tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40638852172338862732024-03-13T14:12:10.978-07:00G33k UKGeek UK - Because Geeks are cool too!g33kUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400457535573617882noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4063885217233886273.post-30802881748230582972010-06-02T03:56:00.000-07:002010-06-02T05:50:56.122-07:00The Maths Teacher's Paradox (or why some of our best teachers might be failing their students)I've been sat in front of this blank blog page for a while now wondering how I'm going to start this piece, and I've decided to start with a quote, given to me over a decade ago which I will always remember. It was told to me by a very wise man, who happened to be the headmaster at a school I was being interviewed for. He said to me:<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><i>In life, every person you meet you will be better then them at 10 things at the very least, but never forget that same person will be better then you at 10 different things at least.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br />
</i></div><div style="text-align: left;">It's something I take remember during my life, and will probably take to my grave and it's nice to share it with the world.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Having said that though, in my opinion there are two people in life, people who naturally understand algebraic concepts, and those who do not.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">One of my closest cousins is currently undertaking a teaching degree, and she unfortunately is one of the people who struggle with maths, especially algebraic concepts (but boy you should see her ride a horse she is awesome!). Fortunately for her I am pretty good at maths (but can't ride horses!!), and yesterday I got a message from her asking for help. She was doing science coursework relating to the Simpson's Diversity Index, and was asking if I could simplify the maths for her, so she could understand it. Instantly I panicked, having never even heard of the Simpson's Diversity Index I though I was going to be of no help. I instantly got onto Google, and found the formula:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_lxrqfBl0TU4/TAYyUZTA6rI/AAAAAAAAADM/0az11iQh-Qw/s1600/SimpsonIndex2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_lxrqfBl0TU4/TAYyUZTA6rI/AAAAAAAAADM/0az11iQh-Qw/s320/SimpsonIndex2.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Now to the untrained eye, that would look pretty terrifying. There are a lot of letters in there and not many numbers. When I tell you the D is the diversity index (which ranges between 0 [meaning no diversity], and 1 [meaning infinite diversity]), n is the total number of organisms within a particular species, and N is the total number of organisms of all species; we should realise that this is mostly a simple matter of substituting numbers for letters and then solving for D (Sigma - the greek letter just means sum of (so we need the sum of all the n(n-1)s)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">So, us people who naturally understand maths, or those that have just had a lot of practice can look at that formula and instantly realise that the Simpson's Diversity Index is actually a fairly simple formula.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After going through this formula, and writing out 3 pages of notes on it to try and simplify it for my cousin, I decided to offer my services to her, if she needs it. She will be going into her final year soon, and if she needs to understand maths better I have offered to give her some tutoring (assuming I have time) over the summer in basic/intermediate algebra. Why did I offer this? Because I truely believe that anyone can learn algebra. All you need for algebra is to learn a bunch of rules, and then have plenty of practice.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Which got me thinking, if that's all you really need to do, why does my cousin struggle with it? She's bright, and intelligent, so there must be something underlying that confuses her; so I racked my brain and think I came up with the answer. It's the letters, that's what people don't understand...the letters!! Maths is about numbers; where are all these letters coming from. That's when I came up with what I have called the "Maths Teacher's Paradox", I don't know why I called it that, it just kinda sounds cool I suppose.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>The Paradox</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When I was thinking back through my past, especially my maths tuition, I was never told the why or the what of the letters, I just understood we had to work them out...I naturally understood algebra. Some people do not naturally understand algebra remember, and last night I found myself for the first time actively thinking about what the letters mean.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I don't know if this was just my teaching experience, but I would guess that most people are never told (especially early on in their maths life) what the point of the letters are for.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We are never just sat down and told all in one swoop:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Where there is a letter in a maths problem, it is still representative of a number, and it can mean a few different things:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><b>1.</b> That we don't know what the number is, and we need to find out what that number is - as in; 3 + b = 7; what is b? We need to solve for b, and we obviously get 4.<br />
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<div><b>2. </b>That the numbers are variable, and therefore one single formula is needed, which we can change the numbers for depending on our dataset, and then solve for one letter, as in the formula bellow, or the most famous being: y = mx + C our famous graphical equation, where m and C are constants (i,e, being any number you wish, to make the correct graph), then we substitute 1 then 2 then 3 then 4 then 5 etc as the x (for our x axis), and that gives us the points on the y axis to make the graph</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>3.</b> The numbers are either very, very big, or very, very small. That is to say that in a formula it is far easier to put in a c, instead of 12349533172331 as a constant...it just makes it easier to read...</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>4.</b> The letter represents a known constant, in astrophysics equation you might find yourself with a c, this could in actuality be the speed of light, a constant and something you do not need to solve for</div><div><br />
</div><div><b>5.</b> Where the letters are representative of a number, but also have a meaning behind them; d = s x t - this is a famous formula which means Distance = Speed x Time</div><div><br />
</div><div>......we are just expected to evolve our learning to understand these concepts<br />
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So why are we never told this? Probably for the same reason I've never thought about it before. Presumably (and hopefully - although saying that someone I know did a geography degree and during her interview for her PGCE she couldn't point out where the North Sea was...she's now a geography teacher...), maths teachers become maths teachers because they're good at maths! Which means, like me, they've probably never even thought about the letters, the why and the what, they've always just understood the how. How to get the maths to work, without needing to have it explained to them, what the point of all the letters actually are.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Unfortunately not all people are like that like I've said before, and I think if somebody turned round and really explained to the people who don't fully understand the concepts of algebra, the why, and the what of all these letters it would be easier for them to understand.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Hopefully this makes sense, and is merely speculative from my own experiences of 1-to-1 tutoring, and my own maths lessons when I was first learning algebra. Very good maths teachers, are too good to see the struggles faced by some of the kids, and they need to take it back to the very basics at the start of algebra tuition so that the people with lower ability to just "pick it up" can fully understand not just the rules around algebra, but the actual reasons behind it.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Much love to you all,</div><div><br />
</div><div>G33kuk</div>g33kUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400457535573617882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4063885217233886273.post-76277894524981259702010-05-19T03:39:00.001-07:002010-05-19T06:50:22.646-07:00The Human Rights Act, is it THAT important anyway?! Some Law and Facts to ponder<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Right...there has been a lot of talk in Jolly old England recently about our new government repealing the Human Rights Act, understandably this has got quite a few people hot under the collar; a few things you hear around is “how can a government take away our human rights”, or questions on dictatorial states, or most sickeningly one person saying “I'm sure this is how Nazi Germany started”...to that person, if you read this:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">a) Stop reading the Daily Mail</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">b) No that is not how Nazi Germany started...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Anyway, I'm gonna put up a little disclaimer here, just like pretty much anything you read on the internet, do not take this as 100% fact, do some research or something if your that bothered. I am currently in the process of my second law postgraduate course, so am by no means an expert, and it's been a few months since I've done EC Law and I'm going from memory so don't get all uppity...but as far as I'm aware this is correct.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Now to put your minds at rest: Does repealing the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) have the effect of removing your human rights?!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: large;"><u><b>NO!!!!!!!!!</b></u></span></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Firstly a brief history, in 1953 the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) came into force. All member states of the European Community (EC) are expected to adhere to it, and new members are expected to ratify it at the earliest opportunity, I'm not going to go through the full details about the ECHR, but there are various articles in it relating to, can you believe it, yours and my Human Rights.