Edward's Jan 2021 Mix

 

 

 Another a month of living at work. I pretty much have to pick up the slack of so many people who don't want to work. And then there are the many things happening on the side. The pandemic still at the forefront of things, the storming of the US Capitol building, a new US President. And the end result? We don’t have reporters anymore; we have activists who are trying to mold an agenda. The idea of journalism telling you what to think, what to feel and above all, believe! It’s ludicrous. This is the stuff of scary 1940s novels. And now major corporations censuring free speech? This doesn’t set a good precedent. And it’s not one I want to be a part of. I talk to so many people who are just simply, well, stressed. Life is supposed to be better than this. I’ve pulled the plug. I just don’t subscribe anymore. None of it. And I’ve never felt better.                                   

1.       Euro Truck Sim 2 on PC: You’ve heard me affectionately call this my garden of Zen before. There is nothing more chill than cutting the lights, hopping into a virtual 18-wheeler and cranking the radio to Amsterdam House music. When the rain starts falling, the windshield wipers do their thing, swishing across the glass and it’s easy to become hypnotized. SCS Software hosts special events in the game and awards interesting prizes to participants. Their latest gig is “Hauling Hope,” which consists of hauling loads of Covid-19 vaccine to various cities. It’s amazing how a virtual experience can produce an almost dopamine ebullience that feels like a real experience. Even though it’s all surrealistic, I actually feel like I’m doing good in the world taking these loads. And not only do I own a single tractor trailer, I now manage/operate numerous garages, trucks and drivers in several cities throughout Europe. And my enterprise is growing. Ka-ching!

 

2.      Hunter Killer on 4K Blu Ray: Continuing on with my current obsession with submarine stuff (thank you for that Nemo’s War) I decided to revisit this movie. I had watched it a few years back when it first came out. It’s a good action/suspense film starring Gerard Butler. IMDB put the plot in a perfect nutshell: An untested American submarine captain teams with U.S. Navy Seals to rescue the Russian president, who has been kidnapped by a rogue general. The movie plays out a little faster than its venerable counterparts, Crimson Tide and The Hunt for Red October. As a matter of fact, this movie is reminiscent of a cold war early ‘80s thriller. The 4K resolution is good, almost too good. Some CGI effects take on cartoonish-like characteristics, but the plot and the casting save the day.

 

3.       Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (translated to English from French) This is a handsome hardbound Reader’s Digest version, a part of their “World’s Best Reading” series. The text is easily digestible. I’m not a fan of the illustrations which look modern compared to Victorian age illustrations I would have enjoyed more. This is an excellent adventure tale, much better than the classic Walt Disney movie which certainly isn’t bad at all. This isn’t the first Verne book I’ve read, but it’s the book that made me a lifelong fan.

 

4.       Nemo’s War Board Game: I was introduced to this wonderful board game last month, and it’s become an addiction. I have yet to win a game, though I’ve come close a few times. I discovered a facet I was scoring incorrectly which should make it a little easier to score a victory. I’ve managed to complete two games in an hour and fifty-five minutes, so at least I’m getting more skilled at playing it. I don’t think a board game has inspired me so much before. Last month I was inspired to watch Disney’s classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and this month I’m reading the age-old novel again.   

 

5.      INXS Shabooh Shabah on CD: This thing plays like a greatest hits album. I’d never heard it before and was only familiar with a few of the songs, The One Thing and Don’t Change. Coming out in 1982 I can see a lot of similarities to fellow Aussie band, Icehouse and the UK’s Duran Duran’s early stuff. (I even hear similarities to The Police.) Michael Hutchence was a bit more ostentatious as a frontman compared to Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon. Dave Simpson of The Guardian wrote, "Watching Hutchence, hair flailing, crotch thrusting, a mischievous smile forever creeping across his leathery face, I realized that here was a man born to be onstage, living and loving every minute, an explosion of sexual energy.” I think this is also manifested in Hutchence vocals on this album, a sort of sad longing in his voice that made the album a standout amongst its peers. I regret I took so long to discover it.

