A blog about a book . . about a blog.

What with starting my own blog, and being a big fan of pretty much everything Star Trek, I have recently been checking out Wil Wheaton dot net. Best known in most circles as starring in Stand By Me and Star Trek: The Next Generation , Wil Wheaton is now best known in geeky circles as a blogger and published writer, and also as being a fairly big geek himself. Hence the title of his book 'Just A Geek'.

A book which I decided to buy and am really glad I did, as it is one the few books that I have read in one day, and possibly the only one I have read in one go. Based on posts from his blog, the book goes into often very personal detail about many things, most notably his personal battle with what he calls 'Prove To Everyone That Quitting Star Trek Wasn't A Mistake', his need for acceptance and recognition for his own merits, which he often amusingly talks about in the second person.

Chronicling certain events, Wil shares all aspects of his life including his struggles as an actor, the joys of living with his wife and step children, and his mixed reactions to the large impact of Star Trek and its fans. All of which makes for funny, honest and very compelling reading. Certainly the best book I have read recently, and almost possibly the best book I have read in a very long time.

No News Is Good News . . . Apparently

As anyone who lives in Britain, Europe, and possibly even the world will know, today is the hundredth day since Madeline McCann went missing. People will know this of course, because this news will have been shoved in their faces by nearly every newspaper/TV news programme throughout the whole day.

But why?

Before anyone accuses me of being insensitive, I realise that having your child go missing like Madeline has done must be a harrowing experience, and I am not trying to rant about Madeline of her family. What I am going to rant about however, is what has happened since, and the way in which the media have turned a single child's disappearance into what by now has to be the most extreme case of Missing White Woman Syndrome ever seen. Even David Beckham made an appeal after just eight days after her disappearance. Whilst I'm sure this was done from the kindness of his heart, was I asleep for his appeals about the countless other children who missing?

Surely the number of children who go missing in this country is higher than most of realise, and the number in Europe higher still. So what is so special about Madeline to warrant all the attention??

The Sun newspaper was just one of several who focused on her story, but to their credit also focused on another story featuring a four year old girl. One was about a woman and her boyfriend who have been charged with torturing and murdering her daughter, another about a girl who went missing over three months ago, and which nothing has happened since. And which one got the front page spread???? Yep, Madeline. The other took up only half of page fourteen if anyone is interested.

Somewhile ago, the front page of The Sun (again)stated that some cold hearted fiend had robbed Mr McCann of pictures of his precious daughter. When I read the actual article (I was bored) it turned out that what had actually happened was that someone had just pick pocketed his wallet. Something else that happens everyday and doesn't warrant front page attention in the slightest.

It wouldn't be quite so bad if they at least did it in proper English. The front page on The Mirror today explains how 'Madeline's Parents Tell Police: Where Is The Proof She Is Dead?' I expect these journalist types are more qualified than I am, but surely that wasn't telling, that was asking.

And I know I said I wouldn't rant about the parents, but as heart breaking as losing a child must be, it has to be noted that they have since been on a European tour, met the pope, and achieved a minor celebrity status. And all because they were too irresponsible/ignorant to let a creche look after their child.

Basically, it all boils down to the fact that no matter what is going in the world, the media will still choose to cover whatever the hell it wants/needs to in order to maximise its own profits and/or send out it's own ideological propaganda, and then attempt to make it sound important enough to warrant placing so much attention on it. And the truth of the matter is that pictures of a missing girl will sell newspapers.

As long as she is photogenic, white, and comes from a wealthy background that is.

One step forward, two steps back?

While there are some people deeply engrossed in the specifics of the HD-DVD/Blu Ray battle for supremacy, it is fair to say that most people are still blissfully unaware of said battle. And many of those who are aware just don't give monkey's simply because HD DVD and Blu Ray really aren't any better than DVDs in the first place.

When DVDs first came out, everyone was wowed with the better picture and sound quality, interactive menus, bonus features, and all you had to do was buy a new video player. Now, no-one's getting excited because you not only have to choose between the two in a VHS/Betamax style, but whichever one you go for, both will give you the pleasure of having to buy a brand new TV in order to handle the even better picture quality that you really don't need.

