The Three Rs is a primarily British viral entertainment site, with standings in many niche interests and involved in a variety of different groups. Topics range from gaming to adulthood to the latest fashion.
I apologise its been a long time coming but amongst other things, I've been trying to give myself the allusion that I could get some sort of longevity from Halo 3. As you can already tell, the fanboyism concerning Halo has gone, regarding this entry anyway. To quote a much loved line from Yahtzee Bungie " took all the comments on board, then threw them into a fire" as well as it seems, everything else that made Halo 2 brilliant. The inspiring campaign we had in Halo 2 is about as short as Portal, minus the effort, ingenuity and the good looking graphics. And the multiplayer, well far from perfect, but fortunately that can be amended with time. Sadly and disappointingly, the same cannot be said for a horrifyingly underachieving and ultimately anti-climatic ending to what has otherwise been an enthralling saga. They had so much time and opportunity to turn it into a truly brilliant game, and in essence 'epic phailed'. There are only ten campaign levels with only nine of them being playable, and some said Halo 2's campaign was criminally short, o rly, Halo 3 to Halo 2 is simply what Gimli was to Treebeard, with various fellow ents on his shoulders, and maybe Mount Doom as well, with Saurons tower balancing on the peak. Yeah about that sort of longevity difference. Furthermore, one thing that really made Halo 2 for me were the in-game sequences (do we still call them FMVs). There were many, lengthy and above all enjoyable. I can't remember exactly how many sequences there were, I'll estimate around 4, actually 5 at most, in terms of genuine in-game sequences. Thats less then there were Star Wars films, and like both these things, we could have done with more. Even when we do have in game sequences, theyre as flat as my motherland(Heh guess). Relatively no addition to plot, no further development. Just short clips of elites in ships and a minor one of the prophet being killed by the Arbiter, all of which I could have replicated to some degree of accuracy on the theater mode, maybe even better ones. However, If I leave the campaign alone for just the moment there are other issues particularly with multiplayer. Even more particularly the completely illogical melee system, that instead of letting the quicker person win the melee battle, the person with the most health does. Even worse, the opposing player who usually has more health has upto around a second and a half with which to respond with his own melee, and therefore due to the twisted completely unexplainable logic that Bungie have implemented, the quicker player dies (unless he had more health, and sorry to any females that play the game but I'm not gonna waste valuable time typing he/she). Such stupidity can be reinforced by real life examples, since when can an individual be shot in the face, with his brain exiting the skull within nano seconds of impact, and still have the capability to snatch up his gun and return fire to the other opponents face, and then somehow survive and get on with his existence, despite the fact he has a hole in his face emulating a donut. Exactly, I could find only one such occurrence in history. But, as stated earlier, I can forgive Bungie the other more trivial issues with regards weapon and vehicle placement and attributes as these can all be amended in due time, a quick read of Bungie's latest update assures me they're at least attentive of the flawed online aspects. And after all,the game isn't all bad. Theater for one is a particularly clever little feature, automatically recording all ingame events, so you can screenshot that invisible rocket shot that otherwise would have been banished to the murky abyss of both time and Giles memory (Alex pwnt Gile wif active camo basically). Theres also the online co-op, so in case you weren't pissed off at the campaign enough, you can be even more infuriated and share the experience with a friend anywhere in the world, but mainly to gain achievements and gamerscore, which aside from what I must say is nicely varied level design, is the only other plus point that can be taken. Forge also is rather useful in its own way, for making boring racecourses and other various other rather limited and altogether tedious map variations, which I don't enjoy but I'm sure some small,tiny Halo fan minority do, in comparison to the uber large majority who wanted something actually worth something *cough* map creater*cough*. All in all, though I've been harsh of Halo, its not thaaaaat bad. Its undoubtedly bad, just not that bad. I mean for me the campaign was practically the whole point of Halo which is why I have judged it so (deservedly) harshly, though in retrospect I was equally as enthusiastic about the multiplayer, which due to recent statements from Bungie, I remain enthusiastic still. Perhaps theres some partial redemption yet for Bungie and their franchise, with regards to multiplayer modification and also the upcoming 'Halo Chronicles' by Peter Jackson and Wingnut Studios, who apparently intend to produce only semi playable yet amazingly detailed episodes in terms of plot and story, the perfect supplement and in a way, partner to Halo 3. But time will tell, and theres a lot of time. Halo Chronicles is thought to be released next year around this time. Yes I'm afraid so Mr Puffin Type Thing, we're stuck with matchmaking for a while.
