there as well.

            So Ann they’re a couple more things that we use here to communicate and they all reside within a very special box, the computer. This device is powered by electricity, much like the phone, and it can seem almost like magic to people because it’s a one stop place to talk to anyone and everyone you know! It sounds impossible I know, but ill paint you a picture of how exactly this box can do such a thing. So a computer is like if you put a farmer’s market into a milk crate and had it in your home. Can’t see it yet? I understand, I’ll elaborate some more. So when people turn on this box they see what people are doing, now this doesn’t show the person physically, maybe a picture is all that you’d see, but this can take minutes to do compared to months from a letter. You can also talk with people on the computer in the form of a letter or note inside of it that they get almost immediately. Now writing to your mother is in a matter of minuets’ by using your phone or computer. The main way people here talk with each other on the computer though is through social media. These places are like newspapers but they change all the time and people can go on at any time and talk about pretty much anything. They can let people write for a very long time or just small parts of conversations. These places can also help people come together to work towards a similar issue, such as women’s rights, and can make real world changes. I don’t think I have enough space to explain exactly how this item works, but it operates much easier as anyone and everyone can use one all the same no matter where you come from or who you are, they have them in libraries and schools so really everyone here has experience with computers.

            People still primarily talk with one another like they always have, but people just talk a lot more to each other than they did where you’re from just because of how easy it is for most people here. Everyone is closer and making plans to go and see people has never been easier. Now this does seem like a lot to take in and I understand if you’re are a little confused, but you will start to see some of these fantastic inventions start making their way over there in no time I’m sure, much like electricity, these will be instant hit and have the same impact they had here. Hopefully this was usefully to you as a quick rundown of what we devices we primarily use to communicate and sort of how they work to do just that. Don’t go telling people about these, it will ruin the surprise for them.

Sincerely,

Luke

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Commanding a good time at Dungeon's End

Need something to do on a Tuesday night with some friends and also play Magic: The Gathering©? Then come on down for Dungeon’s End’s Commander League!

The Commander league is Dungeon’s End’s multiplayer oriented tournaments hosted every Tuesday and begins at 6:00pm with the only requirement being that the participant pays ether a buy in, or one booster pact of any kind to be registered, they also need to have a deck that is legal for the commander format. Here is a brief summary of the commander format and how the league pertains to it:

So what’s the difference between regular play and commander?

Well normally decks consist of about sixty cards and at most four of each copy, but in commander it is required to have one-hundred cards that are different in name. There is one exception as basic land cards can be in any amount in the deck. Each player also starts at forty life rather than twenty.

Another difference is that, as the name implies, the deck has a commander. This has to be a legendary creature that decides what colors your deck is allowed to put in it and can be crucial to a player’s game plan. They count towards the one-hundred card count but are set aside as they can be casted whenever that player is allowed to. 

When picking a general for you deck it’s good to decide whether to build around the general or for the general to compliment the deck. The first option is more oriented as a gimmick or generals that are crucial in the decks strategy, a good example of these decks are fast, aggressive decks that use their general primary to win. The second options leans itself to more of a deck that already has an idea of what it’s going to do and the general takes place as color identity (what colors your deck can have) or as just a good card to use whenever able. These generals are not crucial for the success of the deck but still add a lot to the deck on their own. Both of these decks are good in their own way and it just depends on what you want your commander deck to do.

The last difference is that normally in Magic: The Gathering© is played primarily as two player match, but in commander it has a recommend group size of four. It’s still a free for all as each player try’s to be the last one standing to win.

So how does the League work?

Now those are just the basic to play Commander, but at Commander League we have an achievements system that can earn players points towards prizes such as drinks and snacks, store credit, and packs of cards. These points are awarded through doing certain actions throughout the game such as casting a commander twenty times or eliminating every player at once and some even give negative points for bad sportsmanship and intentionally not letting other people play. These are made to prevent people from winning just to win and leaving everyone else feeling bad. The way we create the groups is that each participant is assigned to a random table where they play with around two the three other people and have two hours to complete their game. Once there is one player left the game is over and everyone adds up their points, the one with the post is declared the winner!

So that’s commander league, come check it out if it seems interesting as each week we have a lot of regulars that are wonderful people that genuinely love the game and playing commander, plus who doesn't like prizes! 

Dungeon's End: More than just a game store

Dungeon’s End is a local game store located in west Duluth and houses many table top games, from Magic: The Gathering© to good old fashion Monopoly© Dungeon’s end has something for just about anyone.

I've worked at DE for quite a while now and it’s been a great job experience. My bosses are the married couple of Mason Froberg and Alta Wickham and they are fantastic bosses that always look out for me and my other co-workers.

Now DE Isn't an amazon or target but what it does bring is a local community that is built off of family friendly gaming and good times. From Magic tournaments to board game club there is pretty much something for anyone at DE depending on what their interested in. There are also plenty of people to play games with of any kind as the main focus of my bosses has been to create a strong community for any game that people want to play and the place to play their games. We have had upwards to 70 people for some events that we host and we strive to make sure everyone leaves with a smile and content with their time they spent with us.

My role at DE is the same as everyone else’s, doing anything and everything. Whether the cooler needs to be stocked or costumers need to be rung up, it’s up to everyone on the crew to do what needs to be done. That doesn't mean though that it’s no fun as events are always exciting to see and helping people find just the right board game for their weekly get together with their buddies is awarding in itself and getting to see all the new stuff we get in sometimes makes me feel like the candy man spinning taffy.

