Edward's March 2016 Mix

 

Strange month. Strange and frustrating, actually. I found out my wonderful little Vespa scooter is operating with illegal license tags. I was issued off-road tags by the Indiana BMV. They assured me it’s what I needed. I went to ask a question about those tags this year and was informed by a different local BMV worker that not only were my tags illegal, but I had to verify with a police officer that my title matched my scooter! This is all stemming from a screw up on the original title provided by the dealership where the scooter was purchased. I’m in process of fixing it, but of course it’s costing money, money required to be paid so I can lawfully ride my scooter. The BMV worker informed me my new tag which is actually a plate will probably cost me about $55.00. This is more than I pay for my car license plate. Could it become any more ridiculous? Yes, in actuality, I suppose it just did. I completed my Federal Income Tax and discovered since I didn’t have health insurance for five months last year that I’m being fined-- to the tune of almost a thousand bucks. President Obama guaranteed his new health care law would benefit us. I’m just not seeing it.

1.      Lily & Madeleine: Keep it Together on CD: I was driving home one rainy night and FM 92.3 WTTS out of Bloomington played a track I immediately fell in love with. Arriving home, I ordered the CD that same evening. It’s not often music affects me in such a manner, but after a few listens to their other other stuff on YouTube, I realized I had a winner. Lily & Madeleine (Jurkiewicz) are two young sisters from Indianapolis who harmonize beautifully. They sing about Midwestern folksy things, but their sound is somewhat more jazzy. They remind me of the singer, Ivy, or Dido. One remarkable thing about the duo is their enunciation when they sing. As a reviewer noted, you can understand every single word sung. This is almost unheard of in popular music. Give “Something for the Weak” a listen. I think you’ll be hooked.

2.      Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition on PC: I bought this game on Steam way back in 2012 during a summer or winter sale. I’d heard how difficult it was over the years, but oddly, these complaints were followed with one simple statement: “It’s the best game I’ve ever played.” PC Gamer Magazine stated the game was their favorite game ever made. My cousin played the game and rage uninstalled at the first tutorial boss. This frightened me because I knew if my cousin couldn’t get past the first boss I was just wasting my time and money with this game. But with Dark Souls 3 on the near horizon, I thought I’d at least give the original a spin. Yes, it’s extremely difficult, it’s dark and grainy dismal and gloomy. But I beat the first boss on my third attempt. Talk about inspiration! I bragged about my feat to my cousin and my boasting even prompted him to reinstall and readdress the game (he has since passed me up.) But as OCD as I can be in enduring the punishment factor of certain games, I actually believe I can defeat this game.

3.      Train Simulator 2016 on PC: I’m still chipping away at the London – Faversham route pack. The DLC pack contains five routes, and there are Steam achievements associated with each one. Unfortunately, the final achievement is bugged. It requires an engineer to travel 875 miles in the course pack. Only one single course recognizes any distance traveled for the achievement. Talk about frustration! I basically have to run the same route over and again for about ten times. I’ve finally whittled it down to about 120 miles. We’re looking at about two more full length trips. And all of that for a lousy virtual badge. A junior G-man badge toy surprise plucked from a box of Cracker Jacks would be more tangible. But that doesn’t matter to me. OCD is a harsh master.

4.      If Morning Ever Comes by Anne Tyler: This makes probably the tenth book I’ve experienced by the lovely Ms. Tyler. I first fell in love with her The Accidental Tourist (which was a great movie as well) two decades ago. This particular novel concerns a young man away at college who feels his family back home doesn’t function particularly well without him, so on a whim he takes a night train home for a surprise visit. The book began slower than I like for a Tyler novel, but it did pick up speed and blossom into another great Tyler work of art. She has the wonderful ability to describe characters and write dialogue stolen from real life. I was surprised to see she wrote this book in the early 1960’s. I hadn’t realized she’d been writing for so long. Next time you’re in the library pick up The Accidental Tourist or Searching for Caleb, or A Patchwork Planet. You’ll be made a fan.

