Shit, my PS3 has died.

So I’m here, writing on this blog with a PS3 that is broken. I am totally devastated, in the fact I now have to fork out another £250 for a new one. It sadly started to go wrong after I decided to play an old playstation 2 game. I first noticed something was wrong when it flashed white a few times while trying to load the game. Next thing, it loads the game fine and play on it for a good few battles, only for it to then freeze and start displaying random colours and ripping lines in the screen. At the time, I thought nothing of it and I returned to drinking my can of cider with my friends.

The next day, I turn on the PS3 for a cheeky COD session for it to freeze on me again and to the display more random colours and ripping lines! So, I researched the problem on the internet and I am pretty certain its a GPU failure. I cannot describe to you how it feels to have such an amazing machine break on me. I’m probably going a bit over the top with my feelings towards it, but I do not have £250 to spare so I can buy a new one.So I am without a games console until I can get together enough money and buy a new one. Thankfully I have download festival coming up soon which should take my mind off my loss.

I cannot wait for Download. Sadly, Wolfmother are now not going due to illness but the fact they are being replaced by killswitch engage is fantastic. I was looking forward to download as it was but now i’m even more excited.

Only a short one today, will write again soon! x

Lost – it’s finally over. And it’s still not explained a lot to be perfectly honest.

WARNING: I’m not a Lost fan as you can probably guess and my knowledge of Lost is limited to what I’ve heard and read from the fans.

So, the big finale of Lost has finished, with more people saying how amazing the finale was. However, they are also quite a few people left with a big taste of “WTF” left in their mouth. And honestly, who can blame them?

A hell of a lot apparently was not explained. Magic numbers, some tunnel of light that either kills you or makes you turn into a smoke monster, a black kid whose powers are never revealed but are apparently super important, time travel wheel, speaking bird that is never even explained.

The list really goes on. The producers will try and combat this and say it loses it’s magic if you explain everything, like in Star Wars where they explained what the force was. There is a very key difference between Star Wars and Lost. I’m going to give you a second to figure it out.

Still thinking. I’ll give you a few more seconds then.

Oh you must have it by now? A few more seconds then…

Right well if you haven’t got it by now, please leave the internet, you are not ready for what it holds.

The answer is that Lost was supposed to be a fucking drama. Star Wars was straight up Sci-Fi, as shown by the laser guns.

As Lost went on it got more and more crazy and just decided to try and span every genre. Sci-Fi and Fantasy being the biggest two.

The idea of people being stuck on an island after a plan crash and trying to get off is an interesting prospect. With the right character dynamics, perils of living on an unknown island etc. you can build a tv series out of it. You can even have those random flash backs. But it just got more ridiculous as it went on and then won’t explain it as apparently that would make it less of a mystery. Here’s an idea then, don’t market your show as a fucking drama when it blatantly isn’t.

Constantly adding on new plot lines and then not finishing them off is stupid. Having mysteries is fine, in some of the best horror films you never see the villian. But the sheer amount of stuff that wasn’t explained is just phenomenal.

The least the producers could do is at least explain to some of the poor Lost fans what the hell some of these things are all about.

Oh and also, the ending was on par with “And it was all a dream,” possibly the worst ever literary device in writing. Good work arseholes.

Steve Jobs – You’re not the master of the internet

I’m sure a lot of the people on the internet have heard of the fun that has been happening between Adobe and Apple (well Steve Jobs).

If you haven’t, here is a quick summary. Steve Jobs decided that Flash would not be supported on Apple products because apparently Flash sucks and it breaks his products (not true Steve).

Adobe took offence to this and since then the e-bullets have been firing back and forth. And quite honestly, Steve Jobs has once again made himself look like a right tit.

The latest shot fired was from Adobe with their “We heart Apple” advertising mischief. Retaliation? Not quite yet, although a load of people think that there is. Some image a guy made is doing the rounds with the lego symbol which appears when you don’t have flash. Hilarious, recycling someone’s joke. Good one guys.

