I ordered this dvd the other day from Amazon:

Deep Purple with Orchestra: Live at Montreux 2011

It arrived yesterday and I just had to take it to work with me to watch during the quiet times. I watched both the concert and the interview feature with the band members.

Here is the set listing for the concert:
Orchestral Intro
Highway Star
Hard Loving Man
Maybe I’m A Leo
Strage Kind Of Woman
Rapture Of The Deep
Woman From Tokyo
Contact Lost
When A Blind Man Cries
The Well Dressed Guitar
Knocking At Your Back Door
Lazy
No One Came
Don Airey Solo
Perfect Strangers
Space Truckin’
Smoke On The Water
Hush
Black Night

I enjoyed the dvd very much. I want to watch it again at home on the tv and the 5.1 sound system; computer speakers just don’t cut it.

They used the orchestra to augment the band and I think it added a depth to the sound. The orchestra did not play all the time…just in strategic places.
And I got a kick out of the orchestra members. You could tell they were really enjoying themselves. Often when the camera is focused on the band you can see orchestra members in the background “dancing” in their chairs; moving back and forth with the music.

One thing did bother me a bit. The cameras often got a full blast of light from one of the stage lights, but that was only early in the concert.

As far as the band is concerned the playing was spot on. Yeah, I know Ian Gillan (lead singer) can’t belt it out like he did when the band formed over 40 years ago, but for a 66 year old man he sounds pretty good. Matter of fact, all the members of the band are older. Ian Paice (drummer) is 63, Roger Glover (bass) is 66, Don Airey (keyboard) is 63 and the youngest Steve Morse (lead guitar) is 57.

The dvd also has interviews with the band and Ian Paice talked about being asked to play drums for Paul McCartney on McCartney’s Run Devil Run cd.

If you’re a Deep Purple fan this is a nice addition to your library.

As you know I have owned a Kindle for a couple of years now. It’s the Kindle 2:

I have really enjoyed reading on the Kindle. I think I have read more with it than I did with actual books. But now I am considering upgrading to either the Kindle Touch ($99) or the Kindle Fire ($199).

Kindle Touch:

Kindle Fire:

The thing that appeals to me about both is the touch screen capabilities. What got me thinking about this is when I was in a class in church. Someone says “Will everyone please turn to…..” and I’m like the last guy to get there. Then I notice more and more people using their phones and iPads. Well, I don’t have a smartphone and iPads are too pricey for me.
So, I thought it would be nice to have a device that I can just tap a couple of times and get right to where I want to be in a document.

Now the problem is which device to buy next.
The Kindle Touch is strictly a reading device. And that’s my main reason for owning a Kindle in the first place. Plus I really like the e-ink screen as opposed to reading on an LCD display.
But the Kindle Fire has the allure of a tablet (yes, I know it is not a real tablet). It streams Amazon Prime content, NetFlix, and more. There are apps for GMail, Facebook and Twitter which make it appealing when traveling. Plus games are available; although I would like to see some real boardgames like Ticket to Ride ported to the Fire.

At this time I am just considering for a possible future purchase.

I was at the Deseret Industries store this afternoon and picked up this game:

Warhammer 40,000 Battle for Macragge. It’s an introductory Warhammer game meant to be used by first time players. And that would be me. I have never played a Warhammer game and really have very little knowledge of them. But for $1 I couldn’t pass it up. The box is a bit battered, but after a quick look at the contents, I think all the pieces are there.
The “Read This First” booklet doesn’t look too intimidating, but it also has a 112 page rulebook.

Item 2

You might notice on the sidebar that I have indicated I am presently reading A Princess of Mars. It is the first of the Mars novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I read the entire series in my late teens and thought it would be good to revisit this story since the movie is coming out in early March. I want to refresh my memory so I can see how the movie compares with the novel.

Here’s the trailer:

There are several elements in the trailer that are not as I remember. For example, Dejah Thoris (the princess) has red skin in the book. And the flying craft are more like sailing ships that spaceships.
But I’m going to wait for some reviews to come in and see how the purists react.

As you can tell I decided not to let this domain name expire. I plan to post here much more often so I will keep it alive.

I received an email today reminding me that the domain registration for johnstuff.net will be expiring in 25 days. And I am tempted not to renew it.

Unless I can decide on a theme or direction for JohnStuff, it will probably disappear at the end of the year.

One of the tv shows I really enjoy is Castle. I just saw this promo for the next season opening episode:

I can’t wait for Castle and Fringe to return.

