3 Daws

Yippee it's new years party time!

We went out to the 3 Daws Pub which is run by one of my Aunties, so a good time was pretty much guaranteed!



I've not been out for a proper drink with my mate Andy in far too long, originally he wasn't going to be coming as he was going to be in Reading... thankfully he decided to join us at the last minute :-)



My mate Matt joined us from Lincoln, he's easily got to be the funniest drunk I've ever seen, both me and him were tilting back the Magners cider with abandon (Sadly Green Goblin isn't readily available down here :-( )



Both Nomi and my sister were wearing corsets and looking fantastic.



We all had to have a cigar to celebrate the end of 2007, unfortunately the bad only had Hamlet, next time I'll have to get some proper cigars in advance.

I am Legend

I seem to be starting a lot of my posts with... "I've not read this", but yet again I have watched the film before reading the book or indeed watching any of the previous film adaptations. So I'll be taking this film purely on it's own merits:

I am Legend stars Will Smith... and that's about it for characters... the majority of the film is spent with him conversing with himself of his dog Sam. Now although I like will smith as an actor, he can rarely pull off anything that is too far away from his character as the Fresh Prince, this is not a total exception, but it's pretty close. He's convincing as the last man alive in a city populated by "zombies", but not as a scientist trying to save the world... I have to say it, but he just doesn't pull off intelligence, it's a horrible thing to say about someone, but he just appears to be to much of a wide boy to be an intellectual.

The storyline is very good, as a-typical zombie hoards taking over a city go. It adds some elements usually overlooked in the genre of survival horror. One scene sees him hunting his own food, another shows him renting a DVD from a store (Manned by mannequins), this gives an interesting incite into what psychological impact the physical isolation from fellow humans is having.

The film has excellent SFX and where CGI is used it's seamless with the rest of the cinematography.

The only complaint I would have is that there is not really enough explanation behind the creatures behaviour at one point:...

Spoiler so look away:

The creatures show a instinct to reclaim one of their females (The mate of the leader?), and they go to great lengths (Including setting a trap identical to the one that captured the female) to recover her, and display a hierarchical nature along with it. Sadly this is not expanded upon, and in fact is totally overlooked by Will Smiths character... it would have been a nice twist to the storyline to have some intelligent interaction between the leader and Will Smith. Sadly it was just there to tempt me to think the storyline was deeper.

All in all it's a very good film, and visually appealing. I recommend going to see it.

On a side note people have been getting their knickers in a knot over the Batman Superman billboard seen early in the film... come on... it's most likely a joke by the director/scene setters. It it is true (And any reader of dark horse comics will know this) it's only going to be mediocre. I personally can't see why they'd to this crossover, as neither franchise is struggling at the moment (Well perhaps Superman is, but only through lack of information regarding the next film).

After watching the film (And when we got home) Naomi realised she'd left her hat behind. Me and Matt raced back to the cinema, but unfortunately the next film was underway (Seriously they must have been seating them as we left!). One of the ushers went off to see if he could find it, sadly he couldn't. So we opted to come back when the film finished (It was the last showing).

When we went back we managed to get into the cinema just as the last scene was running, so as soon as the credits rolled I dashed over to our old seats (Which were unoccupied) and there it was plain as day laying on the floor. Personally I reckon the usher never even looked... we were fortunate tho, as I swear the cinema hadn't even been cleaned (I'm sure my cup was still in the holder). Naomi was pretty relieved to be reunited with her hat

I don't think it suits me tho.

Guitar Hero 3 PS3 vs Wii

For Christmas I got a copy of Guitar Hero 3 for the PS3, but before I got a chance to play it me and Nomi went around to her friend Lucy's house where she had a copy of Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii.

I played it and absolutely loved it (Even tho I sucked at it). So when I got back to Kent we cracked out my version.