5.      Hell on Wheels: Season Three on Netflix: I just finished this superbly done Western season. The fictional character, Cullen Bohannon and his trials, spoils, triumphs and misadventures are carefully woven into real events surrounding the building of the transcontinental railroad. Each season thus far has ended with a properly amazing cliffhanger, and this one is no different. We find Bohannon making restitution to a Mormon deacon whose son he had hanged for an alleged murder of a lawman. Bohannon is kidnapped by the deacon and about to be hanged, himself. He escapes his demise by marrying the deacon’s daughter. And as beautiful as she is I would probably consider my adventuring days over with and hang my hat. But Fate, she sure likes to have fun with Cullen Bohannon. I’m eager to see what season four has in store.

6.      Star Trek: Season Three on Blu Ray: Fans state the first season of this remarkable series weathered the pangs of birth, and the second season endured growing pains but began to find its place. If this is the case, then the third season was its blossoming into adulthood. I’m only on about the twelfth episode, but so far my favorites are “The Bonding,” in which one of the Enterprise’s children loses his mother as she is killed during a mission accident. And then an energy being mimics the boy’s mother, come back to life. As Picard explains to the boy that this “being” isn’t really his mother, I felt so sympathetic to the boy’s plight and the struggle he underwent to believe Captain Picard. And “The Hunted,” in which a band of specially trained super-soldiers are banished to a penal colony when the war they were created for comes to end, simply because their creators fear them and want them controlled for safekeeping. This was a sort of homage to the soldiers who fought in Vietnam. The lead prisoner/soldier Roga Danar, puts Worf’s combative skills to the test more than once in this episode. It’s fun to watch. .

7.      Flaked: Season One on Netflix:  Up to the seventh episode now, and despite the show's humor which mainstream viewers (I'm sure) would find funny, it's the characters that have grown on me. Chip, a recovered alcoholic who runs a stool store (he builds them/he sells them)  is the lovechild of Bill Paxton and Kevin Costner. He's full of himself, and he often  makes poor choices which lead to relationship break ups and missed opportunities. He eventually falls for a girl who seeks him out for less than noble motives, which throws in a plot twist I didn’t see coming at all. But the real character in the show for me is Venice Beach where Chip resides. It's Grand Theft Auto V's Los Santos, as seen while on a mellow cruise on a commuter bicycle. Having lived in California, the show resonates on a level that makes me miss the place. 

8.      Assetto Corsa on PC: I finally moved up into the next rank in this, probably the best auto racing simulation I’ve ever played. I’m driving open wheel cars now, and I’m required to earn seasonal points to advance to the next level. The game is turning serious because it’s a one shot deal. There is no redo of races. If you place 6^th then you place 6^th.  The little snappy Tatuus F.Abarth reminds me of something from Skip Barber racing school. But it’s quite fun to drive and seems to be the gateway into the big league levels.

9.      Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window on DVD: I first watched this movie about two decades ago on VHS. Admittedly, the transfer to DVD is nothing less than pristine, despite the film’s medium limitations of the day. This is not my favorite Hitchcock film, but it is wholly entertaining. The film, with the exception of two quick scenes, was filmed entirely from the apartment of the main character, a convalescing professional photographer named Jeffries, confined to a wheelchair. Hitchcock actually used a handheld radio to give instructions to the actors who were wearing flesh colored hearing aids, while standing inside Jeffries’ apartment during the filming. If you want to introduce someone to “the master of suspense!” this is a great movie to do it with.

Edward's February 2016 Mix

It’s the beginning of a new year which usually designates changes. Out with the old and in with the new, right? Upgrades, improvements? Dips into the bucket filled with life challenges? If that is truly the case, my life is undergoing a sea change. I’m poised for a big promotion at work; the biggest promotion I’ve ever had at any job at any time in my life. And my beautiful three year old PC baby has been upgraded this month. I used to use the wonderful website, www.shelfari.com, and they, being owned by Amazon, have been consumed by www.goodreads.com which is also owned by Amazon. I had to do some tweaking to get my book collection over, but I think it’s a good change. Someone said change is the only constant. Hmmm . . . maybe that person was onto something.

