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Thor Polysonic Synthesizer
Music and Entertainment
App
Thor for iPad puts the mighty Thor synthesizer at your fingertips. “A truly must-have synth for...
Cartooner: The Fast & Furious Game of Drawing Comics
8.0
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Tabletop Game
Cartooner is a new experience in drawing games, a game that combines storytelling and drawing. It is...
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Night Fire in Books
Mar 19, 2020
Harry Bosch is one of my favorite characters ever, and I wait with much anticipation for the release of every new Michael Connelly novel. The Night Fire is the third book that features both Bosch and Detective Renee Ballard, who works the LAPD night shift. I’m really loving their partnership now and have grown to care for Ballard in her own right. (Bosch will always be my true love, though.)
This is another well-researched book from Connelly, as Bosch and Ballard work a series of intriguing cases—some of which will intersect. The story starts with Bosch receiving an old murder book from the widow of his former mentor. He pulls Ballard in to investigate and off we go! There are some great twists, and the cases are fascinating. I love Bosch to death and how he and Ballard play off each other. Mickey Haller makes an appearance, and Bosch struggles with a rare moment where he’s helping the defense.
The plot, as usual, is great--you can always count on Connelly for gripping cases that are timely and interesting. He manages to do this even as our two heroes are solving a cold case: quite a feat. I'm always astonished at how Connelly can somehow have Bosch and Ballard juggle two, three, four cases at time and somehow it all works. I always think I'll be confused and lost among the plot points, yet it always comes together.
The characters, however, are what keep you coming back. I love that we get to see Bosch interacting more with his half-brother, Haller. And there are some great scenes with Bosch and Maddie, his daughter, including one involving "FOMO" that is just priceless. As Bosch ages, each book seems to have more poignant moments tucked in between mysteries and bad guys. It's Ballard pushing the limits now, and Bosch reminding her to sleep.
Definitely a gripping read even as we have to grapple with the fact that our beloved Bosch is getting older. The ending gave me some hope, though, and I hope Bosch and Ballard are around for quite some time. 4+ stars.
This is another well-researched book from Connelly, as Bosch and Ballard work a series of intriguing cases—some of which will intersect. The story starts with Bosch receiving an old murder book from the widow of his former mentor. He pulls Ballard in to investigate and off we go! There are some great twists, and the cases are fascinating. I love Bosch to death and how he and Ballard play off each other. Mickey Haller makes an appearance, and Bosch struggles with a rare moment where he’s helping the defense.
The plot, as usual, is great--you can always count on Connelly for gripping cases that are timely and interesting. He manages to do this even as our two heroes are solving a cold case: quite a feat. I'm always astonished at how Connelly can somehow have Bosch and Ballard juggle two, three, four cases at time and somehow it all works. I always think I'll be confused and lost among the plot points, yet it always comes together.
The characters, however, are what keep you coming back. I love that we get to see Bosch interacting more with his half-brother, Haller. And there are some great scenes with Bosch and Maddie, his daughter, including one involving "FOMO" that is just priceless. As Bosch ages, each book seems to have more poignant moments tucked in between mysteries and bad guys. It's Ballard pushing the limits now, and Bosch reminding her to sleep.
Definitely a gripping read even as we have to grapple with the fact that our beloved Bosch is getting older. The ending gave me some hope, though, and I hope Bosch and Ballard are around for quite some time. 4+ stars.
The Great Escaper: The Life and Death of Roger Bushell - Love, Betrayal, Big x and the Great Escape
Book
Roger Bushell was 'Big X', mastermind of the mass breakout from Stalag Luft III in March 1944,...
The Blue Pool
9.0
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Book
What really happened that weekend? Four friends go to a remote cabin one summer. Only three return....
Until It Fades
6.0
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Book
“Touching and complex…Tucker unerringly hits all the high notes of romance—the spark, the...
