Book Review: 'Travels' by Michael Crichton

Until recently I never really took interest in reading memoirs and nonfiction because I like my fantastical stories and adventures. I like my faeries and adventures undersea or underground, my wizards, dragons and occasional journey through childhood in dire straits. With my interest in becoming a travel journalist growing, I've been paying more attention to stories that are not in the fiction department and tell real tales of real places. One of the first of such books I picked up is this memoir by Michael Crichton.

I was surprised to see that Crichton wrote any nonfiction at all. I was even more surprised to learn through the course of reading this book that I didn't really know much about Crichton to begin with. It's funny how you misplace histories, principles and other things onto authors you admire based on the material you enjoy.

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Bad Things

So I finally finished up watching through Season 4 of True Blood. I wasn't planning on watching it until closer to next summer when Season 5 would kick off, but I ended up seeing it over Thanksgiving vacations for lack of much of anything else to do!

I really don't like how many things were left unresolved at the end of the season as well as the introduction to several new problems. It felt more like the penultimate episode, not the final episode of the season. At least tie over a couple of those issues and try to round things off a little more for the finale. Give us a little more closure. Instead, we're left with some horrid cliffhangers that I'm not even upset about. I was so surprised and underwhelmed by what happened that I'm not even frustrated with the ending!

I won't be giving away any spoilers for those of you who read (or probably don't read) my blog, so don't you worry.

I do have a small retrospect on the series, though. Before I got into watching the show, I decided to read the books. I wanted to read up to the most recent book, which was published this year, beforehand because you never know what order the TV series is going to reveal information, or if it'll change it, or who knows.

From what I've seen, Alan Ball is loosely following some of the major themes and plot points from the books, keeping with the spirit of things but reinterpreting it completely and changing a lot of details. It's like you're getting to a similar destination but the way you get there is completely different. You might be surprised to know that I'm actually not really torn up about it. In fact, I think the show is great! I mean, over 5 million viewers can't be all wrong. And it's HBO - it's going to definitely focus on some things a little more than others.

Between the two, I really enjoy the books (Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris) better. Though I don't particularly like the direction that Season 4 took with the storyline, I still like True Blood enough to keep watching. I'm really curious to know what he's going to do to get his characters out of the mess they're in. I'm just disappointed that Sookie's romantic life is...well, changing. I was hoping for more of her with Eric.

Ah well! Anyway - if you haven't watched it and like sexy stuff with supernatural themes and some good drama, you might like True Blood. It's not this vampire-crazed cock and bull chastity story that is Twilight (which is the worst adaptation of the Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries to date). It's mature and fun! Not for everyone, but probably for most of ya.

Bonus: I discovered that there's a blog which HBO maintains for one of the characters (as in, it's in character) with regular-ish entries and video logs. You could check out Jessica's blog here!

Bittersweet temptation

I spent this past weekend over at Los Angeles where I go for Farscape Con every year. Well, I did, anyway. This turned out to be the very last year of the con, although it isn't the end of Scaper gatherings and whatnot due to Creation re-launching Grand Slam and the possibility that we'll see our favorite sci-fi show's stars at other conventions anyway. I've seen some - it happens. It's just harder for those actors who live in Australia and other places overseas, you know?

I didn't know Farscape Con existed until just a few years ago. I learned about it from a friend who I played Final Fantasy XI with. I haven't played the game in a little while, but I always get the updates and whatnot from him every year when we hang out. It's a little ironic, considering he lives just an hour away from me, but his work schedule is such that I only get to hang out with the guy when he's off on vacation (a.k.a. at Farscape con).

Naturally, it's usually after Farscape Con each year that I end up doing two things: starting my annual Farscape re-watch and resisting the urge to get back to playing FFXI.

The Farscape re-watch is a no brainer, but getting back into an MMO is a whole other animal. It's a game I hold dear to my heart, but I can't justify playing while I'm still not quite settled down. I work part-time and hold a few gigs on the side, but it's not enough for me to feel, you know, successful. Until I get something more substantial, I'd feel like I'm wasting away hours of my time playing FFXI instead of producing more artwork or looking for better jobs in general. The fact that playing the game means paying a subscription isn't even a factor here; it's the time that I'd spend playing rather than working.

It's particularly difficult for me to resist going back this year given that so many things have apparently changed. My buddy was telling me about all the recent updates, how fast-paced the game has become and how so many things that used to take at least 25 people to do could probably (apparently?) be done solo. It blows my mind! But on the other hand, it makes me wonder where the challenge is anymore, or from what anyone would get any sort of sense of achievement while playing. It's enough to hold me back for now, at least.

