tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6484518806423580782024-03-14T00:10:50.123-07:00OnewildZombies, rugby and random stuffonewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-53846807307756595162010-11-21T14:14:00.000-08:002010-11-21T14:35:26.980-08:00Zombie Review - The DeadAnd the blog is back from the dead! Resurrected if you will, yes that is two zombie puns in the first sentence. But I really haven't had much to say for the best part of 2 years. That or I'm really lazy. <br /><br />Anyway the other week, I went to see the zombie film The Dead, as part of Leeds film festival. A rather unique film in that it was filmed in Africa Burkina Faso to be precise. Now the story of the filming could have been a film in itself, the lead actor got malaria, their equipment took 5 weeks to get into the country on what was suppose to be a 6 week shoot, they got mugged and held at gun point at checkpoints lots.<br />The result is one of the most strikingly beautiful zombie films ever shot and makes a refreshing change from the scenes of urban decay that has dominated the genre since Dawn of the Dead. The African countryside is both beautiful and brutal, adding another survival element.<br />The plot is basically a journey, for one American soldier who has ended up in the middle of the uprising of the dead, all alone, trying to get somewhere which will enable him to escape. Along the way he meets other people, the main one been an African soldier who has deserted to go in search of his family. The film is acted well and there is not much to criticise in terms of plot apart from one scene that seemed out of character but this cannot be discussed without spoilers.<br />Another review I read of this called it Resident Evil 5 the movie, by this I can only assume he meant it was in Africa and featured zombies as it has nothing in common with the game, for a start the lead doesn't have to look after an annoying A.I control partner.<br />Overall this film is worth a watch and one of the best serious zombie films I have seen in quite sometime. Oh and the zombies are proper none running zombies. With some brilliant effects and sound effects of zombies walking on broken bones that are simply brilliant.onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-60640364306984209202009-07-28T14:29:00.000-07:002009-07-28T15:35:46.443-07:00Zombies: TransportYou know what a zombie is, you have your weapons and a decent plan. Now you need to consider your transport options, what follows is a run down of the main transport types you will have access to, with a few none so common ones thrown in at the end.<br /><br />General advice:<br />Ask yourself the following questions before you choose your mode of transport.<br />1. How far are you traveling? If it is long distance then something with good miles per gallon ratio is going to be needed to0 minimise fuel stops or even searching for fuel.<br /><br />2. How far into the zombie outbreak is it? If it is early and everything is going normal still, then it is going to be fairly straight forward to make it from A to B. However it is late in the day, i.e. zombies are at your door, then it is going to be difficult.<br /><br />3.How hard is it going to be to get fuel? Related to the above because one it is going to be risky stop for fuel, not only might the petrol stations be full of zombies but there is a high chance that the fuel will be all gone.<br /><br />4.What is your route? Again, deep into the zombie outbreak the main routes are going to be blocked with abandoned cars, some of which might contain zombies. Every car is a threat, especially if you are walking past them. Random zombies could grab at you and bite you, leading to your doom.<br /><br />Types of transport:<br /><br />Cars<br />Your bog standard car is the most likely method of transport. The problem is that they are designed for roads, and decent roads at that. They don't do fields well, as anybody who has been to a festival will testify, this is a problem when a road is likely to be littered with broken <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">erm</span> cars.<br />Not the best choice, but maybe your only one and if you are early enough to avoid the panic, it will do just fine.<br /><br />4x4<br />The vehicle that plagues the middle class school run. Mainly used by idiots who have never taken it anywhere near off road. But their time has come now, as most likely all the owners will be dead, you could get one fairly easy if you live in say <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Harrogate</span> or Chelsea. They can handle off road (assuming it is a decent model and not the just for show models). Better than a car but not by much.<br /><br />Trucks,lorries and buses<br />They are big, slow, poor mileage. In short useless, apart from for mobile fortress type missions (think the truck from Dad's Army). If used to escape, they will just turn into your grave.<br /><br />Motorbikes<br />Dirt bikes in particular are brilliant get away vehicles. They are quick, dirt bikes can go off road and light weight so can be pushed if necessary. Their negatives are that they offer no protection, one stray zombie arm and you are a goner, plus they have low mileage.<br /><br />Bicycle<br />They are quiet compared to the other things on this list, they are easy to maintain, mountain bikes can go off road with ease, they don't require fuel. The negatives are that unless you are a top bike rider or been taking a hell of a lot of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">EPO</span>, you aren't going to be able to travel huge distances in one go.<br />Overall the best one to go with, just don't forget safety, it would be sad if you <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">survived</span> the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">hoard</span> only to end up cycling over the end of a cliff.onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-73570680058287037412009-06-04T04:33:00.000-07:002009-06-04T05:03:51.978-07:00Things that just don't happen in gaming anymoreWhile waiting for my 360 to set off on its holiday to Germany, it got my thinking about the good old days of gaming and what we did then that no longer happens due to technological changes that have advanced games and consoles to what we have got now.<br /><br />1. Reliable consoles - Might as well start with the issue that has caused for this retrospective. When I get my 360 back from Germany, it will be my 3rd 360. My first died a death about a year and half after I bought it and now it's gone again.<br />The PS3 is also having issues, although nothing on the scale of the infamous RROD, before that the PS2 was also known to have reliability issues. The consoles I have owned before the 360 are the Master System, Mega Drive, PS1, N64 and a Gamecube, none of which ever broke down on me. Once you bought a console, you knew it was going to last until the next generation or until you got bored of it. None of these had to extend their warranties.<br /><br />2. Games on tapes - Oh yes kids, there was a time that games came on tapes, hell there was a time when music came on tapes, actually thinking about it, some of you might not even know what a tape is!<br />You had a tape player that was connected to your system, in my case it was a Commodore 64, and you would wait for about half an hour for the game to load up. Some games were so long that you had to flip the tape over. Now if you were really lucky you had a disc drive, (floppy discs of course, ones that were actually floppy) and had next to no load time, but we never did. Seriously when people complain about load times these days, they have no idea how bad it was back in the day of tapes, or even the CDs on the PS1.