Edward's November 2012 Mix

Another busy month, what with the elections and the end of the world next month. And then the end of the American economy as we know it in January 2013. But I still managed to drink my fill of cultural media. Speaking of the election,  I kind of got into it with my family over my own personal political affiliations. I became a party man in 1992--a straight party man. Despite I'm always being told, "no, you can't vote that way! You'd better vote for the lesser of two evils." Like my personal friend, Michael Badnarik who ran for the US Presidency in 2004 said, "How can I vote for the lesser of two evils and face myself in the mirror the next morning?" So, what if the Libertarian party doesn't have a snowball's chance in Phoenix of filling the White House, I do vote with a clear conscious.


1. Guild Wars 2 for PC

Like I said last month there really is no comparison to other MMOs as far as Guild Wars 2 goes. My golden hearted necromancer, Edward Odious, hit level 80 and I've traveled through several of the game's instances. All really good stuff, and I'm still amazed at how 100% of my grouping has been with PUGs (random pick up groups) and nobody bickers, nobody calls anybody else retarded or n00b, people are kind and helpful. I've never seen such amiability in any other game. Oh, and I looted my first Legendary item, but wouldn't you know it, I wear light armor, these were big steel Herman Munster boots that my class couldn't use. Go figure.

 

2. Street Fighter IV for PC

 

Capcom released this game way back in 1987. I never played it in the arcades, but I peeked over a lot of shoulders of those who did. And in 2009 the game was released for PC. I'm always a little behind the times when it comes to PC games (though I always get to them eventually) so I didn't get the game until 2010 and I almost immediately rage quitted. I've since picked up an Xbox controller, and yeah, it makes a night and day difference. I'm playing it on "Easiest" level. Shhh! and I do okay until I get to the liquid metal guy who kind of resembles a kid's Saturday morning version of the T-1000 Terminator. This guy just mows over me, but I don't care. I'm too busy laughing at his spectacular moves.

3. Codename: Panzers for PC

I played this little gem of game back in 2004, but lost interest all too quickly. I'm giving it another go. Finished the German campaign, and I'm on the last Russian battle, and then it's onto the Americans. I'm portraying a disillusioned Russian officer named Aleksander Vladimiriov who writes such things in his journal, "Strange, the silence that surrounds us has something threatening. From my tent I see the birches next to the dusty pathway. In the sunlight, their leaves are shining like millions of gems." This coupled with the unintentional comedic cutscenes where the guys move around like Gerry Anderson's "Supermarionation" characters in Thunderbirds Are Go! make this game a must play. Shiny crisp graphics and enough authentic details on the war weaponry to satisfy the diehards, this game is a baby version of Company of Heroes. I recommend you pick it up on eBay for seriously dirt cheap.

 

 

4. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein

 

Michael Valentine is a Martian on the planet Earth. He's the FIRST Martian on Earth, and he decides to show people the Martian way. Simple words do not convey; he takes these people under his wing and through osmosis "indoctrinates" them into being Martians much like himself. How to do? He becomes the world's biggest cult leader, advertising free love and unconditional physical affection, communion is held by the simple passing back and forth of a glass of water where "brotherhood" is earned. And in the end we realize Valentine is far greater than the sum of his parts.  I know this is the most "classic" of Heinlein you can get, but I still find his vintage SF more appealing. This book, when written in 1961, was filled with controversy. Today it offers a mere PG outlook. Entertaining, and an obvious vehicle for Heinlein's Libertarian views, but slow in parts and not one I would read again. (This stolen from my review on Shelfari.com.)

 

5. My War Gone By, How I Miss It So by Anthony Loyd

 

"There is no God behind me, and I have strong doubts concerning the existence of a soul these days, but when I look at a corpse it always seems as if there is more than simply life missing. There have been a few disturbing exceptions when death gives more than it takes. I once saw a dead Russian girl. In her early twenties, long haired and lithe, she had caught a bit of shrapnel in her chest, one of those tiny wounds that you would not believe could take a life but does. Alive she was strikingly pretty. Dead she was so beautiful you could have raised an army to sack Troy just for possession of her casket." And so begins the journal of a bored British soldier who joins up in the life and death struggle among the Serbs, Croatians, and the Bosnian Muslims. I've only begun this book, but I haven't read any war story so bleak yet poignant since Guy Sajer's classic, The Forgotten Soldier years ago.

 

6. Preacher Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis, illustrated by Steve Dillon

 

I'm not a fan of graphic novels, not really. But my daughter picked this up somewhere, not sure where. I found it while perusing one of our bookshelves the other day, and when I saw the introduction was written by Joe Lansdale it stuck to my fingers like glue. This thing is wild and crazy at best. An angel and a demon fall in love and produce a well, an anti-superhero whose strength knows no bounds? And the zany trio who come together to destroy this thing, are the most unlikely people in the universe to even be capable of such a thing. Like Kevin Smith says, "More fun than going to the movies." I'm only halfway through this, volume 1 (of nine). I'm concerned at this point where I'm going to find the other volumes.

 

7. Titan Quest on PC

 

Still enjoying this brother with a different Diablo mother. My fire mage, Edward Pyro has recently hit level 13 and figures he is halfway completed through his tour of ancient Greece fighting undead soldiers and fatal creatures of Grecian lore. Medussa anyone? His fire flinging skills and lighting staff are becoming incredibly powerful. Now if he could just find some legendary loot.

 

8. Alien Quadrilogy: Alien 4: Resurrection on DVD

 

I have not seen the newest Ridley Scott Alien remake, Prometheus. Yep, it's true. I really am looking forward to seeing it, but in the meantime I did manage to watch this last old school Alien movie for the first time. It's always a pleasure to see Michael Wincott in anything. This guy is the ultimate bad guy. (Superb casting him as the evil gangleader in The Crow.) Sigourney Weaver played her part amazingly well as her newly resurrected former self. And the discovery of the android was a pleasant surprise. I think the real star of this one though was the half human/half alien. That look on its face when it was being sucked through the bulkhead leak was pitiful. Looking at Sigourney Weaver its "mommy," with such sadness. Unforgettable.

 

9. Ten by Pearl Jam on CD

 

When Pearl Jam formed in 1990 many thought they were simply a "cash-in" of the quite popular grunge movement hatching in Seattle, Washington. Funny, they've outlasted so many bands of their ilk. This, their first album, still holds up great. The bass on "Alive," sounds incredible on a good audio system, and Eddie Vedder's haunting "Black," is a perfect PJ song. Strange that they hail from the same stomping grounds as the venerable Jimi Hendrix, and they have such Hendrix overtones in their songs. Almost spooky.

 

10. Audioslave by Audioslave on CD

 

Their videos depicting hot lemon sunshine and dusty country roads and classic muscle cars is the perfect backdrop to this LA based rock band. Their unusal sound of 1970's hard rock melded with 90's rock is an interesting but quite effective marriage. I've been spinning this first album of theirs a lot lately. There isn't a bad song on the disc. Chris Cornell sounds like a man with a very old soul, or at least one who's walked a lot of highways and seen a lot of truck stops and roadside motel rooms. Good stuff.