I am GaTCHa

Riches, Bankruptcy and avoiding being Ace

2009-08-30T10:17:00.003+01:00

Just a quick one.

Had an awesome gaming afternoon and evening yesterday. You know it's going well when everyone's having a laugh and 8 hours flies by.

Just a smaller bunch of us this time - Mhairi, Robin, Tim , Peter and me.

This time the focus was off AMGSC, as I've stepped down from this, and I am now running purely social gaming sessions with no club-link. Just me in my house with friends; as it should be.

We played a mixture of games from dominoes, Bootleggers, Cluedo, Go For Broke and Chase the Ace. It's really good to mix simple, less brain-draining games with those bulky, intense games.

Bootleggers was the central game and took the most time (although Go For Broke went on for far too long as we seemed to accumulate way too much wealth).

Bootleggers is an awesome game which I covered in another blog here

I didn't even take any photos because it was so mad busy and fun. We had a quick break to eat curry - nyum nyum and had plenty of biscuits (v.important) to fill in any gaps XD

I STILL need to play Plunder, Puerto Rico and Reef Encounter with them...

I'm on the scout for more board games to buy and I've still got games I want to try out with larger groups.

I already know about Boardgame Geek which is a fantastic site packed full of info, help and resources but if anyone has any suggestions on good boardgames, I'd be interested to hear.

Thanks.

Who Started the Fire?

2009-08-26T09:21:00.009+01:00

I've been mulling this one over - not in terms of what to write (that happened immediately, as always) but whether I could be bothered to type it. This blog has been a bit 'come and go' with me at the moment and I really need to find a more regular stride. It's patchy. I like that. But I need more posts.

Anyway, back to the point (or semblance of one).

Yesterday, I caught a post by Philip DeFranco (very funny chap) on an advertising poster for Humo Magazine (Belgian Satirical Magazine) LINK OF PICTURE AND PHILLY D's TOPIC HERE

Now my issue isn't with the topic or the advert. The topic is opening it up to 'discussion' and the advert is, whether you find it funny or not, in poor taste. Some people find poor taste jokes funny because it's 'you can't say that!' and likewise some people find it not funny because 'you can't say that'.

Pathetic Apathy?

Granted, there are those who just don't care. I looked at it and went, 'well that's there to get a cheap and dark laugh whilst intended to piss enough people off to generate some publicity. I must admit to finding it neither particularly funny nor un-funny... I just didn't really care.

What I found interesting were the comments made and the general ranting, poorly constructed arguments whilst flying the flag of assimilated propaganda, and threatening attitudes.

I could have posted there but felt it was neither my really place nor did I want to be responded to - hell, I suppose it's part cowardice to not get involved with nutters, part wanting more space to moan about it, part wanting to sound off in my own area, and part realising my argument was just as pointless as everyone else's. What good does it do trying to discuss things you're not really involved in (or care deeply about) with people who live, sleep and breathe their conflicting convictions? I found the thing interesting but not enough to try and fruitlessly persuade someone their point was incorrect (IMHO ;-p)

We have standards, you know

I mean, the advert is either going to fail or be published based around the advertising standards of Belgium and any other nations that receive the magazine. That's assuming the picture is real and not made up. But the topics weren't following this or the picture but, as is norms for threads like this, goes off topic and becomes something else.

*I want to make it quite clear my issue is with the governments. I've been to the States many times and have friends there and have always felt welcome and enjoyed my trips. Sadly, people are not their countries (although if it were true democracy they would be). I won't lie and say I respect all Americans. There are many I find scarily ill-informed and quite dangerous just like is true for any country including my own. But my fight and anger is not with them but the governments that dupe, lie and cajole their populace into supporting and being complicit toward immoral and inhuman acts of war and torture.

I shook my head in disbelief as people argued over the 'War on Terror' in Iraq and Afghanistan, comparing it to the Tsunami in Asia, and even the Holocaust - and so on - as they all tried to "Top Trump" each other with the next over-egged comment.

A 'Terror'ible mistake?

The 'War on Terror' has always got me and would even be absurd if it wasn't for it's lethal ramifications. 'Terror'? It's so Black and White - somebody is the bad guy and the other is the good guy. War isn't black and white and the Terror is felt by the civilians on all 'sides'.
I know that the Invasion of Iraq has bugger all to do with 9/11 apart from America's ongoing Hegemony in which Britain is too happy to tag a long with for now (until we're not needed anymore).

Twin Towers, a terrible tragedy and murder of people - sure. A reason for War in Iraq and Afghanistan for the next few decades (at least)...no. Oil, anyone? Gas, anyone? Now you're talking. If it was about War on Terror there are plenty of other places more 'suitable' for America to carry out its crusade but without the spoils of war in those places it looks like Iraq and Afghanistan for now. Funny how war is selective like that and government expects us to believe, without question, reasons why one country is okay to bomb and pillage (in our name) and not another.

Peace, man

Please get me clear - I'm against war - I'm a conscientious objector. I don't believe enough in any government to trust them in a time of 'war'. I've just read too much from academics like Noam Chomsky and heard too much from political documentarists & comedians like Michael Moore, Mark Thomas and Rob Newman to ever believe the motivations for invasion were anything other than the quest for the control of resources.

It saddens me when I hear people leap to the defense of their governments saying the War on Terror is just, not realising they have bought into the deception and fail to grasp the real reasons their military families and friends are over there dying. The loss of these young people is unacceptable - there are better ways of dying and better causes to die for...

To be brutally honest, I would have far more respect (but total abhorrence) for someone that acknowledged they were over there to plunder and control oil and gas and were justifying that stance, than the idiots who lap up whatever they are told without questioning it and looking into it themselves. I don't take what I read as canon - I still check it out myself even though, deep down, I believe it to be accurate and what I want to hear. I am human, I know I have weaknesses and strengths and do my best to remind myself of those.