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now in 1998, we decided to fully enshrine the ECHR into our legal system using the HRA. The aim of the HRA was/is to “give further effect” to the ECHR. It makes it unlawful for any public body to act in a way which is in contravention of the ECHR, and it makes UK judges in courts to take into account any judgements made by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and to interpret British legislation to give effect to the ECHR. There are other issues in the HRA, involving the creation of legislation to be compatible with the ECHR as well, but these are the important issues. Essentially, the HRA confers power to the individual to rely on the ECHR in the British courts.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wait a minute, I hear you cry, this sounds very bad...repealing the HRA, is taking away my power to rely on my Human Rights...</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">No...it isn't, only in the British Courts. We have still signed up to the ECHR, and therefore our government, our judges, our legal system, et al. have to respect those rights, and they have to still be given to us. Remember that we signed up to the ECHR in 1953, and the HRA 1998 (which mostly came into force in 2000) was almost 50 years later. Does that mean in those 50 years the ECHR was pointless? Of course not, in those years:</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-decoration: none;"><br />
</div><ol><li><br />
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<br />
<br />
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<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Firstly, because we'd signed up for the ECHR the courts took the view that it was an important source of public policy where the ECHR was necessary to determine such issues</span></span></span></div></li>
<li><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Secondly, the courts took the ECHR into account when dealing with matters of interpretation of legislation where it was reasonable to do so.</span></span></span></div></li>
<li><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Thirdly, (and perhaps importantly), where there was an absence of statutory provision the court could take into account the ECHR when developing common law.</span></span></span></div></li>
</ol><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So even during those 50 years where we didn't have the HRA, the court still read British Law to give effect to the ECHR.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">The problem we have next is about the HRA enshrining the Convention into British Law, and then giving rights to the individual. Ok, admittedly this is a pain, it would mean that trying to make Human Rights point, which would ordinarily have been governed by the HRA or ECHR would not be possible in British Courts, but that is not to say you don't have a remedy.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Remember the ECtHR? A person from a member state can make an application there if they feel they have had their Human Rights infringed. There are only 3 requirements that you need to fulfil:</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
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<br />
<br />
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<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">That you have been a victim of a violation of one or more of your Convention rights</span></span></span></div></li>
<li><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You have persued any remedies that are available in the member state; while the Human Rights Act 1998 is in force, that would mean using that act through the national courts. If this act gets repealed, you may not have any remedies, and would therefore be entitled to skip this step.</span></span></span></div></li>
<li><br />
<br />
<br />
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<div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">You must have made your application within 6 months of either the judgement being passed in your court case (especially in relation to no.2 above), or if there was no remedy available within 6 months of the alleged violation.</span></span></span></div></li>
</ol><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">...and that's it. It is that simple to make an application to the ECtHR. Ok, admittedly it'll be a slow long process, but most Human Rights related court procedures are anyway.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">So, hopefully this will show at least a little bit, that repealing the HRA is not the end of the world. It is a pain in the arse of course, but it doesn't mean that you will be losing your Rights. I'm not saying I agree that it should be repealed, and I'm not saying it shouldn't; I've tried to be as politically neutral as possible, and just lay down some facts. Hopefully I've got all the facts straight in my head, but most importantly of all:</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><b>If the HRA '98 does get repealed, you will still have a remedy under European Law if you think there has been a breach of your human rights!! :)</b></u></span></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Thank you for listening, this has been a lecture by</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">G33kUK</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br />
</div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Much love to you all! :) x</span></span></span></div>g33kUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400457535573617882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4063885217233886273.post-7664780178119273202010-05-13T13:11:00.000-07:002010-05-14T01:10:06.907-07:00I'm still alive!! Alternate top 3 g33k films!Hey world, sorry not updated for a while, so here is a little update today just so you know I'm still around! Been totally swamped with my postgrad course at the moment so not had masses of time to watch/read anything to review or anything else like that. Today is going to be a list day! I was going through my DVD collection and there are some absolute corkers in there, some little known gems that some people may not have had the chance to see, I'm not going to do full reviews about these movies, just a brief description, hopefully you might get interested in a couple :o)<br />
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BTW do NOT expect Star Wars/Star Treks, or major g33k films to be in here, this is an alternative list, do not be a hater because Tron isn't number 1! :oP<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_lxrqfBl0TU4/S-xXY6X9eDI/AAAAAAAAAC0/USzZFwJpcVE/s1600/cybourshe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_lxrqfBl0TU4/S-xXY6X9eDI/AAAAAAAAAC0/USzZFwJpcVE/s200/cybourshe.jpg" width="143" /></a></div><b>Number 1: "Cyborg She":</b><br />
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The ultimate Geek date movie, Cyborg She is a touching movie about a lonely student called Jiro. The day he turns 20 he is out on his own, at a restaurant when suddenly a beautiful young lady turns up. They spend a few hours together, and he has one of the best days of his life. However his happiness doesn't last, and she leaves him after a few hours. One year later, he is alone again, spending his birthday in the restaurant and yet again this lady turns up; and one of the strangest love stories begin to unfold<br />
This is a truely beautiful film, well directed, well made. Poignant but lovely! Watch it with your special geek lady!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_lxrqfBl0TU4/S-xZNZhXdQI/AAAAAAAAAC8/c6tnIpXOxnE/s1600/darkcity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_lxrqfBl0TU4/S-xZNZhXdQI/AAAAAAAAAC8/c6tnIpXOxnE/s200/darkcity.jpg" width="143" /></a></div><b>Number 2, "Dark City":</b><br />
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John Murdoch wakes up in a strange hotel, to find out that he is wanted for a string of call-girl murders. Most of his memories have disappeared, he can't even remember his wife; he embarks on a strange journey to try and unravel his past, and get his memories back.<br />
Great directions, and great acting in this film. It has been said that The Matrix got some of it's best ideas from this movie. Keep an eye out for Richard O'Brien as well, that guy is a legend!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_lxrqfBl0TU4/S-xaa_7AbFI/AAAAAAAAADE/eW29PZlcdTA/s1600/kungpow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_lxrqfBl0TU4/S-xaa_7AbFI/AAAAAAAAADE/eW29PZlcdTA/s200/kungpow.jpg" width="140" /></a></div><b>Number 3: "Kung Pow: Enter The Fist":</b><br />
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A legendary warrior wanders the land in the search of the murderous Master Pain in order to avenge the murder of his family.<br />
This film is absolutely ridiculous, and something I wish I'd had the comedic talent to come up with. The writer/director Steve Oedekerk has inserted new scenes, and redubbed an old kung-fu film, and even managed to insert himself into the film. The result is a hugely funny movie! A total must see!<br />
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I might add some more to this list at some point, but in the meantime get your asses in gear and watch these movies!!! 3 different films, 3 different genres!! :oP Go get 'em!<br />
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Much Love<br />
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G33kUKg33kUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400457535573617882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4063885217233886273.post-37067363060282325272010-01-30T06:11:00.000-08:002010-01-30T07:04:43.218-08:00Family Guy in Space!!...Blue Harvest“This is the story of love and loss, fathers and sons, and the foresight to retain international merchandising rights...this is the story of Star Wars; Let's begin with Part 4...<br />
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...'A long time ago – but somehow in the future'”<br />
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I've been watching the Family Guy/Robot Chicken Star Wars Specials recently and decided I'd do a review about them...it's been a while since I've blogged anything (life has been pretty busy!), so today is time for a bit of fun for us all. I just want to thank all my followers for sticking with me! :o)<br />
