Oh, Good Book?

"Westerners revere the Greek legends. Versemen retell the represented events, the resplendent scenes, where, hellbent, the Greek freemen seek revenge whenever Helen, the new-wed empress, weeps."

Notice anything about that passage? Yes? No? Well, read it again and pay attention to the vowels...
Yep, they're all Es.
The passage is from a book called Eunoia (The shortest word in the English language to contain all vowels. It means 'Beautiful Thinking'.) and it is written by a man named Christian Bok. The book consists of fiction written so that each chapter only contains one vowel. There are more snippets from the book Here including examples from each of the vowels. It's quite impressive!

So long, for now!

Run Time Error

So, it would seem I can run 10 miles in 1 hour, 45 minutes & 59 seconds. Not bad for a first try. Also, I can't have been doing too bad if I still look this happy after 9 miles.

Give up the Ghost.

Jesus, I'm knackered. The Great South Run was today. I have a rough idea of my time but I'll put it on here when it's official. Probably with a picture. In the meantime, I have some manner of game for you. The titl alone is great, but it's also pretty good fun. You control a big pink ghost with your mouse cursor and you need to use it to scare a guy with a fancy moustache to stop him getting eaten by monsters. It's called Look Out, Mr Johnson and it is well worth your time.

Take it on the Chin.

I have a beard, you may have noticed. If I didn't have one already though... This would make me grow one. So now you have no excuse. Fuzz it up.

LittleBigPlanet.

Hello. In a move that is likely to cause several readers (most of them, then) to stop reading and go somewhere else, I am going to use this post to talk about a videogame. If you've stuck around for this long, I urge you to keep reading so I can outline why this particular one is worth your time. I certainly considered it worth buying £300 worth of console for.
Before anything else, maybe you should just watch these 2 videos. They serve as a more than adequate introduction to the game, at least in regard to its looks and immense charm:





Frankly, if that didn't do anything for you then there's no helping you. You're free to go.
Still with me? Ok, here goes: The second video alluded a little bit to the actual type of game that LBP is. So? It's just a nice-looking, side-scrolling, item-collecting, platform game, yeah? Well... yeah. It is all those things. It's also a whole lot more. That's why the game's tagline is "Play, Create, Share".

See, the thing that sets LittleBigPlanet apart is not the 'Play' aspect (which, it should be said, looks exemplary) but the 'Create' & 'Share' portions. This is because LBP comes with an extensive level creator. Not just any old tacked-on-at-the-last-minute piece of crap, either. To paraphrase a review I've read; "You can make anything. Yes, even that thing you just thought of." To prove that it is a tool that can be used to create masterpieces, Media Molecule (they made the game) created every level that is included on the disc using the same level editor that is available to every schmo that buys the game. Using simple building blocks, materials, mechanical components and whatever hare-brained notion you can scrape together, you can build a fantastic playground. Ever since I learnt of this game, I have not been able to pay attention in meetings at work. I just daydream of potential level ideas. Some people were lucky enough to get to play a limited version of the game for a while (known in the trade as a 'beta') and they have produced Some Incredible Stuff.
Once you've created your wonderland, you can play through as much as you like, by yourself, with 3 other people on the same sofa, or with 3 other people around the world. You can also submit your level to be judged by everyone, everywhere. Essentially, this means that LBP will have a never-ending stream of content and it will be designed, built, moderated and extensively tested by the people the care the most. It's nothing short of a revolution.

I haven't even begun to touch on all the things that make this game so exciting (You can customise your li'l sackboy almost infinitely! Stephen bloody Fry is the narrator for all the tutorials!) but simply put, it looks like Fun. Fun in it's purest, most intoxicating form. I just can't wait, but wait I must. I've been following the progress of this game for many, many months (and just around the corner from it's release, it was Snatched Away Again!)

Anyway, it'll be here soon. The thought actually makes me a little bit giddy and if you've made it all the way through this post, you must be pretty interested too. So please, come and play with me. In LittleBigPlanet!

Yeah, but is it Art?

I've used that title before, but I'm thinking of making it a regular feature. Continuity, bitches! Got a video of some sculptures created by artist Michael Kontopoulos called "Machines that Almost Fall Over" which features, erm, some machines... that almost fall over. It may sound ridiculous but I actually quite like it. Even if it is filmed in a breathtakingly pretentious way. Anyway, judge for yourself:


Machines that Almost Fall Over from Michael Kontopoulos on Vimeo.

Ninjaronimo!

Of all the overused internet cliché groups, I have to say that I prefer robots, vikings and pirates to ninjas. However! There are some cool flash games that feature them. The best of them all is N, which I previously thought had been taken off the web so that the maker could flog the pay-to-play version but no! Anyway, this one, despite featuring a stick man as the lead ninja, is pretty much all you could want from a ninja game, it requires quick reactions, expert timing and an element of stealth. It's all about stealing as much gold as you can and getting to the exit before the time runs out (grabbing gold replenishes time for whatever reason) and without getting electrocuted or blown to bits! Anyway, enough talk. Just Play the damn thing!

What's in a Name?

