Dipping My Toes in Video Gaming World

I have been watching the gaming world as an outsider, all my life. My wide-eyed moment was in 2011 when I saw a Games store in mall and big posters about Gaming awards. I was stunned - so gaming is a parallel world - like cinema, TV and so on !

Now that my kids are full on into it, I was very curious. I mean, my kids played games like their peers. At one point, as any parent, I considered Gaming as a big bad place for kids, so I had rules in place. Then came short videos/reels/shorts, and kids were spending unlimited time there. Heck even I was addicted, spending 6 continuous hours watching non-stops short videos. Upon realization I started coaxing kids to play video games. (See how the cookie crumbles - said my kids looks).

For last years Black Friday, I bought XBox for myself. To step into the world of Video Games. It was almost Valentines day, by when I connected the Xbox and switched it on. By "I", I mean my kids, cause they couldn't stand it anymore ! That a perfectly good equipment was gathering dust..

I also did a round of Gaming Arcade along with my kids & nephews. The Gen Z is the most caring of all generations. They taught me the steps, rules and looped me in their world - no judgements for a noob. Pinballs in arcade were nostalgia overload, though I don't remember if I played the real one in past or only digitals ones on the old keyboard and large box monitors. And Pac-man are so additive - I want one home console now to play Pac-man non-stop. 

Arcade is how I learnt the basics of gaming - games get faster with time, more balls etc on next level and the basics of scoring. Some experience in steering and controller functions in driving games coz those are way different from real-world car driving. Anyway, those were the best few hours in spring break.

Tetris book was another nostalgia overload. With the books thriller pace, it made me want to play again. Google search showed a paid version on Xbox. And they have a mobile version too. Quick download, few games & deleted it. The unpaid one had ads ofcourse. Then it was in COLOR ! And the phone screen made it different. The experience was totally different. During the peak years, I used to even dream of those B&W bricks in my sleep. And here these are in color. And that it dawned on me, Candy crush is a version of Tetris - arghhhhh what a let down. Thankfully Amazon still sells the handheld version and I need to get my hands on them soon.

The ads in free games are such a nuisance. Now I feel bad for all the years, kids had borrowed parents phone and waded through ads, to play nonsense games. It doesn't mean I am a convert & will start paying everywhere for games. Just saying, I now know the pain.

Back to X-Box, how I fell in love was when my kids & nephews let me handle the BMX game. That was my initiation to the sensitive controller and how things are not as easy as it looks. In the meantime, I have graduated to car-football game () and floppy-jumping game. I am yet to enter the world of Fortnite or any multiple-player games. 

With my past experience being limited to Tetris and Minesweeper, I decided to read up on games before I started. I got hold of many books, but eventually finished these.

Press Start to Play - Short story collection

Wide variety of short stories. Lot of them sci-fi and some in twilight horror category.

Notable ones - Andy Wiers, Anda's Game by Cory Doctorow.

The Tetris Effect - The Game That Digitized The World - Dan Ackerman

Got to see the Tetris movie released recently. Book was better. I mean, the movie is thriller format with lot of physical action. Same events & situations happen in the book but in a realistic fashion; and yet they were no less thrilling.

Covers a lot on how software business deals happened, atleast in 80s & 90s. Communication might be faster now ofcourse, but people dynamics still are the same. One book about current s/w business world was in the Instagram book. Other insights were about the beliefs and philosophy of the coding world - about the passion for free nature of open code and it becomes a sin when its popular, sharing via floppy disks and 80s & older models of desktops.

Movies

Might I add some movie recommendations as well.

Ready Play One - 2018 movie, based off of 2011 book, I read in 2016, set in dystopian future 2045 but totally living in the 1980s.

1Up - 2022 movie, small budget but well made.

Gold Diggers by Sanjena Santhian

 Gold Diggers (2021) by Sanjena Santhian

This is called serendipity. My usual rounds of library involve dropping books in return bin and rushing to the on Hold section to pick up the reserved books. This time, I noticed a rack called "New Books". I browsed through the books and none looked interesting - as is my prejudice with new authors. One name stood out being Indian author and I picked it in a rush. It could join my huge list of half-read-and-returned books if its uninteresting.

