The Olympics!

I thought, seen as no-one else has mentioned it, that I'd do a little blog about my reaction to the London 2012 Olympics!

I've loved them.

Right thanks for reading! Oh what, more? OK then.

I've surprised myself with the response I've had to them. First off: Danny Boyle. He definitely got me in the mood for them with that spectacular opening ceremony. The majority of people seem to agree that it was grand, epic and just incredible. The Queen and James Bond was my personal highlight but it was thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end. The music mash up and Sir Tim Berners-Lee also deserve honourable mentions!

After that blew me away we had a disappoint first couple of days, finally scraping a silver and a couple of bronzes and I was becoming deflated for Team GB. Then it just kicked off didn't it? I found myself cheering on sports I wasn't entirely sure existed in any fashion before and that maybe we invented them just for this Olympics to up our medals chances. And who could blame us for doing so?!

As a football fan obviously I was drawn to the Team GB side in that as it was a bit of an occasion for us to have a Great British football team, as being fiercely patriotic with a Union Flag hanging in my room at all times, I feel having the separate nations as teams has always been annoying and dividing for a nation that truly loves Football more than any other sport (no offence other sport). We played alright I suppose, it was more about the occasion if anything, and no-one expected us to get a medal. Top of the group and out on pens though, what more could you ask of some fine British Men. Well done to the Women's Team as well, spectacular show!

Andy Murray as well la, who saw that coming? Loses in the Wimbledon final to Federer only to win the Olympic gold at Wimbledon against Federer! I think we have our first champion of Wimbledon there, which would be something else spectacular and I would have thought possible because of the Olympics. Maybe the pressure didn't feel as great, and the ease with which he won was insane! 

Sir Chris Hoy became our most decorated Olympian, Bradley Wiggins got us gold and won the Tour De France just before it as well! As a rotund glutton, I have to say I'm liking that Britain is representing with our best medal table results ever and still a day to go, Tom Daley could still win something in the final later this evening!

I will probably miss the closing ceremony live as I am having birthday drinks etc. with my Dad tomorrow night after watching LFC Vs. Bayer Leverkusen with my family (My baby sisters first visit to Anfield!) but I will have it recorded and look forward to waking up as a 22 year old on Monday morning ready to watch this incredible couple of weeks in British History, come to a close. 

My word it's been a laugh hasn't it!

One Word: Surprising. Thought it would be all out tongue-in-cheek mayhem. There were some core moments to the film (although when you stand back and think this is a film about ABRAHAM LINCOLN you do chuckle) where you are really feeling for the characters, understanding the duality at the core of their being and paints a picture of a great man...killing the dead!

Lovely little end to a roller coaster season. Thanks to the mother for some decent last minute seats.

Jack O'Brian "The Scouse Ambassador", from a random conversation I just remembered from like a year ago.

The Harry Potter Void

The Hunger Games released to record breaking amounts for midnight screenings for a non-sequel film. I cannot help but wonder why?

Harry Potter grabbed the minds of many young people. It was very much my generations media addiction (fictional works only). The Lord of the Rings did the same thing many years prior (although the incredible Peter Jackson films released around the same time as Harry Potter's movies) and then the unbelievable hype shit storm that swelled through the nation up until the final film has never been seen before. 

Harry Potter has ran through LOTR and then it's...brother? For it was certainly not a competitor, came out a few years ago. Twilight. Screaming girls. Team Edward. Team Jacob. There are no original stories anymore and this was the latest to book Teen-Series. And now that Harry Potter has finished, we are left with just the second part of Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn this November. An idea it borrowed from its predecessor. As if from nowhere though it seems movie producers and companies have realised that all teens will lose interest in the cinema soon as there will be nothing left to look forward to.

Now I hadn't heard of Twilight until the movie was announced and the same goes for the Hunger Games. It seems it has become a sensation because we have been told by every media outlet in the world it will be. What is this conspiracy? People said that about Harry Potter as it was the first of its kind to be doing so and then LOTR is a classic and the vision of the Director marked up well with the scale of the task. Twilight seemed to take people by surprise swelling to a phenomenon by the release of New Moon, the second in the series, and then maintaining its hardcore dedicated fan base. Perhaps the genius casting of Robert Pattinson, a transfer from the Harry Potter series, ensured that Harry Potter was not a threat to this new audience but more an enabler, giving their fans something to tide them over until the third film and vice versa.

