Edward's November 2011 Mix

1. Dirt 2: 

I first became acquainted with Codemasters through their Toca racing games. These were decent racing games in which you controlled a single character who worked his way up through ranks in different racing venues, everything from go-karts to F1 cars. There was a cheesy story told in cut scenes between the races and the games were advertised as “CarPGs.” Heh. Then along came Grid and Codemasters dropped the cheese factor altogether. Grid was da bomb! It took me over 100 hours to bring home the Grand Champion Trophy. And I’m feeling that same old enthusiasm in Dirt 2. The graphics are jaw dropping, and despite using an Xbox controller, the rally and dirt track cars don’t feel arcadish at all. Been playing this game for about 3 months and I’m only halfway through. I’m thinking it’s going to be just as fun rolling through the remaining 50%.

2. Icewind Dale: 

I’m still trudging . . er, uh . .hacking? along in Icewind Dale. My characters are all level 5’s and 6’s now. And there seems to be a little less dying/reload, dying/reload action going on. Game is starting to be intensely fun now. Just hit Chapter 2 (of 6.) Slowest moving game I’ve played in a while, but I think the end result is going to be worth it.

3. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson:

 Still reading this fantastic story written in 1957 by a man who Stephen King admits was the man who inspired him most to be a horror writer. The Omega Man and I Am Legend with Will Smith come off as second grade school filmstrips (was there anything more boring?) compared to reading this book. There’s a scene in the book where the main character finds a dog, a skinny, mangy, mongrel who has managed to avoid the vampires by hiding under a house during the night. When the man finds this dog he falls to his knees and bawls because it’s the happiest day of his life, being that he found something else akin to him: something alive. Matheson captures this whole environment as dismally beautiful as Carmack McCarthy did in his epic The Road.

4. The Walking Dead – 1^st Season on DVD: 

This is what I believe to be the best writing on television since 2005’s Battlestar Galactica. The main character, Rick Grimes, after awakening from a coma enters a melodramatic chaotic world in which he seems to be the only man alive. Everybody else has become a flesh eating zombie. The scene in which the man sits in the upstairs room and holds a sniper rifle aimed at his wife who is now one of the zombies, and he simply cannot pull the trigger will go down as one of the most dramatic scenes I’ve ever watched on television. I hate television. But I’m really enjoying this.

5. Seinfield Season 4 on DVD:

Season 4 is where the show became a runaway hit according to its creators speaking in interviews included in this series. I’m halfway into the season, and I can see it happening. There was even an episode (2 parter) where NBC executives approach Jerry Seinfeld about making a show, how odd. But it works!

6. Rushmore Soundtrack on CD:

 I’m a fan of Wes Anderson films. His comedy is definitely eclectic, but not in that Woody Allen way in which I fail to see the humor because I don’t think I’m intelligent enough, but in an oddly charming way that anybody who was a kid in the 1970’s can see. And of the Wes Anderson films I must admit Rushmore is my favorite. If you’re a fan of the movie, you’ll love this CD packed with all the wonderful 70’s music from the film. Cat Stevens’ “Here Comes My Baby” is my personal favorite.

7. Putnam Country Through the Lens: 

I’m heading a community project in which through an application process, 8 participants were selected and given simple Point & Shoot digital cameras. They have 4 weeks to go out and capture shots of their daily lives in our county. Ultimately, their work will be displayed in an exhibit in our local Putnam County Museum. The 8 selectees have been selected, and the cameras have been distributed. Having to narrow the 8 out of 50, and then let the remaining 42 down was the real bear. I hate breaking hearts.

7. PC Gamer Magazine 1997:

I’m reading through my old issues, a year at a time. I’m immersed in 1997 now, and it’s like opening up a time capsule. So much of my personal history can be followed in PC gaming magazines. I guess I really am a geek. 1997 was a good year, Interstate ’76 came out, as did Bungie’s awesome Myth which was the first RTS that enabled you to zoom in with a mouse and change your viewpoint. So, am I geek because I played these games or because I STILL have these magazines?  :P