1. Def Leppard: Pyromania on CD: I had this on tape cassette back in 1983 and I used to walk the streets of Yokosuka, Japan and jam to it on my Sony Walkman. Def Leppard as a band was young and raw. I think they got better with each successive album, but this is the album where I discovered them. Mutt Lange produced this album which was a great move on Def Leppard’s part, and he produced their seminal “Hysteria,” which played like a greatest hits album. I found this one recently on CD. I’d not heard it for years. Listening to it took me back 30 years.

2. Nvidia GTX 970 FTW/ Corsair Dominator Platinum 16 GB RAM: I upgraded my personal computer this month. I took out my aging Nvidia Geforce GTX 670 and replaced it with a GTX 970. I figured I’d max out the settings on Grand Theft Auto V and that would make it sweat a little. No such luck, and that’s a great thing! I can’t get the fans to spin up for anything. Seems like I did good. I’ve been running 8 gigabytes of RAM in my PC since its inception 3 years ago. It has served me well. I just added 8 more gigs for a total of 16 gigabytes. The difference isn’t night and day, but it’s substantial. Game load levels, start up times, etc. This was a nice upgrade. I think it future proofed me for another 18 months at least.

3. No One Lives Forever OST on CD: I was lucky enough to score a boxed GOTY edition of this wonderful game. I played it way back in 2001, but ended up giving it away or selling it on eBay when  I finished it. Anyway, I picked up a copy of this hella fun game and I’ve been listening to the soundtrack. It’s reminiscent of fast jazz melting into 1960’s rock music. There’s even a hint of 8 bit Nintendo type music that erupts into sparkling trumpets that evokes chase scenes in 1960’s comedy spy films (Our Man Flint). There’s the stair stepping slinky stand up bass tunes as well. This soundtrack is as if Henry Mancini’s twin brother created his own spy soundtrack in the next room while Henry concocted the theme music for “The Pink Panther.”  

4. The Martian by Andy Weir: I was introduced to this novel by my old shipmate, Howard King. I’m about 75 pages from the ending. It’s a good read from a contemporary standpoint. Pro reviews laud it for its humor. “I’m a space pirate” I’m just not getting it, but then I find most American media comedy just plain not funny enough to laugh at. The novel is interesting, and compelling simply because I want to see whether or not the main character survives. Weir seems to know his stuff. He presents Mars as we’re discovering its attributes on a fun digestible scale that makes me feel as if I’m learning facts while reading fiction. It’s the same vein as Michael Crichton. And the main character, not a fan. I think he’s a butthead. NASA opens communications with him and they state something he doesn’t agree with. He tells the liaison he communicates to, “Tell NASA their sisters are prostitutes, and their mothers too.” This, the organization pouring millions of dollars into saving his life.

5. T-Model Tommy by Stephen W. Meader: I’m about to confess something I’ve not before to you kind readers. I read books aloud. I read them aloud to my parents. And they love it. We sit around with cups of coffee and I while away Sunday evenings sharing time with them and a good book. We recently finished this book written in 1938 about a young man, recently graduated from high school who goes from a slapped together Model T Ford to build a trucking business. Meader’s books were popular for young boys back in the 1950’s and he wrote a lot of them, but this one happened to be my stepfather’s favorite book of all time. I was so happy to have been able to obtain it and present it to him as a birthday present last year.

6. Assetto Corsa on PC: I play this game daily. It’s the game I boot up every day after work. And it sucks, because I’m going to head toward the end of the year not having finished very many games because of this one. It can be a real mother. I’m still in the Intermediate Class Level 2 driving the Mercedes AMG SLS. I have one track left, Monza, to reach Level 3. I keep trying. I’ve moved from 18% game completion (last month) to 21% this month; I guess that’s some progress, yeah? The AI in the game still needs work. It’s frustrating as hell to get one lap to completion, and get bumped by an AI car. You both spin out, he immediately finds his way back on track, and you are suddenly in last place. Not fun.  

