The day I climbed my own Everest

Just before I start the post I would like to say:

HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY LEGO!

Woah, that made me feel old.  And I'm not even old...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

===

Anyway, originally this post was suppose to happen yesterday but you know what they say about intended plans.  I had a really bad headache yesterday which prevented me from doing anything remotely productive.  It was like the pinnacle of bad.  Just imagine a builder jumping into your head through your ear with his big boots tromping all the way into your brain, then imaging said builder had 4 arms: one carrying a chainsaw, one carrying a large pneumatic drill, one carrying a JCB digger and the last hand carrying the most talkative and dreary woman you have ever had the pleasure to met.

Ok, now imagine TWO of the said builder.

Now imagine that it got stuck inside your head and was trying furiously to get out via your temple.

Now you have only just begun to understand my pain.

===

Ok, moving onto some more joyous things.  Let's talk about last Saturday.  If you recall in my last post, I said that there were plans of going to Pizza Hut and then the cinema.

And things went well... figuratively speaking.

I sent out from my house at the intended time and all was well.  I met up with Gavin & Ashley (Lewis was there too on his bike, but he had to go wash off his funky fish smell).  And we decided to walk the long way to town, ok sure, we've got like 30 mins.  We ended up being late by about 15 minutes.

But no matter, since only 40% of the invited people were here and they didn't order anything.  The next half an hour or so was people catching up on what's been happening to everyone else etc.  The usual, basically.

Eventually we saw the final five walk into WoolWorths (which is opposite Pizza Hut) and most of us were like: 'WTF?' someone thought they had to top-up on their mobile or something.  But I liked to think that, despite living here for the whole of their lives, they were lost.

When everyone was finally there talking started again.  Eventually we did get round to ordering food, Ashley and I ended up sharing a meal for 2.  Since I didn't particularly mind what I was eating.  Gavin got a meal all for his lonesome XD.

Other people ordered different things, yada yada not much happened except eating.  Due to previous escapades into food earlier that day (A BUCKET-LOAD OF SOUP) I wasn't particularly hungry.  But it was a giant Pizza and sides in front of me so I couldn't resist, I ended up eating: one piece of garlic-bread, several pieces of wedges, a slice of Pizza and several glasses of Pepsi.

BUT WAIT!

That's not all!  With our meal (Meal for 2) came free desert.  Ashley opted for Chocolate Fudge cake (despite saying that he was stuffed to the brim and ready to burst) and I, meanwhile, went with good 'ol Ice Cream.

And what a good choice it was.

From what I heard the Choc Fudge Cake wasn't distinctly good, after a few bites Ashley gave it away to the ravenous bunch.

But the Ice Cream was amazing, just because it was free Ice Cream and I had to get my money's worth I filled that tiny bowl as much as I can.  Literally creating an Ice Cream mountain.  Then for the next 15/20 minutes attempt to finish it.

I swore on the River Styx (ok, not really) that I was going to finish it!

AND I DID.

I compared it to climbing my own Everest, since I finished it just in time.  Small problem though: For the next hour or so I was so dosed up on sugar that I couldn't stop shaking then after that sugar-rush period I had 'sugar withdrawal' where I felt really tired.

Throughout the time at Pizza Hut there was also an issue with Daisy's card and picture.  Let's just say at the very end of our meal, the picture was on the floor.  And the card... well, the card was stuck to the mirror in the Male toilets with some white, sticky stuff:  SOAP.

I'd also like to make note of something, there were 16 of us.  And we ended up spending: £96.23.  That's approx. £6 each.  Think what you well about that.

===

Next came the cinema, not all of us went as some went home but it was still a hefty number of people.  Another problem arose, the film we wanted to catch (which ended up to be St. Trinians) started at 6:20 and we arrived at... take a guess... 6:20.  So after lining up for quite some time we rushed inside to find ourselves JUST in time to catch the start of the film.  Not only did we miss the adverts and whatnot be we didn't miss a bit of the film.  Sweet.

After the film we ended up waiting outside McDonalds for some reason where Gavin stood on a bench and felt like a Pirate.  And then I promptly joined him and felt much akin to a Pirate myself.  We had to goad Ashley up so we could be a Pirate trio.  The night ended with me being asked to say "naughty words" in Cantonese.  And me jumping over a fence to reach my mom's car.  Nice.

===

Some small things from today:

I got my brief back for Media today and guess what was the major issue that was written on it?  Everyone else's work was full of scribbles 'add this', 'evidence that' etc.  Mine?  I'm truly not kidding you:  'WORD COUNT.'

Since the brief is only meant to be around the area of 750 words, but I ended up with about 1,100 words.  But the teacher doesn't know since it was a piece of paper and she wouldn't exactly go and count it.  The lesson today was spent thinking off awesome names for our product, we ended up with these three names:

• MetaLate
• Zoonse
• GET

No joke.  That's how much work we get done in 1 hour 15 mins.

Then there was Computing.  We spent most of that lesson messing with the messaging service that Windows provides (not in Vista, unfortunately).

===

That about sums up the last few days.  Nothing particularly big... OH WAIT.

