Age Backstage

Screwed up colours on old PC games. Starcraft, Gangsters, Age of Empires etc

2011-08-26T17:53:00.000+01:00

So some of us out there all have those old games from the days of windows 98 that we still enjoy playing every now and then for nostalgias sake. However, because of the advancements in operating system compatibility it a real issue. It can really make break the desire to play the games - and that's if the game even runs on the machine!

Gangsters: Organized Crime is one of those games for me. I loved it back then and I still do now.

I'd played on my Vista laptop a while back and it worked fine then but now it was time to test it on the 64bit Windows7 machine. It installed but the colours were all fuxed up.

I found a solution! I read the same thing happened to Starcraft and so after a little google search I found a starcraft soloution which also works for Gangsters as well. Age of Empires II as well probably.

The solution ( Starcraft Windows 7 and Messed Up Colors [Resolved] by FiggyG ) said this:

This issue affects Vista as well, although a right-click on the shortcut and in the compatibility settings selecting disable desktop composition fixes it. Windows 7 has a much tougher time. I have tried all of the compatibility settings, and none of them worked. As it turns out, the taskbar being always on top uses up colors from the 256 color palette in Starcraft. Thus you end up with teal and other nasty discolorations. The fix is turning off Explorer for the duration of the game. I use a batch file for this purpose that turns explorer off, then back on when you exit the game. Credit goes to members from SevenForums.com for trying a fix for Worms that happens to work with SC as well Of course, edit this to your location of StarCraft:
Code:

taskkill /f /IM explorer.exe
C:\Games\Starcraft\Starcraft.exe
start explorer.exe
You can stop reading if you know how to make batch files. This is for everyone else:

Copy the text in the above code box, then open Notepad. Paste it, and modify the code to where your Starcraft executable is. Watch out for spaces (if you need a space use quotes, eg: C:\"Program Files"\Starcraft\Starcraft.exe or C:\"Program Files (x86)"\Starcraft\Starcraft.exe for those 64-bit users out there.) Go to save the file, under Save As Type, select All Files, then type in "Starcraft.bat" or well, anything as long as it has the .bat. Save it to your Desktop. Double-click on your newly created batch file and you should be golden. If you have a different fix, please share

Note: If "text documents" is selected, it will place a .txt after the .bat making it not executable. Eg, StarCraft.bat.txt is very bad.

So I made a batch file (.bat) for Gangsters and I'm happy to say it works. My code reads as follows:

taskkill /f /IM explorer.exe
C:\"Program Files (x86)"\"Hothouse Creations"\Gangsters\gangsters.exe
start explorer.exe

I just thought I'd post this up on a more "permanent" or stable place on the internet for others to find if they wish to play their old games like I did.
If anyone finds this helpful then feel free to post a comment. :)

Tags: Hothouse Creations Gangsters Organized Crime Game Compatibility Windows 7 Colour Solution Fix

I ran gangsters and the colours were screwed up.

Nostalgia: Part 01

2011-03-12T03:29:00.002Z

I was clearing through some stuff and found this old skool puzzle.

wow that reflection added on by my phone is pretty lame.

HTC Desire

2011-02-17T07:34:00.001Z

Just wanting to test out the Blogger application really.

In other news; work on our 2nd year film for university is going well. I feel the film is very strong and that the team is more than capable on getting it made well. That's not to say it won't be difficult because it will, we know this - but I think it's all about planning ahead and that's what we do at our weekly production meetings.

We've had a lot of positive feedback on our animatic and currently we're working on the environments that the story takes place in. I came up with an interior layout design last week so I'm doing a bit of 3D modeling. Good times!

2011; a new year.

2011-01-24T07:57:00.003Z

Mood: Stressed
Music: Silénce

A New Year, a time for more stress. I'm working on alot of stuff and I have quite alot of updates to make, but at this ridiculous time in the morning I thought I'd procrastinate some more and post a little video clip (little being the operative word) of something I actually enjoy working on.

Made for an AfterEffects project at university. This is just a quick test using assets from my concept art.

Perseids 2010

2010-08-13T04:46:00.008+01:00

Mood: Peaceful
Music: Bear McCreary - All Along The Watertower.mp3

So it's that time of year again, August, which not only means a few birthdays I need to remember but it also means it's time for the Perseids meteor shower!

That's of course if the weather isn't shite. Fortunately for me the skies cleared around 1am, perfect timing really. If the worse came to the worse though I would have probably a little bit of NASA's live stream/coverage.

For those that aren't aware, the Perseid's meteor shower occurs every year for about a month. However the best time to see them during it's peak is around the 2nd week of august (varies year by year).
At the right time providing it's dark enough and if you're looking vaguely towards the constellation Perseus you could see anywhere from 125 - 175 meteors an hour. The best ZHR (zenithal hourly rate) for 2009's shower at it's peak on the august 13th it was 173.
EDIT: This year is was 142 zhr on august 12th.

I was plesantly surprised about the community side to the shower.

Many astronomy clubs also hold special observing events during the Perseids. This year, the Newbury Astronomical Society is hosting the first-ever Twitter Meteor Watch, encouraging Tweeps (or twitter-ers) to tweet real-time observations and images. While it is originally a U.K. event, Newbury AS is calling for continued observations across the globe in hopes of creating an international Perseids party

Basically you tweeted your area code, country and the numbers of meteors you'd seen. All those tweets were then converted into map data, then placing those figures on a customised twitter feed map.

After getting the crap scared out of me by a fox (don't ask) I started taking photos in the back garden. I took a ton of photos but they were all fruitless. My aim next year is to take some photos of the Perseids and then perhaps after then get some GOOD photos! I know this won't help me a whole lot because I need a better camera.

Some links:

Perseids party

Space weather radio! Ping!

Stellarium - Fantastic free astronomy software

One last thing before I go, check out this purely EPIC meteorwatch trailer. I found it whilst surfing the net for more info on the perseids.

lol mad huh?

Beacon across the Pond

2010-07-16T01:16:00.004+01:00

Mood: Tired
Music: Thom Yorke - Analyse.mp3 ["The Eraser" 2006]

Hello world.

I've been away from the computer more than usual, in fact I guess you could call it a holiday away. It's summer, the plants are a vibrant green, the air is warm (and filled with grass pollen ¬_________¬) and I've been trying to make the most of what's around me.

So needless to say I've been sketching more but mainly while in the garden at home, coolin' on the scene like a horse in a stable.

Anyway, I'm in love with the pond right now, it's a main feature in the garden and it's looking pretty sweet right now - especially with the waterfall going. Anyway, I doodled the lighthouse in the middle of that waterfall. I've included a comparison photo. I'm quite happy with it, shame the sun had pretty much set by the time I painted it.

Click the image to enlarge.

It's fun playing with watercolours but I think I need to push myself more with the drawing.

....and yes, that is a T-Rex brawling with a Tricerotops. ;D

The Creative License

2010-07-02T10:23:00.002+01:00

Mood: Happy
Music: RJD2 - Ghostwriter.mp3 ["Deadringer" 2002]

Trying to be more creative and remove the barrier that's stopping me from drawing and being creative with my time in general. I bought a book by artist Danny Gregory...

I was only a few pages in when this quote really stuck with me;

Click the image to enlarge it.

So far so great, it's lighthearted, practical and makes alot of sense. Just working on some of the earlier exercises at the moment. I've done a few of these before in university but it's a really good idea to go back to them every now and then, train the eyes and really concentrate without looking at the paper too much.

If you've been feeling frustrated lately for whatever reason then why not take up drawing again. Start seeing the world for what it really is to you, record your experiences.