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I'm going to start with “Family Guy” Blue Harvest (from which my opening quote was taken!):<br />
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The first line you get of the actual Star Wars-y bit is when Leia's ship is being boarded and C-3P0 (Quagmire) says, “Do you hear that, it sounds like we're being boarded from the rear”, at this point you more or less realise what your going to get with this show, it's going be Family Guy...except in space, the jokes and humour aren't going to suddenly get deep and satirical, however...they are going to be funny!<br />
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Essentially a lot of the jokes within The Family guy Star Wars shows highlight little shortcomings in the movies, or perceived ridiculousness's...towards the beginning of Blue Harvest, C-3P0 and R2D2 escape in a pod; an officer on Vader's ship says to another soldier “Hold your fire there are no lifeforms aboard” to which the guy replies “hold your fire, what are we paying by the laser now?!”, to which is replied “you don't do the budget Terry, I DO!”...it's pretty funny, and a lot of the scripting is like that!...or later on when talking about the Death Star one of the soldiers says its “Virtually indestructable, like 99.99%” to which Vader replies “Right, wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't ask what the point 01 is”...and Adam West [best Batman ever!!] is in this section!<br />
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….well that's no bigger then a womp rat!! w00t!<br />
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Or later on the in show “Let's head over to that small moon, that's clearly a small moon and nothing else”<br />
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Some of the jokes seem to have American references I just don't get, and some of the jokes are very pretty overworked but all in all it's made pretty well and is a great spoof.<br />
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In case you don't know EXACTLY what this is, it's more or less a spoof of Star Wars: A New Hope, Whereby, Stewey is Vader, Chris is Luke, Peter is Han Solo, Lois is Leia, and (as we've seen above) Quagmire is C-3P0. There are various other people popping up as different Star Wars characters, but I can't be bothered to type a full credits list for you!<br />
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I also think some of the spoiler references made throughout the show are pretty funny too, and normally make me laugh more then the other jokes in the movie. For example there is a reference to early 90s printers, which I don't think is particularly funny at all, and seems pretty forced, but right after that there's some great Star War's references, like when Luke says to his Aunt “One of these days, I'm just going to run away and join the rebellion whether you like it or not”, to which Aunt replies “over my burnt carcass”! Hahaha!<br />
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Or just after that, when Leia's message is played to Luke out of R2D2: “Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, you're our only hope”; Luke ponders: “She said Obi Wan Kenobi, I wonder if she means old Obi Wan Kenobi”...these are the bits the kind of jokes that are most funny I think.<br />
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The storyline to the whole show is OBVIOUSLY good, because the storyline is Star Wars, however it's been...refined I guess is a good enough word to use. They've shrunk the story down to get it into an hour (well just under an hour), and even then if you take out a lot of the jokes unrelated to the story itself, it probably cuts it down to about 40 minutes. To me this makes the program feel a little...disjointed, fast paced, and lacking in true depth. However, knowing enough about Star Wars I can fill in the gaps myself, but it would have been nicer if it would have been more detailed, perhaps even full feature length...just so they could have had more storyline, and detail, as well as all the jokes as well...<br />
...it's just a shame that's all – no problems, no moaning or anything like that, it just would have been nice!!<br />
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The Family Guy writers make a lot of nice little references, or spot little bits and bobs within Star Wars that mere mortals like myself miss fully, and make jokes out of them, this is also clever, and adds a nice trivia set for people who like me; Star Wars g33ks, but not Nerds! Presumably they found this information by doing their research, but if they just knew this stuff, then good on them. Once interesting titbit is in the Cantina; Luke and Obi Wan first meet Han Solo, and he claims to be that his ship was the one the “Did the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs”, what I never realised before though is that a parsec is actually a unit of measurement...not of time – so he's measuring a distance he did it in! Interesting huh?! For those who wish to know 1 parsec is equivalent to 3.08568025 × 10^16 metres; 3.26163626 light years; or 1.91735281 × 10^13 miles. The Kessel Run is actually a 18 Parsec Smuggler's root which (NB ^13 = to the power of 13; ^16 = to the power of 16):<br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Han Solo claimed that his Millenium Falcon "made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs". A parsec was a unit of distance, not time. Solo was not referring directly to his ship's speed when he made this claim. Instead, he was referring to the shorter route he was able to travel by skirting the nearby Maw Black Hole cluster, thus making the run in under the standard distance. By moving closer to the black holes, Solo managed to cut the distance down to about 11.5 parsecs. The smuggler, BoShek, actually beat Solo's record in his ship, Infinity, but without cargo to weigh him down.</i> <br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"><b>http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Kessel_Run</b></div><br />
Anyway, I seem to have gone off topic a little bit (tends to happen quite a lot when I'm getting onto Star Wars though...so don't panic!).<br />
<br />
I really do like the nod to Tom Baker/Dr Who as well, that's pretty sweet!! :) and the Jump Cut jokes which Family Guy are famous for actually get better as the show goes on...and I do like the little News Guys being in the show briefly too (“Let's go over to Oli for the 5 day forecast, what's the weather gonna be like Oli?”... “SPACE WEATHER!”)<br />
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Towards the end of the film/family guy program as we should all well know the plan is to blow up the Death Star by shooting a laser down the hole...which is no bigger then a womp rat! The sequence is pretty nice all in all, but there's not much to say about it...it's not particularly hilarious...there's a fat guy joke that's pretty funny, oh and there's “all wings check in”...of course:<br />
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There's some nice spoofings involved of various other movies and modern culture as well, as is typical of Family Guy, including (my favorite), one from Airplane; "I just wanted to say, good luck, we're all counting on you"!<br />
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<br />
Anyway, what can I tell you to finish this all off...? Personally, I prefer the Robot Chicken Star Wars episodes, to the Family Guy ones; what I do like about the Family Guy ones though is that they follow a story line. This one is good, the jokes are funny, but fairly typical of Family Guy...there is nothing that's truly hilarious – but they're definitely worth watching...I think there will always be arguments about which is better between the two, the skits in Robot Chicken are just hilarious, real laugh out loud funny, where as in Family Guy they're a little more subtle. To proove a point I will leave you with a [fairly poor quality I'm afraid] video of Peter & Chris “debating” RC v FG:<br />
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I hope you enjoyed this epic post! Much love to you all, and sorry for the major delay in posting! Oh and I'm sorry video quality tends to suck a bit...I'm just linking -- not my fault!<br />
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Love from<br />
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G33kUKg33kUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400457535573617882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4063885217233886273.post-69730529347753835892009-11-22T04:07:00.000-08:002009-11-22T04:07:29.371-08:00You're lips are saying "Shields Up" but your eyes are saying "A hull breach is imminent" -- A G33ks guide to flirting...ok there may be a bit of a misrepresentation in the title to this, as it's not REALLY going to be a massive guide to flirting. Recently I was talking to a friend of mine...obviously not in real life, just on MSN. I mentioned that I knew a couple of geeky chat up lines, and she asked for one, so I said the above one...and it seems I shocked her a little bit! I can't remember where I heard the above line, but it got me thinking about other potential chat-up lines that are synonomous with geek. I've done a bit of research into this and it seems there are far more then I imagined that people have come up with. I'm gonna just note down a few of my favorites, with a breif explanation of what they actually mean...if needs be (presumably...I don't need to explain the tag line). Be warned, I don't expect any of these would actually work in real life (unless you did them really ironically...and somehow managed to make the girl laugh...!), and more likely you would end up with a red, hand shaped mark on your cheek! However they are quite fun!<br />
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My first one is a work in progress...and one of my own! Hooray:<br />
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<strong>You know, if we were in a room on our own right now, and unable to be observed by the outside world, we would almost certainly be locked in a soft gentle kiss</strong><br />