<br /><br />3. Blowing game cartridges to make them work - Oh yeah, back in the day of Master System, Mega Drives and then sometimes the N64, a game wouldn't work, the solution was simple, blowing down the connectors on the cartridge, put the game back in the console and it would normally work. Awesome.<br /><br />4. Passwords - Back before hard drives on consoles, before memory cards or even saving on cartridges was the humble password. It would often be a random mixture letters and numbers, coupled with this was the fact it was the time when you had to scroll through every letter and number using just up and down on your control pad. It would waste gaming time and if you got just one letter wrong when you had wrote down your password you would have to start the game all over again (this was the days before the internet, so you couldn’t just look it up).<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2"><br /></span>onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-72454364789518326782009-04-08T15:29:00.000-07:002009-04-10T17:09:09.972-07:00Last minute winsOne of the best things in sport, any sport really, is when one team snatches in the dieing moments. When a team somehow rescues the game from the jaws of defeat, often in moves that you only get when players are desperate from hail marys in American Football, goalkeepers going up for corners in football to wonderful 80 metres passing moves in Rugby League.<br />Here are some of my favorite last minute wins from rugby league. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Leeds Vs Bradford Millennium Stadium Cardiff. </span><br />Lets get this one out of the way first. The game was a rather strange one, for some reason both Leeds and Bradford forgot how to defend for most of it and try after try was scored. However Bradford seemed to have got win when, with only 2 minutes remaining, Leeds lost the ball in the tackle and a Bradford player picked it up. Bradford were leading by 2 points at this point.<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0Gf80CVX3M">Then this happened</a>.<br />Yep Steve Ganson robbed Bradford with not one, but two wrong decisions. However that didn't stop me from enjoying it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">St Helens Vs Bradford - Play off Elimination 2000</span><br />This is the only part of the game I have ever seen. All you need to know about this game is that the winner got to go to the final and the loser went home.<br />With just 10 seconds left on the clock the score is 11-10 to Bradford and the ball is deep in St Helens half.<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhGEldMGoSM&feature=related">Then St Helens produced this</a><br />Now it is simply known as Wide to West.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Queensland Vs New South Wales - State of Origin: Game one: 1994</span><br /><br />The biggest game in rugby league. It's the origin game between the two rugby league playing states of Austeria. These are the best players in the world, something like this shouldn't happen. With New South Wales winning 12-10 and once again the opposing side in their own half with hardly any time left on the clock.<br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0YDW-_kIGM">"That's not a try, that's a mircle!" </a>onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-3095586412325598502009-03-24T15:29:00.000-07:002009-03-24T16:48:35.850-07:00Best Sports FilmsWith the release of Damned United this Friday, which threatens to be the greatest football film ever (although lets face it, that wouldn't be too hard) I thought I would combine two of man's favorite things; sport and lists.<br /><br /><br />5. Field of Dreams (Baseball)<br />"If you build it, he will come. "<br />A story about a man, who builds a baseball field in his farm. The plot sounds daft, and really it is. However this is mainly a story about relationships, that of a father and son. By doing this it plays every right note and comes to a lovely conclusion.<br /><br />4. Children of Glory (Water Polo)<br />"Russians go home"<br />In 1956, Hungarian had the greatest water polo team in the world, unfortunately the Russians beat them as they control the refs. However they cannot do this at the Olympics and the team set about training for the biggest tournament of their lives. But the Hungarian revolution gets in the way and this is more a film about that than the polo, which really acts as book ends for the film. If the conclusion to this film doesn't have you shouting "Russik go home" at the end then you are either a) heartless or b) a commie<br /><br />3. Cool Runnings (Bobsledding)<br />"Are you dead man? No I gotta finish the race"<br />Yeah it's cheesy, but it's fun god dam it. I have watched it many a time and they still don't win :(<br /><br />2.Any Given Sunday (American Football)<br />"On any given Sunday you're gonna win or you're gonna lose. The point is - can you win or lose like a man? "<br />Ok I'm putting this in here just for Al Pacino's speech. But it's really good speech. The rest of the film is good as well though. Due to it's stop start nature, American footall leads itself to film rather well.<br /><br />1. This Sporting Life (Rugby League)<br />"We don't have stars in this game, that's football"<br />Hands down the greatest sports film ever. The rugby scenes are truely brilliant, you can feel the game as it is, well was, hard, fast and brutal but at the same time skillful. Yet the real story here is how the game is escapism from life of the working class.onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-11617706429217015232009-02-23T16:36:00.000-08:002009-02-23T16:53:51.476-08:00Leeds Rhinos season so farAnd we're off, well we were about three weeks ago when Leeds played their first game of the season, confusingly a round 4 game against the new boys.<br />Now I won't be reviewing the games because that has been done by better people than me both at <a href="http://www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague/news/"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">sportinglife</span></a> and for a more biased view, at<a href="http://www.southstander.com/news.php"> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Southstander</span></a>. In short we have won every game so far although far from convincingly, which really isn't a worry at this stage because it's the end of the season when the championship is won and not the start of it.<br />The <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">positives</span> for Leeds is their defence, they have only conceded 2 tries in 3 matches and both from kicks. The way that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">JJB</span> tackled the Hull KR player into touch on Friday is the perfect example of this, he had no right to make that tackle and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">especially</span> when there was only a few <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">minutes</span> to go and Leeds were 9 points up.<br />The <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">negatives</span> are that the attack is looking pretty flat at the moment but that could be down to early season <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">rustiness</span> and the fact we are missing a couple of our best attacking players due to injury.<br />So it's the World Club <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Challenge</span> this weekend, which will see Leeds take on Manly at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Elland</span> Road. For the first time the Aussie side is taking it seriously enough to come over in plenty of time to get used to both the weather and get over the jet lag, so no excuses this time.