What an incredible tennis match! Andy Murray, the British number 1, playing Richard Gasquet, the French number 1, in the 4^th round of Wimbledon. Gasquet led 2-0 sets and by that stage Murray looked finished, completely beaten. Nothing he could do was enough to beat the powering Frenchman, something that wasn’t helped by Murray’s many unforced errors. But somehow the plucky Brit got back into the match and crawled back the next 2 sets. With the crowd behind him it was Gasquet’s turn to fade and by the end of that 4^th set he was in real trouble. It was Murray’s game from the taking and eventually won 6 games to 4. An absolutely stunning comeback! I’m so glad I turned the TV on tonight! What a treat!

So now Murray is into the quarter finals. Impressive, but of course his next opponent is Rafael Nadal, so I don’t suppose he will be going any further. Nadal really is something special. But hey, enjoy the moment Murray; you really do deserve it. If there is one thing the British people like it’s an underdog, and when that underdog is a local hero, well that just makes the victory all the sweeter! ^^

My faith in Amazon was obviously well placed. I reported the problem I was having with Guitar Hero III to them, organised for the old version to be picked up on Monday by the courier company DHL, and asked for a replacement. This was accepted and about two hours later I received an email saying that my replacement had already been dispatched. Blimey that was fast! It arrived the next day and I’m happy to report that the new version works brilliantly! No dodgy buttons this time thankfully. Now I can finally have a proper go with the awesomeness that is GH3. Damn I love that game! ^^

Thanks Amazon! You guys kick ass! *does a jig*

The new guitar!

Basically the top fret button (the green one) was faulty and went for long periods of not workings at all (normally when I was in the middle of a song). At first I thought the signal was just not getting through to the Wii but after fiddling with the setup that was obviously not the answer. Everything else worked after all. The only thing I can think of is that there is a loose connection so I’m now going to have to send it back to Amazon and get it replaced. Needless to say I’m not best pleased. I’ve been looking forward to playing this game for a long time now so picking up a faulty copy is pretty irritating. Oh well. The sooner I send it back the better. At least I still have Zelda so it’s not all bad. I also have the classic controller now too so I can finally get some of those great retro games.

*sigh* I’ll let you know what happens at any rate. Hopefully there won’t be a problem. Amazon are normally pretty good. Fingers crossed.

It's finally happened. I have at last moved into the modern gaming age and bought myself a Wii! Hurray! I've wanted one for quite some time now but due to a heavy workload I didn't really want to distract myself with its awesomeness (which would have happened, I can assure you ^^). Now that has all finished I felt the time was right so I wasted no time in getting one and I'm already loving it.

A friend of mine actually lent me his for a while a few month ago so I was already pretty familiar with the system. Even though it isn't anywhere near as powerful as, say, the 360 or PS3, it is certainly the most unique, which I've always liked about it. Nintendo went in such a different direction with it compared to their rivals and took a big gamble in the process. If that controller hadn’t work properly or people didn't respond to it the whole project would have fallen apart. Without that element the Wii is completely pointless as it has nothing else to fall back on. As we know however the Wii has been phenomenally successful and my admiration for Nintendo continues to grow. They were willing to take a risk and try something new and because of that I respect them hugely.

So basically, my summer is now sorted. There is no longer a reason for me to leave my room (apart from food and answering the call of nature, of course ^^). If anyone has any suggestions about stuff I should get then pleased let me know.

Now that I have some more free time and my studies have finished for the time-being another important issue has come up in my life: fitness. Over the past 8 years I simply haven’t been able to get out and exercise, what with my illness and all, so that has taken a big toll. Now that I’m healthier and actually have a solid direction in life (university mainly) the need to get into shape has never been stronger. At my current level uni life would be extremely tricky so something had to be doing about it.

