At Your Leisure

Word of the Week:

Pluvial (adj): Rainy or related to rain.

Sentence: After the dreaded pluvial weather persisted for a solid month, Kate decided to transfer.

Quote of the Week:

“Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, ‘It might have been.’” –Kurt Vonnegut, “Cat’s Cradle”

Stream of Facts:

There is an all-girl cover band of Led Zeppelin called Lez Zeppelin. Founded in 2004, they were called the leading force in all female cover bands and even recorded their first album with one-time Led Zeppelin recording engineer Eddie Kramer.

The Super Soaker was invented by NASA engineer Lonnie Johnson. Johnson’s research company also invented the rechargeable battery and thermodynamic energy conversion technology.

Famous playwright Bernard Shaw once ran a contest for the creation of an alternate English alphabet that would save time and energy. The alphabet that won, the Shavian alphabet, was devised by Kingsley Read. Shaw’s next play, “Androcles and the Lion”, had a limited print run in this new system.

Charlton Heston held the highest security clearance possible in the United States security clearance system for six years. Heston acquired this by narrating classified how-to videos for the government, many for the Department of Energy on nuclear technology.

Reporter Recommends:  Twitch Plays Streams

It’s an interesting social experiment: a hundred thousand people controlling a single game of Pokémon at the same time. And for the most part, it’s absolutely crazy.

Twitch Plays series are simple games streamed online which are controllable through the ongoing chat. Twitch Plays Pokémon is the most popular, having recently beaten the first game and starting Pokémon Crystal now. It created a slew of in-jokes like the Helix Fossil, but has given way to other Twitch Plays streams as well. From the original Legend of Zelda to even Earthbound, the chaotic experience of many players contributing to a single play through of a game is gaining wide appeal.

While it can get boring when players decide to work against each other and stay in one location for a time, there is some satisfaction in seeing them progress and finally beat the game. It’s worth it to check in every so often to see where they are or what hilariously is going on in the comments.