4...4 4, the number of the Mobisode. (To clarify it's number 4.) And it's quite a good Mobisode...
...on paper.
Michael is tied up at decoy village, from that Michael episode at the end of season 2. Juliet walks in and introduces herself. She tells Michael the boat he requested is his, so that he can take Walt away (After he frees Ben from the Hatch). She comments that Walt is special, that he's not an ordinary boy, and that's why she is worried about him. Juliet is glad that Michael is going to get Walt away from the Island, and she assures him that they will keep their end of the bargain. She then reveals that she made her own deal with Ben, concerning her sister. When Michael questions why she would stay on the Island to save her sister because she would never get to see her, Juliet asks in return if he would do anything to save Walt. Then she reminds him of the list he had been given, and wishes him good luck.
Mobisode Rating: 3/5 - Great Idea... but it sucked... Good to see Michael back.
New Section. I'll call it Episode References because let's face it, not everyone spends all day on Lostpedia.
- Takes Place During: Three Minites. - Walt and Michael get off the Island: Live Together, Die Alone - Juliet's Deal: One of Us
Next Week - Episode M05 - ...Title hasn't been announced yet.
So, whilst we all wait around for Dee to post another update on the next mobisode, I thought I'd chip in in the meantime with my continuing LOST overview. The other night I watched the above episodes of the first series. Here's my critique:
- Claire has replaced Jack in terms of 'the whiner' of the camp. All she did, up until the kidnapping, was whine. So what if you're a bomb of responsibility waiting to explode? Shouldn't of gotten knocked up in the first place! Heck, I bet right now she's moaning on about how 'helpless' she is to that Ethan guy about how 'harsh' he's being on her. Whatever. The point is her ranting is on par with that of Angsty Me, and that's saying something ([End plug]).
- Sayid is creeping up my list of favourite characters. Despite the one with the most vicious past, he seems the most faithful to the camp and the most efficient. Certainly Locke's the one stalking around in the undergrowth for boar and other nasties, but Sayid is actually help progress the story. Even if all he does do is get into fights with Sawyer and get molested by decrepit French maidens.
- Talking of violent flashbacks, Kate is gaining some depth. As a lying, cheating, loser, maybe; but at least she's interesting. Well, for me anyway, and I've always been a fan of Reservoir Dogs. Kate's life seems to be a bloody rendition of all Tarintino films.
- Sawyer still remains on top as an orgasmic anti-hero.
So, I continued my journey into the world of LOST the other night. I watched, once again, four more episodes straight. By the end of this mini-marathon, I came out with numerous feelings:
- I'm getting sick of the focus on eyes here. They might as well start every episode with eyes, focus on the eyes all the time, have a character called Iris and just be done with it. WE GET THE POINT, CREATORS!
- Sawyer is no longer a 2D mediocre, anti-hero! Now he has slightly more level of depth! Huzzah! At least he has suddenly been given reasoning behind his estranged actions which basically alienate him from anyone, ever.
- Locke still rules, I'm afraid. Sorry, but his wise ways and hunting skills (that literally kills) are not only essential to the group's survival (which makes him about a million times useful than ninety percent of the remaining cast), but his great view on the situation and a proficiency to know exactly what The Island is all about make him a better narrator than, say, Jack.
- Talking of Jack; he's slowly turning into a whiny emo kid who simply cries over his dad's death and goes around shouting: "I R NO LEDA!" There's also a strong reoccurring theme (which is present from the first moments that he meets Kate) that he actually enjoys teaching the other characters how to perform sadistic surgery upon him. Ranging from stitching him up following the crash (Kate), to popping his shoulder back in place (Charlie). Fucking masochist!
What's the difference between the England Team and Lewis Hamilton?
Lewis Hamilton still has Mclaren.
