Archive for August, 2011

• Back in Liverpool. #
• @RobertWThomson Thanks for the #ff #
• @grahamwalmsley I couldn't tell you what that thing's called but from memory they spread like triffids. #
• Mindless Ctrl+C Ctrl+V are quite possibly the most dangerous keyboard shortcuts in the world #
• @grahamwalmsley Isn't alcohol the usual preferred way of making philosophy make sense and philosophers damp? #
• @xtamsynx A brand of elvish skin care? Tauriel – cause you're worth it. #
• @xtamsynx Elves are an excellent market for cosmetics – anti-aging skin cream and all that long swooshy hair to keep clean #
• @xtamsynx lol it might just be. Did you find out the answer yet? #
• @xtamsynx A radio 4 sketch would work but a TV skit with Orlando Bloom and Liv Tyler would be better (never happening sadly) #
• @xtamsynx I was wondering about having Andy Serkis, Sean Bean and
  John Rhys-Davies in character/costume doing the before look #
• Tweet attracted a skin care spam bot & I'm there first –> RT me: @xtamsynx A brand of elvish skin care? Tauriel – cause you're worth it #
• @symatt Not in 4th Ed but 2nd. The jousting and other contests provided distraction / dice rolling alongside various mystery / conspiring #
• @symatt Pretty much handled it as weapons doing subdual except on a critical failure #
• @DanDiplo Got an email from them that some of my HMV points expire in 62 Days (ok thats two months) but who picks 62 days to send an alert? #
• @DanDiplo That's one brainstorming session I'm glad I wasn't in #
• Too much statistical analysis this morning – time for a break for lunch. #
• RT @guardiantech: Deus Ex and the future of sandbox v corridor game design http://t.co/aJe4ckA #
• @Thisangelbites Thanks – Reminded me I ment to look for a dispatch bag as an alternative to a backpack on days I'm not carrying much #
• @Thisangelbites I didn't know what it was called till just now but a quick dig &I found out what shoulder bags for men are called #
• Soon to be an overused twist in thrillers RT @guardiantech: Pilot scheme: iPads replace aeroplane instruction manuals http://t.co/2kf3IE0 #
• I've hunted around and I've about 500 CG objects to clutter up the CG scene I want to build now I just need to actually put it together… #
• @grahamwalmsley What is a sakesowfs? Sounds like a creature from Lovecraftian fan fic. #
• What's it like to have your film flop at the box office? http://t.co/A3idDc8 #
• @jearle Good but I'll take Die Hard over any of its sequels. #
• @xtamsynx DIe Hard 2 has its moments and John Amos is usually worth the price of admission #
• Just back from seeing The Guard. Not a bad film but not really very special either. Lots of missed opportunities http://t.co/z8ZsXmW #
• @GRIMACHU @scimon I think you'd have to ask @jearle for his "private archive" if you want those & pay to join the Nighfall Gentlemens club #
• @sylvester_33 But what did it taste of? #
• @jearle @scimon @grimachu I'm trying to remember which WW2 ship they measured the crews' beard growth on for MI6/SOE #
• @DanDiplo So you did go to work on a farm then #
• If its this mad out there on Friday lunch time I can only imagine how crazy busy Liverpool will be with the festivals on this weekend. #
• @paulbaalham @blindgeekuk People in the North and South really need to learn that there is a place called The Midlands. Its in the middle! #
• @sylvester_33 Ewwww #
• @blindgeekuk @paulbaalham There is the alternative argument that the dividing line between North and South is at the Watford Gap #
• @blindgeekuk @paulbaalham I am Midland. I stand between the candle & the star. We are Midland. We stand between the darkness & the light. #
• @DaddyDM Thanks for the #ff #
• @sylvester_33 Ewwww! x 10 #
• @paulbaalham @blindgeekuk Yup. Not sure why it struck me. And I'm not saying which way round is Darkness and Light #
• Available for immediate delivery: one bad busker + PA + instruments. Free delivery. All reasonable and unreasonable offers considered. #
• You know how food can get protected status? If this busker keeps slaughtering songs like this I'm supporting songs get similar protection. #
• @ianf In the post just as soon as I get a big enough shipping crate. Did I mention the a no returns policy? #
• I can tell what song the busker is going to slaughter like Conan with a hangover from just the first few not quite right intro notes. #
• @GRIMACHU Problem is I recognise where they are getting it wrong (they're not good enough to be improving just dodging the hard parts) #
• @ehlanakovas lol. I think someone has – he's finally shut up. Fingers crossed he'll not be back. #
• @ehlanakovas I just looked outside – he's just sitting there. I think people are paying him to not play #
• @DanDiplo Don't worry I'm told with time and farmyard air the memories of bad buskers and bollards rising heal #
• @ehlanakovas Well yes there are lots of solutions like that. #
• @richeym lol. I'd never thought of it before but now I'm pretty sure I'll think of it every time. #
• Friday night. My brain wants to write something. My body wants to fall asleep. #
• @DanDiplo Thanks that may be just enough to block the unwanted connotations induced by @richeym #
• @DJD73 Thanks for the #ff #
• @RobertWThomson Thanks for the #ff #
• @jearle Somehow it just stays the right side of believable & excellent supporting cast: Bedeli, VelJohnson, Gleason, Atherton and Rickman #
• Glad I'm inside sounds a bit wet and hostile out. Just discovered a cat trying to shelter on my window ledge #
• @Troppers All together now in a silly voice "he's fallen in the water" #
• A typical autumn bank holiday weekend weather today. It is the autumn bank holiday isn't it? #
• Still not all bad (from my point of view) local shops were quiet got all my food shopping done in 30 minutes #
• RT @Dan_Duke @TwopTwips ACCURATELY measure the length & pace of your digestive system start @Runkeeper on your smartphone then swallowing it #
• @GRIMACHU Saddly those weird, baggy, 3/4 length combats with elasticated bottoms are also in #fail #
• Saturday Kitchen website seems to be linking to some sort of admin/CMS rather than the recipe #fail #
• Nice dice with a web geek twist RT @Dicecreator: Firefox awesomeness on a D10! -> http://t.co/NOhpXc5 #
• Spent the afternoon experimenting with Daz Studio 4 and doing chores. Now time for something to eat then Doctor Who… #
• Now Doctor Who: Lets Kill Hitler – that's one way to get the episode title into the story #
• Doctor Who: Lets Kill Hitler Cracking Episode #doctorwho #
• My slightly random thoughts on Doctor Who: Let's Kill Hitler http://t.co/jEGY5BV #
• How long till they get The Rob Brydon Show onto BBC1 and bump it up to an hour? #
• Previously on Doctor Who (from the very beginning to 2011) http://t.co/suTw9PW #

