Edward's July 2016 Mix

Had a two week vacation this month which kept me busy in real life (away from the computer) for a spell anyway. I took the time to see the Arch in St. Louis, Missouri with a friend I’ve known a very long time. You gave me memories that will last me all the days of my life. And the City Museum gave me a chance to visit a world Jules Verne would have created had he been alive today, again, thank you. Despite my real world adventures, I had to report back home to the mother ship as always, and was able to accomplish the following:

1.      The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft  on Kindle: I’m about 75% through this tome. Despite the similar vein that seems to run through each of Lovecraft’s stories, the man definitely carried the baton between Edgar Allan Poe and our modern day, Stephen King. Lovecraft definitely honed his craft in each ensuing story. It’s like watching a glorious woodwork appear out of a tree stump from a simple penknife. I’m currently reading “At the Mountains of Madness” and I can kind of get a taste of what possibly inspired, John W. Campbell’s famous short story, “Who Goes There?” which was later made into two stellar movies, The Thing From Another World and John Carpenter’s The Thing.

2.      Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 3 on Blu Ray: Just finished this remarkable season. At this point the characters are starting to feel like family to me. The tumultuous arena of the writers on the show in the first two seasons appeared to have settled down by this third season since Michael Pillar took over as head writer, and he actually allowed anybody to submit a script for the series. At the time (1990) it was the only television series to accept unsolicited screenplays. Kudos to Paramount for that. The series ended on a cliffhanger, actually a part 1, of Picard being turned into a Borg. But my favorite episodes were probably “The Offspring” in which Data creates a daughter and learns a lesson in human grief, and “Sins of the Father,” in which we see Lt. Worf forever shunned by his homeplanet. The episode had me reaching for a handkerchief. And then, of course, “Deja Q” where we see Q stripped of his godlike powers and reduced to a simple human male. I also enjoyed “Transfigurations,” in which Dr. Beverly Crusher almost falls in love with an alien being rescued from an escape pod. This was Gates McFadden at her all time best.

3.      The Long Dark on PC: Despite its lack of story mode (yet) Andy Kelly, my favorite writer from PC Gamer Magazine said this game was worth playing simply for survival mode. The man was right. I picked it up on this past Steam Sale, and was immediately engrossed in its ambience. It’s a conglomeration of so many things, my winters as a child in a cabin in Indiana, John Carpenter’s stellar movie, The Thing. The winter scenarios in the first Call of Duty game. It took me three attempts to garner the achievement for staying alive for 5 days. This is a game that will keep me coming back again and again, if simply trying to stay alive for as long as I can.

4.      Assetto Corsa on PC: Still my go to PC racing sim. Another patch has been released which introduces better racing AI and better usage of pit stops. I’m at 45% now. And the game is still giving my wheel and shifter set a good workout. There is still so much untapped potential in this game; I’ve not even touched online racing yet.  

5.      Road Redemption on PC: Remember the old arcade game, Road Rash? The one where you rode a crotch rocket down western desert highways and used chains, axes, shovels and firearms to defeat fellow cyclists trekking down the same road? Well, Darkseas games has released a spiritual successor (rip off?) of that very game. I’ve never laughed so hard playing a video game. Best played with an Xbox controller, if you like arcade games this is a must buy. And the beauty of it is it’s EA, so it’s not finished yet. Still more joy to come. :P

6.      The 69 Eyes Devils on CD: Described by fans as “Goth and Roll” this is about the best way I can think of to describe them. From Finland, their lead singer sounds like an opera singer suddenly out of a job who decides to become a rock singer. If you like Type O Negative give this band a listen. I think you’ll be impressed.

  

7.      The Book of Eli on Blu Ray: I’ve mentioned this movie before on my mix. Just re-watched it. Gary Whitta, I love you. You are my childhood dreams come to fruition: a gamer who becomes Editor in Chief for PC Gamer Magazine, and ends up playing the hell out of Fallout 3, and then pens the screenplay for the best movie I’ve seen up until Mad Max: Fury Road. (Obviously another gamer’s brainchild.) I’m a big fan of spiritual movies, and Whitta’s movie made me want to go back to church. Influential.

