Top Ten Books...

I was challenged recently to list my top ten books, either favorite books or books that have impacted me and stuck with me. I maintain that trying to choose a favorite book is like a parent trying to choose a favorite child.

Sin embargo, I have attempted to put together a list of my top ten books. Really, the challenge was to list my choices on Facebook. I'm still going to do that, but I wanted to expound upon my choices just a little. 

And it's my list, so I get to do what I want.

1. The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum. I'm also kind of including the other books in the Oz series that Baum wrote, but The Patchwork Girl is my favorite of the lot. The book works so well. There's a real reason for the characters to be exploring all the corners of Oz. There are actions and consequences. It's a brilliant piece of work. 
2. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. As one of the quote blurbs says on the cover, "The Apocalypse has never been funnier." So what would happen if the Apocalypse arrived, but Heaven and Hell had misplaced the AntiChrist? I think it may go a little like this book. It's brilliant and hilarious. If you read around other people they will ask what's making you laugh out loud.
3. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. This is a science fiction book that takes place in the future. It also manages to be a love-letter to the pop-culture of the eighties. And not just one bit of pop-culture, it spans movies, TV shows, books, video games, and role-playing games. It's handled brilliantly.
4. Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis. This book is not for the faint of heart. It's a tour of the weirdest fetishes in America. It's hilarious. The main character is described as a shit-magnet. If something happens to him, it's going to be the worst possible thing. He's not happy to be exploring America the way he ends up doing, but he soldiers on through. There is only one admirable character in the book, and she shows up for maybe three pages. I do love reading this journey.
5. The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson. I'm cheating a bit here. However, the three books tell one long tale. Larsson was a brilliant writer. His characters are fleshed out and believable. He brilliantly weaves a tale that manages to include mysteries, investigative journalism, love, hate, courtroom drama, and conspiracies. It all centers around Lisbeth Salander, who, in a brilliant move, is a supporting character when she first shows up. She slowly takes over the story. Her presence is felt, even when she is absent. More books not for the faint of heart. The trilogy was originally going to be called, "Men Who Hate Women." There are some truly atrocious acts carried out. The feminist in me cringes at those, but thrills to the truly brilliant acts carried out by the female characters. There are some truly admirable characters in this novel.
6. Dragonsong/Dragonsinger by Anne McCaffrey. Another cheat, but these two books are very short and together tell the story of Menolly, a girl who isn't a proper girl, who loves music so much that she runs away from home. The growth she experiences as she learns to survive on her own is wonderful. The second book has one part that makes me completely break down and cry every time I read it. This is a powerful story to which I really relate.
7. Top Ten by Alan Moore and Gene Ha. This is a comic book series. It's about the police force in a city of superheroes and supervillains. These are truly great characters. They are believable. And again, there's a part that makes me cry every time. From a comic book. It's that good.
8. On Writing by Stephen King. Essential. Important. Funny. Personal. Revealing. Insights into Stephen King's writing process. I can't emphasize the importance of this book to me enough. It's a great book.
9. The Jim Henson biography by Brian Jay Jones. This biography does not pull punches. It explores every aspect of Jim Henson's life, even the not-so-admirable parts. It ranges from childhood to his death. The description of his funeral makes me cry. It's a well-written and entertaining biography. How often do you get to read one of those?
10. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. It's a book about the love of books. It's a whole lot of fun to read. And the cover glows in the dark. I don't want to say too much about the story, because it might give something away, but it's worth a read. Especially if you love books and fonts.

So that's my list. It was hard to choose which books to include, but I managed. 

Planeswalkers...

I've mentioned before how much I enjoy playing Magic: the Gathering. As player personality types go, I am a Vorthos, meaning I appreciate the art, story, and characters of Magic more than the mechanics of gameplay.

Each player in a Magic game is a planeswalker, able to travel to different worlds and universes through the Blind Eternities. On these worlds the planeswalker is able to forge connections to the different lands (plains, island, swamp, mountain, forest) in order to power his spells. A planeswalker is also able to learn to summon creatures (humans, merfolk, zombies, goblins, elves, etc.) from these different worlds. He could also learn to summon help from another planeswalker (planeswalker cards) to enable him to win his battles.

When two planeswalkers do battle, in my imagination they aren't taking turns and casting spells drawn randomly from a deck. That doesn't give you a good chance to win, in my opinion. So how does the game of Magic translate into the fantasy realm that Wizards of the Coast has created. It doesn't, really. The random nature of a deck of Magic cards just doesn't translate well to a pitched battle between powerful mages. However, I have a theory.

What if two (or more) planeswalkers meet up and want to test their skills against each other without running the risk of either dying? Maybe they want to settle a dispute or have placed a valuable item or spell as the prize of their contest. In this case, they might agree upon rules to follow for the contest. Maybe the rules of a Magic: the Gathering game. Very meta, right? The game of Magic is inside the world of the Magic game.