Tonight’s Doctor Who, Let’s Kill Hitler, was a cracking fun episode from the start. Now I’ve been known to complain about certain issues with illogicality and this episode certainly started with plenty – writing Doctor in a corn field, introducing Amy’s best friend who’s never been so much as mentioned before with a montage and crashing the TADIS into Hitler’s office.

BUT (and it’s a big But so big I’m going to start a sentence with it, write it in capitals and underlined bold for good measure) anyone who thinks a Doctor Who episode with the title Let’s Kill Hitler is going to be another Blink their head examining. It’s going to be pulp silliness and its going to try and give Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds a run for its money on a BBC TV episode budget.

Introducing Mel and getting the episode title into the pre title sequence was nicely done. The montage has its moments. Young Rory moments are humorous. Most especially there is the scene that shows Amy and Rory get together with Amy having thought Rory was gay. It’s all topped off with a lovely 2001 reference to get us into the action in the visual of Mel throwing model TARDIS cutting to TARDIS flying erratically.

The killer robot piloted by miniaturised crew silly idea and could have been such a bad Terminator 2 rip off except completely saved by the Tessellating exterior effect. Its slightly incompetent crew and killer robots added to the episodes pulp feel and humour. There was something of Men in Black about the whole set up.

It’s nice to see Rory’s transformation into action hero continuing. He gets stuff to do and good lines: Knocking out Hitler, a German soldier, riding a motorbike with a hint of The Great Escape and driving a mini through a cornfield. The contrast of post plastic Roman with early Rory as seen in the montage is telling of his character’s development. Amy gets her moments too.

That Amy’s childhood best friend turns out to be Melody Pond and her regeneration is triggered by being shot by Hitler. She gets one of the best pre regeneration lines ever in “shut up Dad I’m focusing on a dress size” and lovely post regeneration fun. Yet this is River as we’ve never seen her before. This River reminds me of Angelica in The Stainless Steel Rat books. Like Angelica we see the character transform from psychopath to the River we’ve previously seen.

Which brings me to her attempts to kill the Doctor. Their little duel of intelligence with Melody trying to kill him with knives and guns. Yet she succeeds by poisoning him with a kiss – the one strategy he wouldn’t be expecting – with the poison of the Judas tree. I wonder if the two religious references were slipped into the section on regeneration deliberately or accidentally.

It all gets wrapped up with the Doctor’s death plenty of sillyness which fits this episode perfectly. The temporally convoluted story of the Doctor, Rory, Amy and River takes more steps forward. I was going to call it a soap opera but it’s something older than that.

The set dressing, costumes and period detail throughout was deserve a mention. Going to the trouble of making Hitler’s office based on photographs of the actual office just to smash it up was a good idea. Dressing the Doctor in top hat and tails was a nice touch.

The Guards is a film that isn’t bad but doesn’t really manage to be more than a pleasant diversion while it was probably hoping to be a cult classic.

The characters, setting and story have the potential to be interesting: an unorthodox, slightly corrupt Irish policeman, Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) in a quirky, rural County Galway community finds himself at the heart of a multibillion dollar drugs smuggling inquiry. He’s teamed up with FBI special agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) and up against a trio of nasty characters Clive Cornell, Francis Sheehy and Liam O’Leary (Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham and David Wilmot). His only significant relationship is with his terminally ill mother, Eileen (Fionnula Flanagan) and some affection for prostitute, Aoife O’Carroll (Dominique McElligott).

Mix in some jet black humour and it’s a summer sleeper hit winner that will turn its budget into a huge pile of cash. Think Local Hero, Hot Fuzz or In Bruge. It must have looked like that on paper to the seven production companies that funded it.

The films main problems can be seen on the poster – a cast of almost interesting characters that end up in little bubbles and a desire to be funny which it never really achieve.

