I visited a farmhouse as a little girl. I had never been up wooden stairs, woke up early in an iron framed bed, nor had I eaten bisquets like Sharon's mother made.

Her daddy showed me how to milk a cow that summer (I wondered how the bug got through her teet not realizing it flew into the bucket). With permission from Sharon's mom, we headed off to the pond. We were so excited as we walked down a narrow white top road, all dressed in our bathing suites swinging towels and giggling. Wild tall grass on the side of the road was garnished with wildflowers. The sun was warm and the sky was blue. The air in Washington State was fresh. Barefooted and carefree we were.

Down a slope off the side of the road we ran through a path to find a circle of large rocks that held a pool of cool water that was fed by a creek that continued to trickle below the pond.

We swam, laughed and splashed! I tried but could not reach the bottom that I could see because the water was so perfectly clear. We were shaded by overhanging trees.

I remember the pride of being a "Brownie" and summer camp songs.

Reading this I realize it was not getting married, traveling or owning a home that gave me happiest times. The happiest times were singing on a bus full of fifth graders, heading to the Alamo in Texas, cross country skiing out into the middle of a frozen lake in Maine with my friends and singing in a high school band.

We made tunnels through the snow and in summer days we played "Kick the Can" and "Red Rover" in the yard.

We played through dirt piles and wooden frames when a new home in the neighborhood was being built.

Halloween was nothing short of a good time.

Slumber parties..

Making amateur movies with my brother, our friends and his 8mm film..

My brother and I would explore rocks and caves with our friends in Rockspings, Wyoming and we watched the tumble weed while we ate the stew we made outside over fire.

Barbara and I would tap dance on a raft in a large swimming hole at the bottom of a hill to the slogan song, "who wears short shorts?"

I remember not being able to control laughter in class, making tents in the yard and pretending to be Coca Cola models holding our glass bottles up with interlocked arms.

I remember making the cheerleading squad and after the game we'd all hang out at a Pizza Hut in Tennessee.

I remember Claudette Cooper in South Carolina. We would take long walks on the beach and playfully throw jelly fish at each other. Then as the sun went down, snuggle under the covers telling stories and talking about boys.

I cannot forget feeling romantic towards my first love as we sang in the church choir.

Those were the best of times. They were worth the saddest 'good-byes' when my parents said, "We will be moving again. It's your daddy's job."

I remember the overwhelming love rush of holding my babies for the first time.

Then it was my job to see that they had happy memories too.

2020- A year of Clarity!

Just a few months ago

The champagne popped, we were giddy with glee

Ushering a New Year, with no cause for fear

2020, we screamed, with jokes galore

As we laughed away, not knowing what lay in store

2020 vision for you and for me

Oh what a year of clarity it would be

Laughter filled the air, and none had a care

Ironically, how blinded we would be in 2020,

But then, it was too hard for us to see

With jobs, economy, stock markets

And “ME, MINE and I” on the rise

Yes, self-centeredness does come with a price

In a race against time, 24 hours a day not enough

Oh we needed more- to make more stuff

In a race, just running here and there

All without fear, of it being taken away

And suddenly, it struck- a virus came from afar

As if it were a shooting star

Bringing life to a pause

And life as we know it, soon came to a halt

As everyone echoed- It wasn’t our fault

No malls, No games, No theatres to go

No parks, No ballet, Non-essential places, no more

Grocery shops the only place to be

To line up and buy till the eye can see

People losing jobs, and some on furlough

Tough times ahead, a cause of much dread

The only way to fight this scourge

A commandment of love that we knew all too well

But seldom followed, it wasn’t too swell

Love thy neighbor as thyself- the prescription today

To defeat this virus each and every day

Be mindful and caring and generous of heart

To fight COVID, selfishness must depart

This virus did strike each of us in its own way

It got us to think what matters the most,

No longer the things of which we boast

But family and friends, we should cherish the most

Vital lessons it did teach us

Make more with less

Oh, how wasteful we had become, we must truly confess

COVID-19 taught us what’s important all right,

By gradually exposing our inner plight

And bestowing upon us our much needed sight

It humbled the whole world

On bended knee, looking heavenward -Making a plea

I don't think I'm meant to be here -

but no one will say.

it's a life that consists of

telling myself "one more day."

I don't need to be here

but what would people say

what would they think if i went on my way

I hate to write about you,

but I have nothing else I felt

so deeply about.

I don’t want to waste my words

on you,

but I have nothing else to talk about.