 

6.       Dior Homme Eau de Toilette 50 ml Natural Spray: Me, being the amateur man of the world that I am, have long since abandoned the idea of wearing one scent the year round. I always strive to break free from my simpleton ways. So, as always, I wear musk in the winter and spicy, tangy fruit stuff in the summer. I was in a local cologne/perfume store and obtained a sample of a few smell good pleasantries and settled on this one. It was just that perfect blend that reminded me of a cabin spewing woodsmoke on a white day, a bearskin rug laying on hardwood floors, a redolence of more manliness than I had any right to be. These colognes are expensive, but the old adage holds true; you get what you pay for.

 

7.       Count Zero by William Gibson: The way my Steam feed is being littered with Cyberpunk 2077 screenshots (literally) I’m honestly surprised nobody is reading or making allusions to this incredible book, of which the game is obviously a rip off of. (I mean that in a good way!) This, the second book in a trilogy is deep going, I have to get acclimated every time I fire up the Kindle, but it isn’t hard to come into the contact point where the tires meet the pavement. The story is interweaved with numerous plots at the same time, a Gibson staple, but for the most part involves corporate espionage through the use of VR and hacking. It’s amazing seeing these terms and mechanics we take for granted today (the book was written in 1986.) So, not only was William Gibson a science fiction writer who coined the term “cyberspace,” he was also a visionary. I’ve not even played Cyberpunk 2077 yet, but I’m glad I’m reading this book beforehand.

 

8.      Mission Impossible: The Third Season on DVD: I wasn’t interested in watching this as a kid because I thought it was too “adult” for me, but boy was I missing out! If you’re a fan of the Tom Cruise movies you should definitely revisit this great series. Out of its context it would almost seem campy, but it was stylishly done, and took itself very seriously. It had a perfect cast of characters; the plot pacing was always on point. I find myself on the edge of my seat even with five minutes left of an episode. The remastering done on the DVD edition is beautiful. I could see spending the money to pick up the Blu Ray edition which I’m sure is even visually better. Debuting in 1966, this series was around for seven series. I can see why it was so popular in its day.

Edward's December 2020 Mix

 

 

This one is a big one. Of course, having a week and a half off of work in winter leaves time to indulge in a generous heaping of fun stuff like books, movies, and games. I took advantage. I knocked out my GoodReads reading goal by over two books. Yay! My goal had been 20 books this year and I closed out the month at 22 books. Covid-19 is still amongst us, but now the plot thickens. A new strain is appearing in the States, a strain that is even more contagious. I think this virus forced a paradigm shift on all of us. The social butterfly me has become a casualty due to this plague. I’m perfectly content staying inside and not going anywhere and I think, unfortunately, I shall remain that way when all of this is behind us.

                                         

1.      Railway Empire on PC: Kalypso Media is a big entertainment software company headquartered in Germany (but with satellite companies in the USA and the UK.) They released the ever-popular Tropico series and now a railroad game entitled Railway Empire. You’ve seen me say it here before. If Sid Meier’s Railroads! and Railroad Tycoon 3 had a lovechild this game would be it. It takes the cartoony zaniness of Railroads! and couples it with the seriousness of Railroad Tycoon 3. I think the game is slightly more difficult, well, wrong word . . . more, shall we say “less intuitive” than the ease of the Firaxis games. I had to watch YouTube videos and read guides just to get the track layout and the signaling down, and I still struggle in some layouts in the scenarios. But I’m having fun with it, despite I’ve spent a dozen hours on the last scenario in the American campaign and I can’t beat it. I try to do what these guys do on YouTube and I STILL can’t beat the scenario!

 

2.      Far Cry 4 on PC: Far Cry 3 will go down as one of the most memorable games I’ve ever played on PC. I played it back in 2014 when I had a lot of strange things going on, and I remember playing the OST CD in my car. I still play that soundtrack and it will forever invoke odd memories of that year and the game itself. This year I decided to go ahead with the next game in the series (when you see this writing years from now, for some context let me just say they are now showing trailers for Far Cry 6, so yeah, I’m a little behind, but then I always am when it comes to PC games. This one is a bit repetitive. But one noticeable difference standing out like a carpenter’s thumb is Jason Brody, the main character in Far Cry 3 underwent a sea change of differences, transporting from a spoiled rich kid to a survivalist, a grown man doing what he had to do to prevent falling victim to an island of crazed pirates. Far Cry 4 sees me as an American youth traveling to the far reaches of Asia rising to a cause for an oppressed people and slowly rising in reputation and glory with each act I do against the country’s dictator. It’s oddly cool to watch the NPCs go from braindead pixelated characters to stopping what they are doing and greeting my character on a first name basis and then to start about my hi-jinks and my fame right there to my face. It’s unfolding like a great movie. I’ve still got a long way to go; I’m about halfway through the game, but I’m really glad I’m playing it.