The chief problem is that it wants to be a character piece but the characters are all a bit too disposable. Its thin plot would provide a nice scaffoling for some real nice bits of acting but it never really lets the characters get going.

Boyle and Everett need more time on screen together building their characters. They start to have something and then are split up until the end of the film when they’re brought back together for the climax. Along the way various characters pass through Boyle’s life just long enough that you want to see more of them. Certainly when they are together the “chemistry” mentioned on the poster is there but they’re just not together enough.

In parallel to the police we get a few scenes with the criminal trio as they corrupt the Garda, kill some people and go about smuggling a boat load of drugs into Ireland. Sadly they are saddled with some sub Tarantino wittering as they debate philosophy in a car and then life in front of a shark tank at an aquarium.

The secondary problem is that if you’re going for darkly humorous you need to be actually funny. There are a few places this was amusing and a few it raised a laugh from someone in the small audience at the cinema I saw it in. It had opportunities but it didn’t take them. What the reviewer who said it was “A Raucous Comedy” thinks Raucous means I don’t know but it’s not how I’d describe it.

There is some nice cinematography of rain-swept County Galway. I can’t really say the music has stuck with me long enough to be remembered. The story has a slightly ambiguous ending – maybe there was a wrap up after the credits but I wasn’t bothered enough to sit through them to find out.

Overall I thought The Guard was an alright film but I was disappointed. With a stronger script the central and incidental characters could have been more interesting and hence funnier. I’m sure that the makers will be hoping it becomes a cult classic and that strong DVD sales will make it into a profitable success but I think they’ll be disappointed.

• @ForbiddenPlanet I walked past Liverpool store last Monday @ 10PM. I've rarely seen Bold Street quieter just 2 revelers & 2 Police Officers. #
• @garymurning "We have the (white heat of) technology we can rebuild it" #
• @jazzchantoozie My pleasure #
• @dr_monkeyface My pleasure #
• Is Organogram the ugliest word in the English language? #
• @call_me_salome Not sure why but I always hear @bobbyllew saying spleen with Kryten's intonation. #
• @GRIMACHU @call_me_salome Now that I like. Far better than any reason I can come up with for spleen not being ugly #
• So @call_me_salome says Spleen is an uglier word than Organogram. I feel a poll coming on. Any other contenders? #
• @KimKnox @call_me_salome Or Celebrity Word Death match. Just hang on a year or two while I do the claymation #
• @DanDiplo @call_me_salome Flange and Gusset two of the most popular words in Vogon poetry or a Hinge and Bracket tribute act? #
• @ghostwoods @call_me_salome Staycation and Webinar are ugly but Mopier you're just making that one up #
• Its Organogram v @ghostwoods Staycation Mopier Webinar @call_me_salome Spleen @DanDiplo Flange Gusset & 4 @KimKnox Which is better? Brawl! #
• @call_me_salome @KimKnox Mmmmmm Chocolate #
• @jearle Much prefer a world where we can have different tastes. Harry Potter does nothing for me. And whats with motorbike racing #
• @DaddyDM My pleasure #
• @ghostwoods @call_me_salome Now that is an unnecessary concept if there ever was one. #
• @pookie_uk Since Newton at the Bank of England or Peeps at the Admiralty not a lot of people. #
• "We guarantee our software will run on your infrastructure" then in technical requirements its Windows only. #
• @ehlanakovas Not actually a problem. Just when website/marketing makes a stupid claim I start to question everything else they say #
• RT @newscientist: UK shadow science minister: Twitter is not a weapon http://t.co/S2lm3wy #
• @simplychrista Shiny kitchen #
• You couldn't make this up RT @guardiannews: Clive Goodman blows the lid on #phonehacking cover-up: #NOTW reporter's letter reveals all #
• @theSarahJay Don't know if this helps: My thoughts on Super 8 http://t.co/2tLotm2 #
• @simplychrista How's the rest of your new place? #
• @SarahDarkmagic @FTHurley Congratulations #
• @very_true_thing Find a small child – they will consider a large cardboard box the best present in the world ever #
• Writing a report that has reduced me to a state of not happeningness approaching the state of the universe just after the last star goes out #
• @paulbaalham @SarahDarkmagic That calls for more pun scenario titles than have been seen since Paranoia: Flashdragondance, Lord of the DD #
• @simplychrista Cool. As long as it doesn't also travel randomly through space and time while you're not looking #
• So bad its good –> RT @Steves_Mind: When an eel bites your hand on the beach in the sand, that's a moray. #
• @Thisangelbites Bernard Cribbins has a warning for you http://t.co/583cB2a #
• RT @sciamannata: LOL! Amazon has a category called "correctional supplies". It's under stationery > writing materials. #
• @bg_josh Interestingly enough a word I've been using in a different context recently #
• This gets worse RT @cswriter: @impworks @Steves_Mind Funny. Also, when a show guest's wardrobe makes the TV screen strobe, that's a moire. #
• Thankfully I think I've come out the other side of writing the report that was driving me to despair #
• @Fantasticmaps Glad that its almost the end of the working day here #
• @Fantasticmaps Hope yours will be more interesting than mine which was spent on writing a rather dull report. On the + side the sun is out. #
• @Fantasticmaps And I may go home and try to get back into using CityEngine to build game maps #
• @Fantasticmaps Interesting but needs some work since it builds model procedurally based on rules, street maps & image driven parameter maps #
• @Fantasticmaps @thedeadone Also out in the UK where the weather can't make its mind up this summer. #
• @Fantasticmaps I got it for playing with CG rather than gaming when they launched indie last year. Still a bit techie but improving. #
• Klout still says I'm influential about Paranoia. Its added Facebook. At least being Paranoid about Facebook puts me in interesting company. #
• So TAFKAP would have shelled out £23 then for his One Night Stand? RT @guardiantech: Apps rush: …Lovers' Guide… #
• Oops link got lost from my last tweet #
• So TAFKAP would have shelled out £23 then for his One Night Stand? RT @guardiantech: Apps rush: …Lovers' Guide… http://t.co/TaHM6Uq #
• @paulbaalham @UKDNDTweetup @Feanan Why not it has the lowest % pass rate and % for each grade (can you tell I got an A at General Studies) #
• @UKDNDTweetup @paulbaalham Had that 1 year into a GCSE when teacher changed #
• Had an idea for an #rpg mystery adventure built on set theory where PCs eliminate suspects based on clues. Couldn't think how to present it. #
• Just thought maybe present it a bit like Guess Who? with a card for each suspect with icons for some NPC aspects (eg known MO) #
• Wondering if the adventure itself can be driven by GM randomly selecting villains from the available NPCs? #
• @paulbaalham Thanks. I've not seen it I'll have to give it a look. #
• @paulbaalham Have you seen @grahamwalmsley A Taste for Murder where the murderer isn't fixed until they are caught? #
• @paulbaalham Its an interesting GMless RPG. Not flexible to anything other than classic murder mystery but very good. #
• Should Sneek Peak = Highest point in Friesland? RT @sciamannata: Sneak peek = a quick look. Sneak peak = a very stealthy mountaintop. #
• @sciamannata I did wonder about that since average altitude in Friesland is listed as 2m! #
• @TeamDraven Not dissimilar to cludo either but all the eliminations would be based on NPC "dossiers" which is why I thought Guess Who? #
• @JonBrazerEnt Tastes like chicken for most. Tastes like pork for humanoids. Tastes like beef for Minotaurs #
• @TeamDraven Sandbox style adventure. PCs search for clues as villains commit crimes. So they need to interview witnesses, ask around… #
• @TeamDraven …interrogate suspects suspects, check alibis, maybe throw in some surveillance and forensics too. #
• @TeamDraven I was thinking tabletop. I'm not really a LARPer although I did write a wombles inspired LARP for a con that didn't run. #
• @richard_iorio Afternoon #
• @darkdwarf I can see that in it a bit too. I think the presentation will be closer to Guess Who? but the logic will be similar. #
• Nothing ever happens, nothing happens at all, The needle returns to the start of the song, And we all sing along like before #
• @insideoutcast Thanks for the #ff #
• Reading UK news I found myself applying the Yugaria Test: would it be reported differently if it happened in a (fictional) foreign country #
• @simonjrogers Nice but shouldn't that be Giant Evil Corporation™ ? #
• @simonjrogers A good thing as Bond: Do you expect me to talk? Goldfinger: No, Mr Bond. I expect you to see you to DMCA. doesn't really work #
• @DaddyDM Thanks for the #ff #
• @inrepose Hang on that means my pay at the end of the month is in the equivalent of monopoly money. #
• How could I have forgotten this Weird Al cover of She Drives Me Crazy? #