8.      Stranger Things on Netflix: I heard too many of my friends telling me I had to check this out. I knew three of them who set out to watch the first episode and binged watched the whole season (of which only the first season exists presently.) It reminds me of something Stephen King has already covered, but it’s still compelling. Set in 1983 in the state of Indiana, it really hits home (pun intended.) There are some glaring anachronisms: Middle School wasn’t called as such back then, it was called Junior High School. The term “mouth breather,” was non existent then. And kids calling each other “douche bags” was unheard of at that time. The IMDB forums will tell you differently, but bear in mind this is Indiana, the Flinstones’ Bedrock of America. We would have been the last state to become “in the know.” This is X-Files mingled with a late 70’s early 80’s Stephen King miniseries. Wynona Rider's role as a hysterically grieving mother who believes her son is still alive is played impeccably. But the real star of this show is the music. I even watch the opening credits each time because I love the music accompanying it. It's as if John Carpenter, Vangelis, and Tangerine Dream all came together to compose the soundtrack. And not to mention, Joy Division. It’s well worth a Netflix subscription.

Edward's June 2016 Mix

Been busy with the new job, a lot of overtime, and still learning things everyday. Sometimes it’s relatively easy, and sometimes it’s overwhelming. But I like it; I’m just not crazy about the long night hours. I had a nice little weekend visit from my oldest daughter this month. I got to hang out at a local brew pub with both my daughters. Their company under a star filled sky, the taste of a tall oatmeal stout. It will be a memory not soon forgotten.

 

1.      Robin Hood on Blu Ray: I sound like a broken record when I say Ridley Scott is my favorite director. I knew with him at the helm this was going to be a good movie. And I wasn’t disappointed in the least. Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett were superb in their roles, and this is without a doubt the best story of the Robin Hood Legend I’ve ever seen. The picture was pristine in Blu Ray. Unfortunately, I had some troubles with the sound. Old English was used for the dialogue and I just couldn’t understand it. Many of the lines were soft spoken. I had to resort to putting on the closed captions. I wasn’t alone in this. My parents watched the movie with me and they had similar difficulties making out the dialogue. The costuming, verisimilitude and Crowe’s portrayal of “Robin of the Hood,” were spot on. If you like medieval history then this belongs on your video shelf.

 

2.      A Fistful of Dollars on DVD: Sergio Leone completely revitalized the American western with this film (with some help from music composer Ennio Morricone.) Little did we know it would spawn two sequels (including my favorite western of all time, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Casting Clint Eastwood as “the man with no name,” gave birth to arguably, the world’s first anti-hero. Not to mention, when I first saw this as a kid I thought Eastwood’s character was the epitome of coolness. I thought he was the coolest character in any and all fiction, and to this day I wish The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly had a sequel. I would love to have known what ultimately happened to “Blondie,” and Tuco Ramirez. Clint was fresh from his role as Rowdy on the television series, Rawhide so there was a bit of a transition from his likeable cowboy character to the squinty eyed man of few words he became in later westerns. This wasn’t Leone’s best, but it’s not one to be missed.

 

3.      Ryan Adams: Rock N’ Roll on CD: I first picked this up back in 2003 when it first came out upon hearing “Burning Photographs” on the radio. When I discovered I had lost the CD a few weeks ago I instantly reordered this one from Amazon. This underrated album is on par with other one man type balladeers such as Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and Bryan Adams. Every song is edgy, buzzy, and shows off Adams’ wonderful talent in his riff creation. If you’re curious, give his “Burning Photographs” a listen on YouTube, or check out the whole album on Spotify. “Rock N’ Roll” is also a gem, sad and personal. You can tell Adams wrote it about something that must have affected him deeply at some point in his life. I think you’ll be wonderfully surprised. Over the years, Adams has assisted in producing several major acts, and the man himself has made fourteen studio albums. He is a force.

 

4.      Sanford & Son: The Complete Series Season Two on DVD: This show was only surpassed in popularity in its heyday by Norman Lear’s other creation, All in the Family. The show knocked The Brady Bunch off the air and as a kid was the first sitcom that drew my attention to grown up television. I actually looked forward to watching it on Friday nights. The show is racier by today’s standards, which is a good thing if you hate our new sanitized political correctness zeitgeist. This box set is remastered in HD, and noticeably so in the first season. Unfortunately, I don’t think the second season handled the transfer as well. It just looks grainier and rougher than I remember the first season looking. At any rate, this is 1970’s comedic television at its finest.