Who's doing the dictating now?

There were some armchair war-mongers online, threatening (as if they had any power) others with how 'America wouldn't help them (another country) next time they needed help' or how 'America should invade Belgium because of this magazine'.

This did make me laugh (far more than the advert was supposed to). I really don't want America's "help". They helped out quite enough in many countries over the decades and their legacy is all too abundant. Oh, and I do admit Britain's legacy of Empire is nothing to be proud of. 9/11 itself, if you take into account the official line of terrorism, can be traced back to the interference of the CIA in other countries and the training and financial support of Bin Laden in Afghanistan by America.

Having the hand bit bit those you fed. What tragic irony. It'd be schadenfreude if it wasn't for the fact than innocent people died instead of the perpetrators.

Have a look at the tension in South Amercia, particularly between Venzuela and America. Colombia's involvement and the uncomfortable feelings the other SA countries are experiencing.

As for invading Belgium - I think the Belgians can breathe easy there. That is unless there's a world shortage in lace ;-P
Then the Yanks will be in there like a shot (or several million) and I'm sure Britain will be closely supporting America in controlling the vital lace trade - well, we do have our Doily Industry to consider ;-P

Just remind yourself of key questions:

Why are our countries really over there?
What could they gain from being there?
How important is the control of oil in Iraq and how does it affect the world?
How important is the control of gas through Afghanistan and how does it affect the world?
Why are they building permanent bases if they are leaving soon?
With the scale and power of combined forces why is is taking so long?
Why haven't they invaded other countries that support terror?
Why haven't they invaded Iran and Pakistan who have elements that are supplying militants in Iraq and Afghanistan with weapons?
Why will they not 'Bring Democracy' (ho ho) to countries with appalling human rights violations such as Saudi Arabia.

Even if you don't agree with the message have a look at the evidence and information posed by opponents of the war. At least you'll have accessed the other side of the argument.

Hedge your money with Hegemony

I just know this is all part of World Hegemony - a war for commodities and fight for economic survival in which everyone else in the world must be a servant. A bitter pill for democratic citizens to swallow but one that is oh-so-sugar coated by propaganda. Trust them, it's in our best interests...it hurts them far more than it hurts us ;-p Yeah, right...

You have a choice to go with the flow or stand against it. Bear in mind what information they want you to swallow and whether you accept it or not.

They're going around ruling with the sword and trying to put out the fires of conflict with bombs.

If you fight fire with fire then everyone just gets burnt.

Making it Snappy

2009-08-19T10:53:00.009+01:00

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Just a quick post. So much on - so much work to do and stuff around the house as well (yeah, so what better way to tackle it than to waste time blogging, hee hee).

I got my first DSLR at the weekend - I used to have an old 35mm SLR but I hadn't used it for ages and had just been getting by with standard digital compacts. I finally splashed out on a basic/starter Pentax K-M kit. I'm really excited as it means I can get back into my photography that I was always so fond of as a teen (I used to do the whole film processing and developing myself in the obligatory dark room and chemical room - fun fun).

I've only had a little play around with the Pentax but am really impressed so far with how far the tech has come on whilst still being glad I can whack it all down to manual and have control over what I want to do with it.

I'm going to start playing more and getting to grips with the tech and my new lenses (I've only got the standard Pentax 18-55 and a Tamron 70-300 so far) and may post up some pics if I'm happier with them.

I will admit right away that I need to start understanding the whole digital processing side of things - I've never used Photoshop (I've dabbled with GIMP but haven't really scraped the surface of even that) and appreciate I will want to to get more out of my photos, particularly because so many people use it now and I want to see what all the fuss is about (I'm really starting to sound 'old' now....).

I'm also looking forward to using the camera at gigs to take some shots and see how they come out as it's been a real chore getting much using the compact.

If anyone has any useful advice on DSLR's, lenses, Photoshop or point me to some good links, I'd really appreciate that. Ta.

P.S. Three of my cats and a flower (not a pet) - my fourth cat flits between being very camera shy, restlessness and lens sniffer so shot difficult at the mo.

Crazy Things.....The Sumo Kings ^^^

2009-08-15T11:06:00.029+01:00

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Friday 14th August 2009 - The first time The Sumo Kings were headlining at The Box in Crewe.

What a night it was.

Setting the Mood

First up was supposed to be Jaguar Jones but they were a no-show, from what I can gather was due to an accident so I hope they are all okay. I look forward to catching them another time.

Taking up the next slot were Saskia May, a four-piece indie rock band treading the fringe of American bands like Paramore. The band have only been together a few months and showed some potential but is still early days to make a complete judgement. With better soundchecks, more confidence and experience on the stage they will hopefully develop more energy and dynamism to bring their music further even more. Lots of positives given it's early days.

Following on from them were The Electric Kools, a fairly harder band to classify and maybe they like it that way. The four-piece from Manchester reverb out a deceptive mix of psychedelic trip-blues, shaman-esque chants, phased indie-rock and a good dollop of distorted electronica as the side dish. I enjoyed the different songs but they did feel different each time which made me uncertain if the band were more like a splintered personality than a single entity. Did they have a consistent sound or were they lots of mini-bands fighting for supremacy? With comparable riffs and beats to late Beatles, Kula Shaker, Kasabian, The Smiths but even that isn't definite... where are they wanting to be and does it matter? The Kools have been together for a couple of years now and this showed with a solid performance and confidence from all band members.

Top Drawer

Well here it was at last, The Sumo Kings gig - it had seemed like an age since the secret gig and the wait for the next one had been deceptively long; the sign that a band is going places and cutting fine music when the fans are impatient for more.