<br />In other rugby league news <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Wigan</span> are terrible again having lost 3 from 3, two at home. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Warrington</span> are also rubbish having given away the lead twice already this season and once again look like they are all big names and no team work.onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-65033262731678916342009-01-18T14:45:00.000-08:002009-01-18T15:26:10.310-08:00The rugby season is upon usWell actually it's a monthish away but it's one of the things I really like that I haven't shared with you. So I thought I would educate some of my none rugby league loving friends on the greatest game.<br />The basics of the game can be found here on the popular democracy of lies <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_league">wikipedia</a> but what that cannot explain is why I love this game, why every weekend (apart from when we are playing in France) I go to the game, home or away, rain or shine. (You seriously have to experience Hull away in the rain to know how committed you are to a cause)<br />Rugby League is fast sport full of skill and power and is a game that really has to be seen in full flow to be truly appreciated, it has the bone crunching tackles, beautiful free flowing passing movements and plenty of drama. A game can literally turn on its head in a blink of an eye if it close.<br />I follow Leeds Rhinos, who in recent times have had a fair bit of success (they have won 3 championships in 5 years) but before 2004 they hadn't won the championship for 32 years! That's longer than I have been alive and that day at Old Trafford was brilliant, there were grown men crying everywhere with happiness, as for a long time we had also bottled it but no longer. For some reason it seems that sport is the only place guys get away with crying, strange that.<br />We have earned the success we are enjoying now and I'm going to enjoy it aslong as it lasts.<br />Anyway that was a pretty basic post about league, expect more as the season starts.onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-38247779824615775562008-12-19T16:58:00.001-08:002008-12-19T16:59:45.566-08:00The serious spin offIs here! Well not really as there isn't much on there at the moment but it will be soon.<br />Here it is: <a href="http://onewildpart2.blogspot.com/">Onewild part 2</a>onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-5563462931696481822008-12-18T16:09:00.000-08:002008-12-18T16:20:44.296-08:002 Posts in one day maddness!However this is abit of a cop out post because all it is saying is that I'm thinking of starting another blog soon to run along side this one. Whereas this one will cover the important subjects of zombies, rugby and other random stuff. The other one will be a place to put my random thoughts that don't really sit well along side the theme of this.<br />When I get around to start it, you will see what I mean.<br />Bye for now.onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-36250435568738728592008-12-18T08:02:00.000-08:002008-12-18T08:41:16.106-08:00Zombie Plans: Best case sernerio<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic;">There are two kinds of people in this world, those with zombie plans and those without, we like </span><span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;">to call them dinner" </span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Zombie Plans<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></span></span>The above quote is from the zombie special of Red Vs Blue<span style="font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span>and never has a truer word been said by a Halo character. If you don't have your plan <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">erm</span> planned then you will end up as zombie dinner. So here are the basics that you should be looking at to make sure you live.<br /><br />Rule 1: Always be on the look out for news articles that may concern zombies. Unexplained disappearance, strange deaths from bites that sort of thing. If they start to become common then it is time to activate your plan.<br /><br />Rule 2: Have a safe place to run away to, if you are on the ball you will be able to get almost anywhere because you will know a good few days before the outbreak starts to break down society. This place should, if possible, be in a secluded place, have its own water source and a generator is always good. The first two of these are the most important.<br /><br />Rule 3: Get your food ready, tinned goods, bottled water for the journey and in case anything goes wrong with your water supply should also be bought in bulk. You might even be that far ahead of the game that you have time to go to the supermarket and do a shop. Remember nobody can reclaim credit card bills when there is a zombie outbreak. <br /><br />Rule 4: Travel in small groups, 5 max, if you are meeting more people, then arrange to meet them at the hideout. Large groups just make travel more complicated. If they don't turn up and your cannot get hold of them because the mobile phone networks have crashed don't go looking for them. It might sound harsh but it will save your life.<br /><br />Rule 5: Bring useful supplies only, travel light. Look at my weapons post for more info on weapons. So if you fail to get to your hideout before the main wave of zombies come you aren't going to be dragging a huge suitcase around full of pointless things like computer consoles, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">cd</span> players <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">ect</span>.<br /><br />Rule 6: Remember to bring some form of entertainment though. Boardgames, books, a pack of cards. If every person in a group of 5 brings 2 or 3 books then <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">that's</span> a lot of reading to be had. Hell you can even <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">pre</span>-pack your hideaway with all sorts of goodies.<br /><br />Rule 7: When you get to your hideaway, fill anything you can with water from the mains. The more water the better, you don't know how long this is going to last.<br /><br />Rule 8: Remember medical supplies. Also if you have a doctor friend bring them along. If they don't believe in zombies then tell them it is a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">surprise</span> holiday or something.<br /><br />Rule 9: Fortify your hideaway if possible. Add layers of defence, fall back points <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">ect</span>. A nice look out tower will prove useful too. To see both zombies and humans.<br /><br />Rule 10: Pack lots of condoms, one they are useful for keeping things dry if you have to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">abandon</span> your hideaway and walk to a new place. Also nobody wants to have a baby in the land of the dead. Although they might be useful for bait... (joke, please don't feed babies to the zombies)<br /><br />These are the basic rules, follow them and you will stand a good chance of living.<br /><br />Good Luck.<br /></div></div>onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-83831125919532289002008-12-14T13:24:00.000-08:002008-12-14T14:04:56.478-08:00My sporting review of the yearIt's the end of the year, which can only mean one thing, filler! Yeah it's the end of the year sporting review, well awards, as made up by me.