Archive for November, 2010
Christmas Gift Suggestions 2010
As usual, not quite a Christmas gift guide, but some handy suggestions that might prove invaluable with a month or so to go. Also, there are links in case you can’t see them. So… look carefully.
Books
I’ve read quite a few books this year and here are some picks that I think will please the book-lovers among your friends and family:
Poetic, elegiac, and wonderfully ironic, this absurdist novel tells the tale of a really odd cast of characters in their search for lasting meaning. Characters include the devil, a giant, and a pair of twins conjoined at the pinky.
I’ve always described this as an existentialist’s Chandler novel; a masterwork by one of Japan’s–and the world’s–greatest writers. A private investigator is asked to locate a vanished man, but soon gets more than he bargained for when the assignment begins to challenge his sense of identity.
Here’s manga with a difference: Yuichi Yokoyama’s stylish volume follows three passengers on a train and in its exquisite, wordless beauty, looks for the patterns and arrangements in all things big and small. It just might change the way you look at the world.
For the continental philosophy lover, here we find one of the greatest thinkers of our time trying to deal with the loss of his mother. What’s striking is watching the process of how Barthes attempts to invent a new language–a new structure–to describe his loss and indeed his mourning.
And one suggestion for the photography book collector. This delightful and fairly gigantic volume is sure to be welcome on anyone’s coffeetable.
All links here lead to The Book Depository, which has free shipping internationally. Don’t forget that they have a Christmas ten-percent voucher thing going too.
Music
No links here because I don’t know any particularly convenient places to get these. Major record stores, as they are called, will surely do.
Here’s some more recent music that I’ve enjoyed this year (meaning, they may or may not have been released this year):
- Station to Station, by David Bowie
The rerelease of this classic album was certainly welcome, and I really enjoyed listening to it all over again. Comes with a fairly excellent concert recording too.
- Emotion & Commotion, by Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck’s latest studio album has an eagle with a guitar for a cover. Apart from that it comes with a nice variety of excellent songs featuring the guitarist at his best.
- Contra, by Vampire Weekend
A delight through and through, Contra is sweet and catchy and really something to savour.
- The Age of Adz, by Sufjan Stevens
It takes a while to warm up to it, and I think some sections of the album are really love-it-or-hate-it bits, and most of all, a lot has been said about its final 25-minute track, “Impossible Soul”, but there are some gloriously odd and engaging parts in here that to me make it worth the price of admission.
- Halcyon Digest, by Deerhunter
A bittersweet album framed by dreamy guitar, Deerhunter delivers an emotionally engaging album full of surprises, invention, and melancholy. It’s an album that’ll leave you excited for music, for art, and even for life.
- Lisbon, by the Walkmen
This tribute to Lisbon is as sunny as you’d expect, yet the music also conceals a waiting dejection. The Walkmen take control of their music, slipping into moments of drama rarely and preserving the album’s elegance and diffuse beauty.
- Clapton, by Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton takes on a crazily diverse range of music in this album and somehow manages to make it work as a whole. I suppose it is the measure of a musician who has thrived on blending all sorts of influences and genres in his lengthy career. I’m not too keen on a couple of the tracks, but many of the rest–especially the blues numbers–surprised me, eschewing overindulgence for masterful restraint.
Of interest, the Beatles are now on iTunes. And there is also this lovely 40th anniversary edition of All Things Must Pass for the George Harrison fan.
Gaming
Having discovered GOG.com, I suppose I should make a plug for two games I have such fond memories of:
These are games that every RPG fan will treasure. I’ve spent more time re-playing Baldur’s Gate 2 than any other game. It is a masterpiece in roleplaying game design and is quite an experience. And Planescape: Torment is simply one of the most wonderfully designed games I’ve ever come across. It marries an exquisite story with an intriguing setting and some exquisite RPG design. I completed it again recently and was struck by how whimsical it was: all things and choices can have big effects, small effects, or none at all, but it’s usually quite unpredictable.
Don’t forget that Steam has a Thanksgiving sale ongoing right now, and will probably have a crazy Christmas sale up too. One game I have to plug here is The Witcher. Also an RPG, of course, and I suppose that says something about my life as a gamer.
Other than those two services, here are the games that have taken up the majority of my time on my PS3:
- Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
- NBA 2K11
- Uncharted 2
- Yakuza 3
- God of War 3
Arts Events
Hey, tickets to the Singapore Fringe Festival should be up for sale already, and I’m sure they would be appreciated by any ahem culture vulture. Events include the Necessary Stage’s “Model Citizens”.
There also appears to be a Russell Watson show. Or if local music is more to your tastes (or those of whoever you’re gifting tickets to), then there will be a Kit Chan show too.
Otherwise, there’s Titus Andronicus in Cantonese; an Edward Lam production feature 李心洁; and this very interesting dance performance that you’ll just have to click to find out about in less ambiguous terms.
Random Links
Cat Socrates is having nice little Christmas bundles.
Lumadessa prints are lovely, and now with more owls, though I don’t know if you can get them to ship to where you are in time.
Finally, MollaSpace has some pretty cool products (though I’ve never used the shop before, so pinch of salt and all that).
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Exam Playlist
Yesterday, I made my exam playlist. Here it is shuffled:
It consists mainly of songs I know fairly well but haven’t listened to for a while. Many of them are songs you can sing along to, just so I don’t fall asleep while revising. Some of them are less familiar to me and that’s to keep things interesting.
(You’ll spy Humpback Oak in there somewhere. Support local music!)
It lasts for about 5 hours, as you can see at the bottom.
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But Goodies
I’ve been using Steam for quite a while and have been rather satisfied with my experience. I’ve bought quite a few games, and enjoyed myself with a good fraction of them as well. It’s been mostly a pleasant experience.
About a month ago, someone directed me to GOG.com, the other direct delivery gaming service that most people seem very happy about. I took a look, and I’ve been taking a look ever since.
It’s not that I haven’t found anything to like. Quite on the contrary, there’s been plenty to like. I’ve just been preoccupied with other stuff and have had other games to while away the time as well. Nonetheless, I’ve to admit that many games look pretty tempting, and I doubt my window shopping will last very long.
I’m mostly interested in two games: Icewind Dale 2 and Sanitarium. I still have my Baldur’s Gate and Planescape: Torment disc editions working (I think), so those are not on my list (though I would buy a nice complete Baldur’s Gate collection in a hearbeat) but I’ve always had a great love of the Infinity Engine games, so Icewind Dale 2 intrigues me. Sure, it won’t be the story-driven adventure that some of its contemporaries were, but I’m game. As for Sanitarium, I remember reading about it in ye olde PC Gamer magazine and being so fascinated by it. I remember also the ads. It was just one of those games that grabbed my attention but I never really got to by some twist of fate. I can avenge that now, and the prospect of playing an adventure ten years in waiting is an unbelievably attractive one. There’s such a joy in rediscovering these titles; it’s a little like suddenly recalling that one novel you read all those years ago or that one great movie you missed back when it was first showing.
Other games I will probably get include both Fallout‘s (I don’t have a copy of either anymore), Arcanum, The Temple of Elemental Evil, The Longest Journey (and Syberia + Syberia 2 of course), Caesar 3, and… Well, there’s a lot of stuff. I’ll keep looking, but I’m sure I’ll be getting one or two of these games pretty soon. We’ll see how that goes when the day arrives, but for now, I’m just so glad to be reminded of all of these games.
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Update: And as soon as I publish this, they release Baldur’s Gate 2.
