I've Moved !

Due to technical problems that seemingly cannot be resolved this blog has now moved to 'this' new site.I may delete this old blog in future.

Thanks for reading over the years and feel free to join me on the new blog.

That My Lad Was... A Dragon

The new The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug trailer has at last arrived, enjoy!

The Thatcher Years and Me

Margaret Thatcher has died today. I grew up in the Thatcher years being then around 12 years old when she was elected, I was rapidly approaching my mid twenties when she was ousted ... by her own political party. 

In my early childhood days I was probably a little bit oblivious to it all though it my early teens it was evident musicians at the time had a strong dislike for her (Billy Bragg, The Specials etc) as did many of the comedians on tv, Ben Elton immediately springs to mind. There is no denying Thatcher is a cultural icon of the 1980s but maybe not in a good way. I'll always recall Rik Mayall's anti Thatcher quips on The Young Ones.

My family were working class and had mixed fortunes during the Thatcher years, I'd say they steadily improved but that was through the hard work of my parents and not the successive Thatcher governments. I called in to see my dad today and asked him what he thought of the Thatcher years, he replied flatly 'Our mortgage doubled in cost'.

Reflecting back I can only convey here what I really remember and that was leaving school and going on the YTS (Youth Training Scheme) as my parents couldn't afford to finance me staying on at school or going to college. The YTS of course was very low paid labour but fortunately I managed to get on a scheme working with computers which was more training than work. It soon became evident that promises of a job through the scheme were merely transparent, I became restless, somewhat rebellious (I was still young and naive) and left the scheme to join another hopeless one. Fortunately during this time my parents didn't charge me board and lodgings, stating they wanted me to get used to having some money of my own and encouraged me to save and budget for my own clothing etc. The YTS scheme was in reality smoke and mirrors exercise, few gained jobs from it, though I do know people that did, however its main purpose was to lower unemployment figures.

Later of course, when I'd got a relatively low paid factory job the Poll Tax (also known as the community charge) came into effect and I saw my earnings plummet to pay some stupid tax even though I was still living with my parents. I refused to pay, as did hundreds of thousands of others and rioting occurred in some towns. I went to court and stood there with scores of others who'd refused. It was either pay or face the consequences so many of us agreed to pay the bare minimum. Soon after it was replaced and Thatchers reign ended.

Of course I recall other instances throughout her time as Prime Minister. The Falklands war in which a nation suddenly realised we had tiny islands thousands of miles away even though hardly anyone had heard of them beforehand. At the time I was probably patriotic and I remember the vivid images of sinking ships, burnt soldiers and the news reports on tv. I also recall riots in London and Bristol in deprived areas. I remember the miners strike and being spat at whilst leaving school and called a 'scab' by Yorkshire miners who had come to picket Crown Farm colliery mine and were encamped in a nearby pub before causing chaos. I wasn't the son of a miner but both my grandparents were miners so I have a mining background and I'm proud of it too. Thatcher divided Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire miners, a rift that is still apparent today. The epilogue to the strike was the unions were crushed (always a plan of Thatcher) and whole towns and communities were ruined. Nottinghamshire miners were favoured short term by the Thatcher government but in time their mines became no more and the local miners although receiving a period of prosperity followed by good pay off's found that getting work after was very difficult. The end of the mines saw the town where I used to live wither and slowly die, after the mines went other industries toppled and promises of cash injections never really appeared. A once thriving happy town seemingly capitulated, I witnessed its death, it affected me, I was there, it should have never have happened. Before the miners strike there always seemed to be work even low paid work, after it declined rapidly.

Can I say anything good about Thatcher? A strong leader or bully? All I can say is I liked the way she stood up to Europe and the then early makings of the European Union, that's about it really. Its fair to say life in the Thatcher years wasn't all bad, as a family we slowly prospered though I know my parents had periodic tough times. I recall the era well probably because as Thatcher came to power I was reaching that age where I took more notice, went to school, left school, struggled to find work and saw many social changes and influences. The Thatcher years will be always etched on my mind and shape how I think today.