I’ve had a little fiddle round with this site to add Google +1 button, Tweet Button and Facebook like. Not because I exepect anyone to use them but so I can use all three in anger. The formatting needs a bit of work still but all three seem to be working.

The Planet of the Apes franchise isn’t one of my personal science fiction classics – I always found the actors in ape costumes distracted me.  I wasn’t even sure I wanted to see this addition to the series like X-Men First Class though this proved to be well worth the price of admission.  However I’m glad I did because the CG apes are really good and several of the motion capture performances are exceptional.

When the credits roll don’t get up to leave because almost immediately the film starts again.

The film is very much a morality tale with acts of violence, anger, fear, greed,  hatred, love and kindness along the road to the doom of humanity and the rise of the apes.  Although it made for simple story telling one minor character accidentally is responsible for much of humanities doom which did feel a little contrived.

James Franco, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Tom Felton and David Oyelowo are all excellent.  I almost expect more from Brian Cox who played his part well but didn’t seem to have a huge amount to work with.

The real stars though have to be the CG apes and the performances by the actors who played them.  There has been a fair amount of coverage of Andy Serkis’ central performance as Casear but many of the other apes have smaller parts but are equally well acted.  Those performance include real emotional depth and have character arcs that are better developed than many of the human characters.

The CG itself is outstanding especially given the huge number of CG shots in the film.  There were a few slightly dodgy shots where they tried just a bit too hard but they were hardly on a par with the dubious CG man running on collapsing crane of last year’s film of  The A-Team.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is another fun summer movie that probably just misses out on being a true classic despite the exceptional performances of the apes.