The Sumo Kings didn't disappoint although their set didn't play out as planned....but then, I don't turn up to Sumo Kings gigs expecting normality or the humdrum - I know something random and crazy will happen eventually and it'll always be different. It's the best of both worlds, I get great music to begin with the promise of something unique, off-the-wall, to close with. That's how memories are formed and that's how you begin to be caught up in the band and their music.

Drum It In

Everything started bob-on. Jay thumped away with his blistering drumming - his playing half-animalistic like a furious cro-magnon banging away with bones like in the movie 2001. His drumming is A1 and it's the presence of mind, the persona, he achieves when drumming in that passionate and raw way that provides the spine, the skeleton, of The Sumo Kings.
Jay is a cool customer, a buffer to keep Faz in check as long as possible before the inevitable mayhem, and someone who is in control of the music on the stage and sure of the message he wants people to understand about the Sumo Kings off the stage. Jay's a fantastic bloke, with a very wry, dry and cheeky sense of humour and always happy to have a chat with fans before and after gigs.

Fan Bass

In fact all the Sumo Kings are great with the fans - always happy to stop and check-in to see how everyone are doing, what they thought of previous gigs and to let them know about forthcoming gigs and parties. The effort they make really sets themselves aside and definitely helps them with their fanbase who feel acknowledged and appreciated.

Always Watch the Quiet Ones

Steve and Ad were on form to boot - if one is to carry the anatomical metaphor further - they take up the role of the muscle, the skin, holding the music together; building upon the force that Jay lays down.

Steve always strikes me as the unsung hero; he's clearly a professional whose passion is music but he's always off to one side - except for the awesome, knees-down solos he does - getting the job done. I like that. He provides an alternative side - the Sumo Kings being made of very different personalities that just bind right, balance and synergise into something far greater than their individual parts. This review is becoming more Gestalt theory (Yikes! Better get back to the gig). Steve plays with an almost consummate ease and it'd be misplaced to not fully appreciate what a solid guitarist he is. He's deceptively subtle on stage - always watch the quiet ones!

Ad is on a similar footing at the start of the gigs but as the gig goes on and confidence rises he starts revealing more of his playful side. Ad's bass pounds along and you can clearly see he loves being up there taking opportunities in between songs to chat to the crowd and gesture jokingly to them and Faz. Ad's growing into his role as bassist and you can see, each gig, more of his personality coming to the front - even rivalling Faz on some of the silliness that they partake in.

Lead by Example

Faz. Where do you begin with Faz? He walks around before the gig, totally relaxed as far as I can make out - he chats really enthusiastically, asking me about the secret gig, thanking us for turning up, showing us photos of his black eye, and inviting us to a gig and after show party. It's very surreal to think this is going on just minutes before he's due on stage and he looks like he's just hear to listen. But the Faz on stage is a different Faz - when the lights go down, the music starts and the crowd are waiting - The Faz appears.

Pumping up the crowd he rides the crest of the music generated with the energy and talent of Jay, Steve and Ad and then comes crashing down with his guitar and lyrics, washing us downstream like a Tsunami to where even Faz doesn't know or care.

Faz's energy and presence is second-to-none as he moves around the stage like a man on a mission - or more realistically, a boy up to no good.

I won't rattle on about the songs - I'm way too biased as I love them all and Mhairi has done a more musically complete review elsewhere - so I'll just stick to the characters of Sumo Kings and the events at the gig.

Sumo Kings Unplugged

About half way through the gig, during Sex Machina, Faz leaped down from the stage and onto the dancefloor and bounced around with the crowd - all cracking stuff and well worth the admission alone. He's really got that presence and warmth with his fans that keeps them wanting more and more Sumo (that just sounds wrong...) Back on stage, his guitar had become unplugged so the rest of the band continued without pause as Faz reconnected before letting one of his mates fill in with a bit of Karaoke on stage before continuing - barking mad stuff. It was good to see no one was phased as it's all just part-and-parcel of the Sumo Kings experience.

Boxed In

Nothing really to do with the music but one of the crowd started a bit of heckling. It just wasn't very pleasant. But the show must go on and so it did with another cheeky rendition of Gay Bar (Jay's Bar) by Electric Six.

The Show Must Go On...... and On a Bit Longer...

Towards the 'end' Faz called up members from the crowd to sing along
The gig finished, most of the crowd filtered away, and The Sumo Kings came down and milled around chatting away to us that remained. Stay around for a bit longer, Faz said to me and so I did. About half an hour after the other bands had taken their kit and I'd had a good chat with Steve before he left, got some T-Shirts off Ad and discussed the ups and downs of the gig with Faz; Faz, Ad and Jay went back on stage for an impromptu session (I think Steve had gone elsewhere which was a shame).

Faz, Ad and Jay just started having a great time rattling off some covers like Oasis and Nirvana whilst laughing and playing with the crowd. This was the sort of stuff that makes it for me - the gig should have been finished, we were being told to pack up and move on but Faz and the rest were having none of it and continued to play on for sheer fun and pleasure of it. Jay eventually moved off stage when Ad thumped his bass down and started to hand-hit the cymbals. Faz followed suit with Ad and sat down to play some drums and it looked like Faz was here for the duration. If we hadn't asked him down to say good bye he might have stayed much longer.

Wrapping up the extended gig, the lads were fantastic and really positive and friendly as usual. Faz making sure we would come to future gigs and checking we had had a good night.

How could we not - besides the great music and lively performances, worth the money alone, we always have the priceless bonus of never know how or when the music will end.

I can't wait for the next gigs at The Box on the 25th September and The M Club on the 30th September but they're also playing the WheatSheaf in Sandback today (Sat 15th), Moho Live in Manchester (5th Sept), South Cheshire College (16th Sept) and MMU Crewe (23rd Sept).