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Backyard Harvest in Books
Sep 8, 2017
An indispensable guide for the beginning gardener
Backyard Harvest is set up by months, which makes for a unique and absolutely essential (to me, a beginner) book. In every month, it tells you what you should be eating (provided you had planted it previously!), what you should be planting, what you should be pruning or transplanting or otherwise working on, and usually a few pages on a seasonal-appropriate subject. (A section on apples and apple trees in November, for example.) The layout is gorgeous, the instructions are easy to understand, and I feel like after a few years of following this book I’ll be eating from my garden every month of the year with ease.
For January, for example, if I had these things planted, harvested, or stored from last year, I should be eating pickles, stored root veggies, newly lifted Salsify, forced Belgian Endive, and winter radishes, among other tasty-looking things. I should be sowing (indoors, to transplant after the last frost) early-season leeks, summer onions, lettuce, broad beans, cut-and-come-again greens, and early peas and radishes. For tending, I should be amending my soil, keeping an eye on my stored fruits and veggies for signs of rot, pruning some of my fruit trees, and picking up fallen leaves from hardy winter brassicas so they don’t cause rot at the base of the plants. The feature for the month is building a seedbed, both raised and non. In January I should be harvesting celeriac, early broccoli, the aforementioned Belgian Endive, and spring greens. Another feature for the month is sprouting seeds for use in salads. Each of these categories gets its own two-page spread, the monthly features occasionally getting four or more.
It’s a lovely, really useful book, and one I HAD to own after getting it from the library. It will be getting heavy use in the coming months, I’m sure!
Whittingham has written or co-written three other books – Vegetable Gardening and Grow Vegetables before this book, and Simple Steps to Success: Fruit and Vegetables in Pots after. The latter appears to be a combination of the first two in a new format, but I could be wrong. So I’m not sure I’d recommend any of those three – I haven’t read them – but Backyard Harvest is awesome!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
For January, for example, if I had these things planted, harvested, or stored from last year, I should be eating pickles, stored root veggies, newly lifted Salsify, forced Belgian Endive, and winter radishes, among other tasty-looking things. I should be sowing (indoors, to transplant after the last frost) early-season leeks, summer onions, lettuce, broad beans, cut-and-come-again greens, and early peas and radishes. For tending, I should be amending my soil, keeping an eye on my stored fruits and veggies for signs of rot, pruning some of my fruit trees, and picking up fallen leaves from hardy winter brassicas so they don’t cause rot at the base of the plants. The feature for the month is building a seedbed, both raised and non. In January I should be harvesting celeriac, early broccoli, the aforementioned Belgian Endive, and spring greens. Another feature for the month is sprouting seeds for use in salads. Each of these categories gets its own two-page spread, the monthly features occasionally getting four or more.
It’s a lovely, really useful book, and one I HAD to own after getting it from the library. It will be getting heavy use in the coming months, I’m sure!
Whittingham has written or co-written three other books – Vegetable Gardening and Grow Vegetables before this book, and Simple Steps to Success: Fruit and Vegetables in Pots after. The latter appears to be a combination of the first two in a new format, but I could be wrong. So I’m not sure I’d recommend any of those three – I haven’t read them – but Backyard Harvest is awesome!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Arcane Arena in Tabletop Games
Jan 23, 2021
The Tournament of Champions is coming! The Tournament of Champions is coming! The bravest fighters must prepare themselves to face-off in a three-round arena match to determine the ultimate warrior. There is no time to waste learning finishing moves here. Combatants will only have three rounds to prove they are superior in this all-out brawl!
Arcane Arena is an arena-style fighting card game. In it players will take on the mantle of a warrior competing in this brutal last-man-standing battle royale. They will need to train and learn new techniques and then show their opponents all they have learned. The game takes place over three rounds of increasing actions and, truly, the last warrior standing will be crowned Champion!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, refer to the rules to deal each player their starting deck of Buy, Move, and Attack cards. Remove all Focus and Wound cards and make a stack for each on the side of the play area. Shuffle the remaining “Trainer” cards and create a market of six cards to be purchased. Set the arena board on the table and populate it with player tokens and Favor tokens (glass beads in this prototype). Each player shuffles their starting deck and draws four cards to create their starting hand. The tournament is now prepared for warriors.
