Book Reviews and Human Interest Stories from the Pacific Northwest
"But it worked out all right for you, didn't it? It always does. If you were dice, you'd always roll sixes. Gods help the little people who are around when a big destiny is alive in the world, bending every poor bugger around itself... "- Terry Pratchett (by way of Samuel Vimes) A Song of … Continue reading Book Review: Fire and Blood by George RR Martin
Author's Note: I'm going to try something new. Or rather, new to me... What is this? At the end of my initial review of Dragon Heist, I mentioned that I had a plan to review the game when I was finished with it. I and my play group are about five sessions in and things are … Continue reading I’m Thinking of a Job: Dragon Heist Campaign Recap and Review Part 1
The title of this article is a lie. This isn't going to be a review. Mister Miracle is my favorite story of 2018. It's not even up for dispute across all the media I've consumed this year. The book's release is something I look forward to every month. In a world of constant stress and … Continue reading Review: Mister Miracle by Tom King and Mitch Gerard
Author's Note: As stated elsewhere, I am a regular volunteer at the Portland Art Museum (PAM). On Saturday the 12th of October, 2018, the Portland Art Museum opened the doors onto its newest Featured Exhibit: Poetic Imagination in Japanese Art. The entire featured exhibit is brought to us from the collection of Mary and Cheney … Continue reading PAM’s Newest is a Story of Artistic History
Author's Note: I've been holding off on writing movie reviews because so much of what I read, watch or otherwise consume is stuff on film. What's more, I was waiting for a movie to come along that I really felt worth reviewing, especially if I felt I could add to the conversation. And then I … Continue reading Movie Review: Bad Times at The El Royale
Michael Lewis' newest nonfiction book gets its title about 70 pages in. A Department of Energy risk officer is discussing the various different avenues for disaster at the department. Given that the DOE oversees the nation's entire stock of nuclear weapons, and the materials used to make them, risk is at the forefront of the … Continue reading Book Review: The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis
King Tutankhamun's visage looms large over the entrance to OMSI. It's a fitting introduction to the most famous pharaoh in history. In death, King Tutankhamun has been made larger than life despite being a minor player in history himself. The boy king was at one time something of a "lost Pharaoh," before the rediscovery of … Continue reading OMSI’s Exhibit on King Tut Aims to Ignite the Spark of Discovery.
The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry's Harvest Festival (held on September 30th) was very much what one would imagine when given the phrase "Portland Harvest Fair." The majority of vendors were local producers who were there to sell their wares. There were not one but two beekeepers selling honey and two door-to-door vegetable delivery … Continue reading OMSI Harvest Festival Displays State’s Bounty and Some Fluffy Friends
Have you ever stayed up until midnight to read a book? I have before and I intended to do so for Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward. I didn't have to, since the eBook of the nonfiction work was released at 9 PST on September 10th, letting me sink my teeth into … Continue reading Literary Review: Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward
Author's Notes: This one is a bit out of left field, even for me. But, given my prior output on this blog, some of it about books (fantasy or otherwise) and some stuff about TRPGs, this seems fitting. Also, this adventure book releases on September 20th, I bought a copy early at Rose City Comic … Continue reading Preliminary Book (Game?) Review: Dungeons and Dragons: Dragon Heist