What I really like about this book so far is it's emphasis on appreciating what you have around you. Taking the time here and now to look at the your world and to really see what there is. Taking a closer look. Not only that but stepping outside your zone and experiencing new perspectives. Being openminded.

"There are no bad drawings. Drawings are experiences. The more you draw the more experienced you'll get. Infact, you'll learn more from bad or unpredictable or weird experiences than from those that go exactly as you'd hoped and planned. So let it go."

This book should be found in all great bookstores, I bought mine from this one, amazon.co.uk.

Sketchbook 01 Pages 16 & 18

2010-07-02T02:29:00.003+01:00

Mood: Good
Music: Thom Yorke - Analyse.mp3 ["The Eraser" 2006]

Been drawing more this week, infact a watercolour experiment is drying as I type this. The past two evenings have been so nice and warm that I've gone out with a book and my sketchbook determined to draw something. Well I did.

Page 16: I fudged up the perspective on the the right hand side of the wall, shame but nevermind. As usual I used a uni-ball Signo Gel Grip 0.7 a favourite of mine. Quite free flowing when needed but it can produce some light strokes.

Page 18: A statue surrounded by trees in town. I didn't want to over complicate it by drawing the folliage behind the statue so I kind of ghosted it? It's Okay, but I messed up the figure a bit. Drew over alot of lines. I'd clean it up if I thought it was worth it, same goes for page 16.

I'm enjoying the process though, I'm trying to get back to retraining my brain so I actually concentrate on what I'm seeing and not what the analytical side of my brain (left) thinks it's seeing.

The Good, The Bad and the Creative

2010-06-28T03:38:00.007+01:00

Mood: Chilled
Music: Soulfly - Staystrong.mp3 ["Dark Ages" 2005]

Partly inspired by Red Dead Redemption but mainly inspired by a suggestion I decided to manipulate a photo I took last week. The photo is of my Dad relaxing during the middle of walking the dogs that day. We were actually waiting for one to turn up lol.

It's not a particularly great photo I don't think, though I do like it. I was quite pressed for time with this manipulation, that and I was drawing with a mouse (the hat looks silly) but excuses aside I'm just happy I was creative in some way. :)

World Cup 2010: England vs Germany FT

2010-06-27T16:57:00.011+01:00

Mood: Good
Music: nothing

England 1 - 4 Germany

Well there you have it, England are knocked out of the African World Cup in the Quarter Finals by Germany and rightly so. We (england) have a very crap side this period of time round. Nevermind :)

Fortunately for me I'm not so deeply patriotic that my interest in the world cup will die here and now. I'm not big football fan, I don't watch the premier league, or the champions league I fell out of that when I was about 12 or 13. Thankfully.

However when the european tournament and world cup roll around then I make it habit to watch every match that I can because to be honest, I love it. It's a couple of weeks of ups and downs and it really makes a change to nothing being on TV. I'm actually thinking of looking into the other continental tournaments (Africa, America, Asia etc)

Maybe it's just me but these international and continental tournaments are more than just 11 men trying to get a ball inbetween two posts, they bring alot of people together giving them genuine enjoyment, something to talk about, and something to to get behind that breaks up the humdrum of normal life. It's a hell of alot better than Big Brother.

World Cup 2010 - England vs Germany HT

2010-06-27T15:54:00.009+01:00

Mood: Tense
Music: nothing

OH MY F-KING GOD.

Well, firstly I have to admit that our team (england) are pretty crap at the moment. There's no denying that, bothered by injury and bad luck. Also there's more than an air of discontent within the team probably due to John Terry's antics and the reprocussions of Gerrard being the new captain.

So it was enevitable when Germany scored, even when they scored their second goal. But then 37 minutes in Upson heads in a surprisingly good cross from Frank Lampard (if I remember rightly).

A minute or two later Lampard lubs the ball past the keeper and hit the crossbar causing it to bounce into the goal. The referree motions to play on, no goal.
But what he and his inept assistants failed to see was that the ball hit the ground a foot behind the line.

IMAGE OF "CURRENT MOMENT TRAVESTY" lol

It should be 2 - 2 at half time, sadly it remains at 2 - 1 to Germany.

The only highlight to all this is "watching" the game through the tweets that are popping up on twitter's world cup featurette.

I can't see England winning, but there I've been saying that for days.

The Start of Summer 2010

2010-06-17T16:07:00.005+01:00

Mood: Okay
Music: nothing

So yeah.. it's been a while.

I'm not gonna kid myself and say "Hey guys, I've rediscovered my blog for about the 4th time am so gonna write in it everyday!". That's just not how I roll it seems. I'm always online so I'm always going to have some sort of web presence, it's not like i'm gonna forget this place and never post again so please follow it. I'm more likely to tweet something than post here.

I'm thinking out loud here but in the not tooooo distant future I aim to have my own website up and running again and actually put a website on it with a blog and art stuffs. With an email address I can finally be happy with and call "home". A permanent email address I like. Although chances are I'll double post here and on there. Maybe even post old posts. Who knows.

Anyway.. I'm now on my summer break after my first amazing year at university and for the first time in a little while I don't feel guilty about not really doing anything. Anything productive anyway. The African World Cup is currently on (Greece 2, Nigeria) and I've watching most of it. I do like the world cup and european tournements.

I've also been playing a ton of Red Dead Redemption on my Xbox360 (gamertag: age2009) but it is getting to the point where I need to make something. Next year is going to be tough and I need to improve my perspective drawing skills, my time management and dabble in more 3D modelling and rendering as I haven't done that since January.
So in my head I have a few goals already for summer.

I have an A6 plain paged notebook that I draw in and I'd like to get into the habit now of drawing something everyday, don't particularly care what, even if it's a pretty naff doodle then that would be something but at the moment I can't seem to get motivated. So today looking for some resources on creative thinking and ideas I found three very good things.

1: creativity-portal.com's Imagination Prompt Generator ~ geared at creative writing
2: creativity-portal.com's I365 Creative Pictures Prompts ~ visual stuffs to inspire
3: Leah Kolidas's Creative Everyday Challenge ~ inspiration injected through email

If i give this a go then I'll post the pictures up here. :)
Hope you have a great week.

University!

2009-05-25T15:59:00.005+01:00

Mood: Great
Music: nothing

It's been a busy busy 9 months. Infact I've got to be honest, I've not updated much but there are a lot of post from September to November that I haven't posted because... well... lets just say I have a health issue that seems to be fine now but not everyone knows about it. :)

Anyway, a brief summary of since my Christmas post:
- I applied for uni.
- Worked for weeks on a portfolio.
- Worked on a website for a school/nursery.
- Got screwed with (A LACK OF) payment for afformentioned website.
- Had an interview for university
- Dropped my 49g Creative Zen Touch :(
- Spent a month with Briony.

And I have good news - I got into uni! I've been given an unconditional offer for the University of Hertfordshire's 2D Animation course! I can't wait to start. :D
I plan to get as much experience in life drawing & 3D modelling as I can this summer along with manking a proper portfolio website for myself and Briony.

We went to the MCM expo the saturday just gone, it was pretty good actually - perhaps I'll post some pictures of the great costumes that people were wearing.

Speaking of conventions, expos and conferences; I'll hopefully be volunteering at this year's Flash on the Beach in Brighton - or maybe if I'm lucky attending without volunteering. Either way it's going to be awesome.

Merry Christmas 2008!

2008-12-24T00:01:00.001Z

Merry Christmas everyone!

courtesy of superdickery.com

Open letter to those in the know*

2008-11-08T14:04:00.000Z

Mood: H'okay
Music: none

Hey!