So I joined a local gym in an attempt to remedy this little/huge problem. I’ve been a member for a few months now but it’s only been in the last few weeks that I’ve been able to get in regularly and actually get a decent program going. So far things are looking good. The first week was tough, as I knew it would be. Everything hurt after an hour on the machines to the point where I thought my arms were going to fall out of their sockets. I expected that however so it didn’t come as much of a surprise. I battled through it and now things are much easier. I’ve been steadily increasing the time I spend on all the machines and so far things have been going pretty well. No major disasters or anything at least. :) Not only that but I’ve also been paying close attention to my diet and making sure I eat in a healthier manner. That isn’t a huge problem either really as I’ve always had a pretty good diet. I’ve never been a huge fan of junk food (I have a McDonalds about once every 2 months) and virtually no soft drinks so really all I’ve had to do is eat a bit more fruit. It’s only a little thing but it should help in the long run.

So yes, soon I’ll be a fitter, stronger me and hopefully have enough stamina to enjoy the summer as well as having a better chance of coping with uni life. Wish me luck!

The one other part of the Orange Box I feel I should mention is Portal. For those that don’t know Portal is a puzzle game developed using the HL engine where you must solve challenges using (yup, you guessed it) a portal gun. Basically the object of the game is to create a series of wormholes in the walls/floor/ceiling to gain access to different areas and avoid various obstacles in an attempt to escape from an experiment gone very badly wrong.
 

 
The reason I singled it out here is because I had an absolute blast playing it! It’s beautifully made, really well thought out and extremely challenging. Above all though, it’s hilariously funny. I can safely say that I haven’t laughed that hard while playing a game from many, many years. There were times where I was in tears (making playing difficult), it really was that good. Your nemesis, the crazed computer GLaDOS and her little minions, are a truly wonderful creations and brought a huge smile to my face every single time. Never before has a machine been so sarcastic and so blatantly insane (she even gives HAL, from 2001: A Space Odyssey, a run for his money, which is saying quite a bit). Whoever wrote the script should be given a medal and the keys to the city. The humour is just so off-the-wall and so crazy that it’s just a joy to spend time with. It hits all of the right buttons and is always timed perfectly making it a thoroughly enjoyable experience. All of these factors have really reawakened my love of puzzle games so I have a lot to be thankful for. I highly recommend checking this game out.

But just remember this: “The cake is a LIE!!!!”

So my OU course is over and I finally have some time to relax and take things easy. What a relief! It been quite strange not having to do anything over the past few days. There has been so much going over the past month it feels odd to just stop all of a sudden. Still, it's given me a chance to catch up with some good old games playin’ and movies watchin’ so that’s been good. :)

One game that I have been playing recent is Half-Life 2. It’s strange that someone like me, a devoted PC gamer, has missed out on this for so long, even after all of the acclaim it’s received over the years, but something always stopped me getting it. I have no idea why. I loved the original so why I wouldn’t get the new one is a mystery. My brother gave me the Orange Box for my birthday though so I had no excuse to not give it a go. As it turns out I love this game!

Looking at it now it is obvious that it’s a 4 year old game. If you compare it to something like Crysis and Call of Duty 4 then the graphics do look a tad dated. That isn’t surprising of course, PC games are evolving incredibly quickly, and I’m certainly not saying that they are bad. Far from it. It’s actually amazing how fresh they look and it certainly isn’t a distraction from the main things that really set this game apart from its rivals: the gameplay and story. Without fail I will always choose a game with a good story and poor graphics over a game with good graphics and poor story. If it isn’t engaging to play on that mental level then forgot about it. Luckily, HL2 follows on very nicely from the original and still maintains that interesting and unique feel which made the first such a big hit. The Source engine should also be given a huge amount of credit for this games success. It really is a masterpiece without a shadow of a doubt. Everything moves so effortlessly and realistically. It’s just a joy to spend time with it.

There is still quite a bit of stuff I haven’t looked at on the Orange Box yet; Episode 2 mainly Team Fortress 2 so I still have a lot of gaming to do. I’d better get back to it then. ^^ Expect more HL2 stuff soon. There is a lot to talk about, that's for sure.