This is my little bit of fun with "Schrödinger's Cat" and quantum mechanics! :o) yay quantum mechanics...! Now we need to try and make this easy to access, because firstly I am no expert in this field myself, and secondly...well it's quite bizarre, and quite complicated. Let's talk about this cat shall we, it is a classic thought experiment...in a box we have a cat along with a flask of poison, there is a geiger counter, attached to a hammer, with a piece of radioactive material so small that in the course of an hour it may or may not decay, if it sets off the geiger counter, that will set of the hammer, smashing the poison and killing the cat. However there is a 50/50 chance of that happening. The cat is all sealed up in the box, and you are unable to observe what is happening in the box. According to Quantum Mechanics, after a certain amount of time, the cat would be BOTH alive, and dead at the same time (according to the psi-function of it's wave...). Essentially quantum mechanics says that when an event can happen several different ways, the probability amplitude for the event is the sum of the probability amplitudes, and until an observation is made they all options occur simultaneously (or...every option happens in alternative "new worlds"...). Therefore, if myself and a girl, are locked in a room...with no possible observation method, we would almost certainly be kissing, if it was one of the possible outcomes, along with us just having a chat, me getting slapped in the face...and every other possible outcome in that situation...!!<br />
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<strong>The way that the coherant scattering of light reflects off of the atoms in the skin on your face looks beautiful</strong> <strong>*insert finisher here....i.e. against the backdrop of the setting sun....or whatever*</strong><br />
Another one I came up with when I was bored on a train journey home...I'm not entirely sure that you would call it a compliment or not, but hell lets go with it! Essentially coherant scattering of light off of the atoms is how our eyes pick up the detail in someone elses face. So if the light is scattering coherantly (as opposed to decoherantly) off of a pretty face, you will be able to see and pick up more detail on their face, which could in turn make them look more/less beautiful. This essentially happens in less then 10^–8 of a second over a area of around a million atoms...in case you're interested!! :o)<br />
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<strong>I wish I was your derivative, so that I could lie tagent to your curves</strong>!<br />
This is a great one, that I found on my research, and maths based too...brilliant. Put simply, on a graph (with a curve), if you take a ruler, and draw a straight line so that the line only touches the curve on ONE single point. You can then take that line, turn it into a right angle triangle and work out the slope at that point...however this is not a very accurate way of doing this, because the triangle is quite big. What we want to do is shrink down the triangle as much as we can...to find out the slope one that curve. That's where differential geometry comes in. Essentially, the differential is that exact single point where the line touches the curve...So...if I was your derivative, I would be the point on the graph where the tagent (that line going through the point) is lying on the curve!<br />
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<strong>I'm attracted to you so strongly scientists are going to have to invent a fifth fundemental force</strong><br />
I quite like this...it made me smile when I read it...pure cheese! It's simple to understand...there are 4 fundemental forces (Gravity, Electromagnatism, The Strong Nuclear Force and The Weak Nuclear Force)...it just plays on the fact that the meaning of attract is different in this sense (emotional/physical...but not actual attracting forces, like in physics!)<br />
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<strong>I really, really less then 3 you!</strong><br />
Hehe...confusing? I really, really <3 you! Aww cute :o)<br />
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<strong>In game theory I study situations where the outcome is the best for both players, now I've just had an idea of a great game I want to involve you in...and don't worry I'll make sure the outcome is GREAT ;-)</strong><br />
This is just a bit of fun really...but it does sort of make sense...but it's not always the case where you're trying to work out a best outcome for all players. Take for example the classic example of the Mexican Stand-off as a game...here you're just trying to work out how to survive as each of the different players. Although I think I'm diving into this too quick...game theory is a piece of applied mathematics used in various social sciences (I learned about it when I was doing my business degree...it's useful for economics...and risk analysis). Game theory attempts to mathematically capture behaviour in strategic situations, in which an individual's success in making choices depends upon the choice of another person.<br />
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Tkae for example our mexican stand-off (or a Truel as they are known...as opposed to a Duel...as it involves three). Each person gets one shot at a time, and the worst shooter (you) is to shoot first at the person immediately to his right, the next person (who is the best shooter insidently), shoots next at the person to his right, and then the last person (second best shooter) will be shooting at you. What is your best option?<br />
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Well as the worst shooter, your best option is to shoot to miss first time. Why? Because if you miss him, the best shooter will then take a shot at the guy who is supposed to be shooting at you. If he is the best shooter you'd expect him to hit that guy...and he'd die. This means there is no-one to shoot at you, so now it is your turn again, second time you have to shoot to kill (and hope you hit - otherwise you're dead meat!). If you shoot to kill first time, and you hit the guy, then the second best shooter gets to have a pop at you...not good!<br />
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That's a simple example of game theory...but we're just turning it around in this chat up line really...changing the definitions a little bit, being a bit cheeky - and making it fun/jokey/sexual!! :oP<br />
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Anyway that was my bit of fun for you, for today. I hope you enjoyed it...and if you do decide to try any of those out...please don't blame me if you get kicked in the teeth! It is really just supposed to be a bit of fun! :oP<br />
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Much Love to you all!<br />
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G33kukg33kUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400457535573617882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4063885217233886273.post-85305229482358151252009-11-22T02:45:00.000-08:002009-11-22T02:51:20.864-08:00Zombieland!!Ok, every good geek, or potential geek should know their way around a zombie movie (and have at least one Zombie plan...if only as a homage to that Red v Blue episode, I have 2...in case of Zombie attack!). I'm not quite sure why specifically this genre of horror/survival horror is so synonomous with geek, but I have a fair idea that the resident evil series of games may have something to do with it. Now if you aren't massive on Zombie movies, and don't fancy going back to the old skool classics (although I would recommend the "of the dead" series, and Evil Dead trilogy), and you just want to be able to G33k it up out and about on the town this is a great movie to get to know, and be able to talk about. I would say it's reception in England was kinda quiet really...I don't remember anyone I know going to see it, or at least talking about it afterwards (oh and as a warning - if you do go out on the town and people are chatting about this, you will also need to have seen Shaun of the Dead, as a point of reference...that will be talked about also!!)...<br />
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So I have recently had this as my personal viewing pleasure... as usual this is your <strong>SPOILER WARNING</strong>...just in case I give too much away...<br />
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Personally I thought this was GREAT, a great Zombie movie, with some great comedy in their as well! There's some really lovely ideas in their as well...new touches that bring about some real loveliness in this film...although I wasn't personally too thrilled with the whole "teeny-bop" American "geek meets hot girl" love story...it's starting to get a bit cliché now. Although maybe the only chance I'd have of getting a girl that hot is if we were the last 5 people left after a massive Zombie infestation...but that's not the point!<br />
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I really love the whole ongoing idea throughout the film of the "rules" that Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg) lives by...it was a great opening to bring these in, and a great bit of tongue waggling at the clichés of some of the classic zombie movies! Number 1: Cardio (when the virus struck, for obvious reasons the first ones to go...were the fatties!!), Number 2: Double Tap (in those moments when you're not sure the undead are really dead, don't get all stingy with your bullets...one more clean shot to the head!), (Don't let them catch you with your pants down) Number 3: Beware of Bathrooms! I'm not going to go through each rule within this film and say what it relates to, but as you can no doubt guess, all the classic zombie movies have people who aren't fast enough...who get eaten in a toilet...and even you surely remember the results of not making sure you killed that zombie in the resident evil games...he'd start knawing on your ankles until you kicked his head off! I also like "Always check the back seat"!! These rules are littered throughout the movie, and pop up here and there. It's always quite fun when they come out!<br />
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Later on in the movie Columbus teams up with rock-hard redneck Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson)...Now I love Woody, and he is great in this movie. He is a zombie killing machine...however he is pipped to the post for Zombie kill of the week by a very clever nun!! Which brings me to this, there is some REALLY lovely zombie killing in this movie, whether it is shooting them all up with a uzi (and then squishing them all up with a SUV...for the double tap!), to ringing the bell outside a shop...waiting for the zombie to come running out and then blowing it's head clean off, to the Zombie Kill of the Week...there is some really nice stuff! Anyway, Tallahassee doesn't seem to have a massive plan on what to do or where to go...in fact it seems his main aim is to just get a twinkie! So the two of them stop at a supermarket (I liked the little tipping of hat to Deliverence here as well)...where they meet up with the two girls.<br />
