Well this book, along with Skyrim, has been the reason that
blogging has been slow here recently. This extremely comprehensive book, which
is incredibly well researched, has taken me a while to finish, but was well
worth it. Given the detail that the book goes into, it could very easily be a
dry and boring read; however Mark Pendergrast manages to bring the subject
alive with his excellent writing style and the many amusing and/or interesting
asides.
And what a subject to cover, it is fair to say that in many
ways, Coca-Cola is the perfect symbol of consumer capitalism (and indeed
American capitalism). Unlike many other worldwide brands, such as McDonalds,
Starbucks or Nike, Coca-Cola has been around since the emergence of consumer
capitalism (and indeed contributed significantly to it) having been first sold
in 1886. What this book superbly reveals is that in many ways Coca-Cola was a
product of its time, with the contemporary fads and technology of the day
greatly affecting the end product. The characters of Coca-Cola’s story throughout
its history are all covered, with their biographies, strengths and flaws all
exposed. Mark Pendergrast is able to describe a person’s character and appearance
in a few vivid sentences. In addition the social and economic affects of Coke
are dealt with, from its affect on the perception of Santa Clause, to its
pioneering of the franchise system. Mark Pendergrast manages to take a fair
stance on The Coca-Cola Company throughout, which leaves the reader with a good
understanding of the company. The downside of this book is the size of the text and the line
spacing, both of which combined with the length of the book, make it difficult
to read.
I would recommend this book for someone who is willing to put a bit of time in to find out about the interesting and important history of this product.
A tune from the stalwarts of British metal, Saxon have been
playing pure unadulterated heavy metal for 36 or so years now. I saw them live
a couple of years ago and there were phenomenal. This is a classic from 1982's,
The Eagle Has Landed.
Butthole Surfers - Who Was in My Room Last Night
Ah, it has taken a while for me to play a track from this particular band.
This is one of their more commercial and straightforward tunes, from 93's
Independent Worm Saloon. The video shows Butthole Surfers at their mental best.
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cotton Fields
This reworking of a Lead Belly tune, has been on my IPod a lot recently. It
has that classic Creedence vibe that manages to be incredibly uplifting, Enjoy!
A song from the soundtrack to the cult film "Heavy Metal", this is
a tune by Stevie Nicks (of Fleetwood Mac fame). Although it is a Stevie Nicks
solo track, there is not much difference from “Rumours” era Fleetwood Mac. It
features an excellent catchy lick that forms the basis of the song which forms
an excellent accompaniment to Stevie Nicks vocals.
The Cult - Go West (live)
This is my favourite version of my favourite Cult tune, I can still vividly
remember the first time I heard this track a couple of years ago. This is a
track from the early days of The Cult when they sound was more gothic
rock/post-punk in character (as opposed to their later hard rock sound).
I personally like the sound of the live version better than the studio. This
is taken from a Cult show in 1984 that was record for the "Live at the
Lyceum" live album/video. The bass in this version is sublime,
matching the"jangly" guitars perfectly.
And to round off, a behemoth of a track from Old Man Gloom.
Old Man Gloom - Jaws of the lion
This track starts in a slow, post-metal (ISIS, Pelican etc) fashion,
building suspense until the 2 minutes mark, where a crushing riff comes in. An
atmospheric track which is heavy as hell. Enjoy !
Been a while since I did this so it is about time I got around to another post (and this time I managed to get it out on a Thursday!)
First up is, Black Label Society- Queen of Sorrow
A tune from the more laid back Hangover Music Vol. VI, Queen
of Sorrow is a soulful bluesy tune with an awesome solo.
Second up is, Crowbar - Nothing
A crushing classic from the masters of sludge, this is a
tune from 1996's Broken Glass and is an underrated tune from Crowbar. It shows
them at their slow, pounding best, creating a sea of distortion that swallows
you up.
Third up is, At The Gates - Blinded by Fear
A quicker, more vigorous tune (yet still heavy as hell) to
finish off. This is a melodic death metal classic from one of the masters of
that genre. The influence this band had, not only on death metal, but on all
metal, is still felt to this day (just look at any metalcore band). Enjoy !
Decided I would skip music for a week and focus my attention on films
instead for a moment. Indeed, I am over due on a "book Friday" post;
however, I am currently occupied with reading the mammoth tome by Mark
Pendergrast on the history of Coca-Cola which I will blog about in due course.
Anyway onto films, as with music, I will cover three a post. As I am not
that much of a film fanatic the posts will not be regular.
First off my favourite film of all time - Bubba Ho-tep.