 

3.      Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie: You always hear how the Grimm fairy tales were horrid, not horridly written mind you, but just awful in their darkness, the death of girlhood in Cinderella, warnings to children that the woods were a dangerous place in Hansel & Gretel, and Little Red Riding Hood. I had no idea that James Barrie's quite famous Peter Pan was such a sinister book! The Neverland was not just an idyllic haven for little boys who didn't want to grow up. It was an island in which fierce pirates led by Captain Hook fought the "redskins" to the death. And woe be to any little boy on the island who started to grow up. Peter Pan didn't carry a dagger for nothing. I was really surprised at how "adult" this book was. I'd only tackled it because I'd never read it as a child. My initial exposure was the classic Walt Disney animated version. The original story presented in this book was a wake up. (Disclaimer: stolen from my own review on GoodReads.com)

 

4.       Nemo’s War Board Game: Board games, for me will always be associated with a “game night” group of friends who get together one evening during a droll work week for a little fellowship and healthy competition (or cooperation.) I started lurking around on Boardgamegeek.com and discovered there’s a popularity of solo board games. Solo board games! Who would have thought? And me, being the avid Jules Verne (and especially Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea) fan. I took a chance on this game since it was a solo game and had good scores. My first game lasted over four hours, and though I had to consult the rule book a few times, it was not a complex game. Honestly, the four hours felt like an hour. I didn’t win. Now that I’ve played four more games, and still haven’t won any of them I can say with confidence, this is some of the most fun I’ve ever had in a board game, shoot, ANY game experience. You play as the titular Captain Nemo in one of a manner of aims: explorer, scientist, warmonger, etc. You are on a quest to find treasure, sink warships, free oppressed peoples being exploited by captors profiteering from building products of war, or simply explore the ocean depths. The game uses card draws and dice rolls to dictate movements and events in the game. The board, counters and pieces look like elegant art from the Victorian Age.  

 

 

5.      Pegasus Bridge by Stephen E. Ambrose: I play a well known gateway board game called Memoir '44. Players use cards, dice and tiny plastic soldiers on a fold out map board to mimic famous WWII battles, using strategies and a bit of luck to outpace the real life officers and men who fought and died in these places. The first scenario reenacts the famous "Pegasus Bridge" incident in which British special forces (before special forces was a thing) to take control of two bridges leading up to the coast of Normandy, thereby preventing the Germans from being able to supply mobile reinforcements to the defenders of the coast during the famous invasion.

As I find Stephen E. Ambrose's writing transports me to the mud, blood, snow, anguish, and weariness of war like no other writer does. I was anxious to delve into this book with a bit of foreknowledge gleaned from my experiences with my board game. Ambrose did such a remarkable job of giving traits, personalities and backstories to these men. Ambrose tells both sides of the story in an almost real time recount that it reads like a movie being played out. One gets the feeling there weren't really any good guys or bad guys. The Brits were all volunteers and with the exception of a few zealous Nazis, the Germans were there under duress, many of them conscripted from other nation's armies the Germans had conquered.

The biggest surprise of all is how after the war many of these British and German men who had faced each other and shot at each other became lifelong friends in the years that followed, some of them looking at each other and joking about what terrible shots they were. The next time I play this scenario in Memoir '44 it will be with more seriousness, and I'll see it much more than a collection of tiny plastic soldiers. (Disclaimer: “borrowed” from my own GoodReads review.)

