Just a quick note to say...
Wow... Dr Who "Stolen Earth". What a way to end an episode... Nobody it seems expected that in the least! The question remains, how the hell did the BBC keep this a secret?
But then again he can't be.... can he? Can he!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Copying much?
Okay, we all know that the Wii is popular, but does that mean that this is an open invite for Sony any Microsoft to copy the Wii features...?
Lets see... Nintendo Mii's become... Xbox Avatars:
News channel and Weather channel become.... Life with Playstation:
Show a bit of originality guys!
Normal service…
Just a quick note to say that I’m still around… Normal service should resume again shortly.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Unhappy bunny
Just a short post...
Not been too happy as of late. First there was my incident on Sunday and since then I have been quietly panicking that the same thing will happen again. In addition to this there are also another 2 issues which have been bothering me, neither of which I can discuss on my blog. One is financial and the other health related...
Altogether I've been one unhappy bunny...
Monday, June 09, 2008
Not a heart attack (War of the Roses)
Well, yesterday evening was interesting…
Just prior to sitting down to Sunday tea at my parents I started to get a little indigestion. I seem to have had indigestion a lot recently on and off, especially near the start of this year and as such, I though little of it. I eat my tea and slowly the indigestion got worse and worse and started to get rather painful.
I asked my Dad if he had any paracetemol to take for the pain, which I did. Then things really got interesting… The pain got so bad that I could not stand without leaning on something, also, breathing started to become somewhat difficult.
At this stage my parents telephoned for an ambulance. They lead me to a chair and sat me down. By this stage the pain was almost unbearable, certainly worse than anything I have ever felt before. I had turn completely white, was sweating absolutely buckets and was literally rasping for breath and very, very close to passing out.
It felt just like I was having a heart attack.
Then suddenly (and certainly before the ambulance arrived) the pain just vanished. I still felt somewhat groggy and very, very drained, but otherwise not too bad.
The ambulance arrived, took my blood pressure, ECG and did other tests. They seemed somewhat puzzled by my condition (as my blood pressure and other readings were just fine and dandy), but took me up to the hospital anyway.
It was whilst I was lying in the back of the ambulance that I was suddenly reminded of the film The War of the Roses. Near the beginning of this film Michael Douglas’s character is in a restaurant and starts to get (what he believes to be) a heart attack. He is wheeled off to hospital in the full belief that he is about to die only to find out that it was nothing more than severe indigestion, which, if extremely severe can feel just like a heart attack.
It occurred to me that this is likely what had happened to me (bearing in mind that I wasn’t dead and that the pain had gone so suddenly), however the nurses in the ambulance seemed rather perplexed.
After being checked out at the hospital and speaking to the doctor, I was informed that this was very much what had happened to me. In effect the acid from my stomach travelled up my food pipe, which is what happens when you get indigestion. However, this in turn made my food pipe spasm, causing the pain and heart attack like symptoms. As I was now perfectly fine, they discharged me and sent me home.
So, all in all, an eventful evening… Which also goes to prove that you can learn something useful sometimes from watching films...
Just prior to sitting down to Sunday tea at my parents I started to get a little indigestion. I seem to have had indigestion a lot recently on and off, especially near the start of this year and as such, I though little of it. I eat my tea and slowly the indigestion got worse and worse and started to get rather painful.
I asked my Dad if he had any paracetemol to take for the pain, which I did. Then things really got interesting… The pain got so bad that I could not stand without leaning on something, also, breathing started to become somewhat difficult.
At this stage my parents telephoned for an ambulance. They lead me to a chair and sat me down. By this stage the pain was almost unbearable, certainly worse than anything I have ever felt before. I had turn completely white, was sweating absolutely buckets and was literally rasping for breath and very, very close to passing out.
It felt just like I was having a heart attack.
Then suddenly (and certainly before the ambulance arrived) the pain just vanished. I still felt somewhat groggy and very, very drained, but otherwise not too bad.
The ambulance arrived, took my blood pressure, ECG and did other tests. They seemed somewhat puzzled by my condition (as my blood pressure and other readings were just fine and dandy), but took me up to the hospital anyway.