Da-dum-dum-tisch. Yeah, it's the joke of the moment. Everyone will claim it as there own but they all know they stole it from BBC Radio 5 Live... or talkSPORT, I can't remember which one. For those lucky souls not in the know, England crashed out of the European Championships last night. So now it's time for a serve verbal attack. Also on re-read I've realised the post has an excess of swearing in it...
I'm not sure how to go about this. Do I rant about the clearly diabolical qualification performances we've (We've? I mean they've) produced? Do I rant about the clearly diabolical effort last night? Do I rant about the clearly diabolical Mclaren, Venables and the rest of the England coaching squad? Do I rant about the the clearly diabolical FA? Do I rant about the clearly diabolical Frank Lampard England players?
Yes basically to all the questions, I've probably forgot some. (And no, I won't add "There's too many foreign players in the Premiership!" Because that is just total bullshit. I mean serious Bull-fucking-bastarding-SHIT. Reason? All the other countries find it easy to play as a team and they players are not in there leagues!)
What really pisses me off about the England squad the clear lack of commitment from the players. (And by that I do not mean Peter Crouch and David Beckham (On occasions) they do seem to care about the England team and more inportantly England as a whole.) Take England's star midfielders Frank Lampard and Joe Cole. "We can Shoot," NO YOU CAN'T. "We can hold/lead the Midfield," NO YOU CAN'T. "We can kick a ball," NO YOU FUCKING CAN'T. Now I know you are thinking, I'm just scapegoating, well readers feast your fucking eyes on this. Link. Yeah, that's right. It's a badly spelt post from ye-olde Dee4leeds Periodical Rants about the 2006 World Cup. In that post I stat that Lampard and Cole were shite... I mean seriously SHITE. And what does that mean? It means I am (and always have been) right. I've even been laughed and ridiculed at by friends and general nerds on the Digital Spy forums for claiming Joe Cole is a glorified League 1 player. If Joe Cole was to join Leeds United, he would make a nice bench warmer. He would never get a game. Let's face it Lampard, you play for Chelsea and I have Setanta Sports. From watching Chelsea vs Blackburn I can tell you, for free, that you look good because the Chelsea defence do ALL the work. And not only do the defenders do all the fucking work from your shitty play, they also have to do all the work from Joe Coles' shitty play. Yes that's right. You all know it was coming. It's time for another trademark Dee4leeds death threat. So Frank Lampard, Joe Cole watch your back. (Blog free speak Act circa 1995)
Now, I've just re-read that paragraph and realised that I didn't speak about the England squad at all. I just vented personal (But justified) hatred towards the officially shit Frank Lampard and Joe Cole, but that's not a bad thing. To be honest I feel this is the ceremonious end to the this post. Let's see... Oh and the FA if you read this, read it well. Philip Scolari's the man for the job. Also, why have a full-time England Manager? Part-time is the way forward for England. That way less time is spent choosing how to fuck up England by watching Chelsea matches. Though I'm sure somebody like Alan Curbishley will get the job... God help us all.
Three R's Out!
EDIT by Dee4leeds
During a discussion with family we decided the man for the England hot seat is... IAN WRIGHT. The amount of passion that man has for the England team is equal to the rest of the country put together.
Quickly just to explain about the title. Its meant to be both 'denial' and a reference to Nile, a well known fellow among the three rs circle.
And onto the post well I just felt so infuriated for no genuine reason that I thought I would release a list of things that are really pissing me off atm, enjoy and revel in the fact that such rather trivial and petty matters in your eyes cause me so much anger.
Why...the fuck did the 'Man' decide to slam his foot down upon Demonoid of all places, Castro wasnt the only one who downloaded torrent pr0n for fucks sake.
Why...cant I find a bloody job after all the 15 minutes I looked, I haf no monies for games, scallops and more importantly Halo 3 maps out on December 11th( Edit: Yes I realise that you need microsoft points to actually get the maps, but you need monies for the points HA! still got it.)
Why...as a result of the above fact, do I have to choose between Coheed and Avenged Sevenfold for their concerts. Again I blame those corporate fatcats, simply because its easier than actually attacking the people responsible who upon reflection seem to be the bands themselves as they organise the dates, CUNTS.
