This one is a long one which is surprising that summer’s
here and I spend more time outside. It appears I really can spin plates on
outstretched fingers as good as any circus clown. I’m still much involved with
my guitar, putting in time each day. I’m looking to pick up a chorus pedal. I
have to get that Robert Smith The Cure sound, and what better way
than a Boss Super Chorus pedal?
The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot: I’m about 4/5 of the way
through this 19th century tome. It concerns the plight of a girl,
Maggie Tulliver, whose father a local miller for a small English village loses
everything to bankruptcy. Our protagonist, Maggie, has a well above average
intellect, but is denied going through advanced education because she’s a girl,
meanwhile, her brother, Tom, who would rather be out fishing and chasing things
through the woods is forced to attend higher education in such things as Greek
and Latin. Eliot’s writing is somewhat stilted. (I have to use the dictionary
to ascertain the meaning of some disused and archaic words—but this is a good
thing!) She’s a bit windy in this one, taking several pages to describe
something a modern writer would execute in a paragraph. This is one of those
books, however, I’ll be glad to say I have read when it’s done.
Star Trek: The Animated Series on DVD: Produced in 1973, I
remember watching these on Saturday mornings and finding them rather dry. Now
that I’m seeing them again, they are compelling episodes voiced by the cast of
the original series. Though they may not fit into the perfect Star Trek canon,
D.C., and the animation is nothing to write home about, but those stories! Wow!
Good stuff. Some of the episodes are even continual story lines from previous
episodes of the classic series. Mudd, from the “Mudd’s Women” episode makes an
appearance, as does the Tribbles, and there’s even a revisit to the rest and
relaxation planet in which Dr. McCoy was near mortally wounded by a knight on
horseback. This is well worth watching if you’re a fan of the original series.
D.C. Fontana, famed Star Trek writer, including some of these episodes, said it
best: “This is the fourth season the fans didn’t get.”
Magician by Raymond E. Feist: Many thank yous to my good
friend, David Tidwell, for turning me onto this book. He always tells me the
story of how he was in Operation Desert Storm and they were marching through
the Middle Eastern dunes. Their officer in charge would call for a break, and
he would set his pack down and use it as a chair, eagerly pulling his copy of
this novel out of his side desert camo fatigue pocket and lose himself in a
different world for ten minutes. I can understand that, reading this book about
a young lad taken into apprenticeship by the castle royalty’s official
magician. The main character, Pug, suffers a lack of confidence and a multitude
of frustration as he attempts to learn his craft amid enduring a crush by the
castle Duke’s spoiled princess daughter. This is not in-depth as George R. R. Martin’s Song of Fire
and Ice series, but definitely not as laborious to read.
Battletech on PC: When I recently found this on PC Gamer
Magazines list of the best real time strategy games to play I decided it was
time for a revisit. I had initially started it last year but got lost along the
way. I was so lost coming back to it that I simply started over. It was a bit
more smoothly sailing because I somewhat knew what to expect. I got caught up
quickly. I didn’t know much about the famous Battletech or Mechwarrior series,
and that’s okay. You don’t need to have prior knowledge of the legacy
game/novel series to enjoy this. Actually, I could see this being a springboard
into the whole world of Mechwarrior.
Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific on PC: I embarked on a
campaign over two years ago and pretty much shelved the game. I decided to pick
up where I left off. I was doing well, sinking my share of Japanese merchant
ships. And then I got swooped by two Japanese zeros that left my hull in a
state of disrepair and killed several of my sailors. I immediately quick saved,
thinking I could ride it out. I sunk. So I reloaded my quick save, and
immediately perished. Doh! And as luck would have it, this was the only save I
had. Will I ever learn my lesson? Saving in the middle of a death is probably
the worst thing that can happen in a PC game. I ate my crow pie, and started
over. I just finished my first campaign and earned a medal for my troubles. For
what it is, piloting a death bringing weapon of war, this is a glamorous simulation
of World War II American submarine warfare. Despite its 2007 release, the game
still looks amazing at 1440p and the undulating waves are still capable of
inducing seasickness, a malady I knew well from experience.