This is all getting ready for the launch of Club Sumo (website should be up in a few weeks) at Square One in Crewe on 3rd October. That is going to be something very special ^_^

Check out their sites:

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/thesumokings

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Sumo-Kings/29532620526

Twitter: http://twitter.com/sumokings

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Shhhhh! It's a secret! SUMO! SUMO! SUMO!

2009-08-02T10:53:00.016+01:00

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Ahhh, the morning after a fantastic Saturday night. My head hurts a little but not sure if that's the booze or the deafeningly-sweet music that picked me up and rejuvenated me last night.

The Sumo Kings, an awesome Crewe band, played an invite-only secret gig at a local barn-studio. After a pleasant, relaxing bike ride with Mhairi and Jules (of Crewe Blog fame) we got to the secret location to see the lads chilling outside with plenty of free beer and lots to talk about.

The Build Up

Whilst we waited for everyone else to arrive, Faz, Steve, Ad and Jay all circled around us chatting away like mates in a pub. It's a credit to them that they are so approachable, down-to-earth and thoroughly interesting blokes. We also got a chance to speak to their adviser, Richard, who is really keen for the band to establish a local roots following before steadily venturing out to bigger and wider audiences. The gig itself was to thank key fans, supporters and bloggers who have been following and covering the Sumo Kings this year.

There was much discussion pre-gig about their recent radio interview on BBC Stoke with their fun cover of Electric Six's Gay bar (Jay's Bar!); their forthcoming EP currently being mixed by Mike Bell - a famous engineer who's worked with bands like Baby Shambles; upcoming gigs at The Box and The M Club; and the eagerly anticipated Club Sumo. Mhairi will be covering these things in more detail together with track listings on her blog so I'll link to it as soon as it's up. And here it is

Worth Waiting For

True to music, the band were ready to go but latecomers delayed the planned start allowing the band to drink a fair few more beers and chat for longer with us - something I really enjoyed as you get to know far more about the musicians and how they feel their work is coming on. Faz and Steve were really keen to point out how much Mike Bell is helping out and how some of their songs are evolving as they develop and discover more of their sound.

The key thing that impresses me most about the Sumo's, besides their music, is their attitude - they are always concerned about their fans, checking they like the music, thanking them for all their support - this is a band who play as much for their fans as they do for themselves. No egos here - pure performers in the truest sense.

The Gig

Their set was to include all of their current songs - they don't play it like this on stage as they have songs that just naturally follow each other, whilst others don't work as well in a sequence - it was exciting to know we would soon be hearing new material and old favourites that have adapted into something greater.

The gig was certainly cosy, a small room in a converted barn - the band squeezed into one side, the crowd packed right up close to the amps. Faz, Steve and Ad lined up in front of some steps with Jay tucked away in the corner but sure to make his presence felt. Jay thrashed away for dear life, attacking his kit through the songs, keeping up a frightening pace as Steve and Ad kept the backbone and substance to the tunes. This left Faz to fire away with his passionate lyrics and animated frontman character. The audience were fired up and made even more enthused by Faz's constant bouncing and gesturing and it wasn't long until the crowd were dancing around with Faz keen to maintain it.

During the break some of the crowd were giving microphones by the band for some impromptu karaoke and Faz even threw a crowd member a tambourine to keep beat during one of their tracks. This lead up to Faz eventually leaving the safety of the amps and getting right in with the crowd. He danced and played, jumping around with the fans and getting drenched in beer before returning to the rest of the band - who were maintaining the heart of the music whilst Faz indulged the crowd with madcap antics.

Head Banging

To finish off, it ended with Faz leaping off the steps and collapsing head first into Jay's drum kit - all very rock & roll as Faz's post-gig shiner proved *ouch* Jay played Faz's guitar whilst Faz lolled and Ad and Steve kept beat. Poor Jay's kit took a beating and one I guess Faz will have to rectify in the coming days but for the effect and the sheer buzz it gave the crowd: one that was certainly worth it.

There aren't many gigs like this, and definitely not many bands that would go to such trouble to organise something so special and intimate for their fans and then worry if everyone enjoyed it, but then; there aren't many bands like The Sumo Kings.

Sumo! ... Sumo! ... Sumo! ...

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Greetings, programs!

2009-07-26T07:23:00.012+01:00

My friends, my fellow conscripts, we have scored. I feel so much better.

Tron Legacy - there - I finally got it out. It's been really difficult to start and say anything about this (not good for a blog, I know) as I'm too over-excited like a big kid. Tron. It's back. My childhood favourite film that I still watch is making a return. And it looks frakkin sweet!

It's all in the wrists.

I caught some of the concept art and teaser trailer on the internet following Comic-Con (have friend there who saw the reel and she said it was awesome. V.jealous >_< ) It looks really, really good. Heavy Blade Runner influence in parts but glad it's still keeping it's visceral Tron style.

http://www.flynnlives.com/

http://www.flynnlives.com/media/video/0xendgame.aspx

The light cycles and recongizers look really cool - stylish and dark - and I started to get excited.... then the trailer came on. OMG - I have honestly lost count how many times I've watched it. I cannot remember the last time I got this obssessed over a movie - honest ^_^

Run these guys into your jet walls.

The trailer is something else.... Love the light cycle styling, the raw power and speed. This all bodes well.

Hey, its me, - Flynn!

Yeah, the trailer infers Flynn is in the gameworld and things are not as they seem. The flynnlives site hints at the plot of Flynn disappearing in the late 80's and I believe the premise is that his son enters the game world to find him. On first glance that sounds awful but looking at the dark, brutal trailer and the hints that Bruce Boxleitner will reprise his role as Alan..... TRON!!..... then I'm not going to worry.