So, I don't really have a great deal to say here because what I want to say is pretty simple. I kept you in the dark because, well, we've all got busy lives and enough on our plates, the last thing you need is something else to concern you.

Seeing as I know the facts now changes it all slightly. I'm telling you because I thought you should know. I'm not concerned too much, I don't feel any different and I intend the future to carry on as normal so there's no need to worry. This is assuming you would in the first place haha. I don't want this to sound big headed or anything.

So yeah that's about it.

*for those not in the know; you don't need to know. :)

What the Future Holds

2008-11-04T23:55:00.008Z

Mood: Good
Music: none

Other than feeling like shit because I didn't get much sleep it's been a very good day.
Highlights include good news, mince pies and spending the afternoon with Briony. Particularly a trip to Toys R Us, haha! Moreo n all that in another post. The best day I've had in quite a while.

It's 11:38pm and in about 20 minutes the first lot of votes will be coming in from polling stations in the United States. 2008, an epically important presidential election. There's a real sense of history changing. Personally I hope Barrack Obama defeats John McCain comfortably but I worry at the same time. It seems the american population is an unpredictable bunch. Around 2004 no-one liked George W Bush and yet.. 4 years later here we are.

So I'm concerned that even though Obama is leading in the polls people will just vote McCain for the familiarity of not only a white president (why would anyone be scared of Barrack Obama?) but also the fuckups and attitude of the Republicans. I also worry he's going to get assassinated. And even as I type this I'm getting a sense of danger, like I'm going to get in trouble for mentioning it. I hate to rely on stereotypes but I really don't want some redneck fucko screwing things up.

I think America needs Barrack Obama, whether they know it or not. They do. And because the US is the power that it is; I think the world needs Barrack Obama.
According to a pundit? on the BBC coverage Barrack Obama ideally needs Virginia, Indiana and Pennsilvania. Just have to wait and see.

I'll be keeping an eye on the BBC's coverage tonight/this coming morning.

EDIT 01:07am GMT - Pennsilvania [D]
After McCain holding 8 - 3 for nearly an hour these results storm through.

Obama - Democrat
103
McCain - Republican
34

EDIT: 02:03am GMT - New York [D]

Obama - Democrat
175
McCain - Republican
61

EDIT: 02:40am GMT - Ohio [D], Texas [R]

Obama - Democrat
200
McCain - Republican
124

EDIT: 03:58am GMT - Moments before the West Coast polling stations close.

Obama - Democrat
207
McCain - Republican
141

EDIT: 04:02am GMT - California [D], Hawaii [D], Oregon [D], Washington [D], Idaho [R].

Obama - Democrat
297
McCain - Republican
145

Barrack Obama is the 44th American President. This is a very historic day.
=D

Legotrip

2008-07-22T14:40:00.002+01:00

Gizmodo goes to Lego. Exclusive: Inside the Lego Factory

Go there, go there now!

Playing with Space & Time

2008-07-21T18:37:00.002+01:00

I'm currently in an Astronomy mood and fortunately there's some really good low cost programs out there.

Stellarium [free] - View the stars and planets from whatever time you want.

Which leads me to thinking about the Solar Eclipse on the 22nd of July 2009 in India/China/Japan etc. which you can simulate within Stellarium. You can even check out the "flight path" of the moon's umbra (shadow) with these awesome Solar Eclipse Interactive Maps.

And if that wasn't enough then it's time to mess around with gravity & planets & blacholes. Even better if you've got some 3D glasses. The Universe Sandbox [1 hour free trial] rocks.

This isn't a proper blog from me because I'm experimenting with blogger's Vista sidebar gadget. It's okay but I wish it loaded my preset post layout along with supporting tags.

Friends of the Earth Free Brochure

2008-07-03T12:16:00.003+01:00

Mood: Busy
Music: Artist - Song.mp3 ["Album" Year]

I'd love to find a youtube video of the advert that's on the TV right now but it's highly unlikely to happen. Basically is an advert by the Friends of the Earth trust dishing out a phone number for people to ring so they can be sent a booklet containing tips on how to save energy & money around the home.

Does anyone else not see a problem with this? So I decided to send them a little email.

Hello,

So I've seen a Friends of the Earth TV advert promoting energy saving/general world well being and asking people to phone up for a free brochure about how to make energy cuts etc.

This got me thinking, wouldn't that be abit detrimental to the enviroment in general? I mean surely that's a waste of trees, money, ink, transport on the road, and time? Wouldnt it be a better idea to just host it on the website, offer to email it to people AND allow them to download it as a .PDF file?

I've not looked, but even if those options are already available why is there no mention of it on the tv broadcast. All you'd need is a 10 second clip with the FOE logo and the web address to the online brochure.

Maybe I'm blind but I can't see any reference to the brochure on the frontpage at all - and I'm someone who actually knows about the thing, god help anyone who'se gone to your site and know snothing of the energy/environmental saving brochure you're handing out. Whoever is dealing with your website needs to get their arse into gear to be honest.

How about that for an inspiring solution to an environmental problem?

Just a few thoughts.

It's a fair enough idea right?

Euro 2008 Final

2008-06-29T22:23:00.003+01:00

Mood: Ok
Music: none

So there we have it. Germany & Spain in the final of Euro 2008 in which Spain won 1 - 0. I've not really posted much since Holland were knocked out by Russia, it's not because I lost interest in the tournament but it didn't help. haha.
The final was a little disappointing to be honest. Though many congrats to Spain and commiserations to Germany the final wasn't exactly exciting.

I dunno what sport/competition to keep interested in now...
This has been a lot of fun though and I think in the future I'll get more involved in the Euro/World Cup competitions. Maybe I could become some sort of one man live reporter/photographer/web correspondent!

That'd be pretty cool, the guy out there in the field so to speak blogging there at thee stadium ..or (if I could get in) out in the streets with the crowds and the atmosphere.

Data courtesy of livescores.com

Anyway, alot of great football has been played and although it's somewhat a shame that England didn't compete; I don't know.. I'm somewhat happier about it because no doubt there's still some English narrow-minded moronic football hooligans still looking to cause trouble.

Switzerland & Austria didn't have to worry about that this time.
Bring on the World Cup!

Euro 2008: QF3: Holland vs Russia

2008-06-21T22:29:00.004+01:00

Mood: ...
Music: none

I think I just died a little inside.

Data courtesy of livescores.com

Help me German-obi, you're my only hope!

Arjen Robben 72′

2008-06-19T00:25:00.002+01:00

Mood: Great
Music: Daft Punk Vs Green Velvet - Kraftwerk Vs Green Velvet - Da.mp3 ["Daft Land Bootleg Vinyl" 2003]

I found it! I found it and I had to blog about it. This goal was awesome. A minute after France had scored. This made it 3 - 1 to Holland. For more vids click on this post title.

Also: Happy Birthday Mon! =D

Euro 2008 Group Tables: P3

2008-06-18T23:31:00.002+01:00

Mood: Hayfevery
Music: Daft Punk - Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger.mp3 ["Musique Vol.1 1993 - 2005" 2006]

So there you have it - we'rve reached the end of the first round of the Euro 2008 tournament as all teams have played their 3 games in the group stages. This is how it's looking as of tonights results between Spain/Greece and Russia/Sweden.

Data courtesy of livescores.com

To be honest I was rooting for Sweden in Group D as a friend of mine is swedish. Good ole Crazy Dave. haha. Sadly though it wasn't meant to be, but it was bound to come to and end because if they had beaten Russia they would have faced Holland in the quarter finals and we all know I'm rooting for Holland this time.

