Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Cold? Climb into my stereo
I'm a big fan of songs that sound "warm". Songs that give you fuzzy-feeling legs like drinking pints of lager in the afternoon after a small lunch.
You know what I mean; 'I'm Not In Love' by 10cc, 'Daylight' by Aesop Rock, 'Nights In White Satin' by The Moody Blues, 'Wuthering Heights' by Kate Bush.
And now 'We Are The People', the fourth track on Empire Of The Sun's debut album 'Walking On A Dream'.
Love it, love it, love it.
You know what I mean; 'I'm Not In Love' by 10cc, 'Daylight' by Aesop Rock, 'Nights In White Satin' by The Moody Blues, 'Wuthering Heights' by Kate Bush.
And now 'We Are The People', the fourth track on Empire Of The Sun's debut album 'Walking On A Dream'.
Love it, love it, love it.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
I guess it was bound to happen...
Ok, I'm more than aware of the Watchmen shirts from when the series was first in print (a relative had the "kissing skeletons" one, unless it was a knock-off). But seeing Watchmen shirts, posters and hoodies on the Hot-Topic site made me feel a little uneasy. But, saying that, as soon as all this gear is available over here I know for a fact I'll be covered in head to toe in it...and will then probably burn it all as soon as I walk out of the cinema on March 6th...
Sunday, January 18, 2009
King Vidiot...
...was the first person I thought of when I woke up this morning.
If you haven't seen 1983's 'Joysticks' by Greydon Clark you're really missing out on a great little sex-comedy romp set in an Arcade (an Arcade full of semi-nude blondes playing Galaga). John "Uncle Rico" Gries plays the ultimate in bad 1980's comedy-punks, King Vidiot, who is 100% in love with going to the Arcade. As was I during my youth.
My aim in this post is to document my Arcade-obsessed youth.
Although it probably wasn't the first Arcade game I played (I can actually imagine my Dad, pint in hand, holding me up so I could reach the steering-wheel of Pole Position or whatever game happened to be in the pub we would be spending our one day per-week together), my earliest Arcade gaming memory is playing Capcom's Ghouls N' Ghosts.
I seem to remember being around six or seven and disasterous at the game (shit, I still am now. It's tough as hell). Having to push my enormous glasses back up my nose every thirty seconds probably didn't help either. But I remember being transfixed. I most certainly didn't have a home console back then (and my 128k Sinclair Spectrum didn't arrive until x-mas morning 1988) so getting to grips with games for the first time was something quite special and new for me. Despite not being very good, I was instantly hooked.
The combination of being that young and an over-protective Mum/Stepdad plus very little money didn't give me many opportunities to excercise my new found love for gaming. It would often be holidays with Grandparents where I'd get a chance to spank my savings on nightly bouts of Wrestle War or Karnov.
Mr B's in Leysdown was my favourite seaside Arcade. I spent a solid two weeks in there during the summer school holidays of '89, '90 and '91. Mr B's had it all. The usual old, OLD 10p classics (Space Invaders {or various knock-off variants}, Pac-Man {and the awful platform game, Pac-Land}, Hang-On etc), the more recent titles (Captain America & The Avengers, WWF Wrestlefest, Moonwalker) and the latest advancements in Arcade technology (Mad Dog McCree, Dragon's Lair II, the numerous trackball-controlled golf games). Countless trips to Ruth the "change Lady" (back before automatic change machines, middle-aged women would be paid to sit in cages, magically turning pound coins into 10ps with the enchanted fag that would be constantly hanging out of her hairy mouth.), the smell of the low-quality in-house chip shop and the nods and smiles to/from fellow early-bird gamers every morning as we fetch our much-needed and much-worn stools will stay with me forever.
It was around this time that I started regularly going to Arcades in Milton Keynes (where I live) with my friends or alone. The one with the best selection was part of a cinema/entertainment complex called The Point (where I worked for ten years when I was older). They had so many great games there and were always the first to have the newest titles. The Point was where I had my first experiences of Final Fight, X-Men (6-player side-scroller, not the one-on-one fighter Children Of The Atom), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (one of my all-time favourites), Mortal Kombat (the first time I saw a "fatality" my heart skipped a beat, I had never seen anything like it before), NBA Jam, Shadow Dancer, the list is endless.
But there was one game at The Point that changed Arcade gaming for me and , well, basically everyone who frequented the place forever...