Here’s what I received in the mail yesterday:

It’s a Roku box and I am super excited to have it. It’s a small box that connects wirelessly to your home network and feeds content to your tv. I have configured it to access both my NetFlix and Amazon Prime accounts. And there is a ton of free on-demand programming available as well.

One of the main reasons to get is is to have access to GBTV (Glenn Beck TV) which is online only with feeds available through mobile devices like the iPad, iPhone and Roku.

I can foresee a time in the future when I can either scale back or completely cut the Dishnetwork service as more and more content moves in the direction of online streaming with devices like Roku.

No, this is not becoming a game related blog, but it just so happens that I have recently been able to add to my game collection.

When we went to Liz’s graduation from BYU we stopped at the BYU Bookstore to pick up some items. In the store was a man sitting at a table with this game set up. I stopped and talked with him for a bit. Turns out he is the designer of the game. He walked me through the mechanics and flow of gameplay. Then he autographed the copy I purchased.

Below is a write up of the game.

Swashbuckled! is Fun-at-Home Games first game. Played with different colored sailing ships and on a beautiful large world map board, the game is set in the year 1806, at the peak of Napoleon’s power. The game is played on three levels: the first level is rolling dice and moving one of six cargoes indicated on cargo cards from one port/continent to another, avoiding ever changing bad weather and war zones, lest you sink at sea.

The second level features pirates that every player gets a chance to be, by the pick of specially marked new cargo cards, once your voyage is complete. Pirates need not reveal themselves until they so desire. Poker face is critical to this game. Pirates can attack merchant ships by rolling additional dice. Knowing when to hold and when to attack are critical to success. However, there are also a few Lord Nelsons at sea – the game’s police force – that can Neutralize pirates.

Finally, there is the most exciting third level; the Secret Treasure Islands. With every game there is at least one, truly secret treasure worth 50,000 pounds that makes the game a fun, fast, in your face adventure. Since the location of these treasures changes from game to game, no two games are ever the same and although the better strategists more often than not win this game, no one is ever really out of it. The emotional intensity of the game often increases into a climactic finish.

The Box and Board are beautifully designed, money comes in British pounds (paper), ships are wooden and painted with different colored sails, ship manifests are included to keep record of your payouts, and variously colored lighthouses mark where you start and where you end.

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Then in Oregon, Andy and I went to a local game shop. I picked up a couple of other games. The first is a little card game called Gloom.

Here’s the description from Amazon.com:

Gloom: The Game of Inauspicious Incidents and Grave Consequences

The world of Gloom is a sad and benighted place. The sky is gray, the tea is cold, and a new tragedy lies around every corner. Debt, disease, heartache, and packs of rabid flesh-eating mice — just when it seems like things can’t get any worse, they do. But some say that one’s reward in the afterlife is based on the misery endured in life. If so, there may yet be hope — if not in this world, then in the peace that lies beyond.

In the Gloom card game, you assume control of the fate of an eccentric family of misfits and misanthropes. The goal of the game is sad, but simple: you want your characters to suffer the greatest tragedies possible before passing on to the well-deserved respite of death. You’ll play horrible mishaps like Pursued by Poodles or Mocked by Midgets on your own characters to lower their Self-Worth scores, while trying to cheer your opponents’ characters with marriages and other happy occasions that pile on positive points. The player with the lowest total Family Value wins.

Printed on transparent plastic cards, Gloom features an innovative design by noted RPG author Keith Baker. Multiple modifier cards can be played on top of the same character card; since the cards are transparent, elements from previously played modifier cards either show through or are obscured by those played above them. You’ll immediately and easily know the worth of every character, no matter how many modifiers they have. You’ve got to see (through) this game to believe it!

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Finally, a really fun game about managing a trailer park – Trailer Park Wars.

You have finally landed the job of your dreams: Trailer Park Manager! To be the Best Darn Trailer Park Manager in town, you must place quality Tenants in your trailers, create a fun and friendly atmosphere by adding some sweet Amenities, and go about destroying the other trailer parks, no matter what it takes. Surface to Trailer Missile? Molotov Beer Can? A Tornado? You Bet. Trailer Park Wars Game contains: -48 Gorgeous to Grungy Trailer Cards -130 Cards for a Draw Pile -18 Trailer Park Name Tiles -AND 100 plastic yard flamingos miniatures to collect as points!

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Andy and I got a chance to play both Gloom and Trailer Park Wars, but not Swashbuckled. They were really fun. LaRue and I are going to have a session of both Trailer Park Wars and Swashbuckled in the next few days.

We’ve been in Portland for almost a week waiting for the birth of a new grandson.

On one shopping trip I picked up a new game – Zombie Dice.