All in all it's been pretty good, I'm impressed and happy with Holland, sad for France, Sweden, Czech Republic & Romania but it's all een worth it in the grand scheme of things. Worth watching. Especially the Czech's game against Turkey the other night.

So here's to the past and the future.

Data courtesy of livescores.com

Sickening

2008-06-17T00:27:00.005+01:00

Mood: Bleh
Music: Megadeth - Tout Le Monde (Set Me Free).mp3 ["United Abominations [Limited Japanese]" 2007]

This is wrong, and not enough will stand up against it. Click the blog title.

Euro 2008: Holy Shit..

2008-06-16T00:44:00.008+01:00

Mood: Shocked
Music: Foo Fighters - The Pretender.mp3 ["Echoes Silence Patience & Grace" 2007]

So tonight was saw Swizterland leave the tournement but not without a quality last game.

"Hakan Yakin's slick second-half double gave Switzerland coach Kobi Kuhn a victorious send-off as the co-hosts bowed out of Euro 2008 with a 2-0 win from their final match against a much-changed Portugal side."

[Quote from the Press Association.]

But my heart really goes out to both the Turkish and the Czechs. I feel sorry for the Czech Republic because they were the better side in my honest opinion but this is the european tournament and surprises come thick and fast. I mean just look at Hollands win over France the other day!

But come on, 3 goals in 12 minutes?! And then Turkey's goal kepper getting a red card! Just take a look at the match summary below.

Pure last minute drama.

I personally wanted to see the Czech Republic go through to the last 8 because I thought they were the better side, they could hold themselves against the likes of Spain, Germany and Croatia (who're also doing well) but it seems it's Turkey's turn this time round.
Good luck to them, from what I've heard this is quite the historic event for them in terms of football.

Euro 2008 Group Tables: P2

2008-06-15T00:40:00.001+01:00

Mood: Good
Music: Foo Fighters - The Pretender.mp3 ["Echoes Silence Patience & Grace" 2007]

Things are shaping up! Tomorrow we'll see who else in Group A will go through to the last 8 along with Portugal.

Data courtesy of livescores.com

Euro 2008 Fever

2008-06-11T18:44:00.005+01:00

Mood: Well
Music: none

So I've caught it again - the European football tournament fever. Ever 4 years in summer I get hooked on football. Every two years in fact because the same thing happens for the world cup too. I don't know what it is, I just don't like football unless it's the continental/international games.

It's not that I'm a huge supporter of the England football team either, no England team playing this year because, well we were shite.. but that doesn't matter there's still many a good game to watch.

I've just got my hands on a little A4 "wallchart" to fill in after each game. This is it, I'm 100% sucked in. I've got my team for this tournament too - the Netherlands/Holland. I'm especially proud that I chose them before they kicked Italy's arse 3 - 0.

So those interested, or if no-one cares/reads this then this link is just for my own reference. It's a site that contains up-to-date info on all the games and group tables; Livescore.com

Oh no! Portugal scored another bloody goal. Arse.
Once all the team have played 2 games I'll be back with various predictions.

Euro 2008 Group Tables: P1

2008-06-11T00:11:00.002+01:00

Mood: Good
Music: none.

After 4 days and 8 games played this is what the group tables looked like at the moment in the Euro 2008 tournament.

Data courtesy of livescores.com

Animal Lolling Experiment

2008-06-01T21:01:00.004+01:00

Mood: Hungry
Music: none

I'm a self confession Animal Crossing player. I was given it for the DS and to my surprise I really enough playing it. It's weird haha. Anyway I've had it over a year and recently got back into it so I've decided to conduct a weak experiement.

If I send out at least one message in a bottle every other day, how many people will respond. The message links back to the blog so hopefully some people will leave a comment.
The message shopuld look something like this;

So yeah if you've recieved one of my messages in a bottle let me know!

Angry Little Robot Update

2008-05-29T15:00:00.006+01:00

Mood: Oh shi...! D:
Music: The Offspring - The Kids Aren't Alright.mp3 ["Greatest Hits" 2005]

Guess who featured my work in his journal!

Remember you can see the Angry Little Robot destruction here.
Wow.. :D

Chillin' in the Flash Mobile

2008-05-28T20:28:00.006+01:00

Mood: Good
Music: none.

I've managed to get my hands on something very special; in the world of #Flashers it's sacred infact. One of many defining moments in the history of the chatroom/community. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the origin of the shakethrow.

Inspired by several conversations and many in-jokes (including the Flash Mobile) this Flash animation was created by MannServante. He also made this awesome piece.

Check it out!

Generation Complete

2008-05-27T08:22:00.005+01:00

Mood: Proud!
Music: Serj Tankian - Lie Lie Lie.mp3 ["Elect the Dead" 2008]

So I launched another website today - the first one in quite a while.

The brief also specified the creation of a Flash "car dress up" game which in my own opinion can't be classed as a game; mainly because it doesn't really have much of an objective.
So I decided to adapt the brief and give the site more staying power by creating a funky "little" racing game; Vinyl Gen Racing.

Go check it out! Feel free to let me know what you think.
There's still room for improvement and when it's updated I'll keep you posted. I'll be adding a high score board to make things a little more competative.

I am Iron Man!

2008-05-23T10:23:00.003+01:00

Mood: Great
Music: Euston - Truth Be Told (Live Hoosiers Cover).mp3 ["Fleur De Li" 2008]

So last Friday my friends and I went to see Iron Man at le cinema and I thought I'd give it a little review. Honestly this review will probably be pretty short But here we go.

It's always good that the first thing you hear ia film is good song but it can hardly get better when the first thing you hear is "ACDC - Back in Black". You know straight away you're onto a winner; and that's what this film is - a winner.

Although I wasn't very familiar with the Iron Man character before seeing the film I still felt throughout that this was a superhero film Hollywood managed to get right. Which to be honest is a nice change; it's usually pretty hit or miss. I can't imagine a better actor to play Tony Stark than Robert Downey Jr.
(It's like Jason Bourne, can you imagine anyone other than Matt Damon in the role?) I'm glad it wasn't Nicolas Cage or Tom Cruise.

The visual effects I felt were spot on and reminded me of the Transformers film. =D
The film left me wanting to know more and if you go see it make sure you stick around until after the credits.

And that's about it, go watch and enjoy.

3 Days Gone

2008-05-21T06:37:00.005+01:00

Mood: Meh
Music: none

So I said I was going to post a proper entry "later on"; well prepare to be disappointed. I'm lying here in bed at 6:30am watching mind numbing kids Tv not sleepinng because I'm too worried & irritated.

A project I'm working on a on the absolute verge of completion and the end never seems to arrive. 3 days have disappeared.

Once I've finished it I've got to work on two things that I've never done nor thought about and have a deadline of the end of the month. And shit, it's the 21st. Good news and bad. =/
Balls.

p.s. Don't you think "3 Days Gone" is a credible band name?
"Fucked for Lunch" is a good'un too!

Wifi Blogging

2008-05-20T16:58:00.002+01:00

Mood: Good
Music: Type O Negative - Wolf Moon.mp3 ["October Rust" 1996]

Just testing to see how well blogger performs on the IPAQ. It's a little sluggish but that can't be helped I'm sure.
I used to use a little application called Pocketblogger but that doesn't seem to work now. Oh wells!

I should have a proper post up later. Hopefully.

