Edward's April 2021 Mix

 

 

 No. I did not forget. In these crazy days, I’m working 10-12 hour days every day, and I have little time for anything else, well, besides work. I’d like to think there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but evidently not. There are still bright points, however. I’m making a last car payment this month, how cool is that? And hey, spring is here! Why does it always feel like every year it’s never going to get here? Oh yeah, and there is one more thing. I had another heart ablation and I feel truly remarkable. Like I told my cardiologist, I didn’t know I felt so bad until I felt good. Our human bodies are amazingly complex, and equally amazingly wonderful. I acquired a broken heart through my years of pounding the pavement as a competitive runner, and yet, when my heart took the plunge, it was my years of prior conditioning that saved me. (That of course, and God’s tender mercy.) 

 

1. Chrome on PC: I lost four years of my life to World of Warcraft, Second Life and Age of Conan. I watched so many games parade by like some odd adult mobile, tantalizingly out of reach simply because I refused to indulge. I was too busy with my MMOs. One such game was a game from Polish developer Techland called Chrome (2003). Computer Gaming World Magazine gave it a good review, posing the question, “Halo, who?” The game utilized open world environments and similar augmentation devices as Deus Ex. I’m only in the first couple of chapters, and the graphics look like puke by today’s standards, but the game is compelling. The voice acting is hilarious, probably because it takes itself so seriously. The main character, Bolt Logan, seems as if he’s going to yell out, “Calgonite!!” at any time.  

 

  

2. Star Trek: The Next Generation – Season Five on Blu-Ray: I can’t believe it took me a year to watch this, despite all of the time off due to the pandemic. Of course, I’ve never been one to binge watch. But I’ve finally finished it. This season incidentally, has what is now my favorite episode, “Inner Light,” which is a sentiment I share with none other than Patrick Stewart who says this is his own personal favorite episode as well. The plot is genius, and well worth seeking out if you’ve not seen it. “I, Borg” was also an incredible episode, casting a member of the Borg into a situation that invokes sympathy for the vile being that will stop at nothing but universal domination.

3. Snow by Ronald Malfi: As a member of Bookbub, I get great ebook deals for my Amazon Kindle all of the time. The blurb for this discounted book was enough to get me to pull the trigger. It involves a guy trying to make amends with his estranged son by flying to meet him in Iowa over a Christmas holiday. The story opens up with our man being snowbound in O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. Several feet of snow is impending, and the man decides to finish the trek in a rented car with a girl he meets at the airport. They share the rented car with an older couple. The journey is fraught with horror. But so far, all I’ve done is laugh. Malfi has a great knack for creating characters, and his cast so far are just what you’d see in a airport filled with aggravated snowbound travelers. So far, this is really good stuff.

4. The Way Back via Redbox: I’ve always like Ben Affleck as an actor. This vehicle has him as a separated husband named Jack Cunningham driven to excessive drinking over the loss of his son. He gets a chance at redemption to coaching a local inner city high school basketball team. The losing team starts winning games with Cunningham’s focus. But his drinking gets in the way. It’s a pitifully sad movie, and it’s not the usual feel-good underdog sports movie. Afflek gave a great performance, best summed up by Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter, who wrote: “Affleck gives the impression of intimate familiarity with the anguish and self-disgust that dominate Jack's life; this character and project clearly meant something important to him, as the title bluntly suggests, and he gives it his all without overdoing the melodrama.”

5. Far Cry 4 on PC: At first glance, Ubisoft’s seminal Far Cry 4 with its storyline and hella fun outpost and fortress side missions might seem like a typical open world filled with lush graphics, but it’s also a well-designed brilliantly made shooter. We’ve been here before with Far Cry 3, which was the story of a spoiled rich kid left to his own devices to become a man in the face of utter tribulation, whereas Far Cry 4 tells the story of a lost tourist rising to free a country from a nefarious despotic ruler. The side missions are a blast, sneakily sniping your way into army-controlled outposts or going guns ablaze with powerful weapons that are weighty and invite experimentation Its wildlife, the wonderful muted color environments, and especially the two main NPCs, Amita and Sabal (wonderfully voiced by Lost’s own Naveen Andrews) you ultimately have to pick sides with, assisting one’s efforts and alienating the other. I genuinely sympathized with the cause of each entity sided on, and it made my decision making difficult. I love books and movies, but the intensity of this type of predicament can only unfold through the magic of a PC game in which you are taking part as a player-character.   