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After much...side plots, all 4 of them team up, and go to Bill Murray's house!! Bill Murray has a nice Cameo part in this film, but I do love that guy so much!! I think he's ace!! :oD The girl's plan was to go to Pacific Playland...a theme park in America...lord knows why. After a night in Bill Murray's house, the girls get up sneak off to Pacific Playland ("That place blows.........my mind" - Tallahassee...Lolz!)...and then there ends up a massive shootout etc in the themepark (with yet more and more awesome Zombie deaths!!)<br />
<br />
This film all in all is GREAT fun...different to Shaun of the Dead, more typically American humour...less subtle, more in your face kinda stuff...but REALLY REALLY fun and probably as good, if not better! It's a definate must see for all fans of the Zombie movies, all fans of comedy movies, and all geeks!! The acting is great, the scripting is great, there's some fun graphics, some brilliant deaths...it'll have you in stitches, and terrified all at the same time!! <br />
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Please, please don't miss this movie! It's fab...!<br />
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Muchos Love, and Peace out!<br />
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G33kuk!g33kUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400457535573617882noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4063885217233886273.post-39624230947479270392009-11-08T10:17:00.000-08:002009-11-08T10:17:42.623-08:00Standard Nerd: The Inner SanctumOk...this might be a bit of a mistake to post...but I thought I'd give you guys a quick tour of my bedroom! I figure it's a good point of reference, just in case you're slightly worried that you too may be a massive geek..! I would say if you relate with more then half of this kinda thing you are well on your way to being a nerd/geek and should be proud.<br />
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Be aware that this is what a girl would first see, if I ever managed to get them back to my bedroom...if they stuck around I would be pretty impressed...!<br />
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We'll start with piccie 1:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lxrqfBl0TU4/SvcHPMEDA3I/AAAAAAAAAB8/hVhaBesKO3A/s1600-h/StillCap0003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" sr="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lxrqfBl0TU4/SvcHPMEDA3I/AAAAAAAAAB8/hVhaBesKO3A/s320/StillCap0003.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Picture 1 is of my bed...at the moment this is what it looks like (however the laptop parts tend to stay hidden under my bed). Now I'm by no means a massive techie...in fact this is the first laptop I've tried to fix. It is having a power jack issue, so I'm currently taking it apart in the hope of fixing it. If that's not possible...or too much effort, I might see if I can have some fun with the spare parts...I'm pretty sure I could use the screen, rejig it so I can use it as a spare VGA for my laptop at the moment! It'd be pretty cool to have a duel screen working environment!! :oDDD<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Picture 2, is the emergency screwdriver...how would I be able to take stuff apart without it?! Exactly...that bad boy got my broken laptop all apart as well!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Ok...picture 3 is a couple of my shelves...I've lettered it to help me get through this part mostly...as it would be hard work otherwise...<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>A</strong>: This is my Umbrella Corporation wristband...if you don't know who Umbrella corp are, you need to play more survival horror games! ;o)<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>B</strong>: This is my small collection of Manga comics...I don't have a lot of money to collect so I only get things on offer etc. I currently have all 3 Princess Ai, all 3 I Luv Halloween, all 3 Cowboy Bebop, a couple of Battle Vixens...the first 5 Battle Royale...and a couple more<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>C</strong>: This is an old Birthday card which I got sent from Japan by my sister. It's cute, it has a squid on the front and then you open it up and there's a little squid inside (on a spring), that's sat on a griddle tray. My sister's friend translated the message. It says "Happy Birthday! Please let me say a word. You...doing squid!"...no idea what that's all about<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>D</strong>: This is my Muppet's collection....<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>E</strong>: This is just DVD's and PS2 games<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>F</strong>: More DVD's on this shelf...just to let you know the kind of things which I have...Lord of the Rings - extended editions, Star Wars original Trilogy, Back to the Future Trilogy, some of the Star Trek movies, Serenity, all the Tarrentino stuff, the Matrix trilogy, Firefly TV Series, Aeon Flux cartoon series, Final Fantasy VII Advent Children, X-Men Trilogy, Resident Evil Trilogy...and loads of other stuff (Hitchcocks, Monty Pythons, some Asian Stuff...Battle Royale 1&2, loadsa Takeshi Kitano stuff...)<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>G</strong>: That is a NDS game from Japan...<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>H</strong>: Every geek has spools of CDs all over the place....I have about 5 over the bedroom!<br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><strong>I</strong>: A cricket ball!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Top Shelf...a lot of books and stuff, quite a lot are my law books though!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">More law books....on top of my wardrobe though this time...all my shelves are full up!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My other book shelf...you may be able to spot the Harry Potters, but there's loadsa other fantasy stuff there too. Also I have some Beano/Dandy Annuals...ummm graphic novels...and Fresh Fruits, you should check that book out if you have time...it's a book of photo's of the Japanese all dressed up crazy! It's cool...oh and my beautiful PS2...!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lxrqfBl0TU4/SvcKpk4thpI/AAAAAAAAACs/KZYMTSRsj9M/s1600-h/StillCap0000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" sr="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_lxrqfBl0TU4/SvcKpk4thpI/AAAAAAAAACs/KZYMTSRsj9M/s320/StillCap0000.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And finally, my Fairy...she even has a garland now...which is what is above the box....her name is Lexi and she's a Rock Hard Fairy! She's the only Rock Hard Fairy I own, but I think they're pretty cool, I wouldn't mind more (if you want to get me a present!! ;o)))) )<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well that's it anyway...a small insite into the world of a g33k! I hope you enjoyed that! I decided it seem that everyone loves a sneaky peek into the lives of others (hence the reason Heat, Hello! and OK magazine doing so well!), now I'm no celeb, but I have some interesting bits and bobs lying around....<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Oh and don't forget that if you have a lot of that kinda stuff lying around you too are a geek! Congratulations...<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Muchos Luvos!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">G33kUK!<br />
</div>g33kUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400457535573617882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4063885217233886273.post-57747810318081437182009-11-08T07:21:00.000-08:002009-11-08T07:25:05.021-08:00Girl Number 9...a reviewSorry posts are sporadic at the moment, it's a busy time for me, but I'll keep updating as and when I have time. Keep coming back guys, and thanks for all the support.<br />
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Right, the "Girl Number 9" mini-series found at <a href="http://www.canyousaveher.com/">http://www.canyousaveher.com/</a> has now finished and these are my general feeling about it.<br />
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I'll start with a brief overview of the full program so there may be some <strong>spoilers</strong> below...be warned (but I won't go into too much detail).<br />
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Essentially the cops have caught a child killer, and they are in the process of interrogation, and trying to get enough proof to send the guy to prison for a long time. During the initial interrogation, the guys gives them details of a website, and a special code for them to plug into the site. Upon doing so the website starts streaming a video of a girl in a warehouse somewhere, all chained up, with a timer counting down. The idea of the story is whether or not the cops will find them in time...sort of (but I don't want to give too much away!)<br />
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So what do I think about this series? All in all it was pretty good, and I'd definately recommend anybody to give it a watch, especially since it isn't a massive waste of time. Each episode is ranges from about 3 - 6 minutes in length so watching the full 6 episodes only takes about half an hour. The acting is great, Garath David-Lloyd was truely great to watch, and OMG Joe Absolom who played the child killer was truely brilliant, absolutely terrifying, aboslutely believable, truely psychotic...it was a masterful performance. You can't just rely on good acting for this kind of thing though, you really need the scripting to be spot on, and I will tell you the scripting was truely marvellous!<br />
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For once though, I'm not saying just truely positives about something I'm reviewing...I actually have a few negative points to tell you. When a "series" is so short, it's easy to get problems that just stick out like a sore thumb...even if they aren't massive problems. The opening minute of the first episode annoyed me a little bit, too much unnecessary swearing. Also the episodes were too short really...I think maybe 10 minutes per episode would have been fine really, but the problem with a 3 or 5 minute episode is that you'll just be getting into it, when it stops. It doesn't REALLY give you enough time to get emotionally integrated with the plot, if it is finishing as soon as you get any kind emotive response...<br />
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Oh and just briefly, as for originality...it's not entirely original an idea. It definately (well to me) seems to just be a bit of a mixture between the original Saw movie, and the movie Untraceable...not that that's necessarily a bad thing, it's just worth mentioning really.<br />
