Coachella Trading Company - recent posts from Sports & Leisure community

Good Luck in the marathon UK Case Lady! (NSFW)

2008-10-10T16:43:01-07:00

I just wanted to wish our very own UK Case Lady luck this weekend in the Baltimore Marathon. In honor of her feat I present the above video and wish her both speed and stamina! :)

I just went to the Baltimore Marathon website and discovered that they are using cutting edge disposable (not very green friendly but we’ll look the other way for the Case Lady) D-tag timing tag and thus we will be able to track the Case Lady’s progress during the race! Hmmm, I wonder if it will show names or just the timing tag number.

Anyway good luck Case Lady

Thumbnail image liberally borrowed from the Boston Marathon at Boston.com

Boston +125 Tonight

2008-10-03T13:57:53-07:00

I love The Red Sox +125 tonight. Look for them to continue their postseason dominance ove the Angels. Dice-K has pitched consistently well over the season and the offense seems to be hitting its stride at the right time. Look for Boston to cruise and sweep the team that recorded the best record in the majors ths year! Come to www.laythepoints.net for my other picks.

Go Vikings

2008-09-23T21:09:34-07:00

Minnesota won last week against Carolina Panthers and they are set to do it again this week. What I want to know is, are there any VIKINGS fans out there?

Oregon State Beaver Football, Let it Rage!

2008-09-22T19:19:26-07:00

Oregon State (1-2, 0-1 Pac-10) opens Pac-10 Conference home action at Reser (Ree-sir) Stadium (45,674) when it hosts the No. 1 ranked USC Trojans (2-0, 0-0) Thurs., Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. on ESPN. The game marks the second of three Thursday night games for the season, ending Oct. 2 at Utah. This is the first time ESPN has broadcast an OSU football game from Corvallis.

I’m going to this game to see OSU beat the Trojans and I see a victory!

You need some of these-Powerizer pogo stilts!

2008-09-06T21:28:39-07:00

My friend Alan first mentioned getting some of these and I just saw a bunch of videos on YouTube and thought I would share.

Here is a UK company selling them and a genuine US seller.

Hey UK Case Lady, can you use these in marathons maybe?

2081: Everyone will finally be equal (movie trailer)

2008-09-06T18:41:17-07:00

Freedom and human rights are extraordinary concepts to me. Not because freedom or human rights are extraordinary things, they are quite ordinary really. Something to be expected. They become extraordinary the more I see them denied, refused, taken away, given up, and otherwise contorted.

The trailer for 2081 conveys some of my thoughts and beliefs better than I could convey them myself.

Based on the short story Harrison Bergeron by celebrated author Kurt Vonnegut, 2081 depicts a dystopian future in which, thanks to the 212th Amendment to the Constitution and the unceasing vigilance of the United States Handicapper General, everyone is finally equal… The strong wear weights, the beautiful wear masks and the intelligent wear earpieces that fire off loud noises to keep them from taking unfair advantage of their brains. It is a poetic tale of triumph and tragedy about a broken family, a brutal government, and an act of defiance that changes everything.

It is unclear to me if this will be an extraordinary film, but it’s premise is. Visit the official website. I would encourage you to read the original short story by Kurt Vonnegut. You might also be interested in the 1995 TV film Harrison Bergeron

Here and There (2008)(short film by Eoghan Kidney and Simon Cullen)

2008-09-06T13:49:01-07:00

Here and There (2008)(short film by Eoghan Kidney and Simon Cullen)

A strange and somehow fulfilling short film.

Here & There is a collaboration between Eoghan Kidney and musician Simon Cullen, as part of his band project Le Bien. Eoghan shot and edited the video and Simon worked on different iterations of the song. According to Eoghan at his post on Vimeo this collaborative process, “allowed for an interestingly organic creative process, resulting in this strange film about horses and children trapped in adult bodies.”

Learn and see more about Eoghan at his website.

