Christmas 2008
Posted on December 25, 2008 Posted by John Scalzi 39 Comments
For those of you who are wondering how it’s going.
Athena reads up on her new Wii games, for her new Wii. Yes, we got a Wii.
But Athena also got a primer on Latin! How many other children can say that? I suspect rather fewer than can say got a Wii. And their loss, I must say.
Ghlaghghee and Lopsided Cat, enjoying their capnip toys. Zeus, who is rather less able to handle his ‘nip, is in the other room, watching the wallpaper move.
Kodi, enjoying her Christmas gift of a juicy bone. Lopsided Cat, you’ll note, knows well enough to stay back during the gnawing portion of the proceedings.
Krissy, showing off the t-shirt I got her. Here’s a clearer picture of what’s on the shirt, and yes, it has more significance to the two of us than just being a clever way of picturing a Cure song; it’s the first song we ever danced to, the first night that we ever met. I bought it about ten seconds after I saw it.
In short, Christmas going fabulously. Hope yours is, too.
Krissy has that look of disbelief on her face that says I can’t believe you want to take my picture this early and I can’t believe you want to take a picture of me AND a shirt!
But Happy Christmas to the Scalzi’s from the Kranjcevich Clan!
Merry Christmas!!
O Great Scalzi, what an excellent picture of the Beauteous Ghlaghghee and Mighty Lopsided Cat.
Do you think it possible to spell Her Name correctly, though? Or are you also under the influence of catnip? (Or as you spell it, capnip.)
The Official Ghlaghghee Fan Club
PS – You of course got Her Most Glorious Shimmering Perfect Radiance something more substantive than catnip, right? After all (and by all, we mean ALL) She has given you?
Latin is awesome. I’m sure Athena will love it!
Merry Christmas, Scalzi family. :-)
Never mind the Wii. Hooray for Latin!
(If she ends up liking it, there’s a translation of Winnie the Pooh into Latin, called Winnie Ille Pu, which is absolutely charming and great fun to read through no matter your level. Half the fun is recognizing the Latin transmogrifications of the English.)
cnc:
Fixed.
Latin is awesome.
+1.
What about an Ancient Greek primer? That’s another awesome language, I loved it during high school.
Happy Winter Holiday of Your Choice, All!
Latin is good. That said, Hooray for the Wii! And congratulations on finding one! Rhi loves hers (read: mine, commandeered). I do have to admit jealousy at that Wii Fit bundle, however.
Recommendation for Wii game? Okami. Awesome story, incredible art, lovely mechanics.
Who’s the author of the Latin book? I can’t quite make it out in the picture. I have a wee one too who is in need of some edumacashion.
Merry Christmas!!! We love our Wii too.
That shirt rocks.
The Latin book’s on my wishlist now (for purchasing in a few years when The Boy actually has language). Merry Xmas!
Man, I would have done cartwheels to get a Latin primer for Christmas. (Alas, all the Latin I ever got was via the species and family names in my big book of North American animals, and now to this very day, I can tell you that mephitis mephitis is a skunk and felix concolor is the cougar branch.) Cute illustration for “minimus” too. :)
I hope Athena enjoys the Wii Fit, particularly the ski jump and the penguin games, which are my favs. (For those of you who wonder, the Wii Fit is best when you play the mini balance games or the strength and yoga. Its cardio sucketh.)
Bev: The Minimus site seems to be here: http://www.minimus-etc.co.uk/
It’ll be a hardcore Latin Christmas when you gift a copy of 201 Irregular Latin Verbs. But a primer at any age is a good thing.
Happy Christmas.
Pacem in terra et pacem in casa quoque.
Also: John, loved the bit about Zeus watching the wallpaper move. But I’ve always enjoyed drug humor, despite never having partaken.
The Wii rocks… and the balance board is a very interesting addition! I like the marble game in the balance section. I don’t know what other games she got, but we (my husband and I) really like Super Swing Golf 2. There is a pretty fun single player game, but it is -really- fun when you play against each other!
Wishing everyone the Merriest of Winter Holidays.
