There’s another geared-for-adults Transformers show! It’s called Combiner Wars, it’s been out since August of last year, and it’s made up of five minute episodes.
Two sequel short series are planned: Titans Return and Power of the Primes. Just look at the voice actors!
Even though it’s on Verizon’s Go90 network, and is animated terribly (just… it’s bad), go watch it. Because Transformers, that’s why.
Much like my headphones, I’m super particular about my keyboard and pointing device. Yes, I said pointing device. Up until recently, I’ve foregone mice in favor of the trackball. If I had the option of a bluetooth version of that, in fact, I’d probably still have one. That’s neither here nor there. Tangent, begone!
I’ve got a Logitech K811 keyboard and a Logitech MX Master mouse, and I’m quite pleased with them. They both do their jobs quickly and smoothly, unless they’re low on charge. The feel of the keyboard is great; it’s a dream to type on.
That was enough while I had one primary computer, but now that I’ve got a laptop for work and a desktop for personal stuff, I dig these devices even more. Each can connect to up to three different devices over bluetooth, and can switch between them with the press of a button.
Done with work? Change my monitor input, mouse setting, and keyboard setting. Playing games like a champ. Forgot to tie something up? Same process, and I’m back to a full work environment. All at the same desk.
And though my last Logitech trackball was of questionable toughness, I don’t regret sticking with the brand for a second. Hell, I’ve been with them since forever. I highly recommend both the K811 (or its PC counterpart, the K810) and the MX Master.
GameStop has its own indie distribution line called the Gametrust Collection. Not only that, but they’ve partnered with IndieBox to release them in beautiful steel cases with collector edition extras!
I picked up Jotun yesterday, and it came with the game disc, soundtrack, manual, beautiful steel case, steam code for another copy of the game, and a 10% off code for an Indiebox subscription.
I usually prefer to get games through local retailers, but as far as I’m concerned, this is a win for GameStop.
Chainmail Bikini: The Anthology of Women Gamers by Hazel Newlevant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This graphic novel is exactly what it says on the tin.
Enlightening, eye-opening, and privilege-checking. My local library stocks this, and if you’re into comics and gaming, your brainmeats deserve this. Might even need it.
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a big read. The story of the time of King Arthur, as told from the point of view of the women of the time. It’s a familiar tale, but told with more depth and dimension than I’d experienced in any earlier telling.
There are cycles in the book in which I want to strangle pretty much every single character, but they are far and few between. If you’re interested in Arthurian legends, druids, pagans, post-Roman Christianity, and/or long form fiction, I recommend this book.
Without further ado…
I’ve had less than my usual stellar luck with picking shows to stream, lately. I’ve been picking with the intent of having background noise; watching something out of the corner of my eye while I work around the house.
X-Men: Evolution
Normally, I would worry about getting sucked in to an X-Men cartoon. If this had been the one from the 90’s (Apocalypse!), I’d never get any work done. I figured, hey, it’s set in a high school, I can let the teenager crap just buzz in the background, and focus when actual story happens. That’d be fun!
I’m still waiting for the story.
I’ll keep it around in my queue, because I still hold of glimmer of hope that story will happen.
Leverage
I’d watched a couple of seasons of this show when it was airing, and I’d loved it. I figured that coming back to it would give me the familiarity to half-ignore it, and there would be enough for me to keep coming back. That worked perfectly, for the first season. Halfway through the second season, I was bored to tears and yoinked it out of my queue. Even my love for Mark Sheppard and my anticipation of Wil Wheaton’s character couldn’t keep me coming back.
Parker is a badass, though, don’t let anyone tell you different.
Supernatural
I’ve given up using TV as background noise. Though, as my wife has been healing from her injury, she’s caught up on the entirety of Supernatural that’s available to stream, and I’ve gotten sucked in far more than I’d liked. Great show.
Nikki and I have finally caught up on the second season of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Several of the episodes on our DVR were rendered unwatchable by digital interference, but it was available to stream on Netflix, so we watched it there, instead.
I’m going to do my best to review the season without spoilers. Why? I hate spoilers, that’s why.
If I had to sum this series up in one word, I’d choose tension. It showed up in all kinds of varieties: interpersonal, world-ending, engineered, sexual, and my favorite – inner conflict. Lots of doubt, lots of misleading, a healthy dose of misunderstanding, plenty of preconceptions, and one notable case of overreaction to fear.
Strike that, there’s a lot of overreacting to fear.
The characters hurt each other more than they ever have. I wondered, at times, if there was a team left to save.
If I had to pick a second word, I’d pick triumph. S.H.I.E.L.D. succeeds in so many places where they could have failed, making some major headway. The writers timed it well; just when things were about to get overwhelmingly bad, the characters Got Shit Done.
While this season was missing a lot of the team cohesion that took so achingly long to build in the first season, I give it an unabashed thumbs-up. Now I ahve to wait until late September for season three.
Ah, well. I am happy to comply.