I've watched all 464 minutes of the five-part, much-acclaimed ESPN series by Ezra Edelman. It's a quality, painful look, not only at O.J., the crime, the trial, and all within, but also at the long, complex racial history of Los Angeles, and how O.J. and Nicole fit within that history.

It's the length and depth that makes this documentary so wonderful to watch. Most of the main players are interviewed at length. The details that we've long forgotten, and many that we never knew about, keep coming at us at a pace fast enough to never allow us not to be glued to the screen. The different, strong, viewpoints, as passionate as ever, twenty-one years after the verdict, hook us back into the story and the drama that went down throughout.

But a word to the wary: this documentary will upset many of you, unlike anything you've ever seen. You will see how the defense team played unconscionably dirty tricks. You will hear and see the history of how O.J. beat the hell out of Nicole on so many occasions. You will see gruesome crime scene photos. You will hear a juror state outright that the majority of jurors thought their verdict to be payback for Rodney King because "We protect our own," and how she thinks she might vote differently had the trial happened today.

In other words, it's ugly. But it's a well-crafted ugliness that teaches us so much beyond that which is O.J. and a knife.

If you can stomach the horrible nature of the content, I'd highly recommend it. Though it might get a bit too preachy at times, especially early on, it's a very satisfying watch at the end of it all.

​My rating: 9/10

In preparation, just in case the Titanfall II reviews aren't sub-8.0, I've been playing a round or two of the original game every other day or so. Having not played it much for almost a year, I fell right back into it, and instantly remembered why it's my favorite first-person-shooter of all time (the Bioshocks remain my favorite narratives).

All of the components of the original Titanfall are so well calibrated, that it's a pure joy to play. The speeds and power levels of the Pilots & Titans—perfect. The amount of NPCs, and their strengths—so good. The complexity added with the tremendous variety of burn-cards, all of which players can keep and use, or sell, depending on which ones work better for them—terrific. And the gorgeous maps, with their ample size, both horizontally and vertically, so well designed for the type of combat in the game—such well-crafted staging is a rarity in gaming.

There was only one huge drawback, one that afflicts far too many games: a hard level cap. Get to that level 50, and players start dropping off the game in droves. It killed off the Titanfall player base just as it does with every other first-person-shooter that it afflicts.

Oh, I so hope that beyond all odds, the pre-Alpha tech test was a bunch of garbage compared to what Respawn is going to release in a month. Just in case that slight possibility actually happens, I'm going to continue to sharpen up my Titan and Pilot skills. Besides the waiting around for enough players to fill a lobby, it's an absolute blast.

It was about nine years ago that Bioshock was released on the Xbox. It was developed by Irrational Games, and its co-founder Ken Levine. It played like the best classic dystopian novel you've ever read, and was an experience unlike I'd ever had. In 2010, Bioshock 2, developed by 2K Games, was released to very good reviews, but remains an underrated chapter in my opinion. Then in 2013, Irrational released Bioshock Infinite, which won Game Of The Year in 42 publications, and remains my favorite video game of all time.

A couple of days ago, 2K released Bioshock: The Collection, a remastered version of the trilogy and their expansions. I've been playing it for about an hour every night when I get home from work, and all I can say is that it's an amazing experience.

Never has the underwater city of Rapture looked so beautiful. Knowing the story, but having forgotten the details, playing through the remaster is a chance to absorb all of the amazing visuals and game designs that blew by so quickly during the first run through. It's a whole different experience, like reading a dense classic for the second time, being able to catch all the nuance that was impossible to absorb on the first read. And it's oh, so good. In the realm of videogaming, it just doesn't get any better. And as narratives go, of all types, the Bioshock story ranks up among the greatest.

The original Bioshock has a 96 rating on Metacritic. Bioshock Infinite, a far-too-low 94. Even with all of the perfect tens and multiple awards, I can't state how strongly I feel this series is underrated.

If you haven't played through the Bioshocks, please get the Collection. And if you have, consider buying the Collection for the wonderful replay experience. Making those games almost broke Ken Levine as a human being. But what he and his team accomplished is simply some of the best fiction that has ever been created.

Just about every community of a certain size has its share of talented local artists. Certain cities have their artistic distinctions. Frisco is the place for painters & sculptors. NYC is the destination for stage actors. Austin & Nashville are the places to go to become country music stars. But it's Los Angeles that is the center of the American art world as a whole. Whether you're an actor, writer, painter, musician, or any other type of artist, Los Angeles calls you to come and hone your craft so you can share it with the world.

Yet the art world is a funny place. The most talented rarely rise to the top. This city is littered with thousands of extremely talented writers, actors, and every other type of artists, who will never be able to make a living off of their art. It's a brutally competitive scene, which winners are often the best at marketing themselves, and oftentimes, the luckiest.

Unfortunately, it's becoming harder to stay in Los Angeles for the years it takes most people to become exceptional at their craft. In the past, broke artists could live cheaply in massive old apartment complexes scattered throughout the city. Those days are long gone, and it puts even more pressure on artists, because their plausible window of success becomes evermore compressed.