In closing I don't think her legacy is a good one, though many will argue otherwise. She encouraged privatisation and private health. She divided communities and further widened the north-south divide. She crushed unions without mercy and destroyed what they'd spent years achieving. Manufacturing went to cheaper firms abroad. The coal mining industry was laid to waste. Deregulation of banks, social unrest, VAT from 8% to 17.5% etc etc, I could go on.

She died today in the Ritz Hotel where of course only the rich can afford to die in.

Tolkien Week #3

So the new The Hobbit trailer has arrived at long last. Duration wise its a massive jump on the first teaser trailer released back at the end of last year, this one being two and a half minutes. Though it is longer Peter Jackson has still been canny with the content in it. It does feel like we've got an expanded version of the original teaser in the fact we've got more of the same with a few extras and nothing much being given away really. However that said we do get a few more lingering moments on characters and places such as Radagast the brown wizard and Dol Guldur in Mirkwood. All in all its a pleasing little trailer and I hope we'll see yet another trailer before the movie release because the content is there and I can't help feeling Jackson is holding back on some characters such as Beorn, the Goblin King and many others, not to mention Smaug.

My only bone of contention is the content really. Being a purist of the novels I did grind my teeth at what went into the Lord of the Rings and what was omitted. I suspect with The Hobbit not being anywhere as voluminous as its sequels this may not be a problem this time around (I hope).  

There is some talk from critics that because the film has been shot at a very high quality (I forget the tech term for it but it's on the movie blogs) and that this reveals too much detail in outfits and prosthetics which detracts from realism. Firstly, I'm not yet seeing that myself, much like with any fantasy genre movie you know ultimately prosthetics are used if CGI isn't, so I've got my head around it in that respect. That said I don't know what effect the high quality detail will have over the duration over the film, it may indeed be a point I flag up, though as I'll only be watching it in 2D I hope not, it remains to be seen though I guess.

I remain optimistic and hopeful Peter Jackson will deliver. He certainly has a great story content there, a whole cast of great actors and most likely some of the best production people in the business. Right up until the end credits role I will have reservations but right now I think its shaping up well.

Click HERE for the new trailer on itunes, its trailer 2 by the way.

Tolkien Week #1

So Tolkien Week begins worldwide. It's seventy five years since the fantasy novel 'The Hobbit' was first published. The American Tolkien society first proclaimed Hobbit Day and Tolkien Week back in 1978 and it's been going over since, getting quite a bit of recognition by all accounts. Hobbit Day falls on the 22nd September and for those of you who haven't read the Lord of the Rings it's the joint birthday of hobbits called Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.

I first fell in love with Tolkien's works back in the early 80s. How or why I came by the book titled The Hobbit is lost to memory now. I do know I found it in the school library aged around 14, of that much I am certain, whether I stumbled upon it or someone suggested it remains clouded in the folds of time.

Back then I wasn't the most academic of students but I read The Hobbit pretty voraciously being enthralled by the fantasy world Tolkien had created containing hobbits, dwarves, trolls, elven kings and mighty dragons. It awakened something inside me that stimulated me to read more and develop an interest in writing. My English went from strength to strength and I do recall coming top of my English class that year with my exam result. My English teacher was a lovely man and he encouraged me immensely though I was just at the beginning of a very long journey.

Next I read the Lord of the Rings. I remember taking all three volumes on a family holiday. We stayed in a farmhouse in the rural village of Scalby in North Yorkshire overlooking the coastal town of Scarborough. Every spare chance available I busily read through the many chapters. I can remember long walks with my dad, uncle and cousin Ben through forests and over hills and they were the perfect compliment to Tolkiens world and imagining it. Though I can't recall every detail of that holiday thirty years ago I can remember a good deal and it seemed magical.

Here I am all those years later, still reading, still writing and still in love as much as ever with Tolkien's books.

J.R.R. Tolkien I sincerely thank you !

.....

Much Needed

It's been a while since I've had a holiday, and this little hobbit is in dire need of an adventure. So, off I go tomorrow for a much needed week away to Malta. Yep, I am going once again, this is my third time but the simple reason is I like the place, plus dad is looking to possibly retire out there so it's a holiday and fact finding mission too.

Holidays are also great chances to think as it lifts you out of your daily life and routine, you can reflect on things easier when you are removed from them. 

