CE Wills

Hey, everyone. It is hard to blog when your I-Pad is trying to install the new version of I-Tunes. So, if you got a version of this blog post with no body, that is why.     This evening I have been playing a new game on the Padster. The name of the game is Mercenary Ops . This game has a wide spectrum of reviews on the store, from one star to 5 star. That in itself is not unusual, even though there are only 16 reviews.      First of all, it is free, so it won't hurt to try it, if you have a half of a Gig of space. Yeah, that's right, a big file. The graphics are superb, as you might expect from an Unreal Engine game. There is a bit of a lag, in spots, on my I-Pad 3, but not enough to be a deal breaker. Some reported crashes on certain devices.     In this story, you play as a soldier, Leo, who is in Europe to investigate strange happenings at a creepy castle. When you get there you find that the place is overrun with zombies. These ...

   Hey, everyone. I usually procrastinate about buying Carley's Christmas stuff. On such occasions I go to the mall and find that everything is picked over and depleted or out of stock. Today I did better and was out on the front lines. I love seeing all the women who watch guys shop for their wives. They consider us clueless and clumsy about women's stuff. I walked past a check out stand and a bunch of ladies were laughing about a clerk's story of an incident. One of the women said, "That had to be a man, right?" All these ladies were laughing their butts off. Always good to bring joy to women in whatever capacity possible. Ha, ha.       Moving on, I selected a tasteful bunch of stuff for Carley and went to check out. The clerk said that the computer wouldn't accept my card as a 'credit', so I should type in my pin number. Now, I am one of those guys who does not know his pin number. If I stored useless information of this sort, I would have no roo...

   Hey, everyone. There are a lot of games out, right now. New games and updates to existing games. I hardly have time to play them all or review them all, certainly. God of Blades is on sale for 99 cents and I bought it. Angry Birds Star Wars has issued an update for the Ice Planet Hoth section and I just downloaded it. Awesome , a rather striking run and jump game is another I downloaded. I think it was a dollar.      Writer Rumble is a puzzle game in which you have critters that are attacking you. You form words from letters on a screen and once formed, the words are hurled at the voracious creatures, killing them. You can hurl words at your friends if you like. Not bad words, but words you form from the letters. Ha, ha. The coolest part of it is that you choose different personalities of famous writers like Edgar Allen Poe as your avatar. Each one has different attributes. I haven't played this game a lot, yet, but it has a different flavor to it an...

    Hey, everyone.  I recently  sold the green retreat. I am talking about that piece of land which I owned for many years in the mountains. Like any major move it feels a bit sobering when you place one foot inside your car and look back at the house as you're fixing to leave the premises.      You think about its good points and its bad. You think about your grandkids walking in the woods and the things you taught them about animals. You think about the loneliness. You think about the quietness and the solitude. You think about the night when the mountain lion walked down the peak of your roof. The night a bear leaned on your back door. The day a huge rattlesnake crawled up to sun himself, less than three feet from the chair in which you were dozing.      You think about the dangerous drives home and how you had to drive 25 miles on ice to get to your wife when she was stranded. You recall those power outages and the...

   Hey, everyone. I recently finished an excellent book. I read it in paperback, having bought it in a used bookstore for a couple of dollars. The title is Persuader , as the observant people among you have already surmised. It is written by Lee Child. I rate this book as that rare 5 stars out of 5. Here's the recipe.      The hero is Jack Reacher. Jack spent 10 years in the Army, as a cop. When he tired of it, he decided to travel around and see what life had to offer, without an address, a car or a job. When you are a drifter, you can get into some odd situations, as I could attest. Jack is in Boston when he sees a glimpse of a man that he had believed to be dead. In fact, Jack himself had supposedly killed the man called Quinn. Quinn had killed one of Reacher's subordinates, back in the day. He was an arms dealer, drug smuggler and a bad dude.      In order to find and hopefully kill Quinn, Reacher agrees to help a Drug Enforcemen...