I'm going to start taking the time to occasionally showcase some of the more talented people that I know that are in need of some promotion. Today, I'm going to mention a singer/songwriter that goes by the name Matty O. His first album Gullible's Travels is available on iTunes. He's an alternative/rock type of guy that is putting out some good stuff. Take a listen below to a track called Yuletide Lament, a Christmas song about Los Angeles that I think is rather exceptional. If you like it, please support him by purchasing his album.

I feel that far too many potentially great artists aren't getting the time needed to polish their craft to the point they're capable of reaching. I believe the best way to support them is to go to their local performances, purchase some of their early stuff. Help keep them sustained so they can grow to the point of maturation. It's a way to benefit more than the artists. It's a way to benefit the world.

I hadn't planned on going to see Kubo and the Two Strings, but there was a call to arms on Reddit about the film, since it was flopping pretty hard at the box office, and so many felt it deserved to do better. The reviews by the Redditors made it a must-go for me (along with the 96% RT rating).

Kubo is a charming, odd, heartwarming, adventurous tale of a young boy in search of his true family history. It doesn't shy away from being dark. In fact, it's pretty frightening for a kid's story. Its humor is reserved compared to most animated films (though it does have its moments). Its cast is not broad, and that's a good thing, because the few characters that have a lot of screen-time are well developed. The plot kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.

But where Kubo really shines is in two particular places:

The first is its absolutely stunning stop-animation visuals. I don't remember seeing an animated film that looked so gorgeous, in every frame. It's enough to take your breath away. Most compositions are fantastic. The blocking of the characters, especially in the fight scenes, is terrific. But the quality of the animation, from the forests and sunsets, to the monstrous waves rocking the ship, is mind-blowingly awesome.

The second place where Kubo shines is in the morals upon which the story plays out. This film has heart, mountains of it, unlike few films you have seen. It, like Toy Story 3, is enough to make a grown man cry.

I only have one minor complaint. I think Charlize Theron was miscast, but it's nowhere near a deal-breaker. 

If Kubo and the Two Strings is still playing on a big screen near you, go see it! If you can't catch in the theatre, make sure you see it on the biggest, sharpest screen you can. It's an absolute classic. And keep that Kleenex next to you, to wipe those tears away.

My rating: 9.7/10

The new Madden has been out a couple of weeks, and I've finally played enough to give some brief thoughts. The last Madden I purchased was 15, and since there's no college football game any longer, I have to stick with the NFL. There are rarely any major improvements year-on-year, so I feel comfortable skipping a year or two between purchases. (I'm praying that the college game returns soon).

I like most of the changes that have been made the last couple of years. Here are some of them:

• Noticeably more zone packages.
• There's now gap blocking.
• You can now throw high, low, and a floater.
• The weekly practicing is much better, and no longer worth skipping.
• The drills now teach players a lot about the game, especially regarding route patterns.
• The running game has improved a good bit.
• There are new commentators, who are much less annoying.
• The game seems to be updating all the time with new roster changes and commentator dialogue.
• The kicking and punting are redesigned, much for the better.
• You can actually block kicks and punts now.

Some of the stuff I don't like:

• The interface has some changes for the good, and some for the bad, like trying to figure out salaries & such.
• Some of the load times seem ridiculous.
• They simplified the scouting and in the process made it a lot less fun.
• The soundtrack is god-awful.

Due to lack of competition, Madden has been far too sluggish with positive change. I think the lower-than-should-be sales have finally convinced EA to put some money into the development of the series. We're finally seeing some of the positive change that should have happened years ago. Let's hope they keep it up.

My rating: 8.4/10

I've been rather preoccupied throughout the summer with a move, one that has taken much longer than I'd anticipated. As a result, I've been suffering greatly from Netflix Anxiety.

Netflix has been such a game-changer in the world of television--it's not only redefining the way we absorb narratives, it's redefining our lives in other ways as well.

The second season of Narcos was just released. I can't watch it yet, because I'm only about halfway through the current seasons of House of Cards & Bloodline. I've only started the second season of Daredevil. I have yet to start the current season of Orange is the New Black. And on top of it, Stranger Things came out of nowhere, and everyone seemingly loved it. 

Netflix Anxiety comes from the fear that you'll start getting more than one season behind on the top shows. If that happens on broadcast TV, who cares? You're not missing much. But with Netflix, you'll start forgetting quality plot lines. Worse yet, you'll be out of the conversations everyone is having. There's legitimate pressure to keep up, and it's hard to do as they keep releasing new high-quality series.

This doesn't even take into account all the other quality shows on cable networks. Yes, Game of Thrones is the one show that you must watch as it airs, but there are other extremely good series as well. I have yet to even start the second season of Fargo.

I take a few months off to find a new place, buy a new place, do a move, and fix up the new place. Next thing you know, I'm dozens upon dozens of hours behind, with the next season of House of Cards is facing me down, only a few months away. How in the world does one keep up?

Having too much of a good thing is usually a wonderful problem to have. The issue, however, is that free time is finite. Netflix is eating up far too much of that time, and there's not one show that I'm watching that I'm willing to put on pause. 

It's going to be a busy end of the year. I'm hoping to be in much better Netflix shape by 2017.

