July was a hot month. Summer vacation ended for me, but I went back to a different department. New faces and new responsibilities. I’m already feeling a reduction in stress. I’ve been playing guitar with a buddy, my first time to play with someone else. It’s much more fun than I ever imagined. But this heat! Sheesh! If something good comes out of everything, then this heat is a good thing. I get a free pass to stay inside and indulge myself in good movies, games, music and books!
Battlefield 2042 on PC: I amassed over 2,400 hours in Battlefield 2 almost two decades ago. I still daydream about the maps in that game that seemed like real places because I invested so much time there. I enjoyed Battlefield 3, but really it made me miss Battlefield 2. Then for whatever reason, EA started releasing multiple Battlefield games. It got hard to keep up with them. I was done. Or so I thought. I ended up picking up Battlefield 2042 after it went so cheap on a Steam sale. It’s definitely a battlefield game for the new generation. The maps are gorgeous and the gunplay is fun. I enjoyed the single player campaign. The servers are highly populated (who’s to say for however long, since EA eventually shoots them down.)
Terminator 3 on Blu-Ray: I’m a fan of the Terminator series and always have been. I have this on DVD which is a good rendition of the movie. Watching it on Blu Ray opened up a whole new way of looking at it. The transfer is crisp with its amazing bombastic audio track and a new generation of CGI effects created by Industrial Light and Magic. Complications involving the film’s rights and ownership precluded any interest by James Cameran to helm the director’s chair. Arnold (who commanded a $30 million payday for the film was reluctant to do the film without Cameron directing, but per Cameron’s encouragement to star in the film, he proceeded. I forgot how really good this particular film is. The chase scenes and the fight scenes between Schwarzenegger and the newer T-X female Terminator make the movie well worth watching.
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 on Steam: I read Tom Clancy’s venerable Rainbow Six immediately when it came out in 1998 and was elated to watch it become a very good video game series. I’ve enjoyed them all through the years. . . with the exception of this one. Released in 2008, the game got favorable reviews. I don’t see how. It’s an 8 hour game that took me 30 hours to beat. The final boss took me 33 attempts to beat. The AI had sniper abilities using pistols and always knew where I was. This wasn’t uncommon in shooters in the mid aughts. I’m glad game technology has moved on from this.
Live Aid (1985) on DVD: I’m on disc 3 (of 4) of this wonderful time machine. Highlights for me was seeing Duran Duran perfom. Coming out of the New Romantics era of post punk England, this band help put synth-pop on the map, and boy did they! Simon Le Bon’s stage presence is magnetizing, not to mention John Taylor, of which I can unabashedly state is one of the most handsome men I’ve seen. Furthermore, his prowess on the bass leads me to believe he’s one of the best bass players I’ve ever heard. And then there’s John Taylor whose guitar chops are to be heard to be believed. Madonna was another highlight. Wearing flower print denim jeans and a brassy and black pair of Wayfarer sunglasses, she didn’t miss a beat. She came out with two dancers and moved over the stage like an ocean tide moving forward and recessing with her perfect body. This was a month before her marriage to Sean Penn. She was clearly exuding happiness through her very pores onstage. Seeing The Cars perform was another grand highlight. The guitarist, Elliot Easton, a fellow lefty is a guitarist after my own heart. I was 22 when this concert actually was live and watching this will forever make me feel as if I’ve stolen a jar of something special from a time capsule, unscrewed it and peeked inside.
National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio: A mere two hours from Indianapolis in Dayton, OH is home to over 350 aircraft and spacecraft all housed in four massive hangars. I’d heard much about this place and how it was not to be missed. We made this a family outing and included walk throughs of Air Force One presidential planes (formerly employed), spacecraft that landed on the moon, and a genuine moon rock! There were numerous World War One and World War Two planes (many of them replicas so convincingly real you won’t be able to tell the difference), and a complete cockpit of a Space Shuttle. I walked an estimated four miles touring the museum and got to see everything. Admission was free and there’s not even a charge for parking. Talk about a bang for your buck!
Déjà vu on DVD: Tony Scott, brother of Ridley Scott (my favorite director) has a knack for filming bold and gritty movies that have more busy-ness in them than the pages of a Richard Scarry’s BusyTown children’s book. Denzel Washington has starred in several of his films, and together, the duo has made some of my favorite movies. This film, basically a sci-fi, thriller, crime drama revolves around time travel to prevent a catastrophic crime before it can happen. Denzel Washington and Val Kilmer team up in this one. Surprisingly, James Caviezel plays a bad guy who was partially based on American terrorist, Timothy McVeigh. This was Tony Scott’s last film which is really unfortunate because he was such a good director.
Chess: I learned this ancient game in my high school library when I was about 13 years old. The game is almost a life skill, like riding a bicycle. You don’t forget once you learn to play. Getting good, however, that can be a lifelong struggle. Watching The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix last month rekindled a burnt piece of kindling for my interest in chess. I picked up a few refresher books this past month and picked up a really cool looking USCF tourney chess set. We’ll see how it goes.
In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Mate, MD: This book is a study of addiction: the causes, the repercussions, the real costs, etc. Gabor Mate has an unusual but interesting take on the whole realm of addiction. He believes genes have nothing to do with it. According to him, all addictions come from abuse or neglect from childhood. It’s a great search to fill a void. He boldly challenges the failed War on Drugs, suggesting a holistic, constructive set of solutions. He asks his patients what the high from heroin feels like, and many of them say it’s as if a “warm wet blanket” were placed lovingly around their shoulders. He claims that says it all right there. Filling the void.
