Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (Ubisoft / Ubisoft Quebec), PS4 Pro

From The Manufacturer:
Write your epic odyssey to become a legendary Spartan hero. Forge your path in a world on the brink of tearing itself apart. Influence how history unfolds in an ever-changing world shaped by your choices.

Pros:

• Voice acting is (generally) good and used throughout the game.
• There are a variety of weapon types to choose from, facilitating different play styles.
• The mechanics are given further depth by the ability to dodge, parry, and use a combination of light and heavy attacks, as well as special abilities
• With that being said, some of the weapons are pretty similar to one another (e.g. the "heavy" weapons)
• You can further customize your play style via three skill trees (which focus on ranged combat, melee combat, and assassination, respectively).
• Ship combat is a nice change of pace, with sea shanties. 
• I generally enjoyed the scouting / eagle sections, even if they did get a little tedious and predictable by the end of the game.
• There is a ridiculous amount of content.
• The game has a few different difficulty settings, meaning players can approach the game at their own pace and skill level
• There are lesbian and gay romance options, BUT they are always off-screen, and never really more than a "fling."
• To the game's credit, the romance options are pretty varied with regards to age and race (skin tone)
• I like that there are historical sites in the game.  Their inclusion is unobtrusive, and you can learn as you play.
• I like the inclusion of Greek words and phrases, even if I cannot confirm their accuracy.

Cons:

• One of the main hooks of the Assassin's Creed franchise is the interplay between the past and near future.  After the intro cut-scenes, though, the "future" part of the narrative all but disappears save for a few stilted segments sprinkled throughout the game.
• To add insult to injury, the game does a poor job introducing me to the "future," characters and their motivations.
• The ending leaves the story incomplete, basically requiring the purchase of DLC to get the full experience.  I could go on a rant about DLC and its role in the gaming industry, but I'll save that for another day.
• SPOILERS: seeing the modern day character (who's name I don't remember) meet Kassandra (the ancient Greece character) was strange.  The fact that Kassandra was wearing a suit during the meeting was also rather inexplicable.  More than that, it was jarring to see Kassandra die (when she relinquished the magical McGuffin) only to continue her journey minutes later in ancient Greece.  
• SPOILERS: the game also strikes a weird tone about the interplay between assassins and templars, like it can't decide if one is right.  It takes a seemingly centrist, "inoffensive," view that both are needed for, "the sake of progress."  As someone who hasn't played these games before, that seems like an odd narrative decision (when the public perception seems to be "assassins good" and "templars bad.")
• Some of the moment-to-moment gameplay is very satisfying (e.g. kicking an enemy off a ledge).  Some of the more long-form gameplay elements are also very satisfying (hunting down cultists).  With that being said, a lot of the "meat," of the game (e.g. mission design, or one mission leading to 6 more) is repetitive.
• Even on PS4 Pro, the load times to get into the game are quite long.  It isn't nearly as much of an issue once the game is up and running, though.
• (Nit-pick) The various islands are pretty similar visually.  
• I am only listing this as a nit-pick because the game is based on a real-world location
• (Nit-pick) The conquest battles don't really match up with the established vibe of the series.  After all, it's "Assassin's Creed," not, "Mercenary's Creed."  
• Then again, this didn't really bother me as I am not a long-time fan of the series (meaning I didn't go in with expectations or a preconceived notion of what the game was "supposed" to be)   

Conclusion:
Assassin's Creed: Odyssey isn't groundbreaking in its mechanics.  If you've played other open-world 3rd person action titles, this one isn't going to blow you away.  With that being said, the world is impressively well-realized, and the moment-to-moment gameplay is generally enjoyable enough to encourage further play.  I felt burned by the story, though, be it some of the odd tonal shifts or that the "true," ending is DLC.

Ultimately, if you like the setting, and you don't have strong feelings about what an Assassin's Creed game should be (or, better yet, you like this type of game), you'll get your money's worth out of this game.  I certainly did, since I bought the game for $15 on sale.  It may not be challenging, and it may not be especially stimulating, but by god is there a lot of it.

