State of Play

This post is mainly just so a good friend of mine doesn't have to keep looking at Quake Wars every day. Just shows you how committed some people are to my awesomeness really...

Kidding. But in all serious, he reminded me that, once again, i have neglected my blog. Which is a bit silly of me because I keep going on about how i have one.

Anyway, i have loads to update you all about, and i've got plenty more work to put up, although ill probably stagger it. Won't do a proper post today as I'm helping to cover E3 at the moment... if you don't know what that is, i'll reveal all soon enough.

Ciao.

Form the Column

It's quite nice knowing what you want to do in life. Gives you a feeling of certainty, security...and it's also kind of exciting.

Of course the next question is: What now? Where do I go from here? Well, some work experience at somewhere like Gamestm would be nice, but they don't feel like talking to me for some reason. But it occurred to me, since I'm editor of a student website, why not put it to use?

Of course running and maintaining an entire section by myself is not exactly a walk in a park. Gamers who can actually string two sentences together without going 'lolz' or 'owned' are hard to find at my uni, but a fellow games journalist (I say fellow, it's some random person who offered me advice.) suggested that instead of trying to pump out the reviews, why not do a column?

So, to you my loyal fans i pledge you this: I will try to do a regular games column of some sort. For practice and to build up my portfolio. Once i get my head around the logistics I'll try and do something on bwire, but until then, the column shall rest here.

Here's to hoping that i can keep it up this time.

GTA FTW

“I’m telling you, 50 copies for the 360, and only 36 for the PS3”

“360 for the win!”

“It’s five too, can’t we just have it now?”

“Maybe we should go to Game…”

“Pre-orders only ….”

And so there I was. It was 11:50 at night, and I was standing with my friends in a queue with two of my friends waiting for Grand Theft Auto IV.

I’d never stayed up late to go to a launch ‘opening’ before. It was just as geeky as I thought it would be, but it was worth going.

We arrived about half an hour early, yet there were already people there waiting. And they had snacks.

And they were some characters there I can tell you. Mainly under-aged chavs, but a few hardcore gamers were there too. And then of course there was the mother with her 10 or 11 year old son…

I know most of society is in uproar over this game and how horribly violent it is, but parents like her bring it upon themselves. Still, I wish my mom was like that. One time when I was like 11 or 12, I rented Doom out on the N64, which was a 15 or 18 I think. I had for like a couple hours before my mom found out I had. Had to send it right back.

Anyway, got home with my new purchase, and started playing it. And it was 2 in the morning when my girlfriend woke up and asked me what I had been doing all night…

The main character’s ugly. Didn’t expect that. So far I’ve been impressed. I’ll probably write my own review at some point, once I’ve played it a bit more.

Love and War

“Baby! Don’t attack me yet!”

And just like that, the army came to a halt.

On a Sunday afternoon, you’d be right in thinking that a young couple in their twenties would be doing something together. Going shopping, going for a walk, watching TV, even doing work together…

Me and my girlfriend were playing Empire Earth. It was fun.

I wouldn’t say that my girlfriend is a typical girly-girl, but neither is she a hardcore games-nut like me. Despite having a strong yet restrained passion for Age of Empires, she still has a 'non-gamer' attitude towards games, and thinks I’m going to dump her for my Xbox.

Yet here we were, pitting our two great empires against each other in a clash of titans. It’s fascinating how the entire nature of the game changes when you play someone close to you – there’s generally no rushing at the beginning (she wanted time to set up). No fear of cheats, or abusive language. Even boredom fails to rear its ugly head.

It wasn’t easy though, far from it. There’s something very immediate about having the person you’re playing in the same room as you, and even more so if that person is your significant other. As such, you tend to play by the rules.

So when she said that I couldn’t attack yet, I had to stop. The great war host of Byzantine Rome, legions of death and destruction that were poised to descend on it’s not-so unsuspecting prey…was brought to a stand-still by a woman.

Well they say Helen of Troy launched a thousand ships, but my girlfriend would have sent them home again.

Still, that’s not to say I was idle. Thinking of creative yet stealthy ways of raiding her territory proved to be challenging. It was like poking her with a stick; I got slapped a few times, but it was worth it.

And then she learnt, so you have to find new ways of raiding. And she learnt some more, and slowly but surely, the game’s fun-factor is cranked up until you’re having a genuinely fun match with someone you actually care for. Pounding her civilisation into the dust actually means something, since she is not just a random name on a screen.