But really, who is in the right here? We have Adobe saying that people should be allowed to do what they like and Steve Jobs saying that Flash is a closed system, and only available from Adobe.

I’m sorry Mr. Jobs, but you’re a fucking idiot.

Two things really stick out about that statement. One is that whilst it is true that Flash is owned by Adobe, everyone can see the specification for it and can develop whatever the hell they like with it. And number two, which he also admitted was true, is that Apple practically lives off being a collection of closed systems. Oh but when it comes to the internet, they all have to be completely open.

No they don’t Steve.

As long as people can use Flash, and you don’t have to pay for it or anything like that, there should not be a problem. Mr. Jobs has said he would prefer to use HTML5. Well Steve, have you ever thought about the possibility that people could use both?

He also went on to say they performed crap on touch screens. Well maybe that’s because they weren’t designed for your faggy touch screens. Or maybe it’s down to the fact your hardware is a bunch of overpriced gimmicky rubbish. Hell you only need to look at the iPad to see how crap some of his amazing inventions are.

And he has even stopped people developing stuff in Flash and then converting it to Apple code. Why? Apparently it makes “sub-standard apps.” How about letting the people who buy the apps decide?

Steve, let people decide what they want to use, don’t force them down one path. You’ve already done that with your hardware and most of your software. Don’t take your petty arguments onto the internet. Because limiting freedom on the internet is something you don’t want to mess around with. Ask anyone who has tried.

And stop being such a hypocrite.

Online Gaming and Young Mums

I am normally quick to jump at online gaming’s bad points, instead of fully going into depth of the good sides and the bad sides. Both sides have major advantages to counteract each other, but all I can really give on here is my own opinion of things. I’ll start with the advantages this time instead of attacking the subject straight away.

I am a huge gamer myself, and I play Call of Duty at least once a week for a good hour or so (thankfully not majorly addicted like some people). Games are so immensely detailed, it keeps people addicted for long periods of time. Games like Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Call of Duty are the main games in my opinion which dominate mainly online in the consoles. For PC it tends to be WoW and again Call of Duty. It offers a thrill that no other single player experience can really offer. With friend invites aswell, killing your friend with a throwing knife online is just a sheer rush. The adrenaline pumping around your body is quite scary. It’s this excitement which makes online gaming so addictive.

MMORPGs offer vast worlds to explore, new people to meet from all different backgrounds and the unlimited possibilities. I can see how people can get addicted to online MMORPGs (I was more of a Guild Wars fan) with so many quests to be completed, choices to choose, character building to do as well as character customization. The mind boggles with the endless possibilities that they offer!

I have already been over the bad points about online gaming, but I will just quickly go over some quick major points which I think are quite important. Online gaming is highly addictive and sadly, some people take it a bit too far. I’ve read reports on people who played WoW but died because they forgot to eat?! Surely, if people are playing a game for so long that they forget to eat, that the games producers should include some kind of limit into how long you can play for! I’m not talking a couple of hours, I’m thinking more a long the lines of a day or two. That way, the people who are addicted will have the chance to stop and catch up with reality.

The other point I seemed to talk about was that, the youths of today are spending so much time on these games that they are dumbing their own minds. I’m not talking about the people who play a few hours on them each day, I’m talking about the young people who spend hour after hour in front of a TV or PC monitor screen. The creativity levels of young people today is not as high as it was before TVs were made, when people used to have to go outside and think up new games etc.

Online games are extremely addictive and fun, and I am not saying that people shouldn’t play on them, I am saying that people shouldn’t play them excessively. The link below is a very old post, but it just goes to show that people can be so addicted that they stop looking after themselves. Another serious point to make, why didn’t the kids parents do anything about it?! Did they forget that their kid even existed? I just goes to show, that some parents aren’t educated enough to be able to look after their own kids.

http://www.kensavage.com/archives/another-kid-dies-from-playing-online-game/

To steer off on a tangent slightly, I want to talk about Girls who are having kids while they 14 – 18. Who in the right mind would want to have a baby in the middle of their teens?! It just goes to show that society is failing, if we are letting young and stupid girls have sex and then get themselves pregnant. These girls think that having a baby is like an accessory. A baby is there for life. We should put a ban on young girls having babies. They are not mature enough to look after a baby, hell, they haven’t even fully matured themselves, what makes them think they can look after a full-grown baby?