Why...the FUCK is Halo 3 Campaign not the amazing thrill ride Bungie promised!
Why...the hell does every hair style I have look SHIT
Why...on the subject of hair does this bloody hobo beard on my chin refuse to grow, its short enough to leave yet long and unsightly enough to shave, dammit.
Why...oh why is that n00bzor allowed to get away with beating me down when I had an energy sword (lagging bastard)
Why...the hell is 'Welcome Home' on Rock Band when I've already asked for GH III :'(, Sweet Leaf as well.
Why...has Kerrang gone soft, hardest metal song I've heard/seen on it in a while must have been 'Clothes Off' by Gym Class Heroes xDD, seriously Kirk Hammett must be turning in his grave. Hes not dead you say?, he is inside.
Why...THE FUCK is he going out with her, seriously they go together like Florence Nightingale and Ted Bundy (random I know)
Why...wont she get the point and leave me alone, the words 'I don't like you' being a particularly and rather BLATANTLY obvious hint. And yes I know I'm hardly in the position to be turning females down but I'm afraid I wouldn't 'gag and shag' or even 'gag, shag and bodybag her', not even at gunpoint with the threat of an impending wedgie, wet willy, or even, yes even the dreaded Rear Admiral *shudders knowingly*
Why...can't RATM play the UK, more accurately England, even more accurately Leeds, instead of going to countries on the complete OPPOSITE side of the globe.
and finally why...doesnt Yahtzee look anything like he does in my fantasies. Did I say fantasies? I meant...fan...ta...sies... :S.
Thanks to Melasis for letting me post this little rant.
As you are probably aware if you are an avid Nintendo fan or just an average console junkie Nintendo are currently (and have been for frikking ages may I point out) working on a little piece called Smash Brothers Brawl. The third in the series of quite possibly two of the best games I have played on a Nintendo console, the first been on the N64 and the second been on the highly underestimated Game cube. Now the first will always have a place in my heart due to fond memories of playing it “Back in day”, memories mainly consisting of some dude in spandex shouting FALCON PUNCH -and that was just Scott- the game itself was amazing for the time both graphically and game play wise.
Now the second one I didn’t play until a few years after the actual release but I still got the feeling that I’ve recently been getting from Nintendo’s latest releases such as the amazing Mario galaxy and Zelda twilight princess, the feeling being that the game plays like the originals but has new features which make enhance its originality and make it just as enjoyable to play as the retro versions. And again I had this kid called Captain Falcon who’s many trademark moves consisted of the “Falcon punch” which (to quote Wikipedia) is a “slow but powerful punch in which a flaming falcon surrounds the character's fist.”, now this move was easily executable and in eyes did a shed load of damage (I also got to hear a muscle bound spandex clad hero shout “FALCON PUNCH”) therefore when I first heard about the latest Smash brothers I was like “Chea time to whip out some of ye olde falcon pwnage”. So I begin to research into the game and find out that this one could possibly be the best out of all three of them with such features as level creator and characters that would not in the slightest be expected to be seen on a Super Smash Brothers game (Solid Snake anyone?) and after reading everything I couldn’t find any mention of my hero Captain Falcon, so I gave up reading all the shitty Chinese whispers and decided to get straight to the point.
So I checked out www.smashbros.com to see if I could play as my spandex-clad hero one more time. I must admit the website itself was pretty god dam impressive full of info on levels and special items that were not previously featured. But this positive impression soon came to an end when I got the character info page, I’m greeted with a big box full of new comers and a box of equal bigness full of veterans. VETERAN: A person who has had long service or experience in an occupation. So I expect my hero to be one of these acclaimed veterans as Captain Falcon was one of those who were made to see war! I was not best pleased… he wasn’t there!!!
I don’t understand; why take out a one of the characters that has successfully being in the series since the beginning in the third and final installment. I mean we don’t see Nintendo doing it with the latest Metroid prime game do we? They are not like “Oh yeah you can have the game but we wont be including Samus as a playable character” it’s like giving some one a bun with no fecking burger in…..Quite frankly it takes the piss!!!