• After quite a lot of trial and error I've got my CG models car bonnet built. Funny cylinders for wheels used to look good but now worst part #
• After discovering the German pronunciation of Vicks yesterday applying VapoRub takes on an entirely new amusing frisson #
• Hush, Tish, Bibble RT @hyperlingo: A Bit of Fry and Laurie: A Discussion of Language | http://ow.ly/5WYcH #
• Chores done. TIme to add some more detail to my CG car. #
• @Danacea I didn't manage a 5min walk without a torrential downpour catching me so while I'd bet on a drenching but I'll hope you made it dry #
• Just back from an excellent meal at Tapas Taspas and the equally enjoyable Super 8 at the Cinema http://bit.ly/rcHnvs #
• @cha0tic Wonder if @datastore could set up riot postcode map: Scale where 1 is someone being a bit verbal & 10 the Storming of the Bastille #
• @xyleanne69 Cool colour #
• @jearle Absolutely. We're living in 2011 not 1911. We don't need a repeat of Liverpool's Bloody Tuesday. #
• @Danacea Ow. Glad your OK. You have to watch those cyclists: as Rocky Horror taught us "life's pretty cheap for that type" #
• Quick Super 8 film review http://t.co/apXsMGT #
• @xtamsynx Is it wrong I still have one wall of Buffy Character pictures up in the room I write in? #
• @symatt Probably a good idea – otherwise counter hallucinations rather than counter sketches likely. #
• @symatt One of the papers blamed Grand Theft Auto today already… #
• @symatt Shame. I'll miss it. #
• @thedeadone Thanks I couldn't remember which one but should have guessed The Mail. #
• @symatt Ah well if its your birthday go with the flow. We'll all cope. For a day at least #
• I just moved a huge (4 inch across) spider on from my bath and first thing it did was go for the 3 inch across one under the sink… #
• @AnthonyBibby Clearly its all about heavy structural iron work and corsets #
• @richeym @DanDiplo I've no fear of spiders but this one was making a move on me and I dropped it on the floor before it went for me lol #
• @DanDiplo My flat has a healthy ecosystem – Spiders mean no problem with flies, woodlice etc #
• Bloke on bus "Conscript the lot of em" His Mate "We were 16 in 1981: Conscription set us on the tracks after Toxteth" Bloke "?" Mate "Right" #
• @garyhills IKEAs are heavily designed – mostly using rats running mazes to make sure they're hard to escape #
• @garyhills Sounds like you took the rat route. They also test with hamsters: they're smarter than rats & humans so don't get lost in duvets #
• @call_me_salome Breakfast? Second breakfast here or maybe brunch. Heading rapidly for lunch! #
• @call_me_salome Initiating plan ham sandwich. Sadly no seeded bread this week so just a nice wholemeal. #
• @call_me_salome We really don't want to overstretch police resources hope you resolved the situation with citizen intervention. #
• @symatt This is a 4.4", the most powerful handgonne in the world, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? #
• @Thisangelbites AFAIK it was a way of avoiding being accused of giving short measures for which bakers could be pilloried and flogged. #
• Nothing like starting to write a reply to a tweet, getting interupted and sending it far too late. Social media is so demanding lol #
• Now listening to the Ukulele Orchestra Of Great Britain – Teenage Dirtbag http://t.co/9vHPqRl #
• @Thisangelbites How many ostrich eggs to the dozen quail's eggs? #
• @Thisangelbites Think its from the West Wing: Why are there 20 hot dogs in a tin but 12 rolls in a pack? No conspiracy just 20 hot dogs fit. #
• Now listening to Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain Another Girl Another Planet http://t.co/YHLnEan #
• Amazing 50 days of zero customer service from a company – 1 hour after I mention contacting press / lawyers and asking for a refund – fixed. #
• A little light research. #
• @DanDiplo First thing I bought when I got a flat was not one but two designer bins. They were in the sale and cheaper than regular ones #
• Today looks like it will largely be about Normalization. Again. #
• @sciamannata A quick search suggests you can't turn off the spell checking feature #
• @sciamannata Googles interpretation of booleans like + is "interesting" but if it helps go for it. Sadly no switch to turn it off. #
• 30 minutes to Torchwood & new Big Bang Theory pretty much straight after #
• @jearle Yes. Then all the other self-proclaimed tech pundits get to say you're an idiot or quote you as evidence. Oxygen of Publicity. #
• Klout thinks I'm influential about Paranoia. How does it know that? Which of you Commie Mutant Traitors talked? Get me a tin foil hat stat! #
• @simplychrista Thanks for the #ff #
• @6violet9 Thanks for the #ff #
• @GRIMACHU And that can result in players having their characters do stupid things as they don't know their limits. #