This was my first Christmas as a parent. I never knew what a blast it was to watch your kid open presents.
I’m having an awesome Christmas.
So’s the dog. She got Beggin’ Strips in her stocking.
My son Andy also got a Wii, and he’s already rockin’ the golf and tennis.
Next up: the many mysteries of the Wii Fit.
That is the best t-shirt evar. (Also, another +1 for Latin!)
Is that The Force Unleashed? I’m sorely tempted to get a Wii just to get the lightsaber feel. I suppose I’ll have to do with Mirror’s Edge. ;)
/”‘Romanes eunt domus’ – The people called Romans they go to the house?”
I actually got to spend the day with my daughter and grandson, courtesy of a government agency that will remain anonymous as what they did was probably illegal on so many levels. But right now I don’t give a damn – it was a truly wonderful Christmas!!
It looks like everyone scored a great holiday haul, but Krissy’s shirt is 31 flavors of AWESOME.
A Latin Primer is an awesome gift (though I can’t help but wonder if Klingon might not be of just as much utility).
Happy holidays!
Krissy’s shirt- I love it! And not just on Fridays. Nice pics of the menagerie enjoying their presents too. Latin primer is quite cool. I guess we need to wait until January 5th to find out what you got for Christmas. Happy holidays everyone!
Andrea:
Per this, I didn’t get much. I got a pullover and some slippers. And I’m fine with this that.
John:
My wife and I got a WiiFit because we both could stand to lose weight. If you want, I’d be happy to join a Secret Society for Motivating Middle-Aged Men to Exercise with you. All data would be confidential, of course; I have no desire to broadcast my waist size or body mass index to the world, and as a Public Figure of Some Renown, you probably don’t either.
My wife and I will start our thing sometime after New Years. If you want a motivation buddy, let me know.
–Mike
John,
I don’t own a Wii, but several friends got them this X-mas “for the kids”. I’d like to get the kids some games, something fun, and maybe a bit educational. But I don’t have a clue what’s good.
Now that you have a Wii, and since you used to do game reviews, I think it would be great if you did some Wii game reviews on Whatever. I’d be especially interested in your thoughts on which Wii games are good for young kids.
Cheers! And Happy Holidays to All!
Hey, Scalzi,
Good pic of Lopsided Cat.
We give it a thumbs up and a festive “Ho,ho,ho.”
Have a good Boxing Day, man.
The Lopsided Cat Fan Club abides
John,
I’m pretty much of the same mind, wasn’t a Whatever reader last year so I’d missed that posting. Enjoy the time off.
Andrea
Threadless! I love threadless! I spend way too much money there. Now that I have children, it’s even worse. The two littlest ones got quite a few things from them.
I’ve always wondered about those mothers that have to match their children, but for some reason I could resist getting the baby and I this. I wonder if I’m getting just a little too twee since I’ve given birth.
Why not an Esperanto primer?
I love that shirt – what a lovely present for Krissy! and Wii I love my Wii!!!
Merry Christmas and Happy holidays to you all and thanks for a great year John – have a good New Year and see you on the 5th!
Sapientia Athenae semper crescat.
My granddaughters jointly received a Wii for Christmas, and the 9 year-old cleaned my clock at bowling with it after 10 minutes getting acquainted with the Wii and learning what bowling is all about. I haven’t had the courage yet to investigate how much worse the slaughter would be with one of the other games. My son-in-law is the golfer in the family, and it will be interesting to see how he fares against her in the Wii version of golf.
No Latin primer in their household this year, but the 10 -> 11 year-old did receive an autographed copy of “Zoe’s Tale” as a Christmas gift from her grandfather, which may not be as traditional as Cicero or Caesar but will hopefully also expand her horizons a bit.
With best wishes,
– Tom –
I am now tempted to translate one of your books into Latin as a present for Athena! Why should A. A. Milne and Dr. Seuss have all the fun?
I would suggest The Sagan Diary; it’s short.
That’s an excellent t-shirt, but since I saw it three days ago I’ve had the song stuck in my head. It’s a great song, but really! I need my brain for other things.