At the risk of my posts going the same way as Dee's and becoming too LOST-focused, I'm going to make a typical 'OMFG LUK WUT I FUND ON DA INTERNETZ!' entry and hope that it snatches popularity from the mobisode commentaries. Check it.
It's a very simple premise:
You type words. It sings those words using clips from popular songs throughout the decades.
This very simple idea is very addictive. I've come up with all sorts of great-sounding sentences, and I've only been playing on it for five minutes!
My favourite so far is 'How about you?'.
Although it does have a tendancey to fall flat on it's face with longer segments. Especially when repeating words (I wanted a pseudo-rendition of Heart Shaped Box by using 'Hey!' twice over. Didn't work that well). Just stick to fun, small sentences like 'Tell me why I don't like Mondays' and be amused like a small child!
(Dee can probably make the banner work better than me) (And he has - Dee4leeds)
So yes, I've finally given into the pressures of both Dee and our new viewers and begun to watch Lost. All the way from the very first episode. Last night I did a rather long first sitting and watched the first volume out of the seven within the first season. I can, genuinely say, that I enjoy it.
Whilst Dee trawls around with these new, so-called, 'mobisodes'; I've been living in a land of blissful ignorance. Heck, I can't deny that I don't know some of the storyline from Wikipedia and Dee's posts combined, but overall I've been pretty closed minded to the whole thing. But here's what I think so far (as of episode four, season one):
- Jack is a bit too much of a wannabe hero figure? Sure he's a doctor, but trying to save all of those people?
- Charlie's a strange one. Perhaps his intentions are quite innocent, but I think his drug addiction will do him in.
- Kate's hot but strange and evidently malevolent, even following the whole 'tabula rasa' thing.
- Like the 'pilot' episode. Very amusing that they used a pilot within it. Hah. Haha! Get it?
- Monster appearing a bit too early? They literally just set foot on the island and BAMOMFG'DERESAMONSTA!
That's a quick summary of my feelings on the first season so far.
Mobisode number 3 is here. And we're continuing our coverage of each and every one. This week it's was a...
...Jack mobisode, but it could equally be a Ben mobisode.
Well not a very energetic mobisode this week, but this mobisode is all about the conversation. As with the previous mobisodes the theme of irony is prevalent.
Basically the set up is simple, Jack and Ben are sat around a table playing chess. Ben starts the conversation. He says that it must be weird for Jack to be living with the Others, Jack being Jack tries to reply with the machoist line he can think of, "I got what I wanted." Jack begins pressing Ben for confirmation about there deal. (There deal referring to letting Jack get off the Island.) Ironically (Or is it?!?) Ben says that if the Island doesn't want Jack to leave, he won't let Jack go. Jack, off handily, asks if Ben is going to blow up the sub. Changing the subject slightly Ben claims a time would come when Jack would want to return to the Island. Jack says he will NEVER want to come back to the Island. To finish the mobisode Ben checkmates Jack.
Mobisode Rating: 4/5 - I'm a self-confessed Jack hater but this I like!
New Section. I'll call it Episode References because let's face it, not everyone spends all day on Lostpedia.
BIG NEWS! And that did justice using block capitals.
The Three Rs is now recommended by ABC.
And by ABC we are referring to "American Broadcaster Supergiants." Who are owned by "Pretty Much Everything Supergiants" Disney.
So that means that the Three R's can now carry the title "Walt Disney's Choice". And we're even higher than BuddyTV, which is one of my personal favourite LOST news websites.
On Monday 12th November I went to see the all-mighty Foo Fighters LIVE at Sheffield Hallam Arena. So now I'm doing a Foo Fighters related post.