7. Romeo and Juliette (1996) on Blu-Ray: I like to brag about how much I hate musicals. But in a sense I’m a liar. I established this paradigm watching MGM’s Oklahoma! Back when I was a kid and I fell asleep watching it. But then I watched Meet me in St. Louis. I loved it! And then I watched Baz Luhrmann’s modern take on Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliette. The movie looks brilliant on Blu Ray with its larger than life colors and cinematography. I really don’t want to like Leonardo Dicaprio, but I do, and mostly because of this movie. And Claire Danes who plays Juliette, she reminds me of my oldest daughter. So yes, in the chapel scene where she’s lying there infected with the temporary poison that makes her look dead got to me. Then there was the ending; we all know how it ends, but still it was heart rending for me. If you can find the Blu-Ray pick it up, it will make your Ultra HD TV and sound system shine.

8. Platoon (1986) on Blu-Ray: I’ve probably talked about this movie on here before, albeit the DVD version. All aforementioned statements apply herein, but that said, the Blu-Ray version is mucho better. Colors are clearer, the picture is more vibrant and the sound is improved on the Blu-Ray version. Charlie Sheen is great in his role, and this long before he became the Hollywood tabloid poster child. Willam Defoe is brilliant as the “good” sergeant, but the main appeal is Tom Berenger as the “bad” sergeant not because he’s so bad, but because he’s truly in his element (as manifested by the scars on his face.) He’s the kind of guy you follow because you know if you do you’ll stay alive. He’s intolerant of bullshit, and he even in subordinates his lieutenant, and the lieutenant doesn’t even have the courage to stand up to him. He’s drinking Jack Daniels while his opposing counterparts are smoking weed. He was my favorite character in the movie, despite his wickedness.

Edward's January 2016 Mix

 

The east coast is being buried alive in snow. The New England Patriots, who presumably sold their souls to the Devil, are engaged in the playoffs. We just lost David Bowie, whose iconism I do respect, but I wasn’t a fan. (Jacob Dylan’s rendition of “Heroes,” was much better in my opinion) and Glen Frey, which admittedly makes me feel like a chunk of my youth has vanished forevermore. It’s time to do taxes again. It’s a good time to simply stay inside, drink coffee and lose myself in media culturism which I’ve unabashedly done this month.

1. The Beast OST on CD: Jerry Goldsmith, John Williams, Basil Poledouris, Hans Zimmer, Vangelis (a personal favorite), James Horner. These are names synonymous with great movie soundtracks. But have you heard of Mark Isham? This incredible one man show has done movie soundtracks for Men of Honor, A Midnight Clear, Life as a House, Blade, A River Runs Through It, and a much loved movie by me that I’ve seen probably eight times over the years, The Beast. This simple tale (and brutal rendition of man’s inhumanity to man) concerns a Russian tank separated from its group that becomes lost in a valley surrounded by angry Afghan Muslims intent on destroying the tank after it attacked their village. Full of eerie, haunting, heart rending high pitched synthesizer that sounds much like sad voices wailing over a desert expanse, I fell in love with this soundtrack the first time I heard it way back in 1989. I’ve been on a search for it ever since. It’s listed on Amazon now for a paltry $150.00. My persistent searching has panned out, however. I got lucky and found a source where I picked it up for $40. Expensive, but I can say it’s one of the best soundtracks I’ve ever heard.

2. XIII  on PC: Released in late 2003, this game wasn’t a big hit. It’s first person shooter fare with a typical story. (You find yourself waking up on a beach with a strange tattoo on your chest, and if that wasn't enough you discover you’re on the run, accused of assassinating the President of the United States.) The game’s cartoonish (er, uhm . .graphic novel) art style consists of cell shaded graphics, and the inclusion of Adam West and David Duchovny (despite Dave’s seemingly sounding phoned in appearance) notwithstanding, I’m enjoying the hell out of this game. I picked this up on www.gog ages ago, and Ubisoft has since pulled their license from that wonderful site. If you picked it up on eBay or Amazon now, I’m not sure it would work. An install from the game’s CDs might play rather finicky with modern systems (Windows 10 can be really particular with old games.) But if you can find it and make it work, you’ll be glad you did. Adam West as the general is worth the price of admission alone.