With the mountainous amount of quality TV available on Netflix, HBO, AMC, & FX, I keep putting off watching any Amazon original shows even though I've heard many good things about some of them. I had to watch the pilot for The Last Tycoon, however. I tend to dislike modern film industry-themed narratives, but make it a good period piece, and I'm in. 

The Last Tycoon was the novel that F. Scott Fitzgerald was working on when he died. It was loosely based on the life of Irving G. Thalberg, the Universal & MGM wunderkind who defined what a Hollywood super-producer should be. The novel was unfinished and unpolished upon Fitzgerald's death, and I was not going to read something in a not-meant-to-be-read condition from such an iconic author. However, when it was announced that Sony was making it into a series to be aired on HBO, I was excited. It fell apart at HBO, like so many projects do, but Amazon swooped in to pick it up. I'm glad they did.

Amazon has pilot-offs, where pilots go against each other in competition, and then the winner gets picked up. The Last Tycoon pilot won the previous competition, so it's going into production now. They're leaving the pilot up for us to watch to get a taste of what's coming.

It's well-produced. The casting is solid. Kelsey Grammer and Lilly Collins might be the biggest named stars, but seasoned actor Matt Bomer more than holds his own. The sets are terrific and effectively put one back into 1930's Hollywood. Amazon is certainly spending some money on some of their shows.

Most of the ratings for the pilot were in the 8.5/B+ range. I think that's pretty accurate. Since I love that era so much, I'd probably even rate it a bit higher. It did what a pilot should do: efficiently set up the characters and setting, put up some obstacles, and leave us hanging so we want more. 

I'm not sure when the full first season will be released. I'm guessing not for awhile. But if you're looking for a good, old school, 1930's Hollywood story, definitely check out the pilot on your Amazon Prime.

I finally got around to watching Richard Linklater's groundbreaking film that follows the life of a family over the course of twelve years (using the same actors throughout). The film has a 98% RottenTomatoes score and a 100% on Metacritic. It simply doesn't get any better than that.

During the 165 minute journey, Linklater casually tells the story of a young boy growing up within a broken family in different parts of Texas. Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette play the parents as superbly as we would expect them too. The boy, whose journey we are experiencing, is also played extremely well by Ellar Coltrane, who through the course of all the years, becomes an excellent actor right before our eyes. 

There is plenty of drama, as different father figures come and go, and as the adults make various decisions which turn out to not be the best. They, along with the kids, realistically mature throughout the narrative as they pass through different stages of life, and just as in our lives, their decisions start getting better.

This is fundamentally a story about the boy, Mason, who has far too many adults pushing him to commit to a direction throughout his childhood, when he has no idea upon which path he should take. At an early age, he learns how chaotic life can be, and he learns how hard it is to choose the correct answers when they seem so fuzzy at times. As adulthood is pushed on him by his parents, we feel the weight and pressure of the over-parenting. 

The story itself is wonderful. It's easily relatable which is what Linklater does best. He delivers moments where we're thinking "Oh, we've been there. Yes. We. Have."

What's frustrating is that this excellent film could have been a masterpiece if it weren't for some very suboptimal execution mechanisms. One of the most annoying is how Linklater continually uses dialogue far too blatantly to dictate to the audience how much time has lapsed. If Mason walks into his birthday party, someone has to ask him his age right off the bat to alert the audience where we are in the timeline. It's distracting, completely unneeded throughout, and felt forced every single time.

The film also lacks subtlety in many scenes that would have been played more effectively had they been cut down. Ethan Hawke was well established early on as a father who tried too hard--that pushed his children to believe his views too much. Then it's reinforced again, and again, and again. One particular scene that would have played out much better was one where Mason sits in the minivan with his father and his new wife, and it's revealed that the father had sold his old sports car to pay for the minivan. The scene then drags on with Mason getting upset because it had been promised to him when he was a young kid, and with his dad blathering about how cars are bad investments. The point is that the dad had gotten to the point in life where he had to sell his dream sports car because his priorities had changed. That would have been enough to shock Mason into seeing his dad differently. All the rest was excess that just dragged an already too-long movie further than it needed to go. 

Some scenes are handled brilliantly, however. Mason talks to his dad in an empty balcony of a club, while a band tunes up on the stage below. After some needed small talk to establish the scene, Mason asks his dad what it (life) is all about. His dad reveals that even at his point in life, he has no idea, and nobody else does either. It's a great moment between father and son, and shows a very specific couple of points in life that they had each grown to. Linklater's handling of the scene was superb.

I love how Linklater ended the story. It was laid back in his usual style, yet it was profound as well, and a fitting conclusion to Mason's arc of childhood. As the credits roll, one has to just sit back and think about what all has been absorbed. It's a heavy moment.

I think Linklater deserves an enormous amount of credit for daring to get this film made. IFC Films also deserves credit for taking a chance on such a long-term project. Hats off to the actors as well. This movie is truly groundbreaking, something that is rare in the current era of film.

Though I had some problems with it, I did fall quickly into the story and truly did want to see where the characters were going. A few unwanted annoyances did kick me out at times, but each time I was able to fall right back in. It's hard to complain about such a huge undertaking that was crafted so well for just a few million dollars. Richard Linklater has done some remarkable work. I think he's proud to have this project on his mantle.

