Everything good is bad and everything bad is good. This is how my mother describes these crazy days making up the year 2020. It continues to be one really strange year. I lost a cousin in the month of September. When I heard he was ill, I imagined this planet without him in it and found it a difficult thought to fathom. And then it happened. I’ll adjust like we all have to, but man, am I going to miss him! I’m still living at work. I’ve gone a few days in a row not turning my PC on. Can you believe that? I still managed to partake in a few diversions, if anything, to keep my sanity.
1. The Trouble with Harry on DVD: More like a high school stage play than a “teleplay” this movie reveals Alfred Hitchcock’s ability to put comedies in his movies. The movie centers on the discovery of a dead body on a hillside of a small New England town. Each member of the community ponders what to do about it without making other citizens of the town privy. The oddity is everybody in town in his or her own way has been made privy and is in the same predicament of what to do with the body. The movie gets bonus points for the picturesque autumn scenery which actually is the star of the show. The “co-star” of the show is Bernard Hermann’s elegant campy score, which accents the films humor wonderfully. This marked the beginning of the Hitchcock/Hermann director/film score relationship.
2. Far Cry 4 on PC: I’ve enjoyed all of the Far Cry games up to this one. It’s not that I don’t like it. What’s not to like? The game’s setting, the Himalayan mountain region is spectacular looking, especially on a vivid 1440P monitor, and the story concept is compelling enough. I thoroughly enjoyed Far Cry 3 enough to write a lengthy Steam review of it, and admittedly, I still carry the soundtrack around in my car. Yes, I was a devoted fan. I raced through to the game’s end, relishing the story like a good novel. And perhaps that was enough, hence my lack of focus with Far Cry 4. It just seems really repetitive and the story is fragmented compared to its amazing predecessor. Maybe the story will pick up and I’ll find my way. I’ll stay the course, regardless.
3. F1 2016 on PC: I’m about to finish my very first season in this Codemasters racing sim. It certainly hasn’t been easy. I play full on: full length practice sessions, qualifying and 100% races too. I don’t use “cheats” such as HUD track layouts either. And still I’m lucky to finish 19th or 20th place out of 22 drivers. I never quite worked my way up from the lowly team I started with despite unlocking R&D upgrades that were never quite enough. I’ll go through another season to see if any last season upgrades enhance the car a bit (before moving on to F1 2017.) With this all being said, the game is anything but boring. Each race offers a glimmer of hope because the game feels so authentic. Tire wear, weather changes and the AI feel like the real thing.
4. Wake of the Red Witch by Garland Roark: I’ve always been a sucker for stories occurring on the high seas (I even wrote one!) This one is every bit as compelling as Jack London’s stellar The Sea Wolf or Joseph Conrad’s often copied Heart of Darkness. The tale concerns a half-crazed captain of a schooner who is cruel to his men, but ever loyal to his lust for gold and women. My first exposure was to the movie starring John Wayne. Unusual for John Wayne, because it wasn’t a western nor a war movie, yet Wayne’s character dies in the end. The book is sending me to the dictionary quite a bit (always a plus.) It’s truly a man’s adventure tale straight out of the old Saga or True or Argosy magazines that dotted the newsstand magazine racks from the 1940s to the 1970s.
5. Explosions in the Sky “Take Care, Take Care, Take Care” on CD: I’ve always been a fan of Explosions in the Sky, a band that self admittedly creates “cathartic mini-symphonies.” If you’ve ever watched the movie or the TV series, Friday Night Lights, you know their music. Yeah, that good stuff. The band is comprised of three guitars and a drum machine, and I don’t know why, but it just works. This, their sixth studio album (2011) is a bit slower than their other stuff, the build ups are longer which is a good thing because it makes their beautiful choruses blossom more achingly beautiful. EitS was the first time I’d ever heard of a genre called post rock. And because of them it may be my favorite genre of music.
6. The Who: Live at Leeds on CD: Rolling Stone Magazine included this in their list of the top ten best live albums. (The same magazine included a 2012 reader’s poll result in which this album was voted the best live rock album of all time.) I understand the legacy made by The Who, but this album didn’t do it for me. I should post a disclaimer, however. I’ve never had an affinity for live albums. The instruments on this album, like most live albums for me, simply sounded hollow and “tinny.” I listened to it a third time and then something happened. I realized how “raw” this album was. And suddenly I couldn’t get enough. I love this album! Townshend’s Gibson SG and Moon’s tribal drumming make the album what it is.
7. Lost in Space on Netflix: Per a few suggestions by friends, including my long-time friend, Vic Berwick, I decided to indulge in this Lost in Space redux. I’m new to it, but so far, it’s interesting though totally unrelated to anything Irwin Allen ever created. So, Doctor Smith is a nefarious female? The B-9 Robot hails from alien technology and from another planet? It’s definitely incongruent with the old series, but I’m finding it very interesting to watch. Indulge for the story, but stay for the incredible visuals.
8. The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing on PC: This is simply put, a Diablo clone. But it’s one of the better action RPGs I’ve played. It’s not your usual trappings of giant rats, orcs and trolls. It’s more a Transylvanian twist with vampires and werewolves. The night backdrops are illuminated by silvery full moons and an ominous score by Gergely Buttinger. The game is definitely a clickfest done surprisingly well, though there are some glaring omissions. On my first play-through some years back I wrote a review on Steam lauding its high points, but bringing to light the developers suggested watching YouTube videos to learn how to play the game rather than using a manual that should have been included with the game. I’m playing a melee character (which makes the game difficult enough) on Hero level (which ups the difficulty even more so.) It’s a fun stress reliever, but I feel the real stars are the great OST and the wonderfully wisecracking, Lady Katarina, your supernatural sidekick who heals you and kicks butt alongside you.