I know that being quite young myself, I definitely do not want a kid in my life. I want kids in the future just at my current age, I want to be able to go out to clubs, instead of having to go out to the local supermarket and spend my earnings on baby nappies. Even the young girls who are in love, can actually look after a baby and that wanted one really shouldn’t be throwing away their lives so early, they have the rest of their lives to have a baby.

I think that may be enough on that subject as I’m going to get hell on this. HAA

Peace out x

A Boring Week

As you may have read, or not, there are two people writing on this blog. I am the second to contribute.

So far this week, not too much that concerns me has really happened. Obviously we have had an election, and what happens here is important, but to write about it is really quite pointless and speculative. The scare mongers like the media are in overdrive about the Con-Lib coalition, despite being all for a coalition before. They just got one of the parties wrong. A curve ball to the works, which means a rethink of how to scare people more. I do not think people could possibly get scared any more quite honestly. Let’s give them a chance before we judge them. Don’t judge each party on what has happened before.

Anyway, not here to talk about that. Politics are not my strong point, and unless they have done something highly amusing there is not much to really comment on.

However, looking on the bright side of life, we have some funny things happening around the world.

The Human Centipede is a film that is gathering a lot of interest. Mainly because it’s insane. It would not be insane if it was slightly tongue in cheek, a tip of the hat to the people who have made shock films before. This is a serious film, serious business. Hell, the director has already stated this is just a precursor for an either more ridiculous film.

Here is a run down though. Typical horror film style, some girls get lost in woods, find a cabin with a strange man who lets them in, and before you know it, he gets down to some freaky stuff! But this freaky stuff just leaves you either laughing or crying because it’s so stupid. The surgeons master plan – to make a human centipede (never would have guessed that from the title). From the trailer you can see, there is not a lot of centipede action. Shame I would have liked to have seen how they would fair against some sort of assault course. However, from some lovely pictures, we do get to see that this is in fact a failed porno.

Science - Making new things possible

Delicious eh? 100% medically accurate according to the trailer too.

I mean really, what the hell is that? If it was supposed to be taking the piss fine, but the director and writer actually thinks this is a shocking film. It’s shocking just a sort of  “Seriously, what the fuck?” way. It just looks like they have been strapped to each other and forced to rim each other. I’m sure this is up someone’s alley (certainly their alley) but not for me thanks. But still, it is fucking hilarious, and I really cannot wait to see the full 12 person version. And I’m still praying on an obstacle course. And then maybe a battle with the vampires from Twilight to see who is the most fucked up piece of writing.

In other news, we’ve got a new game coming out from one of the only game companies I respect – Rockstar Games.

Red Dead Redemption is set in the Wild West and it’s nice to see them doing something else other than modern gangsters. And if the previews we’ve all been reading about are anything to go by, it’s going to be another classic. To quote IGN “find buried treasure, hunt down cannibals, cheat at poker and sock a mountain lion in the kisser.” Excellent stuff, the last one sounds particularly amusing. Hitting mountain lions in the face is something every man would like to do, but would never have the chance. Thank god for games. Bully was a good example of something Rockstar can do when they aren’t doing GTA, and hopefully this will be as entertaining as that. It’s a shame that it will not be on PC for release, but knowing them, they’ll release it at a later date. Hopefully it’ll be slightly more stable than the last GTA on PC, which even on a top end PC ran like a crippled pensioner who’d just had an unfortunate run in with a lawn mower.

And to finish off, every time I go to the cinema, one film trailer worries me; Prince of Persia – Sands of Time.

I liked Pirates of the Caribbean and it was the same director. However, there wasn’t already a script written for those films. They were new. There has already been a back story for the film in the form of the game. In the original games you were just a nameless prince who was fighting for the princess, much like many games from that era. And it worked nicely. A good platformer with some fighting elements built in that I can remember playing when I was a nipper. Frustrating games too, but very good.

Skip forward to 2003 and we have a new game, again involving the nameless prince who gets tricked into doing some bad stuff and off we go. A brilliant adventure unfolds.

Good story yeah? Already written?

Of course not, we need to re write it.

I’m starting to think there should be a ban on film makers from taking the names of very good games and ruining them. You only have to look at a list of video game to film adaptations to realise just how stupid it is. Resident Evil, Silent Hill, Alone in the Dark, Super Mario, Hitman, Max Payne, the list goes on. The reason most of these films failed, among other things, is because they changed the story. Why? God only knows, they did fine. Gamers aren’t stupid. We know a good story when we see one. We have progressed slightly from the days of pixelated characters making their way across a 2D interface thanks.

And you only have to look at the new Prince of Persia film to realise how wrong this could go. First the casting. Well none of them are Persian or even look vaguely Persian. Great, nice to see some historical accuracy going in here. But what about the important stuff, the story? Well…

Well the prince is a street urchin to begin with. So we’re already going wrong. Are we trying to pad out the story here? Is there actually any real point in changing this point. Apparently he shows some good battle skills and is suddenly adopted! Awesome. Nothing like the game there, so thanks for playing.

Then he embarks on a brilliant quest to take pack the sands of time (apparently now a dagger…) from an evil lord who plans to use them to create a big nasty sandstorm.

Seriously? THERE WAS ALREADY A STORY! It was quite good you know. Sands of time get scattered, you need to get them, people turned into monsters. It was awesome. You’ve just totally changed the whole thing. Basically the only things it actually has in common with the games is that you’re a prince (not even a real one) in persia and there are some things called the sands of time, although they aren’t actually the same thing. So really bugger all. It’s actually just using the name for marketing purposes. Thanks Disney. You’re going to ruin another good game to make a few quid.

I hope for the sake of gaming they never make a Half Life game. Arguably the best told story in gaming, something that is enthralling to play and keeps you on edge in an almost believable universe.

Let’s pray the film actually has some interesting parts in it and doesn’t turn out like BloodRayne. I think Ben Kingsley was in that as well. Good Omen…

The First – Rick Rolled

With this being the first post for the new blog, I thought I would discuss a subject which is bound to affect us all at some point; being Rick Rolled.

Most of us who own a computer and have internet access are bound to have been Rick Rolled, whether it have been while you were watching a YouTube video or a friend sent you an innocent looking link to a website. It is one of the things that keeps the whole mainframe of the internet together. The Internet would be too serious if Rick Astley hadn’t had created that genius song “Never Gonna Give You Up”. The moves that Rick pulls off are just mind-blowing. I wish I could dance like he did…

But the main reason for bringing up this subject is that it recently happened to me, I was innocently searching through some funny websites while doing some revision and I stumbled upon a certain website. I stupidly hadn’t saved my work and I had done at least a thousand words. This stupid website sent my machine mental. I tried controlling the website at first by pressing     Ctrl + Alt + Del    but a message screen came up saying that “You cannot perform that operation at this time.” I’m sorry fucking Windows, but I want to control my computer and get up Task Manager NOW so I can kill this iexplorer.exe process. I then tried to go with the website by going through the whole song, but still I had nothing. Pressing the cross button didn’t work, Alt +F4 also failed. I tried to go back to my work to save it, but I couldn’t access Microsoft Word because Internet Explorer was constantly there. So I had to do a force shutdown making me lose all of my work.

At this point, I was nearly exploding with fury but then I began thinking to myself, that only a true dedicated Rick Astley Fan would create such a website, that to get rid of , you would have to force shutdown. However, I then proceeded to tackle the website with Firefox and Google Chrome and I was actually able to get to Task Manager and close it down.

Lesson learned though, never use Internet Explorer and always, always, always… respect Rick Astley.

www.chodecircus.com/area51/

Much love x