<br /><br />Best Sporting Event - The Olympics, well it couldn't really be anything else now could it? 2 weeks of solid sport and British over achievement. And we finished above the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">aussies</span>!<br /><br />Best Sporting Event I was actually there for - Super League Grand Final. Brilliant stuff, with Leeds Rhinos winning against all the odds. Everybody already had the Red and White Ribbons of St <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Helens</span> on the trophy but Leeds had other ideas and the atmosphere was electric.<br /><br />British Sporting person of the year- Well it could be any of the cyclists really couldn't it but I'm going to go for Chris <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Hoy</span>. Don't really need to say more because the BBC said it all tonight.<br /><br />Foreign Sports Star of the Year -<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Usain</span> Bolt, no matter what Phelps did, he didn't jog the 100 metres in 9.69 seconds did he? Bolt made it look so easy, set 3 world records in the process. He won all that he could win (just like Phelps) but he did it with more style.<br /><br />Team of the Year - GB Cycling team. They dominated the world of track cycling like no other British team has dominated a sport. All but one person (poor old <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Cav</span>) won a medal at the Olympics, we won more medals on the track at the Olympics than everybody else put together. Shows the way forward for the rest of our sports, invest in the best and train them and they will give you the results.<br /><br />Comeback of the year - Has to be Wiggins and Super <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Cav</span> in the Madison. Needing to gain a lap to have any chance of winning the title with just 20 laps to go they stormed back to gain the lap and win the gold. The Manchester Velodrome was on fire (well looked like it on the telly anyway) and it set the tone for the year.<br /><br />Worst Team of the year - England <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">RL</span> team. They went down under full of confidence, only to scrape past <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">PNG</span>, be destroyed by the Aussies, throw away a 20 point lead against the Kiwis and then make a string of basic mistakes to rob themselves of a place in the final. The players made mistakes that they would never do playing for their clubs. It was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">embarrassing</span>.<br /><br />The "It couldn't happen to a nicer team award" - Basically put, the award for a team that is the most arrogant and they lost and it was fun to watch them lose. Before I get to the winner, honourable mention to the Ferrari F1 Team for their reaction after the last race of the championship, classic. Also an honourable mention to the St <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Helens</span> team before the Grand Final, despite talking about how they weren't going to go into the match thinking they had already won it, the reaction of James Graham scoring the first try showed the truth. However the award has to go to the Aussies <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">RL</span> Team. We were told they were the greatest team that had ever played the sport, they walked their way to the final and yet they lost in their own backyard. Brilliant stuff.<br /><br />The Personality of the year award- Not like the BBC one, this goes to a sports star that has a personality and it has to go to Mark Cavendish. After winning 4 stages of the Tour, every interview was a joy to listen to. A Brit with confidence! He knows he is good, he knows he is the best but he is the right side of the confident/<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">arrogance</span> line.<br /><br />Most <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">predictable</span> story of the year - <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Positive</span> drug tests in the Tour De France. This is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">threatening</span> to destroy the sport and the teams need to act now to cut it out or the tour will die.<br /><br />Most <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">surprising</span> story of the year - Lance Armstrong <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">announce</span> his comeback. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">WTF</span>! Why risk <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">ruining</span> the legend.onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-29948484517065750592008-12-08T12:26:00.001-08:002008-12-08T12:46:23.790-08:00Zombie Review: Left 4 Dead<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://quicksave.ru/uploads/posts/1208012583_img_3442_left4dead_450x360.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 206px; height: 154px;" src="http://quicksave.ru/uploads/posts/1208012583_img_3442_left4dead_450x360.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Left 4 Dead</span><br /><br />This is the most fun you will have playing co-op this year, even more fun than Gears of War 2, yes it's that good.<br />Ok now I have got the big statement out of the way here is my review and you are about to learn why I don't work for a computer game magazine.<br />First off don't buy this game if you have no friends to play it with, as it really is a co-op only game although you can play it with bots, it's just not as fun. The bots are good enough, for starters they never friendly fire and they will never leave a man behind however it's playing with your mates where this game comes into its own. What is more fun than mowing down zombies with your mates? In the world of computer games, almost nothing. Then when one of the special infected attack, screaming "Hunter" or TANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKK!" while everybody panics, it just gets better.<br />On to the game itself, with only 4 levels that take about one hour each to complete it isn't the deepest of games, however each level meets the standards that we have come to expect from Valve and each one has a unique feel and assuming that we are getting some DLC then we will be seeing some more top levels in future, hopefully involving vehicles, I mean how fun would it be with one person driving a truck while the rest have to kill the zombies chasing you!<br />Another slight flaw with the characters is that they are all basically the same, just with different skins, it would have been nice if there were some differences between them, like one could run faster or one could hold more than one med pack to add some more tactical elements to the game.<br />This is basically the game that any zombie fan has being wating for for the past, well ever, it maybe simple in it's appoarch, go from point A to point B while fighting off zombies but never has linear co-op been this fun. If you like zombies, have friends and a PC or 360 then buy this game. You will not regret it.onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-84358192124610087322008-11-29T13:44:00.000-08:002008-11-29T13:58:51.558-08:00Desert Bus For HopeWhat's the best way that you have ever heard of someone rising money for a worthwhile cause? Because I can pretty much grantee that it's not as good as this. Desert Bus for <a href="http://desertbus.org/">Hope</a>.<br />Now for those of you that do not know, Desert Bus is a game from the Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors game that involves the player driving from Tuscon to Las Vegas in real time. Yep in real time, it takes 8 hours, it cannot be paused and the bus veers to the right so the player cannot just tape the go button down.