Chapter one and turns out this is set in Georgia (yeah my new home state). In some Hammond Creek subdivision near Buckhead. Then adventures of high schoolers; children of Indian parents. Every dreary turn of view, for this particular dynamic finds its way in the Part One of this book. I have usual complaint about this style; but it's not to say the author doesn't know to write. She does write well. Plus it's one more place talking about Indian-American high-schooler. Someday someone might write it in a fashion of Never Ever Have I.

Now Gold is an essential experience of Indians in numerous ways. Sanjena has created/introduced another magic-realism aspect in her novel. It's hard for me to digest but I flow along. Other cultural stories of Gold also find its way here - California gold rush, Greek Midas gold touch, Chinese gold, etc.

Part Two takes the protagonist to the West coast. By now I see patterns of Great Expectations (Pip, Miss Havisham & Estella). And in part two, some of GoldFinch (impact of death on the survivors). There is femme-fatale / honeytrap level stuff; but thankfully it doesn't go that dramatic.

I was getting miffed at the passivity of Niel. Or that he just observes others, not participate. But then in real-life, everyday I see a bunch of high-schooler walk past my window, on a single street, from their bus-stop on one side to the end of the street to their houses. They are 8-10 kids. I have never seen them talk to each other. Ever. If this was India and those were Indian kids, no one would have peace from the raucous camaraderie back-slapping, shoulder hugging, non-stop talking those kids would have done. That's the system here - in every way, it discourages non-structed talking.

Then Niel talks or longs for belonging. Belonging or bonding is much more in recent immigrants as they come from similar background for similar employments. Those who came between 1965 & 1990s came by their own, made it on their own - that also made them very lonely and not part of something. They did form communities later and struggled it to keep it that way - credits to them for that; but it also involved power-struggles, not peaceful belonging. 

Language, food and old-friendships / family - those are pillars of belonging. Food is in control because home-cooking & restaurants are still strong in Indian community. Language is also extensive; but unlike India it is not public; its personal & limited to family. Language here is not a tool of bonding far & wide - English does that job. And about old friendships, that takes time and not enough reasons exists here given the amount of uprooting & unsurely that exists among immigrants & their offspring. Land & Gold ownerships are different in USA than outside it. 

 

Shetty's must have surely made it Georgia. Because they find a mention in this book. Not any main or reoccurring character. Just house-party guests. Also like Shah's & Patel's are staple mention in NRI stories.

The comment made by the lady on afternoon walk, in the last chapter, maybe the only funny line in the entire book. By then the tone is relaxed too in that chapter.

Overall I loved the book. It's full with multiple stories, and plots, no twists. And there is action, there is peace. There is happy ending. Thank god, this one did not go for any twisted or tragic ending.

Have to appreciate authors skill of weaving an engrossing tale, across 2 decades and stories from past centuries. I finished the book in a week - which is something. And I was definitely depressed for the rest of the day after finishing the last page.

Starter Pack for Trail Wanderlust

When your daily sights are cars, architectural marvels and kitchen chores.
When you longing look, at the trees lining your daily commute.
That's when it's time to hit the trails.
Run or hike or walk in there and be reinvigorated back for life.

If that's not an option. If TV and books is still you go-to. Then feast on the below and make do till the next chance.

Madhumati

Images of the mist-laden jungles, trails, brooks and waterfalls in song Aaja re Pardeshi.
And there is more in the rest of the movie.

Riki Tiki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling

One of the classics which was a must-read for a few school years.

And the recent Jungle Book movie, immersed in deep jungle images only.

For added nostalgia, there is the TV animation show, which played the Hindi-dubbed version in the late 90s. Apart from the Anime drawings, it's most remembered for "Chaddi pehenke phool khila hai" credits song - Gulzar's quirky lyrics on Vishal Bharadwaj's music, Mowgli's voice and Nana Patekar as Sher Khan.