3. Running with Rifles on PC: This was a nice little gift from my friend Dillon Gard acquired from Steam’s rather underwhelming Winter Sale this year. It’s an isometric top down over the shoulder strategy game in which you’re a common foot soldier embarked on a great crusade to conquer fiercely held territory. Beginning with the soft crunch of boots running through snow and erupting into the myriad cacophony of rifles and machine guns wreaking havoc, total chaos ensues. The snow becomes saturated with blood and every square foot wrested from the enemy becomes a major feat. It’s discovered early on there are no Rambos in this game. You are a simple buck private, but if you do well and stay alive your side eventually builds in numbers and becomes progressively stronger. If you continually perish, you’ll be overrun, and end up throwing your arms up in despair. It’s maddeningly addictive, and each bit of territory taken will have you fist pumping.

4. Die Trying (Jack Reacher 2)  by Lee Child: Just finished Child’s second Jack Reacher novel. Think Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, less the diplomacy and Ian Fleming’s James Bond, less the suaveness, coupled with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator size and formidability (a word?) and Sylvester Stallone’s haunted John Rambo’s sad past and you have an almost man’s perfect protagonist. This fast moving novel finds Reacher walking by a downtown Chicago dry cleaners at high noon, a simple bystander, and being thrown into a white panel van along with a young FBI agent picking up her weekly dry cleaning. Cast into muffled heat and darkness, joined by handcuffs, Reacher discovers the girl holds far more value than simply being a US Army general’s daughter. Carted 1,200 miles away, Reacher and the girl find themselves held in a madman’s militia compound. The crazy compound leader is set on establishing a sovereign country hellbent on pronouncing its independence through mass orchestrated violence against the United States. Failure to do so will have the compound’s less than willing denizens committing mass suicide. “Live free or die!” the leader is fond of saying. Reacher does everything in his power to prevent both heinous events, including crawling through a tunnel filled with rotting corpses (and feasting rats.) Child has written almost twenty Jack Reacher novels. I’m glad.

5. Borderlands on PC: I finished this game way back in 2010 and it took me 70 hours to beat, mostly solo despite its wonderfully constructed multiplayer feature. HumbleBundle recently had a no-brainer sale consisting of Borderlands, and Borderlands 2 AND all of the included DLC for both games for a walloping $18.00. Of course, being I had none of the DLC packs, I couldn’t pass this up. I’m now tackling Borderlands all over again with the DLC. I’m mostly playing with my friend, Keylan Monnett, and on Steam’s voice chat it’s the most fun I’ve had in a long time. The cell shaded art style and the soundtrack reminds me a lot of the new Mad Max movie. I’m not really a social gamer. I prefer to fly solo, my game and my own mind. But this game is so good multiplayer it’s making a hypocrite out of me.

6. Assetto Corsa on PC: This is my go to game for auto racing. Well, if you want to call it a game. It’s actually a pretty hardcore racing simulator. It gives my trusty Logitech G27 wheel/shifter/paddle set a workout each time I play it. I write about it here a lot. Shoot, just writing this little blurb makes me want to minimize this and boot up the game again! Having just beat EA’s Need for Speed: Shift, I’m using it to tide me over until I begin playing another car racing sim. I’m 18% into my car racing career. I have the opponent AI set to 87%. I’m driving a Mercedes AMG SLS at Nurburgring and I’m consistently getting 5^th place. I can tell, getting a podium finish is going to involve a little bit of luck.