The Album
"Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace" is the name of there new album and it's been out for a while now. (So if I was to Digg this post with just an album review I doubt it would effect the visitor counter at all.) On the album songs like "Long Road to Ruin," "Stranger Things have Happened," and "Erase/Replace" prove the Foo Fighters are back and are showing no chance of stopping. Personally, I love "Erase/Replace" so much that is probably my favourite song of 2007. The album keeps the tempo up with songs like "The Pretender" but the problem with this song is that it lulls you in instead of huge opening which I didn't like, although the song has become hugely popular so maybe people like it with a slow opening. Other songs on the album such as "Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running)" and "Home" fill the needs for "Catchy-Chorus Rock" and "Slow, Soft, Acoustic Rock" respectively. However songs such as "Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners" are not good and have you reaching for the skip button. The "Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners" is an instrumental piece, the first instrumental piece ever recorded by the Foo Fighters and to be honest let's hope it's there last. There are songs on the album which makes you think "If only they had recorded this sightly different" and a prime example of this is "Let it Die." Although "Let it Die" does get faster and heavier towards the end, it just doesn't go heavy enough.
All in all "Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace" is a top notch album from a top notch band. The album only having a few hiccups during it's duration.
Album Rating: 3/5 - Had those few songs which stopped it's potential.
The Note I'd like to Add
I would like to give a massive kudos to the Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins for recording the drums for Coheed and Cambria's new album, "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow," which has been reviewed by Prodigy.
The Warm-up Act
To the live section of this post. At Sheffield Arena the warm up act for the Foo Fighters was every one's favourite Turkish, ex-band member of System of a Down and scary looking man... Serj Tankian. He began his act with a extremely poor rendition of "The Unthinking Majority" which was a shame because it really did set the tone for the rest of his act. After some unproductive work with the audience he performed the only song people actually knew, "Empty Walls." This was the best performance from Serj, but that's not saying much. Basically the act continued with uninspired but politically charged taunts to the audience and poor renditions of clearly poor songs. The only cheer, poor-old Serj gained was using the line, "Are you ready for the Foo Fighters?" just to then sing more songs. In conclusion if I was too pay to see him live, I would want my money back. My tip for Serj is too get back with System of A Down and begin recording good songs again.
Performance Rating: 2/5 - Very Uninspiring
The Foo Fighters... LIVE
Okay, it starts off a dark stage and then a beam of light, and you can see Dave Grohl and his guitar. They begin with "Let it Die," which if you can remember above, I claimed it should of been heavier, well that's exactly what happened. The slow part was only a verse long and was an all out metal-fest. (Which for the record cannot be killed.) The first song, as with Serj, set the tone for the rest of the night. Without a break they went into "The Pretender" which, again, was much heavier and sounded much better. Which does beg the question, "Why didn't they record the album heavier?" The night of all out rock continued with renditions of songs like "Times Like These," "Breakout" and "Long Road to Ruin" until every one's face had been melted. At which point the Band took it upon themselves to slow it down and play some "acoustic shit." A stage dropped from the ceiling to the middle of the arena. In which acoustic versions of "Everlong" and "My Hero" were played. Although during the version of "Everlong" the rock-key change was complimented with the rest of the band exploding into the song with their instruments. The arena erupted into air-guitars and Mosh-pits during the ear-popping rendition of "All My Life." I could of died happily there...
...the encore involved the Foo Fighters inviting Serj to the stage to sing a version of the Dead Kennedy's songs "Holiday in Cambodia." To finish an truly orgasmic night the band played "Best of You" which was of loudest sung songs from the 18,000 people there.
Performance Rating: 5/5 - Best night of everybody's life? I'm sure the other 17,999 people would agree.
...a FROGURT episode! (Well some people may say it's a Hurely episode but STFU to them)
Anyone remember him? Anyone? The guy Bernard got to try help build that sign on the beach, but he left. Anyone at all? *Sigh*
Anyway, now its Frogurts time to shine. Hurley stumbles out of Rose's and Bernard's tent and begins walking away. Neil Frogurt comes up to Hurley and asks what he is doing. Frogurt looks at the bottle of DHARMA Wine that Hurley has just dropped when stumbling, and then asks if Hurley is going to make a move on Libby soon. It is revealed that Frogurt is asking because he also has eyes upon Libby. Hurley tells Frogurt that he just now having a picnic with Libby and he is collecting some Wine while she goes to the Hatch to get some blankets. Neil, through his teeth, compliments Hurley and walks away.
IRONY!
Mobisode rating: 4/5 - Now that's more like it. That's a clever use of irony, which would be LOST on many people. But that's OK the always almighty Three R's is here to show you the way.