Jim Corbertt

His books are the real thing. His life was in those jungles in Northern India. Each story in every book of his is a total trip through every nook & gnarled root of some jungle. His devotion to everything jungle is the core of who he is. Oxford publication print copies are awesome quality. Special mention for the lovely black and white illustrations inside.

Phantom comics

At one point I was suffering from an acute bout of Phantom nostalgia. I was longing for the yellowing crumbling pages on which Diamond comics printed Mandrake and Phantom. I am managing with this library copy of 1920s printed on supreme quality paper and hardcover.
Mandrake was interesting for the magic tricks he performed while saving others. And Phantom universe was rich with his bravery, and the ensemble in his stories. Mainly his location were those thick jungles of Ivory Coast, along with beaches and some quick trips to NYC.

 

 

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

I read it in 2015 and wrote about it. It is an account of her through-hike of PCT, mixed with her past in Minnie. Reading through it, is like being out there in the jungle hiking too.

Hunger Games

First one specifically. Every time Katniss escapes to the woods, its such a relief to us reader too. And then when she faces the same jungles in the Games, scary as it is, we know she will survive it.

Additonal readings / views:

Monsoon in India - 30 drool-worthy photos by Blogger Neelima Vallangi

Gaya Days in Sanctuary Asia magazine.
"Sanctuary’s Lifetime Service Award winner of 2016, S.E.H. Kazmi is synonymous with Jharkhand’s Palamau Tiger Reserve. However, in the early days of his career, he served in the Gautam Buddha Wildlife Sanctuary, a little-known wildlife sanctuary now split between Bihar and Jharkhand. Here, he narrates charming and thrilling anecdotes from those initial years in Chotanagpur's dense forests."

Harry Potter new short stories

I don't agree with the new short stories published in Pottermore.

The reason why HP 7 fascinated me, was not just that she created a brilliant new world with things and events that were fascinating, but also that they were her inventions. There were talks of her being influenced by other books. Yet these were still very original or imaginary.

Fault with the new stories is that, they are trying to pull-in real life past events, into the HP universe. The native-american history and culture details. Salem witch trials. That is cheating, I feel. Salem fire trial portions in HP itself had pissed me off. Yes that was the only thing in HP series that pinched me as insensitively incorrect. And now the whole set of stories, trying to say real-life events were part of her universe.

Penseive, Dementors - I can't describe what I felt when they were first revealed. The simplicity of those ideas, yet their importance in the story telling - nothing can beat that.

I follow the HP fandom on FB pages, reddit and tumblr. The kind of devotion that is shown online always reminds me of Ram-bhakti.

Actually initially, I used to draw parallel between the HP-RW-HG trio and Ram-Sita-Lakshman trio when describing HP books to the non-reader aka my Hubby. And this was before it became evident that RW & HG are going to be a couple.

So ya, HP devotion is on it's way to meet the devotion shown to Ramayana. Maybe the earth history
is going through a loop. Ramayana was written, fascinated everybody both in terms of emotions as well as sci-fi effects, fans took to going ahead with interpretations, adding sub-stories, including in oral and dramatic sub-cultures and inclusive into Hindu religion. Maybe HP is following the same path.

And that is why I take a break from being a fan and am registering my protest. And a request to JKR to not include real world events and things into HP universe. Her wizarding world is fascinating in itself. Let any more additions be creations of her own. I know that cannot be an easy or short process. But she is more than capable of it. We have waited earlier and we can wait long. Let the movie studios not corrupt this please.

Sideways

Sideways. I bought this book nearly 3 years back. And now found time to read it. Its ok type. I am a very discerning book buyer. But this time I got swayed by the Sideways the movie promos.

First few chapters are only about Wine and Women. Fortunately women bit eases out, replaced by some bit of adventures. I think adventure is too strong a word for what happens. It's that tame. But there are bits & pieces of humour around. I am not talking of level of subtlety. Only quantity. The book is my introduction to the world of wine snobbery.

The hero and his friend, they are more like a grownup version of Tom & Huckalberry Finn over a week. Or even a debaunched version of Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. And closer home, like Lucky & Bangali (of Oye Lucky, Lucky Oye); only they are more real friends.