<br />Now these guys are playing it for charity, yes they are playing the most boring game over and over again. The more money that is donated the longer they play. They have already been at it for 20hours, oh and you can watch them do it if you really want.<br />The charity in question is called <a href="http://www.childsplaycharity.org/">Child's Play</a> that uses the money it rises to provide hospitals with games and toys for kids. Pretty worth while I think.<br />So next time a bloody "charity" worker in the street of Leeds to ask me for money, I'm going to point them in the direction of people like this, who actual give a toss about the charity they are helping and not just a commission they get for signing someone up. <br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span>onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-19114854332167345422008-11-19T14:29:00.000-08:002008-11-19T15:11:10.007-08:00Things that annoy me<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://pictures.directnews.co.uk/liveimages/Popcorn_627_18644108_0_0_4001996_300.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 111px; height: 148px;" src="http://pictures.directnews.co.uk/liveimages/Popcorn_627_18644108_0_0_4001996_300.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Here is a list of things that annoy me and why, most of these were brought on by a trip to the cinema yesterday to see the new Bond film.<br /><br />1. Popcorn - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ok</span> it's not popcorn but it's the popcorn in the context of the cinema. I can hear some of you now saying "But wait, popcorn is an important part of going to the cinema how can you hate it" Well it's because it's a snack that is bloody loud! Who thought that a snack that is loud when eaten was a good idea at a place where silence is required to fully enjoy the experience. Do they sell it at a library? no I thought not, at a funeral home, nope but for some reason it is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ok</span> to sell it at the cinema. There are plenty of snacks that don't make as much sound when eaten that they could sell at an inflated cost but not it has to be bloody popcorn!<br /><br /><br />2. People who talk all the way through a film at the cinema. If you want to do this do it at the pub not when you have paid to watch things. I don't mind if you talk through the adverts but through the whole film? fuck off. This goes for people who use mobile phones in the cinema as well, if you cannot life without your mobile for 90<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">mins</span> than you really need to take a good look at yourself.<br /><br />3. Finally to rugby union, no I'm not going to slag off the game itself, I think that the product does that well enough by itself. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Instead</span> I'm going to get stuck into the England fans who sing Swing Low Sweet <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Chariot</span> for some reason. It's a slave song and yet some of the poshest most upper class people thing it's a good song to support one of the most backward thinking organisations in English sport? I'm sure the irony is not lost on anybody but the fans who sit in the stands of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Twickenham.</span>onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-4893046054450075002008-11-08T16:13:00.000-08:002008-11-08T17:07:00.156-08:00Day of the Dead - ReviewsI had the pleasure of going to the Day of the Dead event today. What this entailed was going to the wonderful Leeds City Varieties at mid day and watching 5 horror films, the last of which finished at about 11.30. There was also a number of shorts, some where good (the animated one involving an old guy being sold a machine that could take him to heaven) some were <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ok</span> (Bitten, basically a zombie/werewolf/them things from descent type film), some were shit (Island, spooky going <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">ons</span> on <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">erm</span> an Island) and some just made no sense (a French one involving bowling)<br />Anyway here are my reviews of the 5 films I show today.<br /><br />The Disappeared<br /><br />This was about a lad who comes home from a mental hospital and tries to get on with his life following the disappearance of his brother. However he starts to hear and then see his brother all other the place and this starts him on a journey towards finding out what happened to him.<br />As you can tell from the description, the films plot is pretty basic and anybody who has seen any horror film in the last 10 years will see the twists from a mile off. However that is the film's weakest point, the acting is really good, especially Harry <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Treadaway</span>, who plays the main role (Matthew) and the direction (debut by Johnny Kevorkian) brings out all the right emotions in the viewer and nails the atmosphere.<br />3/5<br /><br />Nightmare Detective<br /><br />A Japanese film from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Tsukamoto</span> which is bloody bizarre. The plot revolves around two people who can go into people's dreams, one goes to help them and the other to kill them, well force them to kill themselves. All while a group of detectives try to catch the bad one.<br />The first 2/3<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">rds</span> of this film is really rather good, with the story been set and then played out at a good pace with some fine acting going on. However then the final act comes and it's a real big mess mainly because it takes place in the dream of the lady detective. This leads to it jumping about from location to location making it really hard to follow. <br />The film also has some <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">surprisingly</span> good bits of humour in it, even in the closing stages although it is debatable to whether this was intention or not.<br />If you can follow the final act there is a really good film hidden among the cracks.<br />3/5<br /><br />Mum and Dad<br /><br />This was introduced as the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Royale</span> Family (as in Jim not Charles) meets Texas Chainsaw <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Massacre</span> however I would prefer to describe it as behind the scenes of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Tubbs</span> and Edward's house in the League of Gentlemen. As you can imagine it's pretty messed up, putting a British spin on the '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Goreno</span>' genre.<br />It's very dark and although there isn't much graphic violence on screen compared to something like Hostel, it is still pretty <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">gory</span> or a better word might be brutal.<br />The film's USP is that the people carrying out the violence are a family that live in a normal house next to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Heathrow</span> and it really works quite well. Unlike Hostel, the characters are <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">developed</span> beyond the "we really like to kill people in horrible ways" and you get to experience the set up of the family and how they interact with each other. It is by far the best example of '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Goreno</span>' I have seen.