What to say about this film? The basic premise is that a geriatric Elvis
and a Black man who thinks he is JFK, both of whom are in the same nursing
home, team up to defeat a cowboy mummy (hence Bubba - good old boy and Ho-tep -
reference to Imhotep). Although don't let this put you off, this is no trashy
B-Movie (well I suppose it sort of is, but there is much more to it). Its
stated genre is a comedy horror drama film, although it defies classification
into one genre. Whilst it contains some elements of the aforementioned genres,
the main theme of Bubba Ho-tep is decline, the underling emotion throughout is
melancholy. Never have I seen a film that explore this as comprehensively as
Bubba Ho-tep. What is really amazing is that Bubba Ho-tep blends all of these
genres into one gracefully.
One the key strengths of this film is the beautifully crafted dialog,
which enhances the comedic and more tender moments in the film. With quotes
ranging from the poignant “always the hopes never the fulfilments, always the
question never the answers”; to the hilarious “felt my pecker flutter once,
like a pigeon havin' a heart attack, then lay back down and remain limp and
still”. Indeed, it is a very quotable film.
The plot of Bubba Ho-tep is not especially complex however this is
countered by the atmosphere of the film. This is helped by the soundtrack which
contains several excellent songs that accompany the film well.
So to summarise Bubba Ho-tep is a through entertaining, humorous and enjoyable
film and is also though provoking. It is well acted and has great music and a
fantastic sprit. It is well worth a watch and I hope you enjoy it as much as I
did.
Second up is - Last Man Standing
I personally think this is Bruce Willis's best performance in any film,
where he plays a worldly hit man "John Smith" who is on the run to
Mexico. This film is set in Prohibition era Texas in the fictional town of
Jericho, which leads to beautiful sepia toned shots of the barren Texas desert,
ala Paris, Texas style. Also in common with that film is the superb Ry Cooder
soundtrack, which with every film that features one, enhances the film and adds
significantly to the atmosphere, building tension throughout. The town of
Jericho has two competing gangs, the Doyle's (Irish) and Strozzi's (Italian),
both of whom John Smith plays to his financial advantage.
That said, this is no typical shoot em up. Indeed, at the time of its
release this film was no well received due to the "oppressive and
depressing atmosphere of the film". I think these criticisms miss the
point, there are plenty of films that are stuffed full of action (although that
said there is still a fair bit in this one!); what this film has (which many
others don’t) is a lot of tension which then exacerbates the action contained
within. It is the atmosphere that makes this film great, with the tension
building at every stage as John Smith continually makes more and more enemies,
playing both sides. What action scenes there are in Last Man Standing are well
done, with John Smith outclassing his opponents with his awesome skill.
In some ways this film was ahead of its time, with its gritty, no one wins
style. It is a film with no heroes and has an ambivalent, life goes on, ending.
As with most films the hero wins, it is just that in this film the viewer is
left wondering whether the victory was worth it.
This is a movie that is well worth watching, most suitable with a glass of
whiskey (although not if you are impatient), with a enthralling plot, a
excellent use of atmosphere to build tension, and a more interesting and
complex morality than most films. I would recommend this film for fans of No
Country for Old Men.
Last, but not least is - Gomorrah
This Italian film is one for fans of "The Wire". The film is
based upon real events and follows the consequences of a violent spilt of the
Casalesi clan of the "Camorra" (Neapolitan mafia) and the effects
upon the community. The film is well shot and acted, with a gritty realism
present throughout, the dialogue is in Italian with subtitles. There are five
subplots that all relate to each other and that all have a array of complex characters
that are believable and well acted.
Now a little prelude; the first game in this franchise was
Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis released to great critical acclaim in
2001. I got this game for Christmas, 2001and in fell in love with it. It was a
breath of fresh air, a massive, detailed and realistic military simulation game
that allowed players to perform multiple roles; from being a basic solider, an
officer, a tank commander, a pilot or a Special Forces troop. It was a FPS
(first person shooter), a tank simulation game and a flying simulator all
rolled into one. Uniquely, at the time, it allowed players to play as a humble
foot soldier, you weren’t some superhuman delta force operative etc and you
were part of a squad. Throughout the campaign you were promoted until you were
a Captain in charge of a squad and able to give orders. Another important, and also
unique, feature of the game was its ultra realism there was none of this COD,
Quake etc get shot a million times and then respawn stuff. As an side this game
was so realistic that an adapted version was used for training by the armed
forces of the USA, UK and Australia to name a few! (LINK) In OF:CF it was one
shot in the right place and dead, if you were lucky you got shot in the arm and
were merely injured. A burst or two would kill you; there was only 1 save space
and a couple of checkpoints. This lead to a very tense game, that needed
patience and perseverance to succeed. It also made completing missions very
rewarding. In addition they were a multitude of weapons, tanks, vehicles, and
aircraft to play with (all realistically portrayed) and a massive map with excellent
terrain (they basically copied the geography of a couple of real islands). All
in all, a very worthwhile addition to the gaming canon, which I enjoyed.