I CLIMBED MY OWN EVEREST ON SATURDAY.

Saturday will be remembered for many things, but for me:  It was the day that I ate a gargantuan amount of Ice Cream.

It's been a while...

Ok, so I haven't posted in a while.  Bite me.

===

Things have been pretty hectic lately and I haven't had time to post.  The exam time 'No homework grace-period' has ended and now I'm being shoved homework left, right and center.

Then there's our practical in media.  Which is getting confusing.  I have to finish my 750 word draft by tomorrow and I haven't even started... ¬¬

We had a brainstorming session on what our ad should be about and after 3 hours we finally thought of it, an energy drink.  A name is still in the works currently but the advert is basically a guy saying: 'Oh noes!  I'm late!'  Taking an energy drink (to get more energy, duh) and then time slows.  Why?  Because it's moving so frickin fast that it seems like everyone is moving slowly!  How awesome does that sound?!  Guess who thought of the idea?  That's right, me.  It was the best idea we had.

There are other problems though, like the unknown quantity that is Jamie.  At first he said he was going to do his own poster, then joined our group to do the ad, now apparently he's left again!  So, tomorrow I'll have to see how things are and think then.

===

There is also news of a gathering/reunion type thing this Saturday.  More on that on Saturday... I guess.  I'm not even sure what the hell we're doing.

===

Having said that things have been quite hectic I don't really have any especially good stories to tell.  I guess I could rant and moan about the difficulty of Further Maths again but I guess you've had enough of that.  I also have a 750-word brief that needs to be handed in tomorrow and I haven't even started.

Oh and it's also my mom's birthday tomorrow and I still need to get her a present.  I didn't forget and only just remembered a few hours ago, honest.

===

Don't worry, posts should be slightly more frequent than they have been.  I can't really promise anything though.

 

But my unwavering devotion to this blog rivals even this guy.

...

Ok, maybe not quite.  Though you get what I'm saying.  I would carved 6000 steps up a mountain for you guys.  Hell!  I'd carve 6000 steps up a frickin Volcano if I have to.*

 

*I should say now that you can't hold me to that.  I'm a busy guy, you know.

 

EDIT#1:  Btw, I watched Cloverfield.  :D  T'was amazing.

 

Oh and since I was talking to Ashley I remembered that he apparently had a "bad chest" last week.  Now, you may not think this is anything big.  And you'd be right.

But this is coming from the guy who hurt his hand bowling, hit his head on the refrigerator door and got concussion and stood on a nail that made him miss school for a week (we saw the "hole" it made and it was virtually non-existent).  XD

That's Ashley for you.  I think that's enough of a dose of funny stories.

Awesomeness after awesomeness

First of all, I would like to recommend Fancy Pants Adventure to anyone who has yet to play it since it is such a frickin' awesome game.  Definitely the best flash game out this year.

Secondly I'd like to point out something in the game; if you go to the credits door...

Oh yea, you better believe it.  Since version 1.2 (or 1.1?) my name has been in the credits.  Why?  BECAUSE I RULEZ, DATS WHY.

Nah, it's because I helped Brad (the guy who made the game) BETA test and was generally a nuisance over at his blog.

My name will forever be remembered in an awesome flash game, awesome.

Oh and the game has music in now too.  And a bunch of bug fixes, it also loads MUCH faster now due to some optimising fixes.  So kudos to Brad!

How do I celebrate the fact that I'm in the credits of such an awesome game?  FANART!

PUNISH!

Took me some time but I did it!

Oh yea, that's how awesome I am. Remember go check out Brad's blog.

===

Now moving onto something that didn't happen on the interwebz.  I was in computing today... er... computing, right.  And we were messing with how to get information from .txt files and such.  But there was one thing even the teacher (and the remarkably smart kid) was bamboozled on.  I rode in on my white stallion shouting: 'HI-HO!  SILVER!'

...

Ok, maybe I exaggerated a tiny bit.  I after a few trial-and-error and a healthy dose of common sense (yes, I have common sense too - and yes, I am near perfect in every way) I figured it out.  It's all things to do about arrays and procedures and variables and stuff, so you wouldn't understand.

 

Then in maths, Suhaib broke his bag.  Which was the funniest thing ever.  And I just stood there laughing at him, while every -sneakily and stealthily- left the room.  I was left in the room with him and ended up having to carry one of his folders in my bag.  :(

Outrage!  Even though the folder weighed close to nothing, it's blasphemous!  It's the principle that counts!

I gave it back to him though at last lesson (which was also maths).

Oh and btw, in maths we've moved onto C3 stuff.  Which is basically the stuff that the normal A-level maths students will be doing... NEXT YEAR.  That's how horribly-frightening the pace is at further maths.  Truly frightening.

And one last thing, we almost convinced someone there was a dragon upstairs in the maths room.  XD

 

UPDATE#1:  Another picture for you to marvel at.  I know you love em.

UPDATE#2:  Gavin pointed me towards this interesting video that I just had to share with everyone.

PWN3D by Mario.