 

5.      Tripwire: Jack Reacher #3 by Lee Child: I’m currently engrossed in Lee Child’s third novel about the man’s man, Jack Reacher, ex Army Military Policeman and savior of the day. This time we find Reacher down in Key West, Florida digging swimming pools by hand since the alleyways and roads are too narrow to get heavy construction in. He unexpectedly finds a private investigator on his trail. And then suddenly the PI is murdered. Reacher retraces the investigator’s trail back to New York where Reacher finds himself involved in a different type of pool this time, a pool of loan sharks out for blood. The book presents one of the most interesting villains I’ve encountered in a long time, the kingpin loan shark, an avaricious man whose hand he lost in Vietnam and has been replaced by a steel hook  he uses as a weapon. Jack Reacher is a man of great stature (he stands 6’5”) and in this engaging novel he exudes as much intelligence as he does cold hard brawn.

 

6.      Silent Storm by JoWood Games on PC: Ragdoll physics, real world weapon authenticity (circa 1943), full 3 dimensional mapping with complete environmental damage. When this game came out in 2003 it had it all, long before games even thought to implement some of  these now standard features. After beating Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts I decided to tackle this one. It’s quite difficult; it reminds me of 1997’s Jagged Alliance which is my favorite turn based strategy game of all time. This game got great reviews back when it came out. I was overjoyed to see it pop up on Steam.

  

7.      Radiohead: A Moon Shaped Pool on CD: When I first heard Radiohead’s song that propelled them into popularity, “Creep,” I dismissed the band altogether. I hated the song, and the radio seemed to play it constantly. And then, like so many of my favorite CDs in my collection, I was driving to work one night and I heard “Let it Down” on the radio. It was love at first listen. I went out later that week and bought the whole album, OK Computer. And a short time later the album swept the grammies in 1996. Many audiophiles called it one of the best albums of all time to come out of the 1990’s. I couldn’t agree more. And then in the early oughts, I picked up Kid A. I liked it. I liked how each song seemed to be an experiment in sound. It was if Thom Yorke said, “Let’s just see how different we can sound with each song.” I liked it, as I said, but I think OK Computer was their magnum opus. And there is this new release I just acquired, thanks be to my wonderful daughter remembering me on Father’s Day. The band has definitely matured, and they haven’t strayed from being experimental. “Daydreaming” has one of the most plaintive and beautifully haunting openings in a song I’ve heard since Harold Budd/Brian Eno’s heartbreakingly sad “Late October.” (Look it up, and try to listen to it without your eyes welling over. I defy you.) A Moon Shaped Pool didn’t quite captivate me like OK Computer, but it’s been on auto repeat in my CD player, and the album is growing on me.  

 

8.      Gone Girl  on Blu Ray: This movie really caught me off-guard. Ben Affleck returns home one morning after running errands in the local small town to find his wife has vanished ostensibly through foul play. We want to like Affleck’s character, he’s charismatic, and he seems wholly credible. You can even see the police detective assigned to the case wanting so much to believe him. His alibi seems airtight, but things occur throughout the movie to make you think he’s not as credible as you want him to be. And this is presented in a great way in which we begin to shed our disbelief much the same time as the detective. It’s a great screenplay, though one character/subplot I found rather contrived. I have many people who talk about how bad of an actor Affleck is, but honestly, I’m not seeing it. I think he hit a homerun with this one.

 

9.      Steam Summer Sale 2016: I’ve picked up two games so far, but like the past few Steam sales, this one is underwhelming. I think I even described the last sale with that same lame word. Yet, there is no better way to describe it. I’m glad the silly games are gone, the games that compelled you to play to earn Steam trade cards, but there are no more flash sales, and I have most of what I want anyway, but perhaps the biggest slam is the fact the games aren’t going down in price all that much. I’m still compelled to look at the sales each day, but I think the glory days of Steam’s Summer Sales are behind us.

Edward's May 2016 Mix

 

Since taking the new job I generally have little time off (as I stated last month.) But fortuitously, I got lucky enough to get a four day Memorial Day weekend. Glory be! But here’s the thing: the four days flew by, I got nothing done that I wanted to, and now it’s over. Back to work tomorrow. The depression of having to go back makes me wonder if the extra time off is worth it. Why can’t I just win the lottery and just be done with it? Ah, I guess I shouldn’t complain. I did get some genuine gaming time in, and I got my Vespa licensed and put a few sun filled blue sky miles on it. Summer is here at last! Oh and I rediscovered Pink Floyd.