<br />4/5<br /><br />Sexy Killer<br /><br />The plot of this horror comedy is that a girl, yes a girl, is the scary killer, she also happens to be sexy. Basic I admit but it does take one awesome twist in the final act that is simply brilliant and will please any but the most cold horror fans.<br />I have this to say about this film, it is the most I have laughed at the cinema in a long long time. It's brilliant fun, to those who said that <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">parody</span> is dead, well I present Sexy Killer. From the opening 5 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">mins</span> where it turns all the rules of horror on their heads to the very last shot, there are plenty of laughs. It references numerous Hollywood films along the way and does it in a way that makes sense and is funny, I hope the people who make the Epic films are taking notes.<br />It's really really fun, that's the best thing I can say about, go see it if you have a chance.<br /><br />5/5<br /><br />Martyrs<br /><br />Which brings me to the final film, now before I get stunk into this <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Kermode</span> style, let me fill you in on the hype that surrounded this. I was told by the guy who introduced it that it's one of the most <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">controversial</span> films ever and that people have walked out of it to be sick, personally I think they were just walking out though, as it's one of the worst films I have ever seen.<br />The plot revolves around a girl taking <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">revenge</span> on a family that kept her <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">captive</span> as a child before she escape. She is haunted by a demon thing that hurts her and then there is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">some more</span> crap that happens at the end.<br />Where as we saw earlier the British taking the '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Goreno</span>' genre and putting their <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">unique</span> spin on it by making it dark, here the French do what they do best and make something pretentious crap. Yes this film is trying to make a point with a torture porn film and not a very good one at that, at least Roth knows what makes these films (boobies and gore for anybody who doesn't know) Instead this film decides that it is better than anything else and is going to court <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">controverstry</span> where ever it goes (it does have some pretty horrible scenes in it). But it doesn't have the talent to pull it off, the acting is average at very best, the direction is by the books stuff (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Haneke</span> he <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">aint</span>) and the message is terrible and make no sense in relation to the title. Yes it follows the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">original</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">definition</span> of martyr (witness) but who uses the word in that context these days or in fact ever. They made a film called Martyr without a bloody Martyr in it!<br />Somehow this got a round of applause at the end. Those people cleanly weren't watching the same film as me or the people set next to me. If you want clever meaningful violence watch 'Funny Games', if you want to see something new on the '<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Goreno</span>' theme, watch 'Mum and Dad' and if you just want plain old boobies and horrible violence watch 'Hostel'. However if you want pretentious wank that has no meaning no matter how much it pretends to, watch Martyr.<br />0/5<br /><br />Apart from the last film I had a really good day and in the end even that film has let me vent. I will be going next year given half the chance, hope some of you can join me there!onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-20617049545785684782008-10-31T16:43:00.000-07:002008-10-31T17:38:44.966-07:00Zombie Review : Dead Set<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.e4.com/media/8D25943D-F99C-4D4E-8488-F42C810523B9_extra.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 192px;" src="http://www.e4.com/media/8D25943D-F99C-4D4E-8488-F42C810523B9_extra.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br />From time to time I will be reviewing zombie related media, whether that be films, T.V shows, games <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ect</span>. This is the first zombie review and what better place to start than the Charlie <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Brooker's</span> Dead Set.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Dead Set<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></span>Dead Set has just finished its week long run, 5 episodes, the first of which was one hour and the rest 30 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">mins</span> on E4. The plot revolved around a group of people trying to survive a major zombie outbreak, the twist was that it was based around the Big Brother house. Lets just stay here for a moment because I want to say what a brilliant idea this is, think about it, the contestants in BB have no contact with the outside world so when the outbreak starts they are left clueless and only find out when one of the girls (Kelly) from the studio escapes into the house and even then they don't believe her until one of the zombies charges in.<br /> This leads me to the ultimate <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">criticism</span> of this show, the zombies run, there I have said it, I hate running zombies and I plan to come back to this subject at the later date.<br /> This aside I thought <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Brooker</span> missed a trick here because the contestants went from thinking Kelly was insane to believing her in the space of 5 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">mins</span>, I thought this area could have been <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">developed </span> a bit further to allow the characters to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">develope </span>without the threat of the zombies down their necks, even if it was just for another 10 mins or so.<br /> Moving on to the characters themselves. The contestants were just what Big Brother contestants are, 2D sterotypes and Brooker never manages to break them out of this mold, all of them remain dull and uninteresting and you really don't care if they live or die. Maybe this was his point? but I really think he wanted them to brake typecast, evidence of this can be seen when the transexual turns out to be a paramedic or when they are discussing how to take care of a problem member of their group. In fact this charge of 2D characters can be made at all the cast with the exception of Kelly.<br /> It says something about the character developement when the most memoriable characters are basically extras. The coppers and Lisa, a woman who teams up with Kelly's boyfriend (he is standared in the middle of nowhere and trying to make his way to her). The coppers opened up questions about authority in a world where there is no law but their time is tragically short and the issues are never really explored as we head back to the house for more time with the housemates.<br /> Then there is Lisa, whose back story is more seems to be more interesting than all the other characters put together, maybe it's because her script allows her to act as she delivers a brilliant speech about surival and having to blow your best mate's head off. I wanted more screen time with her and learn more about her, if only Brooker had spent as much effort with the rest of the cast as he did with her then I might have found myself caring about them.