Not only this, but because of the superior data storage you only need to buy one highly priced disc at a time. Where a regular DVD would make you go to all the effort of having to actually go to the player, and change discs in order to watch the bonus features, everything now comes on one disc (meaning you are physically getting less for your bigger price tag), so you can now sit and watch everything without having to leave your seat. Toilet breaks are left to your own discretion.

But while most sensible people are ignoring this new pointless debate, they are also ignoring the old entirely relevant one at the same time. Is all this new fangled digital stuff any better than analog in the first place. What's the point in bonus features and web links if the disc can be irreparably damaged by being left on the side. Personally I think chapter selections are a great idea, especially when you need to find the point at which you have to take the disc out and clean off the three specs of dust that made it stop in the first place.

When trying to watch M*A*S*H earlier, and after performing the stop-eject-wipe-chapter selection routine too many times, I realised the brand new disc was actually scratched just from having being loose in the box. If I was watching it on VHS, it would have fit perfectly in the box, and the vulnerable tape would have been perfectly protected by the rest of the cassette. I could also feasibly leave it lying around, not having to worry myself about splodges of jam.

And it's not just the home video that has suffered either, as any Star Wars fan will be able to tell you that a puppet can create a better performance from an actor than a soon to be CGI'd over tennis ball on a stick. And what about TV transmissions? If it's raining outside, how can the picture freezing for ten seconds in a variety of big squares be any better than it going a bit crackly? Even when it went black and white you could still tell what was going on.

So am I going buy a Blu Ray player, or an HD DVD player? I think I'm more likely to go on eBay and buy another VHS player before my current one packs up!

Shock, but without the Horror!

Whenever you hear people talking about a film, it's not uncommon to want to see it yourself in order to see what everyone is talking about. In most cases, this often happens when people talk about how good a film is. This week however, I watched a film because of people saying how disgusting, sick, and downright wrong it is. And I'm glad I did.

If you're wondering what film it was I watched this week, it was Dirty Sanchez: The Movie. For those of you who haven't heard of it, it's similar to Jackass, in that it is the movie of a TV show in which a group of people do completely outrageous and dangerous stunts for the entertainment of each other, and the audience at home. Although the scenario is similar, Dirty Sanchez makes Jackass look like children's TV, as it takes things to the extreme, and then caries on going.

Basically the film contains, to name but a few, tattoos in painful places, the consumption of what remains after a liposuction operation, and as if that wasn't enough, Keith Richards as Satan! It is possibly the sickest most disgusting film I have ever seen, and I lost count of how many times it made me cringe. . . . Which is why I loved watching it!

First, let me explain that not everything they do is dangerous or disgusting, some is just immature. For instance, whilst asleep, Pancho is given something of a make over to make him resemble both the Incredible Hulk, and then Mikhail Gorbachev. Silly and immature, but still on the level of something that could be done to anyone whilst asleep. Others however, such as the Beer enema are of an acquired taste.

And this is the reason I loved watching it. Most horror films are lucky if they make me jump, I watched The Exorcist when I was seventeen and wondered what all the fuss was about, and I've been bored watching banned so called 'video nasties'.

Because of my apparent 'immunity' to films that most people wouldn't consider watching, it takes something on the level of Dirty Sanchez to get a reaction from me. For most people, an important part of watching a film is for the different reactions that they can evoke, both good and bad. There are times I have envied people who watch horror films for the purpose of cringing from what they see on the screen, but I think I have finally been able to get a better idea of what it must be like.

Admittedly the fact that what they do is real, completely non-fictional and without the use of special effects helps with the cringe factor, but also because you can't actually believe they are doing some of the things they do. Despite the 'do not try this at home' warning, most people wouldn't try these things simply because of the amount of guts that these stunts need. I must admit that watching a fully grown man mortified if spiders, who cuts of the end of his finger to regain his pride, is actually quite humbling.

I know I wouldn't be able to.

Did my Harry Potter wish come true?

Having sold just over 100 copies of The Deathly Hallows in half an hour, I went straight to a book to see what happens in the end, and if what I wanted to happen happened.

Without spoiling it for anyone else, I shall only say this.

Page 567!!