• @GRIMACHU Saddly I've not read Underground but I think I see where you're headed. Funny how many RPGs don't allow PCs to fail short of death #
• @sciamannata 12. Oops. I'll report to the termination centre immediately. #
• @GRIMACHU Saddly it came out when I was a student/on the dole and I had to pick and choose between rpgs and eating #
• @GRIMACHU lol. Never quite got that bad thankfully. #
• @GRIMACHU So the sort of failures you're considering are more story "didn't catch the villain" than action "shot self in foot" then? #
• @GRIMACHU Look forward to seeing what you come up with. I've struggled with how to do that for so Players enjoy stories they don't "win" #
• @GRIMACHU Makes sense – will keep my eyes open for it turning up somewhere in the future #
• @grahamwalmsley Don't you know they're shouting about a revolution.
  It sounds like a whisper… #
• @DaddyDM Thanks for the #ff #
• @OverheardSoho Now that should be a song title for an anthem by Meat Loaf written by Jim Steinman #
• That Ladies, Gentlemen and small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri, as they say, is a wrap. #
• @insideoutcast Thanks for the #ff #
• Listening to the Film Music Prom on BBC4 #
• @RobertWThomson Thanks for the #ff #
• Here comes the Star Wars theme on the proms… #
• BBC Prom now playing Bond. Turning the volume up. #
• In alphabetical order #ff @2753productions @6d6Fireball @6violet9 @aeonofdiscord @AmpTheBard @anthonybibby @ARRJAYKAY @athousandhats #
• #ff @beltonwriter @bishopjoey @blindgeekuk @buffybot85 @call_me_salome @cha0tic @CharlesMRyan @cimota @CityEngine @CraigWFSmith #
• #ff @crazycgchick @creativebloke @cthulhuchick @Curis @daddydm @Danacea @dandiplo @daneofwar @darkdwarf @darrengmiller @deadorcs #
• @Thisangelbites Thanks for the #ff #
• @deadorcs My pleasure #
• #ff @Dicecreator @djd73 @DMSamuel @dr_monkeyface @dreaming_iris @Drunken_Goblin @EclecticMonkey @FACT_Liverpool @FakeTSR @fluffcthulhu #
• #ff @gamefiend @GargoylePhan @garyhills @garymurning @GeekyClean @GeekyLyndsay @ghostfinder @ghostwoods @gillbrooks @grahamwalmsley #
• #ff @eyedoubleyou @grekwood @greywulf @grimachu @inrepose @insideoutcast @JamesWallis @jazzchantoozie @jearle @johnbellwrites @JonBrazerEnt #
• #ff @KeeperOfTheHDB @KeremGogus @KimKnox @KyleeLane @LesterSmith @Level30yinzer @marcupdates @mattstaggs @mdlachlan @mersipan @minapop #
• @call_me_salome My pleasure #
• #ff @MoonWolf95 @mouseferatu @newscientist @nightfallgames @overheardsoho @paulbaalham @pfigtree @pinpointzero @pookie_uk @RandomOenophile #
• #ff @realsimjoy @richard_iorio @richeym @robertshutter @RobinDLaws @RopeWalks @rpgdonts @sandchigger @SarahDarkmagic @sciamannata @scimon #
• @ghostwoods Thanks for the #ff #
• #ff @SFSFW @shainorton @simonjrogers @simplychrista @sizemore @stargazersworld @stevehills @stigmatyr @superkrispydj @sylvester_33 @symatt #
• #ff @tapastapas @TeamDraven @thedeadone @therealgelfie @thisangelbites @Trollgodfather @Troppers @ubiquitousrat @undeadbydawn #
• #ff @very_true_thing @vmdolphin @WastexGames @xtamsynx @xyleanne69 #
• @TeamDraven My pleasure #
• @beltonwriter Thanks for the #FF #
• @SteveHills Thanks for the #FF #
• @2753Productions My pleasure #
• @pfigtree My pleasure #
• @ubiquitousrat My pleasure #
• @6d6Fireball My pleasure #
• @xtamsynx My pleasure #
• @realsimjoy My pleasure #
• Added windscreen wipers to my CG car model #
• @cha0tic My pleasure #
• @GRIMACHU Interesting – like where you're going with that. A more macro scale than I've been thinking about. #
• @GRIMACHU I can see it working well in a game where PCs shift the world. I'm playing with a more futile universe personal consequence only. #
• @GRIMACHU But for something more epic here's something I wrote base on a Valkyrie article when they stopped publishing http://t.co/yemf6g8 #
• @GRIMACHU A bit of randomness sounds good – so the PCs can't meta game the system but not so much that random dominates #
• @GRIMACHU True. I use it more for background building but for working with a mechanical approach subdividing would be needed. #
• @GRIMACHU That could work. Something that lets the game world go past PCs die (D&D and most other games) to extreme World Ends (CoC) #
• Very nice dice (apologies for misuse of plural it scans better) RT @Dicecreator: New Cthulhu D6 -> http://t.co/mStMXwg #
• @Troppers If you work it out let us know cause I feel like I know it but each film I look up on IMDB isn't it #
• @Troppers It feels like it ought to be a Hitchcock film staring Cary Grant but it doesn't fit #
• @Troppers lol I decided it wasn't Vertigo. Glad you worked it out #
• Added trim, wheel arches, fuel cap and windscreen wipers to my CG model car this afternoon plus some minor tweaks. Almost done. #
• @johnmcc It was on BBC and C4 news yesterday. #
• Listening to Prom 39 – Spaghetti Western Orchestra http://t.co/5l6AOZs #
• @johnmcc Here's the BBC news http://t.co/DKOPXHo #