7. 80 Days on PC: I used to live in a big house filled with people. I worked nights and I struggled to sleep during the day constantly bothered by the noise and bustle of all of these people. I would come home in the predawn hours, brew a cup of tea, and pull a finely bound volume of Jules Verne’s works from the mantle bookshelf and lose myself. Playing this game takes me back to those days. This brilliant game, masqueraded as a clever “choose your own adventure,” holds some of the most magnificently written prose in a game I’ve ever played. Playing the part of Passepartout, the trusted servant of Phileas Fogg, Verne’s stodgy character who takes a wager to race around the world in 80 days, you are thrust into adventures that ultimately see you into becoming a man of the world. I delivered a baby in the South Pacific, contracted cholera in Manila, dodged the Ku Klux Klan in Dallas, Texas. And I sat with Death in a bar in New Orleans after he bought me a drink and kissed my hand. Do yourself a favor. The game is on sale at HumbleBundle.com for a measly $7.49. You can thank me later.

8. Sanford and Son: The Complete Seasons on DVD: I remember when this show made its debut. We were living in Texas. My mother worked second shift at a factory and Friday nights while waiting for her to come get me my babysitter would plant me in front of her big floor console color television. I remember watching this show and belly laughing. It was probably the show that saw me transition from kids’ cartoons and shows like Lassie and Lost in Space to actual grown up television. Revisiting the series again after all these years with my mother has become a special event each week. Despite the show’s age, the humor is still just as funny, though dated in spots. Quincy Jones’ catchy opening music is absolutely perfect. Red Foxx’s character is just as irreverent, probably more so in today’s world where many on Facebook are offended simply because you don’t believe the way they do or slam the same political candidate he or she does. I don’t like network television, and I haven’t for years. But I loved it as a kid, and this show is one particular reason I did.

Edward's December 2015 Mix

 

December. It’s a been a month of Christmas shopping, crazy weather, a nice somewhat long week and a half vacation, and most important of all the annual Steam Winter Sale (which was incredibly lackluster this year. More on that later.) I got beat out of a big job promotion, but on a brighter note my daughter got promoted into upper level management. Kudos to her!

1.      Need for Speed: Shift  on PC: Still playing this arcade racer I began last month. It’s a blast for what it is.You can’t help but feel as if you’re Steve McQueen or Nicholas Cage in Gone in Sixty Seconds as you’re playing it. I’m playing it on medium difficulty which is fair enough. I podium finish about 40% of my races and I feel challenged. The game doesn’t seem to suffer the infamous “rubber band” physics other NFS games have suffered (whereby the car behind you no matter how far back, despite that you saw it rolling somersaults in your rear view mirror will rapidly catch up to you before race’s end.) The only thing really missing is the hammy acting performed in the between-the-races cut scenes, of which, there are  none in this game at all. It’s simply a menu drop down pull and the action is on.

2.      House of Cards: Season 4: Oh my, talking about a cliffhanger ending! Doug Stamper, how could you? You redeemed yourself in my eyes, despite your reptilian style. You chose to forgive Rachel (albeit for bludgeoning you in the woods in the down pouring rain and leaving you for dead) but then you reneged! And Francis, hot on the campaign trail and thinking you were a shoe-in, hmph! Even Claire, your First Lady’s decision to do what she did at the close of the episode took you to your knees. I don’t often get caught up in any current television hoopla, but this Netflix series is my one exception. I eagerly look forward to the release of the next season. And I’m sure I’m not alone on this one.

3.      Star Trek The Next Generation:  Season 2 on Blu Ray: I’m wrapping up the second series in this wonderful Gene Roddenberry vehicle. The second series suffered a setback from a writer’s strike that affected the entire industry in 1988, but the second series proved one thing: STTNG was here to stay. Dr Beverly Crusher was replaced by the more “McCoy-like” Dr. Pulaski. I have to admit she had to grow on me, and I welcomed the addition of Guinan. She always made me look forward to the scenes that occurred in the Enterprise’s lounge, the Ten Forward. We got a sneak peak of  the Borg, one of the universe’s most nasty denizens. Favorite episodes: “A Matter of Honor” in which Riker goes TAD aboard a Klingon vessel, and “Up the Long Ladder,” which cast Barrie Ingham as a stereotypical drinking Irishman who, along with his clan, is rescued and ferried aboard the Enterprise. Ingham’s antics was some of the funniest I’ve ever seen in a Star Trek episode.   

