Sometimes I just want to look at something pretty, so that is what I’m sharing this time.
Picture of the Month — April 2019
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Great Movie: Swordfish
This series of posts are about entertainment that I recommend when people ask me for recommendations. It also includes place-specific “entertainment”, such as beautiful gardens; it might be stretching the definition of entertainment, but I enjoy myself in the places I recommend.
They are not universal recommendations. I wouldn’t recommend a dark thriller to someone looking for something nice and happy; I’d recommend a romance.
They aren’t perfect or without mistakes.
Art is never finished, only abandoned. ~ Leonard da Vinci
Swordfish
If a movie have John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, and Halle Barry in it, what more can you ask for?
Swordfish is a hacker/action movie that plays with the question of morality.
I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to spoil the movie if you haven’t seen it.
Like all action Hollywood movies, there is also a lot of play on sex. As well as some funny moments.
However, when they speak “Finnish” in the movie, it is actually German. Not sure what is up with that, but then it often happens a lot when they speak “Swedish” too.
I find the movie a fun ride that also adds thinking of morality.
The DVD version also includes multiple endings, which I found a lot of fun. Not that the ending they choose didn’t work, because it does, but so do the other endings.
I regularly rewatch this one. The mix of all the elements works extremely well for me.
Picture of the Month — March 2019
When I took the first photo above, I was 17 years old and I didn’t know much at all about taking pictures. Perhaps if I had, I’d have shifted around the fountain until the street creating the sky corridor was lined up with the middle of the main spray.
It wouldn’t have been as interesting and the sea at the bottom of the hill wouldn’t have been visible.
Both photos were taken in 2006 on a day visit to Oslo. (We drove into Norway in the morning and left late afternoon/evening.) The second photo is from Oslo Castle’s garden. Another photo from this time can be found in Picture of the Month — June 2018.
Great Games: Super Mario games by Nintendo
This series of posts are about entertainment that I recommend when people ask me for recommendations. It also includes place-specific “entertainment”, such as beautiful gardens; it might be stretching the definition of entertainment, but I enjoy myself in the places I recommend.
They are not universal recommendations. I wouldn’t recommend a dark thriller to someone looking for something nice and happy; I’d recommend a romance.
They aren’t perfect or without mistakes.
Art is never finished, only abandoned. ~ Leonard da Vinci
Super Mario games by Nintendo
To be clear, I’m talking about the Super Mario platform games here, such as Super Mario 64, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Galaxy, etc.
If someone asked me what kind of game merch I’d want the most I’d be picking between two games series I love. If I wanted something cool and potentially understated, I’d go for Legend of Zelda (and I’m sure those games or at least one of them will show up in a future post).
Otherwise, I’d always pick Super Mario.
As I write this I’m actually wearing a gray T-shirt with Mario, Peach, Yoshi, Toad, and Luigi on it. They look happy and colorful.
I think that is a big reason I love these platform games. Simple, primary colors; cute characters; good platform designs; and iconic music.
If I had to pick one game over all the others, it would probably be Super Mario Odyssey. The latest and a great one. I wasn’t fully sold on it at first.
I played it from a space where I ruin games for myself (completionist kind of play).
I quickly switched though (switched on the Switch, lol), and enjoyed the rest of the game a lot. I’ve also enjoyed watching some speed runs of it. Even entertained the idea of trying to casually speed run it sometime.
If only I had more time, as if I don’t have too many things I’d love to do already.
Super Mario games appeal to me on several levels. I love good platform games, but Super Mario have more as I listed above. Sometimes I just listen to the music on YouTube.
So if you want some easy to listen to music, some clean looking design, and to press a button to jump at the right time, Super Mario is for you too.
One thing though: Don’t play the games for the story. They all have the outdated story of save the princess. But nothing is perfect, eh?
Picture of the Month — February 2019
This photo is from a visit to Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. I had a great time there, and took some good pictures. More to come later in this series. Look for it in August, 2019 (aka in a few months).
Great Books: In Death series by J. D. Robb
This series of posts are about entertainment that I recommend when people ask me for recommendations. It also includes place-specific “entertainment”, such as beautiful gardens; it might be stretching the definition of entertainment, but I enjoy myself in the places I recommend.
They are not universal recommendations. I wouldn’t recommend a dark thriller to someone looking for something nice and happy; I’d recommend a romance.
They aren’t perfect or without mistakes.
Art is never finished, only abandoned. ~ Leonard da Vinci
In Death series by J. D. Robb
Edgy crime with a dose of romance.
That is how I’d describe the In Death series by J. D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts). This series is over 40 books long and the first one is called Naked in Death.
I love the protagonist in this one. Tough, kickass, and used to bulling her way through her emotions and her free time. She’s a NYPD detective and head of the homicide squad.
Man, just writing these few words of it has me excited to reread the whole series and I did that last year, all 40+ books of it.
This one for me is what I really look for in crime/mystery novels. I’ve previously mainly gotten my crime fix on TV with shows such as NCIS, Criminal Minds, Person of Interest, Elementary and more. I’m sure I’ll have a couple of posts covering some of those shows.
This series have that crime of the week with great characters and a dark edge (that sometimes goes very dark). Unlike some crime of the week though, the main detective and everyone around her keeps growing and changing with all the things that happen to them.
I go to this series when I want that dark edge, but with the safety net of knowing it is a mystery novel so the crime will be solved.