6. 1917 on 4K Blu Ray: Probably the best film I watched this year. It’s a film that captures the claustrophobia of WWI trenches and the steel gray skies I’ve always envisioned from every WWI photograph I’ve ever seen. Using unusual film techniques involving several minutes of single shot takes and the pioneering of the new Arri Alexa Mini LF digital camera, the film was an IMax release in the United States. The whole movie was saturated with a bleak dour feel, which is what was intended and involves two messengers sent to deliver an urgent message across 9 miles of “No Man’s Land.” I wouldn’t say it had the same impact as Saving Private Ryan on me, but I still was quite overcome at the film’s beautiful but sad end. Oddly, I have no real desire to see it again. (A strange sentiment for me given my predilection for war movies.) I think it’s because the film answers so much, there was nothing left unturned. I feel the movie was so “complete” it fulfilled me. Having said that, I’m sure I’ll watch it again.  

 

Edwards March 2021 Mix

 

 

 

 A very interesting month indeed, this one. My heart, which has been broken for a while now has finally been repaired. I went to see the wizard and got another ablation completed. It really took a lot out of me. And it was my first experience with a urinary catheter. All was fine and dandy until they removed it. Not fun. But on the brightside they informed me all is well now. I should be feeling much better. Other than that, this may be the shortest mix I’ve had in a long time. I didn’t do much, but what I did was intense.                               

  1.   Assetto Corsa on PC: 505 Studio/Kunos Simulazioni released this racing sim in December of 2014, and up to that time it was the most realistic racing simulation there was. It was one of the first games I bought into Early Release, which can sometimes be a burn if you buy into a game the developers stop developing. This one, fortunately, turned out okay. With laser scanned race tracks and real time wheel wear physics, this truly is as real as it gets sitting in a chair racing in your pajamas. I even had a buddy sit down to it and learn to drive a manual transmission playing this game. It doesn’t get more authentic than that! The only thing missing: rain races and night races, but what this sim does it does exceedingly well. 
 
 
 2.   Assetto Corsa Competizione on PC: It’s been said one must walk before he or she runs. This simulation is the successor to the above aforementioned Assetto Corsa. And to be honest, the only reason I went back to the original was to compare it to this new one. Not surprisingly, the old one is now easier to play because of the fierce difficulty of this one. A friend convinced me to pick this one up, lauding its extreme difficulty. And I’ve always been a glutton for punishment so it made perfect sense. He told me I wouldn’t even have to choose a fast set up, simply choose “safe set up” and hop into a car. Turns out he was right. The sim hosts GT3 and GT4 cars and it’s all I can do to get a car around a lap intact. I’ve been watching YouTube videos now to learn how to drive. Turns out after 30 years of racing sims, I’ve been doing it wrong. Doh! Braking too soon, throttling too hard, ignoring racing lines to name a few. I’ve turned a 2:08 lap at Silverstone, my favorite circuit. Some of these YouTubers turn 1:56. I have some room for improvement.

 

3.      Type O Negative World Coming Down on CD: I didn’t like it. I hate to say that, being I’m a Type O fan, but this album, the band’s 5^th studio release was just too slow and too dark. Maybe it’s me. 1996’s October Rust set the bar pretty high for me. This album was just so disappointingly different in comparison. The album dealt with numerous deaths frontman, Peter Steele was going through at the time. (Hey, they don’t call the band the Drab Four for nothing.) I can’t say it’s a bad album, it’s just that October Rust was so good, despite Metal Hammer Magazine christened this album one of the best metal albums of 1999.

 

4.       Rush in Rio on DVD: Loaned this by my good friend and guitar mentor, Michael Stevens, this was truly enjoyable. And it’s caused me to find a new favorite Rush song, “The Pass” on the Presto album. These guys are truly proficient with their instruments and it’s sheer fun just to watch them having fun with their instruments on the stage. It’s truly appreciated by the live audience in Rio because one would think they had just won the soccer world cup. I never did see Rush live and it’s been a big regret. At least with this remarkable DVD I’m getting a semblance of it.

 

5.      Thrustmaster TX RW Leather Edition Wheel/TH8A Shifter:  I used a Logitech G27 Wheel/paddle set for my racing games/sims for the past five years and it served me quite well. That set has always been considered the ultimate beginner wheel. I figured it was time for an upgrade, so I went with the intermediate Thrustmaster set. There is a noticeable difference. The wheel is stouter and the shifter, being made of metal, has all of the girth and feel of the real deal. (You can actually remove the shift knob and replace it with an authentic one of your choosing.) If you roll over a curb or run over the apex on a track you’re going to feel it with this wheel.