Arcane Arena features three rounds of two phases each. The first round has players limited to three turns during the first training phase and 10 hit points for the second phase of the game.
The first phase of each round is the Training Phase. During this phase players are able to use their four cards “as a buy” for their purchasing power. The player lays a card, announces it is as a buy, tallies the currency to be spent, and then purchases a card from the collection of six cards in the offer or one Focus card from its stack. Once completed with their Training Phase, the player will restock the trainer pool of cards for purchase. It is then the next player’s turn to complete their Training Phase.
Once all players have had their Training Phase, the Combat Phase begins with the active player. The active player must play cards for either their Move, Effect, or Attack keywords. Each card will instruct the player the amount of Move they can use, which Effect can be used and how, and how many Attack points of damage they inflict on a target within range.
Play continues in this fashion with each player playing as many cards from their hand of four as they wish until only one player remains with hit points. If it is the third such round of Combat Phase (5 turns at the Training Phase and 20 HP during Combat) then the last player standing is the winner!
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, so some components will be different from the finished version. That said, this game has decent components planned and the art style is interesting, with hints of a more ancient style. The iconography on the cards is okay: I did find myself trying to figure out what the icon for “purchase” actually was, so it threw me off a couple times. Similarly, the effect bar on the card is very small and can easily be overlooked if the players are not constantly checking for that bar for information.
Gameplay for Arcane Arena is something with which I am struggling to describe. I have always been poor with arena-style games that have players moving around and attacking. It is so difficult for me to abandon my Barbarian-style of just blocking movement and wailing on a stationary enemy. Once movement is expected I am a fish out of water. That is not at all a knock on Arcane Arena, but on my style of play. However, if I belong to a group of gamers with similar style be warned: there’s a lot of opportunity for movement here and it may be uncomfortable at first.
I do like the theme of the game and its implementation. I can understand the premise and relate it to the gameplay. I like that it is split between two distinct phases and having cards with multiple usage is a positive for me. I also enjoy that every time a new phase begins all players combine their cards, shuffle, and draw a hand of four cards. This is new for me, as in typical deckbuilders the card just purchased usually goes directly into the discard pile only to be drawn on much later turns. Such is not with this one. A card just purchased may be drawn immediately in the next Combat Phase, depending on luck of the shuffle and draw.
So while I do not enjoy the moving around the arena aspect of the game, all else is good for me. If you are similar to me I would say give it a shot, but it may be difficult to be successful if, like me, you plan to be a stalwart rock instead of a nimble wisp. If Arcane Arena sounds like your cup of tea, do check it out when it comes available!
Arcane Arena is an arena-style fighting card game. In it players will take on the mantle of a warrior competing in this brutal last-man-standing battle royale. They will need to train and learn new techniques and then show their opponents all they have learned. The game takes place over three rounds of increasing actions and, truly, the last warrior standing will be crowned Champion!
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a prototype copy of this game for the purposes of this review. These are preview copy components, and I do not know for sure if the final components will be any different from these shown. Also, it is not my intention to detail every rule in the game, as there are just too many. You are invited to download the rulebook, back the game through the Kickstarter campaign, or through any retailers stocking it after fulfillment. -T
To setup, refer to the rules to deal each player their starting deck of Buy, Move, and Attack cards. Remove all Focus and Wound cards and make a stack for each on the side of the play area. Shuffle the remaining “Trainer” cards and create a market of six cards to be purchased. Set the arena board on the table and populate it with player tokens and Favor tokens (glass beads in this prototype). Each player shuffles their starting deck and draws four cards to create their starting hand. The tournament is now prepared for warriors.
Arcane Arena features three rounds of two phases each. The first round has players limited to three turns during the first training phase and 10 hit points for the second phase of the game.