This is where the randomness can happen. Each planeswalker creates a deck of cards representing the spells he or she has learned, and representing the ties he or she has created to the lands providing the power for those spells. Each planeswalker randomizes the deck, draws seven cards, and begins playing, taking turns.

I like this idea. It's simple, yet elegant, and makes it possible for the random nature of a Magic deck to have a place in the Magic Multiverse. Of course, if the planeswalkers were unable to solve their dispute with a game and decided to fight in earnest, then the random nature goes out the window and the planeswalkers start throwing everything they have at each other.

I'm going to try to start writing more, so I hope to do more on Magic. Maybe get into the colors and what each is good at, and which colors I identify with the most.

DVD/Blu-Ray Watching Project

So I've recently inherited a TV for my office. I had one before, but I got an upgrade to a flat-screen, HD, wonderful TV experience. 

I had decided to use my DVD player, but it had some issues during playback: the audio-video sync was off. Way off. Distractingly off. 

This would not do.

So I purchased a Blu-Ray player. It has been bliss. 

Anyway, the update on my project to watch all the discs I own. I've had a couple 4 star viewings that I wanted to share.

Jurassic Park. This is a wonderful movie. If you don't like this movie, well, I'll try not to judge you. Spielberg did a wonderful job. It moves so well. The CGI really holds up incredibly well. And since Spielberg films in levels, meaning there's something in the foreground, the middle ground and the background, Jurassic Park converted to 3D really worked. Chelsea and I watched that version when it was in theaters. Anyway, we purchased a Blu/DVD combo thing and I loved this movie all over again. It's amazing.

The next two 4s came from the Muppet Show. I know, huge surprise, right?

Anyway, one episode featured Joel Grey. I love Joel Grey. He's amazing. The writing for this episode was a little sub-par, but Mr. Grey brings the whole thing up to another level. He performs "Wilkommen," from Cabaret and "Razzle-Dazzle" from Chicago. Just an amazing performance. He really interacts well with Gonzo, oddly enough.

The other episode featured Rita Moreno. She's one of the relatively few people to have won an Oscar, a Tony, a Grammy, and an Emmy. And she brings her "A" game for the Muppets. Her opening dance was amazing. She puts on a heavy Hispanic accent to hilarious effect in one bit, and, at the same time, manages to out feisty Miss Piggy. Granted, this is a Miss Piggy that Frank Oz hasn't quite figured out, but she's still feisty. Rita performs "You Give Me Fever" with Animal and Floyd Pepper. Her interaction with Animal is brilliant and he ends by saying that she's "[his] kinda woman." She manages to match the Muppets' manic energy and elevate it to a new level. Great, great episode.

So the project is progressing and I'm really enjoying it. Haven't really felt like watching many movies or TV shows lately, but that's due to my depression making it difficult to decide what to watch. So I'll keep watching different shows and hope one will really help me work through the recent upheaval that's happened in my life. 

DVD/Blu-Ray Watching Project...

A short while ago I realized that Chelsea and I have a lot of movies and TV shows on DVD and Blu-Ray. Not the most stunning revelation, but at the same time I realized that we had a lot of shows that I've never seen.

I've decided to watch them all. Even the ones I've seen before. Not only am I going to watch them all, I'm going to rate them based on my emotional resonance with the TV episode or the movie.

What are my ratings? They're on a scale of 1 to 5, five being the highest rating.

1 means that I do not like the show at all. It does not resonate with me in the slightest. 

2 means that I have a minimally connection with the show. Maybe there are a couple lines I like, or an actor I really admire.

3 is an average show. This may be a show I feel a lot of nostalgia for, even if it isn't the best-written show ever imagined. This will be a show I don't dislike, but one for which I don't feel any particular like.

4 is a great show. A particularly strong episode, a fantastic movie. An episode or a movie I'll watch again for sure.

5 is a show that moves me. If I start crying, it most likely deserves a 5. These are the shows I come back to time after time.

So what have I decided to start with? The original Transformers animated series. 

I'll probably post updates from time to time. I don't imagine the middle scores will warrant an update. The updates will be those shows I love or hate. 

It'll be an extensive project. I'm looking forward to it.

Winning...

Last post I explained a little about Magic: the Gathering. It's a complex game and I enjoy playing quite a bit. Playing Magic is how I am able to be social.

My favorite Magic format is the draft. In a draft, every player opens three packs of 15 randomly sorted cards, one pack at a time. Each player will then select one card and pass the pack to the next player. First pack is passed to the left, second pack to the right, third pack to the left again. Each player then constructs a deck out of the cards he selected and adds an appropriate number of lands to support the selected cards.