1.      Pink Floyd: The Wall on CD: Pink Floyd is one of those bands I’ve always admired. I never considered myself a real fan, but then I stopped and thought about it. Their The Wall and Dark Side of the Moon were such influential albums in my youth. I remember a few girls in high school who were pot smokers and  were really into the band. And I was a goody two shoes listening to stupid stuff like The Bee Gees and Leo Sayer on the radio. Doh! But the thing is I liked those girls who liked Pink Floyd, but I was afraid they’d have nothing to do with me. (Ah the predicament of every American boy who wasn’t a jock in high school.) I’d never actually owned The Wall until I found it the other day in a store. I’d only ever heard certain songs which when I hear them now on the radio or online evoke certain memories, a tapestry of memories of my aforementioned high school days. But now I’ve listened to it in its entirety in full CD glory, and it’s a great album. I can now see why Pink Floyd was once the highest paid rock band in the world. The range of this album, and what I mean is the range of music/song types is simply incredible. I remember when it came out in 1979, and now I wish I hadn’t slept through it.

2.      Pink Floyd: A Momentary Lapse of Reason on CD: I bought this almost thirty years ago on cassette, but hadn’t heard it in years. I remember how powerful it was. “Learning to Fly” was one of the most haunting songs I’d heard (and had a stellar MTV video to boot.) But the reason I bought the album was for the song, “One Slip.” I remember playing that song over and over. David Gilmoure’s vocals were so authoritative, and the music of the song was so almost . . overpowering, for lack of a better word. The album isn’t theatrical like The Wall, but you can sense its DNA roots from that album. The CD version blows the old cassette version I had out of the water. Pink Floyd has evolved, and with the exception of Dark Side of the Moon, I think they have gotten slightly better with each album they’ve created. This album is a testament to that.

3.      Pink Floyd: The Ultimate Collector’s Edition by Uncut Magazine: How ironic that I’m on this Pink Floyd kick, and I saw this magazine at a local newsstand. I couldn’t pass it up. In-depth reviews of every album the band has made. Interviews that have spanned the years from the band members, this thing reads like a bible for Pink Floyd. It was a good find, and has really given me some insight (and inside information) on the band and their albums and some of the mysteries behind those records and why they were formed the way they were.  

4.      The Dinner by Herman Koch. Just finished this remarkable novel on my four day mini-vacation. Two brothers and their wives meet at a fancy restaurant in Holland to discuss a heinous act of violence committed by their fifteen year old sons that has launched a police investigation. One brother is about to become Prime Minister of Holland, and the other brother was put on leave from teaching high school because of his violent tendencies. As the couples dine, the meal takes a dark turn as they discuss what to do about their sons and how this could affect their safe insulated worlds. I raced to get to the climax, and it begs the old question, how far would you go to cover something terrible your child did? Koch’s excellent plot and how it intermingles flashbacks and present time with the different courses of the meal is brilliant.

5.      Elizabeth Smith’s Fast Track Japanese: As you all know, I work at a Japanese company. I’m surrounded by the language every workday, and after a certain time of the night I am the only “gaijin” in the office. I lived in Japan for two and a half years back in the 80s Who would have thought that I would ever have need for the language again? But alas! It sure is funny how life works out sometimes. I thought I had forgotten most of what I knew when I lived there, but this self study course is bringing it all back in a wonderful way. I still think my favorite word of all is McDonald’s. I mean, listen to it, just a simple American-Scottish name, right? But say it in Japanese and try not to smile. Makoo-doo-nalah-doh!”

6.      The Longest Day on Blu Ray: Appropriately, I watched this on Memorial Day. I’d never seen it, but happened across the 3 disc collector’s edition and for the price couldn’t pass it up. Despite its all star cast, and the fact it was directed by Darryl F. Zanuck (who did the venerable 1977 film, A Bridge Too Far) I thought this would look like a high school media arts production who borrowed the school’s Thespian club to do the film. I was wrong. I have to admit, it was on par with Spielberg’s grandiose Saving Private Ryan (1998). This three hour movie depicts the whole invasion and all parties involved from both sides. It includes the British gliders and the US Army paratroopers who invaded from the other side in the middle of the night, and of course the famous D-Day assault. The boots on the ground German generals were shown as being wholly competent but hamstrung by their high command. Hitler was napping after having taken a sedative during the invasion.

