Edward's November 2016 Mix

Geeze, the year is just about over. Where did it go? And even more depressing, winter is befalling us. But then look on the bright side: no more lawn mowing, and the perfect excuse to stay inside and veg out on games, good television and even better books. Speaking of television I caught a documentary this month on Netflix that struck my life like a candid flash bulb shot in a dark room. Actually, however, it’s been a rather slow month for me due to oogles of hours at work. I need to play the Lottery more.

 

1.      Radiohead Amnesia on CD: I’ve always loved how experimental this band is. It’s funny how I dismissed them when “Creep” came out. I hated the song, but then when OK Computer was released and swept the Grammy Awards, I went out the next day and bought it. I’ve grown with them. Over the years their work has been my steadfast companion. I was happy to find this in my local Half Price Books. Copyrighted 2001, its sound is definitely the successor to OK Computer and Kid A. Honestly, I wasn’t impressed at first. I guess I keep trying to find OK Computer in every other recording they’ve made, but I’m warming up to this album.

 

2.      Lost: Season 3 on Blu-Ray: I’m moving through this series painfully slow, but perhaps that’s a good thing, like savoring a good wine, or a great cigar. The series is still capturing my interest, especially, Juliette. Jack trusts her, and I want to trust her, but in the end of one episode we see her ostensibly being as wicked as a double agent in a World War. And Sawyer continues to redeem (and ingratiate) himself through his actions. This certainly isn’t my most favorite television series, but I have to admit it’s one of the most fun I’ve watched. I almost wish now I had been caught up in it when it first aired in the early oughts. But then, wait . .no, I don’t regret it. Damn commercials!

 

3.      The Tin Woodman of Oz by Frank L. Baum: Okay, you can stop laughing now. My secret confession: I’ve been reading the compilation of these books since 2012. I guess it all started in the 8^th grade when me and some buddies decided to start reading them. They were like an early version of Harry Potter to us. Well, I managed to read a few of the books, and I discovered these Oz stories were dark. The Wizard himself carried a pistol and wouldn’t hesitate to use it. And the Wicked Witch of the West actually sent a swarm of bees to attack Dorothy and her companions and instructed the bees, “aim for their eyes with your stingers!” There are 14 books in the series, and I’m on number ten. I never would have guessed the Tin Woodman was actually a man at one time who fell under a witch’s curse. Ah, the beauty of the Kindle. You can sit in a dealership awaiting an oil change, an old man, and nobody suspects you’re engrossed in a Wizard of Oz book!

 

4.      Assetto Corsa on PC: I’m still in the GT BMW Z4 GT3 Series which puts me behind the wheel of a monster BMW road course car. I’ve been experimenting with gear ratio changes, and this seems to be key in getting that slight edge in these cars which are all stockly built the same. The second Porsche Dream Pack just released, and the cars are fun to play with, but I’m all about the career. The game is still frustrating due to its Terminator AI, but I’ll just have to keep plugging away if I want to beat it.

 

5.      The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton. This woman’s writing continues to amaze me. Our main character is enjoying her married life to a man who is full of shortcomings in so many ways, but he’s “her man.” I’m dragging in reading this book thanks to my as of late extended work hours, so it’s certainly not from lack of interest. I will seek out Jane Hamilton’s other works after this. She’s that good.

 

6.      A Faster Horse on Netflix: A suggestion popped up on my Facebook feed one day concerning a documentary airing on Netflix about the history, legacy, and launch of the 6^th generation Ford Mustang called, “A Faster Horse.” Working at a car factory really made this resonate with me. Admittedly, I have wanted a Dodge Challenger since I was 8 years old. I watched this great show and saw what all went into the modern Ford Mustang, and quite frankly, it changed me. I don’t care about the Dodge Challenger anymore. I actually want a Ford Mustang. If you have Netflix, watch this. It just may change your life, too.

 

7.      2014 Ford Mustang GT: Two weeks ago I went into a dealership and told the proprietor about the aforementioned documentary I watched. And then I bought a car from him. He laughed and said he was going to tell his customers my story. I invited him to do so with relish. So, I picked up a GT, loaded out with the Coyote 5L 302 cid engine. It’s decked out with the Track Pack (Brembo brake package, Recardo racing seats, and a cooler for the engine oil.) She’s got a 6 speed transmission and a 4 valve DOHC. 420 HP. I’ve never driven anything so powerful in my life. It’s like driving the Batmobile. No,  . .it’s like owning a pet dragon truth be told. 

 

 

 

8.      World of Tanks on PC: I’m caught up in this silly game again. I have steady friends who play though, so it’s just too easy to have fun. For a Free to Play it’s not bad, but definitely recommended to play with friends. I grumble about its monetization mechanics, yet I always come back to it. Ah, a guilty pleasure!