I’ve finally got that damn assignment out of the way! Thank god for that! It took a bit longer than I expected but I think that overall I did a pretty good job, considering the circumstances. Because I have had a few bad weeks (my health still plays-up every now and then) I am quite behind so I had to skip quite a few parts of the textbook. It’s not ideal but that’s just how I have to play it.

There’s no rest from the wicked though; I’m starting the next one straight away. Basically, I have about a month to go and in that time I have to complete one more normal assignment (the certain one) and the final assignment, which is like 2 or 3 normal assignments all rolled into one. Needless to say the pressure is really on and I’m already exhausted. If I can complete and pass this course then I’ll be able to get into university this September. If not then I don’t know what I’m going to do. I don’t even want to think about it really.

So anyway, I’m busy, stressed and very tired. It will be SO nice when this whole thing is over. I haven’t been online much lately (as I’m sure you can understand) so it may take a while for me to get to any journals and such, so please bear with me. If you suddenly get a huge dump of messages in your inbox one day you’ll know why. XD

Now it’s time to get back to work. Crack that whip slave-driver!

Yes! Heroes, Season 2, is starting on BBC 2 tonight at 9pm! I’m really excited! When the first season was aired last year I was gripped as I rarely have by a TV series. After missing out on other big shows like Lost (a series that I still need to catch up with) I really wanted to just sit down and watch something new and, being a bit of a geek (okay, a total geek :D) the concept behind Heroes really appealed to me. I wasn’t disappointed. From the very first episode I was completely hooked and I’ve remained like that ever since. The virtually everything about it has been great: the characters, the story, the script, the products, it’s all been top-notch and wonderfully brought together. The only thing that really bothered me was that by the end of the first season the story started becoming rather confusing. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it and certainly followed what was going on, but I just felt that it was starting to get needlessly complicated. That is only a very small criticism however in an otherwise excellent series. Perhaps it was made like that to set up the new season, I don’t know. We’ll just have to wait and see. :)

So yes, Heroes Season 2 on BBC 2 at 9pm tonight! If you can, watch it! If you can’t, sucks to be you (unless you’ve seen it already of course ^^) I’m just glad I had the self control to avoid watching it on the web. A series like this one deserves to be seen on a nice big TV screen not off some crappy streamed video. :)

Oh well, there’s always next year, I suppose. At least I can

take comfort in the fact that the Pittsburgh Penguins are still strong and moving onto the next round. I’ve always had a soft spot for those guys, going back to the days of Mario Lemieux (an absolute legend!) They totally destroyed the Ottawa Senators so that was entertaining. ^^

In the end though I’m just happy to watch hockey, no matter who’s playing. Okay, it would have been nice to see the teams I support going further in the tournament but I’m not all that broken up about it (it’s not like I live in any of those places ^^). I’m just looking forward to a great tournament so best of luck to all that remain! :)

(image from nhl.com)

*uses a Phoenix Down*

The blog is back! I can’t believe I let it lie dead like that for four whole months. Poor, mistreated blog page. Perhaps a second Phoenix Down would help.

Oh well, let’s get cracking then. Things have been extremely busy lately and as a result my internet activity has suffered (even my beloved dA page has taken a hit). I’ve been studying like crazy try to finish off my final assignments before summer starts, and actually do them well. There is only 6 weeks to go and I still have a shit-load of stuff to do. At least the one I’m doing at the moment is going well, even though biology isn’t my best subject. Hopefully, as long as there are no big hurdles to get over, I should have it done within the next few days. The sooner the better really as the next assignment needs to be start soon as well. Wish me luck.

It hasn’t all been work, work, work though. I was in Hong Kong not long ago (see more info here) and I’ve got to tell you, I really want to go back. I had a blast and it was nice spending a bit of quality time with my uncle too. It’s just a shame that I wasn’t there for longer really. There were so many things I wanted to see, so many places I wanted to go; there just wasn’t the time. When I go back (and I am planning on going back one day) I really need to plan out what I’m doing more thoroughly before I go. It’s very easy to get overwhelms in a place like that. Now that I know what to expect I have a better idea of how the place works so that makes things easier. Because of the work however, I still haven’t had a proper chance to look over my pictures yet. I definitely got some good ones, but again, with a bit more planning it would have gone far more smoothly and a much greater variety of locations would have been possible. A great experience none the less though, for sure. Hong Kong at night is particularly impressive.