Now in essence the two games are identical... mash the coloured buttons in time to the music. But that's where the similarity ends... the Wii version used the Wiimote inside the guitar and transmits back to the Wii. The PS3 version uses a (Quite frankly shit looking) USB dongle to receive the signal from the guitar. Now both guitars are the same in appearance except the Wii's is white and the PS3's is Black (Standard livery colours for the consoles), but because the Wii's used the Wiimote it has rumble and speaker capabilities, which actually is really good, as bum notes sound through the Wiimote (Brilliant on 2 player modes) and when "Star Power" is achieved the guitar gives a little shake. It's a lovely touch that is sadly missing from the PS3 version. However from an engineering perspective why Activision didn't develop a guitar that worked with both consoles (Even if it does use a USB dongle, because the Wii does have 2 USB ports that are often overlooked) I don't know... perhaps there's a deep rooted difference in the control inputs that is impossible to overcome. But it's a shame as if you two guitars from different systems they sadly wont work. But enough of the rant about the guitars.

The game itself is radically different in visual quality. Now I know the quality of the PS3s graphics engine dwarfs the Wii, but is it really so profound that the characters in the Wii version need to look like Terrance and Philip? I know it's not, as other games (Such as Resident Evil 4) have superb graphics... I don't pretend to know the reason, but I imagine it may have something to do with the quantity of songs vs the capacity of the disk. This would also explain why all the tracks are presented in mono as opposed to DTS on the PS3. The PS3s superior graphics engine sadly shows up the Wii version, but during the game you rarely have time to take in the graphics as you're too busy focused on the button mashing.

The worst thing that lets the Wii version down however is the on-line capabilities, now I've always disliked the whole "friend code" system as being unnecessarily clunky, but I won't mention the on-line play with the Wii as I've not tried it. But it's the ability to buy extra songs on-line for the PS3 that really catches my interest. Sadly the construction of the Wii (Lack of a HDD) means that downloading tracks is unlikely to ever become a reality (A SD card would be far too slow a transfer rate) which is a real shame... although it irks me that it's a sort of "stealth tax" on owning a game these days, downloadable content extends the longevity of a game, and continues to do so as long as content keeps rolling out.

All in all it depends on the system(s) you own as to which you buy, but if you have the luxury of choice the PS3 version wins hands down, I'd like to recommend the Wii version, as personally I love the Wii as a console, but without it's innovative control system it sadly falls at the processing power of the PS3.

Christmas Lights

I like Christmas decorations... It's what sets Christmas apart from any other time of year. My mum uses lots of decorations that have been added to over the years, some of which i can never remember us being without. Others purchased only that year and added to the cacophony of illuminations and singing paraphernalia. Strangely it's always been centered on the insides of the house, and never the outsides as in this picture above, I think that these houses can look lovely, although sometimes they can go a little over the top especially with lawn based ornaments. Please just leave it to hanging lights and perhaps the odd character/sign on the side of a house... remember we're not competing with Vegas or Blackpool here people.

One quick observation is that very few people ever decorate beyond the living room and dining rooms. Me and Nomi had our own Nintendo themed tree (Which will hopefully make the Official Nintendo Magazine), but aside from that the other rooms of the house remained undecorated. I wonder why people very rarely decorate bedrooms?

Another AC Snowman

Built another snowman in my Animal Crossing town :-) sadly not quite the right size tho :-( got to try again tomorrow.

Pressie Time with my Nomi

I know it's a little materialistic, but I love giving and receiving presents at Christmas... I always put a lot of thought into anything I buy, but I very rarely pay any attention to how much it costs, as the most important thin is that the present is right for the person.



I bought Naomi (Amongst other things) a new DVD player that will also play DivX and other computer format videos. Her old DVD player has just about bitten the dust so hopefully she'll get a lot of use out of it (Especially when I figure out how to make it multi-region):




From Naomi I got a replica walking stick as used by Lucius Malfoy from the Harry Potter series of books:



It's absolutely amazing, as they only made a limited number of them and they sold out literally at the point I discovered it existed. So the fact Naomi managed to find one is pretty lucky.

