I’ve come through the fire again this month. And hopefully, this, the last time. My ICD (heart device) was not working as hoped for. Doctors had discussed this option months ago and they finally decided to go with it. They upgraded my device with an additional wire (this makes three now. I’ve become even more bionic.) And my ICD is slightly bigger compared to the previous one. Maybe now I really can get back to normal. It’s a short one this month simply because one game dominated (just like F1 2016 did last month.) This game is the most fun I’ve had in multiplayer this year, and quite possibly the most fun I’ve had in a multiplayer game ever.
1. Sanford and Son: The Second Season on DVD: I took a hiatus from this series a long while back and just now decided to get back to it. As I said before this was probably the first adult situation comedy that appealed to me as a kid. This edition isn’t pretty. It’s as if they simply transferred the existing VHS media right onto DVD. There is no clean up or remastering that I can see. But what makes this show the gem it was is its racy (er . . racist) dialogue and the supreme performances by Redd Foxx and Demond Wilson. No punches held back, a show like this simply wouldn’t be made today. Still, this was a great slice of life back in the early to mid 1970’s.
2. Fight Fat by Stephen George, Jeff Bredendberg and Men’s Health Magazine. “If you want to lose fat then exercise; if you want to lose muscle then diet.” And so begins the premise of this excellent book that includes everything from laypeople’s guides to different sports/exercise types to recipes to scientific explanations of what fat really is, how it can be combated and kept off forever. Written in 1995, this guide has aged very well. There are a few anachronisms by today’s standards . . . a mention of VHS instead of DVD/Blu Ray, but the book gets its point across.The book’s mainstay mantra, however, is not completely cut the things you love to eat out of your diet, but moderation. According to the book, one must burn 3,500 calories to burn off one pound of fat. You’d have to walk thirty miles to do that. You could do it all at once, or you could simply walk a mile a day for 30 days and lose the same pound of fat (providing you’re not porking out on spareribs or pecan pie. The book preaches consistency and moderation. This truly is the best book I’ve ever read on the subject of men and weight loss.
3. Mustang: Forty Years by Randy Leffingwell. An ultimate book on the history legacy and the forward movement of America’s well loved muscle car, the Ford Mustang. This is a fascinating look into the history of the pony car complete with beautiful pictures and some little known history detailing Lee Iacocca's involvement in this premiere car. Of course what sparked all of this interest in me was the purchase of my own 2014 Mustang GT. The car is an ultra modern beast, yet the whole look has a certain retro to it that hails back to the 60’s and 70’s. They say everyone has a Mustang story. Mine is a simple one. In the late 90’s my Austin buddy, Ed Humes gave me a ride in his GT Cobra. I knew that day I wanted a Mustang. Thank you for that, Ed. I’ve owned numerous makes of cars over the years, and this one is my favorite. Did you know Ford attempted to buy out Italy’s Ferrari Corporation in the late 1960s? And what’s odd is, the deal fell through only at the very last minute. I’ve looked for an update to this book, but I have yet to find one. We definitely need a Mustang: Fifty Years.
4. XCom on PC: I’ve been struggling to finish this epic game which is a remake of an old Microprose game, X-COM: UFO Defense, for a year now. It’s not that it’s a bad game or anything, it’s quite addicting truth be told. It’s just such a long game! And the beauty of it is you can create your own characters and take them through the game. There is nothing more frustrating than losing a loved character in a firefight because the random number generator gods rolled against your favor. Still, from what I’ve been told I’m winding down the game. I think I’ll have it beat by the end of December, that is if I continue to play. I got bored with it, stopped playing, and now playing it again I almost can’t wait to defeat it so I can start a new game and begin again. If you like turn based strategy games this is definitely one to pick up.
5. Rainbow Six: Siege on PC: My friend Tommy Stephens had been on me for a while to pick this game up so we could play together. I procrastinated, probably because of my last month’s infatuation with F1 2016. Well, during the Steam Autumn Sale I picked it up finally. Boy howdy. It’s a simple concept. 5 vs 5. Terrorists against the good guys. Each team has one minute to set up before the attack phase. The defenders fortify walls, plant mines and build traps. And the attackers send out radio controlled drones to get a fix on enemy locations. Talk about a quick minute. And then the attack phase begins. The attackers attempt to rescue a hostage, or defuse a bomb . . or neutralize all of the baddies. This is no Call of Duty or CS:Go where the 17 year old with the fastest twitch reflexes wins the game. This involves much more of a thought process. This is a game even I can be good at, because Heaven knows my fast twitch reflexes are long faded. This is the best multiplayer game I’ve played this year, and possibly one of the best multiplayer games I’ve played ever. Yes, it even beats my wonderful days of Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 2: Bad Company. I beseech all of my gamer buddies to pick this one up so we can have the time of our lives. You can thank me later.
6. Duran Duran: Greatest Hits on CD: You know those life defining moments one has, the ones in which you are walking down the street and bear witness to something that forever marks you and makes you think, “Yes, I remember that. I was 22 when that happened.” Well, one of those defining moments for me was in 1982, while walking down a ginza (shopping district) in Yokosuka, Japan. I was holding hands with a Japanese girl and suddenly a song emanated loudly from a record store. I stopped in my tracks and asked my girlfriend to find out who the band was and the song name. We went into the record shop and I found out the name of the song was “Rio.” I walked out with the album on cassette, and I played it until I wore it out. That album became the soundtrack for that year in the Navy. Duran Duran has since come in and out of my life in the years since, but each time I hear “Rio,” I’m reminded of that beautiful day in Yokosuka. And to this day John Taylor with his Japanese made Aria Pro II SB1000 is one of the most talented bassists out there.
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