I had played the first Street Fighter in Mr B's and I remember hating it (despite having a "lucky" 20p that would fall through the slot, come out of the return flap but still register a credit!) but the attract mode (the "demo", basically) of the cabinet looked too good to resist.
I'm 99% sure I lost my first match, I'm not even sure which character I chose, but I instantly fell in love with it. The cabinet's panels thankfully had the characters' move lists on them so learning the special attacks was a doddle. After a month or so it appeared that my most used character was Guile. A character who was well balanced with very effective close, distance and air attacks. Taking out opponents, both real and virtual, soon became child's play.
I think at one point they even bought a second cabinet in to meet demand. So many people became good at the game which was awesome. As we'd all been playing it for as long as eachother we were all pretty evenly matched which lead to some tense bouts. I can clearly remember at least 5 actual fist fights caused by the game, usually started by the same person (who shall remain nameless as he's probably just as insane now as he was back then). Madness.
Unfortunately, lazyness and home consoles took over and I rarely stepped foot inside Arcades for the next couple of years.
As I reached about 15 years old I started socialising with people from school a bit more and used to go to a place called Rollers (large, soulless roller rink where people my age went to indulge in underge drinking and mutual-masturbation). Mainly to indulge in laughter, but would often break away from the crowd to check out their collection of Arcade cabinets. The ones I can definetly remember playing there were N.A.R.C (Midway's hilarious anti-drugs gorefest), Pang (Taito's ball-popping puzzler) and various insane "Bullet-Hell" shoot-em-ups. Oh, and a little number called Super Street Fighter II. I had fallen back in love with Capcom's boys and girls all over again.
While playing all the old games of my youth on Xbox Live Arcade, via the naughty MAME or on compilations can be great, nostalgic fun. They will never recreate the times I spent in Arcades during my youth.
These dingy , noisy, epileptic's nightmares made me who I am today. The arcades are where I grew up, learned how to interact with all walks of life, met my first girlfriend. A geek I may be, but I wouldn't have done those ten or so years any other way.
This summer a friend and I are planning on going to Funspot in New Hampshire, USA. It's apparently the world's largest collection of playable Arcade classics. I honestly cannot wait to go and I wouldn't be surprised if reliving it all brings a slight tear to my eye.
If you haven't seen 1983's 'Joysticks' by Greydon Clark you're really missing out on a great little sex-comedy romp set in an Arcade (an Arcade full of semi-nude blondes playing Galaga). John "Uncle Rico" Gries plays the ultimate in bad 1980's comedy-punks, King Vidiot, who is 100% in love with going to the Arcade. As was I during my youth.
My aim in this post is to document my Arcade-obsessed youth.
Although it probably wasn't the first Arcade game I played (I can actually imagine my Dad, pint in hand, holding me up so I could reach the steering-wheel of Pole Position or whatever game happened to be in the pub we would be spending our one day per-week together), my earliest Arcade gaming memory is playing Capcom's Ghouls N' Ghosts.
I seem to remember being around six or seven and disasterous at the game (shit, I still am now. It's tough as hell). Having to push my enormous glasses back up my nose every thirty seconds probably didn't help either. But I remember being transfixed. I most certainly didn't have a home console back then (and my 128k Sinclair Spectrum didn't arrive until x-mas morning 1988) so getting to grips with games for the first time was something quite special and new for me. Despite not being very good, I was instantly hooked.
The combination of being that young and an over-protective Mum/Stepdad plus very little money didn't give me many opportunities to excercise my new found love for gaming. It would often be holidays with Grandparents where I'd get a chance to spank my savings on nightly bouts of Wrestle War or Karnov.
Mr B's in Leysdown was my favourite seaside Arcade. I spent a solid two weeks in there during the summer school holidays of '89, '90 and '91. Mr B's had it all. The usual old, OLD 10p classics (Space Invaders {or various knock-off variants}, Pac-Man {and the awful platform game, Pac-Land}, Hang-On etc), the more recent titles (Captain America & The Avengers, WWF Wrestlefest, Moonwalker) and the latest advancements in Arcade technology (Mad Dog McCree, Dragon's Lair II, the numerous trackball-controlled golf games). Countless trips to Ruth the "change Lady" (back before automatic change machines, middle-aged women would be paid to sit in cages, magically turning pound coins into 10ps with the enchanted fag that would be constantly hanging out of her hairy mouth.), the smell of the low-quality in-house chip shop and the nods and smiles to/from fellow early-bird gamers every morning as we fetch our much-needed and much-worn stools will stay with me forever.