And I will pound her into the ground. It’s inevitable. I just got to wait until she is ready…

“Baby!”

(Slap)

“I told you not to attack me yet!”

What can I say? War only has so much patience.

It's a new dawn, it's a new day....

Well, this is it. My classes officially started as of yesterday, I'm a (actual) student once again. This is year is going to be different, I can tell.

Apart from the fact that my timetables a bit poo (at first glance anyway, I'm sure a thorough inspection will show that I'm just being silly), and the fact that things will obviously step a bit this year, there are a few other things to consider too. Nerve Radio will probably want me back, I'll have this Editor gig going on...friends to see, Halo 3 to play, and my other secret, my girlfriend. Yes that's right. I have a girlfriend.

I've always wanted to say that. I'll admit, I'm just as surprised as you are. Met her randomly on the Student Union forums as part of my Welcome Crew duties, met up with her when she finally got to Bournemouth, and then we just kinda hit it off. All very exiting.

Anyway, just a quick one today as I'm tired and she wants to go to bed. More soon.

Round 2 - Ed

Things are beginning to really get into gear lately. Pre-Enrollment talks, purchase of books and stationary, over-sleeping....slowly but surely, i am re-aligning myself to Uni-life. This mainly manifests itself as me literally throwing myself at a brand new task/job.

With luck, and a little persuasion, you could soon be talking to the new Multi-Media Editor for The Wire (for those who missed that update, the Wire is the student newspaper here at Bournemouth). With the print version of the Wire struggling last year, and the website being all but neglected, "the management" feel some changes were in order, primarily expansion and concentration onto the alternative medias. This will mean more focus on the website, and more focus on things like blogs and podcasts, which is where i come in to manage it all. I'll admit, I'm pretty excited.

I've recently held a kind of fascination with podcasts, and have always wanted to get into the field somehow, especially audio ones as it links closely with radio, which i love. I've already come up with several ideas of how the podcasts will play out, so i hope to get stuck in asap.

On a negative note, I've received my timetable for this year. Utter shit. Not one day off. 7 o'clock finish on Thursdays. Awkward times, and worst of all, late afternoon finish on Wednesdays! Everyone is supposed to have Wednesday afternoons off, but we don't. Suffice to say i am very vexed. Oh well, maybe ill do something trendy and blog about it....

Our House

So I'm all moved into my new house. It's quite a big house. Large living room with three sofas, a toilet and bathroom on every floor, spacious kitchen....garden (sort off) and off-road parking. It also comes with a bunch of nutters, myself included. No foods fights as of yet, but I'm sure one can't be too far round the corner, as the last two will be moving in end of the month.

We've had a lot of "squatters" in our house past couple weeks. At one point, there were more people who shouldn't have been staying in the house then there were that should. One of the girls Boyfriends is going to be a permanent squatter this year, he doesn't pay rent, but hes helping with bills so, as long as he behaves I'm happy. Another Girl is putting up a friend of hers whose house won't be ready for another couple weeks, so our shed is full of stuff right now. Another of the girls had some friends over for the weekend, but they're gone now.

That's another thing you may have noticed, there are lots of girls in the house. Barring guests, there is just me, and a very nice chap called Reefe bigging up the male contingent in the house, and reefe is a first year who does his own thing most of the time anyway, so really it's just me (barring Dan "the squatter" Bristow). We even received a bill that was addressed solely to me, since for reason they think reef is a girl.

As far as life in the big brother house goes, its going alright. A few tensions are brewing because of messiness in the kitchen (it's not even me this time) but apart from that, so far so good. My room is nice and spacious too, so, bring on the ladies!

God Speed

I know what you're thinking. Yes, i am quite funny. What? Oh right....yeah it has been nearly a month since i last posted as well. You'll get over it.

I won't give you a run-down of what I've been doing or anything, wouldn't be very entertaining for you. I know it bores the hell out of me. But i will talk to you about one small incident over the past month, an incident that happened the other day in fact, and it involved me meeting up with my friends.

Now, you might think that this, in itself, is rather boring. I mean it was only us four meeting up in the pub to have a couple of drinks and talk shit for several hours. Something we've done many times before, even without a pub. But what was special about this night was the fact that two of our number, were about to embark on the great journey that is university, and the rest of us, as in me and Immie, were giving them the send off they deserved. It was quite special, even if some of em did turn up late.