Creators

Written & Directed by Eoghan Kidney
Produced by Tim Duggan
Song by Simon Cullen

Cast

Girl: Donna Nikolaisen
Guy 1: Fionn Kidney
Guy 2: John Peters
Kid girl: Lilly
Kid boy: Stephen

Production credits

Executive Producers: Leon McCarthy & Simon Cullen
Editor & animation: Eoghan Kidney
DOP: Paddy Jordan
Assistant camera: Gav
Documenta: Esperanza Collado
Capture: Mark Cantwell

Animal Handler: Ashley Dowling
Grading: Erik Goodbody

Special thanks to: Windmill lane pictures, Les Bien, Mimi, Ady, Leon Giblin, Paula Quirke

Mail Oder Wife—A must see....

2008-08-30T11:16:44-07:00

if you are somewhat dark and twisted that is! This movie absolutely took me through a range of emotions that is most certainly madding, but all that you hope for from a movie!

I am eager to discuss it at length, but I do not yet want to give anything away, I do hope you will take a gander first and then get back with me for discussion.

Hey, why isn’t there a band and movie review section yet? Let’s do that.

New TV Obsession- Mad Men!

2008-07-28T10:45:02-07:00

Hello:

So it’s been a while since I’ve posted up here (we’ve been hard at work on a brand new UK Cases site… more on that coming soon), but I thought I would check in to let you all know I have a brand new TV Show obsession. Along with the rest of the world, and pretty much every TV critic there is I’ve decided Mad Men is a pretty amazing show. I know I am jumping on the bandwagon pretty late, but the show has me pretty much addicted and I tore through the first season in just a few days (which of course means that now I need an even NEWER TV show obsession). It’s unlikely, of course, that I will spot an UK Cases or lights on it since the show takes place in 1960 and UK didn’t start making some of the best cases and lights in the business until 1971, but I still thought I would post about it up here to see if there are any other fans.

Any other Mad Men watchers? If so, let’s discuss the season 2 premier last night, our favorite characters, how uncomfortable and complicated women’s clothes looked back in the day…

-CASELADY

What character(s) in ANY John Hughes film best describe you?

2008-06-22T13:11:58-07:00

In celebration of simple, effective, and very human storytelling I pose this simple question:

What character(s) in ANY John Hughes film (or ANY brat pack / seminal 80’s coming of age film) is closest to your personality? (mash characters if necessary).

Need help remembering character names, check John Hughes at IMDB or Brat Pack at the Wiki) (includes a short list of 80’s coming of age movies).

A few I was thinking of: The Outsiders, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, St. Elmo’s Fire, Pretty in Pink, WarGames, Weird Science, Tuff Turf, Less Than Zero, Young Guns, Heathers, Pump up the volume, and Say Anthing

Scooty and Jojo’s tribute to John Huges and Molly Ringwald in Mollywood Photo used hopefully with permission from feastoffools at Flickr. The image is a promo shot for the Scooty & JoJo show, Mollywood . You should check it out.

Take a break from work! We can dance if we want to...everybody look at your hands

2008-06-22T12:37:23-07:00

I just posted the video for Wang Chung’s, Dance Hall Days and saw Men Without Hats in the related videos while I was getting the embed code and couldn’t stop myself from posting them.

The Safety Dance did something to me as a child (not necessarily good) and has become some kind of ongoing all purpose experiment in advanced punning and bad jokes in my life.

So everybody now, press play on the boombox (er, YouTube video) and step away from your desks. It is time to dance. Because we can dance if we want to.

If you need more convincing than that, also see, Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)...be reminded of the beauty of life

What character in ANY John Hughes film is closest to your personality (mash characters if necessary). I would be a mashup of Keith Nelson from Some Kind of Wonderful and John Bender AND Allison Reynolds from The Breakfast Club.

~~Wow I like this idea, I might repost this idea in the Movies topic.~~

I did post it the movies topic . You can respond in the new post, What character(s) in ANY John Hughes film best describe you?

Everybody have fun tonight...everybody Wang Chung tonight!