     Hey, everyone. Yesterday I wrote a small article on Wordpress about Larry Hagman's demise. I just talked about his role of J.R. Ewing on the television series called Dallas. It was the first prime time soap opera and I even followed it regularly, and I hate soap operas. The show gave me an inside look at a world I knew nothing about. A world filled with wealthy, beautiful people, 'big oil' and lust. Actually, I knew a little bit about lust. It was a hobby of mine at the time. Ha, ha.      Larry Hagman caught that dream role when he became J.R. Ewing. It was a role he was born for. He was the single greatest villain in the history of television. He was the Darth Vader of soap operas. I will say that the dark-haired lady on Dynasty was so darn hot... What was her name? Joan Collins?      So. A few months ago I went on Amazon.com and bought the Dallas DVDs for the first two seasons. My wife and I started re-watching the ...

    Hey, everyone.  I hope that your holiday is going well. I have a ton of stuff to talk about tonight. So, I probably won't talk about any of it. Ha, ha. Google tells me that I can't upload any more photos to my blog unless I buy some storage. So, tonight, while I'm trying to decide whether or not to switch to Word Press, I am going to tell you a story. It is based on a true story. I have changed some particulars to give privacy to the persons who are related to the deceased. The story was told to me by an older fellow that I knew, back when I was a young man. I'll try to tell it in his words, as he told it to me, lo, those many years ago...                                Come Out of There Chapter 1 When I was a teenager I was wont to hang out with a rough bunch of guys. They were unusual people and we didn't all h...

    Hello. My name is Tom and I am a turkey. I live here at the green retreat and C.E. Wills asked me if I'd be his guest blogger today. When I asked him what I should talk about, he replied, "Anything you want. Tell the folks what you are thankful for."      Well! There is so much that I am thankful for. We turkeys are not a particularly religious crowd, but I'll give it a try. 1) I am thankful for the green retreat. I love to walk the forest paths and peck at things. The hills give a nice echo to my gobbles and there is always the hope that a female turkey will show up. There are acorns and hickory nuts galore. Most importantly, C.E. doesn't allow hunting on the green retreat, so I feel safe. 2) I am thankful that it is a sunny, warm day. Makes me want to spread my brilliant plumage and fly for a short distance. I am thankful for the cool sound I make as I fly. It is a whirring, rushing sound that inspires awe, especially if a bunch of us turkeys ...

      Hey, everyone. I recently bought an excellent game by Chillingo called Storm the Train. This is a platformer and you are tasked with running and jumping, but with the twist that you are on board a moving train. I have chosen the role of Graham, a secret agent who has been sent to the scene by a helicopter transport and dropped on this rolling vehicle of carnage. Heck, the train has been overrun by zombies, skeletons, vampires and space robots, to name a few. The bosses are very tough and include Count Dracula, who throws spears at me.      You can accumulate gold coins in the game and use them to upgrade weapons and clothing. At present, I have a rifle and an Uzi. Ammo is limitless, thank goodness, because the fighting is fierce.     My favorite part of the game is when I come upon a "Cylindrical Death Device". This thing is cool. It is perfectly round and rolls toward the enemy. It is impervious to their attacks and...

    Hey, everyone. One of the good puzzle games for I-Pad is called Chicktionary . I have talked about it before so I won't try to review it again. In brief, you have a group of letters on the screen and try to make as many words from them as possible. The clucking and squawks make it fun because these chickens are animated.      Yesterday, we had a get-together here at the house and I had some games air-playing over WiFi from the I-Pad to our TV. Everyone liked playing the air combat game called Sky Gamblers Air Supremacy and watching it on the big screen, but the fun started when Chictionary showed up.        Everyone was eating, when one of the kids started playing it. Immediately people started calling out words. The teen who was typing in the words could barely keep up, chickens were squawking like mad and there was a mild and fun chaos. I like to watch humans and I had several observations. 1) My mind has slowe...

    Hey, everyone. Mutants is an interesting game. I think that this little game should be a hit, for several reasons. 1) It is fun. It has that 'one more time' feeling to it when you quit. 2) The variety. Every time you start, there is a different goal. For instance, you are  sometimes tasked with going from level to level and collecting flags. Then again, you may need to seek out 'dog tags' lying about. (the kind that soldiers wear for identification.) Sometimes you are told to kill all the pink blobs or amoebas, whatever the heck they are. I like the way these things sort of jelly-roll their way along the platforms of this, er, platform game. They drop from level to level in fond hopes of absorbing your scrawny, little pirate's body into their mass. Shooting them is okay, too.       The coolest thing about the blobs is this: when you shoot them they defecate quantities of gold coins, which I find enchanting and profitable. I have wat...