You're getting brutal, Sark. Brutal and needlessly sadistic.

I'm curious to find out more - a good sign from a teaser trailer. Why is Flynn there?, why is he lording it up in his palatial pad? (the Dude does not abide), how is he existing there with another, younger, program looking like him and apparently crossing the line in and out of the gamegrid? ( I really haven't a Clu ;-p)

On the other side of the screen, it all looks so easy.

The backgrounds, the styling, the lighting, the motion, the soundeffects and the music; they're all spot on and with news Daft Punk are looking after the tracks fills me with further doses of adrenaline. This has the potential to be a huge hit and if they can get a good plot together - they already have a great cast - then I think I will be a very happy user.

End of Line

First(s) of Many....

2009-07-18T13:55:00.006+01:00

Well I've been really trying to make headway with anime. There's a lot I miss out on and sometimes work takes up way too much time to allow me to get what I want done. I'm sure you feel the same. I'm just doing a post now to say what First Episodes I have been watching to try out 'new' anime for me to get into. I've whacked in a few subtitles/headings and a brief synopsis in case anyone is like me and was unaware of any. Apologies for those anime Otaku who look at me and e-pat me on the head :D

Samurai Pizza Cats

One from my old days in the 90's- childish, I know, but I love the puns.

The show is set in Little Tokyo, a city whose citizens are anthropomorphic cybernetic animals, and it's all cute and colourful.

Emperor Fred is the elected ruler of Little Tokyo but after a wisdom tooth operation he is now insane. As such his daughter, Princess Vi, and a council look after Little Tokyo. Leading the council is Prime Minister Seymour 'Big' Cheese, who is constantly (and covertly) trying to overthrow the government and become Emperor himself.

Al Dente, commander of the Palace Guard, has discovered Big Cheese’s covert plans and is determined to stop him. Without proof he cannot expose Seymour Cheese, so Al Dente endeavours to foil any of Seymour's plans. To aid him, Al Dente recruits three young cat warriors, Speedy Cerviche, Polly Esther, Guido Anchovy; the Samurai Pizza Cats . Each cat has special skills and weapons to protect Little Tokyo from Big Cheese’s plots, which usually take the form of a giant mecha.

Dai Mahō Tōge

A very amusing Japanese anime centering around a young girl named Princess Tanaka Punie of Magical Land. Starting as it means to go on we find out that in order for Punie to become queen, she must become a transfer student in a Japanese high school for at least a year.

As she is heiress ti the throne, she understandably has many enemies that wish to assassinate her. However, Punie is not helpless - she is skilled in martial arts and possesses magic powers - through a candy cane necklace - which she uses to defeat and humiliate her enemies.

The series is clearly a parody of magical princess anime. The opening theme tune is hilarious with the contrast of cute visuals and sadistic lyrics. This marries to the anime itself which juxtaposes cute characters with brutal violence.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

I admit to not having seen the original series and understand I should really watch that first but I couldn't help having a few sneaky episodes of this. I must say am really enjoying it.

The story follows Edward and Alphonse Elric, two alchemist brothers, who attempt to bring their mother back to life through taboo alchemy. This, obviously, goes horribly wrong and Edward loses an arm and a leg and Alphonse loses his entire body, his brother Edward (the far stronger alchemist) secures Alphonse's soul to a suit of armour. Their future quest is one of regaining Al's body and to return Edward's limbs - he uses mechanical limbs until that time.

The stories occur in a fictional world where the military rule the land and alchemy is the most advance science. Trained alchemist are hired by the army to fight for them - Edward is given the title Fullmetal Alchemist given his limbs and his tremendous ability. In a good show of humour Al is often mistaken for Edward as Al is a huge suit of armour and no one can quite believe Edward, the smaller boy, is.

Ouran High School Host Club

This comedy series looks at the scholl life of Haruhi Fujioka, a poor scholarship student at the rich, exclusive Ouran High School, and the other members of the popular Host Club. 'His' snobbish peers look down at Haruhi in half fascination and half contempt. That is until Haruhi lands 'himself' in financial debt with the Host Club and is taken on as a Host to pay 'his' dues.

The Host Club boys then proceed to show 'him' the art of Hosting to all the femal clients they have. The comedy revolves around the assumption Haruhi is a male student by the Hosts, when in fact, Haruhi is a dowdy feaml student. Haruhi does not admit this and is attired in the club as a male.

The romantic comedy focuses on the relationships within and without the Club and is a cutting satire of the cliched stereotypes that exist in anime for girls.

Long Time, No Post...

2009-07-15T20:03:00.002+01:00

Right - I've been dead busy at work and in the evenings (with extra work) *sobs* so I've not had time to blog. I plan to put this straight asap and already have a few ideas of where to go and what to write.

I've been filling small moments of time reading manga and watching the odd anime episode. I find that if I had sat down to blog then that time portal would have opened up and sucked hours away when I could have been doing other things that I HAD to do (note: not WANTED).

I've been grabbing fleeting breaks to read Fruits Basket, One Piece and Pig Bride. I had a Firefly + Serenity session but spread over the two weeks and I've been watching anime such as Mazinger Z, Samurai Pizza Cats and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood whenever I could. I've also been rewatching some old Father Ted to make me chortle and raise my spirits (no pun intended). This visual stuff is my release - sometimes even blogging can seem too much of a chore when I;m run down. :*(

I also started going on Twitter as it allows for quick bursts - sadly my Twitter is more followed than my blogs - hopefully this can change if I get my blog url out more.

Anyhoo - I'll endeavour to update more this weekend and get some detail into what I've been up to.