 

6.       Blue Oyster Cult Cult Classic on Hi-Res FLAC: A really good greatest hits album. And a great score on the loudness wars site. I sang this album’s high praises a few mixes back, but I keep coming back to it. It’s probably one of the greatest greatest hits albums I’ve ever listened to. If you want to hear some delightfully charming solo guitar work that will put a grand smile on your face, look up “Buck’s Boogie.” The last time I heard it I was in the middle of doing something and I was so taken aback I stopped what I was doing and simply stood there listening. I love when a song has that effect on me.

Edward's February 2021 Mix

 

 

 

 It seems this month was a month of extremes. We had a massive snowstorm that killed two days of work. (I’m not complaining!) And I picked up a new guitar amp which breathed new life into my playing. My reading is suffering, and I have no idea why. My Goodreads.com goal is 20 books this year, but at this rate I won’t make it. I’m reading three books currently, maybe that’s part of the problem.  

                                         

1.        Battlefield Bad Company 2 on PC: EA’s venerable Battlefield 2 will live in my heart all the rest of my days. And I wouldn’t call Battlefield Bad Company 2 a close second, but it is a second. With EA releasing multiple Battlefield games at such a frequent pace one can barely keep up with active servers, it is nice to know that BFBC2 which released in 2010 still has active servers. There aren’t many, but the players who play the game are diehards. I’m proud to be one of them. Laying claim to some of the best sniping mechanics in any multi-play shooter, this is a game that despite my aging reflexes I’m quite good at. The map designs are superb and the sound design is stellar. The game frequently goes on sale on Steam for less than $5.00. It’s worth it.

 

2.      Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5 on Blu Ray: Continuing on with the voyages of the stars
hip Enterprise this season has some of the best episodes I’ve seen. We see Counselor Troi’s mother Lwaxana, one of the most annoying people in the universe teach Worf’s son, Alexander, about the seriousness of adulthood, despite her eternal capriciousness and hedonism as she prepares to wed a man she’s never met. Then in a wonderful touch of sensitivity we see Alexander reel her back in to her senses with the realization that sometimes we must give in to being capricious. And in this season we also see Worf in a role as a father trying to do the right thing with his son. But who can forget, The Perfect Mate? Kamala is an empathic mesomorph who can be what any man wants her to be. She has been groomed to be basically a mail order bride to the leader of a planet who has been at war with her home planet for generations. She is to be the ultimate peace offering, but Picard suggests to her she has value in and of herself, and he is the first man to tell her this. So, she starts falling for him. It’s a must see episode. Well, like all of them. And then there is I, Cyborg.  

 

3.       Fender Champion 40 Guitar Amplifier: I love my Blackstar amp. It definitely has that warm fuzzy Marshall vibe to it. It’s a hybrid tube amp, no wonder. But it’s given me some troubles. I’ve had it for about two years and I’ve already had to have the tubes replaced in it TWICE! While awaiting repairs this last time, I picked up a Fender Champion 40, basically a 40-watt practice amp. It has a nice mixture of effects and voices. I didn’t think I’d fall in love with this thing so quickly, but since I’ve had it I’ve not turned on my Blackstar. That can’t be good! Not to mention, my pedal board affixed to my Blackstar. With the effects produced by the Fender I’ve not needed the pedals. The Chorus and Reverb are satiny smooth. And the voices really do honor the gamut from metal to 1960s beach style guitar. This amp makes practice more compelling. I’m glad I found it.

 

4.       Limitless on DVD: I was recommended to watch this movie because the main character was a failed writer named Eddie. Ha! Eddie finds a pill that allows him to access all facets of his brain, able to conjure up every memory he’s ever had and able to utilize far more than the 10% we supposedly use of our brains. When he goes to get more of the pills, he finds the man who gave him the wonderful drug a victim of a homicide. Eddie takes the man’s stash of pills and uses them to change his life, playing the stock market and becoming a sensation that puts him on the front page of USA Today. Suddenly hedge investors take an interest in him, but so do the people who murdered his source for the pills. A fast paced action movie worth a watch. Bradley Cooper does the role justice and becomes a guy we root for despite his less than noble intentions.

