Edward's July 2018 Mix

We are hitting the downswing of summer now. I feel the sublte inferrences of fall in the air. I love it, but I hate the winter it portends. I had my summer shutdown/vacation from work and figured I’d get more gaming time in. And guess what I played more than anything during that time? Bookworm. Almost unbelievable eh? And then there was the Steam Summer Sale. Sadly, it’s glory days are long gone. You’ll do better visiting Humble Bundle or Fanatical. They host better sales and much more often as well, and they’re all Steam keys anyway. Bucking Steam altogether you can hit up Gog.com as well. Cheaper games, and usually nifty extras included like avatars, game guides, and soundtracks. And Gog tracks your game time just like Steam. I went on the table again for a paddle shock. It helped the a-fib go away, and to further embellish the happy story, they tweaked my ICD and brought my heart ejection fraction from a lowly 15-25% to a blazing 30-35%. Fortunately, it seems I’ll be around a while longer.  

1.     Big Wreck Ghosts on HD FLAC:  Created in 2014, this album was nominated for the Juno Awards “Rock Album of the Year.” It’s a bit more bluesy than standard Big Wreck fare, and admittedly it took a few listens to grow on me, but like so many good albums it did grow on me. I think the best song on the album is the titular “Ghosts,” but the whole album is worth a pick up and listen to. And for the price, the album is 70 minutes long, so you get your money’s worth. Oddly, the album which shows a multi toned blue city back-grounded by searchlights reminds me of the underground city, Rapture in the PC game Bioshock. It’s a weird correlation, I know, but it’s what the cover made me think of, and that’s a good thing. I’ll take anything as an excuse to revisit that terrible and wonderful city.

2.     Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 4 on Blu Ray: This series continues to blow me away. It’s some of the best writing I’ve ever seen on television and the Blu Ray treatment still makes my jaw drop. I often buy whole series and then unload them on eBay. This is one series I shall forever keep and re-watch. Data has become my favorite character, though I’ve grown quite fond of all the characters. It’s interesting how the classic series always revolved around “strange new worlds, new civilizations,” and this newer series seems to involve life aboard the Starship Enterprise and its characters much more. And it just works. Perfectly.

3.     The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hogue by Robert A. Heinlein: (blatantly plagiarized (stolen) from my GoodReads review.) Heinlein’s early works will always be my favorite. This was during his what I consider transition time, moving from his early work to his modern writing. This is a novella and short stories. None of them particularly stood out except the story, “The Man who Traveled in Elephants,” which is a story of a man at the end of his life entering a sweet hereafter. Oddly, I’m not alone. Heinlein considered this his best short story.

4.     Mission: Impossible 2 on Blu Ray: One of the highest grossing action films of 2000, and directed by John Woo, a tour de force of action sequences. As farfetched as you can get in a movie (somersaulting hi-jinks in slow motion, catapulting over a motorcycle while aiming and shooting a pistol. Seriously?) Yet it is fun to watch. This is the stuff that sells popcorn. The plot was not quite as convoluted as the first movie, but still one to pay attention to if you want to be in the know. This, my second delve into the box set I recently picked up. No regrets so far, and the Metallica song “Disappear” was a nice touch at the end credits.    

5.     Siphon Filter on Sony PlayStation Vita: My first purchase from the PSN Store, this was originally released on the PlayStation back in 1999. It’s reminiscent of Sam Fisher meets Solid Snake. I forgot how difficult these old games were, not being able to save until you end the level. The controls aren’t so intuitive, but I’m getting better. Still it’s a fun challenge, and the graphics look pretty slick for a 2000 game ported to a handheld. Actually, it makes the graphics look even better on a small screen gaming device.

6.     Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational  on Sony PlayStation Vita: This is quite the fun little golf game. The chirpy happy music coupled with a slight Japanese art style and the intuitive controls make this game worth buying a Vita for. The background detail is amazing and the detail in the courses make it easy to believe you are stepping out of the phenomenal world into a wonderful place Sony has created for the player. With upgrades and unlocks, this game ventures into slight RPG territory.  

7.     Neverwinter Nights on PC: I’m still trudging through haunted forests and zombified towns trying to fight the good fight and discovering what has cursed Neverwinter. It’s a noble cause and definitely a compelling journey, though I still lose my way sometimes and drop the game to do other things. I’m nearing the end of chapter two. I’ve recently acquired a +3 Greatsword which is sort of a gamechanger, but in the best of ways.  