I felt sorry for them, to be honest. They'd been stuck at home for a year, doing jobs they hated, waiting for their chance to experience what nearly all of their friends had experienced. Now they can, and so that night was special, because it was the proper send off that we never had last year, when it was just me and Immie going. In a way, this kind of send off is better, because some of us have "been there, done that", so we can alleviate their fears over whats to come. There was also a lot of laughs, usually at my expense, but hey, they earned it.

Here's to a good year guys. Honk.

Life Tokens

I have decided i am a firm believer in the "token gesture". Especially when playing sports.

I'm not much of a sporty person myself. I don't specialise, I don't support any teams, and stay strictly mainstream, but you will often, from time to time, see me playing football, basketball, my martial arts....even cricket, which i don't like much. No matter what sport i play however, i always seem to do better in Defense, and here is where the "token" defense comes in. Say you're playing basketball, or football, and your on defence, and this guy is coming at you with the ball. Now, for whatever reason, you know this guy is gonna get it by you some how, hes just better then you, but you go in and you make a challenge anyway. Why? Because you're still getting in the way, and you're still forcing him to change his plans. Hopefully, change them enough so that someone much more skillful then you can sweep in and make the tackle.

Same can be said for gaming. I'm a gamer myself, not one of those super-gamers, who make a living out of it and everything, but i play a (Un)healthy amount of games. It's what Uni is for, but say you're playing...Halo, and your in a team, and you find yourself against an enemy, who you know is better then, you still throw yourself at him/her because a) you may just kill them and b) even if you don't you've weakened them enough for someone else on your team to come along and finish them off.

Speaking of Halo, we've finally hooked up my brother to Xbox Live, and we are enjoying it big time. I never thought Halo 2 could be so much fun online, and whats better, not everyone is a super-freak at the game. Of course, on the downside, me and my brother have uncovered some disturbing racial undertones of the game: If you were to explain to a newcomer, how exactly to play Halo, you would simply tell them this: "Kill anyone who is a different colour to you". In a team game, which is always the "Red" team vs the "Blue" team, it subtly teaches combatants the art of racial cleansing. Now there's a cheerful thought.

Started the countdown until Uni-day, I can't believe how quickly time is flying, and i didn't even get any summer romance in. Never mind.

Ascension

Despite the grossly inappropriate amount of time i appear to have on my hands, it both puzzles and annoys me that it took me this long to think of something blog-worthy to write about, and even then it is only to comment on how puzzling and annoying the situation is. I must be losing my touch.

I am jobless at the moment, a state of being that is both pleasant, and mind-numbingly boring: I sit around in my room most of the time on the PC, watching DVDs, or both. It is during these times that my mind ascends to a higher plane of existence, time has no meaning anymore, the intricacies of the human form break down, and the senses dissipate....nothing matters, apart from the task at hand. It is only when I've wet myself and my stomach starts ingesting itself, that i realise i have not in fact gone to the next plain. Damn. Time does seem to pass obscenely quick at the moment, with brief reprises in the form of friends, Tae-kwon-do, and Drama.

I saw the latest Harry Potter film yesterday. It wasn't bad, Harry's state of mind was handled better then it was in the book (I so wanted to smack him when i first read it), but to be honest, the film is all about the fight sequence at the end between the Death Eaters and the Order.

I think I'll leave it there for today. I promise I will try to be more frequent....I've got a couple ideas for the next post.

Remember, Remember....

The human mind is a complex thing. So many disorders are associated with it, Mankind's greatest feats stem from it, and our knowledge of how it actually works is minimal. Memory in particular is one of the biggest mysteries of all. Why? Well.....i forget (buh dum tish)

Anyway, the point is: I'm in trouble.

My step-mom hates me at the moment. Which i find slightly bizarre, because we've always gotten along fine, and i find i tell her things that i never tell anyone else. But now she wants to give me an ear full. Of Spiked Club. What did i do? I forgot my little brothers birthday. (FUCK!) Even I'm pissed off with that...but, what can i do? Whats done has been done, now all I've got to do is wait for that Mace to get me good and proper...

Oh, i forget to mention, i forgot my step-moms AND my Grandmas birthday too....i think I'm on a role.

Requiem

You know, it's only just sunk in: I have come to the end of my first year at university..... now how did that happen?

I swear it was only yesterday that moved in to Hurn House, and saw Andy there with his tin'o'beans, which he never finished, to my knowledge . That week was the only week in where i have gone out every night, no idea how i managed. Then again, the alternative was to just crawl up into a corner and cry until the reality of my new surroundings sunk in.