Watch as this dude goes through various "stages":

1) Chatty

2) Kinda obnoxious

3) Cursing

4) Hating the world

5) Going emo

6) Loving the world

7) Loss for words

8) Crying

9) Ultimate frustration

10) Giving up

 

 

It's really funny.

Oh and here's another picture for you to admire.

Exam Pain (Yet again)

As the above title shows I have exams - yet again.  I'm starting to see a trend here:

• I get exams
• I bitch about getting exams

And I'm not liking it.  Especially how it starts.

Anyway, I guess life doesn't really give a damn on how I feel so I have to continue trudging through the dark, virus-ridden, shark-infested cesspool of exams.  I think the governing bodies of our country should start doing some research:  'NOONE, I REPEAT NOONE, likes doing exams.'  *sigh*

So, moving onto some less distressing news.

I can't remember what this post was really going to be about so I'll just go over some news of the last few days.

 

For those behind the times, I doubt you'd have seen this:

All Star Wars fanboys have just pissed themselves...

The force is strong in this one.  Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering.  Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.  Talking weird, I am.

Ok, sorry about that.  I just couldn't resist a crack at the old Yoda-talks-weird thing.

But seriously though, this is awesome.  But they couldn't have done it in a more stereotypical way.  Screen cuts to black and music stops.  Then all you hear is heavy breathing... hell, I bet a three year old kid could probably have guessed who it was.  And then there's the problem of Darth Vader being exclusive to the PS3 one and Yoda being exclusive to the Xbox 360.  I mean, what's up with that?!

I'm sure everyone would agree that duking it out Darth Vader vs Yoda style would be so much more awesome.

Oh and then there's the whole lightsaber > sword thing.  You'd think that the lightsaber would slice through the sword like there's no tomorrow.  Ok, maybe the Soul Edge would be an exception in this case.

By the way, this was shown as CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas.  I know someone who was actually there when this was shown.  According to him, everyone in the room was like *gasp* and 'O...M...F...G...' when the heavy breathing started.  Then a few minutes after the trailer finished they all walked out, thought about it a bit more and were like:  'Wait, what?'  XD

Seeing as I seem to have delved into this subject area way too much already, I'll leave the rest to figure it out for yourselves.  I'm not saying this was a bad thing but I think they should have cut out the black part and should have just shown Darth Vader and Yoda fighting.  And see if anyone notices at the time, if noone in the room notices just carry on.  Seeing as the video will be distributed far and wide across the interwebz, someone will eventually notice it.  And then just make it out as a blooper and say 'No Comment' a lot.  Talk about viral marketing...

===

Another thing you might enjoy, I stumbled across this when we were discussing about the 500-foot fall that guy did not long ago and survived.

PHYSICS OF SUPERHEROES  - It sounds slightly more awesome than it should.

This is why this guy should teach Physics to me.

More of those vids here:  PHYSICS OF SUPERHEROES.

See?  Learning can be fun too.  Too bad this is an isolated case.

===

Last but far from least is FPA2.  Some of you may have played World 1, and I'm pretty sure most people would have played World 2 by now but I forgot to post this up last time.  I helped Brad (the creator) BETA test this game so be nice to it.  It's still a sorta open BETA as of now since there are a lot of bugs yet to be ironed out.  But for now, enjoy.

Fancy Pants Adventure World 2

 

/post

Why Guitar Hero?

The exams yesterday were ok.  I managed to get through it with little to no problems.  Except one major one.

BOREDOM.

Yes, after completing the first test in roughly 50 minutes, I spent the remaining time of the test (an uncanny 40 mins) rolling my bottle up the table only to watch it roll back down; then I push it up.  It rolls back down.  Up.  Down.  Up.  Down.  Up.  Down.  You get the picture.

The second exam was harder, well through logical progression it should have been - it was C2 (1st exam was C1).  But again, I managed to breeze through with no hitches at all until the last question.

It didn't seem to make much sense to me and I was kinda confused, I don't quite remember what it was now but the last part of that question really gave me some trouble.  This was what my body was thinking:

Logical me:  Ok, this isn't too tough.  I just have to think through it logically.

Creative me:  HOLY *BEEP* *BEEP *BEEP* IT'S MATHS!  RUN!  AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!111one

My stomach:  Dudez...  I'm hungry...

My biceps:  You're always hungry man!  We should do some muscle flexs!  Look at my muscles, RAR!

My butt:  *muffle*  *muffle*  *muffle*

My biceps:  I think he agreed with me.

Creative me:  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!111one

My fingers:  Am I the only one with finesse around here?

My feet:  I CAN'T SEE!  I'M BLIND!

My elbows:  Hey dudes!  How's it hanging?

My Brain:  SHUT THE *BEEP* UP!  I'm trying to work here assholes!

My butt:  *muffle*  (hey!)

My Brain:  Oh right sorry.  Anyway, anyone who has nothing to do with the current maths test.  LEAVE.

My biceps:  I don't see what makes you in charge.

My Brain:  Let's just say that if I cut this little nerve ending right here *points to it* see it?  Yea;  YOU'D BE DEAD.

My biceps:  Ok geez, we're leaving.

*Lots of footsteps*  *Door is slammed*

My Brain:  Finally some peace and quiet.

