I feel as if I’m at a standstill as far as gaming goes. I’ve finished less than half the number of games I finished last year at this time. The Witcher 2 seems to be the big bump in the road. If I could just get past that game I think I could go onward just fine. I’ve been doing other things as well. A tinge of fall is in the air, so I’ve been outside at night reading and toking from a cigar while imbibing my beverage of choice: Samuel Adams. And of course it’s hard to do anything extracirricular when work takes up so much of one’s time, and we are all working six day weeks currently. But that’s okay, I fell in love with a 43” 4K Ultra HD TV I saw at a local big box retailer. Each Saturday I have to work is a Saturday closer to buying that television.
1. The
Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft on
Amazon Kindle: I’ve read Lovecraft’s works before and recognized him as a good
horror writer. I feel complete, however, having this “complete” edition of his
works on my Kindle. (Pun intended) Lovecraft basically wrote about earlier than
man gods who inhabited this world long before we got here, and now that we are
here, well, they have no use for us. I was reading one of these stories at the
kitchen table while everybody else was in bed, and actually got goosebumps. I
had to stop reading and constantly look around to ensure everything was intact.
This is a testamant to Lovecraft’s ability to scare the living daylights out of
his readers.
2. The
Witcher 2 on PC: Nope. I still haven’t finished it yet. I did beat the
first boss, after I dumbed down the difficulty level. I imagine if I go back I’ll
make a lot of progress, sheesh, just by killing the first boss monster gives me
oodles of XP. I just need to revisit the game and get my just due. For what it’s
worth I remember doing this exact same thing in the original Witcher back in
2007.
3. Deff Leppard: Hysteria on CD: This is a good rock CD that plays like a
greatest hits album, not a bad song on it. Rick Allen’s effective drumming,
despite the loss of his arm in an auto accident, shines through as well as
Steve Clark’s last great performance as a reigning guitarist. (He drank himself
to death after the release of this album. And he was dismally once termed, the
unhappiest millionaire in the world.) But what really pokes through for me is
Joe Elliot’s vocals. He is, and probably always will be my favorite rock
vocalist. Joe Elliot is the voice of rock and roll, and this album proves that
in spades. Not to mention, the venerable Mutt Lange produced this album.
4. Lost: Season Two on Blu-Ray: So
compelling I often can’t watch one episode. I have to watch the next episode
because of what happened in the last episode! I’m realizing Sawyer is a real
jerk. Is there anything redeemable about him whatsoever? And John Locke, hmmm.
He was my favorite character, but now I’m not so sure. And poor Charlie. I feel
sorry for the guy. Nobody trusts him and he just seems to be at the wrong place
at the wrong time. If I were him I’d simply move to the other side of the
island away from everybody else.
5. It Follows on Blu Ray: Following the
usual trend of “indie” horror shot with simple handheld home movie cameras,
therefore, giving it a “feel” that whatever is happening to the movie’s poor
victim could happen to any of us. Admittedly, this movie stands out as my
favorite horror movie of the past two years. It concerns a curse which follows
a person and the only way to be rid of it is to have sex with someone else
whereby the curse is then transferred to that person. Sounds trite, I know, but
in the scene where the main character is sitting in her high school class room
staring out the window at the approach of her “curse” coming toward her, the
heebie jeebies and the goosebumps start. The movie is well worth watching for
that scene alone.
6. Terminator: Salvation on Blu Ray: I
have enjoyed all of the Terminator movies. I even enjoyed the third one despite
the panning from the critics. (The scene in which a casket is used as a shield
notwithstanding). This one is probably the most unusual, taking place in the
future where the series was born. Geeze, talk about a paradox – It took the
fourth movie to engender the birth of the series. Still, for what it is, this
is a great movie in the series. And the surprise cameo of a digitized version
of Arnold as the last grand poobah of a 4th of July firework display
was perfectly done.