<br /> The violence in Dead Set was suitably awesome for a zombie film, from Kelly bashing in a zombie's head with a fire extishger to the ripping apart of a victim it was stuff to match any zombie film that has preceeded it. So in this aspect it was not a let down.<br /> Then there was Brooker's none too subtle message, just like the racism in Night of the Living Dead or the consumerism in Dawn, Brooker used his zombie show to deliver that message that people who watch Big Brother are idoits. However it is delieved with all the subtlity of someone smashing you in the face with a brick what has the words "Big Brother is shit" stamped on it. From zombies watching the housemates on a tv to the final shots, the message is too overt for this zombie fan. The same message is delievered better in the short film <a href="http://www.detainedthemovie.com/">Detained</a> (a cracking little zombie film, you should all check it out, it's free as well!)<br /> Having said all this though, it was entertaining and worth a watch for any zombie fan. It does trick the right boxes when it came down to the violence and the end game, after all character devoplement really doesn't come into it when hundereds of zombies are chasing the contestants all over the place, it just means you are cheering for the zombies instead of the humans.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-65159601484795410512008-10-24T15:54:00.000-07:002008-10-24T17:04:08.196-07:00Zombies: WeaponsIn this installment I will be discussing what the best weapons are for fighting the walking dead from the prospective of a British person. <br />However first I will cover the number one rule when facing zombies, don't engage them in combat unless it's 100% necessary. Remember rescuing pets is not 100% necessary and will only land you in trouble.<br />So time for a run down of the different types of weapons.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Guns</span><br />Really not an issue for the average Brit because we don't have easy access to guns so it is unlikely you will have one at hand in the event of a zombie attack. Unless you have access to them through the army, police, local crime lords or you are just a farmer.<br />However if you happen to be one of the lucky few that does have access to firearms here then this will be your primary zombie killer because it can be used at range. With lots of ammo, a well trained person with a gun can kill <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">alot</span> of zombies.<br />This brings up another important point about guns, don't even bother trying to use one if you have no training because you won't be able to hit jack shit.<br />Now for a quick run down of the different types of guns and their uses against zombies.<br /><ol><li>Machine guns - pretty much the worse sort of gun you can use against zombies because they are designed spray as many bullets as possible over a battlefield in the quickest amount of time. Thus they lose accuracy , making <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">headshots</span> next to impossible.<br /></li><li>Semi-automatic - The best zombie killer when coupled with a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">disciplined</span> shooter. They kill lots of zombies in a short space of time, accurate over long range too.<br /></li><li>Shotguns - Short range stopping power only but they can save you in a tight spot but they do take up lots of room so consider this if you have to make a long journey.<br /></li><li>Pistols - If you do come across gun in Britain, it will most likely be a pistol. Unfortunately studies have shown that of all wasted ballistic damage done to zombies 73% are caused by handguns. (source - zombie survival guide) However they are useful if you are grabbed by a zombie, you cannot really miss from point blank and because they are light they are worth taking along.<br /></li></ol><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blunt objects<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span></span></span></span><br />The goal when using a blunt object is to crush the brain and because the skull is one of the hardest parts of the human body, after all its job is to protect the brain, it is hard to do this. It has to be done with one blow as well because at close range you don't get a second chance.<br />With this in mind the best things to look out for are crow bars (as half-life has shown) as they are light, durable and have multi-propose. The cricket bat is also very useful (as Shaun of the Dead has shown) and is very common in Britain, just make sure it's a wooden one, as plastic quick cricket bat will do nothing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Blades<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> There are not really many blade objects laying around your average house that will make much difference against a zombie (i.e. knives) however swords can be useful for chopping off bits. You don't even have to kill the zombie, chop off its legs and it can no longer walk, arms and it cannot bait you and chop off the head and it just becomes a head on the floor that is easy to avoid.<br />You have to keep them sharp.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fire<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span>Any form of fire is a bad idea against zombies because a zombie on fire is still alive. All you do when you use fire is a)create a zombie on fire b) unleash fire in your environment giving you none zombie<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>related<span style="font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>danger<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span> </span></span>as fire spreads and will endanger you.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Power Tools<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>They may look cool in films (brain dead, Evil Dead 2 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">ect</span>) however in real life they are pretty much useless as zombie killing machines. Not only are they big, they also need power so only have finite use. They are also very <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">noisy</span>, bringing every zombie within ear shot down on you. A weapon for the films only<br /><br />Well that's a quick run down of weapons, if you have any questions concerning weapons feel free to leave a comment below. But always remember, it is better to no confront them at all, if you can run away do so.<br /><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span><br /></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span>onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-56385683320666792232008-10-22T10:13:00.000-07:002008-10-22T11:00:34.546-07:00Atheism and bendy busesI don't know how many of you have seen <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7681914.stm">this</a> but don't worry, I'm not about to go into an anti-religious rant, if you believe in a god or not that is your business as long as you're not hating on people because of it.<br />Instead I'm going to highlight this quote, from Stephen Green of Christian Voice<br />"Bendy-buses, like atheism, are a danger to the public at large."