Time for a Ten Things I Think I Think as we close in on Christmas. Those two things are unrelated, though…

So, I think that:

1) The Two Towers is Still My All Time Favorite Fantasy Movie

As you’ll be reading, I’m in a Lord of the Rings deep dive. I re-watched the trilogy (Extended Edition, of course) for the first time in quite a few years. I grew up with fantasy movies like Krull, Sword and the Sorcerer, Sheena, and the Beastmaster. Don’t even get me started on Ator!!!! Some were better than others. I liked Clash of the Titans, but Dragonslayer didn’t really do much for me. I have a friend who sees it the opposite. Ah-nuld’s two Conan films moved the bar on popularity and look for big screen fantasy.

But Peter Jackson did for fantasy what Star Wars did for sci-fi. Critics of the movies can move along. I have a serious Tolkien shelf, and I love what he created with Middle Earth. But I will take watching the movies over reading the trilogy, any day (and that’s from someone who is reading a 800 page book of nothing but LotR annotations right now). The pace alone is a significant improvement.

Anyways – that second film, with Helm’s Deep, and the other action scenes, is simply spellbinding. Seeing a Nazgul flying onscreen always takes my breath away. I like the first and third films, but this second one remains the best fantasy movie I have ever seen.

2) Lord of the Rings Online is an Enduring MMO

I think this with a caveat. This MMO started up in 2007, one year after Dungeons and Dragons Online, and eight years after Asheron’s Call. I mention both of those, because they all use the Turbine Engine. Asheron’s Call shut down in 2017. D&D Online remains active, though I believe that Neverwinter Nights is a more popular official D&D MMO.

I have mostly played Elder Scrolls Online the past several years, with periodic revisits to Age of Conan. They’re easy to jump between. The Turbine engine is, simply, DATED. It takes me a bit of game play to get efficient with the controls. It’s not like other MMOs I have played.

And visually, it’s nice, but clunky. LOTRO is pretty, but it’s not breathtaking; I’d say, it’s mid-tier graphically. The fact I’m playing it tells you that’s not a deal breaker. But I know when I’m looking at ESO, and when I’m looking at LOTRO.

But if you are a Tolkien fan, the lore all over this game is simply a treat. You encounter the official LotR story line (usually through cut scenes, as I recall), but the entire game feels like Tolkien. Whether you’re helping hobbits in the Shire, or staying alive in Arnor, you ARE in Middle Earth. And that more than makes up for the aging engine. New expansions continue to be added, which is pretty cool for an MMO approaching 20.

I recently reinstalled it during this Tolkien kick and started a new Aragorn-like character (I had a dwarf exploring Moria most recently). I prefer ESO, but for a Lord of the Rings geek, this game is still the best thing out there, and it still work. The publisher recently took a hard look at revamping the graphics (so they say), but found it would be cheaper to create a new one. Which seems realistic. So, while they continue to tweak and add content, LOTRO is what is is. And that’s good enough.

3) Board Games Remain Alluring

That phrase just drives home what a geek I am (like that’s ever in doubt). TV/streaming, video games, social media, reading (I still read and listen to audiobooks hours daily): there are so many recreational uses for our time. Even ‘nerd’ things. Sitting and playing a board game just doesn’t really seem like a viable alternative.

Of course, Apps let us play Risk on our phones, or Ticket to Ride on our tablets. But that’s not the same, and I’m leaving that out. I have been in a COVID-interrupted board game group for well over a dozen years. Some members have come and come (it’s always been small), but myself and the co-founder are still in it.

As with pen-and-paper D&D, sitting around a table and sharing the experience is a HUGE part of the fun. But I also play solo sometimes (Munchkin doesn’t really work for that…). Some games can be soloed by design, while with others, I just play both parts of two players. It works.

I mostly play tile-laying dungeon crawlers (though Ticket to Ride is my favorite board game. It goes much faster than Monopoly, has the same broad appeal, and doesn’t cause fights at family gatherings).

Some games now have an App that ‘runs the game’ for you, which makes solo playing even easier. I still play Ticket to Ride, and the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, on my fire tablet occasionally (an iPhone screen is simply not large enough for these aging eyes). But a couple hours with an actual board game is enjoyable.