8.     Big Audio Dynamite This is Big Audio Dynamite  on CD: In my five decades of life on this earth, 1985 will forever be a standout. It was the year I got out of the US Navy, my four year hell-hole. It was like walking out of prison. One of the first albums I remember hearing when I got out was, “The Bottom Line.” I recently picked this album up, and yep, sure enough it was a time machine. I instantly found myself back in 1985. The band, vocalized by The Clash fame, Mick Jones, was a mix of punk, reggae, hip-hop (before that was even a thing) and funk. It was a strange conglomeration that spelled success for the band. The album on original Compact Disc Audio sounds great without any “sound wars” remastering,  unfortunately, try as I have, “The Bottom Line,” is the best song on the album and I would have been just as happy finding it on an ‘80s compilation album.

9.     Pink Floyd: The Ultimate Collector’s Edition: I’ve been reading this for awhile. And to be honest, I’m about Pink Floyded out. That may sound harsh, but for all of their broad musical endeavors over the course of several decades they have intrinsically defined their music as a tribute to Syd Barrett. And then their definition became a tribute to Roger Waters (who became bitterly estranged from the band.) This carried even into The Division Bell which in my opinion is David Gilmour’s magnum opus. It just seems such a waste to define a band’s impetus being any kind of legacy left behind from former members who would probably not care less anyway.

Edward's June 2018 Mix

It’s that time of year again. Summer shutdown from work, the annual lackluster Steam Sale, yard mowing, looking out my office window and wishing I could be outside. Still, I’ll take this over ice and snow anytime. Speaking of the Steam Summer Sale (which Gog.com, Humble Bundle and Fanatical seems to blow clean out of the water) I’ve picked up a few games to add to my ever growing backlog and the funny thing is . .when will I play these games? .

1.      Brian McBride The Effective Disconnect on CD:  Commissioned to score the OST for the famous documentary about the vanishing honeybee dilemma, The Vanishing of the Bees.” this album is a tour de force of McBride’s work. You know him as 1\2 of Austin, TX’s brilliant ambient duo, The Stars of the Lid, which I know and love well, but frankly speaking, I think this work outshines his work with TSOL. Filled with emotive orchestral sweeps the whole album reminds me of Voltaire’s famous quote, “Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to keep silent.” The album is heartrendingly sad but so beautiful it’s like audio crack cocaine. I simply can not stop listening to it.

2.      Mission: Impossible on Blu Ray: I had been searching for this Blu Ray box set forever, and my local Hellmart had the DVD set, but never the Blu Ray set. Finally, they got it in! And all five movies for $25, that’s a hard deal to beat. I confess, I fell asleep while watching this movie back upon its release in 1996, but this time I was glued to the set. Critics decried the convoluted plot, but I didn’t think it was that difficult to follow, certainly no more than some of  the old television episodes I watched as a kid. (Speaking of, this movie makes the old series, as venerable as it is, look like a high schl by far. I have lost whole hours engrossed in this book. ool play.) If you research it you’ll find it’s one of those movies that struggled to be made (e.g. scripting problems, film-on-location difficulties, personality conflicts with directors/actors, indecisive screenplay writers, the list goes on.)

3.      The Wolf’s Hour  by Robert R. McCammon: Still plowing along in this magnificent horror novel by one of my favorite writers. I have to admit it’s a tad long winded in parts, but if you’re a fan of such great WWII flicks as Where Eagles Dare or The Guns of Navarone, or you played the heck out of the Wolfenstein series, you’d be doing yourself a disservice to pass this one up. I don’t know how McCammon pulled it off, it’s as if the man was a werewolf himself because he ostensibly captured what it would be like to be a lycanthrope and put it on paper for us all to experience. I’ve read some great werewolf stories, (The Werewolf of Paris, Thor) and this tops them all.

4.      Ronin on Blu Ray: An action film starring Robert DeNiro and Jean Reno. I had watched this years ago on DVD and recently came across a bargain bin edition of it on Blu Ray. Directed by John Frankenheimer who certainly needs no introduction. This director directed action movies years before they were ever a thing. After a the Cold War there are broken and splintered secret agents still hyped and pumped full of a adrenaline. They need something to do, and so a group of them came together and formed an A-Team of sorts. This movie is filled with surprises, betrayals, and enough action sequences to mesmerize a cave man. And not mention the appearance of Natascha McElhone who’s as beautiful as a summer day in the winter solstice. If you like car chases, this is one not to be missed, of particular note is the chase through the Parisian highway tunnels, similar to the one in which Princess Diana lost her life.  