​My Rating: 8.7/10

My gaming time took a major hit the last few weeks as a result of my moving combined with the Olympics being on. I've finally got everything going and have been starting to get in some quality time. Here's what I've been playing:

XBOX1
1. Overwatch - Been getting into more of the characters. This is a great game if you only have 20 minutes or so to play a couple of rounds.
2. The Witcher 3 - Been roaming around The Skellige Isles.
3. Minecraft - Only playing for a couple of hours a week, but I'm sure it'll pick up here and there.

I've ordered Madden NFL 17 because the reviews have been the highest in years, and because it's been a couple of years since I've bought a Madden Game. Man, do I miss the NCAA Football series. Praying that'll come back. 17 is set to unlock tonight, so I'll be able to dive into it after work.

Android:
1. Bloons TD 5 - best money you'll ever spend for your phone. I play a few rounds or so every day.
2. Table Tennis Touch - purchased this recently, and it's a gem.
3. Magnetic Balls Bubble Shoot - Best bubble shooter I've played.
4. Candy Crush - I'm fading now that I'm in the level 800's.

I'm still crushed by the Titanfall pre-Alpha tech test. I'll be glued to the gaming sites to see what's happening with Respawn. Man, do I hope they somehow pull this off, but hope is fading so fast...

Sometimes, after artists have had incredibly successful runs, you put too much faith in them, and then they end up breaking your heart when they inevitably let you down. I still remember the day in August of '91, when I rushed home after purchasing Metallica's Black Album, and became more enraged after every song I listened to. It was such an incredible slap-in-the-face to the band's hardcore fans who thought they'd never sell out. Well, it's real life, and they did. And to true metal fans, the result was garbage.

I also remember September of 2007, when I started playing the beta for Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the day it was released. It was easy to see that this was a huge step forward in the development of first-person shooters. Then came Modern Warfare 1 & 2, both tremendous games. Soon thereafter, came the firing of Vince Zampella and Jason West from Infinity Ward. They decided to start their own studio: Respawn Entertainment. In 2014 they released Titanfall, which exceeded the unbelievably high expectations I had for the team. It quickly became my favorite FPS of all time, and was the genre's most innovative game in years. It took Activision two cycles to copy the game mechanics of Titanfall within their Call of Duty series. 

Needless to say, my hopes for Titanfall 2 where as high as Mt. Everest. A few days ago, I told a friend "There is no way this game will not be great." Well, now I have my doubts.

For some completely incomprehensible reason, Respawn, instead of releasing a Beta, released a "pre-Alpha tech test," just weeks before the game's release date. Why on Earth would someone do that? What good can come of such a thing?

Well, while I worked yesterday, I watched Redditors release one comment after another on the tech test. The comments slowly trickled in, and they were brutal:

No Titan timers!
No Burn Cards!
Titans are too slow to get into!
Graphics suck!
People don't move!
There are barely any Titans!
The maps are horrible!
What happened to Attrition?
This gameplay isn't fun!
I'm canceling my preorder!
Please, Respawn, delay the release, and fix this thing!

Then the articles started coming out, confirming how bad things were. I got home late last night, set the tech test to download, and went to bed. I woke up at 8am, and gave it a try.

I played a couple of hours throughout the morning, and I can confirm, it is absolutely no fun, whatsoever.

We have no idea what Titanfall 2 will be like once released. What I think we can safely say is releasing this version, at this time, was an unbelievably horrible idea.

First off, if you're using the Source Engine--something that is older than sin, don't release a test that doesn't look sharp. It's just going to lead to criticism for the eight weeks up to the game's release. People were already criticizing you for not using a modern game engine.

Secondly--why would you release something that isn't fun at all? Everything that made Titanfall so great has been stripped away. Every, single, thing. If you're going to release something that's pre-Alpha, do it six months before the release so you don't scare the living daylights out of people. Release a tight Beta going into the final stretch.

Third. If you strip all the intriguing strategic aspects out of the game in this test release, such as burn cards, let people know that they'll be there in the final product. If they're not, you've just killed the game for a huge chunk of players.

This version is a knife blade to the gut of Titanfall fans. It will do the exact opposite of what it was intended to do. Instead of creating positive buzz, it's forcing people to question whether or not they're even going to buy the game.

I am the biggest Titanfall fan in the world. Nobody loved that game more than me. But I've been burned before. Even the best creators drop horrible bombs now and then. I'm not sure what the hell Zampella is thinking. Even if the game comes out with 9.0 and 9.5 reviews, the release of this tech test will sour sales. To make matters worse, DICE, which is coming off of the much-loved Star Wars: Battlefront, is releasing Battlefield 1 a week before Titanfall 2. We all have seen the amazing footage from B1. Millions of people are going to be laying down their $65 on DICE before the reviews for Titanfall 2 even come out.

What an epic disaster. I'm not confident that Respawn survives this, unless the game is an absolute gem and they're just doing this to lower expectations going into the final stretch.

All I know is if those reviews aren't incredibly high, the biggest Titanfall fan in the world is going to go with DICE's product. And that's a crying shame.