The first phase of each round is the Training Phase. During this phase players are able to use their four cards “as a buy” for their purchasing power. The player lays a card, announces it is as a buy, tallies the currency to be spent, and then purchases a card from the collection of six cards in the offer or one Focus card from its stack. Once completed with their Training Phase, the player will restock the trainer pool of cards for purchase. It is then the next player’s turn to complete their Training Phase.
Once all players have had their Training Phase, the Combat Phase begins with the active player. The active player must play cards for either their Move, Effect, or Attack keywords. Each card will instruct the player the amount of Move they can use, which Effect can be used and how, and how many Attack points of damage they inflict on a target within range.
Play continues in this fashion with each player playing as many cards from their hand of four as they wish until only one player remains with hit points. If it is the third such round of Combat Phase (5 turns at the Training Phase and 20 HP during Combat) then the last player standing is the winner!
Components. Again, this is a prototype copy of the game, so some components will be different from the finished version. That said, this game has decent components planned and the art style is interesting, with hints of a more ancient style. The iconography on the cards is okay: I did find myself trying to figure out what the icon for “purchase” actually was, so it threw me off a couple times. Similarly, the effect bar on the card is very small and can easily be overlooked if the players are not constantly checking for that bar for information.
Gameplay for Arcane Arena is something with which I am struggling to describe. I have always been poor with arena-style games that have players moving around and attacking. It is so difficult for me to abandon my Barbarian-style of just blocking movement and wailing on a stationary enemy. Once movement is expected I am a fish out of water. That is not at all a knock on Arcane Arena, but on my style of play. However, if I belong to a group of gamers with similar style be warned: there’s a lot of opportunity for movement here and it may be uncomfortable at first.
I do like the theme of the game and its implementation. I can understand the premise and relate it to the gameplay. I like that it is split between two distinct phases and having cards with multiple usage is a positive for me. I also enjoy that every time a new phase begins all players combine their cards, shuffle, and draw a hand of four cards. This is new for me, as in typical deckbuilders the card just purchased usually goes directly into the discard pile only to be drawn on much later turns. Such is not with this one. A card just purchased may be drawn immediately in the next Combat Phase, depending on luck of the shuffle and draw.
So while I do not enjoy the moving around the arena aspect of the game, all else is good for me. If you are similar to me I would say give it a shot, but it may be difficult to be successful if, like me, you plan to be a stalwart rock instead of a nimble wisp. If Arcane Arena sounds like your cup of tea, do check it out when it comes available!
The Bandersnatch (199 KP) rated Memoirs of a Geisha in Books
Nov 7, 2019
Memoirs of a Geisha is a historical fiction book published on September 27th 1997. Told in the first person Viewpoint of Geisha Sayuri (Original name Chiyo), It follows her journey from her childhood in a fishing village on the coast of Japan, forcibly taken to a Hanamachi in Gion Kyoto and raised to become a Geisha before experiencing the horrors of WW2 and being a Geisha during the hard work of rebuilding after a harrowing defeat.
My opinion of the book is one of both curiosity and interest. Japan is one of those countries where its history and culture is both unusual and mysterious. The book gives a brief glimpse into the hidden world of the Geisha which are a prominent spot in Japanese culture but are relatively unknown world wide. I believe that the story of Sayuri is one of personal travel and evolution. Since we see Sayuri';s experience as a child before becoming a Geisha, experiencing the horror of war and eventually finding love with the Chairman.
Arthur Golden was born on December 6th 1956 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. When he was eight years old his parents divorced with his father dying five years later. He spent most of his childhood living in lookout mountain, Georgia before graduating from the Baylor school in Chattanooga in 1974. After earning a degree in Fine art (Specifically Japanese art), an M. A. in Japanese history, Golden spent a summer at the Peking University in Beijing and spent some time working in Tokyo. When he returned to the states he earned an M. A. in English at Boston University. Golden married Trudi Legge and they went on to have two children Hays and Tess.