So maybe the books for The Hunger Games are great and truly do have the same hold on the young minds of today as the previous book to film insanity's I have mentioned before, did. Yet to me The Hunger Games sprung up from out of nowhere (and I work in a cinema with usually a good idea of when to expect business so I know what weeks of my life to dread) and everyone has become addicted to it because, hey there isn't anything else after November and we've got a couple more books we can churn through until the next thing right?

I dunno, maybe I'm just finally at that age where what kids find appealing and get marketed to them eludes me. Which is a very depressing thought indeed.

A Bias Mans Analysis - Mass Effect 3's Ending

WARNING -  TO ANY ONE READING THIS BLOG. IT WILL CONTAIN DETAILED SPOILERS ABOUT THE ENDING OF MASS EFFECT 3, COVERING THE POSSIBLE OUTCOMES. IF YOU HAVE NOT YET COMPLETED THE GAME COME BACK LATER. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Yeah, that's me. I think it is safe to say I am a huge fan of Mass Effect. Yet the ending of Mass Effect 3 has caused a lot of controversy and I have something of my own to add towards it. However I want to try and bring as balanced a view as possible to the ending, what it could mean, why it was chosen and why it is good and of course why it is bad.

The Good Points:

For all intents and purposes, one way or another, or another. Just 3 options, you do end the cycle of destruction that the Reapers has brought on for countless civilisations. I think we can all agree that unless you go out of the way to do so, not being able to destroy the Reapers in one form or another would have been a damn stupid thing to not have in the game. And the options for their ending are interesting, you get to side with the delusional Illusive Man in an effort to control them, you can choose a symbiotic relationship for Synthetic and Organics or of course destruction (which also includes other Synthetics like Geth and implanted Shepard.) Interesting choices and regardless of other emotions I felt, it was a difficult decision even though I tried so hard to be fully Renegade.

    2.  The '19 years Later' Dilemma

The part after the credits where we have a Grandfather and Grandson talking about Commander Shepard and his story. This is a bold artistic move on behalf of the writer, focusing on the way Shepard's life is viewed once the galaxy has forgotten about the Reapers and the pain. Much like today with the WWII stories. No man alive today was alive to serve in WWI, only one woman. And that number is very similar for WWII Veterans. All just stories for a history class. Much like the infamous 19 Years Later for the ending of Harry Potter, is a bold decision and one that feels right to the writer. This would not be in it if those behind the creation of the Mass Effect Universe did not agree on it as a conclusion to our story. Bold indeed to stay true to ones own mind after all that has happened in this becoming a global phenomenon of gaming.

   3. The Fate of The Normandy

Whether we agree with it or not, we see what happens to the beloved Normandy and its crew. The Ebon Hawk in KOTOR II just fell into a chasm. Little cutscene to keep you on the planet, ending the joyful ride of the trusty vessel. We see what happens to our crew and our ship. Though it leaves questions (Master Chief drifting at the end of Halo 3 did this very well) it also leaves more story. Whether for a game, DLC or just extended universe/fan fiction wonderings. 

    4. The Bad Guys Lose

The Illusive Man and The Reapers could not stop you from reaching the Crucible. Against all the odds. I hesitate to say that this means You Win. A lot occurs that I will discuss in the second half of this blog. Yet at least we stopped the naughty people. The Geth. Saren. Soverign. The Collectors. The Reapers. The Illusive Man. Admiral Ander- oh wait, got carried away there. Shepard stops them all. You've got to give the son of a bitch that one.

The Bad Points

    1.  You Have To Die. 

No matter what you do. Control. Symbiosis. Destruction. Shepard must die. Fuck no. Oh if you do something wrong, or even if a couple of your choices involve self-sacrifice (whether the Paragon one is Martyrdom or the Renegade one is Death of Reapers at all costs one or the other) that's fine. The relationships, friendships, turmoils, wars and themes of these games are so excellently woven together and changed constantly by you, that to be offered death at the end of it is unacceptable. Shepard always has a way out. Alive.