Super 8 is classic Spielberg late 70s / early 80s teenagers have an encounter / coming of age film fun made with the sort of effects that are very much 21st century state of the art. Think Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial or The Goonies.

I’m going to keep this short because its late and I don’t want to give anything away that might spoil the film.

The cast is excellent and their acting perfectly pitched for the film.  JJ Abrams direction is perfect.  The period detail is spot on.  The story has a strong, logical plot and well-developed characters.  The special effects, especially the train crash, are really well done.  The mystery is suitably mysterious.  And there is just enough sentimentality in the mix without it becoming cloying or annoying.

Oh and including the film the teenagers are shooting on Super 8 during the film with bad acting, dodgy effects and dubious make up alongside the credits is a simple but inspired touch. Don’t leave the cinema till it’s over.

Overall I’d recommend Super 8 as a thoroughly enjoyable movie.  Probably not the best film of the year but certainly a strong contender for a high placing in my top 10.

• And six hours after I started on it my model of a car starts to look vaguely believable. Time for a break for something to eat. #
• @symatt Like the colourised version #
• @blindgeekuk Agreed – but it does have the jungle scene with the special mummies later #
• After a solid days work my car model is starting to look like it will be usable – not really good enough to show off but I'm pleased with it #
• Anyway time to go and do something requiring just a touch less concentration. Night. #
• And so it begins…. There is a hole in your schedule. What do you want? Why are you here? It was 246 before the third age. And Monday. #
• Cruel Sayers taunt our office with smell of toast. Anyone remember where the quote "Resist! Resist!" in a silly voice is from? #
• @TheRealGelfie Why can't I help thinking that would be a cool number plate lol #
• Now there would be a cool number plate –> RT @TheRealGelfie: @impworks B5 FTW #
• @sciamannata lol No its not but maybe they are related – the silly voice had a strong Peter Lorre hint to it but I don't think it was him #
• RT @ghostwoods: A NEW HOPE. Exciting news for readers — and writers. http://t.co/JkxWmQP #
• @ghostwoods Good luck #
• @KeremGogus Nice work – just a hint of 60s spy films to that one #
• @KeremGogus That one looks like it'll be rather cool too. I really need more time for modeling. #
• RT @greywulf: I think Aragorn is losing it. http://t.co/gZXgDZk #
• Quote makes me think Bread & Circuses? @Peston At a time of sluggish growth for the British economy, the progress at BSkyB looks remarkable #
• Just read the article that the quote in my last tweet comes from and the first comment opens with Bread and Circuses lol http://t.co/CGFxyP8 #
• I don't look at the cricket for an afternoon and there is an Indian batting collapse. #
• @Danacea Looks like fun – liked your shots of the Pavilion, I only saw it almost empty early in the morning so interesting to see it busy #
• The weird trumpeting busker just started: plays a couple of bars then stops, then a couple more, then stops. John Cage would be proud. #
• @deadorcs Why am I now thinking of Mind Flayers on fad diets "Parietal Lobe", "No Grey Matter" and the "Liquor cerebrospinalis"? #
• @cthulhuchick If it would make you feel better there are students blocking the door of here at around 5:30 you could body check for me #
• @symatt Simple solution – buy 14 pairs of identical socks at a time and keep them in their own draw. #
• @cthulhuchick Its a shame you can't actually channel your avatar in real life – bet that would shift them quickly enough #
• @PinkBatgirl @blindgeekuk Have to agree: get to an eye clinic. I had something with an eye & I've never seen doctors move so fast. #
• @KimKnox Gratz #
• My Captain America: The First Avenger review http://t.co/I9GkGGy #
• @thedeadone And now with added Stephen Fry goodness too #
• @thedeadone Not in the trailer but he's tweeted about it and listed on IMDB – a good choice for Mycroft Holmes #
• @gamefiend Gratz #
• @xtamsynx lol – now that's the perfect dress for @call_me_salome #
• @JamesWallis Sounds about right. There is a middle eastern aunt, N C Isis, who keeps trying to interfere too. #
• @bishopjoey @call_me_salome @xtamsynx That makes this shirt positively affordable http://t.co/Y1QHBZ9 #
• @GargoylePhan An ocean may divide us but I seem to be working on keeping their European arm in funds #
• @PinkBatgirl Good luck #
• @KyleeLane Walk round barefoot for awhile – odds are you'll find any lost lego quite quickly. #
• @JamesWallis lol Is that Nancy Drew's married name? #
• @KyleeLane Definitely not fun to step on but almost guaranteed to find lost ones every time. #
• @GRIMACHU @call_me_salome Sorry thats mechanical ventilation & fans are a net heat source. Guess what kind of engineering degree was #
• @GRIMACHU @call_me_salome Sorry advanced pedantry comes as a freebie with ALL engineering degrees. Required first year course. #
• @call_me_salome @GRIMACHU They work for a short while but the heat gain rapidly exceeds the cooling in most buildings except if the fan… #
• @call_me_salome @GRIMACHU …is creating air movement by blowing out of the room (and blowing the heat from its motor out) #
• I need comfort food Stat. #
• Sees like last night was a night of poor sleep for lots of the people I follow. #
• @KimKnox Who's bad mouthing the little beast now. Don't they know they're tasty and nutritious. But free range are nicest. #
• @shainorton Must be something in the air/water/ether #
• @ARRJAYKAY Had you used the masher's other end for something else before? That's when you're really too lazy. #
• RT @RandomOenophile: If you join the Mile High Club w sex in an airplane, what do Rory & Amy belong to after making a baby in the TARDIS? #
• @GRIMACHU How about Human Target or Chuck? #
• @GRIMACHU @DaddyDM Leverage = Hustle with a bigger budget even down to the tag line #
• @GRIMACHU Human target is slightly SF body guard show but sometimes leans towards McGyver at least in the thinks on his feat improvising #
• @AmpTheBard lol #
• @RandomOenophile NP. Did you see @AmpTheBard and @sandchigger replies to me? #
• @GRIMACHU Thinking Chuck is probably The Man from Uncle + Alias ? #
• @symatt Cool (and damp) #
• Have to be careful using moist round some of the writers I know lol RT @DaddyDM: Moist even. ;-p RT @impworks @symatt Cool (and damp) #
• Either its hot in here or I'm running a real temperature. Either way I think I'll skip writing in case I go completely craaazzzzy. #
• @DaddyDM That's odd the writers I know who'd use it are all women #
• A few pictures and thoughts from my trip to the Brit Insurance Design of the Year 2011 http://bit.ly/omBWfc #
• 15 minutes till Torchwood… #
• Torchwood in two minutes – Going Dark. See you in 60 minutes. #
• @6violet9 Thanks for the #ff #
• @buffybot85 Sadly there seems to be a cold doing the rounds #
• @pookie_uk Does the monkey get to wear a monkey sized fez? Can we eat its brains? #
• @thewritertype Why do you think the windows don't open on modern skyscrapers? Its Health and Safety gone Mad! #
• @insideoutcast The one time he really got the girl and married her she gets killed: got to be a bad omen for future long term relationships. #
• @insideoutcast Lots of the break ups are between stores so he might be the one getting dumped especially if they spot… #
• @insideoutcast … to Quote M "a sexist, misogynist dinosaur. A relic of the Cold War" #
• @insideoutcast If you can round me up 10-20 Bond Girls finding a crew & a writer should be hard Plus a couple of Bonds of course… #
• @DaddyDM Thanks for the #FF #
• @buffybot85 My bag is now chinking with bottles of cold killing / suppressing goodness #
• @DJD73 Thanks for the #FF #
• @RobertWThomson Thanks for the #ff #
• @Greenknee Thanks for the #FF #
• Just caught a rerun of Dr Who: The Day of the Moon and I'm wondering is the River with them a Ganger? #
• @DaddyDM Ganger Amy had morning sickness but wasn't apparently pregnant later episode & River's unexplained nausea. #
• @DaddyDM Yes. Which is why I'm wondering if this could be timeline tom foolery. A clue that only makes sense on a second viewing. #
• @DaddyDM Its only once and they put it down to The Silence. Could be being too clever but they may have been watching The Usual Suspects. #
• Today I am a walking advert for Vicks VapoRub which I've just discovered is a bit naughty in German. #
• Apparently the V in German Vicks is pronounced as a guttural F so it becomes phonetically very rude. @ehlanakovas @Stigmatyr #
• @maialideth lol. There is a brand of Chinese rice that translates into English as Semtex – imagine the fun that caused on import into the US #
• @daneofwar @maialideth International marketing – its a linguistic minefield waiting to make you a laughing stock #
• @ghostwoods Don't worry we know you've not been getting Social Media Strategy advice from Newt Gingrich #
• A few chores done… Now to add some more detail to my first CG car model. #
• Well doesn't time fly. Upgrade Moment of Inspiration then used new features to tweak my car model. So now it exports nicer. Now food. #
• @vmdolphin Thanks for the #ff #
• @simplychrista Nice work #
• @GeekyClean Is a TARDIS dress comfortable yet slinky because its cut so its bigger on the inside than the outside? #
• @richard_iorio Cool – I really need to catch up with the books I've not picked up yet too. #
• @richard_iorio I have to admit I'm not sure – lack of an FLGS means I need to plan better – but I've enjoyed the ones I've picked up so far #