7. Sin City on Blu Ray: I’m not all that
familiar with Frank Miller, but watching this makes me want to see more of his
stuff. This “noir” film/story style is what it looks like if you could imagine
a visage of a cigar smoked down to a stub and then dropped into a cup
containing the last swallow of day old coffee. All of the guys are ripped and
cool as shit, yet they still can’t get the girl. And all of the girls in the
movie who have looks to die for simply have no use for men. Hmm . . .maybe this
movie has more to do with real life than meets the eye. $5.00 at Walmart. On
Blu-Ray. Buy it. Don’t be a fool.
8. Assetto Corsa on PC: Probably the most
realistic racing simulator I’ve ever played on PC, hands down. Of course, Project
Cars has my interest, but I’m so damned engrossed in Assetto
Corsa I probably won’t be playing Project Cars until it’s called Project
Cars 3. I’m currently racing touring cars at Silverstone, and I’m
struggling, but progressing. Two weeks ago the pack would run off and leave me.
And then last week I finished 6th place (out of 9 racers.) This week
I pulled off a 5th place victory. I’ll get it, of that I have no
doubt, but this is a racing sim in which victory is truly earned. Don’t get me
wrong, I do enjoy the Need for Speed games, but Assetto Corsa makes anything in the NFS series look like
something you’d play on a tablet.
9. Popul Vuh: Aguirre on CD: I was
outside the other night, toking on a cigar and reading (the aforementioned) The
Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft on
my Amazon Kindle whilst listening to GooglePlay, and a song came up that made
me look away from what I was reading, close my eyes, and really listen to the
tuneage. My eyes filled with tears. I went inside and immediately ordered the
CD from Amazon. It’s not often music affects me in such a manner, but when it
does, it’s always overwhelming. I thought I had discovered the next big thing,
it turns out (as so often it does) this group has been around for a very long
time. It’s odd how music is so much a part of my life, yet nothing makes me
feel as if I’ve lived under a rock as much as music does. I always thought
Brian Eno (right up there with Mutt Lange as one of the best producers ever
made) was the pioneer of ambient music, but after listening to Popul Vuh (from
Austria) I’m not so sure.
10. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles
Dickens: I’m one hundred pages into this three hundred plus page novel. I love
Dickens’ work. I’m like little Matilda in the great Roald Dahl book/movie when
she says, “I could read Charles Dickens every single day.” Amen sister! But I’m
a bit confused with this one. I need to consult a Cliff Notes or something, a
nudge or gentle push into what lies behind the archaic expressions and language
of this important novel. Dickens’ description of France in the days prior to
the infamous French Revolution are wonderfully (and horribly) descriptive. I
have to consult the dictionary a lot, which is to be expected reading Dickens.
I just wish I was more intelligent to get the gist of the tale he has to tell.
11. Halloween on Blu Ray: The last time I
talked about this movie here was when I sang its high praises concerning the
transfer to Blu-Ray. Yes, done beautifully. The Blu-Ray version is THE version
to have in your library. I recently watched it again, but this time being more
of a critic pertaining to the movie/story itself. My youngest daughter watched
it with me and I think she enjoyed more me watching the movie than what she got
from the movie itself. Heh. The movie takes place in central Illinois (so, why
the palm trees in the background? The movie was actually filmed in California.)
The first scene in which Michael Myers murders his sister takes place in 1963.
Yet when we see the police on the scene taking him into custody he has an
amazing looking mullet hair style going. This, probably more fitting for a 1983
timeframe, despite the movie was made in 1978. Was Michael Myers ahead of his
time by 5 years? The next big guffaw moment is when Myers escapes the insane
asylum. Go figure, this is a guy who was incarcertated at maximum security at
age ten. Next scene he’s stealing a car and driving it like he stole it, and
then cruising it through the neighborhood espying Jamie Lee Curtis and her
cohorts. Where did this guy learn to drive a car? It makes you wonder, if you
arrived at a four way stop the same time as some murderous maniac donning a
botched William Shatner mask would he wave you to go through first or would he
simply ignore you and just charge through the stop sign? And the last nitpick
which is a small one but quite apparent: opening the beer cans and drinking
air. Could it be more obvious?