4) Journeys to Middle Earth is Appealing

This prompted item 3. I picked up the base game during Black Friday Sale week. It’s from Fantasy Flight, makers of Descent, Runebound, and Star Wars Destiny; all game I’ve put some time in. I haven’t played Descent in a while, but this tile-laying Lord of the Rings game seems rather similar to me.

It uses an App to help with setup and play. I’m really a fan of this, as a Solo player. I just use two characters and play both. It’s easy.

I LOVE rolling dice (well, not 4-sided ones…). This one doesn’t use any dice. Skill values are compared between the ‘game deck’ and the characters; cards. Dice not needed. It works, but I still like watching a 20-sider bouncing on a tabletop.

It’s a campaign, so you collect gear and new abilities, which are on little European-sized cards (one downside of this game, and Descent. I upgraded my base Ticket to Ride cards to regular American-sized cards). I sleeved my cards, of course!

Descent was pretty hard (much like the final fights in one of my favorites, Shadows of Brimstone. The final fight in Journey kept loading more villains because the darkness counter had gotten pretty high, but there was a combat workaround which let me win the first scenario.

There are some LotR characters spread throughout the sets (base game and two big expansions), plus original characters. I played Aragorn, plus a new ranger. The app works well, and once you’re in the flow of how to play a turn, the game is pretty smooth. I liked it and will continue on.

The minis are of good quality, but the dark(ish) gray color of most makes the details hard to see. Not my favorite minis.

5) The Double-A Western Detective Agency is Pretty Neat

Earlier this year, I did an in-depth overview of Steve Hockensmith’s terrific Holmes on the Range series. I also did the first complete chronology for the series. And THEN, we finished it off with an excellent Q&A with Steve himself.

Steve said he had a spin-off series, and the first two novels are out. Hired Guns, and No Hallowed Ground, feature three operatives of the Double-A Western Detective Agency, which was founded by Big Red and Old Red Amlengmeyer in the Holmes on the Range series.

The first feels more like an action Western than the Holmes on the Range books, which is a nice change-up. A carbon copy spin-off would have been disappointing. It’s a diverse crew, with a white cowboy, a black one, and an Apache.

Steve is a good Westerns writer. I miss all the Holmes references, but this is a different kind of series. I’m in!

6) The Caine Mutiny Earned its Pulitzer Prize

If you follow me on FB, you know that I’m a big fan of Herman Wouk’s The Caine Mutiny. The movie has a fantastic cast, and I think it’s Humphrey Bogart’s best performance. The Caine Mutiny Court Martial – a play written by Wouk, using the courtroom scene – was recently made into a very good movie on Showtime, with Kiefer Sutherland admirably filling Bogie’s shoes. I listen to the LA Theater Works radio play of it regularly.

I listened to an unabridged audiobook of the novel. The love story stuff with Mae is simply too long. It frequently slows down the pace of the book. Wouk complained that the movie was too short – it could have been an hour longer, consisting of more ‘Mae’ stuff. That’s why Wouk was a novelist, not a screenwriter.

But otherwise, this is a terrific book. I found it an absorbing read years ago, and the audiobook was a fine experience. It’s twenty-six and-a-half hours long: and again, the love story stuff slows things down. Though, listening seemed less of a drag than reading. Written seventy three years ago, it holds up as a WW II novel. Of course, I see the actors from the film, and that TOTALLY works.

I’ve also read Don’t Stop the Carnival, which was amusing and also very good. My impression of Wouk as a writer is very good. I definitely recommend reading or listening to the book, and watching the Bogart film, as well as the recent Court Mutiny Court Martial on Parmount+ (it also includes one of Lance Reddick’s last performances, which is a treat).

7) I’m Sad That What We Do In The Shadows Is Wrapping It Up

I don’t really watch raunchy shows. But sometimes, one works for me, like Moms, and Archer. And this one, which features four vampires living together in NYC. This isn’t Twilight. It’s raunchy and funny and there are some fun pop culture references. A recent episode was an entire homage to The Warriors. I never saw the film it was based on (different actors), but this series on FX has been a hit. I think putting Matt Berry in anything makes it better.

I believe only the final episode remains to be dropped (I watch on Hulu+ TV), and it will be a wrap. But if you want some raunchy vampire fun, this is the show for you.