I found a pretty cool (and I think useful) website called thetruesize.com. It allows users to accurately compare the sizes of states and countries (which are obviously massively distorted on globes).

I think this can help us as writers because it gives us a sense of how large things are compared to places we know. It's difficult to get a sense of how big Spain, The Netherlands, Brazil, or Bangladesh are, without having lived there. Fortunately, with this site, we can get a clue.

For example, Spain is slightly smaller than Texas (which doesn't seem accurate in my mind):

The Netherlands is much, much smaller than the state of Utah (how can that be?):

It turns out that Brazil is really, really big:

And Bangladesh, with its 172 million people, is half the size of New Mexico, with its population of just over 2 million:

I think this tool can not only help us with travel times, but it can give us a better sense of population densities as well. I'm definitely adding it to my writing research folder.

I've talked about Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian on this blog before, not only for my love of the novel, but because there have been several attempts to adapt it into a film (most recently by James Franco)--something that many in the industry feel is an impossibility to do well, given the novel's immense violent nature. In fact, Ridley Scott, who once tried to get the project off the ground, famously said that "It would have been rated double-X."

A few years ago, William Monahan (who won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for The Departed), was given the chance to adapt the novel. I've long wanted to read his draft, and thanks to a nice redditor, was finally able to get my hands on it.

Monahan's first act was written extraordinarily well. I fell into the story as quickly as I did the first time I read the novel. Although no one could match McCarthy's vivid description of mid-1800's Texas, Mexico, and California, Monahan does a serviceable job to say the least, especially with the limited amount of space he had to work with. The Kid's travels down to Texas, the Glanton gang's move into Mexico, the initial battles with the Apaches--it's done well.

Then the Judge is established, and it's clear where Monahan diverges from the book--to the detriment of the story. The master-craftsman McCarthy brilliantly layered the Judge within the multitude of members of the Glanton Gang, The character is slowly established, and it's not until deep into the novel that we realize his true significance, not only to this story, but to the world as a whole.

Monahan was restricted by time, so he hacked out most of the other character's dialogue. He gave the Judge much more prominent of a place in the story--right from his establishment. This ruins the whole character, and frankly, does immense damage to the story as well.

However, with the exception of this unfortunate fact, the Monahan script is relatively strong, specifically in the first act, and first-half of the second. The end of the second act and the entire third act do need some work. But, this is a very workable script, much to my amazement.

Monahan changes the ending (one of the greatest endings in fictional history, in my opinion), and absolutely crashes and burns with it. One has to wonder what the hell he was thinking. It's bizarre that he would even attempt to alter such a brilliant end to an amazing story. But he does. Probably an ego thing, but when you're adapting arguably the world's greatest living writer, don't fuck up the ending. Is that too much to ask?

I think with a bunch of work, which would definitely include the removal of (perhaps) 70% of the Judge's dialogue, and with the beefing up of some of the side characters (such as Toadvine and the Delawares), this script could be made to work to the level of our high expectations attached to McCarthy adaptations. Above all, that ridiculously bad ending would have to be changed back to McCarthy's original intention. (The greatest scene in the whole book is removed for some reason).

So, overall, I was impressed with Monahan's attempt. This is truly a near-impossible project. He took a hard shot, and it ended up being decent. In fact, the first third of the screenplay is pretty incredible. As it stands, however, I'd hate to see this script shot. The magic of who the Judge character is would have to be added back in, and that addition would certainly be made through substantial subtraction.

I absolutely love watching the Olympics, both the Summer & Winter Games. It's not just about the actual events--it's about the narratives. We learn so much about these athletes, and the trials and tribulations they went through to reach the grandest stage. Then we watch them succeed or fail, against the world's strongest competition. It's a true delight to witness. 

Every cycle, there're new real-life heroes, the likes of which rival our greatest fictional characters. They get cemented in our long Olympic lore, not only for us to remember, but for future generations to honor as well.

I thought the opening ceremonies last night in Rio were pretty good. I was not a big fan of the London opening ceremonies, but obviously, Beijing's were spectacular. My favorite of all time were the Salt Lake City Winter Games opening ceremonies. From the girl in red with the lantern, to watching the US Hockey team light the soaring cauldron--it was fantastic throughout.

I really hope that Los Angeles wins the competition to host the 2024 Summer Games. I'd love to see many of the events, and unlike some, I'm willing to put up with the couple of weeks of horrible traffic. I'd also like to see a Winter Olympics at some point as well. It's something that's definitely on my bucket list.

Having the whole world get together in peace to compete in sporting events is absolutely wonderful. And every cycle it gets better as we're able to see more events with the expansion of tv channels and internet coverage. It's especially fun when it's in our hemisphere, and we're able to see a lot of live events.

There are some things that the world gets right, and the Olympic Games is definitely one of them.

What a busy end of July I had. I did manage to get moved from my apartment in the East San Fernando Valley to my new condo in the West SFV. It was 105F most days, and it wasn't a fun move, so I'm very glad that it's done.