Oh, and for the people who haven't realised why this mobisode is ironic. Well while Hurley and Frogurt are having this convosation a certain Micheal is shooting a ceartain Ana-Lucia and Libby in the hatch...
Next Week - Episode M03 - ...Title hasn't been announced yet.
Again I ask forgiveness for that horribly last minute attempt at a witty title but I thought 'album review' would be too bland and so here is my first of non game (*cough*Halo 3*cough*) related posts. Oh and on that post about the Halo 3 story I'm still completing the game on all modes, as certain aspects differ in normal, heroic and legendary, or so I'm aware. However, I can make you aware that I am not going to be singing all praises for the Halo 3 story, that much is verily true.
The mood is quite different for this post though. Coheed and Cambria are a moderately successful progressive rock group that usually produce diverse and imaginative pieces of music, especially in the sense that all the songs they produce are geared towards the lead singers self developed concept comic, a sci-fi fantasy epic known as the Amory Wars. I would provide some background information on this but as most people know little of the music, let alone the Amory Wars, it's best I keep it musical. Feel free to Google it if you feel inquisitive.
Anyway, continuing and concluding the Amory Wars series of albums is the latest addition 'New World For Tomorrow'. Successor to 'From Fear..', this album had a real task in building on its predecessor with such songs as 'Ten Speed', 'Welcome Home' and 'The Suffering', but it seems after a few listens that it does so, sounding just as creative and in a way more 'epic' than 'From Fear' did.
With this album its half progressive and half rock. The progressive is indefinitely present but with not as much prominence as in earlier albums. This lack of progressive influence can be clearly seen in songs like 'Gravemakers and Gunslingers' which thought isn't as progressive, is in my view one of the best, if not, the best song on the album currently. Fast, frenetic yet creative, showing Coheed aren't just a one tune band if that wasn't known already. Then there are the ingenuitive whirling riffs of 'The Running Free', the bizarre time signatures helping to provide it with real drive. Other brilliant tracks include the harmonious blend of emotive lyrics and varying instrumental music that is 'Mother Superior', the catchy radio friendly tune of 'The End Complete II-Radio Bye Bye' and the closest thing to a progressive power ballad yet in 'The End Complete IV:The Road and the Damned'.
In essence, where so many albums slip up with succeeding albums Coheed have done this one excellently, the inspired songs make 'No World For Tomorrow' a worthy conclusion to the Amory Wars saga.
You MUST buy this album....its different but worth it. 4.5/5.
The title says it all. The segment of the old US TV show 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' is something like... well, it's magical. Respectable comedians trying to improvise rap about a disaster? Rather hysterical. Here are some of my favourites, with lyrics!
Earthquake
Denny: (hits alarm to wake up sleeping Wayne) Listen to me, baby, Now I know with you my love is complete, You make the earth move under my feet. You're a big handsome man and you're a cop, But baby the earth is moving and it just won't stop. Now I don't know what is going on, Wake the daughter, wake the son, Something bad is coming 'round, Look there's a big old crack in the ground! Whoah! Wayne:Say what? There's a crack, oh, there's a crack! Denny:Crack. There's a crack. Not the usual kind of crack. Wayne:Now wait a second girl, I hear what you say, Better grab the kids, get under the doorway, You better get it, get there fast, Or else a big rock will fall on your ass. Better move, move, move and shake, Because you better 'cause the ground will break, Oh that is right, and that is that, Did you know earthquakes can be predicted by cats? (to Ryan) Who are you, ooh ooh, what do you do? Ryan:I know you're running, there's a lot at stake, Because the ground just started to shake. I'm okay, I'm not sunk, I ain't moving 'cause I'm drunk. Wayne:He's drunk. Denny:Yo, get under the door jamb. Colin: Stand back everyone, only one chance, I am the Lord of the Riverdance. I'll do something to stop the vibrations, By doing the dance of the Celtic Nations!