Anyway, I hope I can actually keep this page going this time. How much I post really depends on how my studying goes but hopefully the next update won’t be too far away.

See you ‘round!

The British comic-fantasy author Terry Pratchett has announced that he is suffering from a "very rare" form of Alzheimer's disease. Here is the full story.

This really is very, very sad news. Being a lifelong Pratchett fan; I love the Discworld stories and all of the work that he has pushed forward over the years. I've never found another writer that has been so consistently funny and able to pen such wonderful and lucid satire. The quality of those jokes and of the prose themselves, especially in his early books, really is of the highest calibre. So to hear that while writing the last book he felt like he was typing with gloves on is a really sad fact. They did catch this early on though so hopefully that means that it can be treated so his quality of life can remain good for a longer time. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

But at least he is staying positive about the whole affair. In typical Pratchett style he describes the diagnosis as "an embuggerance", which I just love! I think I'm going to have to use that myself whenever I'm feeling ill now! I suppose in these sorts of situations you just have to stay positive really. He might as well make the most of the time he has left. He said he still has a few books in him yet, so that’s good.

Like I said, I was really shocked to hear about his condition this morning. I have the utmost respect for him as an author and as a person and I really hope that he is able to enjoy life for a long time to come.

Best of luck Terry! We are all routing for you!

I’ve said before on a previous post that Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials” trilogy is one of my all time favourite series. It’s on par with the Lord of the Rings and Garth Nix’s Abhorsen trilogy, which coming from me is high praise indeed. I love each of them; LOTR because of its grandeur, epic scale and imagination, the Abhorsen trilogy because of its great characters and wonderful storytelling, and His Dark Materials for its beautiful writing style and amazing story. In fact, I’d go so far as to say the Philip Pullman is my favourite author simply because his descriptive writing is so vivid (although Tolkien and Garth Nix are just as good, but for different reasons. It's a tough choice and is likely to change from day to day! ;D). It’s the sign of a great author when they can transport you to another world and make it so you can smell the air and feel the wind in your hair, and in my opinion Pullman does that better than any author I have ever read. Whenever I read those books I can instantly see exactly what the landscape is like, how the buildings are formed and how the characters look and feel. It really is a joy to read and I honestly cannot rate it highly enough. So let’s face it, Tolkien, Nix and Pullman are all literary GODS!!! *bows down and worships* (Neil Gaiman is great too of course ;D)

I just hope the films can bring over the same amount of wonder. I am a little worried about The Golden Compass to be honest, and not just because they are using the wrong title (it should be called “Northern Lights”, but because of a misunderstanding with the US publishers when the book was first released and their refusal to rename it after Pullman corrected them it is now more widely known as the Golden Compass. Jerks. >__>). Some of the character just don't feel right, particularly Dakota Blue Richards, the girl that's playing the lead character Lyra. She just seems a bit to "girly". In the books she is a real tomboy and a bit of a badass. She just seems a bit too precious and timid in the film. But of course I will reserve judgement until I have actually seen the film. It may turn out that she is perfect and that my worries are unfounded, I simply don't know. I'm hoping for the best. ^^ At least the cast is good. Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Sir Ian McKellen, Eva Green (I'm VERY pleased with that choose for obvious reasons! XD), all great actors. The special effects look pretty good too. So really, as long as they can capture the essence and the magic of the book then this film will be fantastic! I'm keeping my fingers crossed! :D

Release dates :
UK - December 5th 2007
Germany - December 6th 2007 (as I know that there are a few Germans that read this ^^)
USA - December 7th 2007

"Crocodile 'arrested' in Australia"

So hey, that's a reasonable reaction. ;D

Just another random news story that I found amusing. ^^ I like doing these entries. The news isn't always depressing after all. You just have to look around a bit. :)

Just another bizarre news story that I just had to highlight!