University.....Its been an odd experience. Undoubtedly the best year of my life....yet strangely disappointing. I guess i expected too much, of it and myself. Some things don't change i guess.

My hats off to everyone who made it such an amazing experience. If your not sure who you are, don't worry, taking the time to actually spend time with me was enough, so thank you. Bring on the second year.

Opps I did it again...

Before i start, i just need to get something off of my chest: GRRRRRRR FOR F*&^ SAKE BASTARD DRIVERS!!! )"$%&*"$^%")*£^"*£$^"*£V !!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

Ok, calm.

If you wondering what happened, i had another car crash. Fab. This one wasn't my fault however. It was the car in front of the car in fronts fault, and the stupid bint drove away, leaving me and this other poor women to sort out the mess. To be fair though, i got off lightly. The only reason i can't drive my car at the moment is because one of the lights is broken, apart from that, there's only a big dent in the front. It's all good.

Ironically, that wasn't the most upsetting part. The worst bit of this whole ordeal was that, out of the 9/10 beer glasses i was transporting home from uni, only 3 survived. I nearly cried. My housemates and i worked hard to steal a lot of those, so a lot of emotional attachment was invested in those glasses. But Life goes on.

I'm once again car less though, and it sucks major Wong. Sorry for the lack of updates, i have been settling back into the homeland. More soon.

Club-House

Why do people go out "clubbing"? I mean, lets look at this logically; You spend say £20 on entry fees and several over-priced drinks, simply to go to some dark, poorly lit room, and get squashed like a sardine. Is it for the music? Well I'll admit, they do play some decent tunes, depending on where you go, but it is very hit and miss. Is it to dance? Well the likeness to a Sardine tends to make that difficult. 'fun'? Well whats fun about being tossed and turned while you melt away.

Me? I'm not sure why i do it. I can think of a few things that are way more fun then clubbing, but in none of those things do you meet girls, which i suppose is the point. i go clubbing in the vein hope that a girl will take notice of me, i mean, that is what's supposed to happen, right?

Last night saw a first in the life-history of Joe - I was the "designated driver" for a night out. Wasn't as bad as i thought it would be, I usually hate being the only sober one. Unfortunately, the bar we went too was a tad crowded for my liking, and i was reminded whenever i saw assholes being assholes why i really do hate being sober on a night out.

Oh i finished my exams by the way...they went alright. Might have to retake a couple, but oh well.

Sorry for the lack of updates.

You knock one down....

I had my first exam yesterday, it was...interesting. I say interesting, what i really mean is that it was a disaster. I didn't finish either of the questions, and i was actually struck by writers block half way through the second one - basically a case of "Oh fuck, i have no idea where I'm going with this". Oh well, re-sits in August.

Very brief update today, as writers block has once again struck me. And I'm slightly drunk. And its 2:14 in the morning. I'm sure you'll live.

Ciao.

Nemesis

Do you know what i hate? The Wind. Do you know why? Because it's pushy, it's bossy, it acts like it owns the place, no matter what kind of day it is. Say it's pissing down with rain, your huddled up in your coat, head down, just trying to get to where you want to go without taking the Nile with you, and all of a sudden, here comes the wind saying "Where do you think your going? I think you should go this way instead." Although, since he is speaking in his native tongue, what you actually hear is a great howl, and suddenly you find yourself staggering backwards, or sideways.

Same again on a sunny day, your strolling along, minding your own business, catching some rays, all of sudden, along comes the wind, "Hey Fucker, walk faster!" and suddenly your being propelled forward. Again, to the sound of a great howl. (It's not a very imaginative language, the wind. Beats German or French though.) Whenever instances like these happen to me, you'll often hear my brain shouting "Fuck off!" to the heavens, and of course the heaven's reply "Fuck you!", which sounds oddly like more wind.

I was looking outside today, and it was a perfectly sunny day, but there was wind howling away. I thought "Bastard!", and then along came the cloud, which got rid of the sun, to which i thought, "Fucker!". Then i went to the cinema and saw Magicians and forgot all about it. That film is mental, utterly mental. Funny, don't get me wrong, but completely whack.

Dance, Dance

Today, I'm going to talk about a dance, but not just any dance...the dance. The dance that preoccupies most single men and women whenever they come into contact with each other. Yes my friends, that dance: Le Tango de flirting/getting a date.

