Sunday, 17 May 2009
Friday, 16 January 2009
... about the toughest games
It was the Georgian potter Josiah Wedgewood who famously observed "Ceramic drinking vessels? That's a mug's game". Life is undoubtedly full of games: some great, some beautiful, many tough. But which is the toughest?
Firstly, the scale of the game is no indicator of its toughness. The Great Game, a set of border skirmishes between the British and Russian Empires in the mid-Victorian period, was undoubtedly large-scale, but as its name suggests it was terrific fun and everyone had a great time. On the other hand Chris Isaak's Wicked Game would appear to be restricted to one man, but even Chris Isaak didn't seem to enjoy it very much: in fact, he seemed pretty whiny about it. It was clearly wicked only in the non-skateboarding sense.
In some games it is nearly impossible to learn all the rules, such as The Crying Game or Warhammer Fantasy Battle. You may think you know all there is to know about the crying game, but as the film of the same title shows, there's always potential for one of your fellow-players to pull a surprise on you.
Sometimes, games don’t work out as easily as might be expected. Take two popular games from South Central Los Angeles, the Rap Game and the Drug Game. Among those with experience, the Rap Game is actually considered harder than the Drug Game, largely because if some foo' diss you in tha Drug Game you can shoot him and kill him, but if some foo' diss you in tha Rap Game you gotta be all humble an shit. Also you don’t get to choose the types of music you listen to.
All of these games, however, pale into insignificance compared to Boggle. Boggle is one of the hardest games there is, especially if you play against Owen. Even the Beastie Boys acknowledge this, boldly claiming to be the kings of Boggle in one of their songs, undoubtedly a more impressive boast than winning at either rap or drugs.
Firstly, the scale of the game is no indicator of its toughness. The Great Game, a set of border skirmishes between the British and Russian Empires in the mid-Victorian period, was undoubtedly large-scale, but as its name suggests it was terrific fun and everyone had a great time. On the other hand Chris Isaak's Wicked Game would appear to be restricted to one man, but even Chris Isaak didn't seem to enjoy it very much: in fact, he seemed pretty whiny about it. It was clearly wicked only in the non-skateboarding sense.
In some games it is nearly impossible to learn all the rules, such as The Crying Game or Warhammer Fantasy Battle. You may think you know all there is to know about the crying game, but as the film of the same title shows, there's always potential for one of your fellow-players to pull a surprise on you.
Sometimes, games don’t work out as easily as might be expected. Take two popular games from South Central Los Angeles, the Rap Game and the Drug Game. Among those with experience, the Rap Game is actually considered harder than the Drug Game, largely because if some foo' diss you in tha Drug Game you can shoot him and kill him, but if some foo' diss you in tha Rap Game you gotta be all humble an shit. Also you don’t get to choose the types of music you listen to.
All of these games, however, pale into insignificance compared to Boggle. Boggle is one of the hardest games there is, especially if you play against Owen. Even the Beastie Boys acknowledge this, boldly claiming to be the kings of Boggle in one of their songs, undoubtedly a more impressive boast than winning at either rap or drugs.
Monday, 15 December 2008
... About Making Fudge
- Making fudge sounds rude but sometimes just means making fudge.
- Making fudge sounds easy:
Take all the butter you have in the house add it to all the sugar you have in the house and melt it in some evaporated milk, then boil it, then cool it. - Making fudge is NOT easy.
- Making fudge yourself is almost certainly not worth the effort especially as the quantity you make is likely to be large enough to give you a sugar rush more powerful than any drug known to man!
- Making fudge is probably best left to the professionals, I can recommend these guys but there's plenty out there!
... About Scorpions
Everybody knows that cockroaches will survive the apocalypse, but if they want to run planet earth they'll have the scorpions (not the band) to answer to and those guys don't mess about! In the post-apocalyptic wastelands I'm siding with the scorpions especially because by then they will probably have mutated into 8' goliaths (just like their Uncle Jake).
Scorpions belong to the arachnid family and are the cooler more deadly older brother of the spider - who don't have razor sharp claws or venomous stingers and lets face it are a bit dull.
As well as being able to withstand nuclear radiation scorpions can survive without breathing for 3 days, without eating for a year, being frozen sold, and being set on fire - which they often do for fun at parties. Other party tricks up the scorpion sleeves include glowing fluorescent under UV lights, being able to detach their penis, and not actually having sleeves! Unfortunately they don't handle strong liquor well and should be kept on beers if possible.
Currently scorpions are creating a cure for cancer just because they can and they're that cool.
Scorpions belong to the arachnid family and are the cooler more deadly older brother of the spider - who don't have razor sharp claws or venomous stingers and lets face it are a bit dull.
As well as being able to withstand nuclear radiation scorpions can survive without breathing for 3 days, without eating for a year, being frozen sold, and being set on fire - which they often do for fun at parties. Other party tricks up the scorpion sleeves include glowing fluorescent under UV lights, being able to detach their penis, and not actually having sleeves! Unfortunately they don't handle strong liquor well and should be kept on beers if possible.
Currently scorpions are creating a cure for cancer just because they can and they're that cool.
