I Have Finished Thor: the Dark World

    Hey, everyone. It was a cold night at the green retreat. I was up early, around 5A.M. At that early hour I decided to try and finish the Thor game which I have been involved in for the past couple of months. I was glad to finish the aggravating rascal. Even on the last level, my reward of 50 Runes was not given to me. No big deal, I guess. Overall, a deep, fun game with lots of glitches. No regrets on the money spent for it. You can expect to pay for some in-apps, like I said before.
    Well, the NFL Playoffs are in full swing. Yesterday I was amused during the early game when Jim Nantz said something to the effect of "The Nationwide Insurance Action Cam". The NFL, up to now, has been really good about forbidding commercials during the actual game. I guess the greed of marketers in the boardroom has finally won out. That, along with several other sensitive topics which I can't mention, has soured me on the sport. I have watched the NFL since 1958, but I turned off the game yesterday and skipped the Packers/49'ers game. I doubt that I even watch the Super Bowl.
      I am still reading the first Game of Thrones book. I like it well enough so far that I went back to the good ole neighborhood ebook store and bought the rest of the series. With the bad weather today I anticipate reading quite a bit more of this rich tapestry of a book. For those of you who don't like a lot of characters in a book, this would not be your cup of tea. It takes a while to wrap your head around all the people.
     I really admire the way that George R.R. Martin has written this series. I am scarcely one fourth of the way through the first novel but some things are apparent. Martin has the nerve to write about politically and socially incorrect subjects. As a writer, this is hard to do. There is a voice that demands that you not say this or that because it might be something of a delicate nature. For instance, when I was talking about the NFL a moment ago, I would have dearly loved to mention several things but it would have been unwise. Martin doesn't sweat this stuff too much. I respect that. Hey, every book is not for everybody. If you seek to make everything vanilla you may lose that edge which makes a story good, gripping, even readable. The flow may be effected.
       A book is like a party. Who knows what combination of people, entertainment, events and the like will make for a memorable event? In writing, as in sex, too much concentration on technique renders one impotent. Game of Thrones has some really bad people lurking in its pages. It is a hoot to watch for their next dastardly move. For my taste, I like a mature edge to books and movies. If you don't, Game of Thrones is not for you.
     I wish that I were at the beach this morning. I'd like to sit on the balcony and watch the waves roll in; dressed in swimming trunks, drinking coffee, reading the news on my Padster. Alas, I am here in the frozen south-land. Sigh! Maybe I'll buy one of those sound machines so I can listen to the waves crashing as I blog. Ha, ha.
    Last night, Carley and I watched a good movie called Abduction. I'd rate it as a four stars out of five and I might call it a little better than that. It is the story of a senior in high school who inadvertently, during research for a school project, finds out that his parents are not his parents. In fact, everything about his life is a fabrication. When he logs into a web site for missing children, he is 'discovered' by a back-link. Within a few hours, black-ops type of folks come to his home, kill his pseudo-parents and try to capture him and his girlfriend. He finds himself on the run, dealing ineffectively with the high-tech foes who outwit him at every turn. This film stars Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins and Alfred Molina. Taylor Lautner is Nathan, Lily Collins is Karen and Alfred Molina is Burton, the CIA dude. (Loved him with Bill Murray in The Man Who Knew Too Little.)
    From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.