Edward's May 2016 Mix

 

Since taking the new job I generally have little time off (as I stated last month.) But fortuitously, I got lucky enough to get a four day Memorial Day weekend. Glory be! But here’s the thing: the four days flew by, I got nothing done that I wanted to, and now it’s over. Back to work tomorrow. The depression of having to go back makes me wonder if the extra time off is worth it. Why can’t I just win the lottery and just be done with it? Ah, I guess I shouldn’t complain. I did get some genuine gaming time in, and I got my Vespa licensed and put a few sun filled blue sky miles on it. Summer is here at last! Oh and I rediscovered Pink Floyd.

1.      Pink Floyd: The Wall on CD: Pink Floyd is one of those bands I’ve always admired. I never considered myself a real fan, but then I stopped and thought about it. Their The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon were such influential albums in my youth. I remember a few girls in high school who were pot smokers and  were really into the band. And I was a goody two shoes listening to stupid stuff like The Bee Gees and Leo Sayer on the radio. Doh! But the thing is I liked those girls who liked Pink Floyd, but I was afraid they’d have nothing to do with me. (Ah the predicament of every American boy who wasn’t a jock in high school.) I’d never actually owned The Wall until I found it the other day in a store. I’d only ever heard certain songs which when I hear them now on the radio or online evoke certain memories, a tapestry of memories of my aforementioned high school days. But now I’ve listened to it in its entirety in full CD glory, and it’s a great album. I can now see why Pink Floyd was once the highest paid rock band in the world. The range of this album, and what I mean is the range of music/song types is simply incredible. I remember when it came out in 1979, and now I wish I hadn’t slept through it.

2.      Pink Floyd: A Momentary Lapse of Reason on CD: I bought this almost thirty years ago on cassette, but hadn’t heard it in years. I remember how powerful it was. “Learning to Fly” was one of the most haunting songs I’d heard (and had a stellar MTV video to boot.) But the reason I bought the album was for the song, “One Slip.” I remember playing that song over and over. David Gilmoure’s vocals were so authoritative, and the music of the song was so almost . . overpowering, for lack of a better word. The album isn’t theatrical like The Wall, but you can sense its DNA roots from that album. The CD version blows the old cassette version I had out of the water. Pink Floyd has evolved, and with the exception of Dark Side of the Moon, I think they have gotten slightly better with each album they’ve created. This album is a testament to that.

3.      Pink Floyd: The Ultimate Collector’s Edition by Uncut Magazine: How ironic that I’m on this Pink Floyd kick, and I saw this magazine at a local newsstand. I couldn’t pass it up. In-depth reviews of every album the band has made. Interviews that have spanned the years from the band members, this thing reads like a bible for Pink Floyd. It was a good find, and has really given me some insight (and inside information) on the band and their albums and some of the mysteries behind those records and why they were formed the way they were.  

4.      The Dinner by Herman Koch. Just finished this remarkable novel on my four day mini-vacation. Two brothers and their wives meet at a fancy restaurant in Holland to discuss a heinous act of violence committed by their fifteen year old sons that has launched a police investigation. One brother is about to become Prime Minister of Holland, and the other brother was put on leave from teaching high school because of his violent tendencies. As the couples dine, the meal takes a dark turn as they discuss what to do about their sons and how this could affect their safe insulated worlds. I raced to get to the climax, and it begs the old question, how far would you go to cover something terrible your child did? Koch’s excellent plot and how it intermingles flashbacks and present time with the different courses of the meal is brilliant.

5.      Elizabeth Smith’s Fast Track Japanese: As you all know, I work at a Japanese company. I’m surrounded by the language every workday, and after a certain time of the night I am the only “gaijin” in the office. I lived in Japan for two and a half years back in the 80s Who would have thought that I would ever have need for the language again? But alas! It sure is funny how life works out sometimes. I thought I had forgotten most of what I knew when I lived there, but this self study course is bringing it all back in a wonderful way. I still think my favorite word of all is McDonald’s. I mean, listen to it, just a simple American-Scottish name, right? But say it in Japanese and try not to smile. Makoo-doo-nalah-doh!”

6.      The Longest Day on Blu Ray: Appropriately, I watched this on Memorial Day. I’d never seen it, but happened across the 3 disc collector’s edition and for the price couldn’t pass it up. Despite its all star cast, and the fact it was directed by Darryl F. Zanuck (who did the venerable 1977 film, A Bridge Too Far) I thought this would look like a high school media arts production who borrowed the school’s Thespian club to do the film. I was wrong. I have to admit, it was on par with Spielberg’s grandiose Saving Private Ryan (1998). This three hour movie depicts the whole invasion and all parties involved from both sides. It includes the British gliders and the US Army paratroopers who invaded from the other side in the middle of the night, and of course the famous D-Day assault. The boots on the ground German generals were shown as being wholly competent but hamstrung by their high command. Hitler was napping after having taken a sedative during the invasion.

  

7.      Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts on PC:  I just beat this series of campaigns that was an original expansion pack for arguably, Relic’s best RPG ever produced, Company of Heroes. The game concerns the liberation of Caen, or as the Axis thwarting Operation Market Garden. It was my second playthrough, having first played it back in 2009. I’m not good at RTSs, but I love them. And Company of Heroes is my favorite RTS of all time. I do play online, but not often, and when I do I get steamrolled by my opponents. Yet, I still find it a hell of a good time.

8.      Assetto Corsa on PC: This game, oh, this game. Coupled with my Logitech G27 wheel/paddle set this game is the best car racing simulation I’ve ever played. It makes me want to go out and buy a new car, a real life depiction of the virtual wonderments I’ve been driving in this game. In all honesty, I’ve been struggling with it. The game has a default setting concerning the stability control assist. I lurked the forums, and discovered by turning the setting off the game sea changed for me. I’m now progressing rather nicely, and I’m 36% through the career now. I just picked up the Japanese pack which adds multiple Japanese street cars, including the Nissan Skyline. Why watch a Fast and Furious movie when you can play one?