Angry Little Robot

2008-05-18T04:47:00.008+01:00

Mood: Good
Music: Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Storm.mp3 ["Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven" 2000]

So after reading a certain webcomic/comic book artist's blog asking for Flash animations etc I jumped onto Flash and started making this. I enjoyed making it alot - infact I enjoyed it so much it's kickstarted my want to make more of my own shuff using Flash.

I hope you like it too.

Rebirth

2008-05-18T01:21:00.008+01:00

Mood: Thoughtful
Music: Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Providence - Divorce & Fever.../Dead Metheny../Kicking Horse on Brokenhill/String Loop Manufactured During Downpour.../J.L.H. Outro.mp3 ["FoAo (infinity symbol)" 1997]

Hello.

First of all I thought I'd express to anyone that reads this that I've hidden all of my old posts* purely because of what they are; old. I'm hoping to make this blog work again with a fresh start and a small but possible redesign.

Not that I think anyone really reads this. I'm not whining, it's a double edged sword.. either I tell people about this site and have them know all that I'm thinking.. or I open up and no-one sees it. In which case I may as well have just kept it in my head. Though saying that.. it's nice to be able to reread what you've posted and relive how you felt or look at things from a newer sometimes better perspective.

So here we go, a rebirth of a personal blog about a creative guy trying to make best of what he can while aiming for bigger and better things. It's got to happen soon enough. I'll hopefully use this place as regular** outlet what whatever that comes.

I'll be posting opinions, rants, reviews, work, links to interesting things I find, plenty of nerd stuff along with (at the expense of sounding pretentious) news on projects I intend to create, mastermind, etc etc. I'll post some Flash stuff up here too!

Anyway, enough of that crap, lets go!

* I have since reposted a few
** we'll see about that

Words of Wisdom: Life Lessons

2006-08-17T16:13:00.002+01:00

Mood: Busy
Music: Nine Inch Nails - Gave Up.mp3 ["Fixed" 2001]

This guy rocks. geriatric1927

If the embedding fails, click here

Uncle Age (Part Deux)

2006-07-21T17:14:00.002+01:00

Mood: Good
Music: Tool - The Pot.mp3 ["10,000 Days" 2006]

I finally got to meet the lil guy round my sister's house and even though he was asleep most of the time it was amazing. He's so small haha and he's quite the character too.

I can't wait to be there through his childhood and adulthood. He's gonna be great fun I think.

Horoscope: "You may have to bend a bit. It's time to do what's best for everyone instead of letting ego get in the way. That goes both ways: If someone is pulling rank, put an end to it." - Uh, riight.

Uncle Age

2006-07-15T21:06:00.003+01:00

Mood: Fantastic
Music: Billy Idol - Rebel Yell.mp3 ["Billy Idol - Greatest Hits" 2001]

Exactly an hour ago I became an uncle to a miracle!

How fantastic is that? Earlier today I was told my sister had gone into labour, well at 08:06pm GMT she gave birth to a boy weighing 2.5kg. =D
I have a Nephew! Wow. That's fantastic I'm so happy for her and the new baby. I have no idea on the name as yet but when I do i'll be sure to post it.

Have a great weekend all!

UPDATE:

Possibility of being called Rogan =)

Horoscope: "Take what's rightfully yours and don't look back. You may feel emotional today but that's OK. You will meet someone who can complement you in all aspects of your life, if you participate in a cause you believe in." - What? Oh quiet you, today is not about me.

It's like a death...

2006-05-09T12:18:00.002+01:00

Mood: Bah
Music: Type O Negative - Bloody Kisses (A Death In The Family).mp3 ["Bloody Kisses" 1993]

...a death in the family. So yes, in about 10 minutes I'm heading out to a funeral for the late Chris Wilson. He lives a few house's up the road and was one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. He's often ask me how I was whenever he saw me. He wasn't just someone that would just say hello while walking past you, nah he'd actually stop and have a conversation with you - It was nice because not many people care enough to actually listen to someone else.

Tomorrow however will be harder. Tomorrow it's my Great Uncle Buster's funeral. It's awful because until I saw him two weeks ago in hospital - I hadn't seen him for about 6, 7 years? Time flys by so quick, what do I have to show for it? Gah, that's another conversation altogether.

Uncle Buster was a great man.. He was kind, friendly, sociable, funny and took an interest in remote controlled gliders and yachts. My fondest memory of him took place when he took me to a lake with his friends. We all had a remote controlled yacht to maneuver around the lake and it was definitely a lot of fun.

A somewhat depressing entry I know but still.

Why does cancer take so many people?

Horoscope: "Now is the time to talk about your ideas and to present what you want to do. You may face some opposition but that will only help you flush out any existing problems. A change in a relationship you are in will come quite suddenly." - Well that's good I guess, I certainly wanna get motivated again and get back to being creative. But that's not good to hear about the relationship. I wonder if it meant a friendship.

Lucky Bargain

2006-03-24T03:57:00.002Z

Mood: Busy
Music: P.O.D. - Mark My Words.mp3 ["Testify" 2006]

So my last post had a distinct Henry Rollins fanboy feel to it hahaha. Well I managed to get some tickets to see him tomorrow on eBay! 2 tickets to be precise. Such a lucky bargain.
SO thats where i'll be tomorrow night, and I'm sure we'll enjoy it. I can't wait to see Briony this weekend!

Horoscope: "If you get out and socialize, you will make a connection with someone who interests you personally and professionally. A pleasure trip should be in the works. This is an excellent time for love and romance" - I have no real trips planned although as i've said i'm going to visit Briony so i guess, for once this horoscope might be right.

Oh man I need to see this guy...

2006-03-17T02:16:00.003Z

Mood: Good
Music: Henry Rollins - Kevin and Sean.mp3 ["Talk Is Cheap, Vol. 4" 2004]

...properly. I caught the last 5 minutes of his set during the Download Festival at Donnington Park last year which i was a bit annoyed about because his guy rocks. He speaks his mind, he talks alot of truth and he's hilarious.

I'm talking about Henry Rollins.

He's on a european tour at the moment and next friday he's going to be at the Hammersmith Apollo in London. I wanna go and take Briony with me. I'm sure we'd laugh quite alot.

Horoscope: "Someone you have to deal with today is likely to cause trouble. Be prepared to counteract, change midstream or completely walk away from a situation that doesn't feel quite right. A poor partnership will hold you back." - Oooo sounds like fun...I'll look forward to it.

Does this make me a geek? part 1

2006-02-07T10:17:00.004Z

Mood: Fan-f*ckin-tastic!
Music: John Williams - Battle of Hoth (Ion Cannon/Imperial Walkers/Beneath the At-At/Escape in.mp3 ["Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back" 2004]

So these past few days (on the third now) i've been ill. I hate it.
It first started off with a sudden cold spell after i walked downstairs for dinner, despite the dining room being hotter than my room. Then after dinner a headache formed around my forehead that even paracetamol had no effect. I felt quite fragile that night too, I had some hot Tea and that seemed to help a little, the headache died down abit.

Yesterday morning I still have that damn headache, I didn't sleep that well which no doubt didn't help. I'm not one to
stay in bed if I'm ill either, I usually just sit at the computer. When I tried to walk I felt dizzy, still felt weak and fragile. Throughout the day my headache grew less and less, I stopped feeling dizzy and weak and I just felt generally shitty.
I put my head over a bowl of hot steaming water with a towel over my head, and apart from burning my face a little haha - that helped alot, the headache went away but was back an hour or so later, I started to get a sore throat too.

So today, well I'm feeling alot better, I'm still ill - my sore throat has got worse, it hurts quite a bit when i swallow but the pain in my head has gone so i'm quite happy. Means i just need to sort out my throat now.