It was whilst I was lying in the back of the ambulance that I was suddenly reminded of the film The War of the Roses. Near the beginning of this film Michael Douglas’s character is in a restaurant and starts to get (what he believes to be) a heart attack. He is wheeled off to hospital in the full belief that he is about to die only to find out that it was nothing more than severe indigestion, which, if extremely severe can feel just like a heart attack.
It occurred to me that this is likely what had happened to me (bearing in mind that I wasn’t dead and that the pain had gone so suddenly), however the nurses in the ambulance seemed rather perplexed.
After being checked out at the hospital and speaking to the doctor, I was informed that this was very much what had happened to me. In effect the acid from my stomach travelled up my food pipe, which is what happens when you get indigestion. However, this in turn made my food pipe spasm, causing the pain and heart attack like symptoms. As I was now perfectly fine, they discharged me and sent me home.
So, all in all, an eventful evening… Which also goes to prove that you can learn something useful sometimes from watching films...
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Power star!
I just thought I would post this picture on my blog.
Whilst in Southampton I managed to find this in a Forbidden Planet shop... A Mario Power Star!
It even has a switch on the back which lights it up and plays the distinctive invunribility music :)
As modelled by Elliot..
Friday, June 06, 2008
I'm a Cyborg, but that's okay
Film watched:
I'm a Cyborg, But That's Okay
Glorious, but ultimately meandering and slightly disappointing from Park Chan-Wook
6/10
Thursday, June 05, 2008
E3 2008 predictions
Ok, it’s only just over a month until E3 2008 and as such, I thought I’d throw in a few early predictions for what will be shown at the show by the 3 big players in the console market. This is based on rumour, speculation and my very own guesswork:
Microsoft
I don’t tend to follow much Microsoft news (not owning one of there consoles), but I’ll still take a stab at a few predictions:
* Microsoft will announce a new motion sensitive controller (which looks suspiciously like the wiimote) together with various games which support this. This will be packed with the Arcade pack of the 360 to undercut the Wii. Everyone points at the 360 and accuses them of copying, which Microsoft utterly ignores.
* Microsoft will announce a blu-ray add on drive to the 360.
* Halo 4 is announced, but no real footage is shown (maybe just a teaser). A big deal is made of Halo Wars.
* A bevy (god I love that word) of casual games are revealed in order to attract the same audience which has been wooed by the Wii.
* Microsoft announces (again) that they have won this generation of the console war. Everyone else points to the Wii and reminds them that they are being soundly thrashed by the little white box.
* Microsoft announce that they are entering the handheld scene and unveil a handheld equivalent of the X-Box to compete against the PSP and DS.
Sony
I don’t actually expect that much in the way of surprise announcements from the PS3, as they have already shown there hand a little early. However, this will likely be the new info from the show floor:
* Bigger showing of Resistance 2 (of which the multiplayer with be a big highlight) and Killzone 2
* Yet another SKU of the PS3 is announced.
* A teaser for God of War 3 is shown (whilst I try to stifle a yawn).
* A final release date is given for Home.
* In game XMB is announced (if it hasn’t been released prior to E3).
* A sequel to Uncharted is shown.
* Heavy Rain is shown in full for the first time and stuns pretty much everyone.
* The next game from Team ICO is shown and I (and other fanatics) go completely crazy in anticipation.
* We finally get to see some in-game footage for Final Fantasy XIII, but get told that it’s been delayed until 2010.
Nintendo
There has been very little news from Nintendo of late in the way of first party releases and as such, I believe that Nintendo may well have a good few surprises in store:
* Nintendo will bang on and on about how well they are doing and how they are bringing a new audience to gaming.
* The new game that gets the must attention during the press conference will be Wii Music.
* Animal Crossing for the Wii will be revealed for the first time.
* A new 1080 game will be announced for the Wii, which uses the Wii Balance Board.