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Finally, I'm not going to give the ending away, but the final episode (number 6) fell a bit flat for me. The 1st 5 episodes were...more or less, great, and then the final episode was ust a bit disappointing really, and I think that's a shame. The ending should have been really emotional, or exciting...or anything really, and it just sort of...petered off, and that just disappointed me.<br />
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All in all the the series was pretty good, and because of it's length, it is definately worth a watch. It's still available to stream from <a href="http://www.canyousaveher.com/">http://www.canyousaveher.com/</a> The "play" section should also be up and running soon as well...which could be quite fun!<br />
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Anyhow...hopefully you've enjoyed the update, and I will try and do another one shortly! And if you watch Girl Number 9 I hope you enjoy it!<br />
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Muchos Luvos!<br />
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G33kUKg33kUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400457535573617882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4063885217233886273.post-39686189304696134972009-10-30T14:27:00.000-07:002009-10-30T15:25:28.718-07:00Girl Number 9: can YOU save her (http://www.canyousaveher.com)It came to my attention that there was a web-thriller which started tonight, and is running for 6 episodes as far as I am aware. Coming out tonight (30th October) and then coming out 2nd November until 6th November inclusive. Therefore at 9pm tonight, when the first 5 minutes episode came out, I decided to have a looksie.<br />
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First of all, I don't have a particular bad network connection or particularly bad laptop but it was only after 30 seconds of stuttering and lag, I noticed that there was a HD button in the top corner, which said it was on. I figured I don't really need HD for my laptop, turned it off and it worked fine...just a little warning in case anyone else gets that problem.<br />
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Now the first think I can say about the actual “webisode” (and don't get me wrong they do warn before that it is for viewers 15+ only) is that the first 3 lines of dialogue dropped the F-Bomb...in each line. Now I'm no prude, I just don't see the point in swearing for the sake of...you know...swearing I guess.<br />
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Now I must admit though, after saying ^ that...I did quite enjoy the first episode, it set the scene nicely, I enjoyed the dialogue, and I'm hoping it gets better. It's a great little “cat and mouse” idea, drawing from movies such as Saw and Untraceable, but setting them in a more...realistic atmosphere<br />
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The cast are pretty good though and include Gareth David-Lloyd (Ianto Jones – Torchwood), Tracy-Ann Oberman (Doctor Who, Eastenders) and Joe Absolom (Doc Martin, Personal Affars).<br />
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There's a “play-along” gaming element to the show, which...doesn't seem to have much going for it at the moment (either it's not playing yet; or I don't know what I'm doing!)<br />
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Definitely worth a watch, and I hope that the ending is as good as the beginning, the potential storyline is pretty exciting...expect to hear my final views about this on November the 6th. Until then, catch up and watch the episodes yourself at <a href="http://www.canyousaveher.com/">http://www.canyousaveher.com/</a><br />
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Much Love<br />
<br />
G33kukg33kUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400457535573617882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4063885217233886273.post-73808700809531186102009-10-30T09:41:00.000-07:002009-10-30T16:39:48.649-07:00J.W. Wells & Co. - Supernatural Consultants, Paranormal Engineers, Practical Metaphysicians -- A Review of the Tom Holt SeriesNot had an update in nearly a week, I apologise for that, I have been busy and then ill! To all my loyal followers and to anyone else who has looked though, today you are in for a treat for I am going to talk to you about one of my favorite authors, and my absolute favorite series of books within the fantasy genre!<br />
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Tom Holt is an ex-lawyer turned fantasy writer, who took his writing pro in 1995, he specialises in historical novels, and fantasy novels which incorporate various tales of mythology. There seems to be a special emphasis in his books on Roman and Greek mythology, but even though there are hints of it in the series I am going to talk to you about, it is more Wizardry, Fey, Goblins, well I could keep going but it's proper comic-fantasy!<br />
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The series of books I am going to talk about are the J.W Wells & Co series, which incorporate currently (I think) 6 books, however I am yet to read the 6th and I think 4, and 5 I will leave for another time, as they are more like spin offs from the original 3 (and it'd make this post last ages!)<br />
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<strong>Book 1: The Portable Door</strong><br />
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I was introduced to Tom Holt via this book, and boy am I glad about it. Sometimes the best books you get are the ones you stumble across, and this is exactly what happened with me. I had received a book token as a gift, and the book I actually bought with it was Vernon God Little. I happened to be out with my mum at the time, and when I got back to her she said “I've already got that one” so I quickly went back to change it, and came out with this book, totally at random.<br />
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So what can I tell you about this opening book? Our hero...or massive loser...depending on your vantage point, is Paul Carpenter, who goes for a job interview for a firm who are looking to hire 2 clerks. At the interview he notices how everyone is better then him, and he also notices a not too attractive female picking her nose with the end of her biro...Paul falls in love.<br />
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Surprisingly, both he, and the "attractive" female (Sophie) get the job at J.W.Wells & Co. and get to chronologically ordering bits of paper, running through other pieces of paper circling anything they think might be a bauxite deposit...you know general admin.<br />
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However all is not as it seems, for one afternoon they get locked in the building by accident, and end up being attacked by a horde of Goblins, they are shown the company letterhead, “J.W. Wells & Co. - Supernatural Consultants, Paranormal Engineers, Practical Metaphysicians”, and the boardmembers include some of the greatest in their fields, including the Contessa Judith di Castel'Bianco; Queen of the Fey. And Paul, and Sophie...wizards, of course!<br />
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Well from here on in, things all get a little bit fun, and a little bit sticky. Paul has these weird dreams, there's a sword stuck in a stone, The Acme Portable Door turns up in Paul's desk draw (stick it to any wall, open it up and go where ever your heart desires), the CEO (J. Wells) has been missing for a long time now, and what's it all got to do with Gilbert and Sullivan. And (as with all offices) the stationary keeps going missing; where is that pesky stapler!<br />
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<strong>Book 2: In Your Dreams</strong><br />
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It's time for Paul and Sophie to move around the company a bit, going into the different areas to see what they would be best suited to specialise in. Paul, well he gets lumped with “Pest” control, or how it's better known as: Heroism. Sophie, entertainment, and she gets whisked away to the Hollywood branch of J.W.Wells (and swiftly breaks up with Paul...poor sod)<br />
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It seems though that Paul...doesn't exactly have the aptitude for Heroism, and when his boss disappears, it is down to Benny Shumway, a dwarf – and the company accountant, to teach him the ropes. Paul does become a dragon slayer though...well he tripped and sat on a dragon's windpipe until it choked to death...but it's he had all the tools with him to really get it if he wanted to...<br />
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But things aren't all as they seem in the world of paranormal consultancy, and when Paul's hero boss jumps through the window of his apartment, cut and bleeding, and demanding coffee (not just any coffee, but at least half a mug of coffee grindings), and warning Paul not to sleep things start to go pear shaped.<br />
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But what has Paul's Great Uncle Ernie got to do with this, and what's up with the Bank of the Dead. And his old School friend Melzie is working at the firm now, and seems to take an unhealthy liking to Paul (in that a girl...is talking to him). Can The Contessa really be trusted, and what is so scary about sleeping, and dreaming?<br />
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And what is it that truly makes a hero...?<br />
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<strong>Book 3: Earth, Air, Fire and Custard</strong><br />
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Dennis Tanner, Paul's frankly horrible boss has only gone and done the unthinkable this time. He's gone and offered Paul a promotion, a promotion that even ups his holiday entitlement from zero to something...unbelievable...there must be a catch right?! Apart from obviously working with a bunch of psychotic board members who's only goals in life seem to be to try and get Paul killed.<br />
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In this final book of the 3 series you are kept on your toes throughout, unable to tell at any point who is on the side of good, and who is on the side of evil. What is it with the empty place that Paul keeps finding himself in if he takes on too much pastries though, and can the 4th element really be Custard?<br />