What's this got to do with the title you say? Oh, you didn't say that? oh... well, one day you will. And hen you do i'll say "It's got nothing to do with the title my good fellow" and then i'll elaborate...

Last night, to help me sleep I was listening to the John Williams scores from the Star Wars films.. which reminded me of Revenge of The Sith.
At the end of RoTS the music from A New Hope is played as they look at the two suns across the desert. With me still? Good. While watching this in the cinema and listening to that music (which I adore in ANH anyway) and realising it's the last Star Wars film ever.. I was sad :( ..."Does this make me a geek?"

Also:

I think all in all, yes, it definitely makes me a geek.

Horoscope: "Don't get angry about work or with the people you have to deal with today or little will be accomplished. Take the time to do your job right and disregard what others do or say. You will be the one who gets ahead if you are diligent." - right, ok.. i'll keep that in mind i guess *shrugs*.

"I'm ghost like swayze"

2006-01-28T02:53:00.002Z

Mood: Ok
Music: Soulfly - The Dark Ages.mp3 ["Dark Ages" 2005]

Before I bugger off til Tuesday I'll leave you with this*;

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4*].

Another video I stumbled across that I find hilarious. I love it some much, Terry & I have both picked up most of the lyrics lol.

* the remake

Horoscope: "Try hard to forget about work, personal matters and anything else that has been occupying your mind. Get back to having some fun and rediscovering the romantic area of your life. Problems while traveling are likely." - As I'm travelling to Briony today I'm not liking the sound of these "travelling problems", not when it comes to trains anyway. Turns out i'm gonna have take a different route today because of engineering works.

Are you the one with long hair?

2006-01-27T23:11:00.002Z

Mood: Annoyed
Music: Soulfly - Babylon.mp3 ["Dark Ages" 2005]

So today was a friends birthday party down at a local rugby club in town, a rugby club I used to go to a few years back because of the circle of friends I kept, I never got on with the guys at that rugby club mind.

Anyway, I took a break from catching up with friends I rarely see to go to the toilet, I sit down and there's a knock at the door, I answer "yes?" and I get a question thrown at me.

him: Are you the one with long hair?
me: Yes (I knew exactly where this was going)
him: You're a dick
me: am i?
him: yes
me: oh well

him: what did you say?
me: I said oh well
him: you tell me to fuck off?
me: no, I said oh well
him: oh I thought you told me to fuck off
me: heh no

So I get up, pull my jeans back up etc and step out to wash my hands. He then asks if I want money to get my hair cut and if he can cut it himself with his teeth, to both I say no while looking unimpressed.

I then turn around to walk out and see all his friends gathering round, I try and walk out of the place and he stands in my way, he wasn't forcing me to stand still or anything he was just getting in the way. I keep nudging him back and he says "don't fucking push me"... I look at him and i'm getting pissed off now so I say "well get out the fucking way then", I turn walk away and get a little nudge on my back as I go.

I can't really say exactly all of how I feel, I'm pissed off thats for sure, probably because at the time I felt like I couldn't do anything. I wanted to kick off and I really wish I had. I'm not proud to admit it but I would have loved to have beaten the shit out of that guy - I couldn't though, it would have been an ambush.

I didn't realise people were still so ignorant.

Faith in humanity drops again.

Miming Torn

2006-01-24T22:48:00.003Z

Mood: Ok
Music: Stoftype - Jetronics.mp3 ["Nails EP" 2003]

I find this Hilarious lol
If it doesn't work, click here or here.

UPDATE: Found a better, more reliable source.

Horoscope: "Don't count on a partner to do the work for you or to cover up for a mistake you make. You will have to go it alone today if you want to ensure you get things done properly. Make a personal change to your looks or alter the way you do things." - I swear i'm hearing the exact same horoscope everytime lately.

Fake Gameboy Advance Games on eBay

2005-12-29T15:52:00.002Z

Mood: Miffed
Music: Papa Roach - Never enough.mp3 ["Infest" 2001]

I got another delivery today, and i knew instantly it was something i bought from eBay, it was a pleasant surprise as i'd forgotten about it over this Christmas period. It was pleasant right up until i open the package and had a look at the games.

When i first looked at them i thought it was odd that the cartridges were darker than i remember my other games being. So i went upstairs to test them straight away, Worms World Party worked well, but Zelda didn't... it got to the title screen and then made an error noise.. that was it, game over. I emailed the seller and mentioned the game doesn't work.. i'm waiting for a reply.

It was then that I thought, "hmmm ok, maybe the cartridge isn't going into the gameboy advance properly" and I started inspecting the cartridge.

I noticed the logo is different, its more embossed on the darker cartridge than the official Mario Kart game.

Same thing goes with the back too.

The arrows at the bottom are different too, on the dark cartridge its more noticable. The cartridge shape is a little messed up as well as you can see from the pic above, on the fake cartirdge the front panel of the box is raised slightly.

Another view of the mishapen cartridge, you can see how badly this cartridge has been put together.

These are some of the signs of a fake gameboy advance cartridge. Try and find out as much as possible if you're buying gba games from eBay, if a seller has many auctions of the same game then i'd avoid it as their most likely mass produced fakes.
Funnily enough, Worms World Party works fine, its Zelda that doesn't work and the Zelda cartridge more alot more well made than this one, but its still a fake.

Edit:
Thankfully the seller has emailed back and said I can send it back for either a refund or a replacement.

Horoscope: "Trouble is probably brewing on the home front. Someone will be just waiting for you to make a mistake. Stick to what you know, and don't let anyone lead you into unfamiliar territory." - Dad probably...

Recordstore.co.uk are gods!

2005-12-14T23:36:00.005Z

Mood: Great
Music: Korn - Hypocrites.mp3 ["See You On The Other Side" 2005]

If you don't know about my encounters with recordstore.co.uk before, go here and then here. If you already know then there's really not much more to say but basically, a free tee shirt was up for grabs to the lucky few who pre-ordered the album.

Well, free t-shirt for me! They must have felt sorry for me for the late delivery of a pre-ordered album so they send me a System of a Down "Hypnotize" t-shirt. :)

Unable to Access Secure Sites, Hotmail, eBay etc...

2005-12-13T22:44:00.002Z

Mood: Accomplished
Music: KoRn - Wake Up.mp3 ["Issues" 1999]

So another day at school today, I cabelled up 18 Dell Optiplex PCs which, actually takes its time so I timed myself while doing so and listening to Korn. My best time was 10 mins 50 seconds lol.

After that back to Briony's I attempted to fix her PC, she suddenly found herself unable to access Hotmail, MSN Messenger, ebay and Amazon, anything that needed a secure connection in fact. Looked for fixes but in the end I just turned to her and said, "I have my harddrive up stairs, shall we just wipe the thing and reload it?" so we did, while watching White Chicks, damn thats a funny film.

Recordstore.co.uk rock!

2005-11-29T11:55:00.005Z

Mood: Better
Music: System of a Down - Question.mp3 ["Mezmerize" 2005]

Ok, so to my surprise the album turned up today in a tiny card package a week later than the UK release date but "oh well" i say to myself, "I'll have the album and the DVD", I open it up and there's one disc, I whack it in my dvd drive, its just the audio CD.

This is what the DualDisc product contains on amazon. There's a CD and a DVD. From SOAD home page: "Additionally, the DualDisc edition will contain a film by Gariné Torossian which explores the making of both records."

So its onto the phones I go...