But one thing for sure. This book has made me curious about what the hell is "Pinot Noir" ? I think I want to check it out. Amazingly once I finished reading this, the first thing I buy is "Pocket Reference Book of WINE". At a good sale price too. Let's see how this is.

RIP Micheal Crichton

Oh my no !

My fav author Micheal Crichton is no more. I just read and its hard to believe it.

For me his books never got boring inspite of repeated reading. He brought out many of the unknown theories, technologies from dingy corners of academia into popular literature. And most of his woman characters are still etched in my mind.

I loved his Airframe, Jurassic Park, Lost World, Disclosure, Sphere & Congo. They totally set my imagination on fire, for years together.

RIP Micheal Crichton.

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows

The first book I read, in my new life, was Harry Potter Book 7 ! My Hubby remembered to buy it dot on 21st July, even while hunting around for baby stuff. And I read it while my baby slept. So I pretty much gave up my sleep time as well. But unlike other HP, I didn't sit through the night reading it. I am not that much of a superwoman.

Was good. Was definitely better than HP-B6. In sharp contrast, things move a lot faster here. Actually a lot of things happen here. Any crawling would mean, trible the size of book. And things get solved so fast, so obviously that its pretty incredible. But fine, since we want to know how it all ends, this is acceptable.

So much of the stuff was pretty crisp. Her trademark humor was sprinkled only a little bit. Everyone we knew, everything we knew, make an appearance here. And the Dumblerdore-Snape arrangement, that was not much of a surprise for me. From the way Snape kills & Dumblerdore dies in HP-B6, it definitely looked like an arrangement. And good thing it was.

And death, boy there is atleast one in every chapter. The only ones that moved me were the 3 during the war.

P. G. Wodehouse Rocks !

P. G. Wodehouse Rocks ! He is the humor equivalent of Conan Doyle's suspense and Austen's, hmm, formality.

Here I am, sitting in a bus, stuck in a bumper-to-bumper traffic, yet unable to control my sudden bursts of giggles. Thankfully most of the bus is asleep, tired from work and rocked gently to zzzz. Else they would have wrongfully assumed me to be a loony. Much like the way, to solve a huge impending problem, Jeeves puts Bertie in a situation where everyone but the intimate circle, assumes he is a loony or kleptomaniac or boot-polish faced tresspasser. And yet all Bertie can do is worship Jeeves and sing his praise.

I had hoped I would be concise and finish with just "P. G. Wodehouse Rocks !". But looks like I can't escape PGW's influence and just need to use long-winded sentences. I have finished 2 of his books and now 3 unread PGW, lying in my library, beckon me. Lets see, what they turn me into ?

PGW created such amazing plots, filled with peculiar but adorable characters (much like Kareena Kareena). I wonder how he wrote all this ? Was it at one go ? Or one chapter per week ? Were these serialized in some magazine, like Dickens & Alexamder Dumas ? Did he make a hundred drafts ? Did he create the plot first and then fleshed it up with his wit and wordplay ? There is so little I know of his writing method. I have purposely refrained from Googling him too much. Want to let the mystery continue. Ignorance is bliss.

Finished 'HP & HBP'

I finished 'HP & HBP' last night.

It was a good book. Quite and good. Still, not as much excitement as in the Goblet.

And it did not matter who HBP was ? Now the mystery is - who is RAB ?

Its incredible, he should die. How can he die ? There are so many questions he did not answer. Death always leaves unfinished business. And why did it have to be pathetic ? How can there be a 7th year without him ? Anyway it looks doubtful there will be a 7th year at Hogwarts. Maybe in 7th book, Harry will go out looking for Voldemort. And maybe in the end, Harry will die too; with Ron & Hermoine sad, just like Veeru & Basanti. Just guessing.

I loved the romance bits thoroughly. I am still smiling, thinking about them. The way there were refrences in the begining, so subtle we can easily miss. And later we know for whom Harry heart beats faster.

First cut on 'HP&HBP'

This one is good. Definitely better than the 5th one. I mean Pheonix was good too, lots of happenings, lot of details. But it was not so interesting as the Triwizard tournament one. But the romantic feelings in each one of the characters, thats worth it.