Somewhat Broken

I've had my car since brand new in 2001 so she's just turned 6 years old. I've done a hell of a lot of mileage in those years tho... And sadly it's taken it's toll on her somewhat fickle K series engine. As regular readers will know my car's not been quite right since the water pump went in 2005, and it turns out that shoddy workmanship in its replacement is possibly where all my problems stem from. Sadly there's not much I can do about it though as it's difficult to prove what's at fault.

The latest problem is one that's going to cost me big time... (Click here for a explanation on various engine parts) As the big end has gone in one of the con rods, which in turn has worn the crank shaft to an unrepairable level (Normally it'd be reground, but sadly the wear is too much and would result in the big end bearing being loose if it was reground). So as you can see from the photo, it's engine out and rebuild time. What is useful tho is that because it's now lying all over a bench the impending replacement of the clutch is rendered a 5 min job :-) hopefully it'll only take a week as I've left it in the hands of a well known (In there parts) professional. In the meantime thankfully I have the loan of my dads car to get me around :-)

My dad owns a rather nice Volvo V70, which I've driven before but only in Germany, so I never really paid much mind to the power the engine had as speeds were not and issue on the autobahns. Driving it in the UK now though I've learnt it's got a lot of poke in it... As cruising at 70 on the motorway involves barely touching the throttle. And getting there involves no effort at all. Even better though is the fact that it looks like an unmarked police car so other road users give it a wide birth :-)

Pressie Time With My Family

Ever since I can remember of Christmas Day me and my sister have woken up to presents in pillow cases and stockings at the foot of our bed... we've then preceded to burst into my parents bedroom and unwrap them all in front of them.

As the years have gone on we've woken them up later and later (Think we started off at about 5am). Given I was still wrapping presents at 4am I need a bit of extra sleep. I was still up by 10 tho :-)

I received some very cool presents this year. Amongst them were:

• A watch that synchronises with my phone and tells me who's calling and what music's playing
• A wireless speaker that works with my phones MP3 player
• A copy of Jericho for the PS3
• A Gothic mirror
• Harry Potter Professor Snape Wand

Of course it wasn't all be getting presents. I got my dad tickets to see Spamalot (Both from me and Nomi), my mum a load of Harry Potter books (She's a fan too), and for my sister I managed to get hold of a replica antique crossbow and a toy one for her to practice with.

28 But Still a Kid

I'm 28 yet I'm still excited about Christmas and can't sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day for sleep deprived me if this carries on :-(

Santa Claus is Coming :-)

I don't think the magic of Christmas will ever die in me... I mean I know Santa isn't real (strangely I don't remember it being traumatic when I found that out) but the love of Christmas is still alive in me... As I said earlier it's more about the family connection than anything else. Only thing is I wish I could get myself organised better, now whilst all the presents are bought I'm yet to wrap them... Until now that is... Yawn... So now it's finally off to bed... I only hope Santa visits us last :-)

200th Post

Wow is all I can say... 200 posts, it really doesn't feel like that many. I know it's sad to mark this as an achievement, but to be honest I never thought I'd actually get this far before I got bored and gave up.

But I've really gotten into doing this, and hopefully I'll continue to post amusing and insightful stuff well into the future.

Thanks for reading.

The Fog (AKA $1 Sex Train Gig)

The lead singer and the bassist from Pauls band Cursed as Angels have a side project called $1 Sex Train. Now I actually liked their sound, however it wasn't exactly in keeping with the gig.

The biggest issue I had was with the copious use of a smoke machine and strobe:



Seriously this is the view you got from 10 feet away, somewhere up their I'm assured the band was playing:



Can just about make out the band here... after they were told to turn the smoke machine off.



Cursed as Angels were the second act, and pulled off a good one considering that 2 of them had pretty fierce colds. Pauls hat was a source of much amusement doesn't show up in the photo, but it says "Bah Humbug"... was hilarious how it bobbled back and forward to the moshing:

Sinfull Revisited

Greed:	High
Gluttony:	High
Wrath:	Medium
Sloth:	High
Envy:	Low
Lust:	Medium
Pride:	Very High

The Seven Deadly Sins Quiz on 4degreez.com

Well almost 6 months later here's the results of how sinful I am again.