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I don't want to give too much of this book away, it's intricate and can be difficult to follow from time to time. We find out more about the real love story behind our Sophie and Paul, and more about Paul's heroism.<br />
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This is a good read, and wraps up the three stories brilliantly! Oh and I should really let you know that quixotic means “caught up in the romance of noble deeds and the pursuit of unreachable goals; idealistic without regard to practicality”...that should save you having to hunt out a dictionary when you hit that part.<br />
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<strong>Conclusions</strong><br />
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All in all, Tom Holt is a light read, fun read. He mocks, and parodies myths and legends brilliantly, and his books will make you snort out loud on a train. There are clear influences from other fantasy novels (Paul Carpenter seems closely mirrored on The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy's Arthur Dent), but these aren't just any other novel, nor are they just any other fantasy novel. This is a 3 book journy into the life of an ordinary man, who wants an ordinary life, but instead...gets wrapped up in a life of carnage, chaos, and unreliable parents.<br />
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<strong>WELL WORTH A READ</strong> – do it, you wont regret it! :o)<br />
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Much Love<br />
<br />
G33kukg33kUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400457535573617882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4063885217233886273.post-61869638050286350302009-10-22T13:44:00.000-07:002009-10-22T13:44:36.498-07:00SOLID GOLD: Spandau Ballet (The Reformation Tour)SWEEEEEEEEEET! Went to the o2 last night in god ol' London town, with my Sis to watch day 2 of Spandau Ballet's 3 nights at the o2. Thought I'd just let you guys know what I thought:<br />
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Despite being the youngest people there (by a minimum of a decade), I really enjoyed this concert, and I mean REALLY enjoyed it – I spent the whole night throwing shapes like it was still 1985. The concert started with a big screen in front of the stage, and projected onto it was video clips of Spandau Ballet in their hayday, all spliced together, with music then towards the end the band name was projected onto the top, and a light shone onto the screen making it translucent, and there the boys were behind the screen, posing, all shone up with spot lights...it was wonderful!<br />
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Now, I was too excited at this point, and thinking back now I can't remember what song they started with. I think it was “To cut a long story short”, followed by “The Freeze”...but I could well be wrong.<br />
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What can I say about the boys then, Tony Hadley looks smart, all suited and booted, and boy can he sing still. He has got an absolutely fabulous voice, and great energy. The Kemp's looked to be enjoying themselves, all of them grinning, jigging about on stage! The saxophonist still blows great as well, oh and the drummer....he was definitely drumming (although there was a dodgy drum solo during Gold...pure dodge...).<br />
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About 3 years ago I saw Tony Hadley with my (now-ex) girlfriend. Where did I see him, I hear you ask. He was playing at the Darlington Civic Centre, a venue which holds maybe 500 people...at the very most. So it was no surprise to me at all, to see Tony getting a bit emotional in the middle of the gig...he even had a bit of a cry!<br />
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They played all their classics as far as I can remember, apart from Musclebound, and songs like Lifeline, Communication, Chant No. 2, To Cut a Long Story Short flowed out of them so easily, you wouldn't have believed that they had been away for so long now.<br />
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But the true test of character comes from your big songs...and BOY were they big. True was just so very good (I almost did a little cry, but held it together!!!), and Through the Barricades was just emotional. Sung, performed and played with true depth and feeling, it was great. At the encore, Gary and Martin Kemp came out a little more suitably attired (Gary in a Denim Vest Jacket, Martin in a Leather Vest Jacket), and Gold was just AWESOME! Truly, truly AWESOME.<br />
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The concert was being recorded (presumably all three days are) – DVD is due for release on November 30th...if you like live music DVDs I'd say it'll probably be a must have...the concert was incredible, and incredible fun!<br />
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Oh and if you're reading this and you happen to be the woman who turned round and shhhh'd me and my sister because we were singing to loud...don't be such a misery guts all your life!<br />
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Tony Hadley at one point in the conert said “London, it's good to be home”, I say Tony, it's good to have you back, you have been missed!<br />
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Muchos Lovos<br />
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G33kUKg33kUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400457535573617882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4063885217233886273.post-77678956025972463432009-10-22T13:20:00.000-07:002009-10-22T13:26:07.584-07:00Fantasy Movie Rundown: Part 1 - The Princess Bride (or Never judge a book by it's cover, or a movie by it's title)OK, before we start, I am no movie critic ok, I know what I like, and can have a chat about it, but don't be expecting bloody Roger Ebert ok! I have decided that I will pepper throughout this blog at varying points (i.e. when I can be bothered) some of my personal insites into some movies that I really enjoy. So we are starting fantasy - with The Princess Bride.<br />
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Why oh why has it taken me 23 years of my life before watching this film [before anyone says anything I know it was released in 1987, so technically 22 years of my life, as the 1st year doesn't count, because the film hadn't been released yet...but if you spotted that you're lamer then me]?! I'll tell you why though, there was a problem with the title of the film that just didn't sit well with me. Now I have no problem with the word “The”...but stick the words “Princess” and “Bride” after that, and what you have on your hands is a snoozefest. Boy have I learned to never judge a film by it's title.<br />
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I decided to give the film a watch after hearing it talked about briefly on the “Geek Syndicate” podcast (I will blog about these guys another time – they rawk!). They happened to mention that there was some pretty decent swordplay in it...and as soon as I heard the word sword, my ears pricked up! And boy oh boy was I not disappointed on that front!<br />
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I'm going to TRY and not give too much away in this post, in case there is anyone reading who hasn't seen the movie. However there may be spoilers in this post, so if you REALLY don't want to know too much about the movie, it might be worth giving this one a miss.<br />
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Ok, admittedly you have to get over the polystyrene rocks, and the wobbly swords (I don't know a lot about swords...maybe they really are that wobbly in real life), but all in all this is a great film. I don't want to go into too much detail about the story line, but essentially it is about an old man who is reading a story to his sick Grandson. The story is what makes the basis of the film (and the bits where they cut back to the bedroom where he is reading to his Grandson are actually a bit annoying). Our Princess to be, gets kidnapped by a trio of crooks, Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) – a sword wielding Spaniard, possibly the best Sword-fighter in the lands..., Fezzik (Andre the Giant) – a big...strong...giant man, and Vizzini (Wallace Shawn – the voice of the Dinosaur in Toy Story...!). They are chased down by our hero, Westley (Carey Elwes – I especially like the bit where he chops off his foot with a hacksaw...oh wait wrong film!!). Now there is a lot more to the story then this, with twists and turns all over the shop, but like I said before – I don't want to give too much of the game away!<br />
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Well what can I tell you about this movie then (I hear you scream). There is an awesome, awesome, kick-ass scene where Carey Elwes and Mandy Patinkin (who is on a search for the 6 fingered man who killed his father so he can look him in the eye and say “hello, my name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father...prepare to die!”) duke it out fencing stylee! I mean this is just beautiful choreography, however the swords are a bit wobbly (this could be the style of sword – they're pokey ones, not slashy ones...or just poor props) but it is great, great fun! It all starts with Mandy saying “You seem a decent fellow, I hate to have to kill you”, Carey retorts “You seem like a decent fellow, I hate to die”...the sword fight starts off fairly understated...but builds up wonderfully, including between the legs parries, backflips, and behind the back thrusts! It is pure fencing too, on rocky, terrain...keep an eye on Carey Elwes legs...I can't get over his stance, it is amazing how he moves!<br />
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There is pure comedy in this film as well, some really funny parts...and words of wisdom too (“you be careful, people in masks can't be trusted”...were truer words ever spoken?!). And Christopher Guest towards the end of the film is brillo. Mandy dispatches a few of his bodyguards, and gives him a line of dialogue, and they face off against each other...Christopher Guest readies his sword, then turns round and hightails it out of there!<br />
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Wallace Shawn was great too, although you will never want to hear the word inconceivable spoken by another person! He has introduced me to the two classic blunders though...saying to Carey “You fell victim to one of the classic blunders the most famous being never start a land war in Asia, but the only slightly less well know is never go in against a Sicilian when death is on the line”! So remember that guys...don't trust the Sicilian's! (*Said without prejudice...*)<br />