  

7.      Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts on PC:  I just beat this series of campaigns that was an original expansion pack for arguably, Relic’s best RPG ever produced, Company of Heroes. The game concerns the liberation of Caen, or as the Axis thwarting Operation Market Garden. It was my second playthrough, having first played it back in 2009. I’m not good at RTSs, but I love them. And Company of Heroes is my favorite RTS of all time. I do play online, but not often, and when I do I get steamrolled by my opponents. Yet, I still find it a hell of a good time.

8.      Assetto Corsa on PC: This game, oh, this game. Coupled with my Logitech G27 wheel/paddle set this game is the best car racing simulation I’ve ever played. It makes me want to go out and buy a new car, a real life depiction of the virtual wonderments I’ve been driving in this game. In all honesty, I’ve been struggling with it. The game has a default setting concerning the stability control assist. I lurked the forums, and discovered by turning the setting off the game sea changed for me. I’m now progressing rather nicely, and I’m 36% through the career now. I just picked up the Japanese pack which adds multiple Japanese street cars, including the Nissan Skyline. Why watch a Fast and Furious movie when you can play one?

Edward's April 2016 Mix

I’m getting used to the new job. And liking it. I’m a man who wears many hats now: accounting, purchasing, and production control among others. I’m working more hours and so my gaming and entertainment time has been truncated. And as you’ll see, this mix is probably one of the shortest I’ve written. But it’s not because of my abreviated playtime; it’s because of one thing: Dark Souls! It’s all I’ve been playing.

  

1.      U2: Achtung Baby on CD: I’m not a real fan of U2. It seems for every great record they make, Zooropa or Achtung Baby,  they make something like All That You Can’t Leave Behind. But I must admit, Achtung Baby is an album which U2 knocked out of the park. There isn’t a bad song on it simply because Adam Clayton’s bassing and The Edge’s high E-string guitaring is simply a match made in Heaven. This CD has been in my car CD player for the past two weeks, and I can’t stop listening to it. Listen to this album with a good subwoofer. Adam Clayton will want to make you go out and buy a bass of your own.  

2.      Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition on PC: I just hit level 51 with a concentrated aim toward a strength trait. Yes, the game is still hard as hell, but I’ve not ragequit yet. I’ve just defeated the Capra demon boss which wasn’t too hard, and I’ve acquired the claymore sword, a wicked weapon best used with a forward thrust. I have the Hydra in my sights, but so far she’s laid me to waste. Like any other boss I’ve encountered thus far I will take her down. It might take me 30 times, but she won’t best me. I just bought into the Dark Souls Boardgame on kickstarter. I can’t give up now.  

3.      Train Simulator 2016 on PC: I picked up the Donnor’s Pass DLC pack. I’ve only played one scenario in it in which I have to verify the integrity of the pack during a winter snowstorm. Honestly, traveling along at a 30 mph speed limit gets old very quickly, but hey, I accomplished the task with perfection and got the achievement. I look forward to playing summer scenarios so I can really see the beauty this DLC pack has to offer.  

4.      The Dinner by Herman Koch. Recommended by my daughter, I found this novel slow to start, but wow, does it take off! Two couples in Amsterdam meet at a fancy restaurant to fellowship and dine. Each couple has a fifteen year old son who are friends with each other united by a single horrific act that has shattered the comfortably insulated world of each family. I’ve read so many books that have been translated into English from other languages, but none so aptly translated like this one. Gillian Flynn who wrote the novel, Gone Girl, said it best: “Chilling, nasty, smart, shocking and unputdownable.” Read this book.  

5.      Nautica: Voyage cologne. I’ve written about it before on here. I am a discerning man when it comes to colognes. I prefer musks for night ventures and wintertime, and fruity citrusy colognes for the office or for summer and spring excursions. A one cologne fits all is just out of the question, for me at least. I recently picked up a bottle (albeit expensive) of Nautica: Voyage. It’s as if someone captured a beautiful day at sea on a yacht and put it into a bottle. It cost me $65.00, and it was well worth it

6.      Sixteen Candles on Blu Ray: Okay, I recently had the flu. Bored. I had picked up this John Hughe’s film for el cheapo and chose this time to watch it. John Hughes had his fingers on the pulse of youth. His films embody the 80’s and 90’s so well. And he filmed most of his movies in the midwest around the Chicago area because he wanted to appeal to mainstream America. This movie was no Ferris Beuller’s Day Off or The Breakfast Club, but Michael Anthony Hall’s performance makes this one a keeper.

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.