I've been trying to avoid it recently because, quite frankly I'm no good at it. What little relationships I've had have usually been spontaneous, random, or a disaster. Either way, they never lasted that long and involved little work from either party. A prolonged campaign has never worked. But just recently, i decided to give it another try, for reasons that I'm sure you can guess. She's a very nice girl btw. I won't go into details because, people i actually see on a day-to-day basis may read this....and that's bad. (Which reminds me: must delete this from my Facebook feed as soon as it pops up)

Anyway, I'm not even a few days into the dance (At the moment, its a one man show as far as i can tell) and I'm already despairing. Reason: other people. They complicate things. Especially when packing an ego. I just can't compete, I won't compete, out of general principle...unfortunately, the afore mentioned ego must be surpassed before i can get anywhere...

I guess I'm just working myself up over nothing...i promised myself i was just seeing where this can go...no need to get me knickers in a twist. I promise a more upbeat update next time. Just wanted to get this off my chest. Ciao.

Poker Face

The amount of poker I've played recently is rather disturbing. The amount of money I have potentially lost had those chips been worth real money is even more so. But it is such a fun game.

I first got taught how to play it properly a couple of weeks ago, by a good American friend of mine. Yes i know, it's hard to believe, but contrary to popular belief, some Americans are decent, and she is one of them. I so kicked her ass.

Then came this Thursday just gone. I went to a little get together with some friends down the road - mini-house party style. There was alcohol, there was truth or dare games (which generally ended in all of us Irish Jigging in the street), and then there was Poker! My American friend put my kicking her ass down to beginners luck, so this was the ultimate rematch of sorts. She wiped the floor with me. Although, to be fair, there was like 6 other people i had to keep and eye on as well, but she was wiping the floor with all of them. I went bust 3 times, and each time, i asked her, "Feeling Generous Whitney?". Which of course, she was, bless her.

After i busted for the 4th, and final time, it was a bout 1:30 AM, there were only a few of us left, and i had an exam that day. So i said my goodbyes, went up the road back to my own house, with the firm and square intention of getting into bed, and going to sleep. Then i realised my house mates were also playing poker, so i decided to muck in with them. Oh dear. It was about several hands, no busts and a few pints of water later, that i realised it was 5AM, that i still had an exam that day (along with a 9AM lecture), and that it was unlikely i was going to get any sleep. So i started giggling.

Finally finished at about 6:30, went to sleep and missed my 9AM lecture, went and did my exam (Fail) and went to another house party that night. Which also involved Poker. I know what your thinking, and yes, i do want my own poker set. I'm not an addict though.

P.s. The picture - I am aware it is from the wrong game. Allow it. Also, I'll see if i can make the updates slightly more regular. Sorry.

Camera Shy

Why is it that no-one wants to go in front of a camera? It's like the ultimate Taboo these days. I almost got nutted by a guy who didn't actually look like he was going to nut me, simply for asking whether he had 5 minutes to spare; "Well, we are about to just have a cup of tea and just relax, so no." Bastard.

Background: Due to a severe lack of planning on my part (surprise surprise) I had to apply for an extra day of filming for my assessed news package. That extra day was today. Picked up the gear at 9:20ish, picked up my partner in crime/cameraman, a.k.a Ryan, at about 9:40 (traffic was terrible).

The only problem was, i still didn't have an idea for a story (surprise surprise). I was going to do about Bournemouth's Waste Disposal System, and how effective it was (woo) but instead, i ended up doing about the weather. That you right your heard me, the weather. It's a naff story, but its a story, so I'm happy.

Did you know that this April was the hottest it had been for 300 years in England? Hmmm? Bet you didn't, did you? (Don't answer that). But anyway, i did my story on the weather, and how it had affected the seaside business in Bournemouth. Rock on.

Now I've got to type up a 1450 word profile on a women who does Extra work, due in tomorrow. God i love my life.

Guess whose back, back again....

Well, I'm back at university. Not sure how i feel about that. Happy, of course, i do like it here, I've missed all my course mate, and to be honest I'm glad to be getting on with it all.....yet, there is always something, right at the back of my mind, that feels like it wants to cry. Leaving home when you've just gotten used to being back is also a bit of a pain.

First day back wasn't all song and joy either, couldn't get a news story for my assessed package. No one wants to go on camera these days.

I would say more, but its quarter to one. This was just to let you know that i haven't forgotten you guys. Ciao. No picture this time either I'm afraid.