I hate to mention you in my art,

It is, infact, my place of expression;

It is me.

But I still do.

I still do.

It’s June. Or December. Time doesn’t really matter anymore after you stop working--days and months are simplified to breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Plain granola crumbs, brown salad, cheap overcooked chicken.

I emerge outside. The weather is hot, or maybe cold. Either way, I’m pale, malnourished. During the many months of quarantine, I manage to graduate college online. Virtual graduation. I throw my fake hat up in the air and the Dean shakes my digitalized hand, squirting a glob of hand sanitizer as he moves on to the next video caller.

I don’t have a job--perhaps I won’t have one for years. I emerge outside, in the tentatively buzzing city, as someone who will need to beg for someone else’s job. On my hands and on my knees. I’ll be wearing gloves and knee pads, obviously. The guy telling me no will wear a mask, and I will pretend that I didn’t understand him. Thank you, I will say. I really needed this.

My college girlfriend breaks up with me. Frankly, it is straight out of nowhere. She is quarantined in her apartment and I am quarantined in mine and we Facetime constantly, repeating to ourselves that we are stronger than the virus. “I’ve never wanted you so badly,” I remember saying.

A long pause.

“I think,” she says, “I’m learning to live without you.”

I know that most college relationships are destined to end, but it’s supposed to be messy, drawn out; someone moving to the other side of the country, an affair, a secret-- not a clinically clean cut. I drive to her apartment at two in the morning during quarantine and she refuses to let me in. It isn’t safe. I could be infected, or maybe she is. Perhaps she is afraid that we would both get sick, unable to care for one another. Dying together, apart.

I emerge outside, and the streets are clean, not out of love, but out of fear. Nature is beautiful; the parks are exactly the same. Someone had maintained the bushes, the wild grass. Roaming about, I visit the cemetery. I feel bigger than usual, painfully aware of every step I take.

My grandmother is dead, years ago from cancer, before the pandemic. I kneel at her tombstone which is cleaner than anything else on earth and find myself afraid to touch it. Who else might have touched her grave? What horrible bacteria is stuck to the engravements of her name?

I leave after an hour, ashamed. It’s raining. Or maybe it’s snowing. I have no idea the month, the season, or the year. If I should be carrying an umbrella or wearing a parka. Only people with jobs and girlfriends and grandmothers are capable of keeping track of these things. I am unprepared for the weather. My body is naked in my unknowing. I have no control, yet in a way, nothing has control over me. It is a maddening feeling. I emerge outside, in the clean streets of the city, and search for the things that can control me.

Defenestration

the act of throwing someone out a window

because honestly

there are some people that could really use a good shove

to knock some sense into them

and if there happens to be a window nearby?

well,

what a fortunate stroke of luck.

You are an “essential” worker.

Your family and friends are freaking out.

You may be a carrier or die.

Mixed emotions..

What I want to express is that

If you are “essential,” notice the people

who threw you under the bus.

Notice who is honest about

how they really feel.

True colors in the sky.

“People like to invent monsters and monstrosities. Then they seem less monstrous themselves. When they get blind-drunk, cheat, steal, beat their wives, starve an old woman, when they kill a trapped fox with an axe or riddle the last existing unicorn with arrows, they like to think that the Bane entering cottages at daybreak is more monstrous than they are. They feel better then. They find it easier to live.”

Geralt of Rivia makes his appearance to the small screen in Netflix’s The Witcher, starring Henry Cavill as the titular Witcher himself. Many are already familiar with this character and series through the video games, which I’ve played myself. But the books by author Andrzej Sapkowski (good luck to anyone trying to pronounce that) is where the world of The Witcher truly breathes in. For those unfamiliar, a Geralt of Rivia is a witcher, a man very skilled in combat and endowed by magic and mutations to make him the perfect fighter against the most dangerous beasts across the world. If there is a monster problem, he’s usually called upon to take care of it. And on his travels he’s come across an assortment of memorable characters such as his on/off again love interest the sorceress Yennefer (played by Anya Chalotra), a charismatic bard named Dandelion (played by Joey Batey), and the child destined to him to become a witcher herself Princess Ciri (played by Freya Allan).

When it was first streamed on Netflix it immediately became the number one trending series on Netflix. People have been loving this series from the start, calling it the new Game of Thrones. Do I believe that to be the case too?

That's a bit of a stretch and let me explain why.

