Chindie

I'd like a Czech win but I can't look beyond the Portuguese, sadly.

I don't know... I accept that the combat in RDR isn't particularly groundbreaking, or often very challenging. But for me it's besides the point. I almost played RDR as... an experience, I guess. I sat and soaked up the atmosphere, I enjoyed exploring the world, seeing the environment that seemed so perfect, laid out before me, going hunting, seeing the random encounters (the time I stumbled on a bloke in the wilderness with a body, who subsequently took out his pistol and shot himself as I wandered past, stands out as a moment I will struggle to forget in my gaming life)... I didn't really care that it never became particularly challenging. In fact I think it would have hampered my love of the game, becoming more of a game and less of an enjoyable experience with a fairly compelling narrative underneath. I don't think every game can do that, and I wouldn't want them all to. But the couple of months I spent with RDR were some of the most enjoyable times of gaming I've ever had.

The thing with Tim Vine is less that each joke is funny, and more that they just keep coming. His act is less about the jokes really and more that you're going to barraged with them for an hour or so and eventually that just becomes funny. I never liked him when I saw clips of him, on those comedian list shows and the like. Then I happened to catch one of his shows on the telly when nothing was on. To start with you might smile, have a small laugh, but when you've had 15 minutes and had 30 of these puns and simple visual gags it just gets funnier. Helps if you've had a drink, admittedly. I think all of my favourites will have been listed by now. Bill Bailey (Part Troll is genuis, start to end. Gone downhill fast though, main stream popularity has not helped him) Bill Hicks (Genius) Billy Connolly (Seeing him live, even when he's getting on and no longer pumping out the classic stuff, is an experience. 2 hours straight, could barely breathe) Dara O'Briain Richard Pryor (legendary with good reason) Louis CK Dylan Moran (first spotted him on Live at the Apollo, ) Tommy Cooper (though he's more of an entertainer) Stewart Lee Phill Jupitus (Quadrophobia is one of my favourite stand ups... the bit on spiders, is just excellent) Cannot stand 99% of 'comediennes' - Far too much reliance on either background (Shappi Khorsadi 'I'm Iranian!', that Nigerian woman...), or the gender divide. Jenny Eclair - excluded from the above for being particularly shit. Michael Mcintyre - a face you just couldn't stop punching, and not funny. His manner **** me off. Russell Howard - 'RANDOM SHIT!!!!!!!!!! is really funny!' Jimmy Carr - has his stuff written for him IIRC, and I really don't like that one liner style he has. Better as a panel member/presenter. Frankie Boyle - More or less the same issues with Carr on style but increasingly guns for 'controversial' in such a cynical manner it isn't funny. Ricky Gervais - Just a prick Lee Evans - Gurning about, sweating, height of comedy mate. All the racists. Thankfully consigned to the bin by and large.

And that Spurs are a better/bigger/has a bigger dad club than Villa because they've been better/bigger/had a bigger dad for last 25 seconds, so there. And so on.

Its one of the best games by far this generation imo. One of my favourites ever, in truth.

Agreed! Indeed. Dredd meets Die Hard/the Raid by the looks of things. Still looks cheap to me (but then it is) and Urban doesn't quite convince me. But looks like it could be fun. Better than expected, anyway.

Glaston re-emerged in the main forum on the Kyle Naughton discussion, condescending and patronising the face off anyone who would listen.

I've spent the evening reading about Birmingham's history. I think that's testament to how things are right now for myself. For what it's worth, it was quite interesting reading - Brum has a surprisingly convoluted history given that it's a place that only came to serious prominence in the 300 years or so.

I read the book recently. It explains a few things I can't remember the film addressing particularly from the Star Gate onwards. Yeah I've heard the book goes on to explain more before - apparently Kubrick intended it to be more open to interpretation and be more ambiguous. Clarke was interested in telling a complete story, hence him apparently explaining the entire nature of the monolith. I think I like Kubricks' choice there. The monolith is far more enigmatic as this mysterious entity that recurs throughout space and time. I'd forgotten just how... creepy?... 2001 is in parts. I'm not sure what it is, but theres just something slightly unsettling about the whole film. The Shining, which obviously was intended to be a bit creepy (and I maintain it's a scarier film than the Exorcist ever was because of this), has a really similar feel to it. You feel uneasy watching both films, even when what you're seeing is pretty mundane. The second act of 2001, with the doctor visiting the space station and then the moon, has very little happen in reality and certainly nothing necessarily creepy, but I find it really uneasy watching. Repeat for the whole film.