Later ^_^

Just Peachy

2009-07-04T08:28:00.009+01:00

Racing on my bike from work, I peddled toward Bar 22 to catch Dayve Dean of James and the Giant perform at 5.30 yesterday. Please excuse the crap title pun - I can't help myself and I must point out the James and the Giant are a reference to James Dean not Roald Dahl's work :D

It was a hot day and the necessary pint of ice-cold lemonade was essential and greatly appreciated as I watched the sound engineer and Dayve get set up.
However, Murray was playing Roddick and the pub had this game on TV so, to Dayve's mild frustration - the gig was delayed until Murray had acknowledged defeat and turned from honoured Brit back to his true-form of Scot ;-P (my Scottish girlfriend is correct in his nomenclature only chaning to Brit when he started playing and winning).

It must be said that, Dayve took the whole thing well - the delay not Murray's defeat. Some artists would be vocally miffed after spending time getting prepared but I was impressed by Dayve's relaxed attitude and it allowed me and Mhairi to chat longer with Dayve before his gig.
I must say he's a thouroughly nice bloke: he chatted warmly and showed genuine interest in his fans - he's very intense as a conversationalist but only in a good way. This was the fourth time we'd seen Dayve, and although Mhairi had talked to him before, this was the first time I'd had a chance to say hello.

We retired to some tables to await the match finale and I delved into an Ashes 2009 Special in the paper (must say I do like my cricket....)

Eventually, following a beer or three, it was time for Dayve to perform. I'm not going to write a full on review as I know Mhairi is doing this for herself and potentially the Crewe Music Blog and the Crewe Blog.

What I will say is that Dayve and his band performed well and I really thought I could hear the difference in their performance with excellent equipment from the Box, say in comparison to when I heard them in the accoustically-challenged section of the Waldron during the Volume Festival.

Dayve voice was clearer and richer and I could really start to appreciate his lyrics - the change in pace and feel to his songs yesterday, whether deliberate or my imagination, definitely changed the perspective of how I saw the characters in his tunes in particular 'I Don't Want To Be That Man Anymore'

James and the Giant continued mixing a few covers such as 'Stuck in the Middle' and 'Viva Las Vegas' amongst their own tracks. I must say these seem more an old habit of crowd-pleasing and one they can probably reduce as their own music is far more interesting and unique IMHO.

James and the Giant have a number of tracks to listen to on MySpace @ http://www.myspace.com/jamesandthegiantband

I really enjoy 'I Don't Want To Be That Man Anymore', 'Starting Line' and 'Lizard Skin'

All-in-all, a fun and pleasing gig - really a should say free-busk as that was the intention. Dayve and his band performed competently and with enthusiasm - it's a shame not more people took part in attending but the pub was packed enough to create a fine series of applauses for the band of which they thoroughly deserved.

Dayve has his own website up so check his solo work out http://www.dayve.co.uk/

No Good Deed....

2009-06-30T22:53:00.006+01:00

Really quick post as bedtime calling and my legs are starting to feel like they've been panel-beaten by over-zealous lemurs wielding rubber hosing.

At the weekend, I was catching a bus to town when I noticed an envelope on the bus-stop seats. I noticed cash in there so I picked it up and decided to hand it to the police. After a quick check I saw that in the envelope was a cash card plus the pin number slip (doh!).

The person who had accidentally left this behind was a bit of a silly billy.

Because it was a cash card I took it to the bank instead of the police - they would have to chase the bank anyway and I thought it would be more expedient and hopefully reassure the owner who must be worried at their loss.

The bank were jolly nice and I left my details - name; address; mobile number and occupation for the owner.

I would love to say I did all this because I am a model citizen with high ideals and a truly unwavering honest streak and fine moral compass. This being true I also wanted a thank you to reassure myself that the world is not crap and thankless for the people who do good deeds and the people who received fortuitous good will acknowledge the honesty of others.

Well - no one has contacted me. Sure, there can be many reasons but if it had been me in the reversed role I would have made sure I said thank you given the alternative scenario or someone unscrupulous obtaining cash and the card and pin and raiding the account (the owner would have no insurance as the pin was supplied).

Some people say they need no reward. Bugger that, I say, I want a thank you. I can almost understand why some people no longer care about others of give their time to try and show good will as many humans need to feel appreciated.

Hats off and massive kudos to those people in this world that are selfless and kind without question - who donate their time and attention and generosity unconditionally.

I'll grumpily wait for a phone call that may never come....

*tongue firmly in cheeky for picture selection*

Bleached Sumo Kings' Wail :O

2009-06-28T19:07:00.013+01:00

I was going to write a review of last Thursday's Bleached Wail and Sumo Kings gig at The Box in Crewe, but Mhairi has already done an amazing job for Mat at CreweMusicBlog and there didn't seem much point repeating (or trying to emulate or improve on and fail!).

We went down to The Box and interviewed Bleached Wail and Sumo Kings before their gigs - Mhairi asked the questions and I took some (rather poor) photos. The Box was being used for soundchecks so we spoke to both bands outside. Bleached Wail, we interviewed in a smoking garden/mini-building site! Sumo Kings faired better sitting in the pub next door.

Both bands were really cool and laidback - really chuffed they both agreed to be interviewed and spend as much time as they did with us. It was actually surprisingly chilled and informal and the lads were all really friendly and positive. The main message I picked up from both bands was that they obviously loved performing their music; they enjoyed playing at The Box; and they wished more people would come out and experience the developing Crewe Music scene.

I'd like to pass on a huge thank you to Gus, Floody and Nick from Bleached Wail, and to Faz, Jay, Steve and Ad from The Sumo Kings - not just for the interview but, more importantly, for the awesome sets they played and the great time Mhairi and I had listening to them.

