mockney piers

I'm in a self imposed exile from Azeroth, never to return (though I snuck into middle earth a while back). It's not good for the marriage ;)

"if you're dumb enough to like running around with big fat awesome weapons, shooting baddie robots etc. Which I do!" There will always be a soft spot in my heart ofr my time spent with Serious Sam!!

Picked up a cheap copy of Assassin's Creed II in sainsburys this weekend. I have to say I'm much more impressed than I expected it to be. The acting isn't dreadful, the story is better than the usual fare. The historical context has been well researched, and most important, they really have got the feel right. And having been to Florence a number of times, I actually recognise the place which is amazing and helps for getting from a to b (admittely i did't skip across the rooftops when I was there though)!! Combat is simple yet challenging, and there's actually a bit of bite to the sidequests, like collecting the pigeon feathers to help a mother overcome her grief for a lost child, as opposed to collect a hundred stars because, well because. Gold star to them thar developers (though I could have done without the 'we're a multicultural team of all creeds and faiths' disclaimer every time it loads).

Genuine TV gold. Gotta love the Aussies.

been listening to a lot of Miss Niblett Awesome.

If you believe Brookside there are usually bodies under patios.

Ha ha ha!!!! OOooooh, a tossup between this and Jeremy's North-South post for POTW. (at a pinch I might have to go jeremy I'm afraid)

I can only think it's salami tactics by the libs. They were never going to get get anything more drastic past the Tories, so figured one slice at a time.

I believe the phrase is touch? (pretensiousness being another southern trait I guess) Mind you I was born about 1500 miles south of London and believe me when I say Southerners have nothing on Spaniards when it comes to parochialism and provincialism.

Ooh ooh, and we could post on twitter and the forum about it all....oh.

Exactly Rosie. Weirdly reading GWADT I was able to skate over the passage you mention muttering something about ERicsson getting off on hiw own prose and having an unhealthy obsession with 14 year old girls (oh no it's fine, she only *looks* 14, and she's this vigilante genius you see...see..it's ok...seee). Actually it was when I was watching the film that I thought 'is all this really necessary?!', and totally agree with your point. It wasn't. Blood Meridian has a few moments where the graphic violence seems almost wanton (fontanels and puppies spring to mind), if weirdly prosaic, which makes the denoument all the more beautiful. I know what you mean about it lingering, it's still stuck in my head. I've no idea whether he's a sci-fi fan, though he has said something about all books borrowing from those that came before. It's just that in The Road it struck me that he was using a literary device that Philip K Dick employs in The Man in the High Castle (I wion't spoil it for you), and of Blood Meridian, the blurring between poetry and prose is very Lovecraft. In fact he seemed to switch from incredibly sparse prose to almost overwrought baroque poetry when deliberating about the Judge and i wondred if that was a deliberate nod to Lovecraft. Sort of a motif that something horrific is about; like the sound of flies swarming in horror films seems to do. Actually I'll post a short story which is typical...hold on.

Nope, I always had time for Frank at Upton Park. I thought he was a consistent and talented performer for us for years and got very annoyed at the abuse he received from the fans, all that lumplard rubbish, it was so self defeating. Both Franks were treated pretty shamefully ..err...frankly... so good luck to him. But yeah, the whole Chelsea badge kiss thing is pretty annoying...i mean...chelsea...

or was it Aulus Paulinus?

Didn't Badvoc rule Chelmsford?

Having wasted every vote I've ever cast, I'm inclined towards more representative systems. I loved the plummy woman on breakfast yesterday who said AV was unfair favouring those with wider opinions, forcing those with strong political affiliations to have more votes. .... what?!?! err, right, so current system doesn't limit the more sophisticated voter in favour of those with strong political affiliations? Duh. Plus if they want to only vote for one person they can. I think she was a bit thick. Anyway, the pro guy pointed out that all internal parliamentary votes (staffing committees and such like) use AV, so they know it's fairer, they just don't want US to have a fairer system because it doesn't benefit THEM. For that reason alone I'm in favour! Mind you, I'm pretty sure 90% of people just vote what their dads voted.

dont forget about the viticulture

Final warm up game against Pakistan. Strauss & Trott poor. Everyone else looking pretty good. Some solid partnerships in there. Prior is batting like a loon at the moment, 19 off 10 balls. Lets hope they come good when it counts (mind you, playing the aussies ALWAYS counts....bah humbug)

Rosie, I'm glad I'm not alone. The judge, he's just us isn't he, an immortal expression of humanity. There is no morality etc.... By the way have you read much HP lovecraft? If the road was Philip k dick, blood meridian was surely he. Our McCormac is a closet sic fi fan!!!

"all three Larssons - hype justifiable" Really? I thought the first one was an excellent thriller, but it started getting in equal measures silly and boring in the latter two, and Salander just that little bit to cartoonish superhero for my taste. And I can't help feeling Larsson was a bit of a perv.

To what end?

well, call me a masochist. I've moved on to Blood Meridian. Cripes, and I thought The Road was a harrowing read. But whereas I found that a rather redemptive book, I can see no goodness in this novel. It's pretty Swiftian in is savage indictment of humanity. Mind you it's a more beautiful read, and the Judge must stand out as one of the great literary characters, some of his sermons actually stopped me in my tracks (and sadly I can't help but agree with many of his conclusions). I finished last night and had to read the last couple of pages several times over, so amazing was it. I should read something about puppies and flowers now, but like a fool I started Child of God today. Like i say, masochist.

I know you're poking fun, but I thought carefully before risking an invocation of Godwin. The media (particularly certain parts of it) portrays an unbalanced picture of Iran, and the comparisons betwenn Ahm' and Hitler are tossed around casually and inappropriately. I've complained about it before, but i thought here there was a parallel to be drawn in that the power brokers (for Ali Khamenei read Hindenburg and Von Papen) thought they could use him, but ended up seriously underestimating him and paying the price. Anyway we'll see how things progress. And yes he may well have won the election without the fraud, but that and the subsequent use of violence somewhat undermine any claims to validity dont they. Plus I don't think anyone voted for him *because* he's a nutter; they vote for him because the rhetoric speaks to those who felt disenfranchised as the country moved in a liberal direction without consulting them. Hmmm, I wonder if acumenman would vote for him.

A genuine footballing treat.