It’s a fun, quick game in the “push-your-luck” catagory. Basically, each player rolls dice trying to collect “brains” and avoid “shotguns”. You keep rolling dice until you roll 3 shotguns which not only ends your turn, but causes you to lose all the brains you have collected. But you can elect to end your turn before getting the shotguns and keeping all your brain points. You play until reaching a certain amount of points. Playtime runs only a few minutes and there is no set-up needed. You can carry the dice with you and play anywhere.

Well, it’s all over now. 10 years of Smallville came to an end last Friday. What an awesome finale it was!

I loved how some many things were wrapped up and answered. If you have not seen it don’t click for more. There be spoilers beyond this point…
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A trailer has just been released for the upcoming Tintin movie:

When I was a kid I read all the Tintin books I could get my parents to buy. Today we would probably call them graphic novels. They were large hardback books.

I have since found and bought a few, but not the entire series. I’m not even sure if they are all in print.

Here’s a list of all the books –
1. Tintin in the Land of the Soviets (1929)
2. Tintin in the Congo (1930)
3. Tintin in America (1931)
4. Cigars of the Pharaoh (1932)
5. The Blue Lotus (1934)
6. The Broken Ear (1935)
7. The Black Island (1937)
8. King Ottokar’s Sceptre (1938)
9. The Crab with the Golden Claws (1940)
10. The Shooting Star (1941)
11. The Secret of the Unicorn (1942)
12. Red Rackham’s Treasure (1943)
13. The Seven Crystal Balls (1943)
14. Prisoners of the Sun (1946)
15. Land of Black Gold (1948)
16. Destination Moon (1950)
17. Explorers on the Moon (1950)
18. The Calculus Affair (1954)
19. The Red Sea Sharks (1956)
20. Tintin in Tibet (1958)
21. The Castafiore Emerald (1961)
22. Flight 714 (1966)
23. Tintin and the Picaros (1975)
24. Tintin and Alph-Art (1986 Unfinished work, published posthumously)

I did not purchase or read all of them as a kid, but I now have them in cbr format for reading on the computer. I think now would be a good time to go through the entire series.

Go to Tintin.com for access to the main Tintin website (there’s a pulldown to select English) or to the new movie site.
Also check out Tintin’s Wikipedia page

Here’s a video produced by Popular Mechanics in 1948 showcasing the car of the future. Kind of glad these didn’t work out.

I really like the new promotional poster for this final season of Smallville:

I am not one to make New Years resolutions. And I’m not going to start this year.
That being said there are some things I want to do more of this next year.

1. I want to play more board games. I got a copy of Zombie Fluxx for Christmas.

This is in addition to my copies of the standard Fluxx and Family Fluxx. I have only played the standard Fluxx a couple of times and enjoyed it.

2. I want to spend some time watching the DVD’s of movies and tv series I’ve been accumulating over the years but have not had a chance to catch up on.

3. I guess I could throw in the “lose weight” thing, but I’m afraid that’s a lost cause. Although, I imagine I could eat better than I have. It might help the diabetes.

4. I plan to work on getting some vinyl records transferred into the computer to burn to cd’s. One of the other Christmas presents I received was a Yamaha RX-495 stereo receiver.

We have hooked it up to my computer system along with the USB turntable. The current setup will allow me to more easily digitize the old records.

Anyway, that’s all I can think of right now.

I was looking over the list of tv shows I am currently watching and thought I would give my own little review of each.

These first three are probably my favorite programs –

Castle

Here’s a brief description of Castle – Castle follows Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle, a famous mystery novelist who has killed off his main character in his book series and has writer’s block. He is called in to help the NYPD solve a copy-cat murder based on one of his novels. Stana Katic co-stars as Detective Kate Beckett. Castle, who becomes interested in Beckett as a potential character for a new book series, uses his connections at the mayor’s office and receives permission to continue accompanying Beckett while investigating cases. Castle decides to use Beckett as the model for the main character of his next book series starring “Nikki Heat”. Beckett, an avid reader of Castle’s books, initially disapproves of having Castle shadow her on her cases, but later warms up and recognizes Castle as a useful resource in solving crimes. Castle is a blend of drama, comedy, and romantic tension.

The reason I love Castle is not for the weekly “procedural”, but for the likeability of the characters and their interaction. As far as the crime of the week, I have only not figured out the guilty party a couple of times. So, the crimes are not that complex.
Castle is in it’s third season. It’s one of the shows that I have purchased on DVD and will rewatch.