If you know anything about the storyline Bane is most well known for (which we've already spoke about a lot), and have watched the latest trailer, you've nothing to lose reading the spoiler. I was just trying to be more coy for people who are in the dark about the film entirely.

'So, you know about him?' 'Of course... do you think he's coming back?' Probably going to be the launch trailer. More new footage, more nods to this and that... Looking better and better. I'm really liking the soundtrack as well. If you've kept in the dark on the film there are a couple of minor things in that that might be a bigger deal if you went in cold to the film (just a month away!) but nothing seriously major (unless you've literally not seen a thing about this). Nokia currently have some exclusive deal in place to host the trailer on their Youtube page, which actually seems to work against the trailer since someone else on Youtube was hosting it yesterday and had a better quality version... but hey, it's still a good trailer. It is now looking nailed on that Anyway, hype! I'm still not sure it's going to be a better film than TDK, but it's looking more and more like Nolan has decided to go balls out with this, I've said all along I expect it to be the weakest of the 3, I'm now starting to think it might be better than that...

My solution is providing my former lecturer's new email with a note that he taught me at Aberystwyth and has subsequently moved to a new role. They only seem to give a shit about employment related ones anyway if this application is correct.

Just discovered one of my usual references, a uni lecturer and my dissertation advisor, has actually left his position and buggered off to New Zealand. Given that he was never the best reference anyway I don't really want to try to get hold of him and say 'Hey, a couple of years ago I graduated and asked if you could be a reference, do you mind if I update your contact details?' as I doubt he'll have a **** clue who I am. I'm now scrabbling round trying to find another reference. Worryingly, I'm probably going to have to revert to my 6th form form tutor... Sigh...

Watched 2001 for the first time in a while last night. Nobody makes films like Kubrick did. May watch the Shining tonight to continue the Kubrick appreciation. In other movie news, reviews for new Spiderman film are dropping. Bit early to gather too much of a consensus on it but the Guardian liked it.

Sony might leave motion controls alone as the Move hasn't set the world on fire, but theres absolutely no chance Microsoft will. The next Xbox will have a new generation of Kinect either with it or available for it. The Kinect has made Microsoft too much money and they've invested too much in it to right it off (despite the fact it's bollocks, and I'd wager, will be for the foreseeable future...). And if it is bundled with it, all your favourite series will get motion features tacked on even more obviously.

Less bothered about the fact we'll lose to them (we simply are not good enough), and more that we'll be forced to watch that bloody Spain team. England are hardly exciting but **** hell, against Spain? Going to be such a dull, dull match.

In fairness the amount of soft frees in this game is staggering. Oh I agree with him, it's just funny that a guy who only a couple of months ago was managing for a living is so cynical about it all.

Mick McCarthy's cynicism knows no bounds, it's actually amusing listening to him whinge and moan about theatrics and the state of football today.

I just did the opposite and Croatia should have scored !!! I hope Croatia do beat them, Spain are so **** boring. It's the same shit constantly. Couldn't stand it any longer.

Switched to the Ireland match - I can't stand to watch Spain any more.

That half damn near put me to sleep.

I can only assume he was desperately trying to make things interesting.

Trailer for Dredd is coming Thursday apparently.

I ran into a surprising amount at uni, and have encountered a few online. They've seemed, to a man, to be arrogant, full of themselves pricks, aggressive, with a marked feeling of superiority over everyone who is not Croatian, and tinged with a nasty racism and misogny, and in most of the cases, morons. They basically, in my experience, appear to be a nation with a nasty chip on it's shoulder. Or maybe I just met 10 or so that are not terribly representative of the country. That, does not surprise me.

As a slight, and slightly facetious, rebuttal to Bilic, every Croatian I've ever had any contact with has been a hateful bastard.