Harry Potter and the Ranting Blog

Having just come back from the cinema, I am writing this post sandwiched between two things of which I still can't understand the amount of significance placed upon them.

The film I have just seen is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and tomorrow night, I shall be working at midnight for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows release. For some reason, people seem to go mad over Harry Potter, but still haven't worked out why.

I've got nothing against Harry Potter, I've enjoyed the films and the one book I have read, but don't see anything special in them. It's not as if JK Rowling is the only fantasy author out there, indeed one of my main reasons for liking the films is the recognition of recurring ideas seen through various fantasy literature, but I'd still much rather watch and/or read something by Stephen King or Clive Barker.

So with the imminent approach of the seventh and final book there are a few things that I would like to see happen. Mainly, Harry should die. This is nothing personal, I just think that the whole franchise would be better off were this to happen.

Firstly, it dramatically reduces the likelihood of someone else drawing upon and adding to Rowling's stories. And by 'someone else' read 'Warner Brother exuctives', likewise 'adding to' with 'completely ruining'. By killing off Harry, Rowling can hopefully avoid her work being spoilt for herself and her fans everywhere. If you think more Harry Potter adventures can only be a good thing, then you need to read my previous rantings about disasterous sequels.

Secondly, Harry should die because the other stories are just too soppy. Anyone who knows me will most likely know that I'm not exactly the biggest fan of anything that can be considered 'cute', and this includes cliched happy endings, especially those that only happen for the simple reason of just because. It's not that I have the emotional range of a teaspoon, it's just that there are so many stories that have happy endings just for the sake of it, and often ruin an up til then fairly decent film.

Without giving too much away, a good example of this is The Butterfly Effect. When I first saw the theatrical version, I thought it had a good ending that fit in with the rest of the story, but still seemed a little lacking. And what it was lacking, was for the studio executives to let the directors do what they do best, and not force a happy ending on the film in order to play it safe. Having seen the directors cut, I now consider The Butterfly Effect to be one of my favourite films, simply because the filmmakers made the right choice about how the film should end, unlike the studio executives who only care about getting bums on seats, and for some reason seem to think that people should be smiling when the credits roll.

Order of the Phoenix had a great climax at the end of the film, but the whole lovey dovey resolution just spoilt it for me. And yes I know it's a childrens story, but that's not an exuse. In fact that's even more reason why Harry Potter should die.

Teenagers dont get upset and moody because of hormones, they get upset and moody because they've grown up with all these promises of fairy tale happy endings, and then real life taps them on the shoulder and says 'you know how the hero always triumphs over evil, saves the day and gets the girl? Well actually . . . '

I'm not saying life is all doom and gloom, it's just not all happy endings either. If it was, studio executives wouldn't shove their 'creative' sides where they don't belong. Like The Butterfly Effect 2.

The Graduate

No, not Dustin Hoffman. Me!

Last week I went back to Aberystwyth for my graduation ceremony, and am now officially a Bachelor of Arts.

It was a really great time for all of us to meet up again and celebrate three years of hard work. Well . . . occasionally challenging work spread out intermittently over the last three years.

The main ceremony took place in the Aberystwyth arts centre, a great venue which normally presents both local and professional productions, and is very conveniently located right in the middle of the University of Wales, Aberstwyth main campus.

The whole thing was rather more formal than I was expecting, and being Aberystwyth, and more than a little Welsh. Although the speeches were in both Welsh and English, we couldn't understand what the Vice Chancellor said to us as we were presented to him, there was a musical interlude with a harp, and even one group on stage consisting entirely of Jones's!

Although I had never met the Vice Chancellor before (he may have given speeches during freshers week, but that is now mainly a blur to me), I had met the Sub-dean of the faculty of arts, who read out our names as we were being presented, several times. Mainly as he had given several lectures I had attended (my favourite of which was entitled "Science Fiction. Well . . Doctor Who"), and was also my dissertation supervisor.

The rest of the week was also a great time to meet up with friends again, before getting the worst train (and coach, and taxi) journey I've ever had home, and then straight back to work. So I'm now pretty much where I was four years ago, only having spent £12,000 on six letters and two brackets.

BA (hons)