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
...about Naming Things in Australia
When Captain James T. Cook invented Australia he gave some of it names to make conversation easier, he had two systems:
- either he would name it after one of his mates - Point Hicks named after Dave, of course, and Port Jackson apparently Cook was a big fan of Thriller.
- or he would "state the blindingly obvious" - Botany Bay (which he originally called Stingray Bay), Point Danger, Cape Tribulation, and of course there's Booby Island named after its attractive native birds.
It's unclear as to whether Port Stephens was named after one of his mates or because there where lots of people called Stephen
Since his death, in Hawaii mediating (poorly) over troublesome locals, the people of Australia have continued his naming traditions but with the first option the only name the use is Cook examples of these wondrous post-cook namings include Cook island, Cook Strait, the amazing Scenic World, The Awards awards, and the perfect example of both methods in action is the James Cook University in Townsville!
If Cook's methods are not enough to name the place you've discovered you can use these back up methods:
- steal a really good name from somewhere else like Putney, Beaconsfield, Carnarvon or High Wycombe!
- make something weird up and claim that's what the natives call it such as Yagoona, Woolloomooloo, or Yallabatharrra.
And then of course there's New South Wales which I'm sure I don't need to explain to you!
- either he would name it after one of his mates - Point Hicks named after Dave, of course, and Port Jackson apparently Cook was a big fan of Thriller.
- or he would "state the blindingly obvious" - Botany Bay (which he originally called Stingray Bay), Point Danger, Cape Tribulation, and of course there's Booby Island named after its attractive native birds.
It's unclear as to whether Port Stephens was named after one of his mates or because there where lots of people called Stephen
Since his death, in Hawaii mediating (poorly) over troublesome locals, the people of Australia have continued his naming traditions but with the first option the only name the use is Cook examples of these wondrous post-cook namings include Cook island, Cook Strait, the amazing Scenic World, The Awards awards, and the perfect example of both methods in action is the James Cook University in Townsville!
If Cook's methods are not enough to name the place you've discovered you can use these back up methods:
- steal a really good name from somewhere else like Putney, Beaconsfield, Carnarvon or High Wycombe!
- make something weird up and claim that's what the natives call it such as Yagoona, Woolloomooloo, or Yallabatharrra.
And then of course there's New South Wales which I'm sure I don't need to explain to you!
Thursday, 28 August 2008
... about Famous Author Toby Frost
Toby's second book is out! It's as good, if not better than the first you can get it from Waterstones or Amazon.
Here's a synopsis:
Tea...a beverage brewed from the fermented dried leaves of the shrub Camellia sinensis and imbibed by all the great civilisations in the galaxy's history; a source of refreshment, stimulation and, above all else, of moral fibre - without which the British Space Empire must surely crumble to leave Earth at the mercy of its enemies. Sixty per cent of the Empire's tea is grown on one world - Urn, principal planet of the Didcot system. If Earth is to keep fighting, the tea must flow. When a crazed cult leader overthrows the government of Urn, Isambard Smith and his vaguely competent crew find themselves saddled with new allies: a legion of tea-obsessed nomads, an overly-civilised alien horde and a commando unit so elite that it only has five members. Only together can they defeat the self-proclaimed God Emperor of Didcot and confront the true power behind the coup: the sinister legions of the Ghast Empire and Smith's old enemy, Commander 462.
Thursday, 3 January 2008
...about Online Gaming
It is not possible to explain online gaming. You must experience it. No, sorry, that’s the Matrix, which was a big computer game that many people played at once. The first online game was called “Have you got any teabags, old chap?” and was played between two programmers on an Enigma machine shortly after the Second World War. Since then, online gaming has taken vast steps forward, to the point where one fifty-sixth-level warlock can enter an entire virtual world, summon an army of skeletons and demand of another “Have you got any magic bags of tea, dude?”
Players of such games are often stereotyped. The joke goes that the gorgeous elf-maiden with whom you stormed the Citadel of Urk is actually a pimply fat man named Barry. This is untrue. The truth about online games is this: none of the other characters is a real person. You only think they are.
Think about it. A ZX Spectrum with a hangover could programme a little man to run past you gibbering nonsense, weaving like a drunken fly and occasionally shouting “lol”. Just think how many other gibbering fellow-players could be created by a vast mainframe in Stockholm able to process enough pornography to turn China blind. The only exception to this is Second Life, an attempt to recreate venture-capitalism with Lego men. The players of Second Life actually are wizards and gorgeous elf-maidens, who have grown tired of smiting the Unliving Horde and have embarked on an epic quest to buy a poorly-drawn settee.
Players of such games are often stereotyped. The joke goes that the gorgeous elf-maiden with whom you stormed the Citadel of Urk is actually a pimply fat man named Barry. This is untrue. The truth about online games is this: none of the other characters is a real person. You only think they are.
Think about it. A ZX Spectrum with a hangover could programme a little man to run past you gibbering nonsense, weaving like a drunken fly and occasionally shouting “lol”. Just think how many other gibbering fellow-players could be created by a vast mainframe in Stockholm able to process enough pornography to turn China blind. The only exception to this is Second Life, an attempt to recreate venture-capitalism with Lego men. The players of Second Life actually are wizards and gorgeous elf-maidens, who have grown tired of smiting the Unliving Horde and have embarked on an epic quest to buy a poorly-drawn settee.
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