* A multiplayer only Metroid FPS is announced for the Wii. Similar to Metroid Prime Hunters on the DS, but obviously on the Wii and making good use of the Wiimote.
* A Nintendogs game is unveiled for the Wii (come on – this will just print money).
* Different colour Wii’s will be announced.
* A new (new) Mario Bros game will be announced for the DS.
* Either a USB flash drive or a hard drive is announced for the Wii (God know we need it).
* Possibly a new Cel shaded Zelda for the DS is announced – following on from Phantom Hourglass.
Also… Still game related, just had to add that it is just 1 week until MGS4 :)
Microsoft
I don’t tend to follow much Microsoft news (not owning one of there consoles), but I’ll still take a stab at a few predictions:
* Microsoft will announce a new motion sensitive controller (which looks suspiciously like the wiimote) together with various games which support this. This will be packed with the Arcade pack of the 360 to undercut the Wii. Everyone points at the 360 and accuses them of copying, which Microsoft utterly ignores.
* Microsoft will announce a blu-ray add on drive to the 360.
* Halo 4 is announced, but no real footage is shown (maybe just a teaser). A big deal is made of Halo Wars.
* A bevy (god I love that word) of casual games are revealed in order to attract the same audience which has been wooed by the Wii.
* Microsoft announces (again) that they have won this generation of the console war. Everyone else points to the Wii and reminds them that they are being soundly thrashed by the little white box.
* Microsoft announce that they are entering the handheld scene and unveil a handheld equivalent of the X-Box to compete against the PSP and DS.
Sony
I don’t actually expect that much in the way of surprise announcements from the PS3, as they have already shown there hand a little early. However, this will likely be the new info from the show floor:
* Bigger showing of Resistance 2 (of which the multiplayer with be a big highlight) and Killzone 2
* Yet another SKU of the PS3 is announced.
* A teaser for God of War 3 is shown (whilst I try to stifle a yawn).
* A final release date is given for Home.
* In game XMB is announced (if it hasn’t been released prior to E3).
* A sequel to Uncharted is shown.
* Heavy Rain is shown in full for the first time and stuns pretty much everyone.
* The next game from Team ICO is shown and I (and other fanatics) go completely crazy in anticipation.
* We finally get to see some in-game footage for Final Fantasy XIII, but get told that it’s been delayed until 2010.
Nintendo
There has been very little news from Nintendo of late in the way of first party releases and as such, I believe that Nintendo may well have a good few surprises in store:
* Nintendo will bang on and on about how well they are doing and how they are bringing a new audience to gaming.
* The new game that gets the must attention during the press conference will be Wii Music.
* Animal Crossing for the Wii will be revealed for the first time.
* A new 1080 game will be announced for the Wii, which uses the Wii Balance Board.
* A multiplayer only Metroid FPS is announced for the Wii. Similar to Metroid Prime Hunters on the DS, but obviously on the Wii and making good use of the Wiimote.
* A Nintendogs game is unveiled for the Wii (come on – this will just print money).
* Different colour Wii’s will be announced.
* A new (new) Mario Bros game will be announced for the DS.
* Either a USB flash drive or a hard drive is announced for the Wii (God know we need it).
* Possibly a new Cel shaded Zelda for the DS is announced – following on from Phantom Hourglass.
Also… Still game related, just had to add that it is just 1 week until MGS4 :)
Monday, June 02, 2008
I Am Legend
Films watched:
I Am Legend
Theatrical version
Not the I am Legend I ordered… poor ending!
5.5/10
Alternative version
Not a true adaptation, but not too bad. Better ending.
7/10
Okay, I have to add a few more words to this.
I Am Legend is one of my favourite books of all time, along with Day of the Triffids and 1984, so I was bound to be critical of this latest movie adaptation (it has also been made twice previously, both poorly). I was however, actually a little surprised to find that I didn’t completely hate it. It differs a lot from the book, but keeps a good few of the themes intact. I couldn’t help but feel that this would have benefited by keeping closer to the novel and also by keeping a lower budget with less big name stars.
