Mat Bowles

It appears I forgot to promote this link. I had meant to. Here we go:
http://www.cyanlion.com/fabulon/

Starring tyrell, halcyon_shift, one of my (and paulatpingu's) former housemates and a bunch of other people, Fabulon 75 is a Babylon 5 spoof that is really really really bad. It was made the year before I started at Exeter University, and was already legendary then.

Steve? Just so that you're aware. I've deliberately put that link in the clear within the cutoff length for all the aggregators this journal displays on. I doubt any of the MPs reading will bother following the link, but you never know...

It's my understanding that the server it's on has unlimited bandwidth. So, y'know, feel free to share the link ;-)

Last night, Jennie and I went to see Aliens Vs Predator-Requiem, for a full review including a few minor spoilers, her review is here, and while I agree with her, my review is slightly more succint: it's shit. Pretty, and vaguely entertaining shit, and a bunch of you will love it for the gore and the fight scenes, but the plot was arse, the idea poorly implemented and the dénoument was piss poor. Fun, but arse.

In completely other unrelated, harlotqueen took his camera for a walk around Exeter and has a nice little photo blog post with some cool pics of my old town. I've also never seen the weir that high, and I really like his cityscape by twilight.

So, right then, never did get around to that 'what I've been up to' post that LJ kept eating during the DDOS thing did I. So, a summary post, but first, a poll!
[Poll #1003180]
( Thursday May 31st - Last day at work, lunch in Portcullis House, the Houses of Parliament )
( Friday 1st June - Jennie visits, the Tate Late panel discussion ) ( Adrian Searle on State Britain - very luvvy )( Pubs and wandering late around Soho )
( Saturday 2nd June - Pirates, Disney and comic fangirls )
( Sunday 3rd - Wednesday 6th - Relax + job hunting )
( Thursday 7th June - Book signing at Waterstones with )( Jon Courtenay Grimwood,  )( Steph Swainston  )( and a BBC camera crew )
( Wondering home chatting, and putting names to usernames )
( Friday 8th June - A family visit and a meeting with friends )
( Saturday 9th June - Ballet - the Three Musketeers )
( Sunday June 10th - Wandering Wimbledon )
( Tuesday June 12th - Hyde Park with a friend )
( Wednesday June 13th - Yorkshire bound and zombie avoidance )( Rik Mayall - The New Statesman )
( Today? )
( Upcoming )

Did I say summary? That's a summary? Oops, probably good job I didn't go for the long version isn't it...

Posted using sms_to_lj...
Yeah, happy new wossname and all that. Everyone else texting so might as well. Hub, Exeter. Quiet but fun, just danced to Ministry and NiN was good.

Edited by a slightly more coherent Mat using the LJ interface, because it's easier...

Hmm...

Remember when I wrote this about my admissions tutor at University, Bill Tupman?

[1] Bill was the admissions tutor that let me into the course at Exeter. He was also the regular who propped up the bar in the Jolly Porter when I lived there, and a top bloke: great company and always worth a chat in the evenings. It was his course, with the 'assessed website' element that got me to learn the basics of coding and prompted me to register my first domain name. It was also, of course, his module that I failed to complete, leading me to get the BA without the (hons). Figures, doesn't it?

Well, um, Bill Tupman = snufkinaway, and has just made a few comments on that post.

It seems that no matter how much I dislike elements of LJ (and I am definitely decamping to Wordpress in the New Year for most of my stuff), there are other elements that have definite appeal...

(Also? The Fx2.0 spellchecker tells me I've been spelling definately wrong for years. Ah well...)

Ah. Oops. See, I went to Exeter today, granjero organised a Warlord tournament at Steve's. Took my phone with me, with my email and the login page for Infection bookmarked. Unfortunately, could only check between each, hour long, round. But an infection round is, um, 35 minutes currently (it was an hour when I signed up). Oops. mapp noticed and texted me, but I got the text a bit too late (reception at Steve's is awful) and logged in just as I died. Bugger. Worst bit? The team's dropping like flies as well. 13 members left out of 100? Ouch. Still, an interesting idea for an LJ based game, and it can work. I suspect when this game is over, the next one will have less players, but be more organised. Being able to set a sleep mode is essential, but an 'away' mode might be useful, and possible a weekdays only mode. Ah well.

The tournament? I borrowed a deck from Chris. New Merc Warlord, interesting idea, but as Chris said, not at all tuned and in need of some work. Huge turnout from the Barnstable lads, bugger all from Exeter, just 4 of us. Still, a good day. Went up to campus to see if there was anything worth doing at GeekSoc, but no, everyone playing bloody RPGs. Need to work on that a bit, never going to keep new members if there's no one available for pick-up games. Anyone up to doing something next week?

I'm in a bit of a 'meh' mood at the moment. Off to see the lawyers tomorrow morning, hopefully be able to talk about it openly tomorrow evening. Have no plans for Xmas, no plans for New Years. Am thinking family for Xmas, London for New Years; any Londoners got any specific plans made?