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Fringe

Fringe is described this way – Fringe follows the exploits of special agent Olivia Dunham, mad scientist Walter Bishop, and his son, jack-of-all-trades Peter Bishop, as they investigate aspects of fringe science ranging from transhumanist experiments gone wrong to the apocalyptic prospect of a technological singularity to the possible existence of parallel universes.

I like Fringe because it’s different. Yeah, there are the occassional monster-of-the-week episodes, but the overall mythos is really intriguing. Very often I have been watching an episode and assumed it would go in a particular direction, but it doesn’t. I like that it is often unpredictable. The character of Walter is a joy to watch. It’s just an injustice that John Noble (plays Walter Bishop) has not even been nominated for an Emmy for this role.

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Smallville

The third of my favorite shows is Smallville. This one is in its 10th (and final) season. It is the story of Clark Kent and how he grows into his powers; his journey to become Superman. Every episode has little Superman references that are fun to notice. The only aspect of the program that I got tired of over the years was the teenage angst. But, being a Superman fanboy, Smallville has remained a show I have followed.

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Some newer programs I am watching –

Caprica

I have watched and collected all the seasons of the latest incarnation of Battlestar Galactica. It had some less than stellar storylines (most of season 3) and I often had the impression that the writers of BSG weren’t really sure where they were going with the story. But I liked the overall series and thought the ending was good.
Caprica is a prequel to Battlestar Galactica. It tells the story of how the Cylons came to be created and what led to them trying to destroy the human race. It’s only in the first season, but I’m finding it quite interesting.

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No Ordinary Family

This is a new show that has only had 4 episodes aired at the time of this writing. The show centers on the Powells, a typical American family whose members gain special abilities after their plane crash lands in the Amazon River. I’m enjoying this one because it hasn’t taken a cliche route with the story or characters. It centers on how the members of the family are reacting to their newfound abilities and still trying to remain normal.

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Undercovers

I have watched the first 4 episodes of this one and I’m a little underwhelmed. It’s enjoyable, but I don’t think it has enough depth to sustain it over the long run.
Here’s a brief description – Five years after leaving the CIA to open a catering company, Steven and Samantha Bloom are recruited back into the agency by Carlton Shaw. They take on special missions the regular CIA cannot handle. Having made a pact to never discuss their pasts with each other, the Blooms find surprising new things about their spouse in the course of each mission. They are aided by Leo Nash, a top agent who was once Samantha’s boyfriend and geeky computer expert Bill Hoyt, who worships Steven. Ana is Samantha’s sister, a recovering alcoholic who helps run the catering business and is unaware of what the Blooms are really up to. The Blooms are unaware that Shaw has a secret agenda for reactivating them.

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A couple of other regulars –

Sanctuary

I’m not quite sure what to say about Sanctuary. Here’s an overview - Sanctuary follows the exploits of Dr. Helen Magnus and her quest to protect what most people would consider monsters. “The Sanctuary” serves as a safe haven for these “Abnormals”. She is aided in her quest by her reluctant protégé Will Zimmerman; her intrepid, if somewhat reckless, daughter Ashley; the talkative geek Henry Foss, a computer and security expert; and her taciturn Neanderthal-like unnamed (Known as Bigfoot in the show’s lineup) assistant, sometimes called “Big Guy”.

It is one of those show that I used to let accumulate until I have run out of other things to watch. But having just started a new season, I will probably try to follow it more regularly.

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Chuck

This used to be one of my “must watch” programs. But after the first couple of seasons, I’m just not feeling it anymore. I think they have taken Chuck’s abilities to a level that just doesn’t work for me. For example, I’m getting a little tired of every time he needs to draw on the Intersect for the knowledge to get out of a tight spot – it’s always kung fu fighting.
Chuck is now the show I relagate to the back burner and only watch when I am completely out of anything else to watch.

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Finally some show that are presently between seasons –

V

I enjoyed this new version of V. It has a fair amount of tension and action while making the characters interesting. I am looking forward to this one returning.

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Eureka

Eureka takes place in a high tech community of the same name, located in the Pacific Northwest and inhabited entirely by brilliant scientists working on new scientific advancements. The town is operated by a corporation called Global Dynamics (GD), that is overseen by the United States Department of Defense. The town’s existence and location are closely guarded secrets.
U.S. Marshal Jack Carter stumbles upon Eureka while transporting a fugitive prisoner (his own rebellious teenage daughter Zoe) back to her mother’s home in Los Angeles. When a faulty experiment cripples the sheriff of Eureka, Carter finds himself quickly chosen to fill the vacancy. Despite not being a genius like most members of the town, Jack Carter’s ability to connect to others, his simple but effective ideas, his above average intelligence in practicality, and his steadfast dedication to his work repeatedly saves Eureka, and sometimes the entire world, from one would-be disaster after another.