Many of you will have a name that has at some point been immortalised in song. "Jolene", "Kevin Carter", "Black Betty", "Jeremy", "Annie, Let's Not Wait", "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?", "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine", "Making Plans for Nigel", "Molly's Chambers", "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"... I could go on and on. But I won't. The point is, there are no songs with Paul in them and I tend to moan about this occasionally. Well, today I got an email that shut me up. A scottish band called Attic Lights have named a song after me. And you. And you and you aaand Ba Ba Baaah! (ahem, sorry) But yes, it's true. They have songs with my name and yours*. Pretty cool, eh? Eh?!
Yes, of course it's an advertising gimmick. They really just have a song called Wendy and have recorded versions with lots of different names to try and sucker people in. Well guess what? It worked! I'm passing it on. Here!

*Possibly

Oh, and as a footnote. While writing this post I found out that there are several songs with my name in. Also, I had forgotten that there is an entire Beastie Boys album with my name in it. But shush, I'm trying to make a point here!

Email!

Hiya, I'm 24 now. No longer a young man in his early twenties. Now I am further over the hill than ever before. I have entered my mid-twenties. Woe is me, etc. No, I kid. Age is irrelevent, you're only as old as you feel, yadda yadda yadda. I did have a very nice day though. Thanks to everyone who sent me some manner of birthday message. Much appreciated. So in honour of my birthday, I think a present is in order. But don't worry. This is a present from me to you. One of my favourite videos on the internet. A very simple hand drawn animation about Email, of all things. Hope you like it.

Karoshi.

Hmm, I'm at work, about to link to a game involving a guy being at work and killing himself. Weird.
Anyway! The game is called Karoshi, which translates as "death from overwork". Your objective in each level is to kill your little blue suited guy by figuring out how to get him impaled, crushed, shot or electrocuted.
I should point out that this is more fun (and a lot less nasty) then it sounds. The puzzles are pretty clever and get really fiendish by the end.

So have fun!

Make a Picture. It'll last longer.

Evenin' all. I have just spent about 20 minutes dicking about with this. Which, I think, gives it the official Paul Seal of Approval. The concept can be explained thus: Draw a picture, submit and get someone else's picture. More absorbing than it sounds. Some people really put effort into these things. Must be annoying when they get my scribbles in return!
Anyway. Sketchswap, it does what it says on the tin.

Fool Your Brain.

Make your mind see colours where there are none. Seriously. If you stare at a negative version of an image for a while, which then becomes black & white, you will see it in colour until your eyes refocus.
Hmm, I'm making a pretty bad job of explaining it. Here, try it yourself:

Shazam!

Sweet, huh? To see a bigger version, go Here. You can create one with any photo you find or have on your computer.

New Zealand's 4th Most Popular Folk Parody Duo.

It's Flight of the Conchords!
Since the internet has not been so fruitful these last few days. It's time for an emergency link.
You either know of these guys already or you don't. If you do, you'll love them already and just be happy to see these clips again.
But if you don't, well you can thank me later... If you're into it.


This is my favourite of their songs. Now you've had a taste. Try these on for size:

Robots!
Mermaids!
Rap Battle! (Rhymenocerous Vs. HipHopapotomas)
French!
Stationery!
Crying!

Ok, I have to stop there. I could have linked to every song from the whole dang series. It's all solid gold. Enjoy!

Updates.

Today is gonna be a little bit different. Instead of finding new stuff for you, I'm reminding you of previous cool things du jour that have made exciting steps forward.

A while ago, when I linked you to the teaser site for the new, Brooker-penned zombiethon 'Dead Set', there was nothing but a trailer and a countdown timer. Well the countdown has reached zero and there is a wealth of new stuff. More trailers, etc and cast info (which reveals that the actor Kevin Eldon is going to be in it. Hooray!), so check it out. Also I recommend you click the 'Get Infected' link for an additional video. In fact, I'll just link straight to it. Click!

...and now for something completely different. Homestar Runner to be precise. The SBEmail series has reached its 200th episode. Which is a pretty big deal if you're a fan of the site. The site has been running for nearly 9 years now, and it keeps going strong.

Oh, and while I'm updating people on things... I still need sponsors! The Great South Run is looming and I'd like to raise as much money as possible. So Dig Deep!

Thanks.

Seeing Stars.

Hello, I hope you have some time to waste. Because I bring you GAMES!

First up is the 3rd installment of a game series called Hoshi Saga. All you gots to do is find the star hidden in each puzzle. This is accomplished in a variety of different and creative ways. Some puzzles are easier than others. Try everything you can think of. The new one is Here. If you get stuck, go and check out the 1st and 2nd ones for practice.

The next game is so similar in premise to the Hoshi Saga games that I assumed they were by the same maker. Apparently not though. In Kagi Nochi Tobira (Don't worry about the Japanese games, there is no text involved), you need to find a key, then use it to open the door. If you've had a stab at the Hoshi games, you should know a few of the tricks used but this one is different enough to warrant a play.

I should point out that these are quite tricky games. Give it your best shot and if one particular puzzle has you flummoxed, just google for some help. I won't tell anyone.