New iTunes update to 9.0.3, and with it and iPod update, and, unsurprisingly, another dead iPod, much like last time…
Again, the solution was the same, use the Windows 7 partition to fix it, and it did finally.
I can’t imagine what would happen when people’s iPads begin to fail like this…
So, I finally went to see the movie, all in nice 3D at the Village Max cinema in Faliro. Overall, it was good.
I wouldn’t state excellent, as there were a few problems with pacing, I would have liked to see more of Jake trying to fit in with his Avatar when learning the Na’vi techniques, as he seemed to get the hang of it fairly quickly (though it was approximately three months later, so you do get the impression that a lot is missing).
Characters are a tad clichéd, though there were some nice surprises (the scientist who got jealous at Jake actually didn’t turn face and backstab him, he became a decent fellow).
The CGI was incredible, though I still think that Pirates of the Caribbean (Davy Jones in particular) shows what it can really do, when you think that those octopus appendages are real, when in fact he had nothing on his face at all. The Na’vi people and Pandora was beautifully animated, showing how amazing the plants move and live, even the floating mountains, vertigo-inducing, and naturally, the wildlife, which is terrifying.
I would rate this as a must see, if only for the spectacle. If I ever get round to buying a Bluray player, this movie would benefit most from it, with all the visuals, and most likely by then, 3D technology for the home.
In other news, my new computer is up and running, and able to run Mirror’s Edge at maximum quality with no slowdown whatsoever. I’m loving every second of it.
Just like in the film The Day After Tomorrow. Picture taken by NASA.
Looking forward to building it soon. National holiday tomorrow, so everything will be closed, but I should be able to catch Avatar at Village.
Bought my RAM:
CPU:
and motherboard today:
I need a case, graphics card and hard drives, all of which I plan to get by the end of the week.
A boon for bargain hunters such as myself. Games I purchased during the festive season.
The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition
Mirror’s Edge
Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (includes Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay)
Mass Effect
Braid
Lucasarts Adventure Bundle (includes Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, LOOM, The Dig)
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
Star Wars: KOTOR
STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl
Time Gentlemen, Please! (includes Ben There, Dan That)
Ghostbusters: The Videogame
Beyond Good and Evil
Painkiller: Black Edition (includes Painkiller and Painkiller: Battle out of Hell)
Defense Grid: The Awakening
Admittedly, the first three were during the Thanksgiving sale, but I’ll still include it here. For these 20 games in total (using all the packaged games as separate ones, I paid only £46.81, therefore meaning an average of £2.34 per game.
I’m looking forward to playing the old classics, and the new generation of games too, with a huge thanks to Steam for having such a generous sale.
Two completely different kinds of anime, from two very opposite sides of the coin.
Kara No Kyoukai:
Created By TYPE-MOON, famous for Tsukihime and Fate/Stay Night. Even the creator, Kinoko Nasu is famous for mixing his series so much that he has created a whole new universe of characters and symbolism, commonly called the Nasuverse. Think of him as the anime/manga equivalent of Hideo Kojima (of Metal Gear Solid fame), the amount of backstory for each character defies belief.
Kara No Kyoukai was written before the first real success from Tsukihime, originally a light novel before being given an anime 10 years later. I’m only giving this background to let you know why this anime should be given a watch, due to the intricate detail behind the scenes.
The main character Ryougi Shiki, without giving too much plot detail away, is a girl who had a taste for murder, and the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, meaning that she can see lines across any object which only she can slice to kill that object, or as it was meant to be used on, people.
Suffice it to say, she uses it, and we follow a guy who gets attracted to her, Kokutou Mikiya, as they start to come across strange event as many murders happen in their town.
Shown in an anachronic fashion, much like the first season of Haruhi Suzumiya, so it starts off in the middle, giving you a confusing beginning episode, thinking you’ve missed something.
Sadly, it misses some of the details from the light novels, but overall, it maintains the feel and is a great story when you take it all in. There is a lot of exposition, so you need to be concentrating. Naturally, there is a large amount of blood, and one rape scene, not to mention fighting with bladed weapons, so not for the faint of heart or for the kids.
Animation is fluid, with a some good CG for the backgrounds. The soundtrack is one of the best I’ve ever heard, with strong strings and painfully sad piano tracks, with special choral tracks in the finale. 7 OVA only, but the episodes are long, and you will definitely want to rewatch your favourite scenes over and over again.
High marks from me if you want something deep to watch, with a decent plot that sucks you in.
K-ON:
Now, for the opposite, a happy, slice-of-life story of a group of schoolgirls who join the Light Music Club (though actually run it, since there’s no old members left), and just spend time together, mostly having tea and cakes.