   2.  Who's The Kid? What about...

Not enough thought went into the ending AI encounter to justify its existence. Be Vague? Fine. You don't even need to explain that its taking on a form pleasing to Shepard in some way, we get that. But what? I am AI that made Reapers to harvest you and stop you dying. Gruesome bloody harvesting murder? When Sovereign told me on Virmire the Reapers were beyond my comprehension I had no idea how right he was. I thought it would have been the Galaxy's first Organic life created Synthetics, however their Geth were The Reapers. Their creation was so vastly concerned with order that they brutally turned on their own creators. Then Dark Space is the only safe place to retreat and return when the galaxy needs them, in their twisted minds. The initial logic of their need for order is lost over time. Despots lose sight of their idealism when they gain power. There's a reason so many people went to war at Hitler's command, they felt he believed in something. That belief, like Hitler's mind, got twisted, disturbing and a true ego emerged. The ego of The Reapers has been present from the first discovery of their true nature "You exist because we allow it, and you will end because we demand it." They have gone from a need for Order, to a need to consume and dominate anything that is a challenge. That is why they ignore "Primitive" species. Am I insane to think this sounds like a plausible explanation for their beginnings? The first races of the cycle could easily have made the Mass Relays and Citadel because they had longer than 50,000 years. They could have existed for millions of years, achieving untold levels of genius. And they're own hubris cast them down. Then using their best creations, the citadel and mass relays (which the Reapers controlled and built a relay into Dark Space to hide and watch for chaos in the galaxy) this first civilisations few survivors begun plans for The Crucible. But they died to quickly. Then time and time again these plans where added to and added to, to destroy the Reapers. The VI/AI thing on top of The Citadel should judge you on reuniting The Geth and Quarians saying that this cycle finally got it right? That's my idea anyway.

     3.   Every minuscule choice went from meaning everything, to instantly meaning nothing.

None of it matters. Why? See Point 1. If you're going to die no matter the outcome and destroy the Mass Relay network then surely its better to have very few fleets with you. I have every fleet in the galaxy stranded  in the Sol system. None of them will see home again. Instead they will see Earth in ruin until the day they die. Correct me if I'm wrong but the Earth can't sustain trillions of life forms of different dextro-amino bull shit especially after an apocalyptic war unlike anything imaginable? Someone had better make a Mass Relay and fast!

    4. Casey Hudsons Response

Remember all them good points I mentioned? Yeah? Well Casey Hudson's response to Mass Effect universe makes all of them useless.

Excuse me? Did you just shit on your writers faces? Very few games have garnered a reaction from fans just because of the story. Modern Warfare, people wanted the gameplay. Even Halo 3, the Xbox Live King, attractcted a wealth of audience because of the quality of its multiplayer. Not taking anything away from the breathtaking story people loved so much and of course, Halo: Reach was all about the pre Halo fight (and Jetpacks). No-one will forget Mass Effect because one of the options you gave them was settle down and have little blue babies (Liara T'Soni Shepard <3) they will forget because you told them they can kill Shepard and destroy the Mass Relays, kill Shepard and destroy the Mass Relays or kill Shepard and destroy the Mass Relays. They will forget because they have to, to save their sanity. Also on another note, the voice acting in the Grandfather bit is awful too.

Well that's just a quick layout of the facts from what I thought. Any opinions Tumblr?

I wonder if...

There would be a way to chart the increasing amount of conversations where at least on the people were using (in a Charlie Sheen way) the toilet since the iPhone and Blackberry awakened the public to the Smartphone market and creating the unstoppable train of digital progress.

Can imagine that job would be very shitty.

Five Songs Not As Nice As They Sound

Bruno Mars - I Think I Wanna Marry You

Or Merry You as the video seems to suggest. This song is considered romantic by many. The tale of a night wrapped up in adoration for someone who you instantly consider so incredibly impossible to live without that you must marry them instantly. And the fact the man keeps begging for this to happen just keeps tugging on them there heart strings.

The truth however, is very different.

Bruno, and also the mystery woman if we are to take his word for it, are looking for something dumb to do. The dumbest thing that springs to mind, in a dare style fashion (LOL Arrested Development inspired this then) is to get wed. The most romantic symbol of two peoples love for each other is shat on by Bruno's descriptive term" dumb todo" that's not a typo he just refuses to sing the line with a space in it.

In fact, he doesn't claim it's the dumbest thing to do. It's the first dumb thing that springs to mind. So it's not even top of the list for "Dumb Things Todo". The look in her eyes is the source of this idea. The look this infers throughout the rest of the song is "You ain't getting in to my pants that easy." This is inferred by the fact she wants to say "No, no, no, no, no" which is a mad hint and also by Bruno's very subtle "When we wake up, then you wanna break up that's cOOOOOOOooool." I'm sure it is Bruno you slimy git.