Having the most of the books (I just finished Book 5 recently), I can tell you that the series is pretty faithful. Each episode I immediately recognized which story they were based off of. The first episode is based off "The Lesser Evil". The third episode is based off "The Witcher", the very first story of the series. The fourth episode is based off one of the stories from the second book. I will say having these classic stories recreated to the screen, and done pretty accurately, is pretty awesome. But the fact that it that it follows each of the stories pretty close it leaves little room for any surprises for those that read the stories. I knew how A was going to go because I read A, that sort of thing. The only parts that weren't part of the books were the stories featuring Ciri and Yennifer. The last two episodes of the first season I'd say are probably the only episodes that are different from the books.

The major positive for this show is the casting of Henry Cavill as Geralt. Man, did he nail the role. The guy is actually a big fan of The Witcher series, having played all the games and read all the books. He nails Geralt's mannerisms, his attitude, his voice, his look, his sarcasm. He is practically becomes the Butcher of Blaviken.

Yennefer and Ciri were good took. Too bad I didn't care too much about their own stories since they really aren't part of the main series of books, only mentioned in some backstories. Although Ciri's story greatly differs compared to what happens in the books. Still, the actresses that play these two characters, they do a pretty good job. I also like the guy they cast as Dandelion—and yes, to those who've watched the show, I know he's technically called Jaskier. And for those that don't know, Jaskier is Dandelion's name in the original Polish language. However, since I've known the character to be Dandelion, I'm gonna keep calling him that. The point is, he's great. He's funny. And I like him. Plus he sings that really catchy song.

Toss a coin to your Witcher

Oh valley o plenty

Oh valley o plenty

Ooooh!

However the greatest take away, and it's the sole reason why I don't think it's as good as Game of Thrones for the moment, is its story structure. Throughout the whole season all the stories are told out of order in different points in time. To help break things down: Geralt’s story spans about 20 years, Yennefer’s story spans about 70 years, and Ciri’s story spans about two weeks. Bare in mind that Geralt and Yennefer are endowed by magic that prevents them from aging. It's a thing in the books. The problem is that all the stories are Frankenstein stitched together that it's hard to tell, from an outside view, when are all these stories taking place in time because how they transition into each other makes it look like that each event, each story, of our three lead characters are happening at the same time. That makes for bad story telling and it utterly confuses the audience.

Overall, I don't think The Witcher is a bad series. I actually enjoy it. But this is a pretty ruff first season and I'm hoping they'll improve it in the second season.

Positives:

-Very faithful to the books

-Henry Cavill as Geralt

-Badass fights

-Yennifer & Ciri

-Dandelion and that song

Negatives:

-Storytelling structure

-Perhaps too faithful

-Certain changes from books

Final Grade: C+

So those are my thoughts on Netflix’s The Witcher. Have you seen it? What are your thoughts? Ever read the books or played the games? Toss a coin to your reviewer, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews here on Prose!

Best Quote:

Geralt of Rivia: “Evil is evil, Stregobor. Lesser, greater, middling, it’s all the same. I’m not judging you. I haven’t done only good in my life. But now if I’m to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

#harrysituationreviews #Netflix #opinion #fantasy #action #monsters #TheWitcher

Well EA kept true to their word. They actually made a really good single player Star Wars game with no microtransactions or loot boxes. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is a new single-player, story driven, action-adventure game developed by Respawn Entertainment (the company behind the Titanfall series) and published by the ever infamous empire that is EA.

Set five years after Revenge of the Sith, a young Jedi named Cal Kestis is on the run, being hunted by the Galactic Empire, until he meets up with the crew of a ship called the Mantis. A four-armed pilot named Greez and a former Jedi named Cere Junda. Together they set out on a quest to seek out a Jedi Holocron that contains a list of force-sensitive children, hoping to use it as a means to rebuild the Jedi Order. Along Cal’s journey he meets and teams up with an assortment of characters such as an adorable droid named BD-1, the rebel terrorist Saw Gerrara from Rogue One, a crazed Dark Jedi named Taron Malicos, and the nightsister Merrin; and tries to fight off against the Empire and their Jedi-hunting Inquisitors, the Second and Ninth Sister.

Right off the bat I had low expectations of this game. This was devoloped by EA after all, and they really haven’t had the best track record for Star Wars games lately. But with all the good press it’s been getting, and the fact that I got it for Christmas, I decide to give it a shot. And, yeah, I enjoyed it. Can I call this the best Star Wars game? Ehhhh, that’s a stretch.