[10 minutes later]

Well that was interesting, the guy I spoke to was helpful at least, but I was still kinda confused, he said I could do a few tings, "keep the CD obviously because its useless" (I think that's what he said) and have a reorder or a voucher for a re-order, or something like that. I dunno...not really sure if I'm s'posed to send it back or not... if I hear nothing for a week I'll ring up again. Haha.
Oooo I just checked my account on their website, more specifically the order history, yesterday after i got the email it said the status was "processed" and now its "lost_damaged" so he must have flagged it for a voucher i assume. i dunno.
Oh wait, I'm gonna have to change the blog title after I tell you this. I just received an email from kind Rob (Robbie Williams Customer Services, the Robbie Williams? who knows.. anyway), the email says:

"Hello
Sorry about your item. We have issued a credit note to you for the cost of the goods. You can use the following code to pay towards any future purchases from us."

I've just checked the voucher credit, and its worth £15.99, so I could if I felt like it try again for the album and DVD, or, I could buy Mesmerize on CD and then I could slot them together:

"More importantly, the albums interlock musically. The final track on Hypnotize, "Soldier Side" completes "Soldier Side Intro," which appears as the opening track on Mezmerize."

Or, ya know, I could be a real tight ass/nice and buy someone a Christmas present with the voucher. OR, ahh genius, I know what to do, I buy Mesmerize for my parents or something haha, that way I get to keep it lol - No, no, no, that would never work.

So my original title for this post was "Recordsotre.co.uk (REALLY) suck!" but after this my view has changed, a great customer service team. Thanks Rob!

*sings to Radio/Video* I love this song lol

Horoscope: "You're in dreamland, so shake yourself before it's too late. Someone may try to take advantage of you when he or she doesn't think you'll notice. Keep a sharp eye while taking part in fun activities." - oh nicely done horoscope, go ahead and tell everyone they can pull the wool over my eyes - how strategic, jeeeze, well I'M WATCHING YOU ALL!!!! << >>

Recordstore.co.uk suck!

2005-11-28T23:17:00.004Z

Mood: Tired
Music: Limp Bizkit - Break Stuff.mp3 ["Significant Other (UK Special Edition) [UK] Disc 1" 2000]

I got an email this afternoon from recordstore.co.uk, i pre-ordered System of a Down's new album Hypnotize 2 weeks ago (16th Nov), i got the more expensive one because it had a bonus DVD.

It wasn't shipped out by the release date (21st Nov UK release) which was a bit annoying.. and kinda makes pre-ordering pointless really. So I emailed them about it and asked what was happening because the order status was still "pending" but no reply.

What a load of wang, "Thanks for ordering from Recordstore!" bah, took their bloody time, and they didn't even get back to me.

Almost a week after the release of the album too. Fair enough if it wasn't in stock because of a huge amount of pre-orders but c'mon they could have easily searched the people who bought the double disc album and emailed to say "oh by the way, you may have to wait a little longer, sorry for the inconvenience". But no, not even a reply after emailing them about it.

Oh and expect more updates soon, I've been storing them in drafts lol.

Horoscope: "You have the potential to do something great today. As long as you don't make impulsive changes, you will find that everything you touch will lead to something bigger and better. Love is in the picture." - hmmm riiight, its a shame then that i spent a good 7 hours of today playing an old adventure SNES game..oh well.

Giant Penguins Strike Back!

2005-11-26T14:26:00.003Z

Mood: Ok
Music: Eurythmics - Who's That Girl?.mp3 ["The Ultimate Collection" 2005]

lolwot?
http://goeurope.about.com/b/a/220758.htm

Horoscope: "You may feel like doing things at home, but if you do, you can expect to run into difficulties. Trying to get ahead with your work will be futile. Take today to think about possible changes" - I'm always thinking about changes and i literally do everything from home, seriously do your homework dammit. lol

dA Birthday: 2 years

2005-11-24T10:51:00.001Z

Mood: Blah
Music: Deftones - Battle-Axe.mp3 ["Deftones" 2004]

So today is my second deviantART Birthday, I joined a whole two years back in 2003. It seems like such a long time ago and I guess it is maybe, but its gone by so quickly - especially since my first dA birthday.

I think last year I made a journal about it pointing out various goals and achievements I wanted to have accomplished by this time today. Have I achieved them? Well I haven't look yet but the chances are I aimed too high as usual and only achived a few things if any.

Disappointing is one word for it, and predictable is another. Both sum it up quite well I think.

I actually just had a look at ot wasn't this time last year I set the goals, it was at the very beginning of of 2005 that i made those goals. No a chance of achieving them now. Oh well, next year hopefully. *smirk*

Horoscope: "You may be feeling the pinch if you have put yourself on the line for someone else or even for something you believe in. Your emotions may be difficult to control. Don't let anyone see that you are uncertain. Be strong." - Uncertain i dunno, i'd say down, but maybe i'm just uncertain about myself.. like where i'm going, what i can ammount to. Stupid horoscopes making me think.

Status 1105

2005-11-22T10:50:00.003Z

Mood: Creative
Music: Sean Kennedy - 109 - Open Your Eyes ["Sean Kennedy Chronicles: Tales From The Afternow" 2002]

HYPNOTIZE ON CD AND DUALDISC IN-STORES NOW!

Six months after System of a Down's Mezmerize debuted at number one on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart, the uncompromising and outspoken quartet returns with Hypnotize, part two of a promised two-album set. American Recordings/Columbia has released two versions of Hypnotize, the band's fifth studio album, in stores now.

Both the CD and DualDisc versions feature 12 new songs as well as artwork by Vartan Malakian, father of SOAD's guitarist/singer Daron. The packaging for Hypnotize is specially designed to physically join Mezmerize and Hypnotize together, forming one unified package with continuous artwork.

Additionally, the DualDisc edition will contain a film by Gariné Torossian which explores the making of both records.

More importantly, the albums interlock musically. The final track on Hypnotize, "Soldier Side" completes "Soldier Side Intro," which appears as the opening track on Mezmerize.

HYPNOTIZE
Track Listing
1."Attack"
2."Dreaming"
3."Kill Rock 'n Roll"
4."Hypnotize"
5."Stealing Society"
6."Tentative"
7."U-Fig"
8."Holy Mountains"
9."Vicinity of Obscenity"
10."She's Like Heroin"
11."Lonely Day"
12."Soldier Side"

I've pre-order the dualdisc set, w00pah! Should be delivered soon i would have thought.

Horoscope: "You can accomplish a lot if you do things from home. Invite peers or friends over to brainstorm and you will come up with some solutions. Question the motives of the people you work with, but don't start an argument." - hmmm i don't really work with anyone else but ok. Hmmmm i might invite Jon over and we play on the N64 lol. Man these things suck.

Rememberance

2005-11-11T14:59:00.003Z

Mood: Hungry
Music: Nothingface - Scission.mp3 ["Skeletons" 2003]

SHIT! Its rememberance day today, every year, 11th of the 11th at 11am theres a few minutes of silence to pay respect for our lost brave soldiers, and i was asleep. Grrr. And i didn't get round to buy a poppy... Bollocks.

On a slightly more positive and less "ARGH-I-PAID-NO-RESPECT" note Raw Deal is going ahead in my town tonight and i think we've sold all the tickets that Contravene were given.
The gig starts tonight at 7pm and the three bands playing are The Heavy Beatings, Contravene and Awkward. Incidently, I've been putting together the awkward website. I'm waiting for a guy to come online that has access to their server and then it'll be online at awkwardrock.co.uk.

And finally, on an even better note Briony is coming down for the gig and staying the night. W00t!