5.      Sony Playstation Vita: I suddenly had the urge to pick up a handheld gaming device which is odd being that I’ve never once played a game on my mobile phone. And years ago I purchased a Sony Playstation PSP and just couldn’t get into it. I quickly sold it on eBay. With this Vita, however, I’m totally hooked. Everybody seems to be clamoring over the new Nintendo Switch and that’s all fine and dandy, but rather than hanging out with Mario, I’d rather play the original Final Fantasy, Silent Hill and Metal Gear games. Not to mention, all of the great indies available for the Vita. Stardew Valley, Limbo, Full Throttle, Risk of Rain, Child of Light. I like how Sony murdered the Vita yet its rabid fanbase keeps it going strong.

6.      Rise of Venice on PC: I bought this on a Steam Sale many moons ago. It’s one of those Patrician era wooden ships/trading simulations in which most of the goings on occurs behind the scenes in invisible spreadsheets, but the graphics and the art style and the music grace the game lovingly. The thing is, I really suck at it. The tutorial is not the best at explaining things. In truth, I’m about to uninstall it. I may give it one more go, but the future doesn’t look too bright. It’s a game I really wish would work out.

7.      Euro Truck Sim 2 on PC: I recently picked up the Vive La France! expansion which bloated my map from 60% explored to now only 45% explored. This just goes to show how much content was added with the map. I’m now driving a Mercedes semi and have six or seven drivers working under me. I’m slowly building my empire into a mega corporation trucking company. You’ve heard me say this before, but ETS2 is my garden of zen. There’s just nothing quite like it, cruising along a rainy highway, the lights in the cab and Trance music playing on the radio (which is actually authentically streamed from European stations via the Internet.) This is a game which shall always reside on my HDD.

Edward's May 2018 Mix

 

It went straight from winter to summer. Of course I’m not complaining. I’ll take heat over cold anytime. I’ve got to have an excuse to stay inside and play computer games. I’m embracing my new obsession for guitar, both listening and playing. My only regret is wishing I’d began this journey decades ago when I was a young man. I had a cardioversion this month and guess what? It worked!! Doctors said I should start to feel progressively better. I didn’t realize I was feeling badly!

1.      Garbage Beautiful  on CD: The album sounds like . . . well, garbage. Beautiful Garbage failed to match the commercial success achieved by its predecessors. I can’t believe the disappointment of this album, Rolling Stone Magazine cited it as one of their top ten releases of 2001. I don’t see it all. And I guess I’m not alone. The album garnered critical complain yet sales were wholly lackluster. The album sounds like a b-side compilation of Garbage 2.0. Better, it sounds like songs that would have been culled from a new release. I don’t know how to describe it. Each song is very samey . . .with a tinge of hip-hop and something not quite electronica, but maybe close. I’ve listened to it twice now thinking perhaps it would grow on me. Not happening.

2.      For Honor on PC: It was free to play on Steam for a weekend this month. And the standard version of the game went on sale from $60 down to $15. I couldn’t resist. This is the ultimate sword fighting simulation. It makes Medieval: Chivalry look like a mod some 7^th grader made for an Intro to Computing class. The game is super polished, but in line with Ubisoft’s money generating schemes, there are a gazillion incrementals which cost money. There is one “emotion” basically an animated gesture your foe does when he defeats you that costs the equivalent of $9.00. This is ludicrous. But of course, this is what Ubisoft does. I’m still in the training academy, and I have to say my Xbox Controller hasn’t had such a workout since Dark Souls. The game is torturous difficult. I can only imagine how I’m going to be dueling someone online. I’m going to be like Curly of  The Three Stooges, self slapping my face and whoop, whoop, whooping . . .right before I throw my PC out of the window. But hey, you know me: the eternal masochist.

3.      The Wolf’s Hour  by Robert R. McCammon: Had a friend approached me with this book and said, “Hey, I have this book I want you to read,” and gave me this I probably would have laughed and said, “Ah, that’s okay . . . just tell me what it’s about. And give me the Reader’s Digest version.” But this IS Robert R. McCammon, of whom I am a big fan and it’s a book I hadn’t read so I decided to dive into it. The book concerns a Russian spy in WWII converted to the English who does clandestine (and sometimes not so clandestine ) missions behind German lines. He kills his share of Nazis and steals his fair share of documents and he works with almost superhuman aplomb. And the reason he’s able to pull these shenanigans off so well is because he’s a werewolf. Yes, I know, it’s laughably farfetched. But McCammon breathes life into this guy . . er . .beast? so vividly that you can’t help but sympathize with him and believe in the character.

