It’s going to be another short one this month. Still no reprieve from working 60 plus hours leaves little time for anything else, but work. Despite the terrible ongoings in the world, daily mass shootings anyone? I still try to be optimistic. Maybe it’s easier to do when you are told you’re living on borrowed time. Still, I’m grateful for what I’ve lived and the memories I’ve made. Looking back, yeah, it was worth it.
M83 live at Marathon Motorworks in Nashville, Tennessee: Feeling much like a schoolgirl falling in love with a boy band, I listened to one song by M83, promptly bought the album it was on and have been playing it on repeat since. And then I bought concert tickets to see the band in person. It was worth the 5-hour drive. I took my Navy buddy, Jeff Lappin with me, and after the show we promenaded down Broadway Avenue, dipping into bars and listening to bands. It seared an experience into my brain that will always be a fond memory.
Battletech on PC: I wasn’t really a fan of the Battletech/Mechwarrior games put out by Funcom and Activision (and later Microsoft) but I’ve always harbored an interest in the genre. I think I even read one of the Michael Stackpole novels. Nonetheless, I bought this game when it came out of Kickstarter, and I’ve enjoyed it since. Despite its Unity origins, the graphics serve the purpose and the developers did a remarkable job of bringing the tabletop miniature game onto the PC. The story has me so captivated the characters feel like family, and it actually reminds me of being on a ship back in the Navy, sailors in arms. The game isn’t easy, but praise be to save scumming I’m making my way through.
Company of Heroes 2 on PC: My buddy Vic Berwick and I have been wreaking havoc in the multiplayer co-op segment of this wonderfully made sequel to Relic’s great WWII RTS, Company of Heroes made way back in 2006. The AI is wonky at best, and it causes us to struggle, but we definitely have our fun. As I’ve mentioned before, I finished the single player campaign some months ago. Company of Heroes 3 just released to mixed reviews, and I was stoked for it, but sheesh. I’m having so much fun with this game I just might stick around for a while.
Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell on Kindle: I’ve bought about every iteration of John Carpenter’s The Thing on released media, DVD, Blu-Ray and most recently, 4K Blu-Ray. Carpenter’s movie is still venerable enough that I watch it at least once a year. Everything about it appeals to me, from the special effects that stand the test of time to Ennio Morricone’s helm at crafting the soundtrack. I recently picked up the novella on Amazon. It’s good. Much more in depth than the movie, it runs a oddly close parallel. My advice is that if you enjoy the movie, you’re not really missing out by skipping the novella. But, if you’re anal retentive like me and the source material first released in 1938 sounds appealing, I wholly recommend it. John W. Campbell’s story is first rate and the man’s power of description is wildly entertaining. Reading the story makes me want to watch Carpenter’s movie all over again.
Blood Canticle by Anne Rice on Kindle: I’ve always held a deeply seeded secret admiration for Anne Rice’s vampire chronicles. I’ve said it before, but I hated her most famous character (that the stories are all based on) Lestat in the first book, Interview with the Vampire and fell in love with who he was in her second novel, Lestat, The Vampire. And now diving into book ten in the series, I feel I’ve lived multiple lives and numerous ages with Lestat. I’m 25% in at this point, but rather than evolve into maturity, I can’t help but feel Lestat has devolved into immaturity! Rumor has it that Rice was fed up with the series at this point and she wrote this to appease the fans. I’m not sure at this point. Of course, it’s entertaining reading, but I have a ways to go in this novel to form an opinion.
Tom Clancy’s The Division on PC: Released to fairly favorable reviews back in 2016, this was the first game to take advantage of Ubisoft’s Snowdrop gaming engine. And boy did it! This game is gorgeous, even on modern day systems. Occurring in a near future pandemic caused by “the dollar flu” brought about by biological warfare spread on dollar bills, this game strikes me as being oddly prophetic. The game’s setting is New York City, and it’s depicted in all of its authentic glory. I read that if you’ve never been to NYC, simply play this game, learn it, memorize it, and then when you visit you won’t need a street map. It’s that detailed. The game plays like the MMOs of yore. (World of Warcraft or Guild Wars 2 anyone?) Weapons are bought, looted or crafted and are of varying degrees of prestige/difficulty e.g. green, blue, purple, orange (legendary.) What I find most appealing is I can play solo or join my buddies and have an equally good time.
