House Calls

Welcome to my weekly blog, i'll be giving you some suggestions in various forms of media from week to week. One in each category, think of it as a little pick me up to get you through the week and give you something to do. So here's your prescription for this week, take two and call me in the morning:


Cinema:


A Scanner Darkly is a compelling movie about a war on a futuristic drug, littered with a star-studded cast, and done in a very unique style. The entire movie was shot digitally, and the animated over in a cell-shaded style, giving it a fresh new look while still preserving the look of the cast. The plot is well-done, and it's a nice variety of thrills, laughs and troubles sprinkled in to keep you interested. Be aware the movie does have adult themes so no watching it with children if you don't want them exposed to it.


Music:


Aesop rock is the kind of alternate hip-hop that stands out among a sea of normality. His lyrics are riddled with metaphors and clever one lines for you to catch if your ears can keep up with the speed he rhymes at. It takes some getting used to his style, but the reward for patience is a peak in to his large repertoire of imagery and interesting world views. All of his music has the special splash of character, but None Shall Pass is the album that caused me to download the rest of his discography.


Gaming:


Ikaruga is one of the most popular top down shooters to date. This game is as fun as it is merciless. The thing that sets it above similar titles is the game mechanic of switching polarity. There are two colors of enemies in the game: Black with a hint of red & White with a hint of blue. You can switch your ship to either, and can only be damaged by the opposite color, but your attacks are more effective agains the opposite as well. This leeds to many sections of the game involving precision timing of your switch just to survive, because like most of this series: One hit and your done. It's available on the Xbox live market for those with xbox live for a small amount of MS Points.


Comics:


Batman Year One is a popular candidate for bets batman comic for first-timers. It's a well-paced classic that gives the reader a good backstory for the batman story, and a great "toe-in-the-water" comic for people who have never tried out the medium before. If it is your first time reading a comic keep in mind it's not like a book where you breeze through, read the dialog and take a second to admire each frame, take in everything the artist decided to include in the book. Even down to the mundane items you may think are inconsequential. A must read for anyone already into, or looking to get into comics.


Literature:


Enders Game was the first full novel I read. It has been heralded as one of the greatest contemporary works of science fiction, and won a number of awards as well as sparking a great timeline of two split series that follow to parts of this amazing universe. Set in the future when aliens have attacked earth the world rallies together and begins training up the next generation of world leaders, literally. Children who show promise are sent to "Battle School" in a space station where they are pruned to help eradicate the threat of the aliens once and for all.


Please let us know if you've enjoyed any of these things yourself, and feel free to discuss what you liked about each one in the comments!


See you next week!