 

5.      Loverboy Classics on CD: Sixteen of their greatest hits digitally remastered. Released in 1994 and surprisingly a decent score on my favorite “loudness wars” site that shows the dynamic range for each song in the remastering process. Despite this, I wasn’t impressed with the album, and don’t get me wrong. It’s certainly not the album. It’s the band itself. I guess I’ve simply outgrown Loverboy. When I was a teenager hanging out at the local pizzeria with its arcade games, me and my friends thrived on this band (along with Van Halen and Rush, of course.) But listening to some of these songs after so many years, I don’t know. I can’t put my finger (or rather my ear) on it. It just doesn’t appeal to me. Still, this is a valuable CD to have in the collection because it really does hold true to its word. These truly are their greatest hits. No omissions.

 

6.      Come Dancing with the Kinks: The Best of the Kinks 1977-1986 on CD: A really good greatest hits album. And a great score on the loudness wars site. Great dynamic range across the whole album. To my surprise this album exceeded my expectations. I actually listened to it multiple times in a row. I rarely ever do that with any album, maybe a song or two on auto repeat a few times, but rarely a whole album. Though they weren’t as innovative as The Beatles or as popular as The Rolling Stones or The Who, these rockers were an original part of the British Invasion. I guess I never appreciated the band until now, but hey, better late than never, yeah?

 

7.       Grid Autosport on PC: I’ve always loved the Codemasters “sim-cade” racing games. And I’ve played every Grid game up to this one (and they’ve since released another one.) This one makes me wish Steam really did have a neutral rating on its review system rather than a positive and a negative. The graphics are glitzy and quite functional for a game released in 2014. Metacritic gave the game a score of 78/100. Personally, I feel the AI is way too aggressive, aggressive to the point of feeling like it’s succumbed to the “rubber band” physics EA is notorious for in its racing games. It’s frustrating to see a car tumble end over end in a crash, and then moments later come up behind you full force. And then there’s the career mode which I typically enjoy in racing games, but I’m 60 hours into this game and still have two more disciplines to unlock. I will stay the course to see it through but I’m going to be glad when the ride is over.   

 

8.       Kings of Leon “Mechanical Bull” on CD:  I discovered this band one summer night a few years back while taking a company car on a required road trip. It was a song off of their “Walls” album and the in the following days I sought the CD everywhere, but nobody had it. I finally had to order it online. I stumbled across this CD at Half Price Books and was elated to find it sounds every bit as good as “Walls.” Kings of Leon is a great southern band with just enough twang and lyrical prose to make you think of outdoor parties, multi colored plastic hanging lights, swatting mosquitoes, and the tartness of an ice cold beer. The band’s guitarist, Matthew Followill is quite the talent, with his crunchy Gibson LP chops, and his ability to reverb like Daniel Lanois.

 

Edward's Jan 2021 Mix

 

 

 Another a month of living at work. I pretty much have to pick up the slack of so many people who don't want to work. And then there are the many things happening on the side. The pandemic still at the forefront of things, the storming of the US Capitol building, a new US President. And the end result? We don’t have reporters anymore; we have activists who are trying to mold an agenda. The idea of journalism telling you what to think, what to feel and above all, believe! It’s ludicrous. This is the stuff of scary 1940s novels. And now major corporations censuring free speech? This doesn’t set a good precedent. And it’s not one I want to be a part of. I talk to so many people who are just simply, well, stressed. Life is supposed to be better than this. I’ve pulled the plug. I just don’t subscribe anymore. None of it. And I’ve never felt better.                                   

1.       Euro Truck Sim 2 on PC: You’ve heard me affectionately call this my garden of Zen before. There is nothing more chill than cutting the lights, hopping into a virtual 18-wheeler and cranking the radio to Amsterdam House music. When the rain starts falling, the windshield wipers do their thing, swishing across the glass and it’s easy to become hypnotized. SCS Software hosts special events in the game and awards interesting prizes to participants. Their latest gig is “Hauling Hope,” which consists of hauling loads of Covid-19 vaccine to various cities. It’s amazing how a virtual experience can produce an almost dopamine ebullience that feels like a real experience. Even though it’s all surrealistic, I actually feel like I’m doing good in the world taking these loads. And not only do I own a single tractor trailer, I now manage/operate numerous garages, trucks and drivers in several cities throughout Europe. And my enterprise is growing. Ka-ching!

