Wednesday, March 21, 2012

March? Surely A Mistake !

Yep, spring is on it's way, strolling around town today it almost felt like late May, not March. It was lovely and warm with a sky bereft of clouds! I love spring time! Here is a photo of the sky line in the centre of town today.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Army Of Mushrooms

Judging by the bands posts on Facebook this looks to be the new cover art for the upcoming Infected Mushroom album entitled 'Army of Mushrooms'. Personally I can't wait and as soon as it gets released this hobbit will be ordering it! I don't think there is a day goes by when I don't listen to them, total brain candy!

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Booked !

I've booked to go away on holiday in May and I can't wait. It's Malta (again!) but I really feel I haven't seen all of Malta yet. I can't really pin down why I like Malta, there's just something about it that resonates with me. Another reason for the holiday is something of a fact finding mission as my dad is very interested in moving there now he is retired, and who can blame him?

I'm hoping to go to London beforehand, do a bit of retail therapy before the Olympic madness starts. London is busy at the best of times, during the games I suspect it will be unbearable.

Thursday, March 08, 2012

Zombies, Gladiators and Thrones

This week I've been catching up on Tv shows. I must say that The Walking Dead just gets better, it really is quality and compelling viewing. Not only does it have you on the edge of your seat but it evokes emotions as well as posing very heart searching 'What if that was me, what would I do?' questions. There's been less action in the second series but when there has beenit's has been truly nail biting knife edge stuff. Between the action we've had some great character building from a fine cast and some inspiring scripting to emphasise the psychological behaviour of a desperate few people facing a zombie apocalypse. This isn't a show just about killing zombies though, it is far deeper than that, every morale choice, every decision the small group makes has consequences and when people die you almost feel you are sharing their loss, it really is that emotive. It's an amazing piece of television drama.

On to Spartacus Vengeance. I'll admit, I'm a huge fan of the previous two series but feel the loss of Andy Whitfield has impacted the current show. I don't want to be too judgemental here and the new Spartacus Liam McIntyre is slowing easing into the role. There's been some other minor personnel changes within the show but to cut to the chase and state what I'm really missing and that's a Machiavellian bad guy with the stature of what John Hannah exuded playing Batiatus. Glaba played by Craig Parker isn't as calculating as the erstwhile Batiatus or as dynamic, it's almost like he has to rely on support from characters such as Asha or Lucretia for prompts and schemes. What we are getting with this series of Spartacus is much the same with less of the clout of the previous series outings. The action whilst being the usually quality gore-fest is now starting to feel a bit samey and has lost its edge (the sex is still great!). What's also lacking from this current series is plots and subterfuge, they are still there but with less 'OMG' moments as the plot is suddenly revealed. You really felt you were in for the ride on Batiatus's power trip before as he climbed the social ladder, you knew he was a bad guy but you empathised with him strangely. Sadly the Roman bad guys in this new series lack John Hannah's presence. charisma and screen vitality - they just seem a pontificating generic bunch and Lucy Lawless as Lucretia has very much sadly faded into the background a little (probably because she has less power this time around).

It's almost starting to feel cliche and reminiscent of other shows that graced out screens in the past. People get captured, rescue attempts take place, odd minor characters die and so it goes on. Some could argue the creators of the show have taken artistic licence with what's known about the real Spartacus of history but I don't think that's a bad thing, as we'll never ever know the details anyway. Will I still watch? Of course, I'm still a fan of the show I just think something is missing and I'm not entirely sure what. They need to build characters up more such as Peter Mensah (Doctore/Onomaus) among others. Maybe I am being too critical and I suspect more will come from the show regarding characters, plots and story lines, it could well be still early days on a series that could turn out to be here for the long haul but if that's the case they'll need to put substance before style.

Lastly I have to mention Game of Thrones second season. There's been a few teaser trailers for the forthcoming series starting this April and to be perfectly honest - I can't wait. I had started on the second book but decided to hold off, probably because I enjoyed the first series so much I didn't want to spoil the second one. I suspect it is going to eclipse any series of this year for me and I genuinely feel we are in for something truly special. Reflecting back to my opening on The Walking Dead and the fact I feel much is down to how real the characters and their worlds feel and the actors who portray them do it - that's where Game of Thrones excels. I love all three shows and it'll be interesting to see what directions they all go in.

Here's a trailer for the new season of Game of Thrones starting in April.

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Middle Earth Mojo

As some readers and friends know I love playing Lord of the Rings Online or Lotro as it's abbreviated to by gamers in the community. Recently though I've not been playing as much, I feel like I've lost my mojo for it a little. There's been some changes within the game regarding the crowd of people I used to hang out with or 'Kinship' as they are known within the game. Within our kinship we had dwindled down to a core few players and the odd casual player popping in occasionally so we decided to merge with a larger more organised kinship. Our own leadership had largely lost interest and the remaining officers within the kinship began to lack motivation and this of course began to affect others. Added to this many had left the game to join the new Star Wars Old Republic massively multiplayer online role play game or 'mmorpg's as they are known.

So, after a meeting where we all had our say in an online group chat we merged with the new kin though my Dutch friend made me smile when he said sardonically he thought it was more an 'upgrade' than a merge. Things seem to have settled though the old kinship remains in limbo with some players remaining in it, which seems a sad situation but they did have the option to move with us. I'm not sure if we should have tried to re-structure and re-brand or the the merge was the best way to go. Either way with all the recent activity I felt I needed a break from it as I was just logging on and staring at the screen bereft of enthusiasm. I suspect a break will do me good and will only be for a short time anyway as I do have a genuine passion for the game and I'd miss the people I hang out with. Most reading this won't have a clue what I am rambling about. I'm a sad geek, I admit it!

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

So, It Begins.

I'm pleased to announce my new (and long planned blog) is now up and running on the Wordpress platform. I purchased the domain name and posted the first blog yesterday but decided to hold off any announcement till today because of tweaks and getting used to how Wordpress actually works. To be honest Wordpress appears to be quite user friendly so far, though it uses a CSS (Cascading style sheets) based system instead of strait forward HTML for those who like to tweak and edit.

So, it begins. My foray into a more focused blog and contentious subject matter. It won't be to everyone's liking but that is unavoidable. I'll still be posting general day-to-day occasional blogs on here as per normal.

I chose yesterday as it was 85 years to the day that the atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell delivered his historic 'Why I am not a Christian' essay verbally to the South London Secular Society.

So, feel to have a read and hang in there with me during the early days as the blog is still work in progress. I'm no super genius or profess to be a great orator or academic - I'm just an average person with strong opinions about organised religion and theism.

The new blog can be found HERE.