Industry Stranger to Stranger on cassette: Who
would have thought I’d be writing a mix about a cassette tape? My daughter has
a cheap cassette player I recently discovered and I popped in this cassette
because it had been almost 30 years since I’d heard it. Industry was a band
utilizing heavy synth (super 1980ish) and
similar to Duran Duran without all of the fanfare (or the fame.) I
discovered their album in the Philippines. It was almost eerie listening to
this cassette and becoming nostalgic. Cassette tapes are trying to make a sort
of resurgence. I’m not seeing it, myself. CD technology usurped it for a
reason. 44.1 kHz/16 bit CDs still continue to be my favorite medium and
probably will be for some time.
Star Wars: A New Hope on Blu Ray: I watched this a few years
ago on DVD and swore it couldn’t get any better. Now that I’ve seen it on Blu
Ray I beg to differ. The storybook edition I have is the collector’s edition to
have, as it’s filled with extra features and is complete with the first six
movies. The Blu Ray edition is sparkling pristine. I’m seeing dents and
blemishes on C3PO’s exterior I’d never noticed before. Oddly, after having seen
this so many times I’m starting to see things probably better left unseen. Mark
Hamill’s acting is amateurish in some scenes to the point it seems he’s
emitting lines as if he’s in a high school play. Indeed, his performances
improved with time.
Dragon Age II on PC: I’m still having fun with this one. From
what my workmates say, I’m about 2/3 of the way through. I’m knocking out a lot
of side quests, trying to level up for the main story. In typical Bioware
fashion I’m getting a real kick out of the characters and their bantering with
each other. There are a few “FedEx” quests, going out to retrieve items, but
even these are interesting to do. Several reviewers hated the “consolitis” that
seemed to infect this game, but I actually like being able to click on a city
on the map and have it list what quests need to be completed there. Such a
mechanic saves a lot of unnecessary footwork.
Indianapolis by Lynn Vincent & Sara Vladic: This book tells
one of the worst stories I’ve ever encountered. The aftermath of the sinking of
one of the US Navy’s finest cruisers in July of 1945, and the aftermath of the
survivors who weren’t rescued for four days afterward. After the third day, the
life jackets of the single survivors became so waterlogged the men were up to
their chins in the sea. And then the sharks came. They came so thick that they
didn’t even have to tread water. They could simply stand on the backs of the
sharks to keep afloat. I’ve read Dan Kurzman’s famous Fatal Voyage which was
well researched at the time (1990) but Indianapolis goes into more detail
with the repercussions and the aftermath of the Navy’s cover up. (No surprise
there!) Recently the US Navy had to answer for a rash of incidents involving ships
collisions. It was revealed the sailors weren’t getting enough sleep. They
weren’t allowed to. This sounds like the Navy I remember. The poor sailors
aboard the USS Indianapolis, when rescued were not allowed to tell anybody
their ship had sunk, nor were they allowed to correspond to anybody the
location of the hospital they were in.
Third Eye Blind “Third Eye Blind” on CD: It’s been years since I’ve listened to this. I’m
surprised how good it is. This really is an amazing album! It plays like a
greatest hits album; there are no B-side songs on it whatsoever
. Incidentally,
the band’s first album holds a one time record of being given the most money by
a recording label given to an unsigned band. It’s a shame that every subsequent
album after gained a little less traction than the one before it, but I read
they are still touring/recording. Then of course there was the odious
underhanded trick that Stephan Jenkins did to co-founder Kevin Cadagon. The two
men founded the band together, but Jenkins covertly registered the name of the
band under his name alone so he would get all royalties and entitlements. And
then of course, Cadagon was dismissed from the band. I may not add anymore of
their albums to my catalog, but this one is a fine listen worthy of anybody’s
collection. 
No comments:
Post a Comment