2008-06-22T12:19:55-07:00

This post completes the joke in my response to Amanda’s post. The joke isn’t very funny, but any chance to listen to 80’s music. Unfortunately all the videos of Everybody have fun tonight had embedding disabled (damn those record companies). So I offer up Dance Hall Days as an equally wonderful and relevant substitute considering the topic of Amanda’s post about dating trees :)

I just watched Pretty in Pink the other day with some friends. John Hughes is a master filmmaker. When I was younger I never consciously noted how the “cool kids” were casted much older and/or bigger than the geeky kids. The jocks look like the staff of the school, while Michael C. Hall and John Cusack appear to be in 6th grade. And Molly Ringwald appears to have been intentionally shot at angles and in makeup that changes her age and apparent maturity level throughout the film. Subtle, but amazing cinematic craftsmanship. It’s nice to be reminded that quality storytelling doesn’t have to by intellectual. While I don’t miss my actual high school experience, I miss the spirit of high school.

What’s your favorite 80’s song? Tell us all about it (embed if it’s available) in the Music blog topic in the Sports and leisure community.

This Wang Chung post inspired my followup post Take a break from work! We can dance if we want to…everybody look at your hands which then further inspired this post, What character(s) in ANY John Hughes film best describe you? which I REALLY HAVE TO GET ANSWERS TO!

Pushing Daisies…another musical interlude…TMBG, Birdhouse in your soul

2008-06-20T02:53:34-07:00

Just to round out the TV talk for the day, as promised the They Might Be Giants, Birdhouse in your soul musical interlude from Pushing Daisies.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about see these previous posts

Pushing Daisies...fantastic pop musical interlude...Hopelessly devoted to you...

2008-06-19T17:34:58-07:00

I just posted a promo for Pushing Daisies one of my favorite shows and when I found this clip of the the first “musical” interlude of the season I just had to share it here.

For those of you who aren’t so into musicals, the whole show is not a musical, and there are only a few episodes with a musical interlude. Personally though, when they are done this well, it is absolutely amazing. Now I’m going to go try and find the “They Might Be Giants”, “Birdhouse in your soul” interlude in another episode of Pushing Daisies.

Gosh, I feel better just thinking about Pushing Daisies!

Pushing Daisies...another great show (with a positive message)

2008-06-19T17:29:21-07:00

After all this talk about the show Dexter, I thought I would share something a little more wholesome and entertaining for the whole family.

Pushing Daisies is an amazing show in all ways. While death is a prominent motif of the show, it is actually an exploration of what it means to be alive and just how precious life is.

From the ABC description of the show:

Grown up Ned (Lee Pace) puts his talent to good use by touching dead fruit and making it ripe with everlasting flavor. He opens a pie shop. But his gift leaves him wary of becoming close to anyone, as beautiful waitress Olive Snook (Kristin Chenoweth) finds out. His life as a pie maker gets more complicated when private investigator Emerson Cod (Chi McBride) finds out about Ned’s secret. Emerson convinces the cash-strapped Ned to help him solve murder cases (and collect the hefty reward fees) by raising the dead and getting them to name their killers.

Then Ned is handed the case that changes his life forever. His childhood sweetheart, Charlotte “Chuck” Charles (Anna Friel), is murdered on a cruise ship under strange circumstances. Her death brings him back to his hometown of Coeur d’ Coeurs to bring Chuck back to life, albeit briefly, and solve the crime. But once reunited with Chuck, Ned can’t bring himself to send her back. He helps her escape after her grieving aunts, Lily and Vivian (Swoosie Kurtz, Ellen Greene), former synchronized swimmers Darling Mermaid Darlings, think they’ve buried her forever.

Chuck becomes the third partner in Ned and Emerson’s PI enterprise, but she encourages them to use their skills for good, not just for profit. Ned is overjoyed to be reunited with Chuck, the only girl he’s ever loved. Life would be perfect, except for one cruel twist—if he ever touches her again, she’ll go back to being dead, this time for good.

I absolutely adore this show. It is touching and moving, and nearly brings me to tears that Ned and “Chuck” are destined to love each other forever, but can never touch. This show gives hope for the flowers.

Apart from being an amazingly well produced show, the cinematography is astounding, the writing and acting highly stylized, and generally a work of genius broadcast television doesn’t deserve!

Watch the preview above, and then watch the show. The next season isn’t until the fall I think so you have plenty of time to get caught up!