<br />How brilliant is that? Is he attacking the notion of atheism or the notion of bendy buses because I'm sure they were invented by an evil atheist with the following thought process "You know what will make people stop believing in God, Bendy Buses because they are so evil that they could only be invented in a godless world"<br />Now lets tackle the issues of this statement in a semi serious manner I said this was not going to be an anti-religious post to the bendy buses. Where it seems that there is more evidence of their danger, in fact a young lad was killed by one in <a href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23416238-details/The+bendy+bus+that+grated+a+man+to+death/article.do">London. </a>As sad as this is, one death doesn't make a whole mode of transport dangerous, as a spokesman said for London transport <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/oct/10/transport.world">"Fatalities are extremely rare - one fatality for every 100 million miles operated</a><br />However there was a greater concern when 3 buses caught fire in the space of 3 months in <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/3563279.stm">London</a> but it the problem was found and then fixed in the fleet. We also have these buses in other parts of Britain, we have them in Leeds in fact and not once I have I read an angry letter about them in the Evening Post and the people who write to that paper will complain about anything.<br />In summary I think it's fair to say that bendy buses are not a danger to the public, well not more so than any other type of transport.<br />I will leave the atheism comment for another day but for now I will leave you with the <a href="http://www.christianvoice.org.uk/index.html">Christian Voice website</a> and let you decide whose side you will be, theirs or the bendy buses.onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-3468280609632628762008-10-17T15:16:00.000-07:002008-12-22T14:33:09.487-08:00Zombies : An Introduction<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.wunderland.com/WhatsNewPics/2007/MarconTrip/ZombieMarch4.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.wunderland.com/WhatsNewPics/2007/MarconTrip/ZombieMarch4.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Zombies!!!!!!!</span><br />I promised them and here they are! This is an introduction to my favorite creature of horror, better than werewolves, vampires and witches.<br />The Oxford English Dictionary definition of a zombie is <span style="font-style: italic;">1. a corpse supposedly brought back to life by witchcraft. 2. a lifeless or completely unresponsive person </span> <br />We are dealing the first part of this, the whole corpse thing however I'm going to add something to this and that is that zombies can be brought back to life by science as well as witches. For evidence of this refer to Night of the Living Dead and Shaun of the Dead where it is implied a satellite crashing and releasing something into the atmosphere caused the recently dead come back to life.<br />In short a zombie is a walking dead person who wants to eat the living, not just humans once again Night of the Living Dead shows us that zombies will eat animals if need be.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Detail<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>Now it's time to go into detail about what a zombie is and what it is capable of. In this section I will be referring heavily to the Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks (a book that I highly recommend if you want to survive) as well as anything I have learned from "films" about the living dead.<br /><ul><li>Sight - A zombie's eyes are the same as a humans'. They can spot prey from the same distances that a human can. However it is unknown if they use their sight to distinguish humans from other zombies, Shaun of the Dead demonstrates this theory when they successfully get past a horde by pretending to be zombies. However this course of action is NOT recommended.</li><li>Hearing - They have good hearing and can use sound to determine direction.<br /></li><li>Smell - Many believe that smell is how the undead detect humans that are <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">among</span> them (hence why pretending to be a zombie is not a wise move). This could explain why even zombies with poor eyesight or no eyes at all can still move in on prey. With the exception of Shaun of the Dead films back up this <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">assumption</span>.<br /></li><li>Feeling - They have no sense of pain, this is why the can carry on even after they have suffered injuries that would kill a human. This is one of the reasons they are so formidable because pain cannot stop them.<br /></li><li>Decomposition - A zombie is able to "live" for around 3-5 years before decomposing so much that they are no longer a threat. They are dead so they have no way of fighting off the things that cause of decomposition.<br /></li><li>Fluids - They don't have blood or other bodily fluids, well they do, it's just useless and will eventually congeal. This is an advantage to humans because it means there is no risk of infection from getting zombie blood on you. See many zombie films for evidence of this as the people get blood on them but rarely turn. It is only bites that can cause <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">zombification</span>.<br /></li><li>Speed - Now this is an issue I'm going to come back to but in short zombies are slow due to rigor <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">mortise</span> and the like setting in. They CANNOT RUN. If you think they can then get the hell off my blog! </li></ul>Now for the most important thing, you kill a zombie by <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">destroying</span> the brain! Got for the brain, these things aren't vampires, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">decapitation</span> will not kill them but just make their heads into biting land mines.<br /><br />And that's it for now. Although zombies will be returning in future posts.onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-648451880642358078.post-18900481366823647152008-10-15T16:38:00.000-07:002008-10-15T17:03:09.860-07:00KNTV ShowIs the best educational show ever.<br />Ok now that I have got that bold statement out there I'm going to tell you what the hell it is, well no I'm not, why should when the internet can do it for me. To the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_KNTV_Show">wiki.</a><br />The reasons why it's brilliant is because of it's format, which mixes crazy Eastern European hosts, you've been framed and education.<br />Lets face it, who doesn't find Eastern Europe accents done by English actors funny. They also make songs up about the subject for the end of the show and then rock out to them. So not only does it promote learning through humour but also promotes the use of instruments to make music, shocking in the age of X-factor.<br />Then we move onto the you've been framed style videos. Now it's not the videos themselves that make it funny but the voice over that is telling you about the scientific or philosophy theory while these videos are going on. Like discussing Einstein's Theory of Relativity and talking about moving fast enough to time travel (relativity of course) while showing a clip of old Eastern European Women having a race. Genius.<br />Then there is education, well it teaches you all about the basic ideas of the subject of the show. The philosophy ones are my favorite and I really think I would have got a better grade in philosophy if these guys had taught me.<br />In short if you happen to have a week day off and get a chance to watch this, you own it to yourself to watch it, if only to learn about the last European Commie state, Slabovia!onewildhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16008941530737983850noreply@blogger.com0