So I shall be catching plenty of sunshine (I hope), taking in the culture, having a beer or two, reading, looking at lovely Maltese girls and generally relaxing. If ever a holiday was much needed it's this one. I'll see you all soon and I'm sure there will be photos and blogs to follow of my adventures.

Have A Good Holiday !

As regular readers will not I'm not the Christmas type, being a rabid atheist and all that, but regardless, I wish all to have a good time over the holiday period, as you can see from the photo below, I was last night!

The Hobbit Teaser Trailer Arrives

So here it is, after a few production video blogs from Peter Jackson we now have the teaser trailer to 'The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey'.

I watched it this morning at around 6:30am, I was tempted to wait up for it last night but though ostensibly I may seem a bit sycophantic about it I do need my sleep and sleep makes things pass quicker. Come the morning the PC was switched on immediately and ablutions out of the way I googled it, found it and watched it several times as I came around fully with a steaming cup of earl grey tea.

I thought it was fairly long for a teaser trailer, though I'm pretty sure the first 20 seconds is actually old footage from the Lord of the Rings trilogy that maybe wasn't used. So what do we see? Well, I little intro of how Bilbo Baggins actually is, and it made me smile, especially the 'I'm a Baggin's of Bag End' bit with a dismissive wave of the finger against any suggestion of adventure. I must say Martin Freeman looks awesome as Bilbo. We then get a tiny glimpse of all the dwarven characters before Thorin Oakenshield begins to sing some kind of gloomy monastic type dirge of the their heritage and past (see I knew that just from the words of the song *wink*).

The some great music cuts in and we get the briefest flashes of what is in store in the first of the two movies, no trace of the dragon 'Smaug' though which surprised me, I'm sure that'll come in time or later trailers though. The only irony for me is that I feel the trailer has come a little too early to be honest, yes it's great to see it but I could have waited, April time would have been better I think, less waiting as we practically still have a whole year to go still.

To conclude, well what I saw I really liked, it wasn't kind of 'in your face leaving you shocked feeling' that I had, just a nod and smile of approval that the characters seem right and a reassuringly warm fuzzy glow that all looks well with it.

And here's the first poster release below.

Thoughts On E3 Expo 2011

So, the latest E3 Expo show in Los Angeles has been and gone. I've watched a fair few videos from the event and as always it's exciting to see new technology showcased. I have to confess this year though for the first time instead of my usual fervour I have actually questioned certain announcements or pieces of tech, mainly gaming tech.

First up is the new Nintendo Wii U announced at the E3 to great excitement. I've always loved Nintendo stuff and have much of their back catalogue myself. With Nintendo there ought to be the kind of mission statement along the lines of 'with great risks there are great gains' which mostly is very true on their part as they are a company that pioneer innovation. The new Wii U however left me asking lots of questions and instead of my usual excitement I felt quite vexed and a little let down. It's supposed to be a controller and a console but also seems to have an identity crisis going on too! Now, this said I may be wrong when the actual Wii U comes into play but until then I can only go on the concept videos, 'concept' being the important word here at the moment.

So what is the Wii U? I really don't know, Nintendo state it's not a handheld yet it clearly resembles one and is gripped very much like a large portable console. Nostalgia filled my mind when I saw it of the old Sega Gamegear and Atari Lynx, both portable consoles but quite large! Back to subject, so watching the concept video, though impressed I was left with lots of questions such as to its connectivity, the media it will use and how it generally interacts with the other piece of kit. After pondering these questions yet more questions arose, and the next day some of the media seemed sceptical as one critic remarked Nintendo had invented something for problems that didn't exist. In some respects he was right, the video of the Wii U opens with someone wanting to use the Tv and the other person switching his game from the Tv to the Wii U. A great idea for sure but look at how many kids of today have Tv's in their own room!? It struck me that the new Wii is being vaunted as a kind of jack of all trades for the home but master of none. You can surf the web, it has a touch screen, you can make video calls on it and so on, very versatile but seeing as people already use laptops and touch tablets for this kind of stuff already then is there really a need for more of the same?

