Saturday, March 16, 2024

Marion Almassizadeh

 

They might be a slightly silly crew who don't see the point in being serious for the camera (or even looking at it), but Marion Almassizadeh is very proud of her seven adopted teenagers.  Through good investing she will even be able to start them out well in life, helping some of them to start businesses and getting others launched in their chosen careers.  The second-youngest, Bayleigh, has agreed to continue running the foster home as a condition of inheriting the tall house.

This is one of the first user-created homes I remember playing, created by someone with the username "plasticbox".  It's three stories with a lavishly-furnished apartment on the first floor, which I kept solely for Marion.  The upper two stories had four small bedrooms of varying sizes, suitable for single beds or a crib, a little office area with a computer and a third-floor sitting room with a TV.  Combined with Marion's want to have ten children, having her adopt children who were left alone in the early stages of the challenge seemed like a natural choice.  The oldest, Hollis, has just turned into an adult and will move out the next Monday at 9am.  There's a gap of a few days, but there will be a string of five birthdays in a row.  Perhaps I'll have some of them move out en masse into a 'new adult' home where they can continue to have fun together while they find mates and jobs!

Cindy and Uriah Newson

 

Cindy scolds the cat.  "Do I not have enough to deal with, without you destroying the furniture?".  Her partner Uriah is off at the new house with most of the older kids, fixing it up for the family.  This one-bedroom house has held the family for a long time, but with a teenager, five school-age kids, and a toddler (Clarance is asleep in the crib), it's bursting at the seams.  In fact, it has been in the family since Uriah's grandmother Una Underhill moved to town.  One of their ten children will inherit it and continue the tradition.

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Apocalypse Challenge G: end of week 20

 

Wayland brushes her teeth three times after getting home from school, like the good girl she is.

Children getting minimal hygiene from the "wash hands" interaction mean that the children in my Apocalypse Challenge end up brushing their teeth about eight times a day.  In my head it's like this obscure religious imperative that has popped up after the Apocalypse.

Wayland aged up to a teen later the same day.  Her mother Garland is an elder now, but her father and uncle Christopher are still adults with some days to go.

I have Wayland and her eventual spouse earmarked for the Medical and Military careers.

Sunday, March 10, 2024

Apocalypse Challenge G: end of week 18

 

Garland has had a busy couple of days; she gave birth to her daughter Wayland, and was promoted to Theorist. Her younger half-brother Christopher is an adult now, and will be caretaker to his little niece so that Garland can shoot for that final promotion to the top of the Science career.

Oddly, the thing that held up the next generation the most was the lack of a mate for Garland.  I didn't have many walkbys, and even when I did, there wasn't enough time in an evening for Garland to get to know them well enough to stay overnight or move in.  Finally Waylon Menon walked by, who she had known previously, and I quickly grabbed the opportunity to move him in. He's already in the Culinary career, so I'll have him lift that restriction.  If Wayland or her spouse can get into the Medical career, that will be good; and perhaps the other can do Military. Christy died before getting to the top of the career, and the restrictions about leaving the lot really hurt Garland.  I also have a cat ghost causing trouble, and unfortunately I didn't notice Christy getting old and her headstone is right outside the house, so I anticipate her causing trouble soon too!  But without the ability to go to college I can't lift the Paranormal restrictions and move their headstones.

Saturday, March 9, 2024

Apocalypse Challenge G: end of week 16

 

Garland goes off to work while her little half-brother Christopher heads to the school bus.  Not sure why she looks unhappy here - her mood was good and I'm hoping she'll do well in her new Science career.

I've tried the Apocalypse challenge before, but this is the first time I've had any success with an adult that didn't start in college.  Garland's father Gary got to the top of the Politics career as an elder, managed to quickly meet, marry and move in Christy Stratton, and their daughter Garland was born the same day Gary died.  Fortunately Gary had socked away about 60,000 simoleons in savings, so Christy could stay home with Garland until she was a teenager.  

Christy is an elder now and has a decent shot at getting to the top of the Military career before she dies.

Important things I learned that have helped a lot in this go-round:

  • Children don't get any significant hygiene benefit from washing their hands, but if I get one of the medicine cabinets and have them "brush teeth", they get by well enough.
  • One of my attempts ended up with twin brothers who made it adulthood, but their mother's ghost keeps frightening them to death... I've killed the poor brothers a dozen times or more!  With Gary I made sure he was on the furthest corner of the lot when the Grim Reaper came, and he died happy, so that seems to have kept the terrible haunting at bay.

Monday, July 24, 2023

Three-Part Harmonies

  • Alabama Song - Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill
  • Allons gai - Jacob Buus, first published 1543 
  • American Tune - Paul Simon
  • Barrett's Privateers - Stan Rogers
  • Big Bang - Bare Naked Ladies
  • Black Pearls and Diamonds - Trevor Mills
  • Canon of the Bells (a three-part canon on the melody of the Carol of the Bells)
  • The Carols of Gilligan's Isle - lyrics by G. Wyle and S. Schwartz, set to the tune of five different Christmas carols
  • Claire - Rheostatics
  • Come Again - John Dowland, first published 1597
  • Come Together - Beatles
  • Down to the River to Pray - inspired by the Alison Krauss version 
  • End of Days - original
  • Femmes Fatales - poetry by Nik Beat (?)
  • Fever - written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell, popularized by Peggy Lee
  • Free As a Bird - Beatles
  • Fruitcake (parody to the tune of "Fever")
  • Gaudete - traditional
  • Gilligan's Corollary - music by G. Wyle and S. Schwartz, words traditional
  • Guinea Pig - Moxy Fruvous
  • Horrible Rock Ballad - original
  • I Believe in Father Christmas - Sinfield, Lake
  • Kiss - Prince, but based on the Tom Jones cover
  • La, la, la, je ne l'ose dire - Pierre Certon c.1510-1572
  • La bête et la belle - The Real Tuesday Weld
  • The Lady is a Tramp - Rodgers and Hart
  • A Leonard Cohen Christmas - original/parody
  • The Man I Love - George and Ira Gershwin
  • Moritat von Mackie Messer (Mack the Knife) - Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill
  • My Funny Valentine - Rodgers and Hart
  • My Mannequin Makes Modern Music - poetry of Nik Beat set to music
  • O occhi, manza mia - Orlando di Lasso, first published 1581
  • Paperback Writer - Beatles
  • Popsicle Toes - Michael Franks
  • Reason for the Season - original
  • Roadrunner Theme Song
  • Still Alive - Jonathan Coulton
  • Surabaya Johnny - Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill
  • Throw a Shoe at Me - original 
  • Touch Me - original
  • Un Jambon, Jeanette, Isabelle - parody
  • Wuthering Heights - Kate Bush
  • You Sexy Thing - Errol Brown, Tony Wilson
  • You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch - Theodore Giesel and Albert Hague
  • Your Body is a Wonderland - John Mayer
  • Your Shining Eyes - Thomas Bateson, first published 1604

Thursday, July 6, 2023

Ukulele Group Songs



The list below are the songs that happen to be in my binder after eight months of attending our group.  If the name of a song in the list looks like a link, then it is... most of them will take you directly to the PDF on the Bytown Ukulele Group webpage, where you can print your own copy. Links in brackets after the artist name are an experiment.

The 15 songs marked with * at the end are the ones that, in my unscientific opinion, are the ones that we 1) play the most and 2) are easiest for a beginning player.

Hole punching advice:  If a song is two pages, print it single-sided, then hole punch it so that it will lie open in your binder - that is, on the RIGHT side of the first page and the LEFT side of the second page.