Bleached Wail are playing next at The Underground in Stoke-on-Trent on Friday 3rd July. You can sample some of their music @ http://www.myspace.com/bleachedwail

Sumo Kings' next gig is Friday 24th July at The Roadhouse in Manchester. You can track some of their tunes down @ http://www.myspace.com/thesumokings

The actual text of the interviews will be posted soon at Crewe Music Blog - the initial review is there already and has also been put on the Crewe Blog. I'll post as soon as the full interview is posted.

In addition, we'll also be trekking down to Bar 22 this Friday to catch Dayve Dean perform (not pictured).

Nyum, Nyum, Nyum!

2009-06-21T11:34:00.006+01:00

I'm enjoying eating lots of snacks bought off Mr Sleep, yesterday, from the AMGSC snack shop. We had the AMGSC BBQ yesterday (see other blog) and I was peckish in the evening so stocked up on snacks now but disappeared into my belly :D

Today I have been enjoying:

Koala choc snacks - these are just so cute and delicious :D

Pepero choco-hazelnut - never enough in a pack. Soooo good.

Collon Choco-snacks - look like dog treats and have distrubing name too like colon but definitely intestine free. Yum yum choco biscuits.

I'm will soon be feeling rubbish and sick but my current sugar high is fun fun fun :D

Hogging the Limelight

2009-06-19T06:51:00.006+01:00

It's been amazing weather *except Wednesday - boo hiss* and the garden is starting to get better and better each year. It's great at the mo and attracting loads of animals. At work I've been grafting away on improving the grounds and was really chuffed yeaterday with my new visitor; a cute little hedgehog plodding along. I've set up a naming competition at work for the little fella (or lass *we're not that close*). The kids at work were mesmorised and started beavering away together to come up with names. Puts everything in perspective when you see the excitement and joy of the kids being won over by nature - a few of them had not seen a hedgehog up close before. Great stuff.

I must admit to being totally over-excited at seeing the hedgehog myself, along with the huge variety of birds frequenting our tables and boxes. The day I stop being excited about seeing a hedgehog will be the day I stop and wonder when I died inside.

Nature rules! :D

Anyone have any ideas for names? The cuter the better - the kids are coming up with some great names already...

EDIT: Hedgehog numbers need protecting - if you find an injured hedgehog call the RSPCA and check out http://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/ Thanks :)

Over Season(ed) 1

2009-06-15T06:40:00.017+01:00

Just finished watching Heroes Series 1 - Meh! It was soooooo good up to the end. Okay, a few plot holes and annoying "why didn't he/she just do this....?" but that is usual fare for TV dramas and ones I can live with. But the ending, well, could have been done better. The huge build up promised a lot but the whole thing just left a 'FFS' feeling.

I'd been told Series 2 and 3 were less exciting than Series 1 so I was a bit put off from continuing in case it damages the positives I've seen this week. However, I'll still give Series 2 a bash and see how they inject more life and characters into it. I've already got thoughts on what happens to all the characters from the end of Series 1, it's just the obvious plots and character re-introductions that I know will happen that will annoy me. It seems a shame as the writers clearly had a good plot and got me a few times with surprises that I really enjoyed occurring..... it was just the ending.

On another note - I've yet to see the ending to BSG - if the BSG peeps try and pull a lame ending like this I'll be furious. BSG is still the benchmark for me. Heroes is still fun - I hope it continues to grow in strength. :)

There were a few plot hints that interested me, though i.e. Someone worse than Sylar.... :D

Hero Hiro

2009-06-11T19:19:00.007+01:00

I admit it. I hadn't seen Heroes until this week. I left it; I put it off; I convinced myself it probably wasn't that good. It can't be like 24 or BSG - true - it's not as good as 24 which in turn is eclipsed by the awesomenocity (it's a real word honest) of BSG. However, it is still freaking sweet and addictive as hell.

I'm trying to avoid spoilers hence the light info but had to write something about how much I'm enjoying it.

I've managed to plough through 20 episodes and still want more. Always a good sign. Some of my friends have warned me Series 2 and 3 are less awesome - I can live with that. I want to see it all. I have to be realistic - series have to weaken at some point - BSG has set the bar for me and TV drama - how BSG maintains its consistency is worthy or awards. Actually, I'll do a post about BSG in the the future - back to Heroes....

I love Hiro - he's so great! He's sweet and funny and such an allround indefatigable spirit. I'm a little sad as there's hints his character changes in the future - I want the funny Hiro not the serious, but then if he goes through hell then it's realistic he would change.

I also love Claire - she's sweet too and I really like the way they're moving her character on - getting away from the cheerleader clique to her true self and discovering her past without being too cliche *it is TV after all*.

Her father, Noah, is also a great character - a dark-edged man - doing the wrong thing for the right reasons in his eyes. A realsitic portrayal - although I don't agree with hsi actions and can totally empathise with how he got there.

Anyway...... if you haven't see it check it out - if you have and want to chat about it drop me a comment :D

Live long and prosper! (speaking of tenuous links - The New Star Trek Movie is amazing and Spock is wicked, played by Zachary Quinto - Sylar in Heroes) *sweet*

Family Member Stats +1

2009-06-07T08:36:00.005+01:00

Just gained a sister :D

Was a formality, really - James and Becky have been together since school and living together for years (out of wedlock eeeek! :-O ) and we all knew they would get hitched eventually. It was a great day for them and no one would let the rain spoil it for them. Becky looked fabulous in her beautiful dress and James looked suave in his suit.

The service was just right and the vicar was barking and provided comedy relief with his quips.

The venue was majestic and the food and drink delicious *very important*

I'm glad James and Becky's wedding went how they wanted and they had a great eve. They're off to South Africa and Mauritius on Monday for their honeymoon. Lucky sausages....

Ding Dong!

