granolageekmom.com

 I have never taken good landscape photographs. I don’t know why I cannot get what my eyes see to translate well through the lens. Sometime soon I’m going to have to find a book or website that teaches how to do that better, although I’m guessing one of the first steps will be: Don’t shoot out of the window of a moving vehicle.

I took this today as we were on our way to a “Winter-een-mas” celebration. If you don’t what that is (I didn’t), here is the explanation I received:

What is Winter-een-mas?
Winter-een-mas can be seen as a holiday or a tradition.Originally, Winter-een-mas was intended as a celebration of video games and the people that play them.The idea is that video games are a well loved part of the time we live in. Throughout history games have been the benchmark of family life, social interaction, conflict resolution, recreation, and relaxation. Presently, video games are an undeniable addition to the long timeline of game play. Video games allow us to have experiences that we couldn’t do in real life.

Winter-een-mas is a celebration of more than just video games. It is a celebration of fun, playfulness, and gathering together just for the sake of having a really good time. This celebration was created around video game play, but the holiday extends to games in all forms, and the joy of playing them. Friendship, community, and a sense of ‘tribe’ can be common side effects of playing games… Games bridge demographic gaps and bring people closer. It is no coincidence that games are played at parties and new social engagements; playing games help people communicate and bond.

Winter-een-mas is an anti-commercialism holiday. The tradition of gathering and playing facilitated by Winder-een-mas is spread by word-of-mouth. There are no Winder-een-mas movies… no commercials, no products, and no “wrong way” to the holiday – just like there is no wrong way to play and have fun! No one “owns” Winter-een-mas; it is a holiday given to all that love to play!

When is Winter-een-mas?
The Winter-een-mas celebration lasts for a full week – the very last week in January, the 25th through the 31st. The month of January is Winter-een-mas “season”, a full month to honor games and playfulness.

We all had a really great time, played some fun games, and met some neat people. And now E1, E2 and I want a Wii.