Alright, let’s dig into the positives first. First off, the story is really good and written so well. I don’t think I’ve ever played a Star Wars game so engaging since the KOTOR series. The more I played the more I started to like each of these characters. Yeah, I like Cal. I like Cere. I like the Second Sister. But my favorite is BD-1. I don’t know why. He’s just adorable and a pal. What’s with modern Star Wars making cute shit these days? Whatever the reason is I hope they don’t stop.

The graphics are pretty damn good too. It really does make the player feel like they are a part of this universe.

This is also a very combat heavy, challenging game to play. Think of it like Dark Souls in the Star Wars Universe, that’s how difficult the game is. You battle against various different stormtroopers with your lightsaber. It’s cool to easily take down simple stormtroopers with blasters, but then you get into the ones with melee weapons and that’s where the fun begins. You can enter a different combination of buttons for some sick combo moves, use your force abilities, and block their attacks, however, you have to be strategic when it comes to combat. Your most important mechanic is to parry, which is a perfectly timed lightsaber block that gives you an opportunity to strike back. Getting to master the parry is a challenge on its own. Even I slip up every now and then. But once you master it you can deal some serious damage to your enemies and boss fights. A fair warning, some melee enemies will deal out a heavy attack that you cannot block or parry. It’s best to try and dodge out of the way or, if you can, attack before they can hit you. And don’t forget use your force powers like Force Push and Force Stasis during combat. That’ll help with most enemies.

On top of fighting the Empire, this games also has a very Tomb Raider/Metrovania feel. There’s plenty of platforms and areas for you to roam around and explore, and plenty of collectibles to find in hidden spots. The games doesn’t make it easy for you. Some of these hidden gems are beyond your reach until you learn the proper force power, which you unlock through flashbacks during Cal’s time as a Jedi Padawan during the story.

Now let’s talk about the issues. It’s not a game developed by EA without some technical bugs, and this game has its fair share. One thing I’m constantly noticing, especially during the cutscenes is the framerates are a second behind so it takes a second for everything in the foreground to look visible. I’ve also noticed moments where it looks like Cal and a few enemies are slowing sinking into the ground but thankfully it doesn’t happen often.

There’s plenty of collectibles to find in the game, but even that felt really limited too. Your basic collectibles in this game are different lightsaber hilts that you can use to design your lightsaber, along with different color crystals, different colors for your ship and BD-1, and different ponchos. Yeah, because nothing says Star Wars quite like ponchos. If a sequel is made I'm hoping there will be more and better collectibles than what I got in this game. Not that they are bad or anything, but I would like a little more.

But I think my biggest issue with the game, for me, is the skill tree. You can access it at savepoints and spend your well earned points you get when you gain experience. My problem is that the number of skills you can purchase feels limited. I was hoping to unlock different combo moves that’ll give you a edge in combat, but it doesn’t have that. In the game, you can switch out between wielding a single blade lighsaber to a double-bladed lightsaber like Darth Maul. Okay, that’s pretty boss. But even then that doesn’t offer enough attack skills. Same with the different force abilities you unlock. There's only a small addful of power abilities and combat moves you can unlock. Later in the game when you make your lightsaber so it can go from a double-bladed into two seperate blades, I thought that would unlock some extra lightsaber moves, but no, there's a skill you can purchase that's basically an attack move that makes so you can have two lightsabers. Considering that you can have three different lightsaber styles in the game you should different skill sets for which ever combat style you're comfortable with. If you wanna do single hand there should be skills for that. If you wanna do double bladed there should be more skills for that. Maybe that's something that'll be fixed in the sequel, if it gets a sequel. We'll see.

Overall, Jedi: Fallen Order is a pretty fun and challenging game. It looks like EA put some actual effort into making this game versus making a shitty game with a shit-ton of loot boxes. And this is the company that said "nobody plays single player games anymore". Hopefully EA can continue this in the sequel, and I'll be ready to fight off the Empire in a galaxy far, far away.

Positives:

-Story and writing

-Challenging combat

-Gorgeous graphics

-Great characters

-Puzzles and exploring

-Pure Star Wars fun

Negatives:

-Typical EA bugs

-Skill tree

-Limited collectibles

Final Grade: B

So those are my thoughts on Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order. Have you played it yet? What were your thoughts on it? Please be kind, leave a like and comment, and check out more reviews here on Prose!

#harrysituationreviews #starwars #gaming #videogame #opinion #scifi #action #adventure #Metrovania #Jedi #EA