But working at a game store is work I've had to tell many of people that say “Awe man your job is so easy, all you do is play games all day!” It is a job with expectations for performance and customer satisfaction, I still put in my time and effort as it is my job. The difference is that because of the awesome people that both work and go to DE it’s a fantastic experience regardless and most of the time doesn't feel like work because I enjoy it. There’s no middle management breathing down my neck that doesn't care if they grind me in the ground because I can be replaced, everyone cares about each other at DE and we work together as a team and project that feeling on to others so they too 

want to join in on the DE community.

Overall Dungeon’s end has been a very important part of many people’s lives including my own and I appreciate all the work that both Mason and Alta put into the store as well as everyone who stops by to both stick around and play as well as just browsing as a Duluth without DE would be a sad place indeed.

A Travelling experience: Going to Tennessee 

I thought I’d hate going south but what I found there couldn't have changed my mind more.

Last summer I took a trip to Tennessee with a summer program I was in for a week and honesty I thought I’d hate it. I’m not into country, long bus rides, or 110 degree weather, but what I found down there was quite the contrary. 

I started my trip with a 12 hour bus ride to get down to Knoxville where my group and I stayed in a rather sketchy hotel to say the least (one person even had mold in their shower). But we kept on and went white water rafting the next day and it was an experience I’d highly recommend. We then 

continued to trek on into the heart of tenseness, Nashville.

Nashville was quite the experience, there was music coming out of the street corners and crowded sidewalks of bustling people, big city life is quite different for sure. There we went to the country hall of fame and like I said I’m not particularly fond of country music, but once again Tennessee surprised me with its vintage Gibson guitars and other random neat musical instrument that where not only cool to look at but interesting to learn about their history and who used them. I even found a little hole in the wall coffee shop that I could get my daily dose of caffeinated goodness. Once we were done their we visited some of the local collages to get a feel for what I would be like to go out of state for school and they were rather beautiful schools, but not my style. After that we headed out once again to our last stop before coming back home, Memphis.

Now I didn't even know Memphis existed until I went down and I still don’t understand how. From they’re intense blues and jazz culture, to the Gibson factor, Memphis should have been on my radar year ago but for some reason it wasn't and I’ll never forget what I saw down there. We went to the civil rights museum first which was located were Martin Luther King Jr. got assassinated and it was both moving and powerful with a lot of interesting historical context that can really teach people how the civil rights movement accomplished their goals for equality. After that we visited Beale Street, a walk only, shopping street with a whole mess of interesting stores and people. From the street performers doing flips and cartwheels over on another, to the open performances in every restaurant. I could walk down the street and go from listening to old delta blues to a Johnny Cash cover all on the same street and as a music enthusiast this was truly breath taking.

After that we headed straight home only stopping for breaks every now and then and made it back in Duluth within a day. Overall my experience down south was all positives as everything was enjoyable, from the white water rafting to Beale Street everything was different but familiar and I could always find something to enjoy. 

My Persoanal complaints about the United States Government.

According to Fareed Zakaria, author of the book “The Post-American World”, he describes the American political system as “Do-nothing politics” and goes into detail in his book about why this trend is impeding America’s progress in the world ( Zakaria 232). I agree with this view as there’s nothing that grinds my gears more than inefficacy within the government that stem from petty disputes to just complete idiocy as there are two main reason that I feel for theses annoyance that not only I feel but many other people do as well.

            

The first reason that these issues emerge is because of political polarization, this has become more common place in the American political system as people who are in separate parties are not allowed to come to a compromise simply because then they will seem “weak” to other people in that party. This makes for many debates that resolve nothing and instead waste more time as was apparent in October 2013, when there was a government shut down because Republicans didn’t want to come to any compromise and just decided to throw a hissy fit over not getting there way. This can easily be fixed by politicians learning to compromise again, as they did during FDR administration during the great depression, as even if people were in different parties there was a need for proactive legislation which was passed in the form of FDR’s “New Deal”.  

           

The second reason for they issues is money as it seems that every day more politicians are focused on what their pay is rather than the work they are doing. From election campaigns to the likelihood that a bill will be past, money has its way of getting into the political process and mucking it up. I understand that nothing is free but the fact that congress literally does nothing before elections is ridiculous when there are huge problems that won’t sit still for them. This is also annoying when special interest groups are involved in politics and the ones with more money can get what they want, it makes the American political system a place where only the rich get what they want. This could be fixed by just having the focus of the government on making changes for the good for more people rather than a select few.

            

These “Do-Nothing politics” really do hinder America’s full potentially in the global political game and it honestly annoys me, personally to see grown adults act like children when they should be focusing on the betterment of the American people. I complain about this government because I care and wish to see it return to its glory days of actually being able to compromise and pass efficient legislation, I would hate to see America struggle with issues that could have easily been solved by changes that need to be made, even if they are hard at first but will eventually set America up for a more progress and well off future for all of the American people. 

Work Cited

Index of /wp-content/uploads/2012/01." Index of /wp-content/uploads/2012/01. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2014.

Jeff. "15 Differences Between Democrats And Republicans." Addicting Info. N.p., 21 Sept. 2014. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.

Zakaria, Fareed. The Post-American World: Release 2.0. New York: W. W. Norton, 2011. Print.