Compared to 6 months earlier:

Envy's up
Pride's up
Lust down

Pride I can understand, as with Nomi in my life I've plenty to be proud of. Guess I'm less lustful, as now my entire attention if focused on one woman, tho personally I think it's gone up in that respect :-)

Hmm envy is a tough one, don't really envy anyone, guess I'll have to find out what that's all about and post about it later.

More Fruit? Sultanas vs Raisins

I know what the difference between a Sultana and a Raisin is, but what is the difference between a golden Raisin and a Sultana?

New But Old Posts

Got a few posts that I'd never completed writing to add, the first is below:

http://roamingjay.blogspot.com/2007/11/diy-tardis.html

Edited 20/12/2007

Another new "legacy" post

http://roamingjay.blogspot.com/2007/11/back-to-shop-floor.html

Champers in a Can

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/12/hilton_desert/

Seriously, why? As if making drinking Champagne wasn't cliche enough by spending most of her time falling unladylike out of limos, underwear in one hand and a small yappy type dog in the other, then why oh why make Paris Hilton branded Champagne in a can?

I've no problem with celebrities, I do however despise these mock celebrities like Paris Hilton and Jade Goody (To name but a few), not only do they highlight exactly what's wrong with todays society and somehow make it acceptable, but they actually contribute nothing other than the controversy that surrounds them over their latest gaffe. Kind of like a self perpetuating merry go round of media hype until eventually everyone gets bored of hearing the same story retold.

Push them all into a pit and set fire to them, along with the PR people and journalists that make these people "celebrities" :-)

Dried yet Juicy?

As part of my new drive to eat healthy I'm trying to eat as much fruit as I can... Which sounds simple, were it not for the fact that I am allergic to most fruit acids (unless cooked)... So I've been trying out dried fruits. And i have to say i love them... Raisins, cranberry's and even pineapple. But what perplexes me is the definition of "dried"... Surely dried would imply no moisture or rather juice... Yet the pineapple in my lunch today states it is "juicy dried pineapple"... Not that it's not nice... But where is the line drawn... And how can something be both juicy and dried... They're mutually exclusive? A case me marketing mumbo jumbo me thinks? I'll best get back to eating them before they cease being juicy and truly become dry :-)

Physics Engines

I'm a hardware junkie... and I like to keep up with the latest PC hardware so I can play the latest games as they were intended. Now physics have always been a bugbear in games, taking the realism away from a otherwise visual masterpiece, but physics calculations can be extremely taxing on a PC's resources so Ageia came up with a physics card... hurrah I hear you say... but sadly not many are hearing the call, as the card has not been adopted by many publishing houses yet, sadly even the beautifully crafted Crysis doesn't use this latest technology... so looks like I'll be holding out for a bit longer before buying one.

This is a excellent example of what can be done with the physics inside Crysis, you'd just need a monster of a PC to run it:

Snowman

It's snowing in my animal crossing town so I've built myself a snowman :-)

Christmas Time

I love christmas... And I know it's a little sappy... But it's because of the people, not the presents (though they are good too). Christmas is always unique amongst holidays as very few people go away, so i usually get to see family and friends that usually remain elusive. It's a good time, as i'm a very sociable person, so i love being surrounded by people i care about. Especially my best mate Matt who usually makes the special effort to travel down on new years.

As I imagine all families do, the board games come out after dinner, which again brings people together. As strangely we all feel compelled to play scrabble and monopoly (must be something in the turkey :-)). So for all it's corporate "selling out" Yule still serves it's original purpose as a festival to celebrate and bring people together.

Golden Compass

I've been waiting for this film to come out with baited breath... but before I go on I need to get a few things off my chest:


1. It's an Alethiometer... Not a Golden Compass
2. It's Iofor Raknison not Ragnar Sturlusson!
3. No one in their right mind would take a paddle steamer into an ice flow.
4. Anbaric engines on a helium airship = asking for an accident
5. Panserboure or Armoured Bear... not Ice Bear

I actually loved this film, but not for the reasons it should be loved.