Avalanche
(Wayne & Stephen travel on ski lift, then start skiing) Wayne:Now we're going really fast, don't be a dope, Because you don't want to crash into the slope. Oh look at my, oh look at me, I'm the only black guy here to ski. Look at me as I go real fast, Oops, don't slip, might bust your ass. Oh wait a second, hold on boys, Oops, big mountain, don't make too much noise! (noise, noise...) Stephen:Stand back, For my attack, I gotta be clear, I feel fear. If this avalanche comes, we're gonna be destroyed, I feel annoyed, Not overjoyed, Perhaps I'm just paranoid, We can avoid, Peace! Ryan:Don't stand here, go go go! You're gonna be hit by a flow of snow! Come with me, it won't be hard, Hop on my back, I'm a Saint Bernard. Wayne & Ryan: Woof, woof, woof woof. Woof, woof, woof woof. Woof, woof, woof woof. Woof, woof, woof woof. Colin:Hi there guys, hi there dog. I saw you while I was standing on the log. I saw the avalanche come down the pass, That's why I brought this magnifying glass. We'll use the sun and the heat rays, To make everything way way way way way way way way safer. Stephen:Safer. Wayne:Safer. That's safer, safer, safer. Wayne & Stephen:That's safer. That's safer. That's safer. Wayne: All right, now.
Yes that's right. New Lost episodes mobisodes are here and for the next 12-13 weeks we shall be treating them like real fully fledged Lost episodes, because everyone in the Lost community is desperate. They are called Lost: Missing Pieces.
Right, before anyone asks these are stand alone 1-2 minute episodes, which are not season 4 spoilers or trailers or anything to do with Season 4. They are STAND ALONE. Here go to Wikipedia to find out more about the world of mobisodes. Wikipedia Link
OK then, that's out of the way. This week it's a...
...Jack Mobisode.
As it's only a 90 second mobisode it's all flashback so here we go. Jack is on a beach throwing stones into the sea. Jack's dad turns up. After some idle chit-chat, along the lines of "I am Jack and I am feeling sorry for myself." Christian gives Jack a hanker chief in the hanker chief is a watch. Christian tells Jack it's his grandfathers. Jack claims to have never seen him wear it before. Christian calmly replies saying that he never did. Jack's grandfather was not too keen on Jack's mom. Jack questions the point of the gift, Christian claims that he made the right choice with Sarah. (We know from the Season 3 finale that Sarah and Jack doesn't work out.) Christian tells Jack that if they ever have kids that Jack should treat his child better than Christian did to Jack.
BA-NAR!
Mobisode rating: 1/5 - ...Really, why do we need any more Jack?
Yes I am now about to enter a probably saturated market. The "I got those Wii Jacket things from Nintendo for free and thought I might be the first to talk about it" trend. So without further ado, I present to you... the Wii Jacket.
So basically the Wii Jacket is a gel casing for the Wii remote made and paid for by Nintendo. Yes, it'd free. Really free. Free as in all you have to do is fill out your address. So of course I was going to get 4 jackets for my ...1 Wii Remote. (I'll probably get remotes in time. But Nintendo also said that all new Wii Remotes sold will have jackets with them. So maybe I should start a collection!) Oh I'll add that Nintendo kept to their word about delivery, they got it to me within 10 working days, exactly how they said they would.
In your hand the Wii Remote feels under an extra grip and completely removes any worries about the remote flying out of your hand into your brand-spanking new TV. (That's not to say I have a brand-spanking new TV.) Also the ergonomic feel of the jacket, in my opinion, feels better than the plain, old, jacket-less remote. However I must add that with the gel jacket the Wii remote has a slightly larger weight. I think the extra weight makes it feel much better, heavier and sturdier. And for any parents/guardians who found this article on Digg or Myspace the jacket makes the remote "Heavier" but not too heavy too make it inaccessible for every one.
OK, now that you have seen what the Remote looks like with the jacket on. Please, please, please tell me how the remote now looks like a dick? Because I do not see that. Holding it from either end (see below) it fails to looks like a love-length. At the most it looks like a female (or male) sex toy. But didn't the Wii Remote look like that any way? Meh, t'hell with all of you.
So, anyway all in all the Jacket gets a decent 4/5. (When forgetting the price, because basically it being free would get it to a 4 anyway.)
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