Edward's March 2022 Mix

 

 

 I’ve lost touch since I boycotted US news media over a year ago. I feel I’ve not missed much, but sometimes some things do seep through. Hollywood Babylon. I guess there really is such a place. The Academy Awards just occurred. Always surrounded by some kind of controversy it seems to worsen every year. This year hosted Will Smith slapping Chris Rock and then spewing profanity at him, a really classy gesture in a place that is supposed to be the epitome of class. And then there’s the accusatory adage of the Academy being comprised of fellows lacking diversity despite how awards are fast tracked to minorities and people of alternate lifestyles seemingly for those attributes alone. I lost interest years ago simply because many of the movies recognized were movies I’d never heard of. It begs the question why we don’t have an annual Plumbers Academy Awards. Wouldn’t it be better to celebrate the efforts of a plumber who spent twelve hours on a frozen winter day chasing down a kitchen sink clog, digging through hardened earth, braving the elements, or perhaps an Oscar for a plumber who, laying PVC pipe for the construction of a new house, crouched most of his day away exuding a remarkable plumber’s crack to the amusement of local passersby? I’m glad my own ebullience is garnered in such simple ways: books, music, games and movies that aren’t Avant Garde. I think I do okay in my choices. Checking out this month’s Monthly Mix, I think you might agree.

 

Up on DVD: I had not seen this since its 2009 debut, back when my kids were, well . . . kids. Thanks to my wonderful guitar mentor, Michael Stevens, I’ve just experienced the pleasure of seeing it again. It’s not your typical Disney film. The director, Pete Docter sums it up best by saying:

“Basically, the message of the film is that the real adventure of life is the relationship we have with other people, and it's so easy to lose sight of the things we have and the people that are around us until they are gone. More often than not, I don't really realize how lucky I was to have known someone until they're either moved or passed away. So, if you can kind of wake up a little bit and go, "Wow, I've got some really cool stuff around me every day", then that's what the movie's about.”

Anno 1800 on PC:  I bought this on Uplay when it first released. I stumbled through it, not sure of what to do or where to go. This is what I miss about the old days of gaming when games came with physical discs and maps and manuals. But now we have forums and YouTube Let’s Plays. I’m trying to get back into it. It’s a city builder taking place in the 19^th century. It’s a gorgeous game that looks like a Thomas Kinkade painting come to life, but it’s certainly not intuitive to play. Game developers, you can do better and you should.

Kiss: The Early Years by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley: For a time, the Canadian prog rock band Rush was touring the states with KISS. In an interview Rush’s bassist, Geddy Lee stated he’d never seen a band work so hard to please their fans than KISS. This book is the other side of that coin. Penned by Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, it’s obvious the pair are wearing rose tinted sunglasses looking in hindsight. “I wasn’t a ham; I was the pig!” states Stanley. He writes, “Although I was a fan of many of the bands we played with, I believe that friendship ended when we hit the stage. Only one band should be left standing.” It’s a wonder these guys’ egos fit on the stage with them. They were loud and proud and not ashamed of it. These aren’t necessarily bad attributes, but they could have displayed a bit more humility. Maybe they did when they discussed the album, The Elder. The album was a major disappointment, both to KISS and the critics. Still, as a kid when the band was hitting it big, they were like a troupe of superheroes to me, and this book took me back to that time.

Inside on Nintendo Switch: This game should be rechristened to “Impossible.” Quite deceptively, it’s offered as a simple button masher platformer, but I’ve had to watch a walk through for every incident in the game. The game revolves around a boy trying to get somewhere, escaping from a hostile environment. Every wrong turn or misstep results in the boy’s rather macabre death. Despite its amazing art style and its seemingly simplistic gameplay, I’m finding it to be a chore simulator at best. Games are supposed to be fun! I’ll see it through to the end even if I have to continually consult YouTube. It’s a short game, an average playthrough consisting of 3 hours. The ending is abrupt, and I can’t wait to get there.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara: Weighing in at 814 pages, this will probably be the biggest book I’ll read this year. I’m nearing page 200. Reading this at my daughter Robin’s suggestion, I have to admit this will also probably be the saddest book I’ve ever read. Each time I crack the binding it’s as if I stepped into a funeral home for a visitation being held for someone I once loved. And yet, I can’t put the book down! Has a book ever made you feel that way? It concerns the story of four men, best friends in college, and follows their lives into their 30s and 50s.