Creative me:  Hey, what you do-  OH NOES!  MATHS!  AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!1111111111one

My Brain:  *BEEP*

That's about how it went.  Oddly enough.  Unfortunately, I have to wait a while to get the results.  So, bear with me on that.

Now onto the actual article.

===

In maths we had a renaissance of uber-talking.  Yes, not just regular talking but uber-talking.  Have no idea what it means?  I'll explain briefly.  It's like regular talking but several times more awesome.  And this generally only happens when I'm around (see the connection?).

Anywayz, we were talking about all manners of stuff.  Upcoming games, movies etc.

Then talk moved onto Guitar Hero, what Rob and Richard (sounds like a comedy duo don't they?) didn't get was why anyone would want to play Guitar Hero?  I had never thought much about it before.

Why do we play Guitar Hero when we could play a real guitar?

My answer was this:  'Because it's easier.  Much easier.  Yea, sure the harder difficulties require you to train your fingers with tiny weights everyday and require what Gavin calls:  "The fingers of god."  But it's still much easier to get into then real guitars.'  They weren't so convinced.  I explained further:  'It's like why people play DDR instead of learning to actually dance.  And why there are post-apocalyptic war-games when it wouldn't be too hard to start a nuclear war and attempt to survive it's aftermath?  Because of two simple things:  Cost and effort.  Playing DDR, war-games and Guitar Hero don't cost nearly as much as it would cost to learn to dance, have a nuclear war and learn to play (and buy) a real guitar.  And it's easier.  Just think of Guitar Hero as the cool guy's DDR.  It's for people who look at people playing DDR well and think:  "Hm... that looks fun but it also looks so uncool."  And this was the solution to that problem.'

They agreed slightly with what I said.  But still they argued that learning to play a real guitar would be much better in the long term, since you can play with friends or to friends.

Yea, but that's not the point.  Guitar Hero is ultimately still a game, and you're not supposed to think of the long-term in games (well, in games like Guitar Hero anyway).  You're supposed to enjoy the moment when you beat the hardest song, beat the final boss or whatever.  That's what games were made for:  ENTERTAINMENT.

So, my point is that people play Guitar Hero because it's fun.

And with that, they couldn't argue with me.

===

EDIT#1:  NEW BANNER!  YAY!  Now continue to marvel at my newest banner.  Here it is for people who may be reading in the future (where the banner would be non-existent ):

Enjoy.

 

-WJUK

Quick Post: OMFG! CHUCK NORRIS JOKES ARE EVERYWHERE!

This is just a quick post, since I wanted to share with you this little delight:

Comment Section on Bornegames.com

 

What's so awesome about it?  Scroll down and you'll notice something.

CHUCK.  NORRIS.

 

Yes, there was a Chuck Norris joke contest and you weren't invited!

(It may have been started by me...)

Ouch!

As you can tell, I can't be asked to think up a witty and intelligent title.  Things are just too busy for me right now, it also explains the lack of posting.

Anywayz, the title suggests that someone managed to hurt themselves so much that I felt it was important enough to use it as a post title.  And that'd be spot on.  And unfortunately for me, that "someone" was me.

I'll explain briefly the events that led up to the to the horrific accident.

I'm playing badminton with a few people, innocent enough right?  All is going well, we're trouncing them by quite a considerable margin and I felt that we were ahead enough for me to get complacent.  All is still well, the score gets to 13 - 5 (15 to win) and now I get downright cocky.  As in swinging the racket under my leg and behind my back, I even served with my eyes closed.

Then I decided to smash with my eyes closed.  That was my downfall.

The ball enters my field of vision, and I line up my shot.  I close my eyes (I had told the others before, so my partner knows to avoid me and my "racket of death").  I swing.  My racket pretty reaches 90 degrees up.  Nothing.  Hm... strange.  I should note that this was in a really short space of time, milliseconds even.  My racket reaches critical mass (I have no idea what that means, but it sounds cool) and I should have hit the ball right now.  I readjust my racket to where I think the ball is, that was my Waterloo (if I was Napoleon).  I follow-through, right-through.

This is where it hits me, literally.

Yes, it hits me in the family jewels.  Compare it to the giant throbbing internal organs of General Grievous being shot.  That is, to say:  IT HURT LIKE F***.  I only just managed to keep my footing, if it was anyone else I'm sure they would have been floored.

I don't feel like commenting on this painful "situation" anymore, just thinking about it hurts.

===

My dear friend, Psycho Duck who owns One Duck's Opinion.  Just opened up a forum, and since it's like a new start-up forum; I figured it wouldn't hurt to help him gain some members via this method.  Oh and if you do sign up, be aware of Duck.  Some would say he's... he's... slightly... psycho.  lol

Oh and Ryan, the mod.  Watch out for him.  He's infamous for his notorious antics.

===

Before I finish this relatively short post, I think I should note that last night I went on GH3 (it was the first time I've been on since the gathering on New Year's Day) and I actually made it through "3s & 7s" by Queens of the Stone Age on HARD.  Which is a feat in itself for me.  I can pretty much get through Knights of Cydonia too but I always seem to fail at the very end.