 

 

 

Edward's October 2016 Monthly Mix

It’s been an unseasonably warm autumn which is never a bad thing. Halloween this year was like summer, and definitely the warmest Halloween I ever remember. Yes, I’m still working a lot of overtime, ah, the complications of launching a new car line. And I’ve become hooked on Company of Heroes multiplayer all over again with my friends, Vic Berwick and Phil Harvey. I’ve got it bad . . . so badly in fact I’ve been playing hookie on the exercise bike just to come home and get on the game. You’ll notice this mix is shorter than others simply because I’ve spent so much time on this game!

1.      The Music Welcome to the North on CD: Of all of their albums, in my opinion this one is the best, and it truly is a magnum opus. Robert Harvey, the vocalist is one of the best singers I’ve ever listened to. Discovering them on Pandora back in 2004, the band hit me somewhat reminiscently like Big Wreck did back in 1997. They sound like a young alternate version of Led Zeppelin. But then there’s the Incubus vibe as well. (They actually toured with that band for a spell, appropriately.) For a taste, I suggest Youtubing “Guide,” or even better, “Into the Night.”

2.      Penny Dreadful on Netflix: After finishing Season 4 of Hell on Wheels I wanted to try something different. I think I hit the jackpot with Penny Dreadful starring Josh Hartnett.  Being a fan of Gothic and classical horror, this series which hosts vampires and Frankenstein’s monster is a perfect conglomeration and a homage to the old monster posters that adorned my wall as a kid. I’m only on the third episode, but wow, what a ride so far. I’ve even got to meet Dorian Gray. The show reminds me of the movie, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (which I didn’t particularly like.)

3.      Strangeville by Kenneth Tingle: A man drives up a mountainside to kill himself, but he had chili for supper. And he’s afraid that once he does the deed his bowels will let go in an awful way and the authorities who discover his body will be so disgusted they’ll simply leave his body there for someone else to pick up. And so the guy changes his mind, turns around for home, gets lost in the fog and runs out of gas. His mobile phone gets no reception, so he starts walking. And he gets lost. He eventually stumbles into a small town named Strangeville, and so begins a zany book complemented with characters named Vonsleestack and Smedley McDoogle. The man tries to leave the next day but the mayor and his two assistants threaten to have him locked up if he tries to leave. Then he meets Delilah and suddenly leaving is the farthest thing from his mind.

4.      Assetto Corsa on PC: I’m still in the GT BMW Z4 GT3 Series which puts me behind the wheel of a monster BMW road course car, and I haven’t touched the game so much this month since I’ve been playing so much Company of Heroes, but I just picked up the Porsche Dream Pack which consists of 3 sets of Porsche automobiles through the years. I can’t wait to dive into these packs.  

 

5.      The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton. This woman’s writing continues to amaze me. Our main character is getting married to a skinny guy with beautiful hair and bad teeth. He’s not working but promises to find a job and take care of her. Carson McCullers once said she loved to return to the south to renew her sense of horror. Come to think of it, this novel reminds me of something Carson McCullers would have written. I have a feeling it’s going to be one of those books I never want to end.

6.      Company of Heroes on PC: I’ve said it here before, but I believe this is the best RTS ever made. And now Relic is releasing a new Dawn of War game, oh joy. I’ve been playing multiplayer with friends including Vic Berwick and Phil Harvey. I kind of feel lucky for introducing Phil to the game and it’s marvelous to see how much he likes it. And I must admit that online we make a pretty good team. But the true joy for me is still the game itself with its muddy graphics and award winning sound design. It’s like being in a war movie in which you are the star. PC gaming with friends doesn’t get any better than this.

Edward's September 2016 Mix

Still working oodles of overtime (most Saturdays) but still making time for getting my fair share of gaming in. But not all is sitting at my computer desk. Having Netflix is the perfect excuse to exercise, and I make the best of it. Nothing beats sitting on the bike and spinning while losing myself in an episodic serial. I turned another year older this month, but sometimes I wonder if my mind is one half frame step out of synch with my body. Most people my age converse and cogitate about mutual funds and retirement looming on the horizon. All I think about is beating the next level of an RPG, or how long it’s going to take for me to beat XCom. Ah, the perks of being a gamer!

1.      Wolfsheim Spectators/ Casting Shadows on CD: Composed of two members who unofficially disbanded (and took each other to court with a 2004 ruling that neither member could perform as Wolfsheim without the other, this synthpop band reminds me of a band that hatched in the 1980’s (which they did) and then continued on making the same style of music into the oughts. Their legacy is a true testament to the fact that not every band needs to constantly progress or improve. If a band can continually produce great music in the same vein over and over, why change? If not for my friend Memri Hunt who introduced me to the band in the virtual environment, Second Life, I never would have heard of them. If you’re curious check out “Find You’re Gone,” on Youtube. The video is as interesting as the song. Thank you, Memri.