Or is it? I'm so curious! Getting your character leveled up is so quick now, and some classes that were 'down' in terms of what's popular or useful are now in their prime, including Thief which has always been my main and favorite job class. Thieves are apparently tanks now, which is something I'd been pushing for years, and it's finally happened. Incredible! I want to play that! Black Mages are 'up' again now, as well as Monks, jobs that had been 'down' the last time I played. On the flip side, my second favorite/best job class, Red Mage, is now useless. Geeze, what a downer. Square Enix always manages to throw things off-balance when they try to...well, balance classes more.


I may as well give the whole circuit of reasoning here. One of the reasons I quit before has to do with 'drama.' There's a character who used to be notorious on my server for being 'womanizing,' promiscuous and generally a jerk. Apparently, the dude went around saying I was his girlfriend without telling me anything, and a lot of folks got the impression that I was 'rising to power' or getting a lot of extra stuff out of, I dunno, cyber-whoring out to this person? Or something? It's really amazing how rumors and falsities spread so rampant, and the one who had to pay for it for a long time was me. The last time I was playing, there were still random girls on the server who harassed me on a regular basis because they were led on by this same person and thought I was a whore, when I had no idea a lot of this was even going on.

To top it off, my personality didn't tend to translate as well online as I thought it did. I think it's hilarious (insert some sarcasm here) that when guys are jerks and say crass things, it's the funniest thing, but when I share their humor I'm the one that's being a witch, or appear to have dual personalities, take out anger on others, or whatever else. I'm also pretty blunt, much to the dismay of some very 'soft' individuals who are very easily offended. It's annoying to deal with, and I refuse to 'start over,' changing my character name and pretending that I didn't exist before just to hang with the same people. Why should I have to do that? It's a social game; the point is having to deal with people.

Things are different now, though. FFXI was pretty much my introduction to online gaming back when I started playing that years ago, so I didn't really know how to deal with people or how a lot of things went down in MMOs. I think I'd have a much easier time getting through to people now than I did then, so maybe it's just a matter of getting things right the second time around.

It's an easy pass whenever I think about all the dumb societal stuff I'd have to deal with by getting back on the game, but then I think about the sensible people who have recently gone back to the game and feel that sense of longing all over again! And of course, my burning curiosity of how the game mechanics work now that so many things have been streamlined. Maybe next year I'll finally get back to it.

Addicting Shoujo: Itazura na Kiss

I've been on a kick with Itazura na Kiss. I'm not sure what it is about that ridiculous show, but it sucks me in every time. This time, I've actually watched past what I'd previously seen, and I'm about halfway through the series. It's just so frustrating.

It's not just the events and the fact that the main character is so dumb while her lover-boy is a cold jerk, it's also the pacing. It's way too fast, with just a few montages here and there to attempt to bridge the gaps in time that come in between episodes. In the course of the first few episodes alone I think about half a year passed, and more than a year after just a couple more. A lot happens in that short time, but I'm sure there's a better way to convey it.

I never learn my lesson with shoujo, though. I don't know how I even got through Suzuka to the end (only the manga - I haven't watched the animated version), or Kimi ni Todoke (anime only, I dropped the manga). Another one I was reading is called Kimi no Iru Machi. It's a cute one, but just as frustrating as Suzuka. Why do people like this stuff?

Oh, right. Because we are masochists.

(image via)

I want to love you, but I can't

Sorry Batman: Arkham City. I'm not sure what it is about you, maybe the increasingly annoying changes in difficulty between missions, where the bosses are always a joke (even though the fights always look really cool) but the in-between is a pain in the butt; or just all the busy work I might have to do later if I want to get all the Riddler trophies, but I'm just not feeling you.

I am pretty sure that once I'm through with the story mode I won't be going back to Batman: AC for a long while. I feel much more interested in playing other games (like finishing Final Fantasy XIII - I'm almost through with the story mode and then I've got a heck of a lot of trophy hunting to do), and whenever I think of Batman: AC I just groan and pick up a book instead, thinking of all the annoying busy work I'm going to have to do when I log in.

I'm not going to be playing Skyrim for a long while, either. I'm hearing it's got some UI/control issues with the PC and that's my platform of choice for a lot of my adventuring, even though I could just play it on a console. Maybe I should just get a controller for my PC? I mean, it's a pretty beefy machine and it's plugged into my big HDTV. That's the other reason why I like playing on it. I built it for gaming and photo editing, really. The flip side of the original point of this paragraph is, hype turns me off.

This quick post brought to you buy intense hunger at work right before I'm off my shift.

