Harshness. Delicious harshness.

So yeah, I played Tomb Raider. Quite a harsh review, don't you think? Still, after my 70-billionth splatter-spike death, I just got a little bit frustrated with the whole thing and called it quits. It's the first game in quite a while that I didn't see through to completion, that's how dissapointed I was with it.

Still, all's well that ends well. Halo 3: ODST is still just as good as it always was, and the new maps for Halo 3 bring some variety to the mix, which is nice. Although they haven't actually managed to fix the matchmaking system yet, so me as a Colonel, I still drag in the Generals for whatever reason, making playing on Xbox Live a rather mixed experience.

Still haven't gotten my paws on a copy of Batman: Arkham Asylum, which I would very much like to do in the next few weeks, be it a rental or a flat out purchase. Unlikely to be the latter, due to my complete lack of moneys. Hopefully LoveFilm will be more than gracious enough to send it my way...that'd be nice.

Job hunt is still looking bad. Had an interview, which went well, but am yet to hear back from them, and it's nearly been a week, so I think that one can be considered scuppered. Unless they're one of those lethargic advertising companies who...y'know...do nothing. Unlikely, but could still happen...

As for everything else...well, that's going fine as well. Had a lazy Sunday today. Slept in until noon, then got up and went to get some Un-named But Highly Tasty Burger Place food. Then walked back home and we ate it whilst watching True Blood.

Speaking of which...True Blood! I've only seen the first episode so far, but I thoroughly enjoyed it - nice background mythology for the show, as well as great performances from all those involved. The creepy air that looms over ever scene is awesome, and I really like how despite barely looking different from humans, you can still tell which characters are the vampires and which aren't, especially when you know what to look for. Anyways, I'm enjoying that - so bring on the rest of the series.

That's it for now...laters.

Is it can be waffle time?

No, I couldn't think of a clever title for this post. Let's just get over that hump and move on.

I have a job! At a cinema! Hurray!! Dead chuffed about that - the interview was nerve-wracking to the extreme, and they asked the rather 'ARGH!!!' question of 'Why do you think you'd be good to work here?'. I reckon that's a really unfair question to ask for a job interview - surely it's up to the interviewer to decide that, instead of me telling them why? I kinda flapped my jaw without saying anything for a couple of seconds, then I just came up with something about my having relevant expeience and loving films. Think I mumbled...

But it doesn't seem to have made a difference! Hurray! I start on Saturday, and it's free cinema for the duration of my tenure! Which is fucking wicked, I tell thee. I mean, I was always happy to pay to go the cinema, all it did was limited how often I could go. Now, I have no limit, which kicks ass. So hopefully you guys - the two or three of you who regular check this place, anyways - can expect lots more movie reviews. Which is good!

Not much else happened on the movie front beside the movement towards the cinema - haven't been for a while, and I've been bogged down in watching Sex and the City (not my choice - apparently if Fee's going to watch Firefly, I have to watch SatC). It's not nearly as unbearable as I thought it would be - it's very well written, and the guys in it are really relatable, even if they aren't explained as well as the female characters (it's very much portrayed from a lady's perspective). I'm still never going to be convinced that the movie was necessary - I saw the final two episodes, and it ended without any plot strings hanging - but I suppose for completion's sake I'll have to watch it. So that's a good few hours of my life to while away. But then! It's onto Firefly, which'll hopefully kickstart some inspiration in my brain for my book!

Speaking of my book, I finally finished another chapter - which is fantastic news, as this was one of those transition chapters where you do have to fill in the gaps, but nothing really happens. I'm honestly find those the trickiest to write - I wish I could think of nifty little 'filler' chapters akin to the similar concept in TV series that have a self-contained little happening, but I honestly can never think of one appropriately brisk and relevant to the story. Hopefully on my 're-write' stint I can segue a few of those in. Still, my next chapter is very much a story chapter, so I shall hopefully be able to forge forward with that.

LoveFilm is slowly filling out the fringes of my film knowledge - I've got Saw IV to watch, along with The Orphanage to see if I'll still feel the same way the second time around (review's in the sidebar if you want to have a look). Also watched An Evening with Kevin Smith, which was excellent - and AEwKS2: Evening Harder is on it's way soon. Genius of a title, that.

Well, that's about it for today. Jeez, this post has a lot of tags. Apparently I'm very tangental today. Yay.

Woo for 2AM!

Yup, 2AM, and I should be fucking asleep. Only I'm not. Joy of joys, huh? So might as well regale you lot with some tale of debauchery and heroism. Either that or just ramble about random crap. I like the idea of the latter. I could go into debauchery...but we all know what happens when I do that...so I shan't.Been watching Dexter as of late. It's absolutely superb - I wasn't really expecting to enjoy it as much as I am. It's a perfect mix of the dark, bleak serial killer stuff and police prodedural, with a fantastic dose of pitch black humour. Case in point - Dexter's at an 'Addiction Anonymous' thing, woman standing pouring her heart out about how she needs the drugs, and Dexter's sitting there thinking he needs to sharpen his knives. Genius.