What really irks however is that it is quite clear from watching the film that the alternative version (which really is just a different ending) was the original cut, which was likely changed after initial screenings (likely to a group of American kids). The original ending is actually closer in some respect to the book, although a lot less powerful. It also makes a lot more sense than the theatrical version, which really is nothing more than a stupid typical Hollywood ending.
What I have said in the past about this is that I Am Legend is called I Am Legend for a damn good reason… The book is simply fantastic and turns the whole story on it’s head in the last two chapters, whilst also explaining the proper significance of the title. The film (both versions) never properly explains this. The theatrical version tries and makes a botch job of it.
Really, is it that hard to make a proper adaptation of this fantastic novel? Maybe there will be a forth attempt sometime in the future, you never know…
Also, why the hell not just call the mutants vampires… that’s what they are after all!
I Am Legend
Theatrical version
Not the I am Legend I ordered… poor ending!
5.5/10
Alternative version
Not a true adaptation, but not too bad. Better ending.
7/10
Okay, I have to add a few more words to this.
I Am Legend is one of my favourite books of all time, along with Day of the Triffids and 1984, so I was bound to be critical of this latest movie adaptation (it has also been made twice previously, both poorly). I was however, actually a little surprised to find that I didn’t completely hate it. It differs a lot from the book, but keeps a good few of the themes intact. I couldn’t help but feel that this would have benefited by keeping closer to the novel and also by keeping a lower budget with less big name stars.
What really irks however is that it is quite clear from watching the film that the alternative version (which really is just a different ending) was the original cut, which was likely changed after initial screenings (likely to a group of American kids). The original ending is actually closer in some respect to the book, although a lot less powerful. It also makes a lot more sense than the theatrical version, which really is nothing more than a stupid typical Hollywood ending.
What I have said in the past about this is that I Am Legend is called I Am Legend for a damn good reason… The book is simply fantastic and turns the whole story on it’s head in the last two chapters, whilst also explaining the proper significance of the title. The film (both versions) never properly explains this. The theatrical version tries and makes a botch job of it.
Really, is it that hard to make a proper adaptation of this fantastic novel? Maybe there will be a forth attempt sometime in the future, you never know…
Also, why the hell not just call the mutants vampires… that’s what they are after all!
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Indy and Ironman
Films watched:
Ironman
Great, but gets lost once Ironman mark 2 is finalised.
7.5/10
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Still Indy, but a weak Indy. Certainly no Raiders.
7/10
I’m going to bend my rule a little by adding a few comments about Indiana Jones.
It has to be said that I’d probably put the film on par with Temple of Doom, which is to say that it is good, but far from great. Indy 4 had plenty going for it, and it certainly had some great Indy moments, but it also had some really, really dumb moments. It reminds me a bit of the really dumb moments in Temple, such as falling out of a plane and surviving by landing in an inflatable dingy…. Without spoiling much, I will list the moments below and my general thoughts.
1) Fridge… Funny, but oh so very, very stupid. Bending believability so much that it snaps in a dozen or more places.
2) Monkey and Vines… Probably the lowest point in the whole film for me… really, who thought this was a good idea?
3) Marion’s shortcut… Come on now, what is this, a cartoon?
Ironman
Great, but gets lost once Ironman mark 2 is finalised.
7.5/10
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Still Indy, but a weak Indy. Certainly no Raiders.
7/10
I’m going to bend my rule a little by adding a few comments about Indiana Jones.
It has to be said that I’d probably put the film on par with Temple of Doom, which is to say that it is good, but far from great. Indy 4 had plenty going for it, and it certainly had some great Indy moments, but it also had some really, really dumb moments. It reminds me a bit of the really dumb moments in Temple, such as falling out of a plane and surviving by landing in an inflatable dingy…. Without spoiling much, I will list the moments below and my general thoughts.
1) Fridge… Funny, but oh so very, very stupid. Bending believability so much that it snaps in a dozen or more places.
2) Monkey and Vines… Probably the lowest point in the whole film for me… really, who thought this was a good idea?
3) Marion’s shortcut… Come on now, what is this, a cartoon?
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