I'm making slow progress on the stacks of boxes that inhibit my movement around my new place. I finally got my internet connected today, almost five days later than expected. Here's the fun story behind that:

I set up my Time Warner cable myself, over the internet. I brought my own cable modem to my new place, and couldn't get any connection. After calling the Time Warner rep, and after much confusion, we finally figured out that I was off by a digit when entering the new address. We then find out that a technician has to come to my place. A couple of days later, the tech comes, can't get a signal, so he traces the line, and it ends up going to a dish on the roof and not the cable junction box. He can't run the new line because the Co-Op has only contracted service through a different company. A couple of days later (today), the new tech comes, and I finally get my internet connection working. Excited, I set up my Xbox and come to discover that I can't find the power cord to the external drive (which I have most my games on). I know it's in a box somewhere, but Lord knows which one.

So that's the fun stuff of moving. Though I did get most of the painting done before the move, I still have some left to do and some trim work as well. Needless to say, I'll be busy for a few weeks.

I'm hoping to get back to writing soon. It's been too long. I'm going to have to start rereading my new novel from page one. But since I'm about halfway through the first draft, it'll be fun. I'm hoping my wi-fi router will reach all the way to the pool. If not, I might have to buy a more powerful one.

Yesterday I did go down to the pool to read. It was nice. I went for two 45 minute swims, one during the day, one at night. Hopefully, the exercise will help get my mind in shape as well.

I'm guessing that in a couple of weeks, I'll be writing daily, and having time to watch some of that wonderful TV that's out there. It's been a busy, hot summer, but I'm loving my new environment, and believe it will help me be more productive. One can only hope.

I haven't done any writing in almost three weeks. I've done far too little of it in the past couple of months, and I won't be able to do any writing for at least a couple of more weeks.

It hurts.

I'm going through the long process of buying a condo in a co-op and fixing it up before I move in. It's been painting at the new place for a couple of hours before driving into work, every day. Up in the morning, home after midnight. It's right at the same time of year where I work a bunch of overtime since a lot of people are on summer vacation. Needless to say, I've been busy.

What I have been able to do, is think a lot about my fantasy novel that I'm about halfway through the first draft of. So while I'm putting the paintbrush to the wall, I'm still thinking about my characters and the plot-lines, and it's actually been nice because I've worked through some things that I think will benefit the project as a whole. Separation from a project is sometimes beneficial.

Yet, not being able to get any writing done, much less watch any of the tv shows I've wanted to catch up on, has been a bit of a pain. Every couple of nights I've been able to play some Witcher 3 for an hour before nodding off, which has been fun, but I'm seriously looking forward to moving in so I can get back into the old routine.

I'm also looking forward to the change in environment to see how it affects my writing process. I have a feeling that I'm going to spend most mornings poolside doing some reading or writing before I hop in and get my exercise for the day. Plus, since I'm moving from one end of the San Fernando Valley to the other, I'll be able to check out a whole new neighborhood of coffee shops.  

​I'm hoping a change of environment does my creative process some good. I have a feeling it's going to bode well for me.

Season 6 ended with another big budget episode that wisely didn't outshine the epic nature of the previous two, but was well-sized cinematically for the season's conclusion. I liked the look and the feel of the entire episode, but I'm still a bit worried about where we're at.

We're running out of antagonists, and seem to have a bounty of protagonists. To me, this doesn't seem fitting at this point, right before the series's climax. 

The way that Cersei gains power was very stunning. It was also shocking to see her son, the King, commit suicide. Now we've gotten rid of the High Sparrow, who was arguably the most powerful (and one true) antagonist south of the Wall. We've also ended Margaery's plot-line, which was another probable antagonist path. Yes, Cersei and her control of King's Landing is strong, and she now seems to be our chief antagonist. Yet, this feels somewhat underwhelming. What army does she have? What power does she wield that we've seen?

By comparison, Daenerys is coming across the Narrow Sea with a seemingly endless amount of ships, troops, and three dragons. It feels like the good guys have more power than the bad guys.

It's revealed what we've all known for years: who Jon Snow's real parents are. Since GOT is such a global phenomenon, it was bound to have been figured out, and as such, played extremely flat. What a great reveal it could have been if we had not known.

Jon being raised up as King of North was fitting, and a great scene. 

Arya killing Walder Frey was satisfying vengeance, but also eliminates yet another bad guy.

I think what the episode could have used is a grand White Walker scene. We're left at the end of the season not feeling like our heroes are underdogs. That's not a good thing. Where's the tension?

But I did love the episode. This season started out so small while misfiring on so many cylinders, but it turned the corner a few episodes in and ended up being one of the best seasons (and certainly grandest) to date. I'm not liking where we're at, since the odds don't feel like they're long, but, hopefully, this will be rectified early on in season 7.

We're reaching the final stretch. With the two shorter seasons coming up, I hope they take the time to make them the best seasons we've ever seen. This series definitely deserves it.

Crossed another classic off my list recently, as I finished the Douglas Adams book that everyone in the world seems to love. I had on numerous occasions over the years thought about reading it next, and then it just always fell down my reading queue. I think that was a mistake.

I don't want to give away any spoilers because the big revelation in the story was ruined for me by someone when I had mentioned that I had started reading the book. Sucks when that happens.