Star Trek on 4K Blu Ray: This is the best movie I’ve seen this year. It’s almost embarrassing that I took this long to watch it, but man, was it worth it! I didn’t consider myself a J.J. Abrams fan before. I’d seen his Lost. It was interesting but a bit convoluted. This movie is somewhat an homage to the old television series, and the attention to detail reflecting that is amazing. The set designers were inspired by Pierre Cardin’s art design of the 1970s and everything was an evolution of the original show as if it had been created in 2009 instead of 1966. The Romulans were shabby looking compared to any iteration I’ve seen of them elsewhere, but Abrams made it work. I watched an interview with Michael Giacchino, who scored the film. He said he wanted to include Alexander Courage’s famous (and universally recognizable) theme in the movie. Everything was so “busy” in the film that it isn’t presented until the final part of the film. He said, in effect, the audience gets to “earn” Courage’s wonderful theme song, and it’s so fitting where it’s placed in the movie. I’m told there are two other movies in this series. I can’t wait!

Batman: Arkham Asylum on PC: Finished this way back in 2010 but I wanted to reacquaint myself with it since I plan to play the other games in the series. I remember this is the game that taught me how to play with an Xbox controller. The fist fighting is truly visceral (and just about vicarious!) The game features a colorful cast of characters (mostly the bad guys, it’s always the bad guys with all of the panache) but the main star of this show is Arkham Asylum. Depicted solely at night with lightning and decrepit buildings, it’s a game plucked right out of Halloween. If you’ve never played this one, you’re missing out on the beginning game of a great series.

 

Edward's February 2022 Mix

 

 

 

These crazy last days. It seems the world has gone mad. Kindness is gone out the window. Jump into any Steam gaming forum, you’ll see. Hate is the new Love on the Interwebz. Vladimir Putin is making the world a scary place right now. (I personally think he’s going to ostracize his own country, making it once again, an insular place.) Netflix is raising their prices (for the third time in three years.) I want to draw the line, but there is just so much stuff to see there. I’ve been a member since the early aughts. I had DVDs mailed to my house. I should draw a line and sever the relationship. But I hate saying goodbye.

 

House of Cards on Netflix: Frank Underwood is one of the most scheming, conniving, dastardly men on the planet. And he’s the President of the United States. Yet, he’s so unctuously charming, you can’t help but to root for him. He’s so nefarious I feel guilty watching the show and feeling about him like I do. Unlike his real-life counterparts in Washington, he admits his lust for power and his reluctance to let it go. If this show really depicts genuine politics of the American democracy system, then Heaven help us.

Quantum Solace on Netflix: This, the second Daniel Craig James Bond vehicle, takes place six hours after the first movie. Talk about a segue!  This one has the usual flair, the world wealthy bad guys, the beautiful women who make you wonder if they’re going to poison Bond as they kiss him, and the over-the-top villainous world domination schemes. The villain in this one doesn’t carry the usual charisma. As a matter of fact, I kept wanting him to get his just due as I watched the movie. And Bond’s boss, M, leaves me with a sort of ambivalence. I know she means well, but I just can’t stand her. She treats James Bond with mistrust and condescension. I think it’s time they put her out to pasture.

The Enemy (Jack Reacher #8) by Lee Child: The movies are decent; I’ll give them that. I even like that they’ve cast Tom Cruise as the titular hero of the books. (Although, Cruise’s stature is way off. Jack Reacher is 6’5” and weighs in the neighborhood of 230 lbs.) This, the eighth book in the series is a prequel. And, oddly, told in the first-person sense. So, we really get into Jack Reacher’s brain. This book is also a sort of turning point for me. It’s the one book making me realize, Lee Child doesn’t just throw words together. The guy is really a talented writer. If you have any interest in men’s action fiction, I suggest delving into the Jack Reacher series. This one being a prequel may be the perfect one to start with.

Pat Benatar Icon on vinyl: I just picked up this Walmart exclusive transparent blue album and boy howdy, is it a winner! It’s a greatest hits compilation and it certainly doesn’t disappoint. There were a few cracks and pops on my first listen which surprised me, but the album sounds superb. It’s a relatively new release. It’s not even listed on dr-loudnesswar.info yet, which is where I go to check out the dynamic range compression of just about every album, CD, HD file ever released. Neil Geraldo’s guitar prowess shines on the album, and given this listen, it never dawned on me just how good Pat Benatar’s voice is. No wonder the woman won multiple Grammy awards. This is an album I’ll listen to again and again.