    Hey, everyone. Tonight I have been watching a movie. The title? Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol . Tom Cruise returns for yet another entry in this franchise. It is good and I enjoyed it. I actually liked it better than the other ones. It was a little over two hours long, but it was action packed and skillfully done. I recommend it. Here's the recipe.      Ethan Hunt (Cruise) and his team of spies are in a bit of a jam. A handful of nutcases have broken into the Kremlin and stolen a launch case, for use in controlling nuclear weapons. Their seemingly self-destructive plan is to start a nuclear holocaust. (Hard to imagine any winners in such a plan) First thing they do is set off a b-o-m-b in the Kremlin itself. They make it look as though the good ole U.S. of A did it. So, Ethan and his pards must get some launch codes back from a lovely assassin. To do this they set up an elaborate ruse, the penchant of this franchise. It takes place inside t...

     Hey, shooters. Well, it's out. Shadowgun: DeadZone has landed on the app store. Moreover, it is free. The file size is a relatively modest 134 MB.       I never play on-line but I couldn't resist at least trying this game, since I had devoted so many hours to its predecessor. It has reached #34, at last count, on the store already. To my surprise, the initial reviews are not great, and there are complaints of crashing.      I was playing on my I-Pad 3 and when I finished, it was sort of stuck on cruising around and showing me the scenery. It did not come up with a home screen or anything I could tap to start a new game. I had wanted to switch to the other mode. Let me explain that statement. You can either play in Death Match or Zone Control. I tried Zone Control and it sets you up a match with other players and you battle to control an area that is similar to the evil Doctor's lair from the previous game. Th...

      Hey, everyone. I have played several different games lately. Mighty Mouse has gone 'free' and I've played it a little. It's okay. You fly through the air and punch bad guys, mines dropped by Oil Can Harry's plane, and try to avoid hitting anything unless you are pushing a button that gives you super speed. There are a lot of levels but they get harder, fast, and that takes some of the fun away. Still, for free, I can't complain. Also, Polly Purebred is fairly attractive, for a mouse. I wonder if she is a natural blond? Only her hairdresser knows for sure.      Fishdom Harvest HD is an older game that we've had for a while. This is a fun, relaxing game that has you swapping tiles so that you can complete levels and advance. As this happens, you earn in-game cash and decorate your fish tank with fish, plants and equipment. I like it a lot.      I understand that Shadowgun is now coming out with a version that is o...

    Hey, out there in the ethernet. I hope you folks have had an enjoyable weekend. I had a great Friday, an okay Saturday and a truly sucky Sunday. I won't go into the bad stuff in particular but it wasn't a good day.        Unrelated news. Gaming on the old app store is in a period of transition. I'd ask all you newcomers with their shiny I-Pad Minis, I-Phone 5's and new I-Pads, not to be too down about some of the games. The in-apps are out of control but hopefully Apple will rein in the developers before Rome burns. I was just playing a game called Contract Killer 2 . It has the potential to be a really cool game. You accept contracts to perform hits for a shadowy employer. As usual, you upgrade weapons and buy new ones, grenades, knives to throw etc. You run and cover, similar to Shadowgun , in a limited way. You only get to play a few minutes before you either pay quite a bit of cash or you can't advance. I think the least you can spend is $4.99. W...

     Hey, everyone. Yesterday I bought a good game about those angry avians. The title is Angry Birds: Star Wars and it is easily the best Angry Birds yet. I estimate that it is a 4.5 stars out of 5. I bought the cheaper version for I-Phone but it plays just fine on my I-Pad 3. Moreover, the I-Phone version is a sweet 99 cents. There are 120 levels of pig-bashing fun on Tatooine. After that you can play the Death Star grouping, which is locked pending your 'making bacon' on the first world. The ice planet, Hoth, is a free update, coming soon. Path of the Jedi (Luke Bird's Jedi Training) allows you to play one level, then sends you to the old app store to "forge your light saber". What that entails is paying $1.99 for 40 levels on Dagobah, which I totally did, because I like nothing better than carving piggies with my @#!*** light-saber, okay?      Also, bonus levels are awarded in an as-yet undiscovered process. This game is cheap, fun and ...

