| Bound, Beaten, Brewed, and Viewed: Putting the "X" in ..."10"? |
| Written by Tim Krikau |
| Wednesday, 20 January 2010 13:14 |
BOUND: I've been plowing through Volume 2 of Shelby Foote's The Civil War: A Narrative and I have to tell you, this is one of most challenging books I've ever read. That being said, I have to take a break from it from time to time and read some "lighter fare." I took full advantage of that over holidays. The Genghis Trilogy - Conn Iggulden: Yeah, yeah, yeah...I took a break from reading about the American Civil War so I could read a trilogy about the life and times of Genghis Khan. Doesn't make sense, does it? On paper, no...but when one considers that this trilogy is historical fiction, it takes a different turn. Conn Iggulden, who's most famous work is The Dangerous Book For Boys, is severely underrated in the world of pop lit and that's mainly due to the subject matter he chooses to write about. His first set of works was a four volume saga about the rise of Roman Empire. I'm ashamed to say that I've yet to read them as I'm a Greco-Roman history fanatic. What Iggulden managed to do was research as much facts as he could about the entire life of Genghis Khan, study the culture in which Genghis lived, and then bring all that to life by telling the story as if it was an action thriller. These are the kind of books that inspire the historical drama films like Braveheart, The Last Samurai, and so on. These were so well-written, I couldn't put them down. I wanted to see what happened next! The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown: Now here's a clear example of an author who is totally overrated and why his next book will be used as a coaster for cocktails. We've all heard of The Da Vinci Code. We've all heard of Angels & Demons. If you read this column regularly, you'll recall I that wrote about these two books previously. So...are you all ready for the third installment of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series? Who cares!? If you haven't read this book yet...don't. It's terrible and had quite a few "Oh Please!" moments in my opinion. First off, this isn't a book about the Bible, the Catholic Church, and weird religious sects. I wouldn't say the book isn't about secret societies like Priory of Sion and the Illuminati, but the main plot of the book deals with the Freemasons. Ooohh...now there's a controversial lot! I've seen the documentaries on how the Freemasons are a secret group of conspirators that rules America and that the President, Congress, the Supreme Courts are all merely facades. All I can say is that if you truly believe that the Freemasons are actually a shadow organization pulling the strings incognito, you have way too much free time on your hands. Watch the Simpsons episode where Homer becomes a Stonecutter, it's more informative. Oh yeah, there's the plot to deal with too, right? Well, a friend of Langdon's gets kidnapped and he must try to save his life. I can see the trailer now "THE LOST SYMBOL! This Time...It's PERSON AL!!!!" And...this friend is a high-level Freemason! Semi-spoiler: Langdon doesn't do squat in this book. In fact, all the secondary characters are more interesting than he is...and, get this, more effective. So, what you have is 400 pages of reading Langdon's complaints and whining. You know, now I have something in common with the religious right. I, too, want to publicly burn a Dan Brown book. So, in 2013 (or whenever), we'll get to see Tom Hanks whine like a "school girl sissy" (Hanks' line in The Green Mile") when The Lost Symbol movie comes out. Leave this one be. True Blue - David Baldacci: Can this man do no wrong? Seriously, True Believers, if you're looking for a good mystery/thriller, you can't do much better than David Baldacci. I've written about him a lot in this column, so you know I dig the guy. His Camel Club and King/Maxwell series of books have been stellar and now he starts a new series beginning with True Blue. Set BEATEN: Over the past few weeks, the floodgates opened and I ended up playing quite a few games. Some of which weren't even on a Wii! I branched out and played on an Xbox 360 for a few days. That doesn't mean I'm abandoning my true addiction and reducing my support of Nintendo...I'm just...trying new things. NCAA Football 10 (Xbox 360): This is the first time I've played a football game on the 360 and all I can say that really, nothing's really changed in the gameplay over the past 10 years. Visually, the game is spectacular and is the closest "feel" you can get of actually being in the stadium without...actually being the stadium. But really, once you get past the visuals, you're stuck with the same game play, the same playbooks, and with Xbox Live, you can update your rosters along with the actual college teams. Which now begs the question , why does EA Sports put out a *new* sports title each year? What a racket! $60 a game and we snap up a new one annually! But why? All that changes from year to year are the rosters. And if you can download those, why spend $60 on an update? Well my friends, the EA Sports division took a big hit financially last year and have had downsize their operations. Why? Because many people asked the same question I did. Also, NCAA Football 09 for the Wii tanked pretty hard because EA misread the cues. It made the game more cartoonish and way too easy. I thought it would be a decent game because of the physical motion required to play. Passing, tackling, jumping, juking, etc. all done with the WiiMote. Guess what, folks...it's fun, sure...but at the same time, it's not that great. And...with the Wii versions, EA Sports took out a lot of the extra stuff that made their football games better than the other titles. Which leads us to... Madden NFL 10 (Wii): This is the first Madden title I've played with the Wii and it's no different than the NCAA title. What EA did was take the basis of NCAA Football 09 and amped up Wii Fit Plus: I wrote in my last column about how this title will be a big improvement over the original Wii Fit. It is. With my efforts in trying to shed some pounds, I am very, very grateful for the inclusion of pre-established routines that help you focus on certain areas. It also allows you to build your own routines. The only downside to that is that the established routines are very brief and the customizable one only allows the user to choose from Strength Training and Yoga. I'd like to see one that includes the aerobic exercises as well. Maybe next year, eh? Another nice feature is that the Fit now has a calorie counter and can actually