But that's not really what this is about.  It's because I had a go at some expert song.  And compared to Hard it's worlds apart.  Faster, more notes that are more difficult.  I can get through the 1st tier with not much problem (except on the encore) but after that it all just goes downhill.  I may try again after the exams, but until then it seems like their's just an unsurpassed amount of work for me to do...

 

===

EDIT#1:  Oh and I also weighed my college bag not long ago.  Guess how heavy it was?

1.2 Stones

Which is roughly equivalent to 7.62035182 kilograms (thank you Google).  That's equivalent to carrying around 7.62035182 bags of 1KG sugar bags around every frickin' day.  But I guess it's my own fault for being too lazy to take books out.

Did you know that there are 3 155 692 597 470 seconds in a century?  Got that from Google too.

BEST/WORST of 2007

A quick word before the actual post:

The snow doth cometh.

I have no idea what that means, but it sounds menacing and ominous.  But in reality it's not (quite) like that... basically it's been snowing for the majority of the day - that I've been outside anyway.  And seeing as seeing snow is a rare occasion for me; and likewise many others.  I thought I should say something about it.  Even if the "snow" is more like "hail snow" as my sister put it (WTF?).

Picture?  Nope, sorry.  Unfortunately, I have still failed to get my hands on an appropriately priced and-yet-awesome camera.  But no worries I will catch that rapscallion rabbit someday! I will get one sooner or later (probably later).

That ends this... er... before-post.

---

---

Now that 2007 has been and gone (by a few days) I'm going to make a list!  Why?  Because I want to... and all the cool kids are doing it and I'm cool, right?

...  right?

Anywayz, I thought it would be a good way to see 2007 in perspective... or something.  In any case, you can see the up/downs of my past year:

Note:  All the below are my personal opinions and there may be things that you feel that I have gotten wrong, but... STFU.  I really can't be asked to care.  And it should also be noted that I can express my opinion on something that I haven't done/watched/played.

Note#2:  I was meaning to post this on my New Year's Day post.  But never got round to due to some other more pressing issues I had to attend to.  But now you can enjoy!

 

Best thing to happen to me in 2007:

The summer holidays

>>Runner-ups:  The numerous parties, Getting my laptop...

I agree that it's a bit... general.  But what can I do?  I had a smashing summer holiday that could only ever be transcended by being able to take a whole year off!  Every part of it just shouts: 'w00t' into my mind when I look back at it.  From the parts where I didn't have to attend school to the holiday cruise to Amsterdam.  If you were in my position and didn't enjoy it, there's something deeply deeply wrong with you.

 

Worst thing to happen to me in 2007:

My early college timetable

>>Runner-ups:  GCSE Exams

There's one simple reason why GCSE Exams weren't the worst thing to happen to me all year.  It was a simple trade-off.  Sit an exam, get study leave.  Even though my study leave consisted of anything but studying...

What's bad about my college timetable is that I have to get to college at 9AM, which is a real bummer.  I thought I could have some extra lie-ins this year, but once again fate f***s me up again.  Technically, I could have changed it.  But I didn't want to.  Simple because of Friday, I had one lesson (in the morning) on Friday and after that it was plain sailing until next Monday.  Which means, essentially, that I get a 2¾ day weekend.  And add the fact that Further Maths only has one class which means I can't change that; it severely limited my options.  So, in the end, I decided to just leave it be.  If fate has decided that I must wake up early every day to have an education.  So be it.

Another irritating thing about my timetable is that I had no other lessons with friends from my previous school.  Hell, I didn't have anyone I knew in any of my lessons!  Granted, one of the things college is about is making new friends but that doesn't mean I should neglect my old friends so much (due to my timetable, this is kind of happening.  Although I do frequently some familiar faces).  Making new friends didn't pose too much of a problem to me; in media friendships were made quickly and it seems everyone has already separated into their own little groups (me included).  But yet there is a lot of outward-conversing within the whole group which makes media a very social lesson.  Maths too, our table alone was so talkative that we had to be split up.  Things seem to have died down a little now, but much talking still happens.  Computing and tutorial/General Studies were a different matter.  Due to the fact that the teacher talks most of the time in Computing, chatting is almost kept to a minimum (it's still there though), even so everyone does get along and we do speak to each other when out of lessons.  Tutorial/General-studies was very slow-going (and at times, absolutely agonizing), not to mention my complete disdain for it -I wouldn't go if I didn't need my EMA- things were progressing at the speed of evolution.  Things seem much better now, not as good as it could be but I guess it's better than nothing.

 

Best Console Game I've played in 2007:

Super Mario Galaxy

>>Runner-ups:  Halo 3, GH3  (Unfortunately I haven't had the pleasure of trying COD4 or Rock Band)

What else could it have been?  Ok, granted many could argue Halo 3.  But there are quite a few reasons why I chose SMG over H3.  Listed below.