      Hey, everyone. James Bond's latest thriller finally made its way to U.S. soil today. It has been enjoyed in Europe for a couple of weeks. Of course, I was glad to have the opportunity to see an installment in this highly coveted franchise.      It seems that an unknown bad guy has stolen a file which gives vital data concerning British agents who have infiltrated terrorist organizations around the world. "M" has her head on the chopping block over it because it happened on her watch as the director of MI6.      Bond, James Bond, has been trying to get the info back and is presumed killed in action. He, of course, is very much alive and taking advantage of his 'death' to party like a madman on a tropical island. His favorite drinking companion is a white scorpion, but that is another story.      When MI6 headquarters is blown up, Bond shows up, half drunk, to render a hand. He is again taske...

   Hey, everyone. I bought a new DVD yesterday. I rarely buy these because they have gotten completely out of hand on the pricing. I had wanted to see this superhero flick at the theater but something hindered me at the time. So, I shelled out mucho dinero for this offering. Of course, once again, the hard-luck Harry of superheroes was having trouble with life.       This latest installment in the franchise tells the sad (of course) story of Peter Parker's parents. Say that 10 times really fast. Pete's dad was a scientist for Oscorp, the domain of a former Green Goblin. Mr. Parker was teamed with a scientist by the name of Curt Connors. They were working on a process which would combine the DNA of species so that both might be enhanced. Dr. Connors has a vested interest in the process because he only has one arm and hopes to use the characteristics of lizards to grow himself another one. Pete makes friends with the Doc because 1) He is a brilliant k...

     Hey, everyone. I have recently read an excellent book which I'd like to discuss. The title is Creole Belle and the author is James Lee Burke. It is one of those rare novels which I would give a rating of 5 stars out of 5. It is one of a series of books about the Louisiana police detective named Dave Robicheaux.      Dave's specialty is homicide. Not just the solving of it, but the occasional enactment of it. Ha, ha. At the opening of the story he is laying in a hospital, recovering from wounds incurred during a shootout. During his convalescence he has a visit from a lovely young woman he knows, named Tee Jolie. In his morphine-induced tranquility he doesn't know if she is real or not. She tells him that she and her sister, Blue, are being held captive on an island. She even leaves Dave an I-Pod with some of her own recordings on it. Of course, Dave immediately sets out to find the girl when he recovers.      Clete Pur...

    Hey, everyone. There was a strange, but cool, bird hanging out on my deck today. It would not move, even when we walked within a foot of it. It had a mask like a raccoon, though I suspect it was not a raccoon due to the wings. Note the yellow tail. We thought it might be laying eggs or warming them, but I didn't feel justified in lifting it up to look. I noticed a blob of white underneath it and wondered if I had spilled some white paint during the painting of the bannisters. When Carley was taking pictures of the unfortunate creature, I teased her about being a paparazzi and how the bird probably felt victimized by her attentions. All is well, however, as the bird is still ensconced in the same spot.     We went out to eat today. We ate at a place called Ruby Tuesday's. I had soup and salad and some Asian Dumplings. They had chopped chicken, carrots and other mystery things inside a grilled bread crust. Different. We split two deserts because we ...

     Hey, everyone. As I've mentioned before, I am a bit of an entertainment glutton. I read a lot, play a lot of I-Pad games, watch movies and television etc. Tonight I was scrounging through the satellite channels and ran across an old video I enjoyed. It was from the 1994 Montreux Jazz Festival. In my ignorance, I assumed that it was from Montreal , but I found that this festival is held in Switzerland every year, during July, and is the second biggest such gathering in the world behind one held in Montreal, Canada.     Anyway, this particular video was of Johnny Cash and it was obviously in the latter stage of his life. I got a big kick out of it, because I love the "Man in Black". He had enough wind left to do a good job, even played harmonica a bit. It was nice to see his son, John Carter Cash, on stage with him, picking a guitar. Gee, wonder who taught him to play? June Carter Cash came out and did a few songs as well. Jackson , of course. Wh...