I really enjoyed visiting the Design Museum, London, last year so I was pleased I managed to get down to London to see the Brit Insurance Design of the Year 2011 a few weekends ago.  I’ve picked out a few of my favourite entries in the gallery.

I didn’t get a picture of Margaret Howell Plus Shirt produced in collaboration with Kenneth Grange. The fashion section isn’t usually my thing so the silver dress covered with highly reflective loops was a pleasant surprise. It could have escaped from the pages of Cyberpunk 2020 or SLA Industries.

I did discover I have expensive tastes – the Margaret Howell Plus Shirt (£225) and the Quartz Series Glasses (£130-£185) both had price tags to match the quality of the craft that had gone into producing them. The Plumen 001 light bulb was also one of my favourite pieces so I was really pleased to discover they had won. The picture of the wall piercing lights doesn’t really do them justice as they slowly changed colour creating different moods on the wall.

The Lego/Muji Bricks and Paper collaboration was simultaneously obvious, brilliant, innovative and fun. Lastly I had to include the Ladakh Commonwealth Peace Pavillion simply because when I first saw it I burst into laughter in the middle of the show. One of my early designs for a design project at University had a strikingly similar form (if somewhat smaller) and was  rubbished by the tutor – and yet here it was in the design awards.

This weekend is the shows last weekend (finishing Sunday 7 August) and while your there take in Kenneth Grange: The Making of Modern Britain – if you don’t know his work its just because you haven’t realised it was all around you.