Horoscope: "Make a physical change that will enhance your looks. A new partnership will be to your benefit. A sudden trip is apparent. It may not be a long distance, but it will make you think about your future." - This "trip", is that in a metaphorical sense or what? As for the appearance, hmmm, i might have a shave lol.

Little Foot: Part I

2005-11-10T10:05:00.003Z

Mood: Ok
Music: Fear Factory - Empire.mp3 ["Transgression" 2005]

I watched a fantastic animation today. Actually I watched it yesterday but ya know.
Click here to watch Litte Foot: Part I by Adam Phillips.

You can see a few features and how to's here which include more info on the Vcam and particles effects. Good stuff.

Horoscope: missed it.

Flashing again

2005-11-09T14:53:00.002Z

Mood: Pestered
Music: Disturbed - Deify You.mp3 ["Ten Thousand Fists" 2005]

I re-opened an old chatroom on deviantART today.

I hope animators and other people come in and chat.

Horoscope: "Your practical nature will elude you today, causing confusion for everyone around you. You may find yourself mesmerized by someone who may not be all that trustworthy. Protect your interests." - hmmm, this confuses me more than anyone else will lol.

Corpse Bride & Tribute

2005-11-07T18:51:00.006Z

Mood: Good but not
Music: Rammstein - Benzin.mp3 ["Rosenrot" 2005]

I saw Tim Burton's Corpse Bride today *dances about* now when i first heard about this film i wasn't too bothered. I thought if i saw it, cool, if not, oh well, i'm sure i will in the future. But tonight Briony and I went to go see it and i really enjoyed it. I'm not sure whether its as good as The Nightmare before Christmas, but it's close.

At the end of the credits it said it was dedicated to Joe Ranft. And if you didn't know, Joe Ranft was the voice of the penguin (Wheezy) in Toy Story 2, and the big Catapillar (Heimlich) in A Bug's Life. He was also one of the main guys at Pixar, working on many animations, including Cars.

He died in August this year in a car accident.

Joe Ranft was the guy that gave Tim Burton the idea for Corpse Bride back in the days of Nightmare Before Christmas in 1993.

Theres an article on Joe here written by someone who knew him: http://web.archive.org/web/20060222105013/http://www.jimhillmedia.com/mb/articles/showarticle.php?ID=1707

R.I.P Joe Ranft
1960 - 2005

Horoscope: "A younger person may ask for your help today. Don't criticize. Someone you are introduced to today will end up becoming an intricate part of your future." - ... riight

Avatar

2005-11-06T15:09:00.007Z

Mood: Tired
Music: Rammstein - Wo Bist Du.mp3 ["Rosenrot" 2005]

Ceri posted up a shot of the fireworks at the devMEET last night.

Briony's at work at the moment, and it seems like she's been gone hours, but it's only been 2 hours. bah. I think we're seeing Corpse Bride tonight, i don't know. Looks good and I'd like to see it.

We got up earlier than usual today because it was 7am and I couldn't sleep, so we went downstairs and watched cartoons, we watched a really cool one called Avatar. I quite enjoyed it.

And talking of cartoons, Yu-gi-oh, as much as I loved it, it has no consistancy what-so-ever lol. And I say that because we watched the movie earlier.

Horoscope: "Everything is changing. Keep yourself in the loop so you can take advantage of whatever opportunity opens up. Social events will bring you in contact with someone who can lead you in a prosperous direction." - Ooooooooo.

Guy Fawks y0

2005-11-05T23:58:00.004Z

Mood: Good
Music: Various Tracks ["Hitch" 2005]

Went to a devMEET today, organised by greenie at Alexandra Palace with Briony. We were s'posed to be there at 4pm, but we arrived lateby two hours haha, oh well that's rail replacement buses for ya. We met everyone else and it was a good laugh.

The fireworks started at 7:30pm and they were all very good, cept where we were stood there was a bright orange street light in the way, so the pictures i took aren't great but there are some good ones. I had fun, i hope Briony did too. We didn't really say goodbye to everyone properly because everyone disappeared but nevermind.

We had a bit of trouble getting back, what with the local trains not running on weekends, but we're safe and back now.

Crackin ' Eggs

2005-11-02T22:01:00.003Z

Mood: Busy
Music: A Perfect Circle - Thinking of You.mp3 ["Mer de Noms" 2000]

Just been animating today lol.

Horoscope: "You'll make quite the impression on those who don't know you well, but the people who do may be a little disappointed in the way you present yourself. Don't let anyone dictate what you should do. It has to be your own decision." - .

Taken Away

2005-10-26T14:27:00.002+01:00

Mood: Sad
Music: Lacuna Coil - Falling again.mp3 ["In A Reverie" 1999]

Yesterday afternoon about 4:45pm, Briony and I went to check on Russley.. we found that he had passed away. It sucks so much.

R.I.P - Russley

Summer 2005 - Winter 2005

Horoscope: "You may be inclined to spend too much on the one you love or on something you don't really need. Don't be fooled by a promise someone makes regarding your earning potential. Don't spend before you have the cash in your hands." - I'm not inclided to even spend money on me so shush.

It doesn't rain...

2005-10-22T10:16:00.003+01:00

Mood: Tired
Music: Papa Roach - Blood Brothers.mp3 ["Infest" 2005]

So who'se Russley/Rustley?, well Russley's a tiny hedgehog my dogs were barking at the other night in my back garden, my parents decided to bring him in, house in and feed him for a while because he's so small and winters is very much round the corner.
He's too small to survive the winter, apparently he's gotta be 22 ounces to have enough fat to survive hibernation, but he's actually only 9 ounces. So yeah, i'll get a pic of him.

It doesn't rain but it pours. I was s'posed top work with Dad round about now, but this particular job we gotta do requires and completely dry day, and as yet we haven't had one, or at least not realised its gonna be a great day til its too late. typical lol.

Horoscope: "You'll have an iffy day if you try to deal with personal issues. Do things with family or good friends and set your sights on having a good time. Having fun will change your outlook and attitude" - Sounds like a plan Batman, having fun usually helps lol, shame most people are away.

Russley

2005-10-21T23:11:00.003+01:00

Mood: Good
Music: T.A.T.U. - Not Gonna Get Us.mp3 ["200 Km/H in the Wrong Lane" 2002]

Whheeeee Hedgehog!
Food time, I'll explain this blog tomorrow.

Tiger boy

2005-10-16T17:46:00.004+01:00

Mood: SUPER HAPPY KAWAII
Music: Nothing - Silence.mp3 ["Silent House" 2005]

I didn't see the Wallace and Gromit (curse of the warerabbit) movie last night, i went and saw Kinky Boots instead (based on a true story).

It was hilarious, I really enjoyed it actually, I wasn't sure if I would or not, not because of the film content, but because I really didn't know much about the film. But hopefulyl I'll see Wallace and Gromit tonight. WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

I had another strange dream last night, two really, I dreamt I worked in a LEGO factory which was cool and that I was a father to a toddler. Now this toddler somehow had the characteristics of a baby tiger cub.
It was basically like a lil blonde cute toddler boy but with paws, we were at a christening of some child and we handed the family a congratulatory note/card and my son (tiger boy) put his paw faintly in red paint and put a little paw mark on the note. A very strange dream but also cool.
I woke up and couldn't see him and I thought "Oh no! I've lost him, where is he" then remembered it was all a dream, kinda sucked really. Theres more to those dreams but you got the jist.

Horoscope: "You may overreact regarding your financial situation. Go through your books and sort out what you actually owe. You will probably realize that you aren't as bad off as you think." - Nah i think it's probably the other way round lol.