4.      Battletech on PC: Easily the most fun I’ve had in a PC game this year. This game was a Kickstarter project, obviously by a band of people who were big fans of the original FASA license of the 1980s, we’re talking the books, the table top miniatures game. And yes, even the Activision and Microsoft games of the 1990s. I’m loving the campaign, oddly, limiting my playtime with it because I don’t want to reach the game’s end, though it has unlimited playability. And Paradox Interactive is famous for oodles of DLC—this is a good thing. I’ve gotten to play around in some online skirmishes. I suck, but I still have fun losing. This is a game I’m going to play for a long time.

5.      Heat on Blu Ray: I watched this with my good friend, John Wallen who had never seen it. This makes probably my sixth viewing of the movie. It’s odd how one can watch a movie over again and pick up details formerly passed over. Directed and produced by Michael Mann, this movie makes me want to check out more of his work (Miami Vice notwithstanding.) Coupled with an amazing soundtrack, this movie features one of the greatest bank heist shootouts in movie making history. It’s no small wonder this movie was the inspiration for the games, Kayne & Lynch: Dead Men, Payday: The Heist, & Grand Theft Auto.

6.      The Cure  Seventeen Seconds on CD: Released in 1980, this is The Cure’s second album and was made on a minimal budget. Some say it paved the way for Gothic music (despite Robert Smith’s extreme aversion to that association.) My personal favorite, “A Forest” reminds me of  the soundtrack to IonStorm’s venerable computer game, Deus Ex. The whole album is seemingly consisted of as much minimalism of instrumentation as was the budget, but I think it set the standard for that distinct Cure sound. And I can see how critics claim it was at the forefront of Gothic music. Chris Westwood of Record Mirror described the album as "sad Cure, sitting in cold rooms, watching clocks". It’s a perfect description. 

7.   Ibanez AW54LCE Guitar: Progressing in my journey on becoming a master guitarist I’ve discovered the following notions to be total falsehoods: “I’m too old to learn,” or “I have no talent.” The truth is, it’s really just a matter of practice. I’m keeping it fun, and each time I pick up the guitar I feel like I come away from it having learned just one more little thing which made me better than the previous session. And speaking of keeping it fun, I just picked up a new Ibanez AW54LCE  lefty acoustic. Solid mahogany, it looks like a guitar dipped in chocolate. And I can’t say enough for the folks at Sweetwater, out of Fort Wayne, IN where I purchased it. Switching from electric to acoustic is different and more difficult, but I’m enjoying the transition and my newly found passion for singing.    

Edward's April 2018 Mix

I took a break last month after my divorcement from Facebook. I guess I miss it at times, but then where does one draw the line? Force fed fake news from the Russkies, my information being blatantly sold to third parties, and my online habits being culled unbeknownst from me . . . all by one site. I’d just had enough. And now watch, I’ll reactivate my account in a week or so. Spring is finally here. The struggle will become real, that is . . to stay inside and play or go outside and enjoy the real world. Speaking of struggles, I engrossed myself in an old Codemaster’s game this month called Soldiers: Heroes of World War II. Truly, one of the worst games I’ve ever played, but I couldn’t stop. But when it comes to computer games I’ve always been a masochist anyway.

1.      Big Wreck Grace Street on FLAC: They simply get better with each album. I jumped onboard with Big Wreck way back in 1997 with the debut of their first album and I’ve been a fan ever since. I could listen to any of their albums on eternal auto play and be satisfied. Ian Thornley has always had a wonderfully distinct voice (reminiscent of the late Chris Cornell, as a matter of fact he’s been referred to as the Canadian Chris Cornell, and it’s a sobriquet Thornley’s not fond of.) But it’s his guitar playing that has blossomed and matured into an incredible thing. I don’t quite know how to describe this album. It’s bluesy, despite I’m not a blues fan. I guess mellow rock and roll is the best way to describe it, but oh so compelling. It’s one of those albums that if you’re not a fan, just hang on because the album will grow on you like a tumor of happiness.  

2.      BladeRunner  on Blu Ray: I broke out my 5 disc ultimate collector’s edition to rewatch this, my favorite movie of all time, just to hear the commentary by the two screenplay writers and the producer. All good stuff. As it goes, this movie was released during the summertime in the time frame of E.T. just as the studios thought E.T. would be dying out in popularity. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, and BladeRunner never got the applause it deserved. And did you know the most beautiful line in the whole film, the famous “Tears in Rain” speech was something Rutger Hauer approached Ridley Scott with? Yep, that’s all a Rutger original. Who would have known that last bit of lines would hallmark the movie as one of the greatest cult films of all time. I’ve seen this movie approaching a dozen times, and I could watch it again just as many times over.