 

6.       The Little Friend  by Donna Tarrt: Years ago, my cousin Janet gifted me a paperback book entitled The Secret History a debut novel written by a then unknown author named Donna Tarrt. Once bitten, I couldn’t put the book down, and I remember thinking it was one of the best books I’d ever read. Ten years later, Tarrt dropped The Little Friend on us. You know me, always late to the party. I’m reading this now, and if not for the religious fervor sanctity manner I treat books I’d be marking passages up like crazy in this book. My youngest daughter is a fan, who long ago told me about the book. I’ve called her up just to read passages to her so we could laugh out loud. The way Donna Tarrt “sees” things, it’s incredible. Robin (my daughter) told me this book is going to spoil me for other authors. She may be onto something. I now rank Donna Tarrt right up there with Pat Conroy and Michael Chabon. I’m only on page 100 (out of almost 600) and I don’t want the book to end.

 

7.       Carly Simon “No Secrets” on CD: I’d had this on my wishlist on HD Tracks for a while now. And then one day I was perusing the loudness wars site I go to that analyzes each CD out there and discovered the CD version of this album had more of a dynamic range than the HD files on HD Tracks (for less than half the price!) So, I went with this CD version. The sound is so full and bright. This CD may have been remastered from the original, but there was no crushing or “re-engineering” done on it. If only all CDs could sound this way. This was Carly Simon in her heyday, some fans say her best album ever. Coming out in 1972, it definitely has that popular folksy vibe that was ever present back then, Neil Young, James Taylor, etc. I’ve never heard “You’re So Vain” sound so crisp and clear before.

 

8.       Metallica: Nothing Else Matters – The Graphic Novel by Jim McCarthy/Brian Williamson: This was a lovely little gift from my daughter. The latest graphic novel I had read was The Watchmen which I remember being good, but rather long winded. This graphic novel was short and to the point. The illustrator did a wonderful job bringing Lars, Cliff, James, Kirk, Jason and Robert to life in his black and white ink. I learned numerous things in this book. James Hetfield really had a bad childhood, losing his mother to cancer when he was 13, he says, simply because his family participated in a religious belief that God would heal his mother, there wasn’t a need for doctors or hospitals. I never was on board for the way the band treated Jason Newstead. They had a cruel (but playful) way of always “initiating” him into the band. And because he wanted to do some things outside of the band, it caused a heated exchange between he and Hetfield which led to Newstead’s departure from the band. I always thought Lars Ulrich was the bad guy in the whole Napster fiasco, suing people who used Napster. It wasn’t the case at all. Metallica sued Napster, not its users.  

 

9.      20,000 Leagues Under the Sea on DVD: Inspired by the aforementioned board game, I watched this great movie. I hadn’t seen it since its double disc Collectors Edition in 2003. It does a decently faithful adaptation from Verne’s novel. There are some rather “Disney-esque” liberties taken, of course, but this is tied with another movie with being my favorite movie of all time. The real star of the film is the Nautilus, itself. If you go to Disneyland in California and go into the famous Haunted Mansion ride, you’ll get the honor of seeing the organ Captain Nemo played. It’s in the grand ballroom in which the ghosts are waltzing near the ceiling. I always thought they could have searched the world over and not found a better actor to portray Nemo than James Mason. He WAS Captain Nemo. Supposedly there is now a Blu-Ray version of this movie out, but it’s lacking the generous amount of extras in the DVD Collectors Edition.

 

 

10.  Horrified Board Game: Since I’m on this solo game player kick, I picked up another game entitled Horrified. In the game you protect a village (looking very much like a back lot series of sets from old horror films) against all of the classic Universal monsters from the old movies (Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula, The Mummy, The Wolfman, The Invisible Man and The Creature from the Black Lagoon.) Me and my oldest daughter played a few games and fell in love with it. It has one of the easiest rule books I’ve encountered in any game. The components of the game could have used one more notch in the quality department. The cards aren’t heavy stock (I sleeved them immediately) but man, that art style! It’s a cooperative game like Pandemic. It moves quick and easily in a frantic attempt to do a series of tasks to dispatch each monster (depending upon how many you decide to take on in a single game.) All the while you are protecting the towns’ villagers, who after escorting them to safety you are awarded a perk card that gives you advantages against the monsters. I was lucky to pick this up at a local Walmart store. This is a good thing, because this is a great gateway game to the world outside of casual games (e.g. Life, Monopoly, Sorry.) If you get a chance to get it, you’ll enjoy it. You can thank me later.