• Everyone thought the platforming genre was dead.  It seems nowadays that most of the big-hitters are FPS' (and the occasional MMORPG) and the platforming genre which was so prolific during the NES days have died out.  Until SMG came along that is.  It revitalised the platforming genre and injected some much needed awesomeness into it.
• Online.  To truly get the full Halo 3 experience you needed to try online in all it's glory.  But for Super Mario Galaxy all you need is the game, a Wii, Wiimote, Nunchuk and a TV and you're ready to rock.
• Super Mario Galaxy will be remembered as a classic.  Just like Mario 64 is.  Whereas all the FPS (Halo 3 included) will be superseeded by better, graphically superior games.  Don't believe me?  Just wait and see.
• It's goddamn Mario.  Need I say more.

 

Best Portable Game of 2007:

The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

>>Runners-up:  Pokemon Diamond, Elite Beat Agents

What more do I need to say?  Another staple Nintendo franchise to hit this list.  What was so unique about this Zelda game is that it was completely touch-screen controlled.  All the buttons did were bring up some menus.  Sure, a lot of people whined about it but you can't really see the magic behind it until you actually get your hands on the game.  And this is proper completely touch-screen not like the way that Animal Crossing wussed out.  For the first 20/30 minutes of playing the game I actually wanted to use the d-pad (that's what happened to me in AC) but seeing as there was no alternative I had to make do.  Eventually it becomes second nature, although rolling can still be a pain in the ass sometimes.  But in ditching the d-pad and buttons, it bought so much more to this game.  The way that you draw the path for the boomerang, or aim at where to shoot Link's arrows.  It all fits in amazingly, and in utilizing all of the DS' features in appropriate ways.  Nintendo have truly created a masterpiece.

 

Best Game that most people didn't buy in 2007:

Metroid Prime 3:Corruption

>>Runners-up:  Endless Ocean

I really think Metroid didn't garner enough attention or hype.  I have only seen about one or two MP3 TV ads compared to the considerable amount of SMG ads.  It was the first game to show that the Wii could play FPS' and paved the way for other great games.  It's amazing graphics and frequent awesome boss-fights meant that this game was the best in the trilogy.  Granted, it's boxart doesn't help it much and I thought could have been much better.  At first, the thought of back-tracking did put me off a little but it actually made sense to back-track most of the time.  And the way the world is put together makes it one of the most immersive games I've come across in a while.  Let me put into perspective how many people bought it.  More people bought Carnival Games than MP3:C.  Wait, wait.  To be honest, Carnival Games outsold most games on the Wii (according to PLAY.com).  Ok, here's a better comparison:

Currently, also according to PLAY.com.  MP3 is being outsold by this game and this game the latter game I haven't even heard of before!  I mean, COME ON.  So, my point is if you're out there looking for an awesome adventure game that also allows you to blast dudes into the face then get MP3.

Samus finally gets what she wants.  :)

 

Weirdest Situation I've been in, in 2007:

In bed with Ashley...

>>Runner-ups:  I don't remember anything that can remotely touch the above

I've probably been in some other weird situation in 2007, but the situation that wins is the one that is most clear in my mind.  And to think that happened just wee hours before 2007 ended.  If you want the full gist of that epic tale (told in a somewhat short post) read the New Year's Day Post.

 

Best Anime of 2007:

Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

>>Runner-ups:  Claymore

Ok, let me first set the scene for which this astronomical, unmatchable and monumental game takes place...

Simon (they say 'Shimon' since they're like... all Japanese and stuff) is a shy, timid boy who lives in an underground village; all humans live underground due to this the "Spiral King" who keeps them there.  His parents had died a few years back by a freak earthquake.  The only person who treats him like family is the OTT (and sometimes nonsensical) Kamina.  Having been allegedly brought to the surface as a child before, Kamina strives repeatedly to reach the surface and reunite with his father.  Despite the village chief calling him stupid and insane for trying such a stunt; he perceives regardless and ends up in jail for his efforts.  Then something totally unexpected happens -which I won't spoil for you- and Simon has to use this robot-face mecha thing to fight back and they manage to break through to the surface.  What awaits them there is a great adventure of biblical proportions spanning universes...

Seriously, if you don't watch this you're losing out.  It is one of the best animes I've seen.  Period.  Even with it's phallic imagery (that arguably makes it better) and the odd "emo" episodes that happen 15/16 episode in.  This 27-episode anime is still the best you'll see around.  And the ending itself is 20 different kinds of awesome.  Nothing short of an breath-taking battle encompassing whole universes.

You can't argue with the Gainax Bounce.

Note:  For all of you asking about Naruto and Bleach etc.  I'll present you with one word:  FILLER.  Oh and this phrase:  PACE OF A DECREPID DEAD TURLE.

Best Manga of 2007:

Mx0

>>Runner-ups:  666 Satan, Naruto, Bleach, One Piece

There's a reason why I deliberately didn't let Naruto/Bleach/OP win.  That's because they didn't start in 2007!  That's also slightly true for the above category.  It would be a bit unfair to stack up the newer titles with the well-established and large fan-based ones.  It'd be like dropping asking which is better:  A ninja or a carrot.

If you didn't answer:  Ninja... GET OUT! GET AWAY FROM ME YOU DWEEB!  For everyone else:  Carry on.