This story has been floating around the internet for a few week now but I just think it’s brilliant! The Japanese sure do come up with some weird ideas! ^^ If you don’t know the story then have a look at this site.

A normal skirt turns into a wide skirt

Spot of odd one out! n____n

Can everyone say "LOL"!!! XD

And there were others too, like to child's backpack that turns into what looks like a post box. This is by no means the strangest one. Something tells me that dressing up as a Cola machine to confound your enemies isn't going to catch on though. Just a hunch. ;D

There was an interview on the radio this morning that has really irritated me all day. It was on the Today Program, the morning news program on BBC Radio 4. Most of the stories were serious headlines, like King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia criticising the UK’s stance on the “war on terror”, a story about Darfur, a talk about American foreign policy, all heavy and important topics. So can you believe that the one that got on my nerves most was a piece about the English language? Weird I know, so let me explain.

Basically, an author named Ian Bruton-Simmonds wrote an open letter to the BBC saying that a new position needed to be created. It would consist on a person (or group of people I suppose) who’s sole purpose would be to listen in to each on the broadcasts and at the end of each show gather the presenters up and correct there grammar. Effectively what he wants to do make all of the presenters in the BBC speak “proper English”. The Queen’s English. Now, to me this sounds like complete madness! I mean, normally I would just take this sort of story with a pinch of salt and not really take it seriously, there are a lot of light-hearted stories like this, but when he was interviewed this morning he was so adamant, self righteous, and arrogant that it really worked me up. He claimed that all of the presenters would be very grateful to have someone correcting their mistakes. No they wouldn’t! If I was a presenter of a major show on Radio 4 and some snotty-nosed little bookworm came up to me and started criticising me because I used the wrong pronoun I’d probably throttle him!

I just can’t help feel that people like this are living in a dream world. I don’t think that there has ever been a time when people talked perfectly. It’s just a romanticised fantasy. Language is an ever evolving concept and is always changing with the times, but as long as you get your point across in an intelligent way who cares if “proper”? The presenters on the Today Program are very well spoken and I’ve never had a problem understanding them. Sure they make a few mistakes but who can honestly say they haven’t either? Who are they to judge? It’s just part of being human. So I say this to Ian Bruton-Simmonds: get off your high horse, stop this “holier than thou” attitude and just face the fact that people are perfectly entitled to speak the way they want. Frankly, if the presenters did start talking like pompous freaks (as Ian was) then I would probably stop listening. All of the fun would be gone.

I just find people who constantly criticize peoples grammar and such really annoying! Dad does it too. Not quite to this extent (he's actually quite tame compared to some) but I still find it irritating.

I’m not an expert on this subject of course, and perhaps it is naïve of me to think like this, but hey, that’s just how I feel.

If you want to listen to the interview yourself then go to the Today page (link above) and go to the “listen again” section. You should find it there for Monday 29^th October.

Halloween is just around the corner so I thought I'd dress my LJ page accordingly. To be honest, I'm not actually really into Halloween but the little chibi Death was just too awesome to ignore! ^^ I don't know whether it's just that this holiday isn't as popular in the UK as it is in places like the States (although many people just use it as another excuse to get drunk here >_>), or whether it's simply that I live in the heart of the countryside and there isn't anything to do even if you wanted too. Either way Halloween has never really been a big deal for me. I'm quite happy to spend the night at home watching a movie (horror is optional ;D). Call me unimaginative if you want but trick or treating is pointless around here. You're more likely to be beaten up by a deranged farmer than get a bar of chocolate. =P Well.... maybe that's going a bit far, but your reception would be less than welcoming. I’ll pass thanks. :) I’m more interested in Guy Fawkes Night on the 5^th November frankly. FIREWORKS!!! XD

Oh, and I’d just like to say publicly that I like this new snapshot feature LJ is using. Very handy and stylish. ^^