Hitchhiker is a very well written novel in certain aspects, and not so well written in others. I understand why it hooked so many readers when it did. What it excels at is style. Adams has a very intriguing way of writing his sci-fi story that connects it to the banality of everyday life. This is what's so special about it. He gives what certainly was a unique perspective on the universe, and in a humorous way because we can all relate to it.

Where Hitchhiker runs into trouble is in its characters. Yes, they have funny, fancy names like Zaphod Beeblebrox and Slartibartfast, but they've mere devices to bring us the humor that was in Adam's brain. On their own, they're all pretty flat, obviously geared toward younger readers.

That being said, it was a fun read. I kept thinking to myself, how much would I have enjoyed this if I had read it when I was twelve years old? I'm sure much more than I did at forty-five. Will I continue on with the series? Probably not.

Yes, Hitchhiker deserves its place in literature lore as a unique sci-fi comedy that made us laugh with exceptional style. For that reason, I give it high marks. As a middle-aged man, however, it wasn't exactly my cup of tea.

My Goodreads.com rating: 4/5.

The worst kept secret in the universe turned out to be true: 2K Games is releasing a remastered collection of Bioshock, Bioshock 2, and Bioshock Infinite. It drops on Sept. 15th for $60.

I can't state strongly enough how great this is. I played Bioshock all the way through twice, Bioshock 2 once, and Bioshock Infinite twice. I replayed the last 15 minutes of Infinite about ten times. There has never been a stronger trilogy in my opinion. Bioshock is easily in my top 5 games of all time, and Infinite is my absolute favorite game of all time.

For those who love a strong narrative in their gameplay, you cannot beat the Bioshock series. These games looked great on the previous generations; I can't imagine how wonderful they'll look on current gen. 

I still remember the mind-blowing reveals that happen in these stories. The characters are absolutely world-class. The action is good too, and blends into the narratives well.

I'd easily give Bioshock a 10/10, Bioshock 2 an 8.5/10, and Infinite a 10/10. If you haven't played the Bioshock series yet, make sure you get the remastered version on Sept. 15th. It's as good as gaming gets.

I've been a little late with my recent Game of Throne reviews as I'm currently busy with a move. I'd like to give my thoughts regarding Episode 9, but first just a quick word about Episode 8: 'No One.'  

​It was pretty solid throughout. Though the Riverrun battle was underwhelming, there were some very good scenes. I especially liked Gregor's attack, and the goodbye between Varys and Tyrion. Though I loved the way that Arya defeated the Waif, I wasn't big on her acrobatics with her severed core muscles (believability has become a significant issue with the series).

Now onto the Battle of the Bastards.

This was clearly the largest, most cinematic episode of the series yet, and easily one of the grandest episodes in television history. I was so happy to see where the money was spent his season. Obviously, the bulk of it went towards the the two battles of episode 9. 

I loved the 'who is going to surrender' reversal, and the dragon destroying the fleet. The sf/x were darn good for television. I never buy Daenerys being able to hold onto a dragon, but it's a minor believability issue. The meeting between Daenerys and Yara & Theon was well written and acted, and did a fantastic job of setting up the inevitable conquest of Westeros.

The Battle at Winterfell was staged well, from the initial arrow shots at Rickon, to the phalanx with the pikes. The scale of the battle was well captured with grand, cinematic shots. Yes, the Littlefinger-cavalry-arriving-to-save-the-day was too much of a hand-of-God moment, but the post-battle stuff with Ramsay in the castle was oh, so satisfying.

So now I wonder--who is the main antagonist now that Ramsay is dead? I thought they would keep him around, and even let him gain power. It seems like for the first time there're more people we like that are left alive than those we don't like.

Obviously, the High Sparrow has to be overthrown. The new King of the Iron Islands too. Maybe Jamie & Cersei? I just don't know where they're going to go. It seemed like the whole buildup was for Jon and Daenerys to defeat massive armies in order to team up to take down the Night King and the White Walkers. But it seems like there's not a whole lot left for them to conquer.

Either way, I loved the episode. This season started out so poorly but really has become enthralling towards the end. These battles were exceptional for something shown on television. It's hard to imagine how they could top it with episode 10.

Ranked in order of how much time I'm currently playing them:

1. Overwatch
2. Witcher 3
3. Tropico 5
4. Minecraft
​5. Bloons Tower Defense 5 (Android)


Games I'm most looking forward to:

​1. Titanfall 2
2. Gwent

Those are the only two I know that are coming out in 2016 that I'm certainly getting.

Last May, the Polish video game developer CD Projekt RED released The Witcher 3, a third person, open-world medieval fantasy game, that won over the critics, receiving several Game of the Year awards, on its way to shipping over 10 million copies worldwide. CD Projekt followed it up with two highly-rated expansion packs.

Even though the game has been out well over a year, CD Projekt is still improving it. When the game was originally released, I sunk a lot of hours into it, before Fallout IV and Battlefront came out later in the year. Lately, I've been back at it, wanting to finish the game and both expansion packs before Ubisoft's Watch Dogs 2 comes out in November. When I booted it up a couple of days ago, I was surprised to see that the interface had been redone, even though the game has been out for so long.

The whole map/crafting/bestiary/inventory/etc., menus have been redone. Little improvements have been made as well. For instance, when you pick up a letter or a note now, you just have to down-click the right controller stick to read it, and it shows you a list of all the notes you haven't read yet. I had several unread letters. Once I read them, several new quests popped up.