You really need to watch this musical interlude where Olive sings, Hopelessly devoted to you from one of the early Pushing Daisies episodes.

Dexter opening credits

2008-06-19T17:02:22-07:00

Since we have been discussing Dexter a little bit here at CoTradeCo, I just had to share the opening credits to the show. Like many commercials, opening credits to film and television shows are better than a lot of actual television and film that is produced. Fortunately Dexter’s opening credits do not come close to overshadowing the quality writing and production of the show, but they are among some of the best credits in terms of metaphorical visual representation and production.

The theme song entitled, Dexter Main Title, was composed and performed by Rolfe Kent and is available at fine stores like Amazon.com

I also found this quote attributed to Rolfe Kent at AskMetaFilter :

The theme music for the Showtime series DEXTER was composed and recorded in August 2006. An interesting task, as it was to be both sly and witty yet dark and with a hint of Miami about it. So it features guiro, latin percussion, and also Turkish saz and a vaguely reggae beat. It was all timed to match the opening title sequence.

Enjoy.

What are some of the most exciting film and television credits you have seen? Share them with us in the TV and film blog topic in the Sports and Leisure community .

AVclub.com’s article Inventory: 22 TV Opening-Credit Sequences That Fit Their Shows Perfectly shows a few.

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Fan attempt at Season Trailer for Dexter (NSFW-PG13)

2008-06-19T16:51:02-07:00

Note: While the embedded video does not show overly explicit graphic images by modern standards, it does display several scenes of violence, and the premise for the show may be considered unpleasant by some.

In a recent post, UK Lights on One of My Favorite Shows! (well okay, about an hour or so ago) the Showtime series Dexter came up in conversation and I wanted to see if I could find the scene posted on YouTube with UK light (DX8 Xenon Dive Light ).

After that proved too daunting, I thought I would share a trailer I stumbled on created by a fan as a first attempt at cutting a television spot. Not bad for a hobbyist!

This amateur trailer also features Radiohead as the theme music. One of my favorite bands for one of my favorite shows.

What are your favorite movies and television shows? Share them with us in the TV and film blog topic in the Sports and Leisure community .

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UK Lights on One of My Favorite Shows!

2008-06-19T14:36:00-07:00

I wasn’t really sure what to write for my first post here on CoTradeCo. I felt it was my duty as a UK Employee to have (at least my first) post relate somewhat to the company, but I also wanted to give everyone here a little bit of a better idea of who I am. Fortunately, I was presented with the perfect topic last night, when I was least expecting it, at the gym.

Unlike those who seem to be able to magically shut-off, and run endlessly on the treadmill/elliptical trainer while staring into space, I seem to get bored after about 15 seconds. Lately I have been combating this by watching episodes of Dexter on my I-Pod. The show came highly recommended by my dad who shares the same television/movie tastes, and preference for black humor that I do so I went ahead and downloaded the episodes so I could watch them at my leisure. Anyway, I just finished the first season, and was on to the first episode of Season 2. I was only half paying attention to a scene which featured scuba divers when my eyes caught something on the tiny I-Pod screen. “They’re using a UK light!” I shouted aloud and to no one in particular (I am sure generating some strange looks). Of course it wasn’t until I got home later that I was able to freeze frame on the shot and really see what kind of light they were using and make sure it was a UK.

It was our D8 Xenon, which would make perfect sense in this scene, since the divers were supposed to be pretty deep and the D8 is waterproof to 500 feet. Not to brag, but it also makes sense that the divers would be using a UK light in the first place, since UK Dive lights make up 75% of the world’s dive lights.

Anyway, all my company pride aside, it was pretty cool to see the light on one of my new favorite shows, even if it was in a scene in which unsuspecting divers come upon a dead body (such is the nature of Dexter). I was wondering, are there any other fans of the show on here? Any one that can recommend another show I can get addicted to once I am done with Dexter to beat treadmill boredom?

-UKCaseLady

PS: And yes, I realize my first UKCASELADY post wasn’t about Cases…

What are your favorite movies and television shows? Share them with us in the TV and film blog topic in the Sports and Leisure community .

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Sins of a Solar Empire v1.05 Now Available...yeah I'm a geek.

