London's Calling

Checking in—this time with a bit more than the usual books and tv.  I made it over the Atlantic to London in addition to what I've been reading and playing, so I have some pictures for this post.

I thoroughly enjoyed the city that I can best describe, no offense meant by the disparity in historical ages, as an amalgamation of New York and Washington D.C.  Due to rebuilding after the bombing in World War II, London has a very modern city vibe, skyscrapers and all, with that financial, busy people doing business things energy.   At the same time, there are scores of tourists crowding the streets and around every corner is a monument, statue, or building that speaks to the city's place as a capital and the United Kingdom's storied and lengthy history as an Empire, Kingdom, and nation.

I had the Rick Steeve's book for London and he mentioned that for Americans traveling to London, and England in general, there is a sense of the familiar, almost a coming home.  I can definitely relate.  Despite some obvious differences, plenty for those like myself who relish the cultural nuances experienced when traveling, there is a great deal of comfort and ease about traveling in London.  There is of course a shared language, but it goes beyond that.  For many Americans, England provides our roots, not only in heritage, but in the formation of our country, its laws, and certainly in our culture.  In addition, I have seen London so many times on big and small screens, read about it through 56 Sherlock Holmes mysteries, and heard about it in history books, the whole trip had a visiting relatives feel about it.

Check In

In order to make it easier for me to stay in touch, I thought I would borrow a bit from some other other authors and just try and write a bullet style check in once a week.  That way, if you are at all interested, we can stay a bit more connected even if I don't necessarily have something particularly insightful to say or perhaps, I'm busy doing other things and don't feel like I have the time to write a blog post.  This takes away many, if not any, excuses.  Feel free to contact me and gripe up a storm if I don't follow through.  Please.  There is nothing like fan driven pressure.

Without further ado, let the bullets begin:


Writing:
Currently I have three ideas in various stages of conception—I say conception because none of them have risen to draft status as yet.  One is a new young adult trilogy and the other two are not.  Of the adult books, one is contemporary, the other fantasy more along the Abercrombie/Martin line.

As to Scarlet, I am at the mercy of the publishing world at the moment.  Both book four, The Barrier's Fall and book five The Shattered Throne are written, however both are still in editing and post production.

Television:

Like most of the world I currently have Westeros taking up a great deal of headspace in my monkey brain.  While I very much wished I could have waited for the books to finish, the HBO series is just too compelling and I am weak.  Like you, I await the conclusion this coming Sunday with great anticipation and bit of sadness.  Hopefully, someday soon, the Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring will fill the void.

My wife and I are currently binge watching—for us that is the same show, one episode a night—West World.  At this stage, I'm fascinated, but impatient.  Verdict is still out.

Half a World and Curse You Xbox

Books

Amazon Link

I finished Half a King and without pause moved straight into the sequel, Half a World.  Joe Abercrombie still reigns supreme in my mind, although, now halfway into the second book, I will say that I am a bit confused as who the target audience is.  The language, topically at least, has ventured past what I would consider acceptable for my young adult daughter.  Perhaps more in the fifteen year old range.  Not sure.  Other than that minor confusion, I am loving the series.  The sequel opened up the world of the Shattered Sea quite a bit, brought on new characters, and changed the dynamic of the series toward a grander adventure than Half a King.

Amazon Link

I keep picking away at The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt—five minutes here, ten minutes there.  Don't let the dawdling pace at which I am reading the hefty book lead you to believe I am not enjoying it.  This is certainly not the case.  I find the writing superb and the subject fascinating.  To be honest, I have no explanation for why it is taking me so long to finish it expect to say that maybe I am reading slow because it is so good.

Xbox

I'm having to restrain myself from littering the screen with negative emoticons at this particular sore subject.  The drought continues.  Where are the games?  It seems as if we were better off with the older system.  It strikes me as a bit odd to replace the Xbox 360 with the newest technology only to use it as a glorified tv remote.  

TV

My TV watching has consisted of the following.  Littlest Petshop, Cupcake Wars, My Little Pony, and House of Cards.  I will let you guess to whom the control of the remote control lies.  

Ok, back to work...

Xbox Drought, British Aristocrats, and Inside Out

Movies:

I am in constant amazement with Pixar.  I can honestly say that I cannot think of a studio that can boast such unparalleled consistency when it comes to not only producing commercially successful films, but quality ones.  Inside Out, the latest from the Disney Studio, is no exception.  The movie is remarkable, touching, and quite poignant.  It isn't easy to write a book, movie, or play that is both meaningful and entertaining, especially one that can appeal to younger children and adults, but I thought Inside Out did just that.  Not surprising, mind you, as it seems that Pixar owns the secret formula to such a balanced cinema concoction.  It reminded me a bit of UP!, although the story line was completely different.  There was the same very human story underneath the fantasy and excitement.  Turning the turbulent time of preadolescence into an animated movie is a seemingly impossible task that turned out brilliantly. Unfortunately, I don't get to the movie theater much anymore, and when I do, it tends to be a family outing.  That being said, I'm glad Pixar continues to offer up such great films.

I was able to escape to Antman the week it came out.  I try as hard as I can to get to the superhero movies, be it Marvel or DC.  Antman was solid in my opinion.  The special effects were unique and well done, and the movie itself had the "not take itself too serious" vibe that worked so well for Guardians of the Galaxy.  Unlike Guardians, however, I did not think it was fantastic.  Just solid and entertaining.  Guardians of the Galaxy remains number one on my list of funny Superhero movies.

TV:

This might not be interesting to the younger readers on the blog, but my wife and I have been marathon watching (one show a night—we are getting old) Downton Abbey.  We've made it to season five, and with two exceptions which I'll try to hint at without spoilers, I have to admit, I really enjoy the show.  It is so well acted that it took me until the third season to realize I was essentially watching a soap opera.  If you are looking for a bit of romantic escapism for yourself or you and your significant other, I can definitely recommend.

To those who have already watched the series here's my hints of displeasure.  Thomas: Need to have a character arch already.  Nobody is that nasty, even to people who go out of their way to help them.  At best he would just leave the helpful people alone.  Bates and Anna: What occurred in the fourth season is, in my opinion, a very worn out story line that had no place in the show.  It was shocking, but only because it nearly ruined the series.  My wife and I actually quit watching for several weeks.

But, aside from those two issues, a wonderful show that offers a view into a world most have only read about.

Xbox:

wiki

I don't really have the time to sit and play Xbox like I used to.  Comes with having a job, a family, and needing more than 3 hours of sleep a night.  So when I do play, it is specifically to socialize with my brother and my friends whom I don't get to see very often.  And since the Xbox One came out, I feel like there has been a drought in games to play with friends.  Other than Destiny, Titan Fall, and Call of Duty (I just can't play CofD as I am hopelessly out classed) there has been next to nothing to play.  We have dabbled at a recent rerelease from the Xbox 360 (not at all appropriate for younger readers so I won't mention it by name) but although it has a solid co-op, it is the same game I bought and played a couple years ago.  Xbox and Xbox Game developers, where are the games already!