World of Warships on PC: You’re probably getting tired of me writing about this dangerously addictive game, but I just can’t get enough. If someone banished me to an island and told me I was restricted to one game only, this would be it. It’s an easy enough concept. Join an armada of guys piloting warships and attack a group of guys doing the same thing from the other side. It’s as simple as toy boats in a bathtub. Easily said, but then you look at the clock and realize two and a half hours have passed. There’s been a recent graphical update, so the game looks gorgeous. Heck, there’s even extensive work done on the soundtrack. And submarines are on the horizon. I had a chance to test them. They’re not overpowered like you think they would be. They’re actually fun and challenging! All if this in a game that’s free to play. With that said, however, be warned. You will spend money.

Ultimate General: Civil War on PC: I’ve now restarted this game three times. This time I’m playing on the least difficult level, and abiding by my new rule, if I fail this time, I’m done. Time is limited and I just don’t have enough of it to commit to the masochism of enduring games I can never beat. (Not to mention a Steam library that will last me into my nursing home years) This game is your chance to prove your mettle as a Civil War general heading either the Northern or Southern side. You are awarded prestige points with each victory which enables you to purchase better weapons and veteran soldiers. The maps are beautifully and accurately recreated and the whole game looks reminiscent of a time period painting come to life. The only real con is a lack of multiplayer which seems a glaring omission considering this company’s first game, Ultimate General: Gettysburg had an excellent multiplayer option.

Guild Wars 2 on PC: One of the few games I actually preordered that turned out to be okay. Coming out in 2012, this was the successor to the popular Guild Wars which made its debut in 2005. Continuing the storyline, this game is a much more involved massive multiplayer online game. With its many modes, maps, tasks, and abilities you could stay busy in this game for whole months of non-stop playing. I always stay much longer than I anticipated when I log in. The environments are grandiose and breathtaking, and the game’s music (which can be found for exorbitant prices on Amazon) is nothing short of stellar. This game has been called one of the friendliest MMOs on the planet. It’s still relevant in the world of online gaming and hosts 500, 000 players on any given day.

 

Edward's January 2022 Mix

 

 

 

Ah, the throes of winter. It’s a good time to be inside, isn’t it? And what better way to spend inside time than doing inside things. Books, movies, music anyone? Not to mention the occasional game or three. It’s shaping up to be another weird year. Prices are through the roof. A neighbor of mine had a new roof priced: $25,000. I got an oil change for my Mustang at the dealership: $331. (Of course, I talked them down from that, but the thing is, it’s still a thing.) And the sad part is as you already know, once prices go up, they don’t come down. Whoever said what goes up must come down, but that doesn’t apply to prices. It never has.

 

Alien on Blu Ray: Playing Aliens FireTeam Elite last month got me motivated to revisit this old favorite in the land of cinema. The Blu Ray transfer is excellent, and now I see the original has been released on 4K. That’s something I may have to look into. One thing I noticed on this perhaps 4^th or 5^th viewing was how slow the pacing was for the first 45 minutes of the film. And I truly see Ridley Scott’s ingenuity behind it. That ever long pacing is to get you to care about the characters, to really get to know them. And it just works. If you like good horror movies, this is one of the all time greats.   

Casino Royale on Netflix: My guitar mentor, Michael Stevens got me excited to watch this one. I’d never seen a Daniel Craig James Bond film, and so why not start with the first one of the five movie series? It’s typical Bond fare with over-the-top villains, gadgetry, lovely looking women but this time with a James Bond who, though rough and rugged, has a sensitive side. I’m told the next movie in the series takes place six hours after this movie ends. So, I’m wholly looking forward to seeing it. James Bond has been a steadfast companion through all of my years. It’s nice to see how the series has evolved, and the different iterations of Mr. Bond, himself.

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie: I remember receiving a Guinness Book of World Records for Christmas as a kid. One record which specifically intrigued me at the time was Agatha Christie's then current record of being the most prolific author on the planet (with over 2 billion copies of her books having been sold). It's a shame over forty years later and I'm just now finishing my first book by her. But wow, what a book! Mysteries were never really my thing, Sherlock Holmes seemed boring (I know now that is not the case) and Murder, She Wrote seemed uninteresting to me. I'd always heard this book was a great introduction to Christie's works. It concerns a cast of characters who receive mysterious (but compelling) invitations to a small ritzy island off the England coast. Over the course of a few days, the arrivals are killed off, and like any good open mystery, we don't find out until the last of the book who the killer is. I never saw it coming. I agree with her fans. Agatha Christie had a flair for this type of thing. I look forward to more of her books.