What's so good about Mx0?  Well, let me put it to you this way.  Kazumi (the main character) -yes, it's Japanese gain, but aren't most mangas?- fails to get into Seinagi High apparently because he was "laughed at" during the interview to get in.  Well, it was his fault really for saying that he wants to 'conquer the world' but after being kicked out of the school he got into he wants to get back to Seinagi.  He gets pulled through this barrier by this weird person and unwittingly gets pulled into the world of magic.  Due to some unforeseen and down-right unfortunate circumstances he has to stay as a student there with no magical powers.  While everyone is prancing around showing off their magic, he can do nothing else but pretend that he can do.  Oh and there's one more catch.  Everyone seems to be convinced he's some master of the arcane and possess Gandalf-like magical powers.  Obviously this is untrue, and it's all a misunderstanding but due to those "circumstances" others mustn't know.  So, during duels and such he only has his wit and intellect left to help him out.

Trust me this is funny.  But I should also make note that it can be quite disturbing.  On one of his "adventures" he meets this mandrake which somehow turns powerful and takes on the look of a naked woman.  Oh and she floats.  Granted you don't actually get to see anything (since her/it's hair covers practically 80% of it's/her tiny body), but I thought I should alert you to it.

 

Best New Website I've found (in 2007):

Cracked

>>Runner-ups:  Explosm, DeathByPixel, GaijinSmash (ok, that last one Gavin may have introduced me to)

Why is Cracked so awesome?  I only really go there to do one thing, and that's to read it's "Today on Cracked" article (which is currently: Third Reich to Fortune 500: Five Popular Brands the Nazis Gave Us).  And it's a barrel of laughs to read, and is like a breath of fresh air if my day's not going to well -it happens to the best of us, even me.  But there isn't just that.  That's like the "craption contest" which is basically a caption contest but the aim of the game is to be funny and humorous while others can vote which wins.  It's definitely worth a browse around.

Explosm and DBP are both web-comic sites.  Explosm provides daily comics (in the form of stick figures) in interesting, funny and blatantly insane situations that only provides laughter, laughter and more laughter.  DBP is like the same, but it's production values are somewhat higher by applying actual people without sticks for arms (*gasp*) but is therefore limited to only a weekly release unfortunately.

And finally GaijinSmash is a blog that I'm sure I've mentioned before that also provides a laugh or two.  It's about this black guy living in Japan and he chronicles his many adventures there.  He is one of the main reasons the previously practically unheard of Japanese practice of "kancho" was released onto the internet, you've got to give him kudos for that if nothing.

 

Worst Trend of 2007:

Bad Sequels

>>Runner-ups:  The masses queuing up for products, "Higher-class citizens" accepting the power of the internet and exploiting it

Ok, I can't exactly say that what I'm going to be talking about is "bad-sequels" but they're really "worse sequels."

Everyone knows (you included) that generally the original version is always better - that's why sequels were spawned in the first place to milk that franchise until the industry bigwigs could milk no more!  Here's a list of sequels that I think are worse than there predecessors:

• Spiderman 3  -  Venom joins the fray and this movie should have been the best with him in.  But alas he seems somewhat like an afterthought as he only comes in about... um... two-thirds into the movie.  I don't care about the Sandman, just give me the Alien-Symbiote vs Spider!  Oh man... that would sound wrong in any other context.  Even the video game versions of Spiderman 3 were worse than the previous two!
• Shrek the 3rd  -  First of all.  WTF is with the name?!  What's wrong with "Shrek 3" I understand that it's meant to show that Shrek is going to be king, yada yada.  But it should just have kept with the original trend of naming.  Don't get me wrong here, I enjoyed the first film and the second film (maybe not as the first) and I think the third one is better than the second one but not as good as the first one.  Here's a formula to show what I mean:
  • Shrek  >>  Shrek the Third  >> Shrek 2  >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>  All the Shrek video games EVER made.
• Pirates of the Caribbean:  At World's End  -  I'm gonna keep this short and simple:  The previous films were better.
• Alien Vs Predator:  Requiem  -  Ok, I've got to admit that I haven't watched this film personally but from the reviews I've seen from multiple sources... it's not exactly scored high.

I think you've got the idea by now.  I'm not saying that all sequels that came out in 2007 were bad, I'm just saying that it was a pretty bad trend.

 

Biggest Delay of 2007:

Spore

>>Runner-ups:  SSBB, GTA4

Ok, there is a reason why I'm saying Spore is the biggest delay of 2007 instead of SSBB.  It's mainly because for Europe the probability that SSBB would have been released in 2007 (even if it was released in NA and JP) is very slim.  And something that didn't have a release date for us anyway can't really be delayed anyway!  But still, having it be delayed for NA means that it'll take even longer to get here.  And also I'm pretty miffed about the whole "still no release date for Europe" thing.

Spore on the other hand, had a vague~ish release date but wasn't really confirmed.  I'm really anticipating Spore and I really think it will be the best thing since The original Sims.  I use to play Sims/Sims 2 a millennia ago (subject to over-exaggeration) but have since stopped playing, but Spore looks really promising.  Through natural progression, it's proven that Spore will indefinitely be better than the Sims (since Will Wright is working on Spore and not Sims anymore - that's what happened with GH ¬ Rockband; Harmonix jumped ship band/instrument!).

