http://www.theverge.com/2014/4/26/5656288/construction-workers-unearth-legendary-cache-of-atari-games-in-new
Is it bad that as soon as I saw the headline I thought it would probably be about the rumoured cache of E.T. Extra-Terrestrial games in the desert?
In completely unrelated news, if you ever get a chance to go to Iceland then take it. A completely beautiful country that takes at least three days to even scratch the surface of. The food isn't as bad as rumoured and they advertise space ship game conventions prominently at the airport. Still can't decide if the people are rude and cold or polite and friendly though. We encountered both in our time there but generally everything was fantastic.
Needless to say an unforgettable experience and a genuine adventure.
Sunday 27 April 2014
Thursday 17 April 2014
Light at the end of the tunnel for Ukraine (Caution: May be a flamethrower)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27072351
Well this is good news to start a long bank holiday weekend! I was seriously worrying that Ukraine was teetering towards a messy Post-Soviet civil war.
Of course such an agreement relies on a certain amount of good will on all sides. Kiev has little incentive to decentralise or accommodate the desires of Easterners except to keep the Russians at bay while Putin is hardly the most straight-talking world leader (although he doesn't achieve the wide-ranging duplicity of certain American and British premiers).
However, behind the scenes there is going to be a huge amount of pressure to make a deal soon. Ukraine is a huge chunk of Europe and occupies a strategic position on the path of Russian gas and oil into the West. A civil war serves nobody's purposes even if it allows Russia to shows its nationalistic disapproval of the seeming unstoppable expansion of NATO and the EU into its territorial backyard.
Well this is good news to start a long bank holiday weekend! I was seriously worrying that Ukraine was teetering towards a messy Post-Soviet civil war.
Of course such an agreement relies on a certain amount of good will on all sides. Kiev has little incentive to decentralise or accommodate the desires of Easterners except to keep the Russians at bay while Putin is hardly the most straight-talking world leader (although he doesn't achieve the wide-ranging duplicity of certain American and British premiers).
However, behind the scenes there is going to be a huge amount of pressure to make a deal soon. Ukraine is a huge chunk of Europe and occupies a strategic position on the path of Russian gas and oil into the West. A civil war serves nobody's purposes even if it allows Russia to shows its nationalistic disapproval of the seeming unstoppable expansion of NATO and the EU into its territorial backyard.
Thursday 10 April 2014
McCalmont rips apart Jackson's Smaug
http://ruthlessculture.com/2014/04/08/review-the-hobbit-the-desolation-of-smaug-2013/
"Peter Jackson is a terrible loss to the special effects profession and a terrible addition to that of professional film direction."
Ouch! Definitely worth a read if you like your film criticism insightful and acerbic.
I can't say that I rate Peter Jackson very highly as a director. I liked the original Lord of the Rings trilogy of films enough to keep watching but haven't experienced any desire to revisit them since.
Similarly I strongly agree that Jackson's decision to split the brilliantly concise action of the Hobbit across three films was a waste of good material. Ironically it matches Tolkien's own hubris in creating ever longer and more inaccessible fantasy epics as his career progressed. Fortunately he had the vision not to publish these literary monstrosities (a task that was left to his less restrained successors).
"Peter Jackson is a terrible loss to the special effects profession and a terrible addition to that of professional film direction."
Ouch! Definitely worth a read if you like your film criticism insightful and acerbic.
I can't say that I rate Peter Jackson very highly as a director. I liked the original Lord of the Rings trilogy of films enough to keep watching but haven't experienced any desire to revisit them since.
Similarly I strongly agree that Jackson's decision to split the brilliantly concise action of the Hobbit across three films was a waste of good material. Ironically it matches Tolkien's own hubris in creating ever longer and more inaccessible fantasy epics as his career progressed. Fortunately he had the vision not to publish these literary monstrosities (a task that was left to his less restrained successors).
Wednesday 2 April 2014
Long time no blog ...
Apologies for the slight hiatus. I've recently moved house and am approaching some career exams - both of which have taken chunks out of my free time.
The aforementioned exams seem especially unfair as the gaming world has decided to release the two updates that I've been waiting for for months in my last seven days of revision. Specifically the Giants DLC for the intriguing 'Don't Starve' and the free (!!!) update to the glorious 'FTL'.
People who don't have tests coming out should invest now in these two brilliant games. I'll be chewing my fingernails until the 8th when I can try them out properly.
The aforementioned exams seem especially unfair as the gaming world has decided to release the two updates that I've been waiting for for months in my last seven days of revision. Specifically the Giants DLC for the intriguing 'Don't Starve' and the free (!!!) update to the glorious 'FTL'.
People who don't have tests coming out should invest now in these two brilliant games. I'll be chewing my fingernails until the 8th when I can try them out properly.
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