Final Score:
7/10

Ensso Italia (Fountain Pen: Ti, M)

From The Manufacturer:
The ITALIA Fountain Pen is a modern pen inspired by classic Italian pen design. It is expertly machined out of solid aluminum, brass, and titanium. The minimalistic design is only decorated with a beautiful Greek Key or the classic 3 stripes. The pen is equipped with a superb German-made nib (Bock #6) and ink converter (Schmidt). At the end of the campaign, during the survey, you will select your desired nib size and decoration (Greek Key or 3 stripes).

Pros: 

• The greek key on the pen's cap and section add aesthetic flair to the pen.  These are what initially drew me to the product.
• There were plenty of nib options at the point of sale, including the medium titanium nib I selected (for an added $40 USD).
• Speaking of nib performance, the pen did a fine job at reverse writing.  
• The branding is very subtle, and can only be seen when the pen is disassembled.
• A cartridge converter is included
• The packaging of the pen was minimal (a single plastic shipping sleeve in a padded envelope).  I am listing this as a pro because I enjoy pens, not the boxes they come in.
• Titanium is both light and sleek, even if its use raises the price of the final product.
• The clip is fine; it isn't so stiff as to be unusable. 
• The pen can post, and deeply, but I don't post the pen for fear of scratching the body.  

Cons:

• There is an uncomfortable metal-on-metal sound and feeling when capping and uncapping the pen.  This is particularly bothersome because it does not happen with my other metal pens at 1/2 the cost or less (the Namisu Ixion comes to mind).
• I also don't like that the pen's cap doesn't sit flush with the body when it is completely screwed on.  This gives the pen an, "incomplete," feel.
• The pen's shape is uninspired.  It doesn't help that many budget / entry-level pens have a similar shape.  
• This is more personal preference than a con, but I would have preferred a flat-top model
• Even though I like titanium nibs, the Bock nib paired with this model is noticeably darker than the pen's body, giving it a mismatched aesthetic. 
• I am also not thrilled that the pen's size isn't listed on the nib.
• I'm worried that the pen will run dry because of the aforementioned capping issue.  I haven't encountered this problem yet, but only time will tell.

Conclusion:
In my mind, the Ensso Italia is an interesting, if flawed pen.  I could overlook most of those flaws if not for the pen's biggest issue: the difficulty capping and uncapping.  That alone makes me shy away from the pen, as capping and uncapping is a central part of my pen-using experience.  Maybe the problem isn't so bad when the pen is made of other materials (e.g. aluminium), but I can only review the pen I received.  Ultimately, unless you really love the look of this pen, I think you can safely skip it.

Final Score:
6.5/10

Capitol Steps at the Carpenter Center (Long Beach, CA) - 1/11/2020

The Pitch:
The Capitol Steps return with fresh political satire, song parodies, and sketches that take aim at the outrageous goings-on at the White House, in Congress, and on the never-ending campaign trail. Their trademark no-holds-barred approach to the headlines of the day is guaranteed to keep both sides of the aisle laughing, bringing down the House—and the Senate!

The Pros: 

• The singing was on-point
• The stage work was OK (e.g. when a bill was killed and pulled out a bunch of red cloth)
• It was mildly amusing to see how the group would remix existing songs 
• EX: "All About That Bass" --> "All About That Base (So Liberal)"
• EX: "Beat It" --> "Tweet It" (as sung by the Donald)

The Cons:

• It was sometimes difficult to hear / parse the wordplay of various skits and performers
• There were plenty of tired jokes on offer, like ageism for Sanders, anti-feminism for Warren ("I'll tell you every joke a feminist finds funny," followed by silence), and a sign calling AOC "She Guevara" 
• The extended bit of pseudo pig latin before the 1st intermission was a gimmick at best.  If the only thing funny about a monologue is some mixed up syllables, the monologue isn't particularly funny.

The Conclusion:
I didn't find the show offensive enough to dismiss outright, even if a lot of the jokes were cringe-inducing.  I was put off by the appeal to the, "lowest common denominator," however.  While programs like the Daily Show draw laughs by lampooning the decisions politicians and celebrities make, Capitol Steps chooses to create and attack caricatures instead.  In the end, the biggest reaction the show got from me was, "yikes."  It's not a show I would recommend to others, nor is it a show I'd see again. 

Final Score:
3.5/10