Michael C Hall is perfectly cast - his bluff demeanour fitting the character brilliantly. That and I really do like the development of the character as well - I won't give anything away, but the way it delves into Dexter's psyche is one of the most interesting facets of any TV show I've seen for quite a while now.

Fee's graduating tomorrow - well, later today depending on your definition of tomorrow - and I'm trotting along to the aftermath. Not at all fazed by the fact that I'm not going to the...eh...math, seeing as the damn tickets cost far too many pennies. I kinda object to charging the graduates themselves for heading to their own freaking graduation, so I guess even if I had been invited, I'd've not gone out of principle. Still, apparently I'm to 'keep her sane' whilst her family bicker over vegetarian food. Should be good!

Then it's up to the Cairngorns for a wedding. That's the weekend taken up in its entirity - joy of joys - but at least I get to wear my kilt for it. Haven't worn it to a formal event for absolutely ages, so it'll be fun to look the part for once!

Poked at Raider's for the first time in absolutely ages - wrote a page or so, which was fairly impressive. I think I'm really gearing up for having all of September being a mad rush to get the thing finished - I know exactly where it's going, it's just getting it down on paper (well, digital paper) that's been the problem. So September and some of October off to finish the damn thing. Gotta stop calling it that - it's my book, not some 'damn thing'. Bad Ross, bad!

Right, that's it for tonight. Should probably make another attempt at sleep. Night!

Namesakes...

So - as you may or may not have guessed - my blog takes it's name from Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw's website. And recently he's completely confounded me - he's a funny guy, and I honestly wish I could be half as funny as he is, but his most recent rant on web comics seems completely out of sorts. Yes, he's taken potshots at everything from the state of the video games industry to Gamespot firing Gerstmann to - indeed - the webcomic industry itself. But to go on a fully-fledged rant about something more or less unrelated to reviewing video games seems wrong somehow. Don't get me wrong, I laughed at the rant and I do agree with some of it (mostly about the whole miscarriage story-line going on at Ctrl+Alt+Del) - but it still left something of a bitter aftertaste. Still, if he can make me laugh even doing something that I don't agree with from a moral stand-point...well, the guy must be doing something right.


Nat's been and gone - that was fun while it lasted. Lots of Wii-age ensued, along with seeing two movies in three days, that rocked. Seeing Jamie was fantastic too - and apparently he's up in Edinburgh indefinitely, so I shall have to see him again!

Getting close to finishing House, and I've got to say it's fantastic. Quite how they made such a likable arsehole, I will never know - but they pulled it off. Can't wait for the finish of season 4 - apparently the end of it is an absoulte doosey.

After that, it's on to Dexter and after that, the X-Files. So that's a lot of watching to do! Woo hoo!

Until next time kiddies...remember to play nice.

Hurray!

Well! That was fun, wasn't it? Bit of vaguely interesting, pseuo-journalistic travelogue-ing! Had a great time, as you may or may not be able to glean from my wonderfully written thingy...

Distractions aplenty recently. Work's sucked - I'm just distracted, don't know what it is, but haven't been earning nearly enough money in the last couple of weeks. Still, am going to try and pick it up this week! Putting in random gardening crap is still vaguely entertaining though, although I can see what my boss says about it starting to grate after a while. Not sure when it'll start to truly grate on me, so for the moment will stick with it!

Then, of course, there's Age of Conan. It's pretty fantastically fun; and I must mention that there's decapitation in it! The combat is vaguely refreshing after the usual 'click and wait' style of such games; and it's ridiculously, satisfyingly bloody, which is always good. I've gone a barbarian - because, y'know, I'm boring - and am having fun chopping people up! So yup, that's reccommendable. There're still a fuckload of glitches - as is usual for an MMO that's just started - so will post a proper review of it when it's slightly more stable!

Saw Indy 4, and - unlike half the fucking internet, it seems - I really enjoyed it. Was a little jarring that it took a sci-fi route instead of a pseudo-religious fantasy one - that's not really a spoiler, as it's more or less revealed as such in the opening sequence - but apart from that, it was exactly what I was expecting of a new Indy film; more of the same. It wasn't trying to break any boundaries, it wasn't trying to push the medium of cinema - it was just a good old-fashioned adventure romp. Again, I'll post a proper review of it it at some point - I've been concocting it in my head for a while now, and it should pretty much pop out fully formed once I actually sit down and write the bugger.
Watched series 1-3 of Peep Show. Bit hit and miss in my honest opinion - some of it is outright hilarious, and other parts are utter 'WTF?!!?!' moments. The former outweigh the latter, given; but it was a little jarring just how unfunny some of the not funny parts were. Also, the first person camera angle was a little awkward at times, especially when they were doing the more intimate stuff. Still, overall I enjoyed it, so am going to try and get hold of the rest of it!