I wish every game developer was like CD Projekt. Start with a fantastic game, and then keep improving it. You don't need all two or three hundred employees constantly working on it, but have a few stay with it for awhile. Not only will the gamers appreciate it, they'll be much more apt to buy your next game.

Within Witcher 3 is a card game called Gwent. I never got into Magic: The Gathering or Hearthstone, but as I made my way through the Witcher 3 world, I found myself falling in love with Gwent. I wasn't the only one. CD Projekt found that there were many Witcher 3 players that ignored the whole game except for traveling around from town to town to find other Gwent players. It's a seriously addictive game within a game.

At E3 this summer, CD Projekt formally announced that an updated version of Gwent was coming out for the PC and consoles. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before they bring it to the phones and tablets as well. This is a very smart move by the developer, and will bring in steady revenue while they develop their next large game.

I'm glad that CD Projekt is doing things right. Winning many top awards wasn't enough for the company. They just keeping on delivering. There're a lot of great gaming companies out there, each with its own strategy. I think most of them could learn a thing or two from CD Projekt RED.

I've played enough of Blizzard's Overwatch to finally feel comfortable writing a short review about it. Like I've said in previous posts, I wasn't planning on buying this game at all, mainly because of its fast pace and cartoon-ish look. Because of the fantastic reviews, however, I had to plunk down my $60 on it.

I'm glad I did. Blizzard crafted a fine multiplayer first-person shooter. 

Overwatch is a 6vs6 game in which players choose one of twenty-one different 'heroes' to play as, each with very specific weapons, powers, and attributes. Some are more geared towards offense, some defense, and some support. The balance between them, which Blizzard is still fine-tuning, is pretty amazing. 

It's this rich supply of characters which makes Overwatch so special. Some people like characters that can fire missiles, other's ones that shoot arrows. It's your choice, and  if one character isn't working for you, you can change it within the game each time you die. You quickly find characters that match your skill, and it's fun trying to compete with characters that don't.

Beyond the character diversity, one thing I love about Overwatch is that how it de-emphasizes k/d ratios. There are essentially two game modes (with different variations of each). One is a headquarters mode, which Blizzard calls 'Assault,' and the other is an extraction mode, which is called 'Escort.' You work as a team to accomplish the goal, and there's no k/d showcase to distort players' behavior from accomplishing that goal. It's a relief, because you don't have to worry about that stat dropping, just because you're trying to hold a territory. It's exactly what the FPS genre needed.

The maps, although cartoon-ish, look gorgeous. And while the pace feels chaotic at first, once you get comfortable with it, it's not bad at all. It's not COD-slow, but it's not UT-fast either.

The major penalty in the game for dying is a time-penalty. You respawn away from the action, and you have to travel back towards it. With slower characters, this is a real pain. But, then again, that's the price you pay. It's not BF-bad (much less CS-bad), but it is a slow-down, and sometimes it feels like it's too much of one. 

I don't find myself playing Overwatch for hours at a time, but I do try to play a few rounds every day. For the time being, it's replaced my Battlefront addiction. I seriously think I'll be playing this game for a couple of years, and I'm anxious to see how Blizzard expands it.

So far, it's very fun. Overwatch will definitely be my FPS of choice for awhile--at least until Titanfall 2 drops later this year.

My Rating: 8.7/10.

I won't say much about the episode in particular. Once again we have one effective scene after another. The middle part of this season has been fantastic. Jaime Lannister talking to the Black Fish on the drawbridge. Arya going through her stuff. Margaery confronting her grandmother. The Hound. These were all well-written, well-acted scenes. In particular, I thought the scene between Yara and Theon was exceptional, as she tries to convince her brother to return to his former self. The quality of the acting is absolutely wonderful.

But...

The one problem that Game of Thrones has, and has had, just became amplified, to the detriment of the series as a whole.

When Jon Snow was shot up with arrows by Yigrette, and somehow survived, we lost a little bit of trust with the author. They played it off as if she's such a great archer, that she purposely shot Jon full of arrows at points in his body that wouldn't be fatal. Not a great answer, there.

The problem is that we have main characters that are clearly mortally wounded, and they somehow survive. Or, they die and then somehow survive. You do this once, you get away it. But every time you try it afterward, it's going to continue the damage between the viewer/reader and the author, because, in fact, we're being lied to.

It's particularly bad in this episode. It's revealed that the Hound has survived. There's no way he could have, given his wounds. They play it off as if it was the gods' will. Once again, not good.

Then in the same damn episode, Arya is wounded, clearly mortally, yet at this point we have absolutely no expectation that she could die. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if in the next episode it's revealed that Ned Stark survived, sans his head.

I hope that the story gets back to a more believable place, where mortal wounds actually end up being mortal. Our trust needs to be regained. If death isn't connected to finality, then it's really not death. It's some absurd fictional tool that causes us to lose faith in the story, and using such a device repeatedly is not something that should be done in a tale of such high quality as what Game of Thrones has proven to be.

If Arya died from her wounds, the trust would be regained. However, who really believes that could be possible at this point?