Game Trailer
Unfortunately, due to a dispute between the publisher and
the developer led to a split. Hence the sequels took a while to come around. The
developers contained with the same formula but different name leading to the
ARMA series. The publishers kept the name and developed a new game.
And so we come onto Operation Flashpoint: Red River Rising,
the second instalment of the new OF games (the first being 2009’s Operation
Flashpoint: Dragon Rising). It has taken a lot of criticism from some reviewers
(LINK) and has had mixed reviews. Now that I have completed this game, as a
long time OF and ARMA fan, I thought I would give my humble opinion.
Onto the game itself, now some reviews have slammed this
game and it has come out moderately in aggregate reviews. I personally think it
is quite good. Although at this juncture I need to state what this game is not;
a pure military simulation along the lines of the original OF game and the ARAMA
series that however, does not mean it is a bad game as some reviews have
suggested. It is case that it is a halfway point between the reality of ARMA et al. and the playability of games such
as Call of Duty etc. In fact I think it is a worthy addition to the gaming
world, the fact is that there are not that many games in the military simulation
genre (in fact it is really just ARMA now). OF:RR is easily distinguishable
from games such as Call of Duty.
The game lacks the ambition of the ARMA series, in that you
are always infantrymen, and that you are stuck in the same squad throughout the
single player campaign. What OF:RR has in common with the ARMA series is its
attention to detail, with a good array of real life weapons (all modelled upon
the real specs) and the health system, in which death is only a well placed
burst away. It also, depending on the difficulty level chosen, has the suspense
and challenge of the original OF game (something that ARMA interestingly lacks
due to unlimited saves) with no save spaces.
The game is set in Tajikistan (although the first mission is
in Afghanistan) and for the first third involves the player dealing with Tajik insurgents.
After this come the Chinese who invade Tajikistan due to the perceived threat
of US forces near the Chinese border. It is a plausible, if unlikely scenario and
gives the player the opportunity to face different foes. Indeed, what OF has
always done well is conceive of contemporary scenario’s which allow them the
excuse to face the US versus another power (Russia or China), instead of just
facing tin pot regimes. The campaign is engaging and fun to play with a diversity
of decent and long missions, although I feel the campaign itself, is a tad
short. The sergeant and other members of the squad are a bit over the top with
many masochistic dialogues; however on further reflection I guess this is
realistic, if a bit embarrassing.
The game play is engaging and fun, whilst maintaining
tension and the game is challenging, making the completion of objectives
rewarding. The controls are mostly fine (pretty standard) apart from the
command controls, which don’t allow the player to shoot or move whilst occupied
with giving orders. This is pretty annoying at times. However the command controls
themselves are good, well laid out and allow a range of tactical choices.
The negatives of the game for me are a lack of ambition, a short
campaign, the command controls, a poor single mission selection and finally
(and the biggest complaint) the poor AI. The AI at times is utterly farcical,
with enemy troops failing to kill you despite the fact you are standing in
front of them, mincing around (usually with no ammo). This is a shame, as otherwise
it would be an excellent game.
BOOM !
In conclusion, Operation Flashpoint: Red River Rising is a fun
and engaging game that offers a good challenge and is rewarding to play due to
the suspense built up. The campaign is fun and well designed if a little short
and the game play is good. It is let down by the AI, although it is still a
good game. This game is not ARMA or the original Operation Flashpoint game, but
is still fun and well worth purchasing and playing. I would recommend this game
for people who enjoy the original ARMA and Operation Flashpoint games, who want
some light relief. I would also recommend this game to those people who enjoy
games such as Call of Duty and seek a slightly different, and more challenging (and
realistic) gaming experience.
I would rate this game - 7/10
Another final point: It is a shame that the studio which
made this is closing (to focus on car racing titles), this series can only get
better and indeed with a bit more ambition (the inclusion of Vehicles and Aircraft)
would be a good rival for ARMA (given this games vastly superior graphics and
shooting). I hope that Codemasters keep making Operation Flashpoint games.