2008-06-13T01:21:15-07:00

I received this email the other day, and as a geeky fan (sometimes) I had to give them some free press. If you are enjoy RTS with some real strategy and a hint of 4X style game play I highly recommend it. And besides the folks at Stardock are great and deserve to be supported.

Sins of a Solar Empire v1.05 Now Available

Stardock’s Sins of a Solar Empire combines real-time strategy with turn-based depth. Described by fans and reviewers as being a cross between Civilization and Homeworld, Master of Orion in real-time, and even Kohan in space, Sins of a Solar Empire delivers the kind of epic strategy game experience players have been looking for.

Sins of a Solar Empire version 1.05 is now available to all registered owners of the game. This new update includes two new maps plus a number of multiplayer and single-player fixes.

To obtain the new patch, just click on the Download Updates button from the Sins main menu, or use our new Impulse client (beta).

If you don’t have Sins of a Solar Empire now is a great time to get it! Get the Collector’s Edition for $49.95 at www.sinsofasolarempire.com , or visit your local retailer to get the standard edition which is only $39.95. It’s the top rated new PC strategy game of 2008 and every major gaming publication has given it an Editor’s Choice award!

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American Teen...The new Breakfast Club?

2008-06-07T10:08:01-07:00

After Ily posted her ‘reservations’ about someone making a ‘Breakfast Club’ for this generation, like Ily, I too was suspicious. After all, the original John Hughes film, like all of his work, were moving and inspiring tales of teen life and coming of age in the 80’s & 90’s (tough as it might have been). Seriously though, other than the already hardened and cynical, who from that era was not inspired or affected by Hughes’ work?

So to say someone is, for all intents and purposes doing a remake, or at least an inspired version of the same could rub true fans the wrong way. But as Ily points out, if it were to give a new generation hope for the future, what could be wrong with it?

Absolutely nothing. The new movie in question is in fact a documentary, entitled American Teen. In fact, this real life documentary did have some inspiration from the Hughes’ film Breakfast Club in the mind of American Teen filmmaker, Nanette Burstein.

From an article at FilmSchoolRejects by Neil Miller :

“Paramount Vantage sent over this brand new poster for American Teen…and it certainly caught me off guard…[referring to the marketing-not the film] take the subjects, who are a diverse group of high school students from Indiana, and you put them in context with a John Hughes movie…But for me, someone who loves the movie for what it is (having seen it twice), I can say that while this movie is not The Breakfast Club, I don’t blame Paramount Vantage for using this type of marketing.”

“’Breakfast Club is one of the few teen fiction films that actually address all those teen storylines: popular girls ruling the school, the Romeo and Juliet love-story, the nerdy kid looking for acceptance,’ Burstein told The Hollywood Reporter. ‘I didn’t consciously think about that when I was shooting the movie but afterwards, I realized the similarities.’”

Peter Sciretta at slashfilm said:

“Since it’s premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, movie critics have been comparing this year’s best film (so far) American Teen to John Hughes’ 80’s teen classic The Breakfast Club…I’ve been more apt to compare it to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but the Breakfast Club comparison works just as well because of the social class system of the characters followed.”

So there you go Ily, put your mind at ease. This is no remake of The Breakfast Club and sounds like it might be great glance into the current generation of youth. And after you watch the trailer not only is this likely to be a good film, it is probably going to as funny and emotional as watching ‘the original’.

American Teen trailer from YouTube via worththepopcorn.

American Teen movie poster from FilmSchoolRejects and side-by-side graphic from slashfilm

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The Breakfast Club—Can it be done? I want to say no...

2008-06-05T16:29:16-07:00

I just this moment heard that there is a new film coming out called ‘American Teen’. It is meant to be ‘The Breakfast Club’ of today.

I initially was turned completely off by the entire idea and became defensive over the whole project of something that mega being re-presented during a time that is completely different.

Upon second thought though, I wonder if the new version may be able to grip the young masses to such a deep degree that it’s inspiration did/has?

Will I go see it? Hmmm…more soon after I have had a chance to wrap my mind around this.