One of my favorite shows because of its quirky nature. It is also between seasons but will be returning.

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Warehouse 13

The series follows United States Secret Service Agents Myka Bering and Peter Lattimer when they are assigned to the government’s secret Warehouse 13, which houses supernatural “artifacts”. It is in a barren landscape in South Dakota, and they initially regard the assignment as punishment. As they go about their assignments to retrieve missing Warehouse 13 artifacts and investigate reports of new ones, they come to understand the importance of what they are doing.

This show just ended the second season. I really like the interaction of the characters.

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Leverage

Here’s the Wikipedia description – Former insurance investigator Nathan Ford and his team act as modern-day Robin Hoods, pulling elaborate cons targeting the greedy and the corrupt who have deceived their working class clients. At the beginning, the team is brought together to pull a heist, but upon being betrayed by the man who hired them get revenge by sinking his company and amassing a personal fortune in the process. The team decides to stay together due to the thrill they got working together and moves to their Los Angeles headquarters, using their unique skills to assist helpless victims of the rich and powerful.

I have a feeling that this one will not go on very much longer. I really liked the first two seasons, but the stories just began to get a little “thin”. I think it needs something thrown into the mix to stir things up a bit for the characters.

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Human Target

This is a fun show with plenty of action. There is a bit of mystery surrounding the main characters. I’m anxious to see how it does when it returns.

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Rubicon

Here’s a description of Rubicon – The series centers around an intelligence analyst at a national think tank in New York City called the American Policy Institute (API) who discovers that he may be working with members of a secret society that manipulates world events on a grand scale. The series is influenced by conspiracy films of the 1970s such as All The President’s Men, Three Days of the Condor and The Parallax View, which find an innocent character caught up in, and slowly unraveling, a major conspiracy.

I have really enjoyed this program for a couple of reasons. It doesn’t have any over the top action sequences, its more of a thinking mans story. There are layers on top of layers here and it is fun to follow the main character as he tries to unravel the pieces of the puzzle that will reveal what is really going on.
It just ended the first season and I have not heard about the status of another season.

You Are John Lennon

You are smart, experimental, and questioning. Most people consider you a genius. You can be extremely avant-garde or extremely mainstream. You taste tends to vary quite a bit. You are very intellectual, and as a result, somewhat political. You can’t ignore what’s going on in the world. At times, you are a bit of a tortured genius. This is the price you pay for being brilliant and introspective.

Yesterday I got my Zune back! Okay, it wasn’t the Zune I sent back. It was a brand new replacement. But it works and I have it all configured again.

On another note I’m now reading the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy – Catching Fire. I’m about halfway through. Things for the heroine of the first book have taken a decidedly bad turn. But it’s kind of like more of the same rather than something completely original. However, it has a more political flavor. Bottom line: I’m enjoying it so far.

I purchased my Zune HD a year ago and have used it almost everyday since. I mainly listen to podcasts while walking to and from work and doing chores around the house. When traveling I have often loaded tv programs on it that I needed to catch up on.
A few days ago I hooked it to the computer and the Zune software failed to “see” the device and so it would not sync.
I have tried everything I know to do – use a differnt USB port, reinstall the software, reinstall the device driver, etc. All to no avail.
Then I went to Microsoft’s site and walked through their online diagnostics. They said to try everything I had already done. They said send it back. It is still under warranty so it shouldn’t cost me anything except the cost of shipping.
But I still think it’s not the device. If I remember correctly the problem happened after a Windows Update to my computer.
In the meantime I am using an older player that is actually my wife’s – a Sansa Fuze.
It’s a nice little player but only has a 2 Gig capacity. And the controls are not as intuitive as the Zune’s touch screen, but it’s a pretty solid player and will do until I get the Zune back (hopefully, fully functional).
If they can’t fix it I might have to switch to something completely different like an iPod Touch.

On the Brink is an expansion for the game Pandemic. I have played Pandemic several times and have always enjoyed it. It’s a great cooperative game with all the players working together to prevent a world-wide pandemic outbreak by researching and developing cures to diseases as they spread across the globe. The best part is that we actually beat the game about half the time.

On the Brink adds new components and optional rules to the game. There are challenges like Virulent Strain, Mutation, and Bio-Terrorist. These additional elements can be mixed and matched to make the game as hard as you want.
Because this is an expansion you have to have a copy of Pandemic to play it.
I am looking forward to reading through the rules and playing a session or two.