2.      Lost: Season 3 on Blu Ray: So now I’m about halfway through the third season which is the midpoint for the whole series. Like I mentioned before, the show seems to have switched focus concentrating more on “the Others,” and I’m not as captivated by them as I am the original survivors, still, I find their stories entertaining. I still like Sawyer’s constant allusion to literary characters, he’s a man after my own heart in that regard. And I like John Locke’s intimacy with nothing but bad luck and the redemption he seems to have found in or on the island. But the main star of the show, for me, anyway, is still the island itself. If I lived at such a beautiful place, why would I ever want to leave?

3.      The Complete H.P. Lovecraft on Amazon Kindle: Just finished this tome of Lovecraft’s complete tales. He had a penchant for mood and setting, but as far as being a master of the macabre, I’m not so sure. He wrote in the same vein as his heartfelt fan, Robert Howard, the creator of Conan. Actually, I should say Howard wrote in Lovecraft’s vein since Lovecraft was more established as a writer when the two of them corresponded through letters. But honestly, I found Howard’s Conan stories more entertaining. Lovecraft’s stories are repetitive, usually involving an educated man (a college professor more often than not) who either through dream or invitation in the physical world finds himself in strange places, a mountain top or deep within caves housing relics and remnants of a lost civilization home to otherwordly creatures, fiendish monsters that had little use for mankind. And then our fearful protagonist discovers a pocketful of these wicked denizens still prospering and barely escapes with his life. Howard P. Lovecraft was an important contributor to modern horror, and I feel accomplished having digested all of his works, but I’m not his biggest fan.

4.      Assetto Corsa on PC: Still, again . . . yet again, my go to PC racing sim. I’m 57% through the “campaign” of t the game. I’m in the GT BMW Z4 GT3 Series which puts me behind the wheel of a monster BMW road course car. The car is capable of straightaway speeds of 160 mph, and it gets there rather quickly. In this series, the races are longer, going from 5 laps to 8 laps, but the lap times are faster which makes the races seem to be much quicker. The sunlight on the pavement looking like hot flashes of searing light in the distance, the blur of verdant greenery of grassy hillsides and trees rushing past the side windows, and the engine powerhousing beneath the hood sounding like a captive Grizzly Bear. This is as real racing gets from a computer desk affixed with a Racing Sim wheel/shifter/paddle set

5.      Hell on Wheels: Season 4 on Netflix: I just finished this acclaimed season, which, like I said last month was the best season in the whole series so far. I couldn’t believe what happened to Ruth, the church lady. And despite Bohannon’s distant treatment of his Mormon wife, we now find him searching for her after the village he left her in for safekeeping is ravaged by smallpox. As luck would have it, we find him working for the railroad once again, but this time in competition against Durant. This is the best and the most authentic modern western I’ve seen since 1998’s venerable movie, Tombstone.

  

6.      Grand Theft Auto IV on PC: $800 million dollars in its first day. 1 billion in its first three days. Guinness Book of World Records for the most lucrative entertainment in modern times. 92% score rating in PC Gamer Magazine. The game is stunningly gorgeous with infinite draw distances and frame rates that kill the 60 fps bullcrap promulgated by consoles. (Thank goodness for my GTX 970 card.) The open world mechanic of the game is incredible. And despite the learning curve involved with switching from mouse/keyboard to Xbox 360 controller, I’m even having fun with the challenge of that. But . . . I don’t like this game. Yes. Seriously. I just don’t like it. The game takes misogyny to all new heights, and the character, Trevor Phillips, is so over the top in his shallowness he’s simply incredulous. The game is irreverent seemingly for nothing more than the sake of irreverence. I feel there’s an inside joke that I’ve been left out of. It’s as if the Rockstar teams who developed this game were helmed by a thirteen year old who suffered a lack of parenting, and found bathroom graffiti and flattened roadkill guffaw hilarious. I’m not a prude, or at least I never thought I was, and admittedly I’ve never laughed out loud while playing any PC game, but this game doesn’t even having me cracking a smile.

 

7.      The Book of Ruth by Jane Hamilton I’m only 75 pages into this tale about a poor family in the deep south narrated by a young girl, a simpleton overlooked by everybody in her family. Hamilton’s writing voice is compelling, and her prose almost lyrical. I’m looking forward to progressing in the novel.

8.      PC Gamer Magazine: I’ve been a loyal reader since 1996, and a subscriber since probably 2001. It seems to have changed a lot since its inception, now having writers and editors proffering their political allegiances (not a good thing.) But it now the only PC dedicated vehicle in print now. They just released their Top 100 PC Games of All Time. Not surprisingly, The Witcher III heads that list, and no small wonder since CDProjekt is so PC friendly anyway. I know one day PC Gamer will go the way of its brethren publications, Computer Gaming World and Computer Games Magazine, which is online only, but until that day comes, it’s still a special joy to go out to the mailbox and find a fresh issue waiting for me.