Yes, a fairly brainless anime of how they begin to make music together, buy guitar for a new girl, going to beach to train, and even getting a younger student later who is a dab hand at the guitar.
Despite all this, the characters, whilst a bit clichéd (slightly ditzy rich keyboard player, the scatterbrained but fully likeable main character who plays guitar, one serious but easily frightened bass player, tomboyish girl on drums), mesh well together, and though it doesn’t go into more detail than the superficial (i.e., no deep problems with any person), with the cast as it is, you don’t need any more.
Honestly, you probably won’t rewatch the series once you’re done, maybe just the rare episode, but it’s a good for light viewing, and the comedy is good. You’ll get closer to the characters too, and actually begin to care about how they manage to play together.
Above average, depending on your preference. Don’t expect high class plot with hours of backstory (as with Kara No Kyoukai above, they have whole encyclopaedias for the Nasuverse!), and if you’re okay with an all girl cast talking about normal school days, then you’ll just relax and enjoy it. Good dose of melancholy for the olden days of being at school too.
Been uploading some series for people to download, though I already upload them to FanFiction.net sometimes people like hard copies, so I’ve done them in Word, PDF and HTML formats. I’m using OpenOffice now anyway for writing stories.
When my computer was stolen in 2005, I lost most of the original copies, these are the few stories I’ve managed to find from before then, or these were written afterwards.
Those of you who occasionally check out my site may have noticed few new updates, but lost of old ones. I’ve been slowly importing them from my old DeadJournal, minus relevant links (as my site was wiped), and moving them to this site with their old dates intact.
It takes time and isn’t automatic sadly, but since Windows Live Writer makes thing so painless in doing so, I might as well keep an archive of it here. Bear with me whilst I move over everything slowly.
In other news, for Christmas I got a 40 euro giftcard for Village Cinemas, which I love, and hope to watch 4 movies with it (given the rising cost of films in Greece). I also got God of War and God of War II from Maria, as I’ve been fairly stressed lately, and need a good old third person game to lower my blood pressure.
You know, for all the stick Microsoft gets, illegal bundling of IE with Windows to abuse the monopoly position, huge numbers of patches and problems, they do help people with many solutions to fix things.
Well, Apple, famous for their line ‘”It just works”, simply didn’t.
I bought the version 3 firmware from them, tried to update the iPod, and what happens? an unlimited reboot/recovery problem. I spent 14 hours (midday Saturday to 2am Sunday) trying to fix it. My problem was exactly as this guy’s iPod… I uninstalled iTunes and their drivers, created a new user, DFU mode, even using a iBrickr to try to boot it, all to no avail.
The last option was to use another computer, either Maria’s lappie or my vintage one downstairs. I opted for something different.
I installed Windows 7 RC, which I downloaded during summer, getting a key and everything (legally from Microsoft). Within the hour, Windows 7 was running on the netbook, and just looked gorgeous. iTunes was next, and low and behold, it not only restored it to original settings, but upgraded it to the new firmware, without any pain.
I would have to say, score 1 for Microsoft, because Apple’s own documentation (use a different USB port, cable, computer, OS) was horrid, and I dread to think if I have a Mac with a problem…
OVerall, I can install apps now (nice free games) and even an ebook reader!
Finally, something to keep me awake on the bus/tram/metro for these coming weeks…
No doubt you’ve all read the news, deficit 12.7% of GDP and debt above 120% of GDP, currently standing at €300bn in total, even though they have help, and of course Prime Minister Papandreou stating Greece will not default on the debt.
Think to yourself, how can one country get so badly into debt?
The basic answer to this is ‘poor management’. If you have a government who is corrupt, prone to cronyism, you’re unlikely to collect tax from people who need to pay it, and neither will you hire anyone good enough to look after the finances.
Do you know since the change of government, this is the first time a finance minister has a qualification in economics?
The government recently went after a load of private doctors in Kolonaki, rich area where they work from. Can you believe that one dentist claimed, for a whole year, he only earned €300 which he was taxed on? A famous comedian here joked saying he had to wait a whole year for one appointment, let alone hiring a secretary for this person!
Of course, New Democracy made a mess since their election a few years back, what with the horrid fires and anarchic riots. Who will ever forget the images of the burning Christmas tree in Syntagma, right in front of the parliament building?
It’s unlikely to happen again this year, thankfully, and everyone is looking, hoping that Papandreou will make things better, economically and socially.
I for one see him as the only politician who can help foreigners living in Greece, being half Greek himself.