calculate how many you have burned with your exercises. Also, the "fun" games actually force you to move around and you do get a little workout. The standout of which is the Island Cycling exercise. Here's the thing, however. Don't rely too much on the accuracy of the balance board. Too many external influences play havoc on the sensors and your Fit Age, BMI, and Weight are all suspect. One day, Wii Fit Plus said I was 26 years old (I'm 40), weighed i n 10 lbs less that I actually do, and said that I lost 15.4 lbs in less than 24 hours. So once again, if you're looking for a serious workout and accurate results, stick with the regular avenues. If you're looking to get a little exercise and have some fun while doing it, pick up Wii Fit Plus. Wii Sports Resort: Consider this part an open letter to Nintendo. Hey guys, you really should bundle this title in with the Wii. Wii Sports is fun and was a great title to introduce the capabilities of the Wii, but with the addition of the Wii Motion Plus attachment, Nintendo just upped the ante on their motion technology. Wii Sports Resort is the best title to show what Lego Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (Wii): I'm at 10% completion on this game and quite frankly, I'm glad I got it from the library rather than purchase it. The first Lego Indy was a lot of fun and is my favorite of the Lego series. Indy 2 isn't giving me that same vibe. The game features extra levels to the original three movies, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and a build-your-own level feature. I didn't care for Crystal Skull as a movie and thought it was an unnecessary addition to an otherwise classic trilogy. That's not influencing my feelings on this game though. After all, playing Lego Star Wars was a lot of fun from start to finish, and that includes The Phantom Menace, a cinematic travesty if there ever was one. But it was still fun to play. Indy 2 starts off slowly and the first two levels of Crystal Skull are more tedious than fun. Also, what I'm not seeing are inaccessible levels in Story that can be reached in Free Play. Free Play is the best feature of any Lego videogame and if there isn't much to it in Indy 2, it's not worth the purchase. Jeep Thrills (Wii): I love racing games. I really do. Mario Kart Wii is blast to play by yourself, with 3 other people, and even online. The Gran Turismo series for the PlayStation (1, 2, and/or 3) are still the best of the genre. So, while at the library, I saw this racing game that is just for Jeeps and snagged it. In two words, IT SUCKS! Don't buy this, don't rent it, don't even check it out of the library. There's no control in the driving at all. I always seem to be overturning or underturning and cannot strike that "happy medium" yet. I'm pretty good at the racing games and even a cartoonish game like Mario Kart has more realistic physics in its controls than Jeep Thrills. Avoid this one! BREWED: Like many people, I'm on a budget. So, I've scaled down my purchases of ancillary items in my home. That includes my beer inventory. Generally, I keep a variety of decent brews in the fridge. Now, I'm down to Miller Lite as it's a decent beer at a decent price and since I'm trying to lose weight...it's less filling! However... Viva La Costco!!!! Costco has now begun making their own alcoholic beverages under their eponymous Kirkland label. I've seen Kirkland vodka and tequila on the shelves. From what I understand these liquors are made at Grey Goose and Tonala respectively. So, I'm guessing that it's not rotgut. Plus, Costco/Kirkland is not in the habit making cheap crap and slapping their label on it. It's not part of their corporate strategy (I wrote my Master's Thesis on Costco's business plan, strategy, and leadership methods). They even made single malt Scotch at The MacAllan distillery in Scotland. Unfortunately, they only made a limited batch, and I missed out. The liquor manager of my local Costco told me that they received maybe three cases total and they sold out within hours. Sigh! Better luck next time. But...Costco/Kirkland also now brews their own beer! I picked up a case of it and they make four styles, Pale Ale, Amber Ale, German Style, and Hefeweizen (Wheat). All four styles are actually, pretty damn good. I'm not sure who's brewing facility they're using or which brewing company they're emulating, but you will get a decent bottle of beer for a really good price. Well done, Costco Jim! Well done! VIEWED: All it seems to be nowadays in the filmworld is AVATAR, AVATAR, AVATAR. I get really leery around films that get this kind of hype. Plus, I get even leerier when it comes from James Cameron. I pretty much stand alone when I say that Titanic wasn't all that great and certainly didn't deserve Best Picture in 1997. So, I announced on Facebook that I am going to attempt to be the only one in Western Civilization that hasn't seen this film. I didn't see E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial when it came out in 1982. I was too busy playing Pac-Man. By the time I graduated high school in 1987, I still hadn't seen it. And at age 17, I certainly wasn't to going take time to watch a kid's movie. At that point, I just said I want to be the only person in the U.S. that didn't see this movie...voluntarily. I kept that promise until 2003, when I was on sick leave and was very, very, very bored. And guess what? I hated it. So now, Avatar is being touted as the MOST movie ever. Most spectacular, most special FX, most cinematography, blah blah blah. OK, fine...it looks awesome. And...I've seen the trailers and commercials, and determined that I may actually like this movie. However, the story is, according to a friend of mine, "recycled". And it doesn't seem all original of a plot. Industrialized world invades an agrarian world for its resources and intends to wipe out a civilization to do so. Then, our hero, who is from the industrial world, infiltrates the savages and has a change of heart and falls in love. Wow...how original! I don't have a lot of luck lately, but I will say that fortune favors the foolish...sometimes. My family and I were going to see The Blind Side (which I understand is an excellent film) over the holidaze. I want to see it, don't get me wrong, but it wasn't on my list of must-see-in-the-theater films. The Blind Side had been out for at least a month so we didn't think the True Believers, thanks again for reading my stuff. I look forward to inundating you with drivel and attacking your sensibilities for the rest of 2010!!!
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