After getting the initial idea for Memoirs of a Geisha Golden spent six years over the story rewriting it at least three times, changing the view point until settling on the viewpoint of Sayuri. Golden had spent time interviewing several Geisha including Mineko Iwasaki (who ended up suing Golden when the Japanese version of the book came out for breach of contract.....the case was settled out of court in 2003) all of whom provided information about the world of the Geisha. After its release Memoirs of a Geisha spent two years on the New York Times bestseller list, its sold more than four million copies in English alone and has been translated into thirty-two languages around the world. In 2005 the book was made into a movie garnering three academy awards.
My opinion of Arthur Golden is very small and somewhat limited.......I believe he is a fantastic writer and very knowledgeable about Japanese history and art....Much more so than I am but hearing he faced being sued because of citing who his sources were when he was contracted not to has put something of a dampener on his character in my eyes.
Memoirs of a Geisha was released as a Movie on December 9th 2005 under director Rob Marshall and Produced by Steven Spielberg's production Company Amblin Entertainment and Spyglass Entertainment. With its production from pre- to post-production taking place mainly in California US, with a few spots filmed in Kyoto Japan. The movie received mixed reviews in the western world and received somewhat negative reviews in Japan due to its mixed casting of Chinese and Japanese actors and actresses and its relationship to history. Despite the chaos they won three Academy Awards (Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design), a Golden Globe (Best Original Score), A national Board of review (Best Supporting Actress), a satellite award (Outstanding screenplay) and three BAFTA's (Cinematography, Costume design and the Anthony Asquith award for Achievement in film music).
Whilst I quite like the movie I definitely feel that if more effort was put into tying more of both Japanese and Geisha history was some how tied into the movie. As well as using more Japanese Actors and actresses in the roles......despite that I believe the actors and actresses did a very good job in brining the script to life and keep a layer of mystery and fluidity to their roles.
And there you have it a book for all the ages, its definitely under the banner of AWESOME!!!.
My opinion of the book is one of both curiosity and interest. Japan is one of those countries where its history and culture is both unusual and mysterious. The book gives a brief glimpse into the hidden world of the Geisha which are a prominent spot in Japanese culture but are relatively unknown world wide. I believe that the story of Sayuri is one of personal travel and evolution. Since we see Sayuri';s experience as a child before becoming a Geisha, experiencing the horror of war and eventually finding love with the Chairman.
Arthur Golden was born on December 6th 1956 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. When he was eight years old his parents divorced with his father dying five years later. He spent most of his childhood living in lookout mountain, Georgia before graduating from the Baylor school in Chattanooga in 1974. After earning a degree in Fine art (Specifically Japanese art), an M. A. in Japanese history, Golden spent a summer at the Peking University in Beijing and spent some time working in Tokyo. When he returned to the states he earned an M. A. in English at Boston University. Golden married Trudi Legge and they went on to have two children Hays and Tess.
After getting the initial idea for Memoirs of a Geisha Golden spent six years over the story rewriting it at least three times, changing the view point until settling on the viewpoint of Sayuri. Golden had spent time interviewing several Geisha including Mineko Iwasaki (who ended up suing Golden when the Japanese version of the book came out for breach of contract.....the case was settled out of court in 2003) all of whom provided information about the world of the Geisha. After its release Memoirs of a Geisha spent two years on the New York Times bestseller list, its sold more than four million copies in English alone and has been translated into thirty-two languages around the world. In 2005 the book was made into a movie garnering three academy awards.
My opinion of Arthur Golden is very small and somewhat limited.......I believe he is a fantastic writer and very knowledgeable about Japanese history and art....Much more so than I am but hearing he faced being sued because of citing who his sources were when he was contracted not to has put something of a dampener on his character in my eyes.