Here too, there is no tournament kind of excitement. But it has a good steady start. For that matter, while ploughing through the details about Prime Minister and all, I was worried, this is going to be a boring one. So I flipped through the pages. And then my eye caught sight of just a few words. And my heart plunged. Those words were enough to let me know who dies. And now I am rushing past the pages to get there. Its unbelievable really. How can he go ? He cant go. There cant be a 7th year without him? How can he go ?

Now I want to finish the book today, before I read any more spoilers.

Got my copy

Yuhuu ! I got my copy of Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince. No queues, nothing. Just a 60km drive ride by scooter in rain and nearly 23% discount. Now I want to finish it before I read or hear the spoiler somewhere.

Waiting for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

As a prelude to reading new Harry Potter, I thought I will brush up my memory by going through the old ones.

Found some nuggets in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which I related to because of some events happening now.

Like the time Harry, Ron & Hermonie loses 150 points for Gryffinder. And then has sleepless night wondering how everyone will react when the news gets out. Well I was there last week. But everything went well.

And the meeting between earthy, practical Hagrid and star-gazer Centaurs. Who is to say who is better ? This is the struggle between the worker bees and dreamers (I would say lazy people).

And I loved what Dumbledore said, "It does not do well to dwell in our dreams and forget to live".

Well, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, looking forward to meeting you tommorrow. Both of you and others too !

Harry Potter Series (1 to 5)

I have read them all, 10s of times !

Books & Movies

A chat with my friend M got me thinking on this.

There are so many movies based on books. And very often, in my case, I have read a book, after I saw the move. Just to see the difference between them, and how much the director has wavered away from the book. More often, it is only the characters which is the same or similar, and the movie screenplay is very different.

So here's a compilation of my experience.

Saw Movie, Read book:
- Contact
- Jurrasic Park
- Ice Candy Man (Movie: 1947-Earth)
- Count of Monte Cristo
- Oliver Twist
- Pride & Prejudice (oh so many versions)
- Guide

Saw Movie, Want to read the book:
- Bridget Jones Diary,
- Princess Diary

Not seen, Not read; want to do both:
- Sideways - by Rex Pickett
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- Da Vinci Code
- Shall we dance ?

Read book first; may or may not watch the movie:
- Harry Potter Series
- To Kill A Mockingbird

"Deception Point" by Dan Brown

Just finished it. Started 4 days back.

Read it to see what else does Brown write. Otherwise, the description on the jacket was not exactly enticing.

Plus, after I found out that "Angels & Demons" is an exact replica of "Da Vinci Code" in terms of plot and character, and only the background differed, I was worried "Deception Point" is based on "Digital Fortress" template. Maybe it is not, maybe it is. Should find out.

Anyway, "Deception Point" was a good thriller alright. Was definitely very toned down. But ok. And well the template format works here too.
Point all suspisions to the big respected institutions and toward the end, reveal that they are only victims, whereas teh actual fraud was conducted by someone else. That way, you can build up attention by pointing fingers at the big shot (also sacrosanct). And then backoff safely, by making the non-entity or a small-shot (!) the culprit :D This is from the writers point of view.

"The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown

Swip. It was a swift, 2 days of breathless reading.Extremely fast paced. Took me places. Some concepts left me open mouthed, and some made me say "What ridiculous!". But worth reading.Totally agree with the importance of feminine God and about the way things are distorted by followers over a period of time. It applies to all organizations and concepts.

"The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas

Have just finished reading "Count of Monte Cristo".

Marvelous book. Profound obversations stated with deceivable simplicity.Range of characters.It was doorknob of a book, 875 pages in fine print. Initially I was in a hurry to finish it, expecting it to have the same details as James Caviels movie, by the same name. But soon found out that the movie had wavered away from the book. And nevertheless this was interesting. Soon, I loved the languid pace, almost savouring each and every word. When it came towards the end, I was at one-page-per-day pace. Wanted it to last as long as possible.

"Oliver Twist" by Charles Dickens

Touching.