Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

2021 Goodreads Reading Challenge

By

On January 4, 2022

In Reading Challenge

I belong to something of an online book club called Goodreads for about 8 years. It’s now owned by Amazon but the essence of Goodreads hasn’t gone away. Every year the websites offers members to commit to a yearly reading challenge. My 2021 reading challenge was to read 15 books. Here are the books I completed.

2021 Reading Challenge - Harry Dresden

Cloak of Deception by James Luceno
Turn Coat by Jim Butcher
Changes by Jim Butcher
Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
Redshirts by John Scalzi
Fire & Sword by Dylan Doose
Queen’s Shadow by E.K. Johnston
Thirst by Claire Farrell
Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
Taunt by Claire Farrell
Tempt by Claire Farrell
Cold Days by Jim Butcher
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker by Rae Carson
Taken by Claire Farrell
Taste by Claire Farrell

Sweet Sixteen

If you’re keeping track at home, that list contains 16 books. I finished my reading challenge, exceeded it by one, and all before December 31st. Also, if you have a keen eye, I’m sure you noticed several books by Jim Butcher and Claire Farrell. The books by Jim Butcher shouldn’t be a surprise. I’m still working my way through The Dresden Files; but who is Claire Farrell.

My wife and I each have a Kindle and they connect to the same Kindle library. My wife added several books by Claire Farrell, and six of those books are the Ava Delaney series. Thirst, Taunt, Tempt, Taken, Taste and Traitor make up the series. As you can probably guess, I’m currently reading the last book, Traitor. Ava Delaney is a hybrid; she’s part human, part vampire. If you’re interested in a slightly different perspective on vampire lore, put aside what you know and check out these books. They are decent fantasy.

I read two books I’ve been wanting to read for a while: Redshirts and the novelization of The Rise of Skywalker. I always enjoy reading the books that accompany the films because they help provide more details and answer some questions. If you are a Star Trek fan then I would encourage reading Redshirts. I was pretty lazy this year and did not review all of these books, but I did write one for this book. If you’re trying to decide, I encourage you to check out my review.

That’s all for now. I will discuss my 2022 reading challenge plans in another post.

/cheers

diablo3-reading“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” 
– Dr. Seuss

2021 Year in Review

By

On January 1, 2022

In Year in Review

Well we made it another year. It was still a tough year for some but I feel like it wasn’t nearly as awful as 2020. 2020 still remains the year we all would like to forget. Granted, 2021 still presented it’s challenges, primarily in the form of the pandemic (still) and the cicada invasion.

To get the shot or not to get the shot was the theme. I’m not going to get into the politics of it. If you did it, I think that’s great; if you didn’t, that’s your choice and I still respect you for it. While I’m confident in my immune system to beat it, should I get it, I’m still choosing to take precautions. However, if you didn’t get it, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to see you, because I do.

2021 is also the year of the 17 year cicada brood. I have never seen, or heard, anything quite like this. I cannot believe how many cicadas there were. I almost swallowed one while I was out running.

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The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 1

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On December 29, 2021

In Star Wars, The Book of Boba Fett

The Book of Boba Fett: Chapter 1

Title: Stranger in a Strange Land
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
Runtime: 38 minutes

I enjoyed doing this for The Mandalorian so I’m going to do it again for The Book of Boba Fett. There will be spoilers if I need to discuss them but, as I did for other series, I will provide a warning. So let’s get started dicussing The Book of Boba Fett Chapter 1.

I’m under the impression that Robert Rodriguez will be directing all of the episodes so I may not always list the Directed by in the future. Also, I’m going to assume you have watched all of The Mandalorian, including the post-credits scene of Chapter 16.

On my first watch through, I freaking loved it. It does start a little slow to give some back story in the form of flashbacks (more on that later). I think the point of the backstory serves as a tribute to the Skywalker Saga with references to ROTJ and the prequels.

The flashbacks are dreams while Boba rests, but the episode does set up the series. Boba is the new crime boss after dethroning Bib Fortuna and he sets out to ensure he is recognized as the new leader.

spoiler alert!!!

The following content contains spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett S1E1

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Merry Christmas!

By

On December 25, 2021

In General Cogitation

Movie Review: 8-Bit Christmas

By

On December 13, 2021

In Movies, Reviews

8-Bit Christmas IMDB Link

Directed By: Michael Dowse
Starring:  Neil Patrick Harris, Steve Zahn, Winslow Fegley

My Rating:[rating=5]

It is rare to get to review a Christmas movie at Christmas time. I usually stick with watching all the Christmas movies I like instead of watching new ones. My brother-in-law sent me a text telling me I needed to watch this movie; so far I’ve watched it twice.

This movie is our generations version of “A Christmas Story”. I might even go so far as to say its a soft remake. The bulk of the film borrows several themes from A Christmas Story but applies them in its own unique way. It even goes so far as to include it’s own “F–––” moment. By the way, I have actually held that infamous Bill Ripken card in my hands; in fact my father still owns it.

Biggs’ Review

You can probably assume that I enjoyed this film since I have already mentioned I have watched it twice. It is rare to find a new Christmas movie to add to my cadre of Christmas movies I watch each year. This movie definitely makes the list. I remember getting my Nintendo, and playing it probably more often than I should have. It is the toy that defined our generation.

If you are a member of the Nintendo generation, I highly recommend this movie. If you don’t like “A Christmas Story”, you should still watch this movie because the beginning and ending is a lot different. Also, NPH is your narrator, the Jean Shephard, of this film. You can’t go wrong when Doogie Howser is telling the story.

film_reel“The screen is a magic medium. It has such power that it can retain interest as it conveys emotions and moods that no other art form can hope to tackle.” 
– Stanley Kubrick

WoW: State of the Raid (9.1.5)

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On December 9, 2021

In Gaming, World of Warcraft

It’s been a while since I’ve done a “State of the Raid” post. Blizzard is kind of a sore, perhaps even taboo, topic right now. Every time there is more sickening news makes me sad.

I play this game to hang out with the friends. The kind of friends where hanging out in person isn’t convenient because of distance and borders. Raiding has become difficult over the past few months. Some friends have left the game and recruiting new people is difficult.

Progession

Despite these circumstances, we are enduring. Personally I think our goals are shifting to accommodate the reality and current environment of the community. Ahead of the Curve has always been our main objective before the conclusion of a tier. This rut in active players and the obvious adjustment in the difficulty of heroic encounters may be changing that objective.

As much as I hate to let go of achieving Ahead of the Curve, I think it’s best for my sanity. I really don’t want to burn out because this is my social activity. Several of my friends have already reached this point so I don’t want to be the next victim.

We are currently 6/10 in Heroic and our latest attempt on Guardian has me feeling confident we will be 7/10 soon. Depending on the complexity of the next 3 bosses, and the release date of 9.2, we may still have a chance at AOTC.

I’ve Been Slacking

There is so much to do after you hit max level that I’ve had a difficult time leveling my alts. I’m still sitting at just under half of my alts at max (46.6%). I’ll admit the events going on at Activision Blizzard is awful and gives me a lot of mixed feelings which affects my motivation. I won’t quit though, for reasons I’ve expressed before. This time of year is also very busy for me. I’ve got lots of planning, decorating, and Christmas to enjoy.

While Blizzard has not given us a release date for 9.2, my hope is try to get to as close to 100% on all my alts before it hits live servers. That’s probably a stretch goal by now.

Ultimately I hope Blizzard gets their act together and finds a way to bring players back. I really miss all my friends that have left the game.

duke-nukem-sm If zombies attack the world, everyone will run and hide. Except for us gamers, of course. We've been waiting for this all our lives!

 

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