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Ready Player One (2018)
Ready Player One (2018)
2018 | Sci-Fi
Contains spoilers, click to show
I'm going to try very hard to keep my feelings about the novel out of this review about the movie, often when reading reviews I feel that the feelings of one medium influences the feelings of the other.

Ready Player One is a entertaining ride that follows the main character Wade through the virtual world of the Oasis. The creator of this virtual world is dead but he left a puzzle when he died that if the players figured out it would lead them to a series of keys that would grant them ownership of the world.
But of course nothing can just be simple, so while the players are trying to figure out the puzzle in the Oasis there are people who are trying to take them out of the real world.

The movie goes through many different phases cutting between live action and cgi to demonstrate the difference between the Oasis and the real world. So if you're a fan of CGI this probably won't annoy you too much.
One of my major complaints about the movie is that visually there is too much going on, it is a huge distraction with so much going on in the background to really pay attention to what is going on in the foreground. This could be because they were trying to give the illusion of it being a real world but in a movie setting it was just too much.
The movie is also too long, some of the challenges and scenes just take too much time and drag down the pace of the movie. But one of the Challenges, where the players go into a recreating of The Shining is actually the best part of the whole movie, it is fun, familiar, and entertaining. Moments like that really help to save the movie from the slower moments that seem to drag.

Overall the movie isn't bad but it also isn't good. I doubt it will become a classic like the novel had when it was released. But I can totally see people putting it on when hanging out with a group of friends and want some background noise. It was a really interesting and good concept but they tried to do too much with it and it really hurt the movie in the long run.
  
His Lordship's Secret (His Lordship’s Mysteries #1)
His Lordship's Secret (His Lordship’s Mysteries #1)
Samantha SoRelle | 2020 | LGBTQ+, Mystery, Romance
8
8.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
didn't get the whodunnit!
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

Someone is trying to kill Alfred, so who would make a better bodyguard than a ruffain from a boxing match? Dominick, thats who, but finding the boy who saved him in the man before him makes Alfred want things, things that could get them both locked up, or worse. Makes a blackmailer a walk in the park. Dominick, finding Alfie before him, in need of a body guard, has feelings that he wasn't sure ever went away: protecting little Alfie was now his life's work. Those pesky feelings aren't reciprocated, are they?

Alfie is lovely! He wants to keep his family wealth but his cousin is happy to pee it up the wall, Alfie cares, but Reginald does not. Dominick cares, but really only about Alfie. The little boy who stole his heart has grown into a beautiful man, one who needs to stay alive, and Dominick will keep him so, even if it costs Dominick a good deal more than his heart.

It's quite emotional, in places. Dealing with growing up in a poorhouse, and then thrown into High Society would mess with anyone's head and Alfie mostly does seem to have taken it all in his stride. Mostly. Dominck is a street man, doing what he needs to do to stay alive, even if he doesn't want to do those things. A bit violent, but dealing with life on London's streets in the 1800s was never gonna be a picnic. Poor Dominick bears the brunt of that!

There is love here, but very little actual smexy time. It concentrates more on who is trying to kill Alfie, and the feelings that grow over time, between these two.

I loved that the whodunnit was so NOT who I was expecting, nor was it WHY! I love being kept on my toes!

I liked this, I liked it a lot. It doesn't quite have the punch that the other book I read by this author does, but I think its a close call! I have book 2 to read shortly, look forward to see where the author is going with these two, besides Scotland!

4 solid stars

*same worded review will appear elsewhere
  
Newton
Newton
2018 | Abstract Strategy, Travel
balance (3 more)
Travel vs Work
Learning vs Technology
the game is all about being efficent in your combos.
a little bit AP prone (0 more)
Lots of good choices, I love the Learning curve, good meatier game.
I really enjoyed this game. So much so that we played it again directly after playing it the first time. This game is really about combos and efficiency of your decisions. your get 3 turns and each turn takes 3 or 4 seconds, so really the play time is based around the time to make decisions, which is where the game slows down. there is a lot to consider to play it well, the first game we played we scoried in the 50's, the 2nd game around 100, so we doubled our score in learning after the first game. I hesitate to say too much here because the discovery of the game was a big part of the fun for me and my wife. This is not a cop out from leaving a review. But the more I talk specifically the less you will discover. Just know that there a lot of push and pull on your options. This game feels like nothing else specifically, but has fragmented feelings of Lewis and Clark, T'zolkin, and maybe Castles of Burgundy..... I don't mean it's an amalgomation of those games, more that those games give me the feelings of playing this game. I hope this helps and I hope you give it a try, it's got the best kind of brain burn.
  
Where U From - Single by Mia Ferrari
Where U From - Single by Mia Ferrari
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Mia Ferrari is a London-based singer-songwriter and Instagram star from Portugal. Not too long ago, she released a lovely electro-pop tune, entitled, “Where U From”.

“Baby tell me where ya from. Can’t tell from ya accent. Bite my lips, tasting ya tongue. Still, don’t know what ya meant. Tryna translate when you text. Hope I don’t regret it. Got so much I wanna say. Not sure if you’ll get it.” – lyrics

Every time Mia meets someone, it doesn’t take too long for that someone to ask her, “Where you from? Because I can’t tell from your accent.”

Her “Where U From” single tells an interesting tale of a young woman who shares a special relationship with a foreign guy whose whispers melts her heart.

Apparently, even though his spelling is okay, he communicates better with his tongue, and his hands talk dirty.

In need of a trip, she finds out where he’s from on the map because she plans on vacationing there soon. Later that night, the guy takes her one thousand miles away, around the world, and now she sees where he comes from.

‘Where U From’ contains a dreamy storyline, ear-welcoming vocals, and dance-friendly instrumentation flavored with an electro-pop aroma.

“Regardless of language, feelings emerge and we can only try our best to show them. ‘Where U From’ reflects thoughts and feelings during that time. Also, the choice of transitioning from talking within a language to talking with the body, hoping not to get lost in translation.” – Mia Ferrari
  
In My Shoes - Single by Keyra
In My Shoes - Single by Keyra
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Mia Ferrari is a London-based singer-songwriter and Instagram star from Portugal. Not too long ago, she released a lovely electro-pop tune, entitled, “Where U From”.

“Baby tell me where ya from. Can’t tell from ya accent. Bite my lips, tasting ya tongue. Still, don’t know what ya meant. Tryna translate when you text. Hope I don’t regret it. Got so much I wanna say. Not sure if you’ll get it.” – lyrics

Every time Mia meets someone, it doesn’t take too long for that someone to ask her, “Where you from? Because I can’t tell from your accent.”

Her “Where U From” single tells an interesting tale of a young woman who shares a special relationship with a foreign guy whose whispers melts her heart.

Apparently, even though his spelling is okay, he communicates better with his tongue, and his hands talk dirty.

In need of a trip, she finds out where he’s from on the map because she plans on vacationing there soon. Later that night, the guy takes her one thousand miles away, around the world, and now she sees where he comes from.

‘Where U From’ contains a dreamy storyline, ear-welcoming vocals, and dance-friendly instrumentation flavored with an electro-pop aroma.

“Regardless of language, feelings emerge and we can only try our best to show them. ‘Where U From’ reflects thoughts and feelings during that time. Also, the choice of transitioning from talking within a language to talking with the body, hoping not to get lost in translation.” – Mia Ferrari