It was around this time that I started regularly going to Arcades in Milton Keynes (where I live) with my friends or alone. The one with the best selection was part of a cinema/entertainment complex called The Point (where I worked for ten years when I was older). They had so many great games there and were always the first to have the newest titles. The Point was where I had my first experiences of Final Fight, X-Men (6-player side-scroller, not the one-on-one fighter Children Of The Atom), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (one of my all-time favourites), Mortal Kombat (the first time I saw a "fatality" my heart skipped a beat, I had never seen anything like it before), NBA Jam, Shadow Dancer, the list is endless.
But there was one game at The Point that changed Arcade gaming for me and , well, basically everyone who frequented the place forever...
I had played the first Street Fighter in Mr B's and I remember hating it (despite having a "lucky" 20p that would fall through the slot, come out of the return flap but still register a credit!) but the attract mode (the "demo", basically) of the cabinet looked too good to resist.
I'm 99% sure I lost my first match, I'm not even sure which character I chose, but I instantly fell in love with it. The cabinet's panels thankfully had the characters' move lists on them so learning the special attacks was a doddle. After a month or so it appeared that my most used character was Guile. A character who was well balanced with very effective close, distance and air attacks. Taking out opponents, both real and virtual, soon became child's play.
I think at one point they even bought a second cabinet in to meet demand. So many people became good at the game which was awesome. As we'd all been playing it for as long as eachother we were all pretty evenly matched which lead to some tense bouts. I can clearly remember at least 5 actual fist fights caused by the game, usually started by the same person (who shall remain nameless as he's probably just as insane now as he was back then). Madness.
Unfortunately, lazyness and home consoles took over and I rarely stepped foot inside Arcades for the next couple of years.
As I reached about 15 years old I started socialising with people from school a bit more and used to go to a place called Rollers (large, soulless roller rink where people my age went to indulge in underge drinking and mutual-masturbation). Mainly to indulge in laughter, but would often break away from the crowd to check out their collection of Arcade cabinets. The ones I can definetly remember playing there were N.A.R.C (Midway's hilarious anti-drugs gorefest), Pang (Taito's ball-popping puzzler) and various insane "Bullet-Hell" shoot-em-ups. Oh, and a little number called Super Street Fighter II. I had fallen back in love with Capcom's boys and girls all over again.
While playing all the old games of my youth on Xbox Live Arcade, via the naughty MAME or on compilations can be great, nostalgic fun. They will never recreate the times I spent in Arcades during my youth.
These dingy , noisy, epileptic's nightmares made me who I am today. The arcades are where I grew up, learned how to interact with all walks of life, met my first girlfriend. A geek I may be, but I wouldn't have done those ten or so years any other way.
This summer a friend and I are planning on going to Funspot in New Hampshire, USA. It's apparently the world's largest collection of playable Arcade classics. I honestly cannot wait to go and I wouldn't be surprised if reliving it all brings a slight tear to my eye.
Coven - 'Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls'
Although I only discovered this record by accident a year or so ago, it's easily in my all-time top 10 albums.
Give it a go
http://rcpt.yousendit.com/643389564/c5a02410df44fe575debd8c1cf0bf369
(This record is long out of print, I've uploaded this so that other people can enjoy this great record too. If the record gets re-released at some point, and I hope it does, I'll gladly remove the link)
Give it a go
http://rcpt.yousendit.com/643389564/c5a02410df44fe575debd8c1cf0bf369
(This record is long out of print, I've uploaded this so that other people can enjoy this great record too. If the record gets re-released at some point, and I hope it does, I'll gladly remove the link)
Friday, January 16, 2009
The shame
Today I caught myself actively searching on the internet for wrestling merchandise.
Kill me.
Kill me.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
You've got to pick a pocket or two!
Just a quick one to say that I am superdope and I've uploaded this part of the very first episode of The Flight Of Conchords' Radio 2 show from 2005. Christ it's amazing.
There'll be actual words from me tomorrow.
There'll be actual words from me tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Thirty
I spent a lot of yesterday (my 30th birthday) thinking about my life so far and the choices I've made, the mistakes that have held me back and the rash decisions that have paid off (seldom). It proved to be a mildly depressing exercise but there were a few sparks of gold which made me crack a smile for a few minutes.