Beck Sea Change on CD: I remember hearing Beck back in 1996 with his big hit, “The Devil’s Haircut.” It was such a fun frolicky song to listen to. And then I bought the CD and found the whole album highly enjoyable. But there was a certain sameness to his music. And then Sea Change was released in 2002. And it is here we see a much more serious soulful side to Beck. Filled with beautiful acoustics and Beck’s crooning voice, the album caught me off guard when it came out. It is listed in Rolling Stone magazine’s top 500 albums of all time. But does that really matter, I mean, come on, 500 albums are a lot to choose from. Heh. Still, Rolling Stone did say it was Beck’s best album. I couldn’t agree more.

Hunt: Showdown on PC: I’d been following this game on Steam for quite the while, but never pulled the trigger because I am absolutely abysmally bad at battle royale games. I finally took the plunge, however, and boy howdy! This game is the most fun I’ve had in a PC game in ages. It’s a simple concept. You are thrown onto a map in the southern bayou area of Louisiana in the late 1800s, charged with tracking down, killing and harvesting monsters. Simple enough, yeah? Well, when you harvest one of these monsters you have to make it to an exfiltration point to cash in. Other bounty hunters (real players) attempt to rob you of your booty. It’s more fun than any game has a right to be, and with a couple of good team mates, even moreso. The music, the environment, and the murky swampy graphics just add to the experience.

Night Gallery Season Three on DVD: I loved this show as a kid. And it’s great seeing all of these actors like Sally Fields and Burgess Meredith do these old roles from the 1970s. Rod Serling and producer Jack Laird butted heads when it came to the show’s format. Serling insisted upon a certain seriousness, and Laird insisted on inserting these small comical two-to-three-minute comedic episodes that distracted from the show’s horror element. In my opinion, this doomed the show to an early retirement. It’s wonderful to be able to watch the whole series in its entirety via DVD.

Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.: Kurt Vonnegut is to literature what Bill Murry is to film comedy. Have you ever overheard a stranger telling another stranger about a bad day he's had, a series of unfortunate events that are so sad and pathetic you find yourself looking away to avoid a guffaw? In his beautiful and bleak style, Vonnegut introduces us to such a character, Howard Campbell, Jr., confined to jail, about to go to trial in Israel, seeking redemption after being ousted as a Nazi war propagandist. Abetted by an American, he's actually employed as a double agent. But at the time of his capture and incarceration the American contact can't be located. Campbell had better think fast. Kurt Vonnegut is a master with the pen and metaphor. His writing is beautiful. “We crossed the deserted parade ground together, dust devils spinning here and there. It was my fancy to think of the dust devils as the spooks of former cadets at the school, killed in war, returning now to whirl and dance on the parade ground alone, to dance in as un-military a fashion as they damn well pleased.” A thousand words, indeed, does paint a pretty picture.

Color out of Space on Blu Ray: Thanks to my good friend, Gene Clifford, I was able to procure a copy of this whacked out movie for this mix. When I announced, I was going to watch this movie to my friend, Brian Bartley, his gaze intensified and he told me, “There are certain lines you don’t cross in movies, but this one does. And I’ll know you will have watched it by your face the next time I see you.” How’s that’s for a compelling reason to watch a movie? It was a rather unsettling intro to a movie. I felt like I was going to sit down to a viewing of The Ring in which after you watched the movie you only had a set number of days to live! Starring Nicholas Cage, the movie is an adaption of a story by H.P. Lovecraft, and what a story it is. It’s so sadly pathetic and heart rending. It’s a movie in which you’ll be glad it’s only a movie. H.P. Lovecraft lived a dreary bleak life, he hung out in morgues, and strolled around his house in winter coats, refusing to put the furnace on. He had an air of macabre about him, and this movie captures that perfectly.

Terminator: Dark Fate on Blu Ray: A redux of the storyline, more “woke,” a little more outlandish, and not as dark and sinister as the original. The special effects were worth the cost of admission alone. The terminator, this time around, was a bit more interactive, preferring to talk his way out of things than simply going all in and killing everything around him (certainly not that he was above doing that when the situation required it, mind you.) It’s worth checking out if you’re a fan of the series. An interesting thing I learned while watching the “behind the scenes,” during most stunt driving, the guy actually driving the car is inside of a small roll cage equipped with a steering wheel, gearshift, clutch, etc. affixed to the front bumper section of the vehicle. So, when you see the protagonist/antagonist inside the cab whipping the steering wheel around, it’s not connected to anything. They’re not even driving!