As for things I've yet to watch - I've got House series one sitting waiting to be watched! That should be good - I've heard nothing but good things about it from multiple, vaguely trust-worthy sources, so will hopefully watch that over the course of the next week.

Now...I have a cupboard to go hide in. Or not, as the case may be. Kek...

This! Is! Rome?

Okay, so I bought Rome a few weeks back, and I watched about 3/4 of it before I got sidetracked by Stargate Atlantis. But I've just finished it, and I have to say...wow. It was absolutely superb; the productions values were amazing, the acting (whilst occasionally spotty) was solid throughout and some of the battle sequences were amazingly well done. Can't wait to get my filthy paws on Season 2 for more blood, debauchery and philandering!

Still no internet - so that means the kind Indian supervisor lied to me; he didn't do anything to see that it was delivered earlier than the date they specified! Still, should have it on Monday, and I'm going to call Tiscali up and have at 'em; hopefully they'll issue some kind of discount. Would be good too have a few months free or something of that ilk. But the real kicker is that I will be able to post regularly come Monday! Which is great! Right? RIGHT?!?!?!

I currently have the flat to myself - Ryan's finally gone back to work (his words, not mine) after breaking his arm, and so I'm to have the place all to myself pretty much every weekend of our tenure. Which is...y'know...bracing. Pity we're not allowed to throw wild parties...and bigger pity I don't have a girlfriend...oh, the mischief that could ensue. Although, at this rate I'll probably be working at weekends, anyways; better money during those hours I'm told, and I'd rather have days off during the week...so that one could attempt to get things done! Like shopping without having to get elbows to the ribs or umbrella spokes in the eye. Yes...both those things happened on my visit to Tesco today; and did I receive apologies for them? Methinks not. Bastards.

Didn't manage to go to the cinema...might go tomorrow if money and time permit; and probably to go see Stardust. Eastern Promises is on its opening weekend, and that means loads of punters showing up; I prefer going when there are less people - it generally makes for a more relaxed trip! So! Stardust it is! Not now...but soon!

And now...seeing as Heroes has commenced it's second season, I'm off to re-visit it's first. Wish me luck!

Buh-bye!

Of Raiders and Stargates.

Ah, the joys of Stargate: Atlantis; it has to be said, that show surprised me. My mate Nathaniel randomly selected it to watch; and he recommended it to me, and then presto: Ross has become a 'Gater' of sorts. It's just so brilliantly written - and honestly, I find it to be a much stronger draw than it's ex-sister show Stargate: SG1. The stories are more interesting and - Colonel O'Neill aside - I'm rather more fond of the characters. Anyways, I'm now half-way through season 3, and apparently this is rather timely, as by the time I've got internet, season 4 will be well under way.

Speaking of TV shows that are now well under way; both Heroes and Scrubs have started again. Have to say, I'm relishing watching them again. Both ended on cliff-hangers, and I can't wait to find out how they are resolved! JD can't kiss Elliot! Can he? And what the hell was Hiro thinking?!?!

I'm still unemployed; and it's not due to lack of trying. Seriously; apparently you need experience to be a fucking dish-washer in this town! Anyways; I'm confident that I'll have a job by the end of November...but then I was confident that I'd have a degree by age 22, and see where that's gotten me. Still, gotta stay positive, right?

My books coming along nicely - mostly because I've got very little else to do with my days. I'm more or less finished with the ret-con, and so Book 3 is rocketing ahead. Should be a good 'un! Remember, you can still have a gander at the first 12 chapters (and the prologue) here!

Hopefully going to see either Stardust or Eastern Promises over the next week; I'll definitely post a review for the one I finally decide on seeing, so do check in if you're enjoying my reviews!

And that's it for now. I bid you all good...eh...morning!

The Joys of Steam

That's right! I rather like Steam! A lot of people have criticised it for screwing around with Half-Life 2; but doesn't every great idea get a bit of stick at first? I mean, I got in the mood for playing some Counter-Strike: Source, and I scoured the house for my DVD to no avail. Then I read somewhere that - so long as you had registered with Steam (which I had) - you could download any game you had when you registered and install it free of charge.

What a fantastic idea! I was dead chuffed, and have had my bloodlust sated for the week!

Okay, so not every Blog post has to be devoid of shameless advertising - but I've always maintained that digital content delivery is the way forward - it's one of the reasons that the HD media war doesn't interest me too much. And I think Valve are doing a fantastic job in pioneering it for the video game industry!

What else, what else what else?