4.      The Silversun Pickups Neck of the Woods on CD: First discovered on a local college station in town I listen to, I was so captivated by their song I called the DJ to find out who the band was and ordered the CD on Amazon the next day. I’ve continued my love affair with the band since. Brian Auburt’s androgynous sounding vocals and the band’s heavily distorted sound often have them compared to The Smashing Pumpkins, which I can definitely see. This album seems to be a little more grungy sounding than their previous efforts. And it took me a couple of listens to envelope it like I did the band’s previous works. I particularly like the first song the best, “Skin Graph.”

5.      2015 Winter Steam Sale: Lackluster at best. I’m really disappointed in this one. Steam nixed the flash sales, so everything that went on sale went on sale from the first day at its rock bottom price. In order to acquire Steam’s trading cards you have to click through a Steam prepared “discovery queue” a scrolling showcasing highlighting games Steam thinks you would like based on friend recommendations and prior purchases. The historically fun mini games, and acquiring cards through votes for the next game to go on a flash sale are just that now: history. In light of my own negative sentiments, and from what I’ve seen from friends’ comments on my activity feed on Steam, I’ll venture to say this will be the last sale Steam conducts like this. This one was an epic failure; I bought two games for myself this time around. I usually buy at least six.  

6.      Die Trying (Jack Reacher #2) by Lee Child: Ever since the movie with Tom Cruise, I’ve harbored an interest in Lee Child’s almost superhuman character. In this engrossing tale which opens with a bang, Reacher simply happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, caught up as an innocent bystander in a kidnapping plot. This book moves with a brilliant sense of speed and action. I’m only one hundred pages in, and I can hardly catch my breath. I’m still working my way through Anne Rice’s Vampire series, and I’ve recently started George R.R. Martin’s epic A Song of Fire and Ice. I really didn’t need to start yet another series, but I’m sure glad I found this one.

7.      Star Citizen (pre-alpha) on PC: I’d read about this in my treasured bible, PC Gamer magazine for a few years now. And then I saw where the game set a new record for crowdfunding, over 100 million bucks, and this intrigued me. At the same time, my good friend, Tom Stevens bought into it. Him talking it up and sharing links with me is what sold me. Call me crazy or stupid, but I spent $140.00 on a ship of my own, that I can’t even fly yet, for a game that won’t be out until 2017. Walking into the hangar for the first time and seeing my ship made it all worth it. Definitely a hallmark moment in my gaming life. Where’s your sense of adventure?

8.      Borderlands on PC: I played this game way back in 2010, and mostly playing solo I beat it in 70 hours. Thanks to a recent HumbleBundle collection I was able to score the DLC I had missed out on in the original game. So, now I’m playing it again, but this time I’m playing it with friends. And I must admit it’s the most fun I’ve had in a game in many moons. Gearbox’s venerable Brothers in Arms games have always been a personal favorite, and despite their epic hurl, Aliens: Colonel Marines, the company is not afraid to take chances (Duke Nuke’em redux, anyone?) but the Borderlands games are their flagship and rightly so. The games’ arch villain, Jack Handsome is my favorite all-time in-game arch villain.

9.      Xcom: Enemy Unknown on PC: I bought this on a Steam sale way back in 2012. I’m just now getting around to playing it, but it’s been worth the wait. I love being able to create soldiers named and based on my RL friends and then putting them into harm’s way, fingers crossed they won’t die. Some of the missions are damn tough, but pulling one off is rewarding quite like nothing else I’ve played recently. I remember playing with the original game (1994?) and I wasn’t crazy about it. But this game is a great turn based strategy game that reminds me a lot of Jagged Alliance, which I played the hell out of back in 1997.