 

Best Move of 2007:

300

>>Runner-ups:  Superbad, Rush Hour 3, Ratatouille, I am Legend

Ok, you probably say this coming.  Definitely one of the best film I've seen from the fighting, graphics, aggressive shouting and story - ok, maybe not so much story.  I don't care if Gerard Butler's body has been "graphically enhanced"... you may be saying that this is madness but I don't care.  Why?  Because...

THIS IS SPARTAN!  *Ferocious shouting*

---

---

And so ends my awesome list of awesome (and not so awesome) things of 2007.  I hope you've enjoyed the ride.

 

EDIT#1:  Added "Best Movie of 2007"

2008 is upon us

As promised, I'm back.

I could bring you up to speed... or... I could attempt to speed through everything so that I don't have to do as much...

Yea, the latter sounds better to the tired, procrastinating me.

Ok, so Christmas Day was spent at my Grandmas and was strictly a family affair.  And since there was almost as many children there as there was adults, alcoholic beverages were absent.  Which was probably also a good idea, considering what happened two years ago but let's not talk about that.  I also brought the Wii because my uncle convinced me with this line:  'I'll bring a Wii game and you bring the Wii.'  I was going to reply: 'I'll bring a 360 game and you bring a 360.' but he hung up!  The nerve.

He ended up bringing "Mario and Sonic at the Olympic games" which seems like the game everyone is getting for Christmas; it can be quite fun in a group, especially the 100m.  It's hilarious to see adults (and even some seniors) flapping their arms like they are really running.  It seems the Wii does close the gap between the casual and the hardcore.

Anyway, we ended up spending the night at my grandmas and on the following day (boxing day) someone decided it would be a good idea to have a shopping spree in town.  And it was packed!

===

Let's move quickly on to New Years...

I decided to spend New Years at Daisy's (and so did many others, before you start); which seems like a growing trend for me for no apparently obvious reason.  I got there for about 6 and after multiple attempt of trying to get into the house (which all failed), until Laura came along and pointed out that the front door was open.  It wasn't my fault, it's the stupid door's fault.  I had tried to open it before, but you have to give it a good 'ol heave ho and even Laura said she could never open it.

Anyway, things moved on at it's own pace.  Ashley was late, I failed to keep my promise to Gavin (which was Daisy's fault anyway).  We ate pizza and chips.  Then spent the next 2 hours on GH3 -I should note that I can make it through TTFAF on medium with no problem now; although I'm still struggling on 'Before I forget' on hard- with many of the others actually trying medium.

During that time, Ashley and I felt tired so we fell asleep... on Daisy's bed.  Somehow, I got the feeling -in between her pulling the quilt of us and stealing the pillow- that she didn't like that very much.  But we carried on regardless, after a while a boozed up Matthew decided it would be fun to try and flatten us, we erected our own defences in the form of our knees.  And he got the point eventually.

Then GH3 was shut down and we spent the next few hours listening to music.  Then as Ashley and I were just getting comfortable, everyone and I mean: everyone piled into the bed.  For some reason, I was kicked out (flying).  I made my way back in though between Ashley and Matthew, then Ashley somehow manoeuvred me so I ended up between him and Daisy.  With almost no room, I decided to make my own... at Daisy's expense.  She ended up between the bed and wall; unable to breath and yet still able to text someone.  Typical.

Some time during that time I was attacked by the dog, while I was wrapped up in the quilt.

When midnight drew close we went downstairs to watch the fireworks.  Got outside and played some football with the dog.  Then Ashley noted that it was 11:40; and deciding that staying outside for 20 minutes isn't a good idea we went back in.  We watched the small kitchen TV for the countdown to midnight.  There was also obviously a countdown in the kitchen which ended up multiple: 'huzzahs' and 'hoorays.'  We made our way back outside again to gaze upon the fireworks and they just kept going.  We made our way round the house to the front and were greeted by a 'HAPPY NEW YEAR!' by some people we didn't even know a few houses down.  Just as Matthew and Laura went to see someone, the most awesomenest fireworks went off.

They happened only a few blocks away and so we got the full grunt of it.  They were the brightest, loudest, down-right awesome fireworks.  I swear I was temporarily blinded for a few seconds by looking into them.  What made it better was that there were a lot of them.  I still think they should have lit them all in one go so New Year went out with a bang.

===

And so the story ends here.  I'm sat in my living room typing up this post (it's currently 17:47).  And feeling slightly down, since college starts again tomorrow.  Damn, what a downer.  Thankfully, I had the sense to finish most of the work before yesterday.  If only tomorrow was Friday... that would mean I only had one lesson; but no it's just not to be.  To add injury to insult, I have TWO MATHS EXAMS on the 7th January.  Next MONDAY.  And what I can remember of maths consists of: 1+1 = 2  (which Richard had failed to understand.)

 

To make up for the little break enjoy this little video I found:

OH NO! He's cocking the gun! HAHAHAHA!

 

Cya soon.