It's fun because each player is on equal footing, the deciding factors being how well you draft and how well you play.

As far as skill goes I fall in about the middle of the pack within the local group of players. For example, while I construct good decks and draft well, I rarely do better than win 50% of my matches. And that's ok. I don't play Magic to experience the thrill of winning. I don't have that killer instinct. I play because I enjoy playing. I like talking to my opponent (most of the time) and I enjoy the atmosphere.

Saturday I won. Every round. I managed to beat a player I have never defeated before. Each round is the best two out of three games. Saturday I didn't lose a single game.

It felt good. 

It felt really good.

Don't think I'm going to become one of those guys that has to win to have fun. I'm still going to play because I enjoy playing, but it felt very nice to finally win.

Magic: the Gathering...

This is a big one. Honestly, I've spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how to present this particular obsession of mine.

Magic: the Gathering is a collectible card game. The original collectible card game, in fact. It was invented by Richard Garfield, who is now a professor of combinatorial mathematics. And no, I don't know what that means. Math is not one of my geeky obsessions. 

In Magic, each player plays using his own deck of cards. These decks are built using a variety of cards that produce various effects. The decks usually run 60 cards, but that can vary depending on what the deck wishes to accomplish and the style of play the player favors. Competitive decks are 60 cards.

Magic appeals to me for three main reasons. One, I love to collect things. A card game where the cards are collectible? Sign me up. Two, the cards have amazing art. Well, not always, but the art in general is much better now than when I first started playing, back in 1994. Yes, Drew Tucker, I still think your art sucks. Three, the random nature of the game. Each deck is shuffled and cards are drawn. This random aspect, known as variance, allows a chance for each player to win, regardless of how much money they've spent on their cards. Fourth, I love the storytelling aspect of the game.

Story-wise, each player is a Planeswalker, able to launch himself into the Blind Eternities and travel between different planes of existence. When meeting another Planeswalker and engaging in battle with him, a Planeswalker can draw upon the energies of different places he has been to cast spells and summon creatures to battle his opponent.

The back of a Magic Card

There are many different types of cards in the game. Each card is generally associated with one or more colors. There are five colors in magic: White, Blue, Black, Red, and Green. Each color has its own philosophy. The color philosophies can get complicated, but at the most basic level, they are as follows: White: Peace, harmony, and perfection. Blue: Acquisition of knowledge, because knowledge is power. Black: Self-indulgence, parasitism, amorality, and an unfettered desire for power. Red: Impulses. Red is immediate action and immediate gratification. Green: Nature, growth, interdependence, and instinct.

Cards also have a casting cost that includes a cost paid by a specific color of mana and a cost that can be paid by any color.

Land Cards. Land produce the energy(mana) necessary to cast spells. Plains produce white mana, Islands produce blue mana, Swamps produce black mana, Mountains produce red mana, and Forests produce green mana. There are land cards that are more complicated, but these are the Basic Lands. As lands produce mana, they don't have a casting cost.

Land Cards.

Creature Cards. The most basic way to interact with the other player. Creatures are summoned and stay on the field of play until they die and go to the Graveyard. Creatures have power and toughness stats. They also often have special abilities that make them more powerful than other creatures.

The Shivan Dragon. He costs 4 mana of any color and 2 mana that has to be red for a total of 6 mana. He has a base power of 5 and a base toughness of 5. He can fly. You can pay 1 red mana to increase his power by one until the end of the current turn.

Sorcery Cards. A spell that produces a specific effect and can only be cast on the player's own turn.

Wrath of God costs 4 mana to cast, 2 white mana and 2 mana of any color. This spell destroys all creatures on the playing field. Yes, your creatures, too. 

Instant Cards. Similar to Sorcery Cards, but can be played during your opponent's turn as well as your own.

Cancel costs 3 mana, 1 of any color and 2 blue mana. If a player casts Cancel on your spell, that means your spell, the card you're playing out of your hand, goes to the graveyard. Blue players can be real jerks.

Enchantment Cards. These can only be played during your own turn. They stay on the field until they are destroyed, and produce a continuous effect. Enchantments can affect one specific target, or be more generalized. 

Aspect of Gorgon costs 3 mana to play, 2 of any color and 1 black. This gives a creature one 1 extra power and 3 extra toughness. It also makes the creature able to kill any other creature just by damaging it. (The creature becomes Medusa-like)

Artifact Cards. Very similar to enchantments, but most often lack a color. Their effects are also not usually continuous, but must be activated to produce an effect of limited duration. Artifacts can also be creatures.

Howling Mine costs 2 mana of any color to play. This causes each player to draw and extra card each turn. Yep, your opponent gets to draw that extra card, too.

