A Green Mushroom

This was an awesome book.  I don't often read or listen to non-fiction novels but I make exceptions for people or authors that I really like. I like a lot of Felicia Day's work and I'm always interested in seeing the next thing that she creates.  This was a good chance to find out more about her and the creative process she goes through.  It was very fascinating. I'm always interested in hearing about how people work and how creative work is accomplished.  This book gives a good feel for both in Felicia Day's work. I listened to this one as an Audiobook and it's definitely the way to go, because the author is also the narrator.  I love when that happens.  When the author is the narrator you can be sure that the correct tone is carried through in the reading of the piece of work. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in how creative work gets done, the beginnings of video web series in the infancy of Youtube, or if you're just a...

Playing Assassin's Creed last week really brought something to light for me.  Often, in games, we define characters by the weapons they use.  It's an interesting phenomenon. In Assassin's Creed Syndicate the Frye Twins have different default weapons that give them a different feel from one another.  Evie has a cane sword and Jacob has a brass knuckle.  It immediately distinguishes them even though they're twins and mostly have the same skills.  They are quickly shown to have unique styles via their weapons. When I was watching DareDevil the other week there were a few episodes that focused on how he started using his batons as weapons.  They end up becoming a defining part of his character. Not to mention iconic characters like Cloud and Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII are also often defined by their weapons.  No one ever really thinks about Sephiroth without thinking about his super long Masamune sword.  And the image of Cloud with ...

DareDevil is another show I got to catch up on while I was sick the other week. Oh boy, does this show have some pacing problems. I don't exactly know how to review DareDevil for you because it has some great episodes and it has some absolutely amazing scenes in certain episodes.  But it also has episodes where almost nothing happens and the show seems to drag on for way too long. That's especially bad as a Netflix Original since the show can be any length it feels is appropriate.  It doesn't have to fit into the normal 42 minute block for an "hour long" TV show airing on network TV. But then we have scenes like the hallway encounter at the end of episode 2.  It's one of the most interesting fight scenes I've ever seen. And then there are amazing moments with Wilson Fisk, the bad guy.  He's portrayed so incredibly by the actor. I'm honestly torn.  I'm glad I watched season 1 of DareDevil but I don't see myself ever wanting t...

I was surprised to see that Blade Runner was actually a novel  from the 60s.  I've tried to watch the movie a bunch of times and it never grabbed my attention but I'd never given the novel a shot. Once I started reading it I very quickly ran into that 60s Sci-Fi feel.  I didn't know if I had enough drive to read a book like that at the moment so I got the Audible version instead. It's actually a pretty interesting book.  It's all about a bounty hunter in search of renegade androids on the loose in his territory.  It's post apocalyptic and the world is a radioactive wasteland where most life is dead.  There's an entire religion built up around the remaining living animals and it also influences how people feel about the artificial life of androids. It's not a book I would necessarily recommend to anyone, but I am glad that I've read it.  I know it's either based off of or another name for Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep which i...

Assassin's Creed Syndicate is this year's entry in the series.  It's set in London during England's industrial revolution.  It's a classic Assassin's vs Templars set up but the setting seems especially fun this year. The Frye twins are both main characters which is a first for the series.  They're Assassin twins with very different, but interesting, personalities.  Jacob likes to just wing it or charge into a situation, he specializes in fighting.  Evie plans and thinks before approaching a target.  She is great at stealth and infiltration. They have separate skill trees so you can build each one the way you want to.  But, Jacob has a few end-game powers that make him especially good at combat and Evie has the same for stealth. I honestly love the way these two characters play off each other and interact.  It's believable friendly banter that I didn't know I wanted in the Assassin's Creed series, but now that it's here I love it.  T...

In my sickness last week I got around to finishing the second season of the Clone Wars TV Show. I had mostly given up on this show but I really love Star Wars Rebels and it seems to be pulling some key characters straight from Clone Wars who were never in the books or movies.  I'm trying to do my due diligence as a crazy Star Wars fan by going back and watching Clone Wars on Netflix. Season 2 is a definite improvement over season one, but it's still not that good.  Everyone has told me that it gets better in the later seasons and I'm really hoping to see that when I start season 3. Most of the episodes in season 2 were disconnected random fights in the clone wars time period.  A lot of the characters are consistent but there's no real character development at all. There's also a severe lack of overall plot.  There will be two or three episodes in a row that are directly connected but none of it ever ties back in to an overarching story. Again, this is ...

Along with watching a bunch of TV while I was sick last week I also picked up Dragon Quest Heroes.  It's a game in the same style as Hyrule Warriors or Dynasty Warriors. Basically it's a game with giant waves of super weak enemies that you get to hack and slash your way through.  It's super low key, doesn't use much of my brain power, and has a fun Dragon Quest style. This game doesn't offer much new to the genre, but it was perfect for being sick.  I could just put on some podcasts to listen to while slashing my way through wave after wave of enemy.  It was easy progression and fun over-the-top combat. It's not a game I was sure I would pick up, but it was the perfect game to play while sick.  I'll probably work my way through the whole game eventually, but now that I'm feeling better I'm excited to jump into the games I was really looking forward to this Fall.  Triforce Heroes and Assassin's Creed Syndicate came out last week and I...