Besides, who would want to marry the man who can get you an engagement and wedding ring in the middle of a drunken night on the town and already knows of a little chapel that will not turn you two away in this state (let's face it they probably don't remember each other's full name) and is still open for shotgun weddings. Romance is dead, Bruno Mars killed it.

One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful

Wow. These guys. Telling this woman who doesn't recognise her own beauty whether through being abused physically as a child by parents (I mean hitting you sick bastard) who put a stop to that make-up wearing until she escaped to university or some other retreat for those who need a foot in the door of the real world. Or it could just be a simple systematic breaking down of her mental state because of the Size 0 obsession that she doesn't recognise actual beauty anymore unless told by these "successful", charming young boys.

Well the gang rape symbolism aside this is not as it seems either. She is an insecure girl, the entire room is looking at her and you are pointing this out One Direction. You absolute fucking tool. Now she won't be able to sleep at night. So what do you do after playing on this girl's insecurities and pointing out the entire room is looking at her? FLIRT!? Yes of course, if she is embarrassed by the distant attention of others, that mixed with flirting from five lads is certainly going to help. It will work for you in One Direction, to the bed. She to the mental home after trying to kill the baby with five fathers.

Sorry got back on to the Gang Rape there, but the made me do it. The main part is the chorus, it is a subtle wording that will make this woman die every time she listens to you. She is unaware of her own beauty. She in vulnerable and insecure. You are telling her how beautiful she is. All is well. Until you tell her that "You don't know you're beautiful, that's WHAT makes you beautiful." So if she ever comes to terms with her beauty you will assume she is a vain slut and send her packing?

Cunts.

Adele - Someone Like You

Based on the true story of the one that got away. Adele, clearly still in love, although if not with the man then with everything he stood for in her life. This displayed in the cockney tones is a moving tale of someone who has loved finding love.

Actually Adele is saying "I am a crazy bitch LOVE ME hehehehehehehehehehehe stabby stabby." This man is married now. He found his true love and you're just turning up on his doorstep?!? Imagine that. 20 years from now that girl you once dated becomes a huge superstar and just turns up on your doorstep? Their marriage ain't gonna be on the rocks now is it?!

And how can you be so unhappy? You are (somehow) a sensation! And you expect everyone to feel sorry for you because someone didn't love you. You even agree with him when he said "Sometimes it works in love, but sometimes it hurts instead"!!! And then you're extremely flippant with him with the whole "Never mind". You're also ruining the next serious relationship you'll have because that fella will no doubt hear this song and know you're just comparing him to this previous bloke! And you don't say you'll find someone better (which yano seen as he left you, an improvement is sort of a necessity at this stage) it's just someone like him! Fucking tough crowd.

Although I heard that the man whom the song was about filed a court case for royalties to the song, so there is a happy ending after all!

Rihanna - Cheers (Drink To That)

If not the contrast of her depressed tones against Avril Lavigne's "Yeah's" (which is such a horrid contrasting change. I mean just listen to it!) Actually let me expand on this.

The Yeah's suggest one thing: Positivity. Correct me if I'm wrong but if a woman is repeatedly saying "Yeah, yeah, yeah" most men would pat themselves on the back with a job well done. Then in comes Rihanna sounding like a wounded dog "Cheers to the friggin' weekend, I'll drink to that 'yeah, yeah'" What is with this language?! It's the weekend not death time. She sounds half cut already, trying to forget the week the preceded this moment.

Now I'm sure a lot of people feel like this, I know I do and I take a weekend where I can get it and have a few drinks to get silly and forgetful. But this is meant to be an inspirational song is it not? Just getting your drink on and having a good time. Not life is not worth living unless through the blurry vision of alcoholic blunders?

And anyway, Rihanna is 23 and has been releasing music since she was 17. 17!!!!!!! This is not a woman who knows the pain of a working week. She is a millionaire superstar. Yeah she got beat on a bit but that's cause Chris Brown is a nob head. And she was stupider for defending him at first. She does not empathise with you and your working 9-5 week. She is singing words that have no meaning to her. And she laps up your money for it.

Dappy - No Regrets

It's Dappy. From N-Dubz.

Well there's my list. Fuck you if you don't like my reason for the fifth one! I could also point out they have an Oasis lyric thrown in there for no reason and as I hate Oasis that just proves the horror.

Cundoo, out.

I know the buses run on Christmas day, so this sign infers there is one day of the year where staff will help... They just aren't happy about it.

Watch This Space

Got some musings on the way.

Just musing about my musings so thought I would let y'all know.

PEACE.