 

2.      Hunter Killer on 4K Blu Ray: Continuing on with my current obsession with submarine stuff (thank you for that Nemo’s War) I decided to revisit this movie. I had watched it a few years back when it first came out. It’s a good action/suspense film starring Gerard Butler. IMDB put the plot in a perfect nutshell: An untested American submarine captain teams with U.S. Navy Seals to rescue the Russian president, who has been kidnapped by a rogue general. The movie plays out a little faster than its venerable counterparts, Crimson Tide and The Hunt for Red October. As a matter of fact, this movie is reminiscent of a cold war early ‘80s thriller. The 4K resolution is good, almost too good. Some CGI effects take on cartoonish-like characteristics, but the plot and the casting save the day.

 

3.       Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne (translated to English from French) This is a handsome hardbound Reader’s Digest version, a part of their “World’s Best Reading” series. The text is easily digestible. I’m not a fan of the illustrations which look modern compared to Victorian age illustrations I would have enjoyed more. This is an excellent adventure tale, much better than the classic Walt Disney movie which certainly isn’t bad at all. This isn’t the first Verne book I’ve read, but it’s the book that made me a lifelong fan.

 

4.       Nemo’s War Board Game: I was introduced to this wonderful board game last month, and it’s become an addiction. I have yet to win a game, though I’ve come close a few times. I discovered a facet I was scoring incorrectly which should make it a little easier to score a victory. I’ve managed to complete two games in an hour and fifty-five minutes, so at least I’m getting more skilled at playing it. I don’t think a board game has inspired me so much before. Last month I was inspired to watch Disney’s classic Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and this month I’m reading the age-old novel again.   

 

5.      INXS Shabooh Shabah on CD: This thing plays like a greatest hits album. I’d never heard it before and was only familiar with a few of the songs, The One Thing and Don’t Change. Coming out in 1982 I can see a lot of similarities to fellow Aussie band, Icehouse and the UK’s Duran Duran’s early stuff. (I even hear similarities to The Police.) Michael Hutchence was a bit more ostentatious as a frontman compared to Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon. Dave Simpson of The Guardian wrote, "Watching Hutchence, hair flailing, crotch thrusting, a mischievous smile forever creeping across his leathery face, I realized that here was a man born to be onstage, living and loving every minute, an explosion of sexual energy.” I think this is also manifested in Hutchence vocals on this album, a sort of sad longing in his voice that made the album a standout amongst its peers. I regret I took so long to discover it.

 

6.       Dior Homme Eau de Toilette 50 ml Natural Spray: Me, being the amateur man of the world that I am, have long since abandoned the idea of wearing one scent the year round. I always strive to break free from my simpleton ways. So, as always, I wear musk in the winter and spicy, tangy fruit stuff in the summer. I was in a local cologne/perfume store and obtained a sample of a few smell good pleasantries and settled on this one. It was just that perfect blend that reminded me of a cabin spewing woodsmoke on a white day, a bearskin rug laying on hardwood floors, a redolence of more manliness than I had any right to be. These colognes are expensive, but the old adage holds true; you get what you pay for.

 

7.       Count Zero by William Gibson: The way my Steam feed is being littered with Cyberpunk 2077 screenshots (literally) I’m honestly surprised nobody is reading or making allusions to this incredible book, of which the game is obviously a rip off of. (I mean that in a good way!) This, the second book in a trilogy is deep going, I have to get acclimated every time I fire up the Kindle, but it isn’t hard to come into the contact point where the tires meet the pavement. The story is interweaved with numerous plots at the same time, a Gibson staple, but for the most part involves corporate espionage through the use of VR and hacking. It’s amazing seeing these terms and mechanics we take for granted today (the book was written in 1986.) So, not only was William Gibson a science fiction writer who coined the term “cyberspace,” he was also a visionary. I’ve not even played Cyberpunk 2077 yet, but I’m glad I’m reading this book beforehand.

 

8.      Mission Impossible: The Third Season on DVD: I wasn’t interested in watching this as a kid because I thought it was too “adult” for me, but boy was I missing out! If you’re a fan of the Tom Cruise movies you should definitely revisit this great series. Out of its context it would almost seem campy, but it was stylishly done, and took itself very seriously. It had a perfect cast of characters; the plot pacing was always on point. I find myself on the edge of my seat even with five minutes left of an episode. The remastering done on the DVD edition is beautiful. I could see spending the money to pick up the Blu Ray edition which I’m sure is even visually better. Debuting in 1966, this series was around for seven series. I can see why it was so popular in its day.