Very very cool. angelil took many pictures until her battery ran out, and I filled the phone up as I forgot my camera. draxar's height was useful, and was well worth the journey.

Best bit was right at the beginning. We're approaching the pub currently active, and we can see smoke and a very packed crowd. We're making our way through it, and Pink's giving a commentary about what he can see, mostly a few flames above heads. Then I can see the smoke, then the flames, then the barrel as it heads towards us through the crowd and the crowd is getting out the way.

Next thing I know, they're coming right at me, and we're all jumping backwards. The guy carrying it runs out of energy and it goes to ground directly where I was standing a few seconds earlier. A big barrel full of flames and tar not 3 feet from where I'm standing, and a bunch of lunatics scrambling for control over it.

Utter insanity. Well worth the journey. A proper post about the politics of the thing may follow on VTX tomorrow, suffice to say the number of disclaimer announcements, signage &c pointing out that you're there at your own risk was depressing. That they palpably need to do it is even more depressing. If you're going to an event famous because people run around the streets with barrels of flaming tar on their shoulders, then you are choosing to put yourself at risk. If you choose to run around with said tar barrel, you are choosing to take on the risk. So why was the event nearly cancelled due to insurance issues? FFS

Anyway, time to watch a Dr Who episode on my newly delivered DVDs sleep...

There's a meme going around. People ask you to comment and they promise to say something about you. I can't see the point of fishing for compliments, nor does gratuitous niceness appeal. I was thinking of doing a gratuitous insult post, or a random promise for off topic comments, but, well, I can't be arsed. So you'll have to make do with a "Mat says disdainful things about the most recent meme" post instead. Feel free to comment and tell me I'm wrong though, I even have an icon for the very purpose.

Meh. V for Vendetta is a cool movie. At some point, I really ought to get around to reading the damn comic (it's not a graphic novel FFS, it's a trade paperback collection of a previously published comic series, gah!), especially given that I like the writers other stuff, but, well, meh. I suspect the movie is nothing like the comic, but then, if it was written as an allegory for Thatcher's Britain, you'd have to change it. And a blatent satire on Blair's britain is much more relevent. I'm trying to make an icon using the V. Have I mentioned I suck at design stuff? I think I have.

Meh, I'm off to bed. What, me going to bed at midnight not 2am? Yup. I've got autopope's first novel open on the bed, it's quite good so far, I'm on page 4. But before I log off, I just heard mp_bradshaw_exe on the radio. Not only is he a hypocritical git who's broken the recycling laws he's responsible for enforcing, he's also minister for chewing gum. And to think I once voted for the smug git...

Hmm, not sure what to think on this one. mendees, having moved to Exeter, is thinking of going to the Cavern tomorrow night. Fine, fairly normal. To see a band called "Betty Curse". The lead singer of which is a persona created by Megan Burns, the actress who played Hannah in 28 Days Later. Now, of course, she's 20, not 13/14 as she was at the time of the film. And, um, she looks pretty good from what I can find (band Myspace, her Myspace). She's also, it appears from a few interviews, fairly switched on.

However, she's backed by Island Records quite heavily, the contact section of the site (no direct link, not possible, see below) essentially promises to spam you with stuff about all their bands that might be of interest, and it just oozes marketing shill. ( Musings on how the marketing men take over the world, and how it turns us all into (too) cynical gits... )

So, cool new artist with both track record to appeal, the looks to carry it off and a genuine goth/alt girl to like, or simple marketing dream designed to cash in on a market that the big boys in the industry can't, normally, get in on?

And, perhaps of more direct relevence, given it's apparently free entry, if I were to cancel my normal Monday night stuff, anyone interested in going along tomorrow?

Firstly, I did this a few days back but never posted, and I like the result:
Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.


Next, I heartily recommend linkfrenzy to everyone, always a few worth a read in there. Today? A site called 23 Apples of Eris, and article called Habeas Corpus Remembrance Day:

On this day, Bureaucracy 66, 3025 (12 October 1859), His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, ordered the Congress of the United States to dissolve.

Weirdly fortuitous coincidence n'est ce pas? All this fuss the USians are making over the loss of Habeas Corpus, I'm wondering if Blair did it over here just as a trial run for Bush; make it work on a small scale. Is that what these isles have become, a testbed for El Presidenté Bush's authoritarian disrespect for the rule of law?

Anyway, time to leave the office and get to Exeter; going to play in granjero's Warlord tournament (using one of his decks, natch), which should be good. I could sort of use the practice for KoHIT, as, y'know, travelling to Germany to take part in a major event, it's sort of a good plan to know what you're playing before you get there, right? Heh, this'll be my 5th KoHIT, and despite my rep as a "top" player, I've only ever played with a deck I built once...

Oh, mapp et al? 23 Apples of Eris is 23ae_rss. If I keep doing discordian references I may have to switch my stated religion...