Fun history of city building simulation games

2008-05-25T23:59:28-07:00

While this presentation might be a little biased towards the Sim universe of city building games and a touch out of date, it provides some fun history and facts on a genre of gaming that I enjoy very much.

One of the things that draws me to city builders so much (and is a point made in the presentation) is that in general they do not have a win/lose situation. Games like Sim City, Sim Societies, and City Life are pure simulation experiences where good and bad things might happen but winning and losing are not primary factors of play.

The Caesar series has the feel of a city builder with strategy based campaign style play where missions are presented on each map such as attaining certain production levels, and achieving and maintaining prosperity for the city. Games such as Caesar (I’ve only played Caesar IV), also introduce a minimal level of RTS style combat, very minimal.

Then there is the further hybrid of strategy and city builder with 4X style games such as Civilization that have hints of the city building genre with basic concepts of micromanaging at the city level, but focus more entirely on empire building. 4X games concentrate on four primary goals: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate. These games appealed to a broader gaming demographic, allowing for the fun of a city builder but introducing the win/lose scenario.

In recent years games like ROME: Total War took the 4X to whole new levels with extremely realistic warfare. In fact, the battle engine for the Rome game was so accurate to fighting styles and human reactions of the day that the History Channel licensed the game to recreate and simulate real life historical battles. See the Battle of Thermopylae recreated using Rome: Total War.

But most recently I was smitten with the release of Sins of a Solar Empire which blended the excitement of high paced real time strategy (RTS) play with 4X style play. While this game is a full departure from city builders, it’s exciting play and challenging intricacies makes it a fantastic tension release after a long day at work.

But when I just want to relax, but not in front of completely passive media, I always head back to the city builder.

BIGGEST NBA PLAYOFF GAME TO DATE:

2008-05-20T07:48:12-07:00

Eastern Conference Game 1. I feel so strongly about this game i guarantee it. In my opinion, this game is a no brainer. Every way i cap this game, i come out with the same side every time. It’s not often i guarantee a play, but today i do. If you purchase the POD and lose, you get the next three days of paid picks for free. It’s that simple. I don’t know how else to put it guys, it’s that simple. Our POD is only $5 dollars, and can be purchased in the Buy Picks section!

Do you boomerang?

2008-04-16T14:35:03-07:00

The only boomerangs I ever had were toys as a child, and they never worked very good. But after stumbling onto Rob’s Real Boomerangs Do Come Back informational hobbyist site I just might have to give them another toss.

Rob says about buying a boomerang that will come back:

An expert can recognize whether a boomerang could work in principle, but only throwing it and fine tuning it before it is being sold, is the key of getting a great flyer as opposed to one that sort of works. With mass production boomerangs you could get lucky having one that works fine, but it is more the exception than the rule.

The whole concept of a boomerang is fascinating to me. A toy, a weapon, a sport, and a funny prop for cartoons. At the RANGS Boomerang site they claim that, “Boomerangs are probably the first heavier-than-air flying machine ever invented,” and that, “No one knows for sure how the returning boomerang was first invented, but some modern boomerang makers speculate that it developed from the flattened throwing stick, still used by the Australian Aborigines and some other tribal people around the world (eg the Navajo Indians in America).” They think that in attempting to tune their hunting boomerangs to fly straight someone discovered that they could also get it to return to them, and with it came the first recreational boomerang.

And who knew there was so much to know about making and throwing a boomerang. It is always amazing to me how much jargon and technical information surrounds specialty industries and hobbies (someday I’ll have to post the complete list of terms to describe the various parts of a shoe). For example the boomerang has an elbow, leading arm, dingle arm and a boomerang maker needs to create an appropriate center of gravity so that the airfoil profile has the right positive angle of attack. All this time I just thought I was throwing them wrong! Maybe my grip was bad (or perhaps U.S. toy companies weren’t doing it right :).

Anyway if you are interested in learning more about Boomerangs try some of these useful sites and pages to learn more, and maybe buy or try making your own.