Memoirs of a Geisha was released as a Movie on December 9th 2005 under director Rob Marshall and Produced by Steven Spielberg's production Company Amblin Entertainment and Spyglass Entertainment. With its production from pre- to post-production taking place mainly in California US, with a few spots filmed in Kyoto Japan. The movie received mixed reviews in the western world and received somewhat negative reviews in Japan due to its mixed casting of Chinese and Japanese actors and actresses and its relationship to history. Despite the chaos they won three Academy Awards (Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Costume Design), a Golden Globe (Best Original Score), A national Board of review (Best Supporting Actress), a satellite award (Outstanding screenplay) and three BAFTA's (Cinematography, Costume design and the Anthony Asquith award for Achievement in film music).
Whilst I quite like the movie I definitely feel that if more effort was put into tying more of both Japanese and Geisha history was some how tied into the movie. As well as using more Japanese Actors and actresses in the roles......despite that I believe the actors and actresses did a very good job in brining the script to life and keep a layer of mystery and fluidity to their roles.
And there you have it a book for all the ages, its definitely under the banner of AWESOME!!!.
Anthony Case (3 KP) rated American Horror Story in TV
Sep 9, 2017
Acting (2 more)
Directing (usually)
Fun Storylines
Each season of American Horror Story is a fresh slate. While some actors (Evan Peters and Sarah Paulson in particular) play similar characters each time, they all play the parts well, and the unique storylines are enough to keep things fresh. Sarah Paulson, Dennis O'Hare, Lily Rabe, and Jessica Lange are standouts every time they show up, but the recurring cast members are all fantastic.
Each season is a new story and Ryan Murphy loves to experiment with how he tells them. Season one, "Muder House," is a fairly standard psycho-sexual horror show. It was clearly building a base, so it skews a little into the "edge-lord teenager" demographic, which really is my inky complaint. Season two, "Asylum," is very experimental. They were trying to figure out what exactly they could get away with, and it turns out they could get away with a lot (though the aliens subplot was a bit too much). It's a very bleak season, with existential dread haunting the entirety of the season. Season three, "Coven," goes the complete opposite direction. It gets pretty campy, though the violence never is toned down. Season four, "Freak Show," is more stylized than previous seasons, and focuses far less on the ensemble. Instead, it is an intense character study of a homicidal rich white dude, which, admittedly, isn't for everyone. Season five, "Hotel," eschews storylines, instead focusing on establishing a crisp visual style (to varying success). Season six, "Roanoke," tackles two very popular subgenres, documentaries and found footage. It has an inspired twist halfway through the season.
There are definantely weak seasons, (Hotel was a mess, and I never really loved Coven's tone) but that's to be expected from an anthology show. The genius of seasons like Asylum and Roanoke should keep you coming back.
To close it out, I'll do a quick ranking for each season, from worst to best: Hotel, Coven, Murder House, Freak Show, Roanoke, Asylum. Hopefully Cult lives up to the high reputation the show has earned!
Each season is a new story and Ryan Murphy loves to experiment with how he tells them. Season one, "Muder House," is a fairly standard psycho-sexual horror show. It was clearly building a base, so it skews a little into the "edge-lord teenager" demographic, which really is my inky complaint. Season two, "Asylum," is very experimental. They were trying to figure out what exactly they could get away with, and it turns out they could get away with a lot (though the aliens subplot was a bit too much). It's a very bleak season, with existential dread haunting the entirety of the season. Season three, "Coven," goes the complete opposite direction. It gets pretty campy, though the violence never is toned down. Season four, "Freak Show," is more stylized than previous seasons, and focuses far less on the ensemble. Instead, it is an intense character study of a homicidal rich white dude, which, admittedly, isn't for everyone. Season five, "Hotel," eschews storylines, instead focusing on establishing a crisp visual style (to varying success). Season six, "Roanoke," tackles two very popular subgenres, documentaries and found footage. It has an inspired twist halfway through the season.
There are definantely weak seasons, (Hotel was a mess, and I never really loved Coven's tone) but that's to be expected from an anthology show. The genius of seasons like Asylum and Roanoke should keep you coming back.
To close it out, I'll do a quick ranking for each season, from worst to best: Hotel, Coven, Murder House, Freak Show, Roanoke, Asylum. Hopefully Cult lives up to the high reputation the show has earned!