8) Ten is a Pretty Big Number

I think my desire to share my many opinions and thoughts as a bit too egotistical. I should have made this a half dozen or so.

9) Threads is the Most Civil Social Media I Have Found

I generally only interact with people I choose to on Facebook, so my experience isn’t that bad. I quit arguing with people, or firing off comments when I disagree with something. That transformed my FB experience. There are still jerks, and I occasionally lapse and find myself being snarky to someone. But overall, not bad.

I was promoting my Black Gate stuff on Reddit, and active in a couple groups. THAT form is full of people who love to get triggered and argue. I eventually stopped posting on Reddit completely.

I’ve barely ever done Twitter (nope, not calling it X), but didn’t care for it. And I chat with a couple friends on Instagram (IG), but don’t have use for it otherwise.

IG has sort of a dual setup where it will set up that same account on the relatively new forum, Threads. No direct messaging or texts, and a character limit per post. Only Likes, no down votes. Threads is actually full of nice, polite people!!

I somewhat regularly interact with Pittsburgh Penguins and NHL fans, plus I’m posting a book a day, and getting some interaction with fellow readers. I had a simple post with an Animal House reference get over a thousand views.

You can mute, and block, people. The only obnoxious commenters I’ve had were a couple Rings of Power fans who didn’t like a derogatory comment I made on my own post. RoP fans are worse than college football fans about being defensive. They are a big reason I have up on Reddit. But you can actually be on Threads and have a pleasant experience. That’s actually refreshing.

10) Maybe I Will Finally Write that Post on We’re No Angels

One of my annual Christmas traditions is watching the dark comedy, We’re No Angels. No, NOT the Robert DeNiro and Sean Penn remake. Ugh. The 1955 Christmas classic with Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, Aldo Ray, and Basil Rathbone. I really enjoy this, and it’s nice to see Bogie’s dry humor with a little more life in it.

And every year after, I say, “I really ought to write a Black Gate post about this movie.” I have failed spectacularly at that relatively simple task. I’m still giving it some thought though!

Bogie, Ustinov, and Ray (note the proper use of The Oxford Comma there) are prisoners on Devil’s Isle. They get loose (with a pet snake) and take refuge undercover in the failing shop run by Leo G. Carroll and his wife. The convicts actually try to help improve things, but Rathbone, the owner, arrives from off island, and he’s a stinker.

While this is certainly dark humor, it’s all very PG-rated (we’re talking the fifties here). All three convicts turn in terrific performances, and Rathbone is totally unlikable. If you’ve only ever seen the lame remake, you should give this one a watch. I can only think of two movies in which Bogart is overtly funny (a minor film called Stand In is the other), and I really enjoy this side of him. I mostly watch Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, but he almost steals scenes with his humor here.

I really should write a full post on this. Maybe next week…

Things I Think I Think

Nine Things I Think I Think (October 2024)
Five More Things I Think: Marvel Edition (September 2024)
Ten Things I Think I Think: Marvel Edition ( September 2024)
Five Things I Think I Think (January 2024)
Seven Things I Think I Think (December 2023)
Talking Tolkien: TenThings I Think I Think (August 2023)
A (Black) Gat in the Hand: Ten Things I Think I think (August 2023)
5 More Things I Think (March 2023)
10 Things I Think I Think (March 2023)

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Bob Byrne’s ‘A (Black) Gat in the Hand’ made its Black Gate debut in 2018 and has returned every summer since.

His ‘The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes’ column ran every Monday morning at Black Gate from March, 2014 through March, 2017. And he irregularly posts on Rex Stout’s gargantuan detective in ‘Nero Wolfe’s Brownstone.’ He is a member of the Praed Street Irregulars, founded www.SolarPons.com (the only website dedicated to the ‘Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street’).

He organized Black Gate’s award-nominated ‘Discovering Robert E. Howard’ series, as well as the award-winning ‘Hither Came Conan’ series. Which is now part of THE Definitive guide to Conan. He also organized 2023’s ‘Talking Tolkien.’

He has contributed stories to The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories — Parts III, IV, V, VI, XXI, and XXXIII.

He has written introductions for Steeger Books, and appeared in several magazines, including Black Mask, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, The Strand Magazine, and Sherlock Magazine.