3.      Echo Burning (Jack Reacher #5) by Lee Child: Spending time with my favorite superhero, Mr. Jack Reacher. This time, he’s accosted by a beautiful young woman who picks him up while he’s hitchhiking, and she implores him to off her abusive husband. Of course Reacher declines the offer, and the woman’s husband ends up dead anyway with all evidence pointing to her as the murderer, but Reacher surmises all doesn’t add up to be what it seems. And suddenly he’s in over his head (like every other Jack Reacher novel.) Quite entertaining to the point of page turning intensity, Child has a knack for this sort of thing.

4.      F1 2016 on PC: I’m still fighting to not be last place in every race I engage in, and of course that’s easier said than done. I do okay in the practice sessions, earning my points to invest in R&D. Every little bit helps, but it’s going to be a long time before I start placing consistently. Still, I love this game. Like I’ve said recently, this game made me infatuated with real life F1 racing. I’ve not missed watching a race since the end of last season. And a little dream of mine is to actually attend the USA race this year in Austin, TX. We shall see.

5.      Northern Exposure: The Fourth Season on DVD: My favorite comedy from the 1990s. In their recent “The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time,” Rolling Stone Magazine declared this series one of the worst shows of all time. They describe it as critically acclaimed and the show’s creator went onto formulate their favorite show of all time: The Sopranos. But then go figure, this is the most liberal rag in America yet hosts full page ads of Skoal chewing tobacco. What’s wrong with this picture? I find myself reaching for a Kleenex tissue about every episode. And I don’t know if it’s Joel Fleischman’s self discoveries or Chris “in the morning” on the radio and his wit often borrowed from great lines in poetry or books, but the show always resonates with me. It makes me want to move to Cicely, Alaska and take up residence there with these compelling characters.

6.      Elizabeth Smith’s Fast Track to Japanese in 6 Weeks book/CD: Having lived in Japan many decades ago I got a nice little firm grip on the language. Well, now I work at a Japanese company. Who would have ever guessed speaking Japanese would come into play after all these years? I’m rusty to say the least. This program has been a Godsend. It’s strange, being an old guy now, it really is more difficult to learn things. I’m just not as absorbent as I was in my twenties, but using this program 45 minutes a day like it instructs you to do, I’ve come far in even the past week and a half I’ve used it. And the beauty of it is, I’m never going to forget this stuff. I encourage everybody to learn a new language. If anything it just makes you feel incredibly intelligent.

7.      A Reunion with my Guitar: Since my brush with death last year (interestingly I just read a malady with a 95% mortality rate) I’ve discovered each day has become much more important to me. I’m trying to reinvent myself, hence learning Japanese. I’ve recently picked up my guitar and blew the dust off it. I’ve committed to thirty minutes a day. It’s amazing how muscle memory works, and the fact that old songs have started coming back to me. I just had my axe cleaned and restrung this month, and coincidentally, HumbleBundle.com is offering a slew of beginner guitar books. You can pick up the best of them for one dollar. Isn’t it funny how fate works? My relationship with my guitar, well, I’m like a dinosaur caught in a California tar pit. I have to really work hard for any little bit I master. Funny, how it runs in the blood so thick (I come from a family of musicians) yet I have no natural ability. Oh well, it makes success taste that much sweeter. . . er . .uh, that’s what I keep telling myself anyway.

8.      Soldiers: Heroes of World War II on PC: I just beat this game after 96 hours of pure unadulterated rage. It’s a game in which you use a squad of soldiers to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks often involving taking over entire towns, undermanned and under equipped. Remember the old Commandos (1998)? Well, this is like that, except much prettier graphics and an environment capable of being torn asunder by bazooka and King Tiger tank blasts. It started out fun, but long in the tooth, and I’m just glad it’s over now. Man, what a sludge fest! I haven’t had to reload save games like this since I played Dark Souls. Of course, I handle games like this in one of two ways. I either rage quit and get the game off my hard drive like an HIV saturated cloth bandage or I embrace the rage and hold tunnel vision until the game is defeat me because I refuse to let it defeat me. This one was definitely the latter. Truly one of the most difficult games I’ve ever played, and guess what? I played it on medium difficulty. The game goes on sale on Steam quite a bit for a mere $1.49. I defy you to pick it up and beat my 96 hour stint.