2009-06-06T08:00:00.000+01:00

Wedding bells. Off out today - my little bro's wedding. Got to get myself all suited and booted and take a load of photos. Weather not shaping up to be too hot (heavy rain grrrr) but hopefully won't cause too many probs. Looking forward to the event (about time my brother got himself hitched) and tucking into some good grub and real ale. Yum yum pig's bum :D

Wishing, well.....

2009-06-05T06:00:00.000+01:00

I decided on these (but will probably change my mind):

1) Have a happy, meaningful and productive life (I think that covers quite a bit and ensures good things).

2) For my friends and family to have the above and for it not to be mutually exclusive.

3) For all the crap in the world to stop and for everyone to work co-operatively, in harmony, without the need for any form of negative action or inaction.

Jeez - listen to me get all peace-out and hippy. Gotta love growing older (aren't I supposed to go all conservative??).

Oh, how I miss being really young and doing what ever I wanted - hopefully I'll try and maintain and/or recapture the best parts of my youth and not the bits where I was scared of letting my feet poke out of the duvet for fear the bed monsters would grad it! LOL

Speaking of which - it was voting Thursday so I went to the Polling Station to cast my vote. I never used to vote when I was younger because I believed it was a waste of time. Now, I can see that my vote may appear a pebble in an ocean and potentially a waste to many, but I voted GREEN.

I don't like Tory or Labour or Lib; I wanted to vote for something as close as possible to what I value and do my damndest to make sure my vote helped counter and stem the tide of these bloody-evil, opportunistic racist "parties" that always come out from the shadows when the main parties are struggling and voter confidence is low. Grrrrrrrr!

Here's to a world free from the real monsters that parents should be warning their children of at bed-time...

If wishes were horses....

2009-06-04T06:30:00.001+01:00

I went out last night for a nice, relaxing bike ride. The sun was setting; the birds calling to each other; the grass blowing gently in the breeze. As I pedalled through nature I was thinking not of this but of the cliche idea of a magic genie granting you three wishes.

I remember as a child thinking "I wish for as many wishes as I want" and "I wish I don't wish for anything that'll cause me problems" and "I wish everything I do turns out for the best" etc etc.

I hadn't given the whole genie thing another thought for decades until today, not least because it's all a big pile of nonsense, but also because I was remembering an episode of Family Guy where Peter is granted three wishes and it's just plain stupid.

I wonder what my three wishes would be now at 31?? What would yours be now?

I'm going to ponder that tomorrow and post back ideas. Then again, I may distract myself and go off somewhere else in my brain jungle. Adios, nachos!

Idea 1

2009-06-03T06:50:00.001+01:00

Need to think about this more but woke up this morning and wanted to creat a character called Sprue and follow his adventures. I was looking at my old scrap model plastic bits and thought - what media to us; it this going to be a waste of time - can it ever be funny?
Oh well, work calls and I need to get ready. Time for lots of sunblock as I burnt good yesterday .... it rubs the lotion on its skin.....

What if....... (Part1 of ?)

2009-06-02T07:13:00.000+01:00

I like to think sometimes. Not always - just sometimes. I like to muse over silly ideas. Occasionally, an idea or random thought will pop up my head or during a conversation about something else entirely and I'll have to - I just have to - follow it down the tangental path of unrelatedness.

I was having a boring conversation about budgets, finance and electricity costs *hate being an adult* whilst the nextdoor neighbours' kids were bouncing up and down on their trampoline singing out loud "any old iron?" because a scrap iron man had been past, hollering away.

These two concepts - children's abundant energy and electricity bills came together into one giant mind-smudge. Imagine if we could harness over-energetic children to dynamos and capacitors/accumulators/energy stores. Their manic, and sometimes accidently-annoying-activities, could be used to power day-to-day objects. The children would be making electricity for themselves and their families - it would reduce the coast of electricity and, if they are particularly restless, off set some of their adult-life usage and save money in the long-term. Genius, I know ;-P

Of course, this could be misused, I would hate to become the "father" of children-dynamo battery farming (no pun intended...or was there?). Perhaps, I best leave this idea well alone....

Blousey and Tallulah - Happy Birthday

2009-06-01T07:10:00.001+01:00

My two cats are 5 today. Blousey and Tallulah are sisters although now you look at them they're quite chalk and cheese. They looked like sisters when they were kittens but Tallulah has gone into a gorgeous, loud purring, big cat whilst Blousey is all tiny and sleek and stubborn. I love them both. It's a good day and reminds me how much a part of my life they are - it's also poignant as a month ago my dog Bess, who was 16, passed away. Bess was fantastic with the cats and I remember her as quite the "mother" to them when they were kittens. Here's a pic of Bess with B & T.

I just had to tell someone...

2009-05-31T15:35:00.005+01:00

Before I forget - please check out my AMGSC blog and the AMGSC Website and Forum that I am a committee member with. I am a fan of manga and anime, don't you know? :D

My personal blog will most likely cover random things - maybe really important stuff or, more than likely, just little things I found interesting to me or quirky or just plain unimportant.

Anyway - I was out last night at the M Club in Crewe, attending a Wrap-Party Bash for the local Cat FM radio. It was all linked in with the AMGSC club so the story is covered in better detail on that blog. I went with my girlfriend, Mhairi, and my mates Peter and Robin. Twas a good night.

As we left the club, I wandered into the carpark and waited for Peter to be given a lift before Mhairi and I headed off on bikes. Just by the carpark was this little wall, and at the foot of it was this raised concrete grate and to the left a lamppost. Amazing, I know.... well, I looked at the arrangement and sat down on the wall, my feet resting exactly on the grate as if a well-designed footrest and my right hand resting against the lamppost. It was just a very relaxing moment and one, that in an accidental street layout, worked with ergonomic perfection. An urban throne. How odd.

I enjoy random stuff like that.