This film was made to be a PG, as the original story called for some rather gratuitous violence in the Armoured Bear scenes and violence towards children. Its removal is not a bad thing as it adds more accessibility to a wonderful story, but it does water it down. Or rather it would if it contained the original story. The original novel was written by Philip Pullman and called Northern Lights, there's a small history behind the name change, but suffice to say it stuck because of the predominantly American audience, and probably no small part was to jazz it up a bit:

According to Philip Pullman, the title "The Golden Compass" came about
when he was deciding what to name the trilogy that the book this film was based
on was to be the first part of. He came across a passage by John Milton
referring to "golden compasses" as in instruments used to draw perfect circles.
Ultimately, he ended up calling the trilogy "His Dark Materials" based on
another passage by Milton, and named the first part "The Northern Lights."
However, the American publishers heard about the term "golden compass",
mistaking it for a reference to the alethiometer, and insisted on using it as the title
of the first book.

Quoted from IMDB

I don't know what input Philip Pullman had on the screenplay that was ultimately created by Chris Weitz, but unless there is some alteria motive that will become apparent in the next 2 films (Please please please, let them make the other 2 books) I think not a lot.

Now I understand that all film adaptations have to cut things out, LotR being a prime example, there are vast swathes of chapters pertaining to the Shire missing from the films. But this is necessary lest you end up with 6 hour long films. Done with the precision of a surgeons scalpel these can be unnoticeable and not detract from the storyline. Sadly Chris Weitz attacked this story with a rusty hatchet. The ultimate essence of the book is still there but it is somewhat jumbled and a mockery of its former glory. In these cases I tend to ignore the book and take the film on its own merits, but given the vast amounts of background information required to fill the blanks you need to have read the books to be able to appreciate what is going on. Which brings me back to the original problem of if you have read the book you want to stand up and scream at the screen that it doesn't happen like that.

This heavy spleen venting about the storyline being over I will come to the visual aspects of the film... stunning... you are dragged into a beautiful world that is a steampunk version of our own, with the elegance of the Victorian era, and not one second of it is unbelievable, even the CG talking animals only look fake when they speak, and that's because deep down our psychies tell us it must be fake. Casting was excellent, especially Nicole Kidman as Marisa Coulter, she just has that atmosphere around her that makes you think she's the loveliest person in the world, despite the fact she's a "baddie"... exactly as the books portray it.

To fully enjoy The Golden Compass you need to have read the books ages ago, and not like me in the morning before watching it. As you will be able to fill in the essential information that is missing, and be able to overlook (If you're as forgetful as me) the jumbling of the storyline and plot holes. This all being said I still enjoyed the film, but only because it added a more visceral element to my memories of the book.

Knackered

So tired seems to be the word of the day... you would have thought that 2 days off would have rejuvenated me. However one day was spent in a 7 hour lodge meeting (Which although I thoroughly enjoyed it, it left me struggling to stand!) and the other doing last minute Christmas shopping. Seems I managed to get no rest at all. So tonight it seems like an evening sitting down in front of the TV is in order... god I sound old!

Hitman

I should really learn to write these reviews earlier, because now I've seen it and the anticipation is over I have to say Hitman was somewhat forgettable. Which is a shame as the franchise itself is one that I'd been looking forward to seeing converted to the big screen. This is not to say I hated the film, far from it I enjoyed it. But ultimately it left an unsatisfied feeling of what might have been. The only real negative point I can say is that the film added an element of humanity to Agent 47, which is totally at odds to the game. But in the same token, it's not a game but a film, so it needed a little more than just to assassinate people as a storyline. On the plus side though Timothy Olyphants acting I felt captured the cool calm and collected nature of Agent 47. Not a bad adaptation, but defiantly not the care it deserved.

Feh

Quote for the day:

Well if the jaws of fate insist on dragging me down they're going to end up with a
fat lip.

I'm not going down without a fight... And
I never pick a fight I can't win. All I need is a loving girlfriend,
family and friends that care about me. Thankfully I have all that and more!

Jamie Bennett 06-12-2007