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Add on top of this, eel infested water, rodents of unusual size, the fireswamp (with it's lightning sand!), the pit of dispair, and pirates, well you've got the makings of a corking film in my books!<br />
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WATCH THIS MOVIE...it is a must see, great, great fun.<br />
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Oh and look out for ROUS's – although, I don't think they exist... ;o)<br />
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Much Love!<br />
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G33kUKg33kUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400457535573617882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4063885217233886273.post-14132463760974439692009-10-19T07:23:00.000-07:002009-10-19T09:09:17.246-07:00Save Cocoon! Final Fantasy XIII ExcitementFirstly I want to say a huge thanks for all your encouraging words - and for anyone who is following me already! Hopefully you won't be disappointed with your decision!! :oDDDD<br />
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I have been a huge fan of Final Fantasy for years - I can still remember falling in love with Aeries and Tifa in FFVII. I have clocked up over 100 hours on Final Fantasy XII [don't flame! I know you can complete it faster then that - I just love to explore and become fully involved in the world], and if I ever were to meet a perfect woman I think it would be Yuna (FFX, FFX-2). So when recently I spotted a preview of Final Fantasy XIII on the interweb - I couldn't help but grin (Especially since I was watching it at work...shhhh - don't tell my boss!).<br />
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Since seeing the preview I have done a bit of research into the game itself - what the general storyline will be...that kind of thing. If you don't want to know - don't read on, but I am going to briefly summerise what I have so far found out...<b>this is your spoiler alert</b><br />
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It seems that Final Fantasy XIII is split into two worlds, a floating mechanical world (Space Colony) called Cocoon, and a place outside of this area called Pulse. Anyone who comes into contact with Pulse, a dangerous place which the people of Cocoon are afraid of, are believed to be part of a plot to invade Cocoon. These people are banished from Cocoon by it's holy government and army.<br />
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In Cocoon, people are protected by "crystals", these crystals can make machines, and living creatures, and even created Cocoon itself. The crystals allow them to live a peaceful life. Pulse is a dangerous place where inhabitants live in fear of Monster attacks.<br />
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The crystals have chosen our protagonist (Lightning) to bring an end to the world.<br />
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<b>End of Story Line Spoiler</b><br />
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So what are my views after watching the video preview?<br />
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The opening shot is simple, yet beautiful – a huge dome rising up from a lake, with fireworks lighting up the inside. Trademark FF choral music is playing in the background, and a quote...simple, yet spoken so softly, with such meaning, depth and pain:<br />
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“When I couldn't see a future and I was afraid, when the future was clear, and it hurt to see; I just close my eyes and lose myself in happier days”<br />
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And then a kiss – the choral music gets louder, two beautiful people (M and F) on what can be described as a floating motorcycle, kiss, and in the background fireworks fly...<br />
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This is when straight away I knew – not thought, but knew the next 6 minutes of my life will not be wasted!<br />
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The battle system, well from what I can see looks closer to final fantasy XII then any of the other games. There are something called “Paradigm Shifts”...this already excites me, new stuff in the battle system always does! Plus I couldn't help but laugh when one of the characters did what I would assume to be some kind of “fire” magika – but the animation on it harked back to classic street fighter powerballs! Oh AND there's some dude with a 'fro who TOTALLY fights using a car, with flaming exhausts...at least that's what it looks like!! The monsters look great, similar but different in style to the XII monsters, but there's some really awesome looking things in the world to get your swords stuck into!<br />
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The CGI scenes as usual look stunning. They are typically detailed, with every strand of hair waving in the wind. All of the characters look amazing. One of the women who I'm assuming is "evil" looks amazing - like a mixture between a dominatrix and a secretary! But as usual it's just the awesome amount of detail that is put in that I cannot believe. Every strand of hair, every bead on a necklace, bracelets...the lasersightings on tens of guns as they all aim while the guys shouts down all the guys pointing them at him. And the airbattles, I just can't put into words!<br />
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I have tried not to overexcite myself in the buildup to Final Fantasy XIII being released. I am currently taking the last year of my legal studies, and am assuming the release date is in March. I truely believe that buying a PS3 (or Xbox 360) right before my finals would be a terrible...TERRIBLE idea, especially with the release of this game on the horizon. So unfortunately I'm going to have to wait until the summer before I can get all this gear. Looking at the video preview as well has made me decide that the only way to play this game will be to play it in HD (which'll mean buying a HD TV to go with all the rest of it!). After seeing this preview though, I can't help but feel the jangling of excitement in my tummy!<br />
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Hope that this has been of some use to someone - somewhere...If you're interested in the video preview it can be found on The Times website:<br />
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<a href="http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6861608.ece">http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6861608.ece</a><br />
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It's definately worth having a looksie - however it could be UK only (I don't know) - so if anyone is reading this across the pond you may need to YouTube it!<br />
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Excited? Yes I am!! :o)<br />
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Ciao for now!<br />
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Muchos Lovos<br />
G33KUKg33kUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400457535573617882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4063885217233886273.post-30750411007876435972009-10-18T08:00:00.000-07:002009-10-18T08:00:22.700-07:00Opening Gambit...!Horsey to A3! Maveric of me I know!<br />
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Ok, I don't have a chessboard with me, nor am I an avid chess player particularly, but off the top of my head I think (and hope) that's a valid move, and therefore should have the chess fans onside immediately!<br />
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I've been thinking for a while how I should go about opening this blog, starting it off...that kind of thing - what should my opening gambit be. So I've thought to myself, "What is the point of my blog?", "What do I want to achieve?", and "Will anyone even see the sodding thing anyway?!".<br />
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I have decided it's fairly unlikely that there's going to be a huge amount of traffic to this blog, so I decided not to get too bogged down in the formalities - and just go with what comes to mind.<br />
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So what is the point of this blog? - well if you are reading this now (and you are in fact not me) - that is a good question to pose. Quite simply I am a geek - not in the traditional sense, I don't own a thick pair of glasses, or a pocket protector. I do not constantly have a calculator in my pocket to settle calculus based arguments, and nor do I particularly remember a lot of the calculus that I did learn back during my A-Levels. However I will soon be holding 2 degrees and 2 postgraduate qualification, love all things comic, fantasy, and sci-fi, and just last night played a game (during a power cut mind you) with a couple of friends to see if we could name (taking it in turns) Marvel and DC superheroes/vilains starting with A and ending with Z. We got stuck on Q, Y and Z (now I've had time to think about it though Quicksand, Yellow Claw and Zarek would have all been fine!)<br />
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For too long though has "Geekdom" been seen as a bad thing! I am in my early 20s at the moment, and finally celebrating my Geek. So what is the point of this blog? It is to celebrate all things geek!!<br />
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I have not fully decided what my first major post will be as of yet - but I have been party to the Final Fantasy XIII video preview recently - so I may have a bit of chat about that. I would like to review movies, talk about comics and generally have fun, inform people about things that interest me (and hopefully you - the reader!).<br />
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This will not be a blog which takes itself too seriously - but an informal chat to anyone who is interested in the kind of things that excite me.<br />
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I will be more then welcome to take any kind of recommendations from anyone about what I should be reading, watching or generally what is happening in the world of geek. I'll have a look and maybe scribble a few words regarding my thoughts and feelings on this blog.<br />
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If you think this kind of thing may interest you - subscribe - we could have fun! :o)<br />
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Muchos Lovos to you all!<br />
G33kUKg33kUKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10400457535573617882noreply@blogger.com7