[Amazon: Batman: Arkham City for PS3 | Batman: Arkham City for XBox]

They always come back

It has probably been a good 15 years since I was a regular comic book buyer/reader, but The New 52 has been a great excuse for me to get back in the habit. That and I don't have to rely on my parents' incentives to get good grades any more, seeing as how this was back in elementary and middle school; a time that I chose instead to get good grades for books and video games.

One thing I could do without is having to fight for every issue at my local comic shop. There just aren't enough comics in the run to meet the sales for first, or even second printings. It's annoying that I have to visit the store several times a month just to collect a few issues, and I don't even aim to get first print issues any more. I just want to read them, you know?

That being said, the #1's I've been able to nab up until now are: Batman, Batman: Dark Knight, Catwoman, Batwoman, Batgirl, Green Lantern Corps, Wonder Woman (a month later), Green Lantern: New Guardians and Penguin. I've also gone and picked up the unrelated New Ultimate Spider-Man. Most of them are actually first printings cause I've gotten lucky, but I don't really intend to sell them or anything so it shouldn't matter.

Out of all those titles, I really didn't like Catwoman, but enjoyed the rest. I loved Batgirl, surprisingly! It apparently got a lot of flak for bringing Barbara Gordon back as the Batgirl instead of Oracle. While I agree that Babs was already a strong character (or even role model) as a female, and a disabled person, I don't feel like she was "ruined" by the reboot or that it's inherently bad cause she's back to being Batgirl. I had a great time reading the first issue and I'm sure I'll love the rest.

Batman has always been my favorite hero, so I picked up most of the Batman titles. Since I've also been curious about Green Lantern, I wanted to try out the new series, too. So far, I am really enjoying the regular Batman and Batwoman comics quite a bit. They're exciting!

Maybe I'll review some of them here. I may just wait until I get my hands on #3s and whatnot before I do so, since they just give you the story bit by bit. I don't like all the wait, and it's the same reason why I don't really keep up with currently running stuff, but I'm making several exceptions lately. Check back for more on this later!

Tough noogies in Arkham City

Arkham City: where the goons are tough and The Bat is tougher, right?

When it came to playing Batman: Arkham Asylum, I had a real fun time of it. I couldn't keep myself away from trying to find time for the game; beat the next boss, run through the next mission, solve another riddle. Now that I'm going through Arkham City, I wish I could say the same. The difficulty level spiked a bit, throwing complicated battles at Batman off the bat, and adding a glorious amount of villains to the mix.

Don't get me wrong; I like a challenge. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I knew full well AC is a direct continuation, and thus it would make sense to pick up where things left off. The game even warned me away from starting in 'hard mode' saying only 'experts' should attempt.

So, why am I whining about the game being 'so hard' and having a bit of a tough time with it, when really I've barely had issues with any fights or seen any game over screens? I just feel like my excitement for the game diminished a bit. The fights aren't difficult, but they take a while. I have to sneak around more because the goons are better equipped and higher in number. I somehow am back to having a minimum amount of gadgets in the beginning of the game (despite walking out of Arkham Asylum with tons of stuff) and have to earn my way (again) to more sophisticated gear. What gives?

While I was playing B:AA, I had no problems losing hours of my time in one sitting, but somehow I can't keep going after just two missions or story events in B:AC. Why could this be? I think, maybe I should play something else and just not focus too much on just one game; so I try playing some more Final Fantasy XIII and, somehow I also find that unfulfilling, though it's a game I was thoroughly enjoying before Batman came out. I think it's also cause it's not easy to keep up with two complicated games at one time.

I've found that I get frustrated with the fact that I'm only 22% through with Batman when most of my Twitter buddies have already finished the storyline and are now just solving Riddler puzzles or doing side missions. This is a game I want to complete, but the dread keeps me from playing it for too long at a time. How does that even make sense?

The only explanation I have is the game is just too overwhelming at the beginning (and really, has stayed that way so far). It makes perfect sense as a continuation, but giving everyone this big new world rampant with distractions and all of them out to get Batman seemed like a bit much. I'm sure I have no less than five side missions marked on my map just waiting for my attention. Everywhere I look: question marks and riddles. Right at the title screen: the option to play as Catwoman. It's a closed-in city with limits, but a whole world of possibilities that make my head spin.

I'm not sure whether or not this makes or breaks Batman: Arkham City as a game. It's a great attempt at making the game seem like an "open world" type, but there are limits to that, too. How much is too much?

All this being said, I absolutely love playing it. I love playing as Batman and wrecking some faces. I get so much satisfaction out of beating up stupid goons and meeting more villains, catching references to previous events and basking in the cheesy humor. The character models are fantastic and of course the score is appropriately epic. What more could a girl ask for? (That's a rhetorical question you shouldn't answer.)

[Amazon: Batman: Arkham City for PS3 | Batman: Arkham City for XBox]