Whilst I am sceptical about the Wii I am not going to dismiss it just yet, it would be silly to do so but I do feel the whole idea at present seems blurred as to what exactly it is and as I stated to a friend, not all new ideas have to be good ones (the new Nintendo 3D has had problems). I do really want it to be good but it just seems to be much of what everyone else is doing at present with the whole motion sensor / touch screen thing. I guess I was hoping Nintendo would do a high end gamers console going back to their roots a little and also a new high spec portable console though we seem to have an odd combination of both that is also integral to Nintendo's existing Wii kit (allegedly).

Next up is the new Sony Portable called the 'Vita' though I gather it had a couple of different names before it was unveiled at the E3. I'm really not keen on the 'Vita' tag, it just conjures up images of breakfast cereal or slimming products for some reason. What I see with the Sony's new offering, like Nintendo is very much in line with what has been released so far, it looks very Sony as the new Wii U looks Nintendo. I guess both companies have a brand and style and feel safe with the product and imagery and neither want to upset the consumers by doing something that looks too different. The Vita looks like the existing psp range, on a glance you could be mistaken for thinking its just a new Psp, after all we've had a few of them so far. Sony seem to have gone for touch screen technology as well, after all its very 'en vogue' at the moment. On the positive side both Sony and Nintendo machines have buttons and controllers beside touch screen capability unlike Apple who try and fool us that their stuff is also ideal for ardent gamers out there, trust me it isn't. My problem with touch screen stuff on the Apple range is fun games aside, that your hand always seems to be in the field of vision and touching a screen is never as responsive as a button. Gary my friend in Hong Kong always tries to sell the idea of an ipod/ipad as a gaming console of sorts and it never washes with me, whilst they are fun and look aesthetically good, gaming dedicated gaming devices they'll never be. Anyway, I digress, back to Sony. So their new Vita is all singing and dancing, front and back camera's, rear touch pad (not screen) and front fascia adorned with buttons and again a touch screen. I'm pretty much a Sony fan boy make no mistake but after a range of Psps including the Psp light, 3000 and Psp Go the new Vita just seems like much of the same with added bells and whistles. The new Sony/Ericsson phone/console isn't doing too well I hear and is very expensive so I wonder how Sony will fare with the new Vita?

Maybe it's just me these days that feels a little de-sensitised to the new stuff when back in the day things seem to have had a more wow factor. I recall getting really excited about the Game Boy Advance clam shell handheld and I wasn't disappointed, I still cherish it now. We seem to be in a period now where things seem slightly static and the next big things are yet to come, you only have to watch programs like the Gadget Show to see that devices that replicate true 3D or are controlled by thought are on the horizon. I saw some head gadget at the E3 that gave each eye a different perspective on a driving simulator to make you feel like everything was real and 3D around you and you could turn your head 360 degrees too. Voice recognition also seems to be vastly improving these days so I expect we'll see more of that in the future. The fact is with the new stuff these days is that I am a little bit old school in some respects, whilst I love new stuff I do like my buttons on things, especially when playing games as repeatedly touching a screen with a thumb doesn't feel that convincing to me. I don't think being old school is a bad thing, on the contrary it shows a healthy respect for the past and games that got us here today yet whilst I will always embrace future good ideas I will always remember good solid gaming experiences from the old days.

So that's a few thoughts on things, and in fairness regarding the new stuff a lot remains to be seen and I've no doubt what is coming our way in future months will be good.

For a link to E3 preview stuff including the new Sony and Nintendo items click 'here'.

Newark Beer Festival

I'm off to the Newark 16th annual beer festival shortly, it's an event I look forward to every year. There's always good beer and good entertainment, it's a cracking weekend and the organisers are to be commended for all the hard work they put in. I just hope the weather stays dry and they don't run out of beer too early this year!

Also the local Camra guys have put together a very novel beer guide to Newark pubs based on the London underground tube map. The actual map hasn't been uploaded to the website that creates them yet, so here is a scanned version of it. There's other pub runs on the site linked too, go take a look. If you click on the image below is does become larger. Please note, the Prince Rupert is what I'd term 'the end of the line' for several reasons.

Chinese Comments

For some reason I keep getting Chinese comments, in Chinese, so I am clueless to their content. As much as I love China and all things Chinese, comments or links in Chinese will NOT be approved on this blog - ever.

Thanks for your interest.