H.N.Y!

Just like to wish all the readers a Happy New Year. As we welcome in a new year, we have to think about all of the things we have done wrong in the past twelve months, and how we can improve them for the upcoming year. But then again we'll just end up making more mistakes. So scratch my last sentence. And just have fuck-loads of fun!! Just like Woody.

Wrath - Part 2

I'm about to send my Xbox off to get it repaired and I've got to put it in a box for it to be collected. I look around my house for a suitable box. Not finding one I return to my room, only to see the perfect box sitting on the top of my cupboard.

So I'm sending my Xbox to get repaired.....In my old PS2 box. Irony at it's best I believe.

Gluttony

For this sin there have been two instances on my part since and during Christmas. The first is the basic, it's Christmas day, a time where pick 'n mix sweets are breakfast and you, well I defiantly do, eat about 3 different meals for lunch. It's the meal to end all meals, I once heard someone say that “if the roast dinner is the king of dinners then the Christmas dinner is the king of roast dinners”, that is exactly what it is and that's the reason every year, everyone who eats it, has to commit the sin of Gluttony. Them's the rules.

The second count, on my behalf, was today when I went out to check the post-Xmas sales. Usually I'm like every other patron that walks into a store with a 10ft “SALE” sign, just buying anything that I may use some time in the near future. But unlike most years I was quite reserved, that is until I got to the comic shops at the end of Oxford St. Having not spent a lot of money on the way, only buy a few DVDs, I had quite a bit left and if I'm let into a comic shop with cash to spend you can almost guarantee that I'm not going to be coming out with that money. Them's some more rules.
Almost halfway now. Only four sins left.

Wrath

I've had my Xbox 360 for over a year now, and have been a very loyal Xboxer since I got it. Showing and convincing others of it superiority over Nintendo Wii and PS3 especially, which didn't seem hard as from what I can see it is a superior console. Ok, so Microsoft backed the wrong format but that's only one aspect where it does not surpass PS3, but on the whole, the controllers, the game quality and choice have and are still all better than the alternatives. And until this day I believed I was safe from the dreaded “Red Rings of Death” but I was sorely mistaken. After hearing that not one, not two, but three of my fellow Xboxers had experienced some problems with their own console, I began to fear a bit for my Xbox's safety. But I thought it would never happen to me, but it did. And it couldn't have happened at a worse time, over fucking Christmas. When I have more time and games to play is when my Xbox decides it's time to break down. Not only that but over the holidays I will not be able to fix it as everything will be closed, including the couriers and help lines. So instead I've emailed them, and now lie in wait of their response. All I can do is rant about how much this has pissed me off. Fucking Microsoft!!

I never thought I'd say this but this may just be the tipping point that leads me back to Sony. Come the January sales PS3 will most likely have some good deals one and if I've got nothing to play I might just have to get one. That'll be my revenge for Xbox fucking me over like that.

Envy

While out on a regular trip to pick up this weeks comics, I noticed a real life model in the window of a lingerie shop, and I wasn't the only one. A man in front of me noticed and look at her while his wife, who was... to put it nicely.... short and stout, obviously did not approve. She gave the model one look and then turned her head and whispered “Slag” as she walked her husband away. Thinking she had gotten away with it made it all the more funnier, but with her build I wasn't going to be the one to say anything to her. But I'm sure what she meant to say was, “why can't I ever look that good?” and could then proceed to call the young lady a slag. Not that I approve of or agree with her.

Now as I haven't had anything to write about for a while I've decided the best way to sort this is by choosing a theme. My theme will be the seven sins. Today's entry obviously centered on Envy. One down six to go.

R.I.P Batman...

The death of Batman is something that even the newspapers have been following, similar to the death of Superman in the Doomsday arc back in 1992 and the death of Captain America in Civil War not too long ago. Written by Grant Morrison, Batman R.I.P is the story that has been leading up to this point. As much as I liked the arc overall, then ending was a bit of an anti-climax and therefore slightly disappointing. I don't think it was fully the books fault though as there has been a lot of hype and build up to this issue that it should have lived up to but just didn't. His actually death is dealt in a sloppy way as you see the helicopter he is hanging on to explode but no bodies are found in the river below. A predictable and easy to use ending, which the rest of the arc has not been. Morrison's writing has kept me reading, and trying to figure out what will happen next and nearly always being wrong.
Although the end was a bit disappointing the rest of the story has been very good, not the best Batman story ever but defiantly a good one, very well written with excellent art to keep the story visually interesting.

There were two parts of the story that I enjoyed most and they were both the appearance of characters really, the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh and Nightwing. Although I've never really been a big Nightwing fan, not because I dislike the character but because I've never really read any of it, his portrayal in R.I.P was excellent and what I thought was a nice touch was when all of Batman's allies were coming to help towards the end, he was the first to arrive and even Batman recognised this. Something I think Dick Grayson really deserves. A excellent example of his significance is a single page spread where Nightwing is shown, away from the others, after Batman's “death” holding the cape and cowl. Could this suggest that he is the one who will pick up the mantel and become Batman? A nice lead up to the upcoming arc “Battle for the Cowl” that will follow R.I.P.

The idea behind Batman of Zur-En-Arrh was something that really interested me, the ability to have a back up personality that comes into action once you lose your mind. As well as the idea, his costume was something that has stuck with me. In comparison to the dark colours of the normal Batman's costume this one is quite bright but very effective and still quite scary and menacing. Just because there are lighter colours does not mean he has a lighter mood or demeanour. The return of the Bat-Mite was a nice little extra too. To me these were the two best characters in the story, not to say the others weren't any good, but these two were defiantly my favourites.

Overall I really liked this issue and Grant Morrison has done a very good job with the series, in my eyes. His material is also very quotable which is something I enjoy. And the epilogue at the end of Batman 681 was very cool, showing young Bruce's fascination with Zorro the masked vigilante and his fathers belief that “The sad thing is that they’d probably throw someone like Zorro in Arkham”.

A (Suit)Case of Art Imitating Life....

A few days ago the 2006 Sci-Fi film Ultraviolet was on TV. Luckily I didn't catch much of it as I have only ever heard bad things about it and from what I saw those views were right. But the small section I saw brought back some of my own childhood memories. The main character (Milla Jovovich) is in a elevator with a futuristic and thin suitcase. Being the curious character she is, she looks inside it only to find a child and if that wasn't enough said child was floating in what looked like a swimming pool.

Now as I watched this I thought of a story that my mother insists on telling everyone she meets, it's like one of those classic and embarrassing stories your parents tell except this one is 100% true. I must have been about four years old, I had never been on holiday before and my mother and I were about to take a trip to visit relatives in Australia. So about a week or so before we were going to leave she comes into my room and asks me to come into the hallway for a minute, I do and there, in the middle of the hallway is an open and empty suitcase. She looks into it and then looks up at me and says “I have to see if you'll fit”. I look at her confused and then she goes on to explain to me that this is how children travel on plans, in a suitcase. So, as I had never been on holiday before and becauce at this point in my life I believed everything my mother told me, I foolishly got into the suitcase, to “see if I would fit”.
To this day I have regretted that choice but there's a small part of me that's glad she did it because not only did it teach me never to trust what my mother said from then on but also there was something that I could do to my kids one day that I know will make me laugh for a long time.