Planewalker Cards. These cards represent powerful or famous Planeswalkers who come to your aid. They produce one effect at a time on your turn only. Planeswalker Cards have loyalty counters that increase or decrease depending on the ability that was used. If a Planeswalker Card has zero loyalty counters, it is placed in the graveyard. To me, this means that the Planeswalker no longer wishes to help you and has left the field of battle.

Elspeth. One of my favorite Planeswalkers. The art is just amazing. Right?

There's a lot more to a game of Magic than I'm going to be able to explain in a blog post. Each game is different based on which cards the players draw and when they choose to play those cards. How the cards interact changes the game as well. It's a fun game. 

If you want to learn how to play, let me know. If you live close by, I can teach you myself, but if you live far away, I can try and help you find someone who can help you learn. 

If you want to know more, visit the main Magic website. This link takes you to a page that is specifically for those who are new to Magic. The fiery woman is Chandra, another Planeswalker.

Thanks for reading this huge post.

Who I Am, Who I Want To Be...

I've never really liked Batman. Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed Batman stories and movies, but I've never really liked Batman himself. I think he's a selfish bastard, actually. I like characters in the Batman family, like Nightwing, the Tim Drake Robin, Barbara Gordon (who was Batgirl, but actually was much more awesome as Oracle, which happened after the Joker shot her and paralyzed her), and even a couple villains, like the Joker and Poison Ivy.

Why am I talking about Batman? Well, when I ask people why they like Batman, many say that it's because, with enough money, they could actually BE Batman. 

Now, philosophically, which superhero am I the most like? Well, I would have to say this guy:

Now, why would I say I'm like Spiderman? Do I think that with great power comes great responsibility? Well, that's a great motto, but that's not where I'm similar to Spiderman. Nope, it's guilt.

Spiderman is completely motivated by guilt. His Uncle Ben was killed by a burglar that Spiderman could have stopped, had he cared to lift a finger. That one moment influences every single decision that Spiderman makes. 

Where do I come in? I tend to feel a lot of guilt. The clearest memories I have of my childhood are associated with guilt. So I'm Spiderman, just without the cool powers and constant quips.

So who would I want to be? The comic book character I would most want to be like is this guy:

His name is Saint Walker and he's a Blue Lantern. You may have heard of Green Lantern. Green Lantern is part of the Green Lantern Corps, kind of a universe-spanning police force. The Green Lanterns wear rings powered by willpower. Turns out there are Lanterns of all the colors of the rainbow: Red is powered by Rage, Orange by Greed, Yellow by Fear, Green by Will, Blue by Hope, Indigo by Compassion, and Violet by Love.

Why would I want to be a Blue Lantern? I need to let myself hope more. The Blue Lanterns greet every difficulty by saying, "All will be well." I would love to let myself have that kind of faith. I'm too much of a worry wart.

Maybe someday I can quit being Spiderman and start being the Blue Lantern I want to be.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The wife and I went and saw Captain America: The Winter Soldier tonight. It was fantastic.

The cast was large enough that I felt bad that there were only two specific characters mentioned in the title. I think it would be very difficult to come up with a title that would be more inclusive. I mean, Captain America has to be there. He's the main character. You can't call it, "Some of the Avengers," because there are only two in the movie, and that would leave out the Falcon (he was perfect, by the way). You could just call it "A Day in the Life of S.H.I.E.L.D.," but that would leave out the Captain. It's a conundrum.

The Winter Soldier, as a character, was executed perfectly. He has a great look. The costume, the arm, his mask; all perfect. He gets a good character arc. He is a good foil for the main character.

The Falcon was awesome. When they introduced him I started smiling. My smile grew wider with every scene he was in he stole. His action scenes in the air were rather breath-taking. Just a great character on-screen. Really executed well.

The Black Widow. I liked her a lot in the movie. Her character had more depth than she's had before. I almost wish they had included Hawkeye, as he and the Black Widow really had good chemistry in the Avengers, but that would have been too many characters.

Brock Rumlow aka Crossbones in the comic books. When I finally figured out who he was I just about squeed. Really. It would have been embarrassing. Added a lot to the movie. Can you imagine being the guy who got his part. You read the script, find out his name, do a web search, find out more about the character from the comics and realize, "They're going to bring me back for more movies." That would be a great moment.

Georges Batroc. Batroc the Leaper. More bad-ass than he's ever been in the comic books! Wish he had more screen time.

Really, I think this sequel was a great action movie, even if you don't get all the extra nuances that come from knowing who all these characters are. The plot twists make sense. You get all the excitement and suspense of a Bourne movie. You watch a great bunch of actors working together to create a cohesive film. You get a contained story that still provides elements for the larger Marvel cinematic story. When you think of all the elements that the film's creators had to juggle and blend, this movie could have been a mess. It wasn't. It was a lot of fun.

What more could you want?