Rob’s Real Boomerangs Do Come Back

Home
Tips and FAQ (Really useful)
News
Rob’s rangs (amazing and unique designs)
Videos
Boomerang Links
Real Boomerangs company

RANGS Boomerangs

Organizations

Images from Rob’s Real Boomerangs Do Come Back site

Boomerang terms diagram
Bloody Beauties image of some of Rob’s fine work
Boomerang grip examples

What "house" rules do you use in Scrabble?

2008-03-14T11:40:03-07:00

Scrabble is among my favorite games. Out of the box, by default rules, Scrabble is a perfect and balanced game that takes on a unique life depending on who sits down to play. Whether you have a big or small vocabulary, beginner or advanced player who has every two and three letter word list memorized, the game offers a fun and stimulating challenge. Even when players are mismatched in skill advanced players can enjoy challenging themselves by making more interesting longer words even if they score lower.

Basically, Scrabble will become what you want it to be as you lay your tiles down.

But do you have any special “house” rules you use to make the game even more your own?

One of my favorites is the “take the blank tile” rule. When a blank tile is played any player after that may take the blank by switching it with the actual letter it was played in proxy for. (e.g. if someone played SCRAB_LE players could then switch the blank out with a “B” from their rack). Then the tile becomes a blank again in their rack. I am fond of this rule because it seems to stimulate longer and more interesting word plays throughout the life of the game. Note that the blank must be switched at the beginning of a turn and does not count as the turn (unlike switching out tiles from the pile).

Depending on who I am playing with I also enjoy the 4, 5, or 6 letter minimum to start the game. This rule variation is listed in the official Scrabble rules I believe but is a great way to start a game. Not only does it mean the board starts out with a better building position, but it also adds some excitement to who gets to go first and get that valuable first double word score. If everyone passes you can either choose to switch out tiles as a turn or simply start over with everyone selecting new tiles.

Some variations we have discussed but never followed through on were allowing certain illegal words, such as proper nouns, company/brand names, foreign languages, and phrases. Though it always sounded interesting to try I personally have not tried any of these variations. I would also like to try a game that allowed phrases (such as when my friend tried to play PINTOBEANS).

Remember that all “house” rules need to be declared and agreed upon before the game starts for maximum fairness, generally at the same time you are choosing the official dictionary for the game. Which reminds me of one last variation my friends and I have discussed but never implemented, which was using either jargon dictionaries or dictionaries from pre or early 20th century.

What are some “house rules” you use in Scrabble?

Scrabble: Flickr image courtesy of Ella’s Dad from Flickr under a creative commons license shows what a game might look like that allowed jargon. What a neat picture for this post! Thank’s Ella’s Dad.

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We get down almost every night

Bay Hill Invitational This Weekend!

2008-03-11T09:16:40-07:00

This is Arnie’s event. And yes, Tiger will most likely win. But we will have lots of great golf action starting late Wednesday night into the weekend! Check back then, and to get all of our golf picks for the day, it is only $10 dollars! Check out our “buy picks section” for details!

Announcing fledgling Sports and Leisure community

2008-02-20T14:57:36-08:00

Well the rumors appear to be true and things are moving forward with the new strategic relationship between TopSportsBets.com and CoTradeCo. In preparation for the launch of the new TopSportsBets.com site sharing community and social networking technology with CoTradeCo the new Sports and Leisure and TopSportsBets.com communities have been created.

While the final details are still being worked out, we do know that TopSportsBets.com will operate it’s sports bet picks business on their own domain, using the CoTradeCo community system to manage social networking and community messaging. This means that members of CoTradeCo or TopSportsBets will be able to use their accounts seamlessly between both sites.

The new Sports and Leisure community will exist on CoTradeCo, to allow folks discuss topics not related to the folks who belong to the TopSportsBets.com community.

You will see links to all communities from both sites, but CoTradeCo will continue to serve the same communities it always has, and TopSportsBets.com will be handling all sports related activities, especially sports betting related topics from their site.

In the meantime, you sports fans should head over to the new Sports and Leisure and TopSportsBets.com communities here at CoTradeCo and get in on the discussion and to keep up on the latest developments with these two exciting new communities and TopSportsBets.com.

Visit:

Sports Betting – MGM Grand image courtesy of GoofyGoof hosted on Flickr under a creative commons license.