While the first 16 or so years were beyond horrible (and not worth repeating here), the 14-odd years after haven't been too bad. But, bizarrely, I seem to be trying to make up for my lost youth by doing it over again, attempting to enjoy myself at any cost or consequence with a naughty 13-year-old-James cackle. Selfish, I know, but I feel I'm owed it. Even now at Thirty I surround myself with items that can only be described as toys. Just looking around my bedroom now I can see a Mr Potato Head, two copies of Altered Beast for the Megadrive, a Saved By The Bell tin lunchbox and a small collection of comic books. I'm 99% sure men my age do not play Street Fighter II on their PCs until the wee hours when they know they have work in the morning; playing it just to hear the sounds that gave such joy as a youth. Frantically hitting fire buttons until the combination of sleep depravation, nostalgia and sad memories make you well up.
Something isn't right.
Why cling onto the past so tightly when I have the means and methods to make a great future for myself? I wish I knew, but I really, really like acting like a child 75% of the time. My only responsibility is working hard when I'm actually there (I really enjoy my work) and paying the rent on time. That's it. That's why I act the Goat on a regular basis. The only life I'm ruining is my own, nobody else is getting harmed. It's all good. I can live with morning-after humiliation, I expect it now. I almost NEED it.
Probably the thing I'm most proud of during my 30 years is giving up smoking. What a dick I was for even starting (at the relatively late age of 18, officially old enough to know better). I found giving up to be quite easy, which was surprising. Even when I've had a bunch of beers I still don't want one. Quite magical.
Not-so-magical is the amount of money I've wasted on them. Earlier at work I did a little mathematics and found out that over 12 years of smoking I've spent £15,600. That can't be right. It simply can't. It can't be justified if it's true. Again, what a dick.
What I'm proud of most about all this is that I did it without using the classic "New Year's Resolution" which all fail apparently. Yes, all.
If I had one of those shits it'd be "My resolution is to hold hands with a girl at some point while talking about the merits of Tony Millionaire and Aesop Rock". But I fear I'm aiming a little too high.
I almost enjoyed writing this, so I reckon I'll do some more soon.
While the first 16 or so years were beyond horrible (and not worth repeating here), the 14-odd years after haven't been too bad. But, bizarrely, I seem to be trying to make up for my lost youth by doing it over again, attempting to enjoy myself at any cost or consequence with a naughty 13-year-old-James cackle. Selfish, I know, but I feel I'm owed it. Even now at Thirty I surround myself with items that can only be described as toys. Just looking around my bedroom now I can see a Mr Potato Head, two copies of Altered Beast for the Megadrive, a Saved By The Bell tin lunchbox and a small collection of comic books. I'm 99% sure men my age do not play Street Fighter II on their PCs until the wee hours when they know they have work in the morning; playing it just to hear the sounds that gave such joy as a youth. Frantically hitting fire buttons until the combination of sleep depravation, nostalgia and sad memories make you well up.
Something isn't right.
Why cling onto the past so tightly when I have the means and methods to make a great future for myself? I wish I knew, but I really, really like acting like a child 75% of the time. My only responsibility is working hard when I'm actually there (I really enjoy my work) and paying the rent on time. That's it. That's why I act the Goat on a regular basis. The only life I'm ruining is my own, nobody else is getting harmed. It's all good. I can live with morning-after humiliation, I expect it now. I almost NEED it.
Probably the thing I'm most proud of during my 30 years is giving up smoking. What a dick I was for even starting (at the relatively late age of 18, officially old enough to know better). I found giving up to be quite easy, which was surprising. Even when I've had a bunch of beers I still don't want one. Quite magical.
Not-so-magical is the amount of money I've wasted on them. Earlier at work I did a little mathematics and found out that over 12 years of smoking I've spent £15,600. That can't be right. It simply can't. It can't be justified if it's true. Again, what a dick.
What I'm proud of most about all this is that I did it without using the classic "New Year's Resolution" which all fail apparently. Yes, all.
If I had one of those shits it'd be "My resolution is to hold hands with a girl at some point while talking about the merits of Tony Millionaire and Aesop Rock". But I fear I'm aiming a little too high.
I almost enjoyed writing this, so I reckon I'll do some more soon.
Rip it up and start again
No more sub-Digitizer word-joining, no more posts about awful Metal from my youth, no more lies.
Stick around, I might make you laugh/cry/close your browser.
- Daddy Cool
Stick around, I might make you laugh/cry/close your browser.
- Daddy Cool
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