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.

Edward's November 2015 Mix

November. Where in the hell did the year go? My daughter came home for a visit from Texas and brought her PS4. Granted, Fall Out 4 looks nice on our 4K TV, and the PC now allows mods to be created on PC and migrated to PS4 (sorry XB1) but still the PC master race wins out. Graphics just look so much better. Daughter agrees.

1.      Need for Speed: Shift on PC: I've always had a love/hate relationship with EA's esteemed arcade car series. Porsche Unleashed back in 2000 was probably my favorite, but NFS: Most Wanted (2005) is the one I've had the most fun with. I recently tried NFS: Pro Street and it was so buggy I couldn't play it. Just installed this. It’s a great arcade racer, not anything comparable to Assetto Corsa, but definitely fun to play. It seems to work well with my Logitech G27 wheel/paddle set. I feel like a regular Rick Mears in this game. The game came out in 2009, and the graphics reflect that, but if you’re a fan of NFS it’s worth checking out.

2.      The Witcher 2 on PC: Okay, I finally finished it. I started this game back in January, and there were times I left the course, simply stopped playing it. But I was a compelled man. I picked it up again and eventually found my way. It took me 92 hours to beat it, and 89 tries to beat the first boss (supposedly the most difficult boss in the entire game—and I believe it) but the game was worth it. I went through the same predicament in the original Witcher game back in 2008, and oddly the same experience revisited me here and now in 2013. Geralt is a regular medieval Jedi bad ass. And will be hopefully through The Witcher 3.

 3.   Interstellar on Blu-Ray: Directed by Christopher Nolan. So you bought a new big screen TV for your living room? This is the movie to watch first. Well, this or Sandra Bullock’s Gravity. This movie will have you thinking for a week afterward. It’s long but good. In the near future, Earth has been devastated by drought and famine, causing a scarcity in food and extreme changes in climate. When humanity is facing extinction, a mysterious rip in the space-time continuum is discovered, giving mankind the opportunity to widen its lifespan. A group of explorers must travel beyond our solar system in search of a planet that can sustain life. The crew of the Endurance are required to think bigger and go farther than any human in history as they embark on an interstellar voyage into the unknown. Matthew McConahey, the pilot of the Endurance, must decide between seeing his children again and the future of the human race. If you can keep a dry eye when he says goodbye to his kids, then you're not human.

4.      House of Cards: Season 3 on Netflix: Francis Underwood is on the campaign trail to become the next President of the United States. His absorption in his tasks at hand leave him oblivious to  Buddhist monks who are in the White House creating a collage of art by blowing colored grains of sand through straws to make pictures. Francis walks by these men who are there as part of a cultural exchange program. Claire stops to watch them for one tear filled hour. And then suddenly, they are gone, and we see them on a river bank, chanting going on as they release all of the grains of sand back into the elements of a local river. Francis catches wind of this and realizes, despite his shady shenanigans that he never took the time to watch these remarkable artists. His life, his marriage, and his power is fleeting.

     

5.      Star Trek The Next Generation:  Season 2 on Blu Ray: Series is getting better and better. Ensign Wesley Crusher, you’d think he’d be a smart alack kid, but instead, he’s humble, and golden. You only want good things to happen to him. This is the first time I’ve ever rooted so much for a kid since . .  . okay, well, since Will Robinson in the old Lost in Space series. But then I was his age! I could relate perfectly.

6.      Peter Gabriel SO on CD: My trilogy is finally complete. I admire Gabriel for having such a game plan in place. This CD is pretty impressive, I mean, hey, come on! “Red Rain,” "That Voice Again,” and “In Your Eyes.” Those are incredible numbers. Still, US is my favorite, and my go to when I’m sad or lonely late night, and the games are over. US is why I love Peter Gabriel, and would tell him so were I to meet him face to face.

7.      Roxy Music  Avalon on CD: I got lucky and managed to pick this up in a local CD shop today. If you’re a music fan at all then need I say more? You need this in your collection. Brian Ferry, is arguably the world’s best singer ever! Okay, Morrissey crooning, “Everyday is Like Sunday,” might be tops, but Brian Ferry runs a close second. If you’re a music maven, this belongs in your collection. You’re a fool to not have it.

8.      April in Paris by Michael Wallner: a decent story concerning a young German corporal in WWII who is transferred to France to become a translator. He falls in love with a local French girl who works for the French Underground Resistance. Complications develop, obviously! A good read which moved fast and had a sad ending. Highly recommended if you like WWII history.