I like toast! Well, not every thought is a winner. But Scrubs has once again proved to me that it's never going to get old. I just finished watching series' 1-6 on DVD/online, and I have to say I laughed at every joke that I've laughed at in the past. I honestly don't believe there's a better comedy show on TV at the moment. Can't wait for season 7!

I'm also verging on finally getting around to seeing Transformers, and I'm planning on making that my very first blog-review, so keep those peepers peeled for that.

And that's it.

Good eve, all!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRR...

..RRRRRRRGH!!!

I just stepped on a goddamn plug that was lying pins up on the floor! Damn that stung.

So! What else is on my mind today? And, obviously, not in my foot!

Yet another great, yet somehow cancelled show - Dead Like Me. I don't understand why I keep falling in love with shows that get cancelled - or, indeed, have been cancelled for ages! But it keeps happened. Dead Like Me is an enormous amount of fun; it's apparently a 'Bangsian fantasy'. And that, for those - like me - who have/had no clue what that means, the Wiki page is very informative. But in short, it's set partially or wholly in the Afterlife. And it's about Reapers - ordinary people who die, and then get drafted into the employ of the Divine (or something) to reap souls!

It's got a fantastically morbid sense of humour - some of the deaths that the main characters have to reap are hilarious, as is the occasionally totally insane dialogue. The main characters are all drawn from varioius parts of modern history - they are, after all, dead and have been for some time - and the clash of personalities is particularly entertaining. Anyways, basically, catch it if you can! It's great!

I also tried to convince my 55-year-old father to go to see Transformers with me - but as you can probably guess, that was 27 minutes of my life wasted! Still, I'm certainly wanting to go see it, so I'll probably get the bus into Falkirk during the week. Should be fun. I've been looking forward to this for a while - with almost TMNT levels of anticipation. Those were two of my 'things' as a kid, Transformers and Ninja Turtles (or 'Hero' Turtles, as we were forced to call them in good old Blighty.

I was mildly pleased with the with the way TMNT turned out - and to be absolutely honest, I love Michael Bay films; so Transformers has all the potential to be one of my favourites of Summer 2007! Although Spidey 3 is certainly up there...

I finally bit the bullet and began retconning my story to be 1) more coherent, plotwise (it was already pretty coherent, but I just wanted it to be more so), and 2) to incorporate a few things I'd been wanting to put in for a while. Also, I completely reworked the money system - with the help of my esteemed friend Nathaniel - because honestly the amount of inconsistencies were getting ridiculous. So I've now got it set in stone! Wahey!

Oh! Saw III has finally graced my sight, and honestly? I enjoyed it. It was far gorier than the last two - the Twisting Crucifix was particularly ingenious/twisted (pun intended) - but the plot was a little more coherent than the second (which didn't seem to have any plot when compared to the first). So overall, a rather fun rating of 7/10 from me!

And that's about it for this evening/morning/what-the-fuck-ever.

Laters, everyone!

A Cancellation of Innocuity

Yes, I'm finally retiring that joke, seeing as it weren't funny. But it's also a fairly neat lead in to what I be thinking about presently.

Thing is, Fox (the broadcasting company...not the dude from Lost) have done it again - they've cancelled a show just as it was getting interesting. The show in question? Drive.

It was absolutely ace! I don't usually get instantly impressed by shows in 2 episodes; but this one had me hooked. This was a Firefly-esque 'this is going to be fantastic' kinda feeling. But then, I should've listened a little harder to my gut - because as I'm sure you know, Firefly too was given the chop by Fox.

It's just disappointing that Fox are so very money driven (excuse the pun); surely they can afford to hold up a few not-so-highly rated shows with their (so-called for that very ability) tent-pole shows - 24, House, Prison Break and The Simpsons, along with their bullshit reality shows. Besides - Drive achieved 6 million viewers! If a show achieved that many people in the UK, it'd be considered a success. But for Fox...axe it.

And to really drive (god I can't stop...) the knife home; they haven't properly aired the 'final' two episodes - having originally stated they would air them on the 4th and then the 13th, just two days ago - instead posting them online where no-one is going to be able to watch them! So honestly, I'm annoyed at them.

What else...what else. Watched a few movies - including Zodiac as I write this - but nothing really significant, mostly either the dross on Sky movies or things from my DVD collection. I may or may not post a review of Zodiac, depending on how much I like/dislike it. At the moment it's leaning towards the former!

I located my 'His Dark Materials' books, inspired by seeing the trailer during my general perusing. Gonna try and get around to reading them - and hope they're just as good upon a second viewing.

On the trailers side, too, I found one for a great looking movie called Shoot 'Em Up; which looks like good old smashmouth fun. Plus, I love Monica Bellucci ('cause I'm a sucker for a brunette with big...